How Daily Mass Benefitted My Day to Day Life

Prayer is at the heart of any relationship with God, but to many people, including myself, maintaining a healthy prayer life is a constant struggle. Our daily schedules become so filled with our careers, family, and other activities that it seems we barely have time to breathe. But this is really when we need prayer the most. As I write this I am reminded of a quote from St. Francis de Sales, “Every one of us needs a half hour of prayer a day, except when we are busy, and then we need an hour.” In other words, as life becomes increasingly more complicated and hectic, that’s when our relationship with God becomes ever more critical.

In my personal experience, attendance at daily mass as helped me greatly in this area. I am fortunate in that there are a few churches near my job that offer daily mass at times that are easy to attend before I have to report to the office. I also realize that not everyone reading this may be in a similar situation and finding a daily mass may be much more difficult. I strongly encourage everyone to give it serious consideration. Start off slowly by attending a daily mass once or twice a week and you can eventually grow from there.  The benefits and graces from faithfully attending a weekday mass even once or twice weekly are powerful.

Re-emergence of the Church Militant

 I want to share with you an outstanding article by Fr. Rick Heilman on the growing prosecution of  our church:
The Growing Persecution of the Church and the Re-emergence of the Church Militant.

In this article Fr. Heilman quotes Pope Pius XII and Pope Benedict XVI on the attacks the Church has faced in the past and up until the present day:

“The Church, the Mystical Body, exists on this earth, and is called the Church militant, because its members struggle against the world, the flesh and the devil.” (Pope Benedict XVI)

In 1953, the Pope who had led the Church through two decades of darkness in a world besieged by war, Pope Pius XII stated, “We belong to the Church militant; and She is militant because on earth the powers of darkness are ever restless to encompass Her destruction.”

We are becoming increasingly aware in our time that we are the Church militant as we battle the ravages caused by the culture of death. In addition, as we witness the growing hostility toward the church throughout the world, we realize that we are indeed engaged in a spiritual warfare.

This article from Fr. Heilman is a great reminder that there is an ongoing spiritual battle and we are all enlisted to stand against this evil and defend our Church and our faith. Pray for our Church, our Pope and Bishops, and our families, that God may strengthen us in this spiritual war and that more Catholics also wake up and stand with the Church Militant.

I have also included below the awesome video, "The Church Militant - Bringing Catholic Back", which Fr. Heilman included at the end of his article. Please take the time to read the full article and watch this powerful video.

 

The Line in the Sand

By now everyone has probably heard about the disappointing ruling by the Supreme Court and Chief Justice Roberts inexplicable decision to support Obamacare. While I would have preferred seeing this so called Affordable Care Act completely struck down, the SCOTUS decision upholding Obamacare will serve a greater purpose in defending religious freedoms in the long term.

If this healthcare overhaul was struck down, the HHS Mandate lawsuit would have also ended since the mandate itself would no longer be in effect. However, the question of religious freedom would have gone unanswered. The current administration has set a dangerous precedent by infringing on religious freedoms to further its political and ideological agenda. The lawsuits against the mandate will now continue and hopefully end with the Supreme Court definitively ending this abuse of power and disregard of religious freedoms by the President.

How can we be so hopeful that the Supreme Court will make the right decision in regards to religious freedoms? As reported by Michelle Baumann of Catholic News Agency: (emphasis mine)

[Hannah Smith, Senior Counsel, The Beckett Fund] pointed to the majority opinion, penned by Chief Justice John Roberts, which states, “Even if the taxing power enables Congress to impose a tax on not obtaining health insurance, any tax must still comply with other requirements in the Constitution.”

The opinion of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan, was even more explicit, she said.

Ginsberg wrote, “A mandate to purchase a particular product would be unconstitutional if, for example, the edict impermissibly abridged the freedom of speech, interfered with the free exercise of religion, or infringed on a liberty interest protected by the Due Process Clause.”

