March 2012 Morning Offering Prayer Intentions

Here are the intentions for this month when reciting the Morning Offering:

General: Contribution of Women. That the whole world may recognize the contribution of women to the development of society.

Mission: Persecuted Christians. That the Holy Spirit may grant perseverance to those who suffer discrimination, persecution, or death for the name of Christ, particularly in Asia.

From Dust To Glory

Without the Cross, there can be no empty Tomb.

Without Good Friday, there can be no Easter Sunday.

Without Sacrifice, there can be no Redemption.

Without Death, there can be no Resurrection.

And so we enter Lent, the Church's built-in forty day spiritual retreat.  A time set aside to contemplate the true meaning of why Jesus came into the world:  to save us from sin.  A time for self-examination as to what prevents us from being more authentic disciples.  A time to focus on denying self, taking up our cross, and following the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  A time of fasting so we can truly savor the Eucharistic feast.  A time of almsgiving so we can truly purchase the Pearl of Great Price.  A time of prayer so we can truly announce "Alleluia".

Roughly a quarter of the calendar year to assist us in our journey to eternal life.

Let us pray for a spiritual harvest of thirty-, sixty-, or even a hundred-fold.

The Last Grandparent

My mother called me about an hour ago.  She told me at about 7:50 PM CT her mother, my grandmother, had just past away.

Viola (Nawrocki) Sheely was 92.

She was the last of my grandparents to leave this mortal coil.  I have no memories of my paternal grandmother; the best memory of my paternal grandfather was his funeral.  Both died while I was rather young; therefore, the lack of knowledge.  But I grew up visiting my maternal grandparents for many Easters, Thanksgivings, and Christmases, plus the family reunions on that side of the family.  This is where I learned how the "domestic church" became the "domestic diocese".

Funeral services are pending, but my guess it will be this Friday or Saturday.

Please pray for the repose of her soul.

Requiem in pace.

February 2012 Morning Offering Prayer Intention

Here are the intentions for this month when reciting the Morning Offering:

General:  Access to Water. That all peoples may have access to water and other resources needed for daily life. 

Mission:  Health Workers. That the Lord may sustain the efforts of health workers assisting the sick and elderly in the world’s poorest regions.

In "Cultural" Doctrination?

I found this interesting quiz at Dyspeptic Mutterings, Dale Price's wonderfully acerbic 'blog.

How Thick Is Your Bubble? Guest Score » 6 out of 20  (30% ) Result   On a scale from 0 to 20 points, where 20 signifies full engagement with mainstream American culture and 0 signifies deep cultural isolation within the new upper class bubble, you scored between 5 and 8. In other words, you can see through your bubble, but you need to get out more. Quiz School Take this quiz & get your score

How Thick Is Your Bubble? » Quiz Creator

As I commented there, I think it reflects more my personal attitude than my socio-economic status.  As the son of a blue-collar worker, while I appreciate what those folks do, my aptitudes went in a different direction.  I certainly don't think of myself as "better", even if I had found success.

As the song goes, "I still haven't found what I'm looking for."

Looking A Day Over 39

The Culture of Death has just finished celebrating its greatest feast day.  (Uncle Screwtape would be so proud of that sentence.)  They have processed from their holiest shrine to their holiest temple to mark the occasion as they have for the past five decades.  Their high priests have had their say and their scribes will dutifully notate their words.  The ritual is done for another year.

They celebrate the granting of a great "right".  They recall this tremendous gain made in the name of "equality".  They glory in this earned "freedom".

How ironic it is the 39th. anniversary of the Supreme Court decisions of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the rulings which allowed the abortion of human beings in utero to be done at any time during pregnancy for any and no reason, fell on a Sunday this time.  While normally a fixed date, the observation had to be move to the following day, probably because of some statue prohibiting these kind of events on a Sunday.  Why ironic? How in the world could the Culture of Death celebrate on the day when the Resurrection and the Life is remembered? Even Moloch recognizes Jesus Christ and wants nothing to do with Him.

