Today the Church celebrated the Solemnity of Christ the King. It is a day to recognize the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ. If Jesus is truly our king, we should obey all of His commands and always seek to follow Him. For most of us, we fall short many times and find ourselves paying homage to numerous false ?kings? such as comfort, gluttony, apathy, selfishness, etc.

In a few days, the liturgical year will draw to a close and we will begin the holy season of Advent. Over the course of the next week, spend some time asking yourself whose rule you are under. Is it Jesus Christ or is it the attractions of the flesh or love of comfort? Do you find yourself being lukewarm about your faith? If so, there?s no need to panic. The season of Advent is a great opportunity to prepare to welcome Jesus into our lives, just as He was welcomed by the shepherds and wise men two thousand years ago.

Let?s spend the next few days preparing to prepare!

Today?s gospel reading (Mk 13:24-32) contains one of Jesus? more confusing statements:

“But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

Is it true that Jesus really doesn?t know when the end of the world (the General Judgment) will occur or is there more to this statement than meets the eye? Fortunately, we can relax because the Church teaches very clearly that Christ?s human knowledge is free from ignorance or error. How then can we interpret His statement?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) states:

By its union to the divine wisdom in the person of the Word incarnate, Christ enjoyed in his human knowledge the fullness of understanding of the eternal plans he had come to reveal. What he admitted to not knowing in this area, he elsewhere declared himself not sent to reveal (Acts 1:7). (CCC 474)

Furthermore, in the highly regarded reference book Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, author Ludwig Ott states:

In explanation of the scriptural passage Mk 13:32, the Fathers of the Church submit 2 interpretations:

1. Christ should not, in accordance with the will of the Father, reveal the moment of the General Judgment to mankind. ?It was no part of His teaching duty to make it (the day of the General Judgment) known to us.? (St. Augustine)

2. Christ as man knew the day of the General Judgment indeed, but He did not have this knowledge from His human nature. (Pope St. Gregory the Great)

So, fear not, Jesus most certainly knows the date of the General Judgment, but we don?t. That?s why it is so important to be ready. As the liturgical year comes to a close the Church reminds us that we should be prepared for judgment. While the General Judgment may still be thousands of years away, we can be sure that our own Particular judgment (occurring immediately after our death) will take place much sooner.

Are you ready?

A good friend sent me a link to a very interesting article today. It is a letter from Providence Bishop Thomas Dolan to Congressman Patrick Kennedy in response to Kennedy?s statement, ?The fact that I disagree with the hierarchy on some issues (primarily abortion) does not make me any less of a Catholic?. We see this faulty logic echoed by many other Catholics in the world today, many of whom are in the public eye.

The bishop does an outstanding job of deflating Kennedy?s self-affirming argument and I highly recommend that you read it for yourself (link to article is at the end of this blog), but I would like to comment on a few things. This concept of ?I can still be a good Catholic even though I disagree with the authoritative teaching of the Church? cannot be defended by any official Church document and I challenge anyone to produce evidence to the contrary.

The second problem I see with Kennedy?s statement is that he refers to the Church as a ?hierarchy?. There are far too many people (Catholics included) who view the Church as nothing more than a bureaucracy. They view the successors to the Apostles, the bishops, as a group of men who covered up the despicable actions of child abusers or individuals who are out of touch with reality. Here is what Our Lord Jesus Christ said of these men:

?All power in Heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.? (Mt 28:18)

We need to stop focusing on the leaders of the Church as a group of executives who are imposing their human will on us. They are our shepherds and it is their job to help us get to Heaven. Yes, abuses took place by imperfect human beings and horrible damage was done. That does not take away from the commission that the bishops received directly from Our Lord. The official teaching of the Church is protected from error by the authority of Jesus Christ Himself. When they state that abortion is murder, then we better listen!

Congressman Kennedy makes the same mistake made by Adam and Eve. He has authorized himself to declare what is right and wrong, without even considering the inerrant teaching of the Church which he claims to ?embrace?. The bishop refers to Kennedy?s support of abortion as a ?deliberate and obstinate act of the will? and I would most definitely agree. Those of us who are members of the Church founded by Jesus Christ should listen to His words granting authority to the Apostles, shouldn?t we?

Are the individual leaders of the Church imperfect? You bet!

Can they collectively teach infallibly when united with the Holy Father? You bet!

Who says? Jesus!

Read the full story HERE

Did you ever have one of those days where you just don?t feel God?s presence? If you?re like me, it happens from time to time and it?s not fun. I am having one of those days today and it could be caused by tiredness, Satan trying to put doubts into my head, God trying to ?stretch me? a bit, or any number of reasons. Since our faith shouldn?t be ruled by how we feel, we need to keep going when we have “one of those days”. Following that course of action, I took a walk outside and prayed my usual daily rosary (The Luminous Mysteries) even though I didn?t feel like it.

Here are some thoughts I received while praying:

The Baptism of Jesus ? Jesus displayed great humility by allowing Himself to be baptized. Lord, thank you for allowing me to fail or make mistakes sometimes. It allows me to increase my humility and become more like you. It helps me to remember that I can do nothing without You.

