Introducing Prosper Resale, Inc

- by Rachel Lam (President, Prosper Resale, Inc.)

Prosper, TX (MetroCatholic) – Introducing Prosper Resale, Inc., a nonprofit resale store benefiting North Texas Catholic crisis pregnancy centers; The White Rose Women’s Center, Birth Choice as well as other local Catholic charities.

By receiving donations of clothing, small household items, toys, books, décor, etc. and re-selling to the community, we raise much needed funds for the life saving work of these prolife organizations.

As the Respect Life ministry leader at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Frisco for several years, I’ve been immersed in many prolife activities… The beauty of witnessing babies lives being saved is truly is a blessing, and offering even the smallest contribution to that effort is a miraculous gift. Unfortunately, there are also the women who suffer the after-effects of abortion who are in need of the healing ministries provided by prolife outreach as well.

This is why I’ve started Prosper Resale, Inc. We are here to offer aid to the organizations that are doing that life saving, heart healing prolife work.

Prosper Resale is accepting donations during our ‘Stock the Store’ party, Saturday, August 28th from 8 – 2 pm. The projected store opening will be Labor Day Weekend. We are located at 117 West Broadway, Suite B
Prosper, TX 75078.

Come on up the road a piece and check out our little shoppe! For more information e-mail me at rachel@prosperresale.com, or visit our website; www.prosperresale.com.

Thanks and God Bless You!

Rachel Lam
President, Prosper Resale, Inc

Bishop Vann Reflects on First Five Years

See video here.

Bishop Farrell: Something new is springing forth

From Bishop Kevin Farrell’s Blog:

There are certain sure signs that summer is coming to an end: one is the Cowboys’ training camp another is the realization that school will start in a couple of weeks. If you are an early riser you have also noticed that you are getting up in the dark again.

In spite of the calendar years, lunar, solar or liturgical, our lives are governed much more by the school year and the seasons than anything else. School resumes in the fall (only now it is the late summer), it ends in the spring and summer is for vacation.

Fall is a time for new beginnings. Little ones begin school, middle ones begin high school and older ones go off to college, many on their own for the first time. It is also a time of change and apprehension as we venture into the unknown and leave the comfort of the familiar behind.

This is not just true for our families but also for our parishes. Several of our parishes have new pastors or new parochial vicars, four of our parochial schools have new principals and a number of parishes have new parish catechetical leaders (PCLs) the new designation for directors of religious education.

It is easy to forget that these new leaders are also venturing into the unknown and leaving behind the comfort of the familiar. For them as well as for our students it is a time of challenge but more importantly, it is a time of opportunity. It is a time to build, a time to learn, a time to grow. It’s a time to see God’s hand at work in their lives.

Second Isaiah put it well: “See, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth. Do you not perceive it? (Is 43:19) He was calling on the Israelites to see God’s hand at work in the end of their exile.

God’s hand is present in every new opportunity if we just take time to perceive it.

Youth For Life Pro-Life Boot Camp; July 30 – August 4, 2010 at the University of Dallas, Irving, Texas

From the CPLC:

Youth For Life Pro-Life Boot Camp is one of the best opportunities for young people to become involved in the work of the pro-life movement.
Pro-Life Boot Camp is for high school and home-schooled students ages 14 and up.  Last summer (2009) more than 100 teens and adults participated in Pro-Life Boot Camp.
Activities include praying at Dallas and Fort Worth area abortion mills, talks from experts on the theology of the Body and pro-life issues, skits, pro-life testimonials, Mass and the Sacraments and volunteer projects.

Pro-Life Boot Camp needs Chaperones (cleared adults 21 and over) to help put on the event.

Space is limited and we will sell out – guaranteed!

http://www.prolifedallas.org/pages/Boot_Camp
Pro-Life Boot Camp is co-sponsored by the Catholic Pro-Life Committee of Dallas and Catholics Respect Life of Fort Worth.

