BIG C CATHOLICS

The Good Samaritan Theme : Being honest and trustworthy – even when no one is watching. Object : A dollar bill and a bag such as one that a business might use to take deposits to the bank. Scripture : “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” Luke 116:10 (NIV) What would you do if you were walking by your friend’s room and you saw a dollar on the floor? Would you pick it up and give it to your friend, or would you look around to make sure no one was watching then slip it into your pocket? What would you do if you were walking down the corridor and found a bag like this one – and when you looked inside, you discovered that it contained a lot of money? Would you tell the nurses and report your find, or would you say, “Wow! This must be my lucky day?” Today I am going to tell you two true stories about people who found a large amount of money a...

Occupy your minds with good thoughts, or the enemy will fill them with bad ones. Unoccupied, they cannot be. -- St Thomas More

Father Rene Butler   There’s an old joke about a little boy who noticed that his great-grandmother read the Bible constantly. One day he asked her why. She answered, “I’m cramming for finals!” There is plenty to make us anxious in today’s readings. Malachi prophesies doom for evildoers. Jesus says his followers will be. And why? “Because of my name.” Even family and friends will hand you over, everyone will hate you. And why? Again, “Because of my name.” But then Jesus says two strange things. 1. In a time of persecution, don’t prepare your defense. Now any self-respecting “Law & Order” addict can tell you that you never go into a courtroom unprepared. Witnesses have to be prepped. 2. Don’t worry. Jesus doesn’t say this in so many words, but he assures us that not a hair of our head will be destroyed. How can he maked such a claim? If we look back at the reading from Malachi, we read, “But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its heal...

This haunting video talks about abortion throught the eyes of the unborn child. To think that this has been repeated over 53 million times since 1973. Oh what might have been...

All SOULS DAY REFLECTION If you were to collect all the passages about death and the afterlife in the Bible, you would still not have a clear picture about what the experience of death is like or what we can expect life to be like after we have died. Obviously God has had no intention of revealing very much about these two basic experiences, even though humans have speculated and written much about them. Death is an impenetrable wall or abyss that exists between us and the afterlife, at least as our knowledge is concerned. We are, however, asked to reflect on what precedes and what follows the experience of death itself. With regard to what precedes death, we are encouraged to reflect on God's mercy and goodness, not on our failures, torments, and trials of the past. The prophet Jeremiah rejects the thoughts that bring despair, regret, and depression; instead he fills his heart with the positive qualities of God: "His mercies are not spent; they are renewed...