Today I took my weekly ride to Philadelphia to visit my mother. When I arrived at her apartment she was happy to see me. We shared some laughs and overall she seemed to be quite jovial. It made me very happy to see her in such a good mood, because many times she is not so joyful. I realize that I?m very blessed to still have her. A little over a year ago, she needed to have a feeding tube inserted because she forgot how to eat. You see, my mother is suffering from advanced Alzheimer?s disease, doesn?t remember who I am and is basically unable to speak coherently.

Despite all of that, I know that God has her alive for a reason. It may be for my benefit, it may be for her benefit, it may be for the benefit of my kids. I accept the fact that I may never fully understand what that reason is. I just know that her life is worth every bit as much as yours, mine, a baby?s, an embryo?s or any other human?s. It?s unfortunate that our society doesn?t see it that way. We need look no further than our current United States president for an example. It?s his belief and the belief of many others that certain lives are worth more than others. Right now it?s mainly the unborn that are under attack, but rest assured that the elderly won?t be far behind. Whenever you hear the phrase ?quality of life?, you can be pretty sure that someone is getting ready to make a decision that should be left to God.

Even though it makes me sad sometimes, I?m really blessed that my Mom is still alive. I?m also very thankful that she is still able to experience joy and laughter. I look forward to one day seeing my mother as I remember her, but until then, I?ll just keep doing what I?m supposed to be doing. After all, God doesn?t make mistakes!

Did you ever experience the pain of getting ?stuck? by a thorn? We have a rose bush in our back yard and I?ve felt the pain of the thorns many times. It usually happens when I?m trying to prune one of the branches or turn on the garden hose. Even though I?m aware of the thorns, I always seem to grab the plant in the wrong place and feel that sudden piercing sensation. My immediate reaction is to quickly pull my hand away in order to stop the pain. Now imagine that, instead of pulling away, I squeezed the rose bush harder so that the thorn would penetrate deeper into my flesh. After that, I take my other hand, locate more thorns and squeeze as tight as I can. You can almost feel the pain, right?

I have to admit that for some time I?ve been skeptical of the Catholic teaching that?s been emanating from Notre Dame University. I?ve been of the belief that they lost their Catholic identity long ago. However, in the past couple of days I?ve been relieved to hear the excellent interpretation of the Catholic Faith that has been coming from the famed university.

A recent article made me realize there is some excellent moral teaching taking place at Notre Dame, especially in regard to pro-life issues. This teaching involves a strong defense of life at all stages and a condemnation of all practices which do not support that position. Reading some of these quotes made me realize that that Our Lady would be proud of the Catholic values that are being promoted at the university which bears her name. Now, before you check your calendar to make sure that today isn?t April Fools Day, let me explain? This Catholic teaching is coming from students and not from the faculty!

Several student organizations have joined together to protest the terribly misguided decision to allow President Obama to deliver the commencement speech and receive an honorary degree. These courageous students have created Notre Dame Response and have issued the following statement:

?In defense of the unborn, we wish to express our deepest opposition to Reverend John I. Jenkins, CSC?s invitation of President Barack Obama to be the University of Notre Dame?s principal commencement speaker and the recipient of an honorary degree. Our objection is not a matter of political partisanship, but of President Obama?s hostility to the Catholic Church?s teachings on the sanctity of human life at its earliest stages. His recent dedication of federal funds to overseas abortions and to embryonic stem cell research will directly result in the deaths of thousands of innocent human beings. We cannot sit by idly while the University honors someone who believes that an entire class of human beings is undeserving of the most basic of all legal rights, the right to live. ?

These students really ?get it? and Catholics everywhere should be proud of the stand that they?re taking. Some of them have even expressed a desire to boycott their own graduation, even though the president of the United States is speaking to them. Can you imagine young college students having the moral fortitude to take such action? People like Fr. Jenkins and his supporters could learn much about the Catholic Faith from these brave young people. One can only hope that the Notre Dame officials will swallow their pride and humbly accept the true teachings of our Catholic Faith as presented by the young people known as Notre Dame Response.