CFR Father Andrew Apostoli will be in North Texas next week for three special speaking events

CFR Father Andrew Apostoli will be in North Texas next week for three special speaking events

Event # 1 A free talk called ‘Getting to Know the Holy Spirit in Your Daily Life’ Thursday, July 22nd    7pm at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish in Keller (2016 Willis Lane Keller, TX 76248) * This event is sponsored by the Guadalupe Radio Network in North Texas.* (a free will offering will be accepted) Event # 2 A free  film and a talk called ‘Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: Servant of All’ Friday, July 23rd    7pm at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish in Keller * These two events will both be held at the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Formation and Ministry Center Auditorium next (just south) to the main church. For additional information on these two events, click on the link below Fr. Apostoli Event # 3 Immaculate Heart of Mary Home School and Parent Conference Friday, July 23rd and Saturday, July 24th Grapevine Convention Center 1209 South Main Street Grapevine, TX 76051 * Father Apostoli will be one of the many wonderful speakers at this conference. For more information this the conference, please click on the link below* http://www.ihmconference.org/northtexas Hope you’re able to make some or all of these events. God bless you! Dave Palmer Guadalupe Radio Network North Texas

Tune in to ‘The Good News‘ each Monday from 12 noon – 1pm on KATH 910 AM for more information on this and other Catholic events in South Texas.

Who Will Be Victorious?; Vicksburg Leadership Retreat

The men and boys of Kepha’s St. Peter chapter meets the enemy on the battlefield to conquer sin and death.  Who will be victorious?

-by Andrew Smith

Vicksburg, MS (MetroCatholic) – At first we thought it was unusual that our end-of-year retreat at Vicksburg National Military Park for Kepha’s Leadership Retreat was accompanied by the hottest, most muggiest weather any of us Texans (some born and bred here) had ever experienced.  One of our members called it “Africa-Hot.” But by the end of our weekend on the battlefield, exploring the campaign and siege of Vicksburg, having fun and experiencing dynamic orthodoxy and infectious joy, we realized that the heat of the sun was a symbol of the heat of hell that awaited us if we did not win the battle against sin.  Such is the challenge put before all of us and one we enthusiastically take up in Kepha, the Brotherhood of the Iron Will.

Kepha rallies around 5 anchors: prayer, apologetics, brotherhood, mortification and charity via monthly retreats and shared daily prayers in an attempt to ascend “Towards the Top!” a phrase that one of our Big Three, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati used to encourage others to get to Heaven. 

After a year of retreats in the Dallas-area, we head to Vicksburg, Mississippi to spend the weekend on the battlefield that commemorates the famous Civil War battle of 1863.  The purpose of the retreat was simple: Apply strategies learned on the battlefield of war to the battlefield of the soul.   We would study leadership and strive to imitate the examples of those who were victorious.  Not always easy to do, because as we learned, sometimes sacrificing yourself completely was the only means to victory.  It was the example of Christ himself, the original Man of an Iron Will. 

We learned about General Grant and his risky strategy to take Vicksburg, the “Gibraltar of the South.”  We saw that hesitation in the face of a deadly enemy who is relentlessly pursuing you can have fatal consequences.   We learned about bloodshed and sacrifice.  We looked in awe as we observed just how close the lines between the opposing armies were during the siege and asked how it was possible anyone came out alive at all?

We learned about Brigadier General  Lloyd Tilghman, CSA, the famous Confederate leader who sacrificed his own life so that his army could live to fight another day.   

After lunch we played dodgeball , a sport that is not considered nice, but we do it anyways, because we know that boys must learn to get up after being hit.  The boys of Kepha positively scream in angst if we don’t schedule enough dodge ball time on a retreat. 

And since it would not be right to come to a Civil War battlefield and not engage in a little warfare ourselves, we fill some balloons with water and split up into teams.  One team climbs a tall hill, plants a flag and dares the other team to take it.  This is a challenge that is irresistible and the boys are innovative in developing a strategy to take it every time.  By the time the third assault team sweeps up the hill, the defenders are taking cover in an abandoned motel and raining down water balloons like an artillery barrage at Gettysburg.  Yet, they left a weak spot and to exploit it John Peter climbs onto the shoulders of Brandon to grab the flag from a second story anchor and the attackers take the flag for the third and final time.   Brotherhood, again, wins the day.

We head to the cathedral-like structure that is the Illinois monument to pray the Divine Mercy chaplet and in the midst of a crowd of tourists, we kneel to give thanks and remember the sacrifices of those who went before us.   I was tempted to speak softly so as not to disturb the roaming tourists, but not 7 year old Joseph, who promptly kneels down and recites the prayers in his normal voice that penetrates the area.  As I watched him pray, with eyes shut tight and head turned towards the heavens, I was reminded that I have so much to learn and that prayer is a God-given right and not something to be ashamed of. 

