BIG C CATHOLICS

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Director, La Salette Shrine Enfield, NH ( Click here for today’s readings ) One thing is certain. For Peter, James and John, after what they experienced on that mountain, everything was changed. For Abraham, after what he experienced on another mountain, everything was changed. One was an experience of glory. The other was a test. And what a test! How could God do such a thing to Abraham? How could Abraham accept it without a fight? How could Isaac, presumably a teenager by this time, let himself be tied up and placed on the altar of sacrifice? These are questions that people raise in perfectly good faith. The whole thing seems incredible to us, impossible; which is our way of saying: “I couldn’t do that!” Even granting, as I often say, that it was “another world,” in which it seems child sacrifice was practiced by the pagans, the sacrifice of Isaac is hard for modern readers to make sense of. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews offers th...

According to Saint John Paul II, holiness isn’t simply one option among many; it is the essence of being Catholic. Living a holy life has little to do with perfection. It is a lifelong process of seeking God, through Christ. To be Catholic is to be called to holiness. Holiness can be summed up in one word – love. Christ calls his disciples to authentic love – love of God and love of neighbor. Saying this is one thing. Living it is another. We might think that holiness is the stuff of priests and nuns. We might think of living a holier life as something we will do tomorrow or sometime in the future. This is wrong. Sacred Scripture tells us the time to be holy is now! 1. The spiritual journey is entirely dependent on God. It is a gift God gives us. It is a grace. Going to Mass doesn’t make us holy. Neither does saying a million rosaries. God sustains us in life – in everything we do. We are entirely dependent on his mercy. 2. Our effort is necessary . What we can do to...

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Director, La Salette Shrine Enfield, NH Christ tempted by Satan ( Click here for today’s readings ) Years ago I saw a little cartoon showing a classic long-bearded, robed prophet with a big sign reading “REPENT!*” The asterisk referred to a note at the bottom of the sign: “*If you have already repented, please disregard this notice.” John the Baptist, we were told earlier in this first chapter of Mark’s Gospel, preached a “gospel of repentance.” Now that John is out of the picture, Jesus appears, almost like an understudy filling in for an absent performer. The message is the same: “Repent!” And yet there is a difference. Not only do we usually visualize John and Jesus as in some way quite unlike each other, but we sense, at least, a certain dissimilarity in their message. John’s call to repentance was in view of preparing for Jesus, whose coming was imminent. Jesus’ call to repentance is in view of preparing for the Kingdom of God, whi...

Lent is a time of enormous grace and spiritual renewal.  It is a season of solemnity and sacrifice commemorating Christ’s exodus into the desert; our sacrifice is a reminder of the self-sacrifice Jesus made to save us from our sins.  The three main components to Lenten observance are: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  I have taken Father Michael Najim’s original “ 25 ways to live the Lenten season ,” and added/subtracted a few ways. They are in no particular order. Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments. A t the end of the article are ad ditional Lenten resources for your consideration. May your Lent be fruitful, prayerful, and grace filled! 1) Read Sacred Scripture 2) Read a spiritual book for ten minutes 3) Spend ten minutes in silence 4) Pray the rosary 5) Pray the Way of the Cross 6) Say the Divine Mercy Chaplet every Friday during Lent at 3:00 PM (the hour of Divine Mercy) 7) Attend daily Mass or go once or twice during the week...

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Director, La Salette Shrine Enfield, NH Christ heals a leper ( Click here for today’s readings ) It’s flu season. In many parishes the distribution of Communion under both species is discontinued until further notice, and people are encouraged to offer the Sign of Peace with a nod rather than a handshake. If you have the flu, you are expected to stay home rather than risk infecting people around you. You have heard the recent serious concerns about measles, and the controversy surrounding parents who decided not to have their children immunized. Before that it was Ebola. Before that it was AIDS. A sixty-five-year-old woman in India lives in a hut outside her village, and hasn’t had a visitor in at least 22 years. She has leprosy. People are afraid, even though they have been assured the disease is not communicable. Fear trumps science. In some parts of India leprosy is accepted as valid grounds for divorce — this in the country with the l...

Fr. Butler is away preaching on special assignment. I submit to you  Fr. Charles Irvin's homily on Jesus, Job and the value of our suffering:  Peter and his mother-in-law Fr. Charles Irvin ( Click here for today’s readings ) Henry David Thoreau once wrote: “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” One such person comes to us this morning in today’s first reading. He name is Job. I’m sure most of you are familiar with his story that comes to us from the Old Testament. We enter his story today finding Job as a successful businessman, enjoying good health, some considerable wealth, at the peak of happiness, surrounded by a loving family, and married to a good wife. But good fortune is like the wind. Suddenly everything changes. Savage bandits slaughter his servants and steal his flocks. A dreadful desert storm takes the lives of all his children. Under terrible pressure and stress his health fails and his entire body is covered with ...

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Director, La Salette Shrine Enfield, NH Christ casting out demons ( Click here for today’s readings ) At the end of this Gospel passage it would appear that Jesus is now poised to embark on a great career. He is rapidly becoming a celebrity. There are lots and lots of famous people in the world, from the international to the local scene, in every field you can imagine. A few, commonly called “personalities,” may simply be “famous for being famous.” Most have caught people’s attention by doing something never (or rarely) done before (like medical miracles, sports records, technology, etc.), or by doing something in a totally new, interesting or exciting way (as in literature, music, and the arts in general). It also helps to be in the right place at the right time and to be noticed by the right people. But you still have to be the “right person” with the “right stuff.” Then you can make a big impression, and have people “astonished” and “...