Baptisms falling

And perhaps it has to do with falling rates of weddings as well. And with premise of the orthodox understanding of baptismal regeneration, this derth does not bode well.

Them's fightin' words from Pope Francis

.. we must make the effort to walk on the path of righteousness, sanctification - use this word: holiness.. .. Before the Act of Faith, prior to acceptance of Jesus Christ, who has created us anew with His own blood,” explained Pope Francis, “we were on the road of injustice.” After Baptism and the Act of Faith, however, “we are on the path of sanctification, but we must take it seriously! Without this awareness of the before and after of which Paul speaks to us, our Christianity does not help anyone! More to this: it takes us on the road of hypocrisy. ‘I call myself a Christian, but live like a pagan!’ Sometimes we say ‘Christians at half-speed'

Homily 24 October, focusing on the universal call to holiness

An excellent examination of conscience

by Father John Hardon, SJ, that seems very balanced to me. One of these days, I shall write a bit about what I have been learnng by God's grace, but for now, let me say how important such balance between sorrow for joy is.

What accomplishments matter

Not the failed attempt at reviving my XP on Bootcamp, despite hours of fiddling with it to the wee small hours. No sense of accomplishment there. Then I lie down and look at my daughter next to me (sleeps between mom and dad), and there's someone to make me smile -- and she's not even my accomplishment. I'm just a happy receiver of God's gifts! :-) Thank you!

Your faith has saved you..

Today's gospel narrative has Jesus curing ten lepers thrown together by a common lot of disease and being outcasts. Only one, the foreigner Samaritan, is moved to gratitude and touched by God inside and out. He is perhaps overcome with the realization that Jesus wasn't just a man. He praises God loudly and throws himself at Jesus' feet. Our deacon made the point about this episode and the work of evangelization that we are called to, without exception (but with variety, I guess). But he also makes the point that we cannot evangelize unless we ourselves were touched with such overwhelming love and realization of having received God's grace. How often have I ever felt the cured man's elation and overpowering joy? It is not as if I hadn't received such mighty gifts -- my wife, who puts up with so much; my kids, when I know of many who have not been blessed with any. It is easy to take them for granted, these mighty gifts from God, especially my wife's daily gifts of love, day in and out. So that is why St. Paul exhorts several times to thanksgiving, which is to live in this truth: God loves me, God in whom I live and have my being. That I can own that truth, when for most of my life, I could not, means that I should be ready to evangelize, when it is now more than head-knowledge. It is now conviction. (Great, another would-be Evangelical Catholic online!)

There is a battle going on..

I know Pope Francis has seemed horribly off the cuff lately, resulting in a lot of consternation from orrhodox Catholics, but I guess I'm not so fussed when I'm already in skeptic mode -- skeptical of what mainstream media claim he says. And of course it is worrying when he seems vague or ambiguous enough to be misunderstood by those still new or immature in the faith, but I think we're at this point in history where being uninitiated in the faith is no longer easily excusable. In this age of massive online literacy, who can claim ignorance in the faith? The Catechism is online. The Bible is online. Catholic Answers is online. EWTN is onlne. Father Z, jimmy Akin, Tim Staples, Mark Shea, Scott Hahn -- heck, your bishop is online. Even the saintly departed like Bishop Fulton Sheen, Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, Blessed Pope John Paul II, and many of our saints are online. "Do not be naive.. There is a battle .. where salvation is at play.." Every Christian must be ready, forearmed with knowledge of the ways of the Enemy and of The Way.