All Hallows Eve

Today is Halloween!  What sort of connection do we as Christians have to this day?  Watch the video below to hear about Halloween, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day from Fr. James Martin, S.J..

[Video is 8:14 long]

The Year of Faith: there's an app for that

As mentioned in previous posts, we are in the middle of a "Year of Faith."  Similar to the "Year of Paul" and Year for Priest, the Year of Faith is a time to focus on a particular aspect of our Catholic faith that the Pope and Bishops think Catholics around the world need to draw their attention to.  While Paul and Priests represent a segment of our faith, this year, we're asked to look at our faith as a whole, to examine our relationship to Jesus and grow in knowledge of our faith.

The Diocese of Ft. Wayne-South Bend commissioned a website and companion smartphone app to help Catholics in Northern Indiana and across the world grow in their faith.  The website and app update daily with new posts designed to "help you learn your Catholic faith, love it more deeply and live it with passion."  So far, topics of posts include the newest American saints, a missionary in Nicaragua, and how to see the Pope when in Rome.

You can purchase the MyYearOfFaith app for your iOS or Andriod device for $.99.

Feast of Sts. Peter & Paul

St. Paul in the Vatican

St. Peter in the Vatican

Today, the Church celebrates two of our most beloved early Christians, Sts. Peter & Paul.  Peter was the leader of Jesus' handpicked disciples and, together with Paul, the leader of the Early Church.  Paul's influence lives on in his letters to the earliest Christian communities in Rome, Corinth, Thessolonika, and other places.  Although they clashed on at least one recorded occasion (see Galatians 2), their passion for Jesus and their intense desire for discipleship helped them overcome any disagreements and focus on spreading the Good News of Jesus the Christ.

Want to learn more?  Watch this video and St. Paul.

St. Paul

Image Credits: Mary Harrsch on flickr (Paul); Mr. G's Travels on flickr (Peter).

St. Francis de Sales - A Patron Saint for Today

St. Francis de Sales

The Busy Saint

Today, January 24, is the feast day of St. Francis de Sales, one of the patron saints of catechists, teachers and all who provide religious instruction -- including parents.  When you read bits and pieces about his life, you can understand why he is a patron of these causes.  For example, his words to a close friend (St. Jane de Chantal) ring true to parents and all others who have days overflowing with scheduled time: "So many have come to me that I might serve them, leaving me no time to think of myself. However, I assure you that I do feel deep-down- within-me, God be praised. For the truth is that this kind of work is infinitely profitable to me."

St. Francis lived in a much different time, when inboxes were physical and not a folder in your email directory.  He wrote that he once had over 50 letters to respond to by hand.  And it is said that he overworked himself, spreading himself so thin in his duties as a pastor that he was often sick.  In moments when we feel similar, send up a quick prayer, asking St. Francis for perseverance.

Three-years, No Results
Being with God, even in the midst of an incredible amount of tasks, provided St. Francis with the solid foundation for when he faced one of his life's many trials.  Around the time of the Protestant Reformation, he set out on a three-year door-to-door attempt at converting the Swiss to Catholicism (from a profile on St. Francis de Sales):

Then Francis had a bad idea -- at least that's what everyone else thought. This was during the time of the Protestant reformation and just over the mountains from where Francis lived was Switzerland -- Calvinist territory. Francis decided that he should lead an expedition to convert the 60,000 Calvinists back to Catholicism. But by the time he left his expedition consisted of himself and his cousin. His father refused to give him any aid for this crazy plan and the diocese was too poor to support him. 

For three years, he trudged through the countryside, had doors slammed in his face and rocks thrown at him. In the bitter winters, his feet froze so badly they bled as he tramped through the snow. He slept in haylofts if he could, but once he slept in a tree to avoid wolves. He tied himself to a branch to keep from falling out and was so frozen the next morning he had to be cut down. And after three years, his cousin had left him alone and he had not made one convert.

