Regnum Christi

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of [his] disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may [come to] believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name. – John 20:30-31

Each day of the year has something for Catholics to celebrate.  Feast days, Saint birthdays, Holy Days (some of obligation), days to fast, plain old ordinary times when we are blessed to practice our faith.

In my mind ,the two BIG days are Christmas and Easter. Continue reading →

The tabernacle is empty.

Last night’s Mass of the Lord’s Supper was a beautiful liturgy.  The incense.  Glorious music. Washing of the feet.  Procession and repose.

The tabernacle is empty and there is an uneasy aching in my heart, a sense that something – no, someone – is missing.  But my discomfort leaves quickly.  I know that in a couple days the tabernacle will hold my best friend and savior.  All will be as it should be – as it must be.

But today, the tabernacle is empty. Continue reading →

Missionary briefing in Haiti

And you shall be hated by all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved.  – Matthew 10:22

Blessed are you when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake. – Matthew 5:11

Jesus is honest.  Being a Christian is difficult, painful and sometimes life threatening.  Depending on which watchdog group you believe, between a couple thousand and upwards of 90,000 Christians died for their faith in 2016. Continue reading →

Most costly gifts poured out in me,

Bought with my Beloved’s blood,

Freely given, undeserved,

Gushing river, ceaseless flood.

Continue reading →

This past weekend I was visiting a Regnum Christi family for dinner. They are one of those amazing families who always edify you by their testimony and example, in such simple ways.

The meal was delicious; the conversation was full of laughter and faith-filled conversation.

At one point, I suddenly realized how much I was enjoying sharing the evening with them and their family environment. Continue reading →

    “If, then, you seek to know what path to follow, take Christ because he is the way.”  (St. Thomas Aquinas)

Christ came to serve.   We had a big “Angel for a Day” event every year to serve the inner city Catholic school families in DC and several of the local schools, parents and kids collected toys and dropped them off.  One Senior in High School impressed me in a particular way.  In the midst of college applications and an intense sports schedule, he dedicated several afternoons to personally collect toys from a local toy store near his house.  After getting permission from the owner, he set up a table and waited for hours asking people to either buy an extra toy or give him a few dollars so he could buy some toys.  He came by with several bags of new toys every week-end for a month…this is “real” service.

NCAA March Madness. One team wins and the rest lose their final game of the year

20,000 runners start the Chicago Marathon Only one crosses the finish line first, leaving 19,999 losers. Some don’t even finish the race

50 women compete in the Miss America contest, which produces one perfect beauty and 49 plain Janes

Kids participate in sports today and everybody gets a participation trophy.  But in later life, the shock will come when they learn they lose more than they win. Continue reading →

The fact that Jesus rose Lazarus from the dead is a sign of the life that Christ came to give us. He tells Martha, his sister, that he not only will have him rise on the last day, but that he will make him rise now. The life that Christ wants to give us begins now. We live with hope in the future life, but in our life as Christians we have a treasure that no one else has. Christianity wasn’t meant to be lived as a burden. Christ has set us free. Easter is a celebration of the gift of life that Christ came to give us. May the rest of Lent be a time to continue to die to sin and so be able to be risen by Christ to a new life in Him. This is the only way we can be truly happy.

While breakfast is important, prayer is even more so! My friend Will saw this “Prayer Process” by Dynamic Catholic and emailed it to me. He reflected, “Great way to increase your devotion to God and truly find a deeper relationship with God.” It can be the breaking of the old habits and be a new way of engaging in prayer with God! Perfect to start using this during Lent!”

The Prayer Process by Matthew Kelly
1.      Gratitude: Begin by thanking God in a personal dialogue for whatever you are most grateful for today.
2.      Awareness: Revisit the times in the past 24 hours when you were and were not the-best-version-of-yourself. Talk to God about these situations and what you learned from them.
3.      Significant Moments: Identify something you experienced in the last 24 hours and explore what God might be trying to say to you through that event (or person).
4.      Peace: Ask God to forgive you for any wrong you have committed (against yourself, another person, or him) and to fill you with a deep and abiding peace.
5.      Freedom: Speak with God about how he is inviting you to change your life, so that you can experience the freedom to be the-best-version-of-yourself.
6.      Others: Lift up to God anyone you feel called to pray for today, asking God to bless and guide them.
7.      Pray the Our Father

Life is not like hopping on a train. We don’t just decide once where we are going, jump aboard and end up at our destination. It is more like a car ride. We need to decide where we are going at the beginning, but then according to that decision we need to decide how we are going to get there at each junction. The choice of every turn renews our initial choice of our final destination. But life is most like a journey on foot. Not only do we have to choose our fundamental direction and renew that choice at each junction, but we have to sweat for our choices. If we don’t want to sweat, we just don’t choose, unlike a car ride. Continue reading →