Have you said ‘thank you’ to the music minister at your parish lately? I don’t think I ever did in my life, but I’d like to go back now and tell her how I’ve gained a heartfelt appreciation for what she does. The source of my newfound sensitivity is that I now play the organ for Mass and the piano for choir at Mater Ecclesiae, and I’ve had firsthand experience of everything that goes into singing a joyful song for the Lord every morning.

I’m a pianist by training, and learning to play the organ was an adventure in itself – it’s sort of like playing piano and dancing at the same time, which is a tall order for my not-too-coordinated self. And even after all the hours of practice, my best musical attempts are occasionally sabotaged by liturgical circumstances. For example, on Sunday I was just about to play the opening notes for All Creatures of Our God and King, when my fellow organist Mirianna suddenly leapt into my vision, arms waving. Read the rest of this entry »

"Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day. Do it! I say, whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows." Pope Paul VI

When I think of this quote above, a young professional man immediately pops in my mind. He recently graduated from Notre Dame, works with a specialized group at Deloitte during the day and is starting two businesses on the side in his limited free time. He attends daily Mass a few times a week, prays his rosary on the way to work and is currently spear heading a young professionals group that meets for Mass every two weeks and will soon be volunteering in a soup kitchen on a regular basis. There is truly a sense of urgency and purpose in this young man and he is certainly not "waiting for tomorrow."

If you put a group of Legionaries together and ask them to have fun, don’t worry -- they know how. In early March we had a more sophisticated way of having fun when the owner of the Catamount Ski Resort in New York invited us for a free day skiing: an amazing experience!

Coming from South America, I wasn’t at all used to ski at home, but I did have the chance to do three times before on past visits to the United States. I’m definitively not skilled at it but I can at least keep myself standing on skis. This last ski trip taught me a lesson for life. Read the rest of this entry »

Little errors are always bound to happen. On Good Friday, somehow my name failed to appear on the adoration list. I decided just to spend whatever time I could with Jesus – I probably spend an hour or two rather than the regularly scheduled half-hour. Jesus gave me more time with him.

I am responsible to organize the work for our team at times. I tried to organize everything: this brother goes here, that one over there, this one serves the meat, and that other one the water. However, it never worked out perfectly. Then one time I lost my organizational sheet. I had to let everyone figure it out on their own. Somehow, it turned out better: the community was served as fast and my team seemed more at peace.

Now, what do these two stories have to do with each other? I think they show us how God’s plans are always greater than our own. We might make great plans; God always does better. One of the toughest things is to trust him, to trust those around us, and let him complete his plan.

(For liturgists, the adoration was not solemn [in a monstrance] but Jesus was in the tabernacle since solemn adoration is forbidden on Good Friday.)

Senior year. It seems to be the time when little dreams start to surface into reality. It’s when the toddler’s plastic stethoscope and white medical coat is replaced with hours of community service to increase one’s chances of getting into a pre-med program. It’s when traveling to the far off lands of “the attic” is replaced with the unending search for the perfect international studies program. It’s amazing how fast time flies when the 4 year old says “I want to build things when I grow up” to when the 18-year-old says, “I’m going to be a mechanical engineer.” I don’t think I have ever met a little kid who did not have a response to “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Whether it’s a fire fighter, a lawyer, a mom, a doctor, or even Dora the Explorer, every person dreams of who he or she will be in the future. Read the rest of this entry »

The senior class at Mater Ecclesiae College is an incredible testimony of perseverance and hope for all of us in the movement right now. Just five months after they knelt down and promised Jesus their entire lives within the Regnum Christi movement the news of the founder exploded into their innocent lives. If discerning a vocation in the bark of our church is already an emotionally, spiritually, and psychologically draining exercise – imagine trying to do it on a ship beset by storm! Read the rest of this entry »

Most of us have heard the expression “she looked like a deer caught in the headlights”. This is how Ale Curiel looked when she arrived in the United States. Why, you might ask? Ale is from Mexico so everything in the US was foreign to her: country, language, food and culture.

Ale is a Consecrated woman who arrived in Greenville, Rhode Island in 2008, to continue her mission work. That was four years ago and if you asked her, she would say “4 very fast years ago”! She can’t believe graduation is just around the corner, and in just three short months she will be donning a cap and gown. To earn her diploma, she first had to achieve something difficult: the English language. Not only has she mastered it, but she continues to use it with grace and style every day. How did she accomplish this arduous task? Intense, long hours of hard work. Focus, determination and sheer will power drove her when the going got tough. Read the rest of this entry »

"Ask Jesus to make you a saint. After all, only He can do that. Go to Confession regularly and to Communion as often as you can." - St. Dominic Savio

Living a saintly life is not merely a "white knuckle effort." God's grace is absolutely necessary for sustained holiness and the two most effective sources of this grace are the Eucharist and Confession. I recently had a conversation with a middle aged business leader on this topic. He said, "Fr. Michael, we all have the potential to be either great saints or great sinners…and it is so easy to go the other way. We are all walking on a sharp precipice, and without lots of prayer and grace, you simply cannot stay on the straight and narrow." So true.

You would think in a society governed by the philosophy of relativism, which gives every person the ability to define his or her own truth, or world-view, or way of thinking – whatever you want to call it -- that we could talk about all manner of ways to live out our sexuality.

In a world where its considered compassionate to allow same-sex “marriage,” or enlightened to accept “committed” relationships that don’t have the burden of a written contract, or tolerant to realize all people are unique and are “stimulated” in many different ways by whatever type of fetish can fulfill whatever fantasy that excites them via the Internet, then we ought to be open to all types of expression, sexual or otherwise.  (There are no set rules because there is not one Truth, right?) Read the rest of this entry »

"Christianity, in highlighting those values which sustain ethics, does not impose, but rather proposes Christ’s invitation to know the truth which sets us free. The believer is called to offer that truth to his contemporaries, as did the Lord, even before the dark omen of rejection and the Cross. The personal encounter with the one who is Truth in person compels us to share this treasure with others, especially by our witness." (Pope Benedict XVI, March 28, 2012, Cuba)

We should all feel an urge to respectfully present the beauty of Christ to those around us. Christ is the answer to the deepest problems and anxieties of our friends. Christ is the most faithful and committed friend a person could possibly have in this world. Christ brings peace and joy to the most troubled and broken hearts. Share the treasure!!