Suffering and Hope...

Welcome National Catholic Register readers.  Please read all of Father Speekman's article and take the time to bookmark his site.  He is a gem and a credit to the Catholic faith...

your "something to think about today" post.

Father John Speekman, at Homilies from Australia, brings us the real message of hope.

To speak of suffering is to speak of human experience. We all suffer and, at various times of our life, most of us suffer acutely. Even here, right now in this Church, in this particular congregation there are people suffering, and some intensely. Suffering is not just a matter of pain. There probably isn't anyone here undergoing unbearable pain at the moment but I'm betting there are people here experiencing terrible suffering:

• a spouse, husband or wife, who no longer loves you
• a son or daughter walking a road you see will lead to unhappiness, or worse still, destruction
• children no longer practicing the faith
• the terminal illness of a loved one
• unpayable bills
• slavery to gambling, drugs, alcohol
• serious divisions in the family

On and on it goes; there is suffering everywhere.

You need to read the rest in order to get the hopey part...

I have much work to do outside.  Have a wonderful Sunday.  I'll be back later...

First Sunday of Lent

From Father John Speekman:

The purpose of Lent is to remind us that we are not God and, having renewed us in this awareness, to lead us once again to place all our hope in the one who is. This is what God did to his Chosen People when he led them out of the slavery of Egypt into the wilderness of Sinai. He brought them into the desert where he could speak to their hearts. read the rest

Announcement from Father John Speekman

Father Speekman is just about my favorite read when I need to get my head screwed on straight. His Homilies and Reflections from Australia are always spot on, profoundly and simply written which make them accessible to simple souls like moi. Wonderful reads for Christians of all spots and stripes.

I received this email from him which is self explanatory.

I have been asked to advertise the Year of the Priest Clergy Conference for English-speaking priests in Rome in 2010 so I've had some graphics of varying sizes produced hoping one of them might find an appropriate place on your site. You might put a banner at the top of your blog or something in the column, it's up to you. It is important that those who read the ad are directed to the official website:

Year For Priests' Clergy Conference Rome 2010

Please take a moment to add a graphic and link on your blog, too
Thanks

From the wonderful and inspiring Father John Speekman we have this wonderful homily for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

There are many things we do, and refuse to do, out of fear. Beginning a real prayer life is perhaps one of the most common. To become a person of real prayer is to bring about a radical definition of one's life and values.

Giving up smoking or alcohol does the same thing. When I gave up smoking at age thirty I remember thinking I would never be happy again. With alcohol it's even worse, apparently. Many alcoholics report that they don't give up because they don't know how they would deal with all those hours in a day if they were sober; it would require become an entirely new person, and for many that is just too frightening to contemplate.

All this leaves us with the question: What am I afraid of beginning or of leaving behind in order to become the kind of person I know I am really called to be? read the rest

Our Future

Congress passes $3.5 trillion budget in the dark
by Ed Morrissey

*****"Even the White House’s rosy projections show this to be a disaster. It grows the deficits in every year over the next 12 even under the best of circumstances. In an era where Americans have to tighten their belts and reduce their borrowing in order to shore up their own financial situations, Congress and Obama have shown no such sense of shared sacrifice. Instead, they’re busy borrowing like maniacs to pay for their own pet projects. It’s a disgrace, and even some Democrats have discovered this. read the rest


*****The Iowa Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling yesterday finding that the state's same-sex marriage ban violates the constitutional rights of gay and lesbian couples.

*****The government reported Friday that the unemployment rate soared to 8.5 percent in March, the highest since late 1983.

*****And while all this and much more is going on, our current President is running around Europe apologizing for the United States and all the "bad" things we have done. He is as big a disgrace as his budget.


The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of 'liberalism' they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.
Norman Thomas 1884-1968 Leading American socialist and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America

I Fell Into A Burning Ring Of Fire
I Went Down, Down, Down
And The Flames Went Higher

And It Burns, Burns, Burns
The Ring Of Fire
The Ring Of Fire

Johnny Cash 1932-2003

“A great civilization cannot be conquered from without until it destroys itself from within” Ariel Durant. 1898 - 1981

*****Last Saturday I had the radio tuned to my favorite (ok - my only) talk radio station while I was busy painting the dining room ceiling. I never did catch the name of the preacher who was giving the sermon. I knew he wasn't Catholic because his talk was centered on Christ crucified and he even used the word "sin" (a lot).

*****To be fair we have many wonderful priests "in the trenches" doing a great job. I'm thankful so many of them decided to embrace the new technology and bring the message of authentic Catholicism to those that suffer under the politically correct version.
*****
*****I'm going to be busy painting today and tomorrow. I will be taking time out to read Father John Speekman's homily. One thing I can always count on is his ability to lift my spirits and put me back on the right path. I'm looking forward to reading his Palm Sunday homily after breakfast.

Introducing Father John Speekman

I’m been visiting Father John of Homilies and Reflections from Australia for a few weeks now and I think he’s getting lonely. He is fairly new to blogging and I have enjoyed his gentle and wise instructions. His post on prophets was so good I printed it out for my journal.

Take a few moments and say hi! to Father John. I know he'd like the company.