We move on to the north-east end of the battlefield where “states-rights” Josh  practices mortification by doing a battlefield report on someone he does not like, General Ulysses S. Grant.  But he smiles and does it anyways.    

Our act of charity for the retreat was to pick up any trash we saw on the battlefield, but by the end of the day, none of the boy’s bags were full as the battlefield is kept immaculate.  Imagine if we too kept our souls so clean so that no one would have to come after us to pick up the mess?

We end the day climbing all over a might war-ship risen again, the USS Cairo.  This deadly iron-clad man-of-war was mighty in its time but was sunk by a hastily-put together torpedo that probably should not have worked at all.  As we look over the re-built wreckage, we realize that even the mightiest among us can fall, but that to get back up again is the true measure of our worth. 

But the thing that really raises the lump in our throats is the crosswalk through the National Cemetery where 17,000 Union soldiers are buried, most of their names unknown except to God alone.  As we march through the cemetery in silence holding our crosses, the voices of the soldiers cry out to us as if one.  Their message is clear: Take up the mantle of freedom, pass it onto the next generation, raise up men to be strong in their Faith.  On top of a graveyard hill in the cemetery, we realize that death is the price of victory.  Death on a battlefield, death on a cross, death to ourselves and to our own wants.  It has to be this way.  The old has to make way for the new and men must, once again, take up the bitterness of the cross today so that future generations will be free. 

Sunday morning we are given a lesson in brotherhood when 12 year old Austen is given the “spirit of brotherhood” award at the end of the retreat and when asked to give a speech, he breaks down and acknowledges that he has been disrespectful and does not deserve the award, a beautiful new leather-bound bible, which he promptly hands to another boy who he says deserves it more.  We all pause because we don’t know what to say.  Where else will a 12 year old learn about brotherhood in this way?

After working through discussions of whether or not the Civil War was fought over states-rights or slavery, we head to Mass where the readings were from St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians, exhorting them to “stand fast, therefore,  and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”   We might still be fighting the Civil War here on earth but the Man upstairs clearly has it all figured out. 

Kepha will start its 13^th year in September 2010 and future retreat themes will cover Pope John Paul the Great’s landmark encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), Pro-Life Apologetics, the Rosary, the Eucharist, the Fathers of the Church, a Chastity retreat  and much more.   If you are father with sons or no sons, or a single man, clergy or seminarian, then we invite you to attend one of our retreats and experience Dynamic Orthodoxy, Infectious Joy for yourself.   And as Blessed Pier Giorgio, one of Kepha’s Big Three, used to say, “May God give you iron will, that does not bend and does not fail in his projects.” 

Andrew Smith is a Regional Director for Kepha based in Texas.  For more information visit www.kepharocks.org. 

Freedom, Justice, Liberty, and Death

- by George Vogt

Little Elm, TX (MetroCatholic) – My now annual July 3rd post, dusted off and given a different title:

Tomorrow, we will celebrate our country’s independence, yet we should not forget our total dependence on God.

We celebrate life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We consider ourselves a “Just” nation.

However, we are a nation that does not recognize the value of life from the moment of conception until natural death.

Metaphysics proves that, at the moment of conception, a “human being” does indeed exist. In short, at the moment of conception, a new and unique set of human DNA exists. This DNA, while obviously having characteristics of the father and the mother, is clearly not the father’s or the mother’s. It is a unique human being. Additionally, many would have us believe that the value of one’s life is dependant on his/her ability to be a “productive” human being. Created by God, we share in the dignity of “the image of God”.

The definition of liberty has been so twisted that even Webster now says one meaning is to do whatever one wishes. Surely this was never the intent of the “founding fathers” of our country as this promotes anarchy. Worth noting is a quote from Anton Levay (founder of the church of Satan in the USA) “Do what thy wilt shall be the whole of the law”. Various atheistic groups and even some who claim to be Christian hold that any form of religion is suppressive and that this nation should be freed from the values of the Natural Law in favor of self and self-reliance.

Many people believe that the pursuit of happiness means a guarantee of happiness. Our nation should always help those truly in need, but it should never confuse helping someone with blindly throwing money and resources at a person (or problem). Financial assistance without training, guidance, and accountability hurts, not helps one. This requires true empathy.

