BIG C CATHOLICS

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) Most people that we know are carrying heavy burdens these days. Anxieties and fears burden us all, fears about our economy, the cost of food and fuel, home values and mortgages, what’s happening to our children, terrorism, our national debt, and so on. The list seems both overwhelming and endless. People are trying to stretch out paychecks, paychecks that never seem to go quite far enough. They are working on stressed marriage relationships they fear are breaking up. They’re unemployed or they’re under-employed and are looking for a better job that will give them a reliable and adequate source of income. Others are waiting for biopsy reports on certain abnormal cells that are growing in their bodies, filled with fear that they may have cancer. Or they’re trying to provide for and shape the characters of their children, children that are so influenced by all that is immoral and degrad

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) When I was a little boy and went to my catechism lessons the nuns, our teachers, used the famous Baltimore Catechism for their teaching guide. Many times they required us to memorize parts of the Baltimore Catechism and today I want to begin with its first section in which the question was asked: “Why did God make you?” The answer we memorized was: “God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in heaven.” Later on we had to memorize the Ten Commandments, and the first one was: “I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not have strange gods before me. In the Old Testament’s Book of Exodus we find God speaking to Moses about the covenant between God and His people. God tells the Hebrews: “You shall not worship any other god, for the LORD is the Jealous One; a jealous God is he.” (Exodus 34:14) In the New Testament’s Book of Acts w

July 2nd Maria was born to a poor farming family in Italy, one of six children. Her father died when she was only 9 years old. After his death, Maria had to taking care of the rest of the children in the family while her mother worked. Maria also cooked and cleaned for their neighbors. Alessandro, her attacker, was her neighbor's son. In spite of having to take care of the children, cook and clean for her family and neighbors, it's said that she did so joyfully and with faith that God would provide. Today we pray that St. Maria will intercede for us to have faithful, holy lives. St. Maria Goretti Novena Prayers - Day 6 St. Maria Goretti, beautiful model of living a holy, everyday life, pray for us. We often feel as though our efforts must be extraordinary if we are to be a saint, but you show us another way. You show that we can achieve sainthood by loving our Lord completely, and serving others before ourselves. Please pray that we are selfless as you

The Sacred Page is a blog on the Bible and Catholic theology written by four professors of Scripture and Theology, Michael Barber, John Bergmsa, Brant Pitre, and John Kincaid. Together they provide insightful, scholarly commentary on all things related to the Good News as recorded by the authors of God’s Word. Their ministry takes its mission statement from Dei Verbum , "...the study of the sacred page is, as it were, the soul of sacred theology" (Vatican II, Dei Verbum , 24). The biblical exegesis they offer is faithful and enlightening. Here is one such example: (On the Prodigal Son) "Jesus begins by telling the story of a man who had two sons. The parable begins with the younger brother going to the father and asking for his inheritance. Of course, an inheritance is usually bestowed upon offspring after the death of the one bequeathing it. Essentially, by demanding his inheritance while his father is still alive the younger brother basically says, 'Dad,

July 1st It's said that St. Maria's greatest virtue was her forgiveness of her attacker, even in the midst of terrible physical suffering. That's why she is called the, "little saint of great mercy." St. Maria modeled Christ's mercy. We ask her help to do so also. St. Maria Goretti Novena Prayers - Day 5 St. Maria Goretti, beautiful model of mercy, pray for me. God’s mercy is the only hope for mankind. I know we are called to imitate our Father’s mercy to those around us, but it is hard, and I often fail. But you, even at a tender age, were strong and courageous enough to offer mercy to your attacker, the one who hurt you the very most. Pray that I will be able to do the same to those who hurt me. Pray that I will not consider their unworthiness, but only our Lord, as you did. Please pray also for (mention your intentions here). Amen. O God, author of innocence and chastity, who bestowed the grace of martyrdom on your handmaid, the Virg

Detail, The Marriage of the Virgin , Raphael, 1504.  In the words of Saint John Paul II, “Chastity is a difficult, long term matter; one must wait patiently for it to bear fruit, for the happiness of loving kindness which it must bring. But at the same time, chastity is the sure way to [true] happiness." Sacred Scripture testifies that sexual relations are reserved for married spouses exclusively. Sex outside of marriage in any manner is gravely sinful. Here is an excellent explanation of the Church's teaching on chastity by Cynthia Hurla, a Catholic wife, mother and author of Veil of Chastity . a blog extolling said virtue. What is Chastity? The most basic definition of Chastity is the virtue of saving sex for marriage and remaining open to life within marriage.  But there is so much more to this beautiful and powerful virtue! For Catholics, our faith teaches that chastity is a virtue and that virtue bears fruit.  The Catechism also teaches us that in the case of m

Optional Memorial - July 1st Saint Junipero Serra was born Miguel Jose Serra on the island of Majorca in 1713 and entered the Franciscan Order in 1730; it was then that he took the name Junipero in honor of St. Francis of Assisi’s humble companion, Brother Juniper. For the next eighteen years, Father Serra spent his time in classrooms, first as a student and later as a professor of theology at the University of Majorca. But Father Serra also had a missionary spirit and, inspired by the work of St. Francis Solanus in South America, he left his relatively comfortable life in Spain for the New World in 1749. He landed first in Vera Cruz, Mexico, where he and a companion proceeded to travel on foot some 250 miles to Mexico City. On the way, Father Serra suffered a spider bite on his leg which did not heal; that plus his asthma would plague him and cause him discomfort for the rest of his life. He served for several years in central Mexico and the Baja Peninsula, learning the nat