Religious Freedom is So Last Century

Posted on February 25, 2015 by Susan Kehoe

The US Catholic bishops have been routinely mocked for their stance against the HHS Will not comply religious freedommandate. Their concerns have been misunderstood. The bishops are not worried that Americans will not be allowed to worship. But they are concerned that our constitutional right to practice our religion is being eroded.

The Catholic News Agency is reporting that:

Washington D.C., Feb 24, 2015 / 03:45 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Catholic and Evangelical humanitarian agencies are among the U.S. groups responding to the massive influx of unaccompanied minors from Latin America, but a new federal rule could require them to refer the children for abortion or lose their grants.  

A coalition of these faith-based agencies called on the federal government to amend the rule so that the government can meet obligations to care for these children while “respecting the religious and moral beliefs of faith-based organizations that, to date, have provided such critical care for this vulnerable population.”

Joining the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in a Feb. 20 statement to federal rule makers were leading organizations like Catholic Relief Services, the National Association of Evangelicals, World Vision, and World Relief. Continue Reading…

I think that the time is coming for the Church to stop accepting government grants for everything from schools to hospitals to social work.

Don’t forget to participate in the annual Fortnight for Freedom. And pray. Of course.

 

Posted in Abortion, Catholic Church, Catholic Moral Teaching, Freedom of Religion, Politics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Surf Angel

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Susan Kehoe

Cool. A seminarian who died while surfing  is being considered for sainthood (via the WallSeminarian_Guido_Vidal_Fran_a_Schaffer_surfing_Photo_courtesy_of_guidoschaffercombr_CNA_11_12_14Street Journal):

In January, the Vatican gave permission to Rio priests to gather evidence of Mr. Schäffer’s holiness and present it to the pope, a crucial early step in the sainthood process.

To mark the moment, Mr. Schäffer’s remains were transferred to the Our Lady of Peace Church in the beach town of Ipanema. His surf buddies accompanied the remains atop a firetruck in a lively procession. Several held surfboards aloft. One board said “JESUS IS OUR WAVE” in large black letters.

“For him, surfing was a mystical experience, like prayer. He felt the presence of God in the sea,” said the Rev. Jorge Neves, who mentored Mr. Schäffer at Our Lady of Peace and resembles the actor Forest Whitaker. Mr. Schäffer called his hefty mentor “Big George.”

A giant poster of Mr. Schäffer on his board now hangs on the outside of the Ipanema church. In it, a tanned and athletic Mr. Schäffer has just completed a wave and is riding the foam. The Surfer Angel wears blue board shorts and stares intently into the distance. Passersby cross themselves as they walk the busy sidewalk below the poster.

The notion of a surfing saint may surprise those who think of saints as ancient martyrs or inaccessible holy men. But that is the point, some of Mr. Schäffer’s backers say. In Latin America, among other places, the church needs youthful, contemporary priests and saints to compete with the rise of Evangelical Protestantism, the thinking goes.

“When he died, it was hard to understand. We asked God, why did you take him since, as a priest, he was going to bring so many people to the church?” said the Rev. Roberto Lopes, a Rio de Janeiro priest acting as liaison with the Vatican on Mr. Schäffer’s possible sainthood. “Then we realized: Maybe he will bring even more people to the church as a saint.”

Mr. Schäffer spread the gospel through surfing. Before paddling out, he would pray on the beach with his surf buddies. Often, other beachgoers joined in. Out in the water, he struck up conversations with fellow surfers between the sets. He liked to say that Jesus, who walked on water, was the first surfer.

But he was not just a beach bum. He was a physician, served the poor, and he was close to being ordained when he died.  Read more (it may be behind a firewall)…

I just love being Catholic.

Related link from Catholic News Agency

Posted in Catholic Church, Holiness, Saints, Uncategorized, Vocations | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Lent. Is. Hard

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Susan Kehoe

Well it has been a crazy, hectic, and frustrating day. It began whenI tried to blog keep-calm-and-live-lent-2something early this morning before work, but I had nothing. The ole brain just went blank. But I promised a certain deacon that I would blog something every day (weekdays at least) so here I am.

We are only two days into Lent, and I am already worried that I am going to flunk again this year. Come to think of it the only really good Lent I ever did was when I gave up sarcasm. That was beyond hard, but I did it. Once is enough. Hey I was born in New York sarcasm is in my DNA.

So I decided to work on my prayer life, and spend time in silence listening for the small still voice of the Lord.  Perhaps if I just turn it over to Christ he will show me the way.