Justice is one of the four Cardinal Virtues. The other three are Prudence, Fortitude, and Temperance. As I consider whether we are truly just, I look to guidance from the Church to help me to understand such a complex topic:

Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor. Justice toward God is called the “virtue of religion.” Justice toward men disposes one to respect the rights of each and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good. The just man, often mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures, is distinguished by habitual right thinking and the uprightness of his conduct toward his neighbor. “You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.” “Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.” CCC

I love this country. There is NO better place to live. However, true patriotism does not mean following blindly nor ignoring that which needs to be corrected or improved. True freedom attains perfection only when it is directed toward God.
———————————————
From “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America” In Congress, July 4, 1776

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Former New Age Instructor & Hollywood Actress, Sharon Lee Giganti speaks at 910 KATH Radio Event

by: Lori Miller

McKinney, TX (MetroCatholic)

It is a real treat to listen to a talented speaker, and even more fantastic when that person speaks about her passion.  But, when that passion is all wrapped up in love for Christ, the experience becomes an exceptional event.  I was treated to this special blessing at the recent GRN(Guadalupe Radio Network) Speaker Series event.  Former Hollywood actress and New Age instructor,  Sharon Lee Giganti presented “The New age Deception”, where she spoke of the dangers of the New Age movement  while artfully interweaving  her own testimony to deliver a powerful message about the all-consuming power and love of the one true God.  Giganti’s story is a wonderful testament to how God can make “beauty rise from ashes.”

Giganti was baptized a Catholic and received Catholic education until the 8^th grade.  During the remainder of her teen years, she fell away from the Catholic faith.  As she looks back on this experience, she realized that the Catholic education she received was watered down and did not give her a foundation.  She did not know the truths of the faith as she entered adulthood.  At the height of her acting career, she began looking for something more to life.  She asked a “spiritual friend” how to come to know God and grow spiritually.  That person recommended a book entitled A Science of Mind.  She devoured it and another book called New Design for Living.  In these books, she learned about New Age theology and philosophy, which began her path to believing that it was the key to happiness.  Soon after, she was a follower of the spirit guide who called himself Abraham.  This spirit was channeled through a woman named Ester Hicks.  Since her reconversion to the Catholic faith, Giganti has concluded that this spirit is a demon rather than the self-portrayed loving spirit who offered help and wisdom from the non-physical world.  (Giganti shared that at one point, the spirit Abraham said he was “legion” which is the same name the demons used when Jesus casted them out of a man in Luke 8:26-39.)  While following the teachings of the spirit Abraham, Giganti learned how to live a life worthy of a New Age believer:  a life that would ultimately lead to tragic events and circumstances.

Many of the New Age philosophies are counter-Christian and much of it is borrowed from other world religions (Sufism, Hindu, Zen, and Buddhism).   The spirit Abraham taught about the “Law of Attraction”, which states that one creates one’s own reality with one’s thoughts.  Simply put, if you think about good things, then you will attract good things; if you are happy, then you will attract things that make you happy.  This teaching was further popularized with the book The Secret, which has achieved nationwide popularity thanks to Oprah Winfrey. Additionally, the book A Course in Miracles, has become a popular instruction manual for the New Age movement, along with writings by Marianne Williamson and Eckhart Tolle (A New Earth) and other self proclaimed new age experts.  In all of these New Age teachings, counter-Christian philosophy abounds, such as:

• There is no sin; no right nor wrong; no good nor bad
• God is everyone and everything.  The human soul is God.
• You have many lifetimes to live, so if life isn’t going well, then you will have another chance to get it right
• You are a super being and create your own reality with your thoughts.  You are free to do anything you want because you are the only thing real in your reality.  Everything else is an illusion or a “psychic nightmare”
• There is no death.  One “reemerges” back into God.
• Your feelings and desires are your wisest guidance system. No desire is unacceptable and no place is off-limits.
• The devil and hell do not exist (the spirit Abraham said that “the Devil is a whole bunch of hoopla about a whole bunch of nothing.”)
• You attract good things by thinking about good things.  You must accept that there are bad things in the world for other people to attract.  When you are feeling joy, bliss, or ecstasy, you are connected to your God-force.  When you are feeling sadness or despair, then you are cutting yourself off from your God-force.

