On Prayer

Diaconate Formation ~ Fr. Kiziewski
"If you do not have 30 minutes of mental prayer, you need to change (& add that)!

Some thoughts on Prayer:

Prayer must translate to the HEART!!!

Romans 8:26 ~ "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words."

All Prayer has 2 purposes:
#1 ~ Glorify God
#2 ~ Make us better (saves our soul/more holy).

Below is a great video to reflect on:

Ashes & Sackcloth

A great bit of writing:
A Year of Ashes

Some key take-aways (besides a year of contrition & penance, which would be fitting!):

~ Vows are vows and should be recognized as such (for both laity and ordained).

~ SIN is the problem, and the unwillingness to call SIN what it is!

~ We should FEAR GOD more than we fear (earthly) consequences!

BTW ~
I HAVE heard homilies, teaching and preaching on these very subjects. I count myself blessed to have had fantastic priests that speak the TRUTH and who look after their flock and really try to save souls!

Saving souls is no joke!!!

Another quote/thought that I reflected on this week:

Jesus taught and THEN fed. ~ Fr. Altman (Homily HERE)

This was as it relates to the people who would like to say Jesus would accept everyone (no matter their sins, w/o repentance) today! That we should be open to all, no matter their choices.

WRONG...teach them the TRUTH, and then, if they choose to follow (repent), welcome them with open arms!
Let's keep in mind that teaching does not have to be with a hammer (but sometimes it helps), but it can also not ALWAYS be with a feather, either.

ALWAYS show compassion and mercy!
Let's define compassion and mercy...It is NOT acceptance!!!
It IS caring for their ETERNAL SALVATION...teach them if the things they are doing are contrary to the truth. We MUST let them know there is more to life than the temporal, and that they (& we) should be concerned with the "life to come" far more than the immediate satisfaction/pleasures.

All Glory be to God!

Advent 2018

I have begun to fast on the Ember Days
It has been a good thing...getting back to the traditions of the Catholic Church.

Fasting and abstinence on Fridays is an important part of our Faith.
I would encourage you to try this...see what you feel like, where your mind goes, etc.
Reflect on Christ's Passion...
Adding these ember days, contributes to that penitential response even more so...
Remembering that God has given us ALL of creation...this includes nature, the seasons, weather, etc

This is a pic that I found and reflected during this Advent Season (and will continue to this year):

It says volumes...maybe even better to reflect on throughout the entire year, but makes more sense when you read it in light of ADVENT...

HOWEVER... We have been told that "the many" (the "In crowd") are taking the broad path, while "the few" are following the narrow path to heaven 

Enter by the narrow gate, since the road that leads to destruction is wide and spacious, and many take it; but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it.  ~ Matt 7:13

Watching...

Here are a couple more things to watch and reflect on...
FIRST is about making some decisions with the Will of God in mind...
St. Ignatius of Loyola has some great insight...

Next has to do with the POWER of words... Which we all know matter... Positive attitudes and speaking positively to ourselves and others matter!

WORDS MATTER

Videos

Videos to Watch, Reflect and Learn from:

Guardian Angels ~ Fr. Ripperger

The Spiritual Weapon ~ Fr. Ripperger

2 Finals and the Final Class...

One year of classes already down...This year seems to have gone by so fast...
The discernment process continues and we have the summer to w-a-i-t until this fall...better yet, we have the summer to reflect and discern some more, what each of our specific paths are...what does Our Lord have in store for us? PRAY, PRAY, PRAY...and then LISTEN...

We are just touching the tip-of-the-iceberg, in my opinion, especially after hearing the closing remarks of the 1st year Candidates and the 3rd-year Candidates.

We have a long way to go and A LOT to learn, but one thing is for sure...God will provide the resources, understanding, wisdom and faculties to become whatever it is He is calling us to become.

FINALS and Due Dates
FINAL for Celebration of Christian Mystery is DUE next Saturday (May 19th)
       HERE is the paper you can copy and type into

FINAL for Introduction to Sacred Scripture is DUE by June 30th (try to get it done by June 15th)
Sent to: Msgr. Mark Pierce, 611 Stark Street, Wausau, WI 54403

Try it out!!!

Fellas ~
We will try this (blogspot) out as well... This might be easier for all of us to just quickly jump on and "check-in"...
No need to "log-in" and goto a google classroom. Just bookmark the site or google it and it should pop-up for you.

I can make anyone a "blog author" for any of you that wish to write-up more than just questions or comments...

Plus, we can use more links and things here that may keep it easier for everyone.

We will discuss at our May retreat to see what everyone thinks/likes...
It would be great to stay in touch over the summer months with everyone!!!