What's with Beauty?

This was a question that had been troubling me

so I asked my dear Lord, "What's with Beauty?"

He didn't tell me but directed me to another.

He said, "Ask Mary," His most beautiful Mother.

I thought this a bit strange, why would this be?

But I said, "Umm, Mary... teach me about Beauty."

And right then and there it dawned on my soul,

and the words that she taught me made my heart whole.

She said, "Come to adoration and kneel down to pray,

keep your eyes fixed on Jesus whatever you say,

but notice the monstrance all beauty ornate,

it shines with the splendor of the heavenly gate.

Precious jewels and gold fit for a king,

enticing your eye making you sing."

"It surrounds Beauty in beauty so He can be adored -

Child! I AM THE MONSTRANCE I hold up the Lord!

It was my life's sole purpose and it's still what I do,

I gave him to shepherds, I give him to you.

"I show him off to the world for all to see,

always pointing inward so you look past me.

I use my beauty and strength, my gifts and my charm
so you'll only see the divine Child in my arms.

You're captured by Beauty, drawn in to the One

who died and then rose and now shines like the sun."

"Momma," I said, "what do I do with these graces?"

"Be the smile," she said, "that illumines dark places.

Be a good steward of your talents and gifts

pointing toward Jesus so He won't be missed."

And now I'll pass on her final commission.

It goes for me and for you and for every good Christian.
Now it's your turn, consider this your duty:

You become the monstrance- Let's save the world with Beauty!

--(Author: Unknown to me)

The Joys of Being Catholic!

Recently, a few Reformed Christians -David Meyer and Christopher Lake- decided to make the leap into the Tiber and come back (or for the first time) to Holy Mother Church. Praise God! Their stories are just a few of the conversion stories that are happening right now.

I'm not sure about you, but whenever I hear about those who are converting and those who have "found" (as if it was ever lost!) Christ's Church, I cannot but help be humbled and overjoyed with them! My spirit does leaps and bounds and a profound love and joy well up deep inside of me. I am emotional for them and with them. Please pray for them as I am sure this will include some difficult times. But the richness and the fullness of the faith will surely outweigh any of the negative aspects to this process! The joys of being Catholic!

What a privilege we have to welcome them with open arms and with open hearts. What a privilege to pray for them and with them. Our God is truly an awesome God!

Let us pray for the continued reunion of all Christians and that more are open to the call of God and to taking Jesus' prayer seriously that "we may all be one!"

+St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher, ora pro nobis!

Catholic-Orthodox Relations

Whenever I hear of moves towards union between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox, I can't help but get excited about it. Our generation should be the ones to be known as the generation that brought back into union these "two lungs" of the Church. This website and the documents they are working on bring me great hope. May the Lord bless these meetings and may we pay ever more heed to the words of our Savior, "that they may be one"!

Come Holy Spirit!

Outrage at the Media

I am so sick and tired of baseless accusations (thank God there are people on the front lines combating this now) and lies aimed at the Catholic Church. I am so sick and tired of media outlets bad-mouthing Jesus Christ and making a mockery of Him on television and in other outlets.

Where are the Christians? Where is the outrage? Come on people! We need to rise up and combat this culture war. The only way we can do that is if we live out our Faith! This world needs it! Express your dismay and boycott those sponsors! Express your Faith and show the world what it truly means to be alive and what it truly means to be free!

Don't be afraid to be Christians!

"Against Heresies"

This is what makes me proud to be a musician and a Catholic! This is classic! Check out "Against Heresies" - the Musical.

The Power and Glory of the Catholic Church

What more can the title of this post say? Christ's Church, the Catholic Church, has all the power and all the glory that God wants it, indeed, needs it to have. That's the great thing about God and his power and his promises. "The gates of hell will not prevail..." Even during the most darkest, decadent times in the Church's history, she never wavered. The Truth was preserved because it is not a mere human institution. It is an institution, THE institution, that was founded by God while he was still on earth. Not many things can claim what the Church does. And no ones dares to. Either we are speaking the truth, or Jesus was a liar and humans are doomed to eternal nothingness.

But this is not so. The claims of Jesus and the Truth of Jesus have set the world free. And the Church is the harbinger of hope, charity, and truth to all the world until the end of time. We, the Church are on a journey to the final destination: heaven and the Beatific Vision. And we the people, are not perfect. The Church is the hospital for sinners, not a hotel for saints. It is because of this, that the Church has power and that the Church receives glory. Not because of what we do, but because of what God does in us.

Thanks be to God for the Catholic Church! Shout it from the rooftops! Let the world know you are proud to be Catholic!

Morality

All human beings desire to be happy. This desire is deep-rooted in the very depths of men's souls. It is the prime reason that moves men to action. All actions that man takes are to make himself happy. But most of those choices result in trying to get happy in this life. So, which actions should he take? What are the actions he should take in order to get true happiness? Every man must answer this question and ask himself, "What should I be doing with my life?" Personal discovery depends on personal prayer, thinking, acting, and choosing.

This is where morality comes in to play. Religion, and specifically Catholicism, are external sources of morality. Even if there was no religious underpining to morals, the natural law is written on all men's souls. And it is from this natural law that man can begin to know the difference between right and wrong. This is the arena where God first placed the desire to know Him and where man first realized that there was a deeper, more ultimate purpose to His existence. It is from this spark in our souls that we can come to discern truly what we should do and how we should act.

I pose a question: How do we discern that what we are doing is morally correct? What is the standard by which we measure true morality?