Read the entire article here.

All of us have been given a cross to carry. For some the cross involves illness while for others it may involve loneliness, financial difficulties or any number of other possibilities. We often feel the presence of The Lord while we are carrying our crosses and are comforted by a peace that helps to ease the pain. Even if we are suffering, we can feel that Jesus is right there helping us. But how do we handle those times when He is silent?

We have all experienced situations where we don?t feel The Lord?s presence at all. Feelings of discouragement and abandonment make it difficult to pray. When this occurs, we can become tempted to become angry at God. If we persevere, The Lord will often send help just when we?re at ?the end of our rope?. Many times we make it through these experiences with a stronger faith. Once we are able to get our bearings, we realize that we were actually being called to a deeper relationship with God.

This is the fourth week of Lent. While we are still ?in the desert?, we can begin to see the joyous celebration of The Lord?s Resurrection that lies ahead. During this week we will also celebrate the solemnity of the Annunciation, when the coming of the Savior was announced to Mary. Both of these events remind us that God is always there, even if we are unable to see Him in the darkness.

No matter how heavy your cross or how hot the desert, always remain focused on the joy that will accompany eternal life in Heaven. That joy will last forever; any suffering in this life is temporary. With that in mind, what earthly problem should be able to take away our peace?

Have you ever noticed that many highly intelligent people do not believe in God? For one reason or other they have concluded that there is not enough evidence to believe in a higher being. Initially, it is tempting to conclude that they are ?too smart for their own good? and that having a superior intellect is the cause of their unbelief. While this may sometimes be the case, how does one explain the highly intelligent people that believe very strongly in God? Could something other than intelligence be responsible for their unbelief?

One of the main causes of atheism is the lack of humility referred to as pride. Despite having superior intelligence, a humble person will accept that some concepts are beyond their comprehension. They will believe the words of The Lord as spoken to the prophet Isaiah, ?As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts? (Is 55:9) Humble people readily accept that they are not able to understand everything.

On the other hand, someone who is prideful feels that they should be able to figure out everything. They do not believe in things that they cannot comprehend. Such concepts as The Trinity and the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist are discounted as being ?impossible?. The prideful individual only believes those things which they understand.

Excessive pride is not something that is directly related to one?s intelligence level. Unfortunately, most of us are plagued by it to a certain degree. In some it can cause total refusal to believe in God, while in others it can prevent getting closer to Him. In the remaining days of Lent, let?s examine our conscience and look for traces of pride. Are there some teachings of the Catholic Church that we have a difficult time understanding? If so, do we humbly obey them by accepting the words of Jesus when He promised the guidance of the Holy Spirit (Jn 16:13)? Or do we instead become ?Cafeteria Catholics?, believing only what we understand?

When faced with this dilemma, it would be wise to remember the words of St. Augustine, ?Seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand.?

Today the Catholic Church celebrates Laetare Sunday. The name comes from the first word of the entrance antiphon for today?s Mass (?Laetare?), which is Latin for ?rejoice?. At first, the notion of rejoicing in the midst of a penitential season seems inappropriate? Is it possible to find joy in the midst of suffering?

One of the beautiful things about our Catholic Faith is that it enables us to make sense out of suffering. The world tells us that suffering is bad and that we should avoid it at all costs. People should be ?put out of their misery? if they develop a terminal illness; Unwanted children should be aborted rather than brought into the world; Couples should get divorced if they encounter marital difficulties; Sexual urges should be satisfied in whatever manner ?feels good?. Turning on the television for a few minutes quickly reinforces the message that ?suffering is bad and pleasure is good?.

The Catholic Faith looks at suffering in a much different way. It is a chance to assist Christ in the redemption of mankind. In a mysterious act of generosity, Jesus permits us to help with His mission. St. Paul tells us, ?Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church.? (Col 1:24) While there is obviously nothing lacking in Jesus? sacrifice on the cross, He allows us (as part of His Mystical Body, The Church) to join in His sacrifice.

