ABVM PARISH COMMUNITY

                                                         THOU SHALT LOVE THY COUNTRY              The obligation to love one’s country is the result of Jesus’ command to love one’s neighbor as oneself.  The Catechism of the Catholic  Church  states that “It is the  duty of citizens  to contribute along with the civil authorities to the good of society in a spirit of truth, justice, solidarity, and freedom.  The love and service of  one’s country  follow from the duty of gratitude and belong to the order of charity.  Submission to legitimate authorities and service of the common good require citizens to fulfill their roles in the life of the political community” (#2239).  A “duty of gratitude.”  Everyone is born into a language, a culture, and an environment, including geography, that affects their tastes and way of looking at things.  These influences help a person to develop a sense of identity.  Without this inheritance a person tends to feel lost.  No one is born into a perfect coun

  FATHER CHUCK’S CHALLENGE - A CHARITY YOU CAN TRUST             For good reason, we are not always sure that our donation to charity will be used for the purpose the organization has advertised.   For many of them the overhead is high, even up to 35% of donations dedicated to administrative expenses.   It is not unusual for larger charities to have executives who make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.   I stay away from charities who aggressively advertise.   With all that costly radio and television time, I wonder how much of my donation would really go the cause.   How much of it is motivated by the self-interest of those who run it? More than one person has done very well for himself by doing good.   One of the reasons I am an avid supporter of Father Chuck’s Challenge is because I have 100% confidence in its integrity and its mission.   Everyone who works for FCC is a volunteer.   It was founded by Monsignor Frank Schmidt, pastor emeritus of St. Augustine Parish in Brid

  There are many ways to pray.   The basic forms of prayer are blessing, petition, intercession, thanksgiving and praise.               Blessing God is a response to our being blessed by him.   It includes Adoration, which exalts the greatness of God and acknowledges our littleness.   It includes reverent silence.             Petition expresses our awareness of dependence on God.   The first thing we ask is forgiveness of sins, as we do at the beginning of Mass.   Secondly, we pray for the coming of God’s kingdom, and that his will be done, not ours.   We might also ask for particular intentions.                  Intercession is made on behalf of others.   In this we become imitators of Christ, who is “able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).   There are no boundaries to this prayer, for it encompasses the living and the dead, the Church and the world, and even our enemies.        

             One day after Jesus had finished praying his disciples approached him and asked, “Lord, teach us how to pray, as John taught his disciples” (Lk 11:1).   A disciple is more than a student.   The disciple seeks from the master not only learning but wisdom that will shape his or her life and make the disciple like the master.   The disciples admired the way Jesus prayed, and watched him closely when he did it, until they wanted to do it also.   Many people embrace faith in Christ because they see how it has improved someone’s life.   They want what they have, moved not by envy but by a holy longing that exists in every human heart.   This longing is one of the ways that the Father draws people to Christ, as Jesus said: “No one can come to me, unless the Father draws him” (John 6:44).                 Jesus gave his disciples a model for all prayer, the Our Father, which the ancient writer Tertullian referred to as “truly the summary of the whole gospel.”   There are seven pe

  PERSEVERANCE IN PRAYER             One of the biggest complaints I hear about the battle for prayer are the omnipresent distractions.   One of the first things I was taught when I became serious about having a prayer life and seeking the Lord everyday was the necessity for removing outward distractions over which I had control.   This meant choosing a daily time for prayer when I would less likely be interrupted.   I also learned that the tv and the radio have to be turned off, not only during prayer but in the time immediately preceding it.   The phone should be muted or, better, put in the other room.   Email and text messages and social media can wait.   Thinking about what your sister had for dinner last night or fretting over something dumb said by a politician is not a good way to start off your prayer!   St. Charles Borromeo used to admonish his priests that if they felt distracted by various thoughts when celebrating Mass they should consider what they thinking or talking a