BIG C CATHOLICS

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) We live in a strange world, don’t we? So many people begin things with good intentions, wonderful visions, and really want to make things better, both in their own lives and in the lives of others. Marx and Lenin, the fathers of communism, really wanted to make the lives of their countrymen better. We went to war in Vietnam with good intentions. Atomic energy was supposed to make the world a better place. But, as in so many great efforts, things are likely to eventually go wrong. The same is true in our own personal lives. People fall in love and get married with nothing but the best of intentions, with high hopes, with hearts filled with love, and with wonderful visions. Then, somewhere along the line, things turn sour. Life is mixture of good and evil. We are imperfect people living in an imperfect world. There’s much in our nation that is both good and bad. Our governmental offi

July 3rd, is the feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle. Although he initially doubted Jesus' rising, he has become for the Church one of the most compelling witnesses to the Resurrection of Christ. Thomas' skepticism mirrors that of many. May his profession of faith upon touching Our Savior's wounds, "My Lord and my God!", testify to others that Christ's Incarnation, and victory over sin and death are empirically and existentially real. Jesus' reply to Thomas, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me?" Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed," is not a criticism, but a confirmation of the demands of faith. Among the Apostles, Thomas does not stand out. His knowledge of Jewish scripture and well-formed conscience enabled him to recognize Christ as the Messiah foretold by the Prophets and to follow him as soon as he was called. When Christ traveled the road to Jerusalem to offer himself as a sacrifice for many, Thomas

Saint Charles Borromeo is one of the most celebrated saints that lived in the 16th century. By virtue of his prodigious intellect, unassailable belief and deeply held devotion, he made the Church glorious in the face of her enemies. Here are six insights on faith and love of God from this revered disciple of Christ. If a tiny spark of God’s love already burns within you, do not expose it to the wind, for it may get blown out... Stay quiet with God. Do not spend your time in useless chatter... Do not give yourself to others so completely that you have nothing left for yourself. *** If we wish to make any progress in the service of God we must begin every day of our life with new eagerness. We must keep ourselves in the presence of God as much as possible and have no other view or end in all our actions but the divine honor. *** If teaching and preaching is your job, then study diligently and apply yourself to whatever is necessary for doing the job well. Be sure that you fi

" Sometimes the Devil proposes to us great desires, so that we shall not put our hand to what we have to do, and serve our Lord in possible things, but stay content with having desired impossible ones. Granting that you can help much by prayer, don't try to benefit all the world, but those who are in your company, and so the work will be better for you are much bounden to them.... In short, what I would conclude with is that we must not build towers without foundations; the Lord does not look so much to the grandeur of our works as to the love with which they are done; and if we do all we can, His Majesty will see to it that we are able to do more and more every day, if we do not then grow weary, and during the little that this life lasts — and perhaps it will be shorter than each one thinks — we offer to Christ, inwardly and outwardly, what sacrifice we can, for His Majesty will join it with the one He made to the Father for us on the Cross, that it may have the value whic

Increase Our Faith! Stir into flame our faith, O Lord! Inspire us to avoid that which is not of you or your life. Help us to avoid the traps of this world, such as greed, avarice, lust, and reckless ambition. Keep us, Lord, from being judgmental and gossips. In humility, Lord, we ask..... Increase our faith! Stir into flame our faith, O Lord! Inspire us to embrace your heavenly Father who created us, who has redeemed us, and who continually sustains us. Inspire us to know in the depths of our hearts that his life and his will are what will make us happy and give us meaning and purpose in life. In humility, Lord, we ask..... Increase our faith! Stir into flame our faith, O Lord! Inspire us to accept your teachings, Lord Jesus Christ. You taught us to love one another and to find you in all people and in all situations. Take our hands, Lord, and walk us to the cross of your Son, Jesus, and to the empty tomb, in which we will find hope. In humility, Lord, we ask.... Increase

The 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 16, 2016 Msgr. Bernard Bourgeois Exodus 17:8-13; Psalm 121; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2; Luke 18:1-8 " Proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching. " 2 Tm 4:2 It is the call of every Christian to make his faith the center of his life. Period. Faith lives at the core of the human person and from it the Christian seeks direction for all decisions in life. In Baptism, the human person was set on a journey that will end in seeing God face to face. It was a rebirth in the waters of faith. The rest of the Christian’s life is spent responding to God’s gracious call to holiness. Fundamental decisions of one’s life are made through faith as well as the smaller day-to-day decisions the person must make. Faith is like the hub of a wheel. As spokes go forth from that hub, so faith penetrates all parts of a person’s life. The Christian will use

Assumption of the Virgin , Francesco Botticini, 1475-1476. Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) What awaits us in our future? Today’s scripture readings put that question to us. What does the future hold in store for us? What awaits us when we die? Is what is awaiting us when we die determined by what we did or didn’t do in this life? These are the big questions we face today and in all of the days of our lives. Jesus talked with His disciples (and we are His disciples) about the future, telling them they were to face it not with fear but with hope and in a spirit of positive expectancy. He spoke to them in terms of making investments, investments in their future. “Sell what you have,” He told them, and buy into the sort of retirement plan I am offering you, a never-failing treasure with my Father and with me in heaven.  “Wherever your treasure lies,” Jesus told us, “there you heart will be.” Stated the other way around he’s