Thomas McDonald on his blog, God and the Machine, reminds us what Lent is really about:

The point of our time in the desert is to draw nearer to Christ. There are three ways to live Lent:

  • Carrying the cross with Christ by sharing a small portion of His suffering.
  • Emulating Him in acts of charity and kindness.
  • Drawing near to Him in prayer and spending time at His feet, learning from him through Scripture and spiritual writing.

And so, this is the way I make my Lent. Read more for great suggestions.

If that isn’t enough check out Aggie Catholic Lent 2015 page.

That’s all for now folks. I am bone tired.

Posted in Catholic, Lent | Tagged | 3 Comments

Rising from the Ashes

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Susan Kehoe

“You are dust and to dust you shall return” (Gn 3:19) Ash Wednesday

When you turn sixty, everyday is a wakeup call that life is short. Now I wake up when my favorite deacon stops snoring.

Yet I am still startled every Ash Wednesday when the Church reminds me that I will return to the dust of the earth.  The time to repent and live the life of discipleship is now.  I know Lord.  I know.

But Lord I am weak and lazy. I am the Scarlet O’Hara of disciples; “I’ll think about that tomorrow”.

Procrastination is not a Christian virtue.

Yes God is merciful, but he is not going to force his mercy on me. Jesus is waiting to  pick us up when we fall down in utter failure. But we have to let him. We have to invite him into our hearts. We have to invite him into the desert of our souls.

It is Lent. It is time to leave the desert and start our march toward our heavenly home.

Baptism is at the heart of the Lenten season. Our white baptismal garments are dusty; our relationship with God is broken by sin. It is time to convert our hearts and to ask God to “Lead us back to you, O LORD, that we may be restored” (Lamentations 5:20).

Conversion begins with remembering and renewing our baptismal vows. Then it is time to get to work.

If we allow Christ into our hearts through prayer, fasting and alms giving, Lent can be a time of conversion and renewal that breaks us of the indifference that Pope Francis calls us to fight in his 2015 Lenten Message. Read More….

If we dedicate our selves to truly practice Lent, we will be ready to rise with Christ on Easter Sunday.

Prayer:

O Lord,
The house of my soul is narrow;
enlarge it that you may enter in.
It is ruinous, O repair it!

(St. Augustine )

Posted in Discipleship, Lent, Liturgical Year | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Return of A Deacon’s Wife?

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Susan Kehoe

Yikes it has been two years since my last post. Why so long? I was in a very long and dark tunnel due to Multiple Sclerosis. God led me out of it, finally, after a year in the black hole. But I just couldn’t restart the blog for some reason. I don’t know if it is possible to resurrect a back-from-hiatusblog after such a long time, but I promised my favorite Deacon that I would give it a try. So here goes.

I know. Most people give up blogging for Lent. I am such a rebel.

Posted in Other, Uncategorized | Tagged | 13 Comments

Breaking News: Pope Benedict Will Retire

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Susan Kehoe

My husband broke the news as he handed me coffee.  From Vatican Radio:Pope

Pope Benedict XVI on Monday said he plans on resigning the papal office on February 28th. Below please find his announcement.
Full text of Pope’s declaration

I don’t know what to say. Need coffee.

 

Posted in Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI | Tagged | 1 Comment

In Ireland on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Posted on February 2, 2013 by Susan Kehoe

My favorite deacon and I are in Ireland visiting our daughter and her family. I have Presentation of the Lordbeen hanging out with my beautiful grandchildren. That is why the silence from this blog has been deafening.

I will resume blogging when we get home. But I did want to display the image above which is provided courtesy of stainedglassinc.com . Check out the site especially if you are in the market for gorgeous sacred art.

Jimmy Akin has an interesting post on today’s feast, which is also my dad’s birthday. Happy Birthday Dad.

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As Christmas Draws to an End

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Susan Kehoe

The good news is that today was a very productive work day for me. Unfortunately, Baptism-of-Jesus-Icon1that means that I didn’t get time to post. I had wanted to write on the reading from the Divine Office for today, because it resonated with me.

Fortunately The Anchoress was also struck by the reading, and she did post on it.

“For a little while longer, we are still in Christmas, but every day the mysteries of the season seem to wither a little, like the leaves of the poinsettias; the expectation of Advent seems far away, and in just a few days we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, and enter — with some sense of refreshment, because after a time we long for the comforts of what is routine and regular — into Ordinary Time.