The Miracle at Cana ? Mary noticed that the wine was gone and went to Jesus to seek help. Mary, thank you for noticing that I?m having a bad day and asking your Son to help me out. I know that He?ll never abandon me.

The Proclamation of the Kingdom ? Jesus calls us to repent and follow Him. Jesus, thank you for the gift of bad days so that I will never think that I can survive without You. Help me to cast aside my negativity and fear and continue to follow You each day.

The Transfiguration ? Jesus appears to Peter, James and John in all of His heavenly glory. Lord, help me to look past the problems of this life and contemplate the joy that awaits me if I follow your commands. May I never lose sight of the promise of eternal life in Heaven with You!

The Institution of the Eucharist ? At the Last Supper, Jesus instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Jesus, thank you for the unbelievable gift of Yourself. Help me to remember that your Divine Presence can overcome any problem that I could possibly have.

As I finished the rosary, I became aware of the beads in my hand and felt that I was holding Our Blessed Mother?s hand and being led closer to Jesus. Then I felt a breeze and was reminded of the Holy Spirit who dwells within me. I recalled that I received Our Lord in Holy Communion this morning and remembered His words, ?Whoever has seen me has seen the Father? (Jn 14:9). Not only did I see Jesus this morning, but I saw the Father?Wow!

As I finished my walk, I felt the peace of God?s presence. I?m really glad that I made the effort to pray today?Even though I didn?t feel like it!

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.

I didn?t want to let this day pass without reflecting on the Solemnity of All Saints. It is a day to celebrate all of those who have been blessed with eternal life in Heaven. The Daily Roman Missal has a great explanation of today?s celebration and it?s importance to each of us:

Today we celebrate the feast of all the unknown saints who are now in Heaven. The Church reminds us that sanctity is within everyone?s reach. Through the Communion of Saints we help one another achieve sanctity.

On this day 12 years ago, Mary and Elizabeth Zimak were born at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden, NJ. For those of you who are not familiar with their story, they were never supposed to have lived. Early in my wife?s pregnancy, it was determined that our identical twins were suffering from Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS). To put it simply, TTTS is a disease affecting identical twins which causes the mother?s placenta to be shared unequally. At the time of the diagnosis, we were offered little hope that the girls would survive.

Upon receiving the news, we decided to name the girls in case they didn?t live. We wanted to make sure that we didn?t forget them and wanted people to know for whom they were praying. As for the names?you guessed it?they were named for two great Saints ? Our Blessed Mother Mary and her relative Elizabeth. We then started to spread the word and ask for prayers. I wrote a letter to a columnist in our local newspaper and spread the word at the parish where I attended daily Mass. My wife?s family also sounded the prayer alarm. Before long we had teachers praying for the girls with their students, cloistered nuns praying in their convent, monks praying in the monastery, a newspaper columnist praying a daily rosary, neighbors from many different faiths praying with their congregations, priests praying before the Blessed Sacrament and at Mass. Some people who claimed to be ?not religious? even started to pray for the girls. My wife Eileen and I prayed a rosary every night and blessed the unborn babies with a first class relic of St. Gerard Majella, which was given to us by a neighbor. Unbeknownst to me at the time, Eileen also put a drop of Lourdes holy water in her orange juice each day. When we had to go to our twice- weekly treatment at the hospital, I would pray the rosary as I sat next to Eileen. We later discovered that some of the doctors and nurses were praying as well.

As stressful as this time was, Eileen and I felt very close to the Lord. There was very little that could be done in the way of medical treatments and we were forced to trust Him! We took one day at a time and didn?t focus on the future. When we got to week 26 of Eileen?s pregnancy, Elizabeth was suffering from congestive heart failure and Mary was anemic. One of our doctors told us that the twins would be dead in a week and that our only hope was an experimental surgery. Although we were hesitant, we spoke to the surgeon and discovered that he had only done a few of these surgeries (without much success) and that he also performed what is referred to as ?selective reductions?, a euphemism for murdering one of your twins in the hope that the other will survive. At that point, we decided that we wanted nothing to do with this doctor or the surgery. Once we made the decision, we felt completely at peace and trusted in God?s will.

On October 27, 1997 (28 weeks into the pregnancy), the doctors decided that it was time for Mary and Elizabeth to be born. Elizabeth was the larger twin, weighing a ?whopping? 2.5 pounds. Mary weighed in at a mere 1.5 pounds. The next few weeks were very stressful with Elizabeth having to undergo a heart procedure and Mary having several problems with her lungs. The girls continued to struggle with various medical issues over the next few years, but all of them were relatively minor.

Twelve years later, I sit writing this blog in celebration of the birthday of my two miracle girls. Many of the people who prayed for the girls are no longer living, but Eileen and I will always be indebted to them and everyone else who prayed. Don?t let anyone ever tell you that God can?t perform miracles because Mary and Elizabeth are living proof that He can!

For with God nothing shall be impossible. ( Lk 1:37)