Toerrific

A friend of ours bringing new meaning to toe-tapping fun.

I hope you enjoy his rendition of You Are Worthy of My Praise as much as we do.

Ascension of The Lord

My Dear People,

Be Consecrated in Truth

Forty days after Easter, the Church celebrates the feast of the Ascension. From the Holy Apostles sight, Jesus was taken up into the Heavens. The Holy Angels told the Apostles that Jesus would return to Earth the same way that He left; riding on the clouds surrounded by Angels. What glory we shall behold that Great Day!

Jesus asked His Father that the Holy Apostles be "consecrated in the Truth". We know that the Scriptures are Truth. So we must all be consecrated in God's Holy Word. You can't become consecrated in Truth, unless you read and know the bible. Find your Bibles, dust them off, and read a little each day. Allow the Glory of the Word rest upon you. Live on in Christ's love. Make His Word real in your daily lives.

While we wait for Jesus to return, we may dedicate our time, talents and treasure to caring for those in need and promoting the teachings of the Gospel.

Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,
Fr. Mark

Rosary; A Sacred Embrace!

My Dear People,

The Rosary; A Journey Into Eternity!

The month of May reminds us just how privileged we are to have such a beautiful Heavenly Mother. From the Holy Cross, St. John embraced Our Lady with tender loving care. John invites us to that same intimacy with Mary. When we pray the Holy Rosary from the heart, both Mary and Her children become one. What a sacred embrace. Knowing how much She desires for us to love Her Son, Mary does everything we give Her permission to pursue us in our lives.

Ask Mary for a deeper relationship with Jesus. In turn, She will lead you on a journey into eternity. St. John tells us in the Gospel that Jesus longs for us to share in His Joy; one that lacks nothing. Mary, Our Mother of Joy, knows how to complete that virtue in us. Pray the Rosary daily from the heart. Pour out your soul before Our Mother, and you will know a Holy Joy without end..

May we open our hands to Jesus, offering Him all that we have, out of love and gratitude for all Our Lord done for us.

Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,

Fr. Mark

Bishop Gaydos Takes A Stand!

Notre Dame Has Forgotten "It's Sacred
Trust in Proclaiming The Truth"

Bishop John Gaydos, Jefferson City Diocese, has jumped on board, proclaiming the truth about the Notre Dame scandal to his flock in a recent Catholic Missourian article. Read here for a condensed version from the May 8th article. Note my emphases were added.

My mind hearkened back to Cardinal Newman as I was thinking about the current impasse between Notre Dame University and the Most Reverend John M. D'Arcy, Bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, which is the diocese in which Notre Dame is located.

The invitation on the part of the university asking President Obama to address the graduates at this year's commencement has raised serious questions about Notre Dame in particular and Catholic colleges and universities in general and their relationship to the wider Roman Catholic Church.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, in a document written in 2004 and titled, "Catholics in Political Life," states:

The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.

This directive seems to me to be in harmony with the vision set out by Cardinal Newman those many years ago.

Bishop D'Arcy has pointed out that by inviting the President to speak and giving him an honorary degree, Notre Dame is violating this directive, since the President has shown ample evidence of his opposition to the obligation of protecting defenseless human life.

Cardinal Newman reminds us that the university needs the Church and the Church needs the collaboration of the university. When, as in this case, the university forgets its sacred trust in proclaiming the truth, then it is up to the Church to hold the university accountable.

I am personally grateful for Bishop D'Arcy's pastoral vigor in handling this situation.

Let us pray for all of our Bishops to have the courage to defend life of the unborn and the teachings of the bride of Christ.

Be sure to thank the Most Reverend John R. Gaydos, by emailing him at info@diojeffcity.org or leave a message at 1-573-635-9127.

What are your thoughts?