The other day my 11 year old daughter Elizabeth asked me why God allows abortions to take place. I responded by explaining the concept of ?free will? to her. I told her that God doesn?t cause evil things to happen, but he allows people to make their own choices. Unfortunately, those choices sometimes involve doing ?the wrong thing?.

We are never going to figure out all of God?s motives and we shouldn?t go crazy trying. After all, He?s God and we?re not. The prophet Isaiah tells us very clearly that God doesn?t think like us (Is 55:8-9). We do know, however, that God can bring good out of evil. The greatest example of this can be found in the act that brought about the salvation of mankind. I can?t think of too many things worse than the crucifixion of the Son of God, but because of this act, it is possible for us to get to Heaven!

While we shouldn?t worry too much about why God permits bad things to happen, we should be concerned about the choices that we make. In the first reading from today?s Mass (Dt 30:15-20), Moses tells the Israelites that they must choose between ?life and prosperity? or ?death and doom?. He explains that if they obey the commandments they will ?live?, but if they ?turn away and serve other gods? they will perish. It doesn?t get much clearer than that!

Every day, you and I have many chances to do good or evil. Often it?s not that clear cut and involves ?gray areas?. For example, it?s a lot easier to watch TV than say some extra prayers or help out your spouse around the house. It?s also very easy to justify ignoring a shut-in or an elderly parent because you?re too tired. It?s easy to get mad at someone because they?re being unreasonable. Don?t get me wrong; there are times when you really need to give your body a rest. There are also times where you need to charitably, but firmly, stand up for yourself. My point is that we just need to prayerfully consider what we should do in these situations.

Lent is the perfect time to take a look at our lives. Do we sometimes choose ?death and doom? when we could have chosen ?life and prosperity?? If you?re anything like me, I suspect that the answer is ?yes?. Rather than feel bad about this realization, we should be thankful that the Church gives us this season to reflect on our behavior. No matter how badly we fall, we can obtain God?s forgiveness through the wonderful sacrament of Confession. We should be thankful for each new day, as it gives us another chance to ?choose life? and follow the commandments. God doesn?t expect us to be perfect, but He does expect us to try. Always remember that He?s right there to help us, but sometimes He waits for us to ask!

Today is Ash Wednesday, the day which marks the beginning of Lent. Over the course of the next seven weeks, we?ll have a chance to look at our lives and try to become better people. There are a few lines from today?s readings that hit me ?like a ton of bricks?:

One of the most difficult practices of being a Christian is learning to serve others. The concept itself is not difficult to understand, but putting it into action is tricky. Overcoming the ?inertia? of our fallen nature is not easy. We all desire to feel good. Those of us who are parents can relate to waking up in the night to comfort a crying infant. I don?t know of too many times that I can say I ?enjoyed? it. I did it out of love for my children and my wife, but I would have enjoyed undisturbed sleep a lot more!

In today?s Gospel reading (Mk 9:30-37), Jesus instructs His disciples about the importance of becoming a servant with the words, ?If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.? Our Lord provided us with the greatest example of being a servant. Everything He did was an act of service. Becoming a man and dying on a cross was not the ?easy way out?. He didn?t do it for Himself, but rather for you and me. Because of His agonizing sacrifice on the cross, the gates of Heaven have now been opened for all mankind.

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten season. It is a time for examining our lives and discovering areas that need improvement. Are we really being the servants that our faith requires us to be? Is there anything else that we can do to make life more pleasant for those around us? Maybe remaining silent even when we ?know we?re right?, doing some extra household chores to help our spouse, being pleasant when we feel miserable, helping out an elderly neighbor even though we?re tired, etc.

I?m not going to try and say that it?s easy to serve others, becomes sometimes it really isn?t. One thing I will say is that it gets easier if we ask for God?s help. Today?s responsorial psalm (Ps 37) provides us with an inspirational message that reminds us that we are not in this alone.

?Commit your life to the Lord, and He will help you.?

Over the course of the next seven weeks, why not try to make a greater commitment to The Lord? Seek out areas where you could become a better servant to others. If it gets difficult, reread the above Scripture quote and above all?

Don?t forget to ask Him for help!

The above Latin quote, attributed to St. Ambrose means ?Where Peter is, there is the Church, there is God.? It serves as a strong reminder of the importance of the papacy to the Catholic Church. Since February 22 occurred on a Sunday this year, the Church didn?t officially celebrate the feast of The Chair of St. Peter. Because of this, I wanted to discuss it lest it be overlooked.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), Jesus ?entrusted a specific authority to Peter?:

Most of us have experienced at least one occasion when prayers for healing appeared to go ?unanswered?. I have personally prayed for many sick people who were never physically healed. Instead of looking at these cases as examples of unanswered prayer, they should be regarded as prayers answered in a way we didn?t expect.