The direct mention of religious freedom as a reason to find such a mandate unconstitutional is a hopeful sign in the battle over the contraception requirement, Smith said.

She explained that these two statements are “essential” in suggesting that the court may strike down the contraception mandate if asked to rule on it, a positive indication for defenders of religious freedom.

The line in the sand has been drawn. The current administration is now even more emboldened with this Supreme Court victory. This can become a defining moment in history for us as Catholics. By coming together and supporting our Bishops in this battle, we can truly show the world what  it means to be "One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic".

Even though the Fortnight for Freedom is over, the battle continues. There are several things that we can all do to help our Bishops in this fight. First, we must pray and fast for religious freedom. Secondly, speak out publicly in favor of the Church and against this HHS mandate. By this I mean call and write to your elected officials and write to your local newspapers. You can also write about it on your blogs and social media sites. We need to get the truth out to counter the lies in the media. This isn't just some "Catholic thing" about contraception or abortion. This is about protecting the religious freedoms of every citizen in this country. In this battle, we are all Catholics. Finally, take the time to educate yourself on Obamacare, the HHS Mandate and how this impacts our freedoms. This will help you better understand the issues when you vote and allow you to better defend the position of the Catholic Church on this matter.

The line in the sand has been drawn. The question is now do we stand and fight or do we stick our head in the sand and ignore it?

Fellowship of the Unashamed - Part 2

This is a great video presentation of the Mission Statement I wrote about in my last blog post. This video was too good to pass up and definitely worth sharing with others.

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

I found this mission statement on the blog of Catholic author and speaker Patrick Madrid back in September of 2011. I am posting it now because more relevant than ever in light of the open hostility of our society and government towards our faith.

God is calling every Catholic today to live up to the ideals in this mission statement and follow in the steps of the the saints and martyrs of our Church. This is how we defend our faith, protect our families, and fight against this culture of death.

MISSION STATEMENT: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE UNASHAMED
(Author unknown)

I AM A PART of the Fellowship of the Unashamed.

The die has been cast. The decision has been made. I have stepped over the line. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is in God’s hands. I am finished and done with low living, small planning, the bare minimum, smooth knees, mundane talking, frivolous living, selfish giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, applause, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, the best, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith. I lean on Christ’s presence. I love with patience, live by prayer, and labor with the power of God’s grace.

My face is set. My gait is fast, my goal is heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my Guide is reliable, and my mission is clear.

I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, shut up, let up or slow up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and spoken up for the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus. I am a Catholic. I must go until He comes, give until I drop, speak out until all know, and work until He stops me. And when He returns for His own, He will have no difficulty recognizing me. My banner is clear: I am a part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed.

Adapted from the original (author unknown) by Patrick Madrid

Happy New Year - Top 10 Reasons for Hope

Happy New Year to all! May 2012 be filled with God's peace blessings on your families. May God also continue to bless us and fill us with hope as we work to rebuild His church.

Judging by the video below, despite the uncertainty and darkness around us, God has shown He is with us and that we should be filled with hope in 2012.

Spiritual Warfare and Catholicism Under Attack.

I want to share with you a presentation I gave recently to the Christian Men's Breakfast Meeting Group at the Cathedral of Sts Peter and Paul in Providence RI:

Good morning. I want to begin our discussion about the attacks on our faith with some examples from my own experiences. As some of you know, I have written quite a few letters over the last few years to state, and federal leaders and to the news media on topics such as gay marriage, abortion, and in defense of our Bishop. What you may not be aware of is the disturbing reactions and backlash I have gotten from these letters. Many times people have written back to the Providence Journal and left comments on their website viciously attacking our faith and me personally. I have been called a hater, bigoted, sexist, racist, a closet homosexual, and a dangerous fanatic. I have also been accused several times of brainwashing and psychologically abusing my children because I dare to teach them the truths of our faith such as homosexual behavior is disordered and abortion is murder. Even my wife has been harassed. Several months ago, during the time that the civil unions bill was being rammed through the state house, my wife was driving home from work when another driver started yelling and cursing at her. Why? Because she dared to have a bumper sticker on her car that displayed our support for traditional marriage.

