Feast of Saint Anthony Zaccaria, Priest

From a sermon to fellow members of his society by Saint Anthony Zaccaria

We are fools for Christ's sake:  our holy guide and most revered patron was speaking about himself and the rest of the apostles, and about the other people who profess the Christian and apostolic way of life.  But there is no reason, dear brothers, that we should be surprised or afraid; for the disciple is not superior to his teacher, nor the slave to his master.  We should love and feel compassion for those who oppose us, rather than abhor and despise them, since they harm themselves and do us good, and adorn us with crowns of everlasting glory while they incite God's anger against themselves.  And even more than this, we should pray for them and not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil by goodness.  We should heap good works like red-hot coals of burning love upon their heads, as our Apostle urges us to do, so that when they become aware of our tolerance and gentleness they may undergo a change of heart and be prompted to turn in love to God.

In his mercy God has chosen us, unworthy as we are, out of the world, to serve him and thus to advance in goodness and to bear the greatest possible fruit of love in patience.  We should take encouragement not only from the hope of sharing in the glory of God's children, but also from the hardships we undergo.

Consider your calling, dearest brothers; if we wish to think carefully about it we shall see readily enough that its basis demands that we who have set out to follow, admittedly from afar, the footsteps of the holy apostles and the other soldiers of Christ, should not be unwilling to share in their sufferings as well.  We should keep running steadily in the race we have started, not losing sight of Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection.  And so since we have chosen such a great Apostle as our guide and father and claim to follow him, we should try to put his teaching and example into practice in our lives.  Such a leader should not be served by faint-hearted troops, nor should such a parent find his sons unworthy of him.

The Ascension and Pentecost -- two great homilies

I just got home from church.  We go every Sunday as a family, and I'm often very blessed by what I hear there.  To be honest, I'm also often distracted and not paying attention.  I used to blame it on the small babies and kids that I was surrounded with, but I really can't anymore -- they are getting so much bigger and more able to sit through the hour long service.  I think I have an easily distracted nature.  Something to think about and work on...

Anyway, the last two weeks' homilies have been quite inspiring and a more than a little convicting for me.

Last Sunday was the Feast of the Ascension where we remembered Jesus' being taken back up into heaven after His death and resurrection.  He gave His final instructions to His followers and the apostles, and then left them, promising to return.  He left behind a Church to continue on with His work, the work of the gospel.  Our pastor, Msgr. Sork, told a little story about a possible "conversation" between Jesus and the angel Gabriel upon His return to heaven.  I'll have to retell it the best I can...

Gabriel asks Jesus how everything went, and Jesus told him that He had left everything in the care of the apostles.  Gabriel was surprised and questioned Jesus about that decision.  He pointed out all the flaws of these followers of Jesus, sins, denials, etc.  Jesus told Gabriel that these men would carry on the work.  Gabriel asked, "What if they don't?  What if they don't do it?"  Jesus answered, "I have no other plan."

This was a good reminder to me that I have a responsibility to be the hands and feet of Jesus.  If I, as His follower, don't do the work, there is no other plan.  If I don't speak the truth, if I don't care for the poor, if I don't preach the gospel with words and deeds, if I don't do the things He did, there is no other plan.  Christ has no body now but mine.

Today is Pentecost Sunday.  This is the day we remember when the Holy Spirit first came to the disciples of Jesus.  This goes hand in hand with the instructions at the time of the Ascension.  Jesus told them what to do, and then reminded them that they would not have to do it alone.  He would send them help, a Helper, to be exact.  The Holy Spirit.

Our homily today, given by Msgr. Zak, who will be (sadly) leaving us for another parish in a couple weeks, addressed the fruit of the Holy Spirit, found in Galatians 5, and in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  He, to my great delight, had an actual copy of the CCC in mass with him and recommended everyone going and getting their own copies for their homes.  I love this!  

CCC 1832 says:  "The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory.  The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them:  'charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.'"  He was telling us how easy it is for us to tell if the "breath" we're feeling from a certain source is from the Holy Spirit or not.  If it has these qualities, as opposed to anger, hatred, jealousy, etc, then it is from the Holy Spirit.  He also made the point of asking us which type of fruit we are offering to those around us.  Uh oh.  I can name seven, easily, that I fail to show at any given time.  Probably more if I give it some thought.

I want to find a way to post these 12 fruits around my house.  Or maybe I should try to work on just one at a time.  Baby steps?  Hmmmm...

The Easter Alleluia

It is the 6th week of Easter, and I read this this morning, from a discourse on the Psalms by St. Augustine:

Our thoughts in this present life should turn on the praise of God, because it is in praising God that we shall rejoice for ever in the life to come; and no one can be ready for the next life unless he trains himself for it now.  So we praise God during our earthly life, and at the same time we make our petitions to him.  Our praise is expressed with joy, our petitions with yearning.  We have been promised something we do not yet possess, and because the promise was made by one who keeps his word, we trust him and are glad; but insofar as possession is delayed, we can only long and yearn for it.  It is good for us to persevere in longing until we receive what was promised, and yearning is over; then praise alone will remain.

Because there are these two periods of time -- the one that now is, beset with the trials and troubles of this life, and the other yet to come, a life of everlasting serenity and joy -- we are given two liturgical seasons, one before Easter and the other after.  The season before Easter signifies the troubles in which we live here and now, while the time after Easter which we are celebrating at present signifies the happiness that will be ours in the future.  What we commemorate before Easter is what we experience in this life; what we celebrate after Easter points to something we do not yet possess.  This is why we keep the first season with fasting and prayer; but now the fast is over and we devote the present season to praise.  Such is the meaning of the Alleluia we sing.

