BIG C CATHOLICS

October 15th, is the memorial of Saint Teresa of Ávila, (1515-1582) also called St. Teresa of Jesus, celebrating the heroic virtue of the 16th century Spanish mystic, foundress, and Doctor of the Church. Baptized Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada, she was born into a wealthy family at Ávila, Spain, the third of nine children. In her youth she was described as beautiful, precocious and marked by a spiritual acuity beyond her years. Of her initial formation and temperament, she observed: "The possession of virtuous parents who lived in the fear of God, together with those favors which I received from his Divine Majesty, might have made me good, if I had not been so very wicked." Teresa was 14 when her mother died. Overcome with grief, she asked the Virgin Mary to be her spiritual mother. Despite her pious upbringing and Godly inclination; Teresa’s interest was briefly given to superficial pursuits. Enamored with tales of chivalry, the future saint deigned to write the same

October 14th, is the optional memorial of Saint Callistus I, the 3rd century pontiff and martyr who affirmed that through the sacrament of reconciliation, penitent sinners may be welcomed back into the Church. Born into slavery, in the Trastevere suburb of Rome, his Christian mother instilled in Callistus the Faith. His Christian master, Carpophorus, would also greatly influence him. Few saints have experienced a more serendipitous path to sanctity. Hippolytus of Rome relates that Callixtus’ master put him in charge of alms collected for the care of widows and orphans. After losing those funds, Callistus fled. but was captured. His master forgave him, and at the request of the creditors, Callistus was released. Attempting to recover the lost money, Callistus was arrested for disturbing the rites of a synagogue when he tried to collect from some Jews in his debt. Other accounts contend that upon being forgiven. he oversaw a failed Christian bank. Callixtus was denounced as a Christi

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

Editor's note: Each Tuesday we will feature posts discussing Saint John Paul the Great's Theology of the Body; his reflection on our nature and life as persons made in the image and likeness of God, conjugal love, the meaning of celibacy, and the eternal beatitude to which every human being is called.  ____________________________ In Genesis, when Adam awakes from the divine sleep, God presents him with Eve. Immediately, Adam exclaims, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh." Adam's response is an expression of love. Adam recognizes in Eve a person, equal in dignity to himself. Eve beholds in Adam a person like her. This was the moment that original solitude was overcome. The loneliness and longing that each felt for the other was wondrously fulfilled in their covenantal union. With original unity, Adam was a gift to Eve, and Eve a gift to Adam. Their very bodies spoke a language of intimacy and trust — enabling them to view each other

Before everything else, fidelity to the Church: One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. Jesus did not found several churches, but one single Church. ***  The family, founded upon marriage freely contracted, one and indissoluble, must be regarded as the natural, primary cell of human society. The interests of the family, therefore, must be taken very specially into consideration in social and economic affairs, as well as in the spheres of faith and morals. For all of these have to do with strengthening the family and assisting it in the fulfillment of its mission — Pacem in Terris,  1963 We are not on earth as museum-keepers, but to cultivate a flourishing garden of life and to prepare for a glorious future.  ***  To have accepted with simplicity the honour and the burden of the pontificate, with the joy of being able to say that I did nothing to obtain it, absolutely nothing; indeed I was most careful and conscientious to avoid anything that might direct attention to mys

October 11th, is the optional memorial of Saint John XXIII, (1881-1963) the 20th century Italian pope known for convening the Second Vatican Council. He reigned as pontiff from October 28, 1958 until his death. Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was born in the village of Sotto il Monte, Italy, on November 25, 1881. He was the fourth in a family of 14, the eldest son, of parents, Giovanni and Marianna Giulia Roncalli. The family labored as peasant farmers. Of his beginnings he remarked, "Born poor, but of honored and humble people, I am particularly proud to die poor." Roncalli credited his godfather, Zaverio, for providing his first and most fundamental religious instruction. His pious home life and the local parish instilled in him a fervent love of God and the Church. At 8, Roncalli received his first Communion and Confirmation. He entered the Bergamo seminary in 1892, where he began the practice of making spiritual notes. These, which he continued in one form or another until