I could go on, but all this pales in comparison to the way other Catholics, our Church and even Bishop Tobin have been attacked for preaching the truth. It goes far beyond just a disagreement or a difference of opinions. There is a feeling of darkness and evil behind the open hostility shown toward Catholics and even Christians in secular world and especially in the media. Just a couple of weeks ago, a Catholic writer in Massachusetts who writes for the Diocese of Worcester’s newspaper, wrote an article on her own website about how she was not comfortable taking her young children to a local park because of the open display of affection she had seen there between two gay men. Being a devout Catholic mother, she only wanted to protect her children from inappropriate behavior. She ignited a firestorm of hatred from athiests and gay advocates because of this article. She and her family were viciously attacked on-line when gay advocates found her article and spread it to other gay friendly websites. They somehow found her street address and phone number and actually posted it online and encouraged people to contact her at home and harass her. It got to the point where she actually received a death treat and finally contacted the police. The police investigated the matter but as you would guess, they never classified it as a hate crime. As in the norm in our society, hate crimes don’t matter when they are against Catholics because it seems this is an acceptable form of bigotry.

Absolutely Beautiful - Eucharistic Adoration Flash Mobs

These videos are awesome. It is absolutely beautiful and inspiring to see Eucharistic Adoration in public. This is a powerful witness to Catholics, reminding us that we should put our hope and trust in Christ and not fear the scorn and ridicule of this world. These videos also tell us that we should be proud to be Catholic!

God bless the priests and lay people who organized the Eucharistic Adoration in these videos.

God in the Public Square

As I sit here and write this, our society is witnessing the growing effects of when the spiritual and the secular collide. The Federal government and several states are in political battles to defund abortion providers like Planned Parenthood. The homosexual agenda and the fight for gay marriage continues to spread to more states. The common theme I see in debates between those on both sides of these issues is whether or not our faith has a place in politics. I have personally witnessed this in discussions I had regarding gay marriage and abortion. Countless times I have been told to "keep my religion to myself" and to "stop acting like the taliban and shoving my beliefs down the throats of others". I have also been told many times that I have lost touch with reality by believing in an "imaginary friend in the sky and a fairy tale book written thousands of years ago".

It does little to help the situation when many of our politicians, who claim to be Christians, openly profess that it is their duty to separate their private beliefs from their public office. They usually go on to quote JFK's famous campaign speech about his religion as if were scripture. The truth is that for many years our culture has slowly but deliberately been pushing Christianity out of the mainstream and into the sidelines. It has become extremely politically incorrect to even mention the name of Christ in public. How ironic is it that the same so called "progressive" mindset that is advocating homosexuals to come out of the closet and live openly, is also behind the push to shove Christianity in the closet as if it were something to be ashamed about. Let me be clear here. This is not meant to be a tirade blaming homosexuals for all the ills in society. My point here is that our culture has turned 180 degrees to where it is now taboo and even shameful to openly live your life as a Christian. Any mention of our faith as our guide in our personal and political beliefs is met with scorn and accusations of extremism and bigotry.

As a Catholic and a father of three, I am deeply troubled by the legacy of moral decay we will be leaving our children and grandchildren if we as Catholics continue to remain silent. The reason that this secularism has been so successful in marginalizing Christianity is because many Christians leave their faith at home or at Church and not live it openly. Positive change in our society will only come about when we stop being afraid to let our faith permeate every area of our life both public and private. Father Larry Richards once said that God is either the God of everything in our life or he is the God of nothing. The point of that statement is that we can't compartmentalize God. Our faith in Him has to be a part of everything we do. Unfortunately many Catholics and Christians are allowing God to be marginalized and any mention of Him to be removed from our society. The results of that have been disastrous.