The Baptism of the Lord is being presaged in the readings and prayers of the Divine Office. In Advent we prayed, “Drop down dew…heaven, pour down your water from above; let the just one descend. Open up O earth, and let the savior bud forth…” And now, we are thinking of water again — this continual saturation of presence:” Continue Reading…

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“Put No Trust in Princes”

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Susan Kehoe

Put no trust in princes, in children of Adam powerless to   Political tee shirt2save. Who breathing his last, returns to the earth; that day all his planning comes to nothing.Psalm 146:3-4

There is a lot of post election blues and even some anger in the pews. This is not reserved to the more Republican than Catholic crowd. I have encountered strong emotions among those who have a strong Catholic identity and have no party loyalty.

They just feel helpless living in a culture that is rapidly sliding into a moral sewer and that is isolating those who strive to live a life in obedience to Christ.

These faithful Catholics hoped that the Republicans were truly pro-life contrary to the mounting evidence.

But Jesus is the only reason for our hope. To put our faith in earthly princes is pure folly. The only way to bring about peace and justice based on the dignity of the human person is to proclaim the Gospel to everyone that we encounter.

To do this we must love. Muscular, self-giving sacrificial, and heroic Christian love. We must love with joy. This is impossible, of course, without God’s grace.

I am a long way from loving like a true disciple.

So I find myself on my knees praying for a loving heart and the courage to truly live the Gospel in the world without retreating into an interior hermitage.

It is not going to be easy. Our political system is becoming more and more fractured. The divisions are becoming insurmountable.

As Mark Shea writes:

“American politics often seems to boil down to the same two groups of enemies shouting “My rights!” “Dead children!” and then switching sides depending on whose ox is being gored. Sometimes, to spice things up, they switch to calling each other Hitler.”

Jesus prayed that we would be in the world, but not of the world for a reason.

Note: the picture above is of a tee shirt that will soon be on sale here.  I would by one, but somehow I don’t think that it will help to change hearts.

Posted in Catholic Identity, Church and the Public Square, Culture of Death, Culture Wars | Tagged | 2 Comments

The Theology of the Barn Yard

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Susan Kehoe

People find themselves drawn to the Catholic Church and the RCIA for many different Theology of the barnreasons. Each person has a unique conversion story. A few years ago there was a man who came through our RCIA that made quite an impression on my favorite deacon.

It seems that this man had hit rock bottom. He was a slave to drink and other vices. One day he found himself, as a day laborer, mucking out a filthy barn. Somehow he managed to clean out the barn. This led to an epiphany: if he could clean up such a filthy place, then he could clean up—muck out—his soul. The man reasoned that he could, with God’s help, clean up his life.

My deacon speaks of this man’s conversion often; he calls it the “Theology of the Barn Yard”

It is a reminder that we all fall short of the glory of God. That is why Jesus gave us the merciful sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. If we confess and repent, God will always takes us back. He  picks us up when we fall face down in the mud and muck.

And unlike Humpty Dumpty, the King of Kings can put us back together when we are broken.

Dr. Tom Neal, over at Neal Obstat has a thought provoking post up that reminded me of The Theology of the Barn Yard.

Excerpt:

God of Muck

“Then I recalled a gentleman I have written of in this Blog before (the one about vulgarity) who returned to the Church after many years away. He had a gut-wrenching and heart-ripping experience in the confessional with an old monk that left him utterly changed (and to this day, years later, even more so). He described his confession this way: “It was like I was sinking in sewage and Jesus grabbed my hand and pulled me out. I’d never felt so clean in my life. After it was over, the monk said to me: now, the Lord has taken you to himself again, clothed you in white garments and re-lit the flame of faith that was blown out in your soul after your baptism. Now, keep it that way! It was like Jesus himself was talking to me!”

God conspired for a whole history in time to give us this reconciling Sacrament, like a bridegroom consumed by love for a bride who has spurned him; a Bridegroom who spares nothing to win her love back.

We Catholics really tend to domesticate our faith, but truth is our Sacraments transact absolutely, totally, completely crazy stuff — stuff that could only have been dreamed up by (a la Catherine of Siena) Dio, pazzo d’Amore, God, the mad Lover.

Look for Him at your next Confession.” Read Fire and Muck…

I must add a fourth resolution to yesterday’s post: Get thee to Confession more often!

Posted in Converts, Forgiveness, RCIA | Tagged , , | Leave a comment