With these teachings, Giganti found that, instead of growing more loving, she grew more callous.  She shunned those who were suffering because she did not want think about suffering and thus loose her God connection.  She realized that she became more animal-like than human.  Using these teachings, she counseled others, which sometimes led them to engage in destructive behaviors such as abortions, adultery, and divorce.  After three horrific tragedies in her life, she came to realize that the teachings in the Bible are truth and that Christ is the Word Incarnate.

The first tragedy involved a young girl who was seeking council on end-of-life issues, particularly suicide.  She wanted to know if suicide was acceptable, and if her family would be devastated by her self-inflicted death.  Giganti counseled her using the teachings of the spirit Abraham.  She told her that every death was a suicide, since we decide when we re-emerge into the non-physical dimension.  Since there is neither good nor bad, suicide was wrong only if she thought it was wrong.  She further explained that her family would not be devastated if she could imagine that they wouldn’t.  This young girl took her own life the next day.  This event was tragic, but it did not pull Giganti away from the new age way of life.  It did not occur to her to ask the girl why she wanted to end her life, because the conversation would engage Giganti in the girl’s suffering and pull her away from her good thoughts and God force.  She wasn’t saddened by the girl’s death because she didn’t really die; according to the spirit Abraham’s teachings, she just reemerged into the non-physical world.

The second tragedy involved another young girl who was a student in The Course in Miracles.  She used New Age thought to rationalize her erratic and destructive behavior.  She would frequently leave her young kids alone to go out and party.  As long as she thought her kids were fine, then that is the reality she created for herself.  She continued to spiral down this destructive path and disappear on binges for days at a time.  She finally decided to wake up from her “psychic nightmare” by putting her kids in the car and driving into a brick wall.  Thankfully, she did not have the opportunity to act on this decision because her kids were taken away from her by CPS, and she was committed to a psychiatric hospital.

The final tragedy hit closest to home.  Her brother battled his own demons through addiction.  As his addictions took hold of him, his behavior became more destructive.  She chose not to reach out to him.  Instead, she decided the best way to deal with his situation was to visualize a better life for him.  She counseled her family to do the same.  They did not intervene or offer the help he needed to turn his life around.  His behavior worsened and tragedy struck when he decided to take the life of his four-month-old son.  He rationalized that he was doing the baby a favor by not having to live in this world.  Her brother is now serving a life sentence for murder without the possibility of parole.

The tragic events that lead to the death of her nephew at the hands of her brother shook her to the core.  She began to question the New Age teachings because they had failed to save her nephew and brother.  She reached out to some new age friends who were reading the Bible, and she decided to check it out.  After reading the Bible, she became convinced that the teachings it contained were the Truth.  This began her walk back to the Catholic faith.  Eventually, she returned home and gave Jesus the ashes of her life destroyed in the fire of the New Age movement.

Giganti has a new mission in life: she seeks “to help others learn the dangers of New Age thinking” and to show them how “Jesus Christ leads to life, and any other way leads to destruction.”  She says that people are attracted to New Age thinking because it lets them feel in control of their own lives.  It relieves guilt and suffering, giving people a false freedom because it teaches that the only real being in one’s reality is one’s self.  These teachings are attractive but they are false.  Giganti knows first-hand how this path leads one only to sadness and tragedy.  The New Age movement teaches one to live a self-centered lifestyle with little regard to the consequences of morally wrong choices.  Once these choices are made, the consequences are real and the life of the new age follower and those around her suffers or is destroyed.  Following the teachings of Christ is what leads the Children of God to life, truth, love and joy.

Giganti urges us to know the truths of our faith.  We should be lifelong learners in the faith and pass that knowledge and passion on to our children.  If we know and follow the teachings of Christ, then we will be able to discern what philosophies and activities are counter-Christian and fall under the new age movement.  She warns that the diabolical tools used by mediums such as tarot cards, rune stones, and Ouija boards are very real. In the world of Harry Potter, Twilight and The Wizards of Waverly Place, our children need to know the dangers of such activities.  We must instill in them the desire to live in the light of God and not be attracted to the darkness of the world.  She also reminds us that the supernatural power of God cannot be harnessed by man.  Any energy called upon to heal body, mind, and soul is not from God.  God is the great healer whom we should call upon in our hour of need.  Exposing ourselves to such practices puts our lives and souls in close proximity to diabolical forces.