In this, the ultimate battleground, neither side in the Culture War really made any political progress toward their ultimate victory in the past twelve months.  Unfortunately, it is still not a zero sum proposition.  The number of abortions performed in this country since 1973 is estimated to be 53,000,000.  That is roughly a little more than the populations of California and New York combined (according to the latest Census Bureau figures).

Yet, the pro-life side is more animated and rejuvenated than their counterparts.  The partial defunding of Planned Parenthood at state levels was encouraging.  But a bigger motivation comes in the form of this year's election cycle.  They are looking to defeat the incumbent who resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, a president who has given the poor-(pro-)choice crowd all for which they could have hoped.  The abortion mentality is all but cemented into what has been labeled "ObamaCare", the so-called national reform of health care insurance.  The outrage is fueling efforts to make him a one-term president.

But now we look ahead at the next time January 22 comes.  It will be the day after the President of the United States will be publicly inaugurated (since January 20, 2013 will fall on a Sunday).  What meaning these first of the month rituals will have remains to be seen.  All that is known is Washington, DC will be busy for a couple of days.

What the tone of these two feast days in our country will be remains to be seen.

"Losing" Religion

There are people who say they are "spiritual, but not religious".  It implies you can have one without the other, that you can have the internals (spirituality) without the externals (religiosity),that once you get beyond "the rules" you don't need them.  The gentleman who produced this video seems to fall in this category.

He also reminds me of the rich, young man.

I have found two responses to this searcher's inquiry.  The first is from Rev. Lee Nelson, the Rector of St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in Stockton, CA.  The second is from Tom Hoopes, a 'blogger at CatholicVote.org.

"Seek, and you shall find."

(Fedora doff to Fr. Erik Richtsteig of Orthometer for providing the basis of this post through his Facebook page.)

UPDATE (12:28 PM):  Here is a third response, this one from the 'blog Bad Catholic.

More Intercession

As I did when I was seeking work in 2006, I return to the prayer below to aid me in my job search. Efforts have almost grounded to a halt.

++++++++++

Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua:

Good Saint Anthony, in God's providence you have secured for His people many marvelous favors. You have been especially celebrated, good Saint Anthony, for your goodness to the poor and the hungry, for finding employment for those seeking it, for your special care of those who travel, and for keeping safe from harm all who must be away from home. You are widely known also, good Saint Anthony, for securing peace in the family, for your delicate mercy in finding lost things, for safe delivery of messages, and for your concern for women in childbirth. In honoring you, Saint Anthony, for the many graces our Lord grants through your favor, we trustfully and confidently ask your aid in our present need. Pray for us, good Saint Anthony, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

May it be a source of joy, O God, to your Church that we honor the memory of your Confessor and Doctor, Saint Anthony. May his spiritual help always make us strong, and by his assistance may we enjoy an eternal reward. This we ask through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen.

(This post will remain at the top until further notice.)

January 2012 Morning Offering Prayer Intentions

Here are the intentions for this month when reciting the Morning Offering:

General:  Victims of Natural Disasters. That the victims of natural disasters may receive the spiritual and material comfort they need to rebuild their lives. 

Mission:  Dedication to Peace. That the dedication of Christians to peace may bear witness to the name of Christ before all men and women of good will.

Morning/Intentions

Perhaps this is part of your daily prayer life (or, like me, should be on a more consistent basis):

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, reparation for sin, and the reunion of all Christians. I offer them for the intentions of our bishops and of all Apostles of Prayer, and in particular for those recommended by our Holy Father this month.

You may have wondered at times who are the Apostles of Prayer? And what intentions does the Holy Father recommend every month?

The answer to the first question is here.  (By the way, I have met Fr. Kubicki.  He directed a week long Lenten retreat at my home parish in Mankato a few years ago.)

The answer to the second question will be the subject of my next post.  As I have seen on other 'blogs, I will provide those monthly intentions.  They consist of a general intercession and one geared toward missionary word (in a broad sense of the word--think in terms of the final words of St. Matthew's Gospel).

Offer it up.