St. Francis later changed up his approach and found more success in his conversion attempts -- he won people's hearts ahead of their minds.  He reminds us that it's never too late to try something new and outside our comfort zone.

Everyone Can Be Holy
Finally, St. Francis was a spirituality trailblazer, insisting that everyone, regardless of vocation, can grow in holiness, that is, in the likeness of God: "All of us can attain to Christian virtue and holiness, no matter in what condition of life we live and no matter what our life work may be."  He set about helping lay people explore this idea by offering spiritual direction via letter to many, many individuals.  Among the direction, he would recommend individuals offer their days to God through this prayer:

My God, I give you this day. I offer you, now, all of the good that I shall do and I promise to accept, for love of you, all of the difficulty that I shall meet. Help me to conduct myself during this day in a manner pleasing to you. Amen.

May St. Francis de Sales be a patron and a guide for all those who provide religious instruction -- parents, pastors, catechists, teachers, and family members.

Image Credit: Lawrence OP on flickr

"Between Heaven and Mirth": Jesus Probably Loved a Good Joke

Saints can be funny too

Fr. James Martin, SJ, culture editor of the weekly Jesuit magazine America and author of many books, has a new one out called "Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life."  Below is an excerpt from this book, perfect for a Friday in November:

"Accepting that you're not in control is a reason not only for humility — but also for more joy. You can work hard and leave the rest up to God. Pope John XXIII once said that when he woke up in the night, worried about the future of the church, he would relax by asking himself a question. 'Giovanni,' he would say to himself. 'Why are you so worried? Who is in charge of the church — you or the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit! So go back to sleep, Giovanni!' "

You are not God. And if you forget this, God will remind you. So we need to lighten up about life and ministries. Not that our work and family and religious lives are not important. But we're ultimately not the one who brings about results."

Fr. Martin was also recently on the Comedy Central show Colbert Report, answering questions about Between Heaven and Mirth, and showing the world that you can be joyful and humorous while being seriously faithful.  Embedded below (and linked here) is his interview with Stephen Colbert:

All Saints' Day

With Halloween candy on the clearance racks today, we Catholics turn our attention to All Saint's Day (the Solemnity of All Saints).  Today is a wonderful opportunity for us to gather together to celebrate all the saints who have gone before us, both canonized and uncanonized.

Greeting Pilgrims from his balcony, Pope Benedict XVI had this to say to English speakers today:

I am pleased to wish all of you a happy All Saints Day! This wonderful feast, along with tomorrow's commemoration of the faithful departed, speaks to us of the beauty of our faith and of the joy that awaits us in heaven with our loved ones who have fallen asleep in Christ. Let us therefore pray earnestly that we may all be joyfully united one day in the Father's house. God bless you all!

So what is it about the Saints that captures our attention?  Fr. Jim Martin explains how real the attraction of saints can be, and how important they are for our faith:

Happy All Saint's Day!

Saints and All Hallows Eve

Next week is Halloween and, more importantly, the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls.  Is there a connection here?  If so, what is it?  And what do we really believe about saints?  Watch the video below to hear answers from Fr. James Martin, SJ.


[Video is 8:14 long]

Blessing of Pets

Meet Q the cat

Yesterday was the Feast Day of St. Francis.  Over the years, it's become popular for religious organizations to hold a "blessing of pets" or "blessing of animals" in the days before or after October 4 (see below if you wonder why).  Although we don't offer an opportunity to gather and bless your pets here at St. Mark, you can do a brief, and meaningful, pet blessing ritual at home.

Before the blessing, you'll want to decide whether you want to include singing or not.  Some great songs include Canticle of the Son (aka All Creatures of our God and King) of Prayer of St. Francis (aka Make Me a Channel of your Peace).  Another question: indoor or outdoor?  If you have an indoor only pet, the answer is obvious, but if your pet is both, then outdoor might be the way to go.

Feast Day of St. Francis

In honor of today's Feast Day of St. Francis, a brief look at his life:

Who Cares About the Saints? (St. Francis) from Loyola Productions on Vimeo.