Archive for the 'Catholic Men' Category

Three Movies to See

theophilus September 21st, 2009

I had an incredibly grace filled weekend of movies.

Last Sunday, our homily was on William Wilberforce, a British legislator, who combatted the slave trade at the turn of the 19th Century.  I had read Amazing Grace, a book about his life and efforts, but I had never seen the movie.  So, I stopped into Blockbuster on Tuesday and found it.  While I walked out, I noticed the recent movie about Pope John Paul II, starring Jon Voight and Cary Elwes, so I picked that one up as well.  While watching Amazing Grace on Friday night, we saw a preview for The Ultimate Gift, which looked promising.  So on Saturday, I picked this movie up.  We watched The Ultimate Gift on Saturday night; and I finished up my movie weekend by watching Pope John Paul II on Sunday.

So, in one weekend, I saw a movie (Amazing Grace) about a man who started an effort almost single-handedly that ended up transforming the world.  It took him 20 years to do it but he succeeded in ending the slave trade and ultimately slavery in the British Empire – without a shot being fired.

Then I watched a surprisingly humorous movie (The Ultimate Gift) highlighting the gifts we are all given, most important of which may be forgiveness, redemption, and mercy.  But we all know that the Ultimate Gift is love and this movie reminds us how multi-layered this gift is in our lives and how often we reject it.  Watch the movie and find out for yourself.

Finally, I ended the weekend watching a movie (Pope John Paul II) about a man who recognized God’s hand in his life at every step and followed his will.   He was courageous and steadfast; approachable and full of Christ’s light which he shown to the world.  He was always one of the brightest minds in the room, but could reach everyone with Christ’s message.  And all the while, he underwent immense suffering, both physical and emotional.  The totality of his life is epic.

I am inspired and ready to go kick some serious butt for the Lord this week.  Get these movies and I guarantee you will feel the same.

Fantasy Football & Building Christ’s Kingdom

theophilus August 26th, 2009

I have my fantasy football draft coming up.  I’ve got my depth charts, ranking lists, latest news ready to go.  I’ve figured out my keepers and the rookie running backs I want to target.  I’ve renewed my vow to stay away from any Bengals, Raiders & Chiefs.

And I’ve realized that I really can’t put as much focus and attention into my fantasy football league as I used to do in the past.  It’s fun and I enjoy the league.  It’s a way to stay connected with some of my close friends.  But, I tend to spend so much time on it so I can win, yet I’ve never had a winning season to show for it.  And maybe that’s by God’s design.

I’m constantly amazed how much time I waste during the course of a day.  Fantasy football ranks right up there in things that tend to take my time and attention away from the things God wants me to be doing.  Not that fantasy football isn’t a good diversion for me, it is.  But it needs to be put in its proper place in my life.

I make a morning offering every morning to Christ.  I offer him “all my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day.”  I also say a traditional prayer that I found in a prayer book – “Direct, we beseech you oh Lord, our actions by your inspirations and further them by your assistance, so that every word and work of ours may begin from you and by you be likewise ended.”

The morning offering refers to “all” and the prayer refers to “every.”  Not “some,” but “all” and “every.”  In other words, everything that we do should be for Christ.  We are allowed to have fun and enjoy hobbies and pursuits, but even these must be for Christ.  If we spend too much time on our hobbies, pursuits, and diversions at the expense of work that makes an impact on our families, jobs and communities, then we are not doing everything for Christ.

I turned another year older this month.  My kids are starting another year of school.  Sooner rather than later, another year is going to be in the books.  And when I’m rocking away at the retirement home, it’s really not going to matter who I picked as my 3rd running back or my 4th wide receiver in this year’s league.

I’m keeping my fantasy football in perspective this year.  I’m going to have some fun, but I’m going to focus on what God wants me to be doing.   I’m going to keep in mind that while my backup kicker may be a really great guy, I really don’t think he’s going to help me build Christ’s kingdom.

And that goes for all of our hobbies, pursuits and diversions.  Take a look at how you spend your day and figure out whether every moment is spent the way God intended for you, especially in this day and age of technology when a quick five minutes checking sports scores turns into an hour or so of surfing.  Or a quick game on our kids’ game systems turns into an hour trying to get to the next level.

Christ needs all of what we have to offer.  We need to offer him all we do, including all that we do for fun.

Coach Pitino & Being a Devout Catholic

theophilus August 19th, 2009

I was trying not to read about Rick Pitino and the story surrounding his one-night stand and his paying $3,000 for the woman to get insurance/have an abortion.  I just didn’t want to read about another celebritized fallen man.  It’s just too sad and spirit-draining, especially considering he’s married and a father to five kids.

But, I broke down the other day and read some of the articles.  It didn’t help that my hometown Cincinnati Enquirer devoted a great deal of attention to the story (Louisville is right down the road/river from us).

Other than some details that made it clear that Coach Pitino operates in a different world than most of us (come on, how many of us are handed the keys to a swanky restaurant by the owner at closing time and told to lock up when we are ready to leave?), what struck me most from the AP article was this paragraph -

“Pitino is a devout Roman Catholic who does little to hide his faith. Longtime friend and adviser Father Edward Bradley is a fixture near the Louisville bench and often leads the team in pregame prayer.”

He is “devout”; he does “little to hide his faith”; he is close to a priest.

And yet he, this married father of five, this “devout” Catholic, this apostolic promoter of our faith, had random sex with a woman he didn’t know and then paid for her to either get an abortion or get insurance knowing full well that she was going to get an abortion.

And yet, my point here is not to pontificate on the quality of Coach Pitino as a person. father or husband, or even as a Catholic.

My point is that by his actions he has damaged the Church; he has made it more difficult to bring others to Christ; he has laid the seeds for others to be weakened or turned away in their faith.  He may be sincere in trying to live his faith devoutly; and he may use his leadership, charisma and zeal to spread the Gospel to his players and those who he influences.  But his words have been emptied by his actions; they have been rendered meaningless.  And he makes our job that much harder because he is so high-profile.

If you truly live your faith, it becomes a lifestyle and other people notice.  They may not understand it or agree with it, but they notice it.  Eventually, they may even try to model it.  And that is how we bring others to Christ.  We don’t have to use words; we just need to make our faith a part of every aspect of our lives.

But if we do, we must always be aware that not only is Christ watching us, but others are watching us as well.  And they may very well turn their back on Christ if their model is a hypocrite.

I’ve been praying for Coach Pitino because the well-being of too many lives are at stake because of his actions; he influences too many, most notably his own children and the young men under his tutelage.  I’ve been praying because he can be a great apostle for Christ.  But he can’t compartmentalize his faith; he cannot segregate his actions.  His whole life must be lived for Christ, as must our’s.

Saintly Rulers

theophilus July 13th, 2009

Today is the feast day of St. Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor at the turn of the first millenium.  He was a ruler who lived and ruled according to the will of God, realizing that the true ruler of his realm was Christ the King.

This morning I read part of a biography of St. Henry (from the Office of Readings) and was struck by a couple of passages.  In St. Henry’s remarks upon the establishment of the Archdiocese of Bamburg (kings got to set up dioceses, with the consent of Rome, back then), he said some things that apply to all of us, regardless of whether we rule a nation, our company or our cubicle.

“We are taught and advised to abandon temporal riches, to lay aside earthly