I started thinking about all of this more deeply after reading Men of faith should be involved in politics -- Moses is proof by Bryan Fischer and Be Brave - Be Uncomplicatedly Catholic. These articles raise two important points that many of Catholics seem to have forgotten. The first is that as Christians, God expects us to get involved with politics. The author used Moses as an example. I also see John the Baptist, and the Apostles as examples. John the Baptist and most of the Apostles were martyred because they dared to challenge the political leaders of that time by proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. These saints challenged unjust and oppressive anti-Christian rulers and willingly gave up their lives for their faith. Yet here we are 2,000 years later and we are afraid to publicly stand for our Church teachings because we don't want to be seen as intolerant or politically incorrect.

The second point comes from Be Brave - Be Uncomplicatedly Catholic, which is a review of the book The Courage to be Catholic: Crisis, Reform, and the Future of the Church by George Weigel. In his book Weigel writes: 

“The answer to the current crisis will not be found in ‘Catholic Lite.’ It will only be found in a classic Catholicism — a Catholicism with the courage to be countercultural, a Catholicism that has reclaimed the wisdom of the past in order to face the corruption of the present and create a renewed future, a Catholicism that risks the high adventure of fidelity.”

This goes hand in hand with what I have been thinking about. Unless we have the courage to be authentically Catholic - which means living in stark contrast to the culture around us - we are part of the problem and not the solution. As Catholics, God calls us to share His message not only through words but how we live our lives. Our actions will often have more impact than just our words. This includes speaking out and opposing our political leaders when they are advocating laws that are contrary to God's natural and moral law.

The truth is that our society today wants to shove our faith and our God in the closet and out of the public square. This hostile society wants us, as Christians, to be silent and just fall in line with everyone else. But God wants us to remember that only a dead fish goes with the current. Our duty as Catholics is to swim against that current and wake up this culture that has become intoxicated on its own "freedoms". It is our moral obligation to remind this culture that freedom is not right to do anything you want but the ability to do what is right.

Bishop Tobin: "The Sky is Falling! Really?"

I want to share with you this really inspirational column written by Bishop Thomas Tobin of the Diocese of Providence. It was in response to the recent article by the Providence Journal with seemed to gleefully predict the demise of the the Catholic Church. I greatly respect Bishop Tobin because of his orthodox beliefs and his willingness to speak up in defense of the Church.

The Sky is Falling! Really? 

For reasons that will become obvious, I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the parable of the farmer walking down a rural road who came across a tiny sparrow, lying along side the road on his back, with his little feet up in the air. 

“What are you doing?” said the farmer to the sparrow. “I heard that the sky is falling and I want to do my best to hold it up,” responded the little bird. “That’s ridiculous,” declared the farmer. “First of all, the sky isn’t falling . . . And secondly, even if it is, your tiny feet won’t help very much.” “Well,” said the sparrow with determination, “One does what one can.” 

I feel a bit like the sparrow these days, bombarded as I am with the daily reports about the decline and fall of the Catholic Church. “The sky is falling,” reports seem to confirm. 

“Catholic weddings drop 71 percent in R.I.” announces one local headline, with the story not bothering at all to document a similar decline in weddings in other denominations and across the nation. 

A letter from an individual in New York, sent to all the bishops of the United States, proclaims that “No intelligent Catholic can deny that there is a serious crisis in faith and morals in the Church. The lack of faith being shown here is frightening.” To document his argument, the letter writer points to the planned gathering of religious leaders in Assisi in October, “where false gods will be invoked,” and the fact that some priests fail to genuflect during the consecration at the Mass. 

A letter from a friend in Pittsburgh laments the development of a Church that is peopled by, “a large contingent of secretive, sometimes power-hungry, reactionary cardinals and bishops; and a lower clergy increasingly enamored with its own exalted position who with many in the hierarchy are regressing to a former triumphal, controlling, irrelevant, pietistic, fundamentalist state.”