Both these periods are represented and demonstrated for us in Christ our head.  The Lord's passion depicts for us our present life of trial -- shows how we must suffer and be afflicted and finally die.  The Lord's resurrection and glorification show us the life that will be given to us in the future.

Now therefore, brethren, we urge you to praise God.  That is what we are all telling each other when we say Alleluia.  You say to your neighbor, "Praise the Lord!" and he says the same to you.  We are all urging one another to praise the Lord, and all thereby doing what each of us urges the other to do.  But see that your praise comes from your whole being; in other words, see that you praise God not with your lips and voices alone, but with your minds, your lives and all your actions.

We are praising God now, assembled as we are here in church; but when we go our various ways again, it seems as if we cease to praise God.  But provided we do not cease to live a good life, we shall always be praising God.  You cease to praise God only when you swerve from justice and from what is pleasing to God.  If you never turn aside from the good life, your tongue may be silent but your actions will cry aloud, and God will perceive your intentions; for as our ears hear each other's voices, so do God's ears hear our thoughts.

Oatmeal Raisin Scones

In honor of the Royal Wedding!


1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks chilled butter
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup half and half

Preheat oven to 400.  Place flours, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the bowl of food processor.  Pulse 10 to 12 times.  Cut butter into pieces and distribute over the dry ingredients.  Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Transfer to a bowl and stir in the raisins.

Add milk and half and half and ix until blended.  Form into a ball with floured hands and divide in half.  On a floured surface, pat half of the dough into a 6 inch round.  Cut into 8 wedges.  Repeat with the remaining dough.  Transfer the wedges to a lightly greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until scones are firm to the touch and golden.

Glaze:

1 tbsp milk
2 - 4 tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

While the scones are baking, mix glaze ingredients together.  Remove scones from oven and brush them with glaze while still hot.

Makes 16 scones.

Prayer Before Communion -- Act of Contrition, Hope, Confidence

I absolutely love this prayer.  When possible, (read:  when I'm alone...) I pray this before mass.

O Jesus, loving Spouse of my soul, the longed-for moment draws near; the happy moment, in which I, Thy unworthy creature, shall receive the most holy sacrament of Thy body and blood, as the most effectual remedy for all my miseries. For the love of Thee I grieve most bitterly for every one of my sins and for all my negligences, whereby I have offended Thy tender goodness, and defiled my soul, which Thou didst ransom with Thine own most precious blood. How shall I presume to receive Thee into a heart all surrounded with briers and thorns of earthly attachments, reeking with unwholesome vapors of worldliness and vain desires! But, my merciful Jesus, though I am sick of soul, I remember the words which fell from Thine own gracious lips -- that they who are whole need not the physician, but they who are sick -- and this gives me confidence. Surely, my Lord, if any one has cause to trust Thee it is I! Others may have their innocence or their virtues to fall back upon, but I have Thy mercy, Thy great mercy, only. I have made myself undeserving of it, but when hast Thou ever treated me as I deserved? Where should I be now if justice and not mercy had had its way? Good Jesus, Who didst invite the blind and the lame, the poor and the needy, to Thy supper, behold, as one of them, yea, even as the poorest and most wretched of them all, I will draw near to the most sacred feast of Thy body and blood, the banquet of the angels, not in presumption, but with a contrite and humble heart, with lowly confidence, with hope in Thy goodness and mercy, with love in return for all Thy love, with fervent desire to please Thee, to live henceforth according to Thy Spirit, and in the imitation of the virtues of Thy sacred Heart that I may praise and glorify Thee eternally.

Grandma in Texas' Sloppy Joes

This is one of my favorite recipes.  I used to ask Grandma to make these when I visited her in Amarillo.  I double this for my family.

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1/4 large green bell pepper chopped fine

1/4 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tbsp worchestershire sauce
2 tbsp vinegar
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp chili powder

Brown meat, onions, celery, bell pepper.  Drain fat.  Combine remaining ingredients.  Mix well.  Pour over meat.  Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Serve between hot hamburger buns.

Easter is Here! (Thoughts on fasting and feasting)

I love the way Catholics do celebrations.  I loved Easter my whole life, but after celebrating it as a Catholic the last 16 years, it means much more now.  There's nothing like going through 40 days of self-denial and (mini) suffering, to bring the meaning of new life in Christ to a whole new level.  As an Evangelical, I loved and looked forward to the one day of Easter, don't get me wrong.   But, there was no real preparation, or spiritual anticipation.  There was picking out a new dress, and that's it.  And, once the day was over, the decorations came down, and that was it.  Catholics have been accused of down-playing the resurrection of Christ and emphasizing (too much in some's opinion) his passion and death.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Catholics have 40 days of penance and fasting and lent, yes.  But, Catholics follow that with 50 days of Easter, complete with Alleluias, and feasting, and celebrating.  And, after meditating on his passion and death, those 50 days of Easter are richer, more meaningful, and closer to my heart.

Catholics have other times and occasions of fasting and feasting.  The liturgical year is so interesting.  Advent is a time of preparation for Christmas -- which is also not just one day, but 12 full days.  When the rest of the world is taking down their trees, Catholics still have 11 days to go.

Practicing NFP (Natural Family Planning) is the same way.  The married couple has days of self-imposed abstinence, when trying to avoid pregnancy, followed by days of intimacy.  The days of abstinence make the days of intimacy that much sweeter.

It's all leading up to heaven.  Living on earth is painful, much of the time.  Life isn't fair.  There is suffering and death and sorrow.  But, it's all preparation for the eternal, never ending feast that is heaven.  If we can make it through this valley of tears with our faith and souls in tact, then we are rewarded with the greatest celebration that God can dream up for us.