Giganti’s courage not only to walk away from the New Age movement, but to speak out against it is truly inspiring.  As a former New Age instructor, her public denouncing of New Age thought and reasoning takes an incredible amount of courage and faith.  And she does this out of love for her brothers and sisters in Christ.  Just as Christ doesn’t want to lose even one sheep from his flock, Giganti doesn’t want to lose anymore brothers and sisters to this destructive movement.  Her heart is beating with great love for our Lord and his flock.  Let us all pray for the success of the mission Christ has called her to live.

And big thanks to GRN for bringing Sharon Lee Giganti to the DFW area!

Lori is a stay-at-home mom to her two boys and the children she loves on during the day at her home daycare.  She loving supports her Husband’s calling as a High School Band Director.  Originally from New Orleans, she was raised in the Southern Baptist Church and converted to the Catholic faith while in college.  When she has a rare free moment, she writes as a volunteer columnist for www.catholicmom.com and also publishes her thoughts and musings at www.lorislifeandtimes.blogspot.com.

KATH 910 AM & KJON 850 AM Speakers Series Presents Sharon Lee Giganti

Sharon’s conversion story reveals how her “New Age” influence may have unwittingly played a part in several personal horrific tragedies, and how God’s Saving Word brought her out of that spiritual darkness and into the Light of Truth! Her eye-witness testimony exposes the hazardous aspects of recent New Age block-busters such as “The Secret,” “A Course in Miracles” and Eckhart Tolle’s “A New Earth”— and in doing so, actually reinforces the saving Truths of The Catholic Faith. Sharon is a regular guest on Catholic Answers Live and is a national speaker. Visit www.NewAgeDeception.com for more information.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

6:30 pm Hors d’oeuvres — 7:00 pm Presentation

Frontiers of Flight Museum

6911 Lemmon Ave, Dallas Texas

(Southeast corner of Love Field Airport)

SHARON LEE – FLYER

Living With Passion

I heard a wise father once say “If I can just instill passion in my children’s heart for their faith and their God, then the rest will come.”  He is right.  Facilitating the desire for God is our vocation as parents.  And there is no better way to facilitate that desire than to model our passion for God to our children.  Sharing our passion with our children shows them who we really are and what we really value.  Our true hearts are reflected in our passion.  Ultimately, our children will learn that passion is what people seek.  Because discovery of our passion is where we find our true selves.  Living with passion gives our lives purpose and our souls peace.

Catholics call Jesus’ last day on this earth His passion.  And it’s because His willing death is a true reflection of His heart which burns with great divine love for mankind.  Love is Jesus’ passion and He showed us the boundless depths of himself and of His passion by willingly giving up His unblemished life for love of our unworthy souls.  Jesus models passion for us just as we should model it for our children.

I have thought that I have found my passion at different points in my life.  First, it was music.  Then it was teaching.  Of course I am very passionate about my family.  But this week I think I found my true burning passion.  I have been trying to put my finger on it since I was a teenager with little success.  I now know that my heart was still forming and you have to have heart before you can have passion.  As I reflect on all the moments that led me to my God, and then to the Catholic Church and see them in the light of the events of this week, it all makes sense.  Everything ties so perfectly together and has brought me to this moment of discovery.

I think I can safely say that I had a very different experience growing up in the Southern Baptist Church than many of my Catholic brothers and sisters.  The focus of my spiritual upbringing was on a personal relationship with Jesus.  It was discussed constantly.  We were encouraged to talk to Jesus, to turn to him in our hour of need, to celebrate with him in our hour of triumph, and to love him with all of our being.  I was taught a simple faith devoid of all the rich history and tradition.  Our only focus was to discover the love the Lord had for us and then to love Him back.  It was a great experience and a vital part of my spiritual journey.  Although I am somewhat jealous of the knowledge “cradle Catholics” have of the church, I wouldn’t trade my upbringing in the Baptist Church for anything.  It was in this church where Jesus found me, watched me grow, challenged me, loved me and called me to Himself.