As hard as it is for us to accept, sometimes God chooses to answer our prayers in a way that doesn?t please us. In the gospel reading from today?s Mass (Mk 2:1-12), Jesus is asked to heal a paralytic. Instead of healing the man physically, Jesus proclaims ?Child, your sins are forgiven.? This is not what the scribes wanted to hear. They accused The Lord of blasphemy, believing that ?only God can forgive sins.? While there can be several layers of meaning to this passage, one clear message is that the paralytic received the healing that he needed, not necessarily the one he desired.

In a few days, we?ll enter the holy season of Lent. It is a time when we should prayerfully look at our lives and attempt to get closer to The Lord. We are all in need of some kind of healing. It may be physical, spiritual or emotional. We may not even be sure of what healing is needed in our lives. Just like today?s story of the paralytic, we may be confused as to what we really need.

As we begin to examine our lives, let?s ask the Holy Spirit to make us aware of the areas that need improvement. As our faults become more apparent we can begin to work on them and ask for the grace to improve. Unfortunately, sometimes we become ?deaf? to the voice of the Spirit. Therefore, when we pray we should also remember to submit to God?s will and accept His answer ?even if it isn?t what we wanted.

Did you ever have one of those days that made you long for the eternal bliss of Heaven? A day when the daily troubles and worries just seem too much to handle? Life can be difficult sometimes and our human nature causes us to reject suffering and gravitate toward comfort. Unfortunately, that inclination sometimes gets us into trouble and creates a rift between us and the Lord, especially since one of the main requirements of Christianity involves carrying our crosses patiently.

I often hear Catholics equate their opinion of Mass with the quality of the homily that was preached. ?Father So-and-So talks too long?is boring?preaches fire and brimstone?makes me feel good, etc?. Unfortunately, this tells me that a large number of Catholics don?t understand why they go to Mass in the first place. Some Catholics have even stopped attending Mass because they are not satisfied with the preaching. Please don?t misunderstand and think that I?m trying to put anyone down, because that is not my intention. It?s simply a reality that many Catholics don?t understand the Mass. If they did, a bad homily or a dull priest wouldn?t affect them one bit. I must first admit that for many years I didn?t have the slightest idea of what Mass is all about. I went every week because that?s what ?good? Catholics do. If someone asked to explain the benefits of the Mass I would have been unable to do so.

One of the most difficult realities of being human is that it involves some degree of suffering. Even if it?s only small inconveniences such as tiredness and boredom, there is some form of unpleasantness in all of our lives. Some people mistakenly assume that if they become a follower of Christ that these problems will disappear and life will be one big party.

Today, we issued a press release announcing the exciting news that the monks of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel will now be remembering all intentions submitted through our website (http://www.thecatholictruth.info/). I am very excited about this news as it adds a new dimension to the prayer of our apostolate. The text of the press release follows:

I am constantly amazed how two people can read a passage in the Bible and get completely opposite meanings. Those of us who are Catholic will look at The Bread of Life discourse (John 6) and immediately recognize that Jesus is referring to the Eucharist. On the other hand, most non-Catholic Christians will interpret those verses differently and conclude that The Lord is speaking figuratively. In the gospel from today?s Mass (Mk 8:14-21), we see a similar situation develop.

Shortly after witnessing Jesus? miraculous feeding of the four thousand, the disciples are cautioned to ?guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” They believe that Jesus is chastising them for neglecting to bring bread for the journey. Jesus reprimands them by saying, ?Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or comprehend?? (Mk 8:17) In Matthew?s account of this story, Jesus is even clearer when He states, ?How do you not comprehend that I was not speaking to you about bread?? (Mt 16:11) When we read this story we think, ?How could they be so stupid??

For one thing, we have to remember that they didn?t have the benefit of 2000 years of consistent Church teaching. For another thing, they also did not yet posses the gifts of the Holy Spirit given to us in Baptism and strengthened at Confirmation. Considering that, we should ?cut them some slack? for not comprehending this teaching. Therefore, can we conclude that those of us who were baptized and confirmed and who encounter Jesus regularly through the Eucharist and Sacred Scripture never make the same mistake?

The answer, of course, is ?no?. We are all guilty of falling into the same trap of misinterpreting Scripture or misunderstanding Church teaching from time to time. In our case, it usually happens due to our pride or ignorance of Church teaching. The important thing is that we, like the disciples in this case, humbly submit ourselves to the teaching of Jesus Christ through His Catholic Church. Becoming familiar with the Catechism of the Catholic Church allows us to read the Bible through the eyes of the Church. If we have a difficult time with a Church teaching, take the time to research it further and pray for the gift of understanding.

Remembering these principles will keep us on the right track with The Lord and help us to understand His message, even when it?s difficult.