As we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, we reflect on the importance of family in our own lives and in the life the Church. Pope Francis does just this in his papal exhortation The Joy of Love (Amoris Laetitia).
Some years ago as I was wandering through our local outdoor nursery, I came upon a lawn fountain filled with lovely koi swimming serenely. As I leaned over to take a closer look, I became aware of my reflection in the water and remembered a Proverb: “As water reflects a face back to a face, so one’s heart is reflected back by another” (27:19).
This week on November 11, the United States celebrates its annual observance of Veterans Day. This national holiday dates back to 1918, when the armistice between the Allied countries and Germany on the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” brought an end to World War I. President Woodrow Wilson declared November 11 would be observed as “Armistice Day.” Congress officially changed the name to “Veterans Day” in 1954 to recognize all men and women who had served within the military during times of war. We continue to remember all those who have served, and also those who currently serve in conflicts in the name of peace around the world.
A common goal for parishes and schools is to create a healthy environment where children and families thrive. Preventing bullying is a key element to providing a safe and secure community. There are life-skills and patterns of behavior we can practice in order to strengthen our everyday commitment to healthy relating. When members know and agree to social norms of a loving Christian community, we provide an optimal environment for living, learning, and praying together.
The month of October is widely recognized as Pastor Appreciation Month, with Sunday, October 9, set aside for Clergy Appreciation Day. The day was established in 1992; Hallmark began selling cards for it in 2002.
It is difficult to go into a store this time of year and not see all the decorations and costumes for Halloween. As Catholics, we clothe ourselves in special ways also, but in the context of the Communion of the Saints. Just as children dress up like a person they would like to be like when they grow up (such as a police officer, firefighter, or doctor), we look to the saints as an example for us in our daily lives.
October is traditionally known as “Respect Life Month.” We also celebrate the Feasts of two powerful saints during October: Saint Francis of Assisi on October 4 and Saint Theresa of Avila on October 15. How can these two saints enhance our own awareness and celebration of respect for all life?
During my years as a Hospice volunteer, I had some very moving and meaningful experiences. One, in particular, stands out.
I was visiting Theresa, a patient in a nursing home, where visitations by family members or friends are often few and far between. She was Catholic and her room was filled with images of her faith. Theresa often shared her loneliness with me. One day, when she seemed weaker than usual, I asked if there was anything she wanted–water, music, prayer, a priest. She looked at me with a smile and pointed to a statue of Mary, on which hung her rosary beads.
I remember starting out more than 20 years ago as a Youth Minister in the Catholic Church thinking that this experience would help to foster my spirituality. Not only would I be able to work with God’s people, but I could also spend significant time in prayer each day. After all, my office was right in a church. But reality struck several months into my ministry when I had the terrible realization that I was actually spending less time in prayer. I became a victim of what my spiritual director called "spirituality by proximity." I lead prayer services, helped form catechists, taught teens how to pray—all in a church setting—but my personal prayer life suffered.
Raising six sons has always been an exercise in amazement. How, I continue to ask myself, can six children from one home with the same two parents be so incredibly different? Even now, as adults, each of them has an approach to life that is uniquely theirs … and sometimes it makes me crazy!