No matter what we are going through (illness, financial problems, relationship difficulties, loneliness, depression, tiredness), we can rejoice with St. Paul in the knowledge that we are assisting Our Lord with His salvific mission. Keeping that in mind will make it possible to find joy? even in the midst of suffering.

I have always been able to relate to the gospel story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Lk 18:9-14). After all, there are so many Catholics who don?t practice their Faith. There are some who even go to Mass each week and still justify dissenting from Church teaching. Others, like myself, go to Mass and obey everything that the Church teaches, with the possible exception of following Jesus? command to ?love one another?!

Why is it so easy for us to be uncharitable to those who chose not to follow the rules? It?s because we get so caught up in our dislike for the sin that we sometimes transfer those feelings to the sinner. As someone who loves the Catholic Church, I sometimes forget to be charitable to those Catholic politicians who support abortion rights and others who feel they can ?pick and choose? the doctrines that they will follow. While it is extremely important for us to point out sinful behavior, we must always be charitable and prudent. That means that we must choose the correct time to mention it to our brothers and sisters and shouldn?t attempt to embarrass them in front of others. They may not even understand that their erroneous beliefs are wrong. In that case, we may want to subtly educate them by using very general examples and not come across in an accusatory manner.

In the aforementioned gospel story, the Pharisee was a holy man. Judging by his actions, there was certainly a love of God in his heart. His big mistake, however, was in looking down on the tax collector. The Pharisee made the common mistake of thinking that he was better than the other man. He forgot that we are all sinners. The tax collector, on the other hand, simply asked for God?s mercy. He knew that he was a sinner.

The simple lesson to be learned from this story is that we should never think that we are holier than others. That attitude, in and of itself, indicates a lack of holiness. We must recall that we are all sinners in need of the Savior?s redemption. By doing that, we will be less likely to think badly of others and more likely to be charitable as we assist those who may need guidance.

Last night, I had the privilege of organizing a Knights of Columbus ?Rosary for an End to Abortion? at my parish. As the newly appointed Respect Life chairman for my council I felt that it was important to sponsor this event. If someone told me a year ago that I would be a member of the Knights, let alone organizing a rosary event, I would have told them that they were crazy!

For the past few years I?ve been trying to discern how I can best serve The Lord. I can assure you that none of my ideas had anything to do with a blog, website, email newsletter or the Knights of Columbus. However, all of the doors that I thought I was supposed to enter were locked. It took me a while to get the hint, so I tried repeatedly and things still didn?t work out. I tried to figure out why my chosen methods of serving God weren?t succeeding and I tried harder. This only resulted in increased frustration, as things still didn?t fall into place.

In the meantime I kept getting invited to join the Knights , but wasn?t interested. I finally decided to join, if only to appease the person who wanted to make me a member. I further decided that I would pay my dues, but not get too involved because it ?wasn?t my thing?. Eventually I did get more involved and was asked to become the Respect Life chairman. At this point I began to see that this position would allow me to do much good for the pro-life movement. As I got more involved with the Knights, I understood what a great Catholic organization they were.

My Internet apostolate also came about in a similar way. I got frustrated about the recent presidential elections and the fact that so many Catholics were voting for a pro-abortion candidate. I wished that I had a website so that I could inform Catholics of what the Church really teaches. I stumbled onto a website host that was affordable and easy to use and I soon had a website (http://www.thecatholictruth.info/), followed by a newsletter and a daily blog. Things just fell into place and almost immediately I was interacting with Catholics throughout the world.

I suspect that there may be some others like me who are trying to serve God in a particular way, but things aren?t working out. Every door that you try is locked. I recommend that you look around and make sure that there are no ?unlocked? doors that you could enter.

If you find one, try entering it?

The Lord may be waiting there for you!