Walking away from the Baptist church hurt.  My faith was challenged on many levels.  It was like leaving home knowing you are not welcome back.  Even though I know if I walked back into a Baptist church today they would welcome me with open arms, I still feel like I can’t go back.  I left because my faith was challenged and the church of my childhood could not provide answers.   Jesus placed people in my life that could answer my questions and light the path to the Catholic Church.  When I arrived in the Catholic Church, my faith was still challenged.  The Catholic Church was very different from faith in which I was raised.  For a long while, it felt like I had no home.  I was that weird Catholic who prayed to Jesus in my own words.  Jesus wasn’t distant to me like He was to many of my Catholic friends.  Many of those friends disconnected their faith from their everyday life.  I was confused by that and I missed sharing my faith journey with my brothers and sisters in Christ.  For a number of years, my life in the Catholic Church was lonely.  But I couldn’t leave it.  Jesus was there.  I was hungry for the Eucharist.  I was lonely for community but filled with my Lord.

Then I went on the CRHP(Christ Renews His Parish) retreat in my community.  And I found the people who wanted to know and did know the Lord like I did.  I discovered that I was not alone in the Church.  I found the other weird Catholics and I couldn’t have been happier.  Once again, I could share my journey with my brothers and sisters in Christ.  I could sing with them, worship with them, and learn with them.  But what I was most excited for is that I could pray with them.  And I could ask them to pray for me.

While I was praising God for this gift of Christian community, my heart ached for my catholic brothers and sisters who lacked this personal relationship with Jesus.  I have been privy to several conversations recently where it was admitted that the Catholic Church has failed to instill this desire for passion in at least the past two to three generations.  Although the Lord touches us through the Eucharist, Catholics have not been encouraged to seek Him out with their hearts.  The effect of this lack of evangelization by the Church to its own family of believers is still evident in the faith of many Catholics today.

This week, I had the pleasure of being on a mission.  I have been on a core team that brought a Redemptorist Priest and Lay missionary from the Sacred Heart Apostolate to our parish community.  The purpose of the mission is to begin a new ministry where families will enthrone Jesus’ Sacred Heart in their homes and lives.  Now here is the exciting part- by enthroning Jesus in your home, you are engaging him in a personal relationship.  There it is.  There is the answer to my aching heart.  Jesus set this up so perfectly.

I was brought up in an environment where I cultivated a personal, heart to heart relationship with Jesus.  That relationship was culminated when I was received into the Catholic Church- a choice I made through the prompting of the Holy Spirit.  In the Catholic Church, I encountered many Catholics who did not have this personal relationship with Christ.  I was lonely.  I was sad for them.  Little did I realize that Jesus was forming my heart during this time.  When I was ready, he gave me the community I so desperately needed and desired.  He ignited a burning love in my heart for Him and His community.  In this small way, He made my heart like His heart.

And then He called me.  I was kneeling in the fourth row.  It was the second night of the mission- the night where everyone is invited to venerate the cross and then go to reconciliation.  Because I was in the fourth row, I had no idea how many people were in the church.  For a church of our size, 50-70 people usually turn out for special events and we were hoping for such a turn out.  I was so blessed to see over 230 of my brothers and sisters in Christ walk down the aisle one at a time, kiss the cross and then happily stand in very long lines for confession.  My heart expanded with joy.  I felt as if I were in the middle of 230 celebrations of the prodigal son coming home.  I felt as if I were seeing this spectacular event through the eyes of Jesus whose joy overtook every ounce of my being.  The call was very clear.  Promoting a personal heart to heart relationship with Jesus to my brothers and sisters in Christ is my passion.  It is the burning desire of my heart- the heart the Lord has spent 32 years forming in me.

For now, my call is to my parish community.  I am called to promote this ministry.  I am called to evangelize my brothers and sisters and invite them to know the Lord with their hearts.  I am called to outwardly model this heart to heart relationship in my everyday life.  I am called to fervent prayer for my brothers and sisters.  By living this call, I am finally living with passion.  And the endless joy and love placed in my heart will be the fuel for the passionate fire that burns first for my Lord and then for my brothers and sisters in Christ whom the Lord loves more than human hearts can imagine.

Lori is a stay-at-home mom to her two boys and the children she loves on during the day at her home daycare.  She loving supports her Husband’s calling as a High School Band Director.  Originally from New Orleans, she was raised in the Southern Baptist Church and converted to the Catholic faith while in college.  When she has a rare free moment, she publishes her thoughts and musings at www.lorislifeandtimes.blogspot.com.

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