Bishop Tobin concluded his column with this great thought about the past, present and future of the Church and its mission:

A famous theologian wrote this assessment about the Church: “People look upon the Church and say, ‘She is about to die. Soon her very name will disappear. There will be no more Christians; they have had their day.’”

 Now it’s instructive to note that this rather dour prediction came not from the scribes of the “National Catholic Reporter” or the “New York Times.” This description of a dying Church was referenced by St. Augustine, 1600 years ago – a rather compelling reminder, I think, that the Church in every age has known its struggles and failures.

Does the Catholic Church of today have challenges, problems and failures? You bet. But I love this Church, I’m enormously proud of this Church, and despite my own limitations, imperfections and sins I’m going to work very hard to support its mission and ministry for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. Why? Well simply because “one does what one can.”

Click here for the rest of the column.

Thank you Bishop Tobin for being a true shepherd to the people of our Diocese. May God bless you and guide you in your ministry.

Bishop Tobin also recently did an interview with The Catholic World Report titled "Rediscovering Courage and Conviction where he discusses the problems of our culture and also the importance of truly living our faith in our daily lives. Below is a brief excerpt where he discusses authentic faith:

 If our faith is authentic, it is effective and makes a difference in our daily lives. We can’t compartmentalize our lives, going to church for an hour on Sunday and then acting like pagans for the rest of the week. If our faith is authentic, then it touches every part of our lives: our work, our family lives, our community involvement, and the activities with which we entertain ourselves.

That has been one of the great failures of many of us in the Church—we do not incorporate our faith into our daily lives. Jesus said Christians are the salt of the earth and light of the world [Mt 5:13, 14]. As the Second Vatican Council taught, our faith is supposed to transform us, and then we move out into the secular world and transform it into the Kingdom of God.

It is an outstanding interview and well worth the time to read it. After reading this interview and his column above, you will understand why shepherds like Bishop Tobin are a blessing to our Church.

Why am I Catholic?

Wow! That is the only way I can describe how I feel about this awesome video.

The Catholic Church in the Obama Era

I have posted a link below to the keynote address of Dr. Charles E. Rice to the national meeting of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists held at Holy Cross College in Notre Dame, Ind on Oct. 22. I can urge you strongly enough to read this. It is a brilliant and passionate speech about the challenges facing us as a Church in today's society. I only wish more priests and bishops would be as bold and courageous in their homilies.

Click here to read the speech: The Catholic Church in the Obama Era

It is a long speech but well worth the time to read it. Please consider sharing this speech with others, as it contains an important message that all Christians need to read.  I posted a few excerpts below highlighting some of Dr. Rice's powerful statements on our government, culture, and our Church:

On Obama and the Government:

It is, unfortunately, credible to say that Catholics played a major role in putting the Obama Regime in power. Highly visible Catholic academics, Catholic politicians who obey their own magisterium, and Catholic clerics and publicists, paved the way for Catholic voters and others to fall for "hope and change." Sadly, there is precedent. For a comparable example of the rapid concentration of executive power by a legally installed regime, we have to look to Germany in 1933. Adolf Hitler was named Chancellor on January 30. He consolidated his power over the next few weeks. The decisive event was the Reichstag's approval of the Enabling Act on March 23, 1933, by which it ceded full and irrevocable powers to Hitler. That was the point of no return. The Enabling Act received the needed two-thirds vote only because it was supported by the Catholic party, the Centre Party. [1]

Obamacare, enacted with the decisive support of Catholic members of Congress, is the Enabling Act of our time in the wide-ranging control it cedes to government over the lives of the people, including the takeover of student aid. Why are student loans in the health care bill? The common denominator is control. No student can now get a federally guaranteed educational loan without the consent of a federal bureaucrat. This can make political loyalty a test for educational advancement, as it was in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

No Matter What

This is an awesome video tribute to the Catholic martyrs of the last century.



These heroes willingly gave their lives for their faith. When are the rest of us going to finally wake up and take a stand for our faith like these great men? What are we waiting for to follow their examples and truly live like a Catholic? The martyrs in this tribute sacrificed everything for Christ, yet how many of us are afraid to speak up out of political correctness or eagerly sell out our Catholic morals for the sake of personal financial gain?

God is calling you to live your faith to the end, no matter what.

A Faith Unshaken

This is an awesome video from CatholicMountain.com an online network for men of faith. This video contains a powerful message for all men in that God is calling us to

"Stand as a Brotherhood United, and live by a faith unshaken, to testify to the Truth."



Every Christian man needs to watch this video to remind themselves who we are and what we are called by God to do.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen and Defending the Faith

Please watch this video below and you will understand why the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, Servant of God is one of my heroes. I can only imagine how different our Church and our faith if more people displayed the same passion and courage in defending Catholicism as Archbishop Sheen. Please keep in your prayers his cause for canonization.

On a related note please pray for and support Archbishop John Neinstedt who has been attacked in the media lately for defending traditional marriage and refusing to give communion to gay protesters at a mass recently. It is a blessing to have bishops like this following in the footsteps of Archbishop Sheen in defending our Church from those who wish to replace the truth with false teachings.Let's not forget that it is not just the responsibility of bishops and priest to defend our faith. It is the duty of all of us lay Catholics as well. Pray that God will grant us the courage and grace to defend our faith in the appropriate way whenever we are faced with that challenge.

Thank you Micahel Voris and RealCatholicTV.com for the awesome story in this video.

Related articles

• Gay activists denied communion
• Archbishop John Nienstedt: Episcopal Courage in Defending Marriage and Family 

Catholics Rank Poorly in Religious Knowledge Survey

Some of you may have seen in the news the results of the latest survey from the Pew Forum which tested the religious knowledge of average Americans. Catholics ranked behind Atheists, Jews, Mormons, and Protestants in the number of questions correctly answered. This survey asked 32 questions on the beliefs of many various religions, so it's not surprising that people would have difficulty answering questions about beliefs other than their own. What I found most disturbing was that according to this survey 45% of Catholics did not know that the Eucharist is not symbolic but the real body and blood of Christ. Fr. Steve Grunow from Word on Fire Ministries had some strong comments about this sad fact on his blog:

The recent Pew Forum survey confirms data published years ago that indicated that Catholics understanding of the Eucharist is deplorably inadequate. More than four in ten Catholics (45%) do not know that the Church teaches that presence of Christ in the Eucharist is not merely symbolic. Whatever efforts the Church took years ago to correct this deficiency has proved to be woefully inadequate. The Second Vatican Council declared the Eucharist to be the source and summit of the Christian life. If the Pew survey is to be believed, this declaration has fallen mostly on deaf or indifferent ears.

Based on these results, it's easy to see why so many Catholics either fall away from their faith or become just lukewarm. If 45% percent of Catholics don't know the Church teaching on the Eurcharist, then one can only imagine what else in regards to their faith that they don't know. This is a big reason why so many Catholics support politicians and groups that advocate pro-abortion and anti-family policies. These Catholics don't know their faith well enough to defend Church teaching and are easily convinced to vote otherwise. While I agree with Fr. Grunow that religious education has been "woefully inadequate", I also feel that some of that  responsibility falls on us as lay Catholics. We have to take that initiative and continually strive to learn more about our faith as well as educate our children on it.  Unfortunately, many of us have followed the secular world's example and have chosen to fill our days with our careers, sports, and other material pleasures, leaving no room for religion.

The Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail

I am not usually a fan of rap music, but I just couldn't resist passing this video along. It is a rap song by rapper and Catholic convert Akalyte. His song is about Christ's promise in Matthew 16:18, where He said that the gates of Hell would never prevail against the Church.

It is an awesome song with a powerful message and it is probably the only time you will hear the voice of the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen in a rap song.

Thank you Akalyte for showing us what it means to be proud to be Catholic.


















Related Links:

• Akalyte’s Conversion Story 
• Akalyte’s website 

Catholic Heroes

This is an outstanding video from Michael Voris at RealCatholicTV. He speaks about the current state of our Catholic Church and what it means to be a true Catholic hero in a world with so much evil.



Please click on the link above to visit RealCatholicTV's Youtube page or click here to visit their homepage at RealCatholicTV.com.

The Holy Spirit at Work in the Church

It seems as if you can't turn on the news or read a newspaper today without some so-called journalist attacking the Church and the Pope with lies and distorted facts. Just look at headlines over the past several months. Old stories of sex-abuse allegations in the US and Europe were being dragged out and twisted in every way possible just to find even the most remote link to Pope Benedict XVI. I am not trying to deny or make light of the pain suffered by the victims of these predatory priests. However, it is sickening to see how enemies of the Church exploit the victims of these crimes in order to unjustly implicate the Pope who has done more than anyone else in the Church to clean out this filth.

In the face of this anti-Catholic crusade by the media, faithful Catholics shouldn't forget that the Holy Spirit has not abandoned the Church. As evidenced by the recent stories below, the Holy Spirit is leading the Church into what Pope John Paul II called the "new springtime."

The Coming Vocation Explosion 
Wisconsin men’s group spreading nationwide, emphasizes restoration of the sacred 

The mainstream media choose to ignore the fact that God is blessing us with workers to rebuild his church. Throughout history, each time the Church has been plagued with scandals, God has called forth great saints to restore His Church. Many seminaries and convents are reporting significant increases in the number of men and women entering to answer God's call. It is also worth noting that these young seminarians and postulants are very devout and orthodox in their faith. It is a true sign of the Holy Spirit that some religious orders are looking the build new facilities to accommodate their growing numbers. That is the type of vocation crisis we need more of.

Christian Persecution and a Catholicism of Resistance

I have admired for some time Archbishop Charles Chaput of the Archdiocese of Denver. He is an outspoken shepherd who is not afraid to stand up for true orthodox Catholic teachings. He recently addressed the Canon Law Association of Slovakia where it was apparent that he has also become a prophetic voice for our times.

A Catholicism of Resistance: Archbishop Charles Chaput's Prophetic Voice

In the article above, Deacon Keith Fournier highlights Archbishop Chaput's speech. I strongly recommend that you read the entire article, as it is well worth the time. The Archbishop's words are powerful as he boldly describes the growing threats to Christianity, in particular, a "state-encouraged atheism". He also suggests what we as Catholics can do to truly live our faith and oppose this "secularization" and "de-Christianization" in our society. At the end of the article, there is a link where you can read his entire address. It is a lengthy read, but very eye-opening and worth the time. I pasted below two excerpts from Archbishop Chaput's speech that I thought were brillant and extremely accurate.

 We face an aggressively secular political vision and a consumerist economic model that result - in practice, if not in explicit intent -- in a new kind of state-encouraged atheism. To put it another way: The Enlightenment-derived worldview that gave rise to the great murder ideologies of the last century remains very much alive. Its language is softer, its intentions seem kinder, and its face is friendlier. But its underlying impulse hasn't changed -- i.e., the dream of building a society apart from God; a world where men and women might live wholly sufficient unto themselves, satisfying their needs and desires through their own ingenuity. This vision presumes a frankly "post-Christian" world ruled by rationality, technology and good social engineering. Religion has a place in this worldview, but only as an individual lifestyle accessory. People are free to worship and believe whatever they want, so long as they keep their beliefs to themselves and do not presume to intrude their religious idiosyncrasies on the workings of government, the economy, or culture.

We live in a time when the Church is called to be a believing community of resistance. We need to call things by their true names. We need to fight the evils we see. And most importantly, we must not delude ourselves into thinking that by going along with the voices of secularism and de-Christianization we can somehow mitigate or change things. Only the Truth can set men free. We need to be apostles of Jesus Christ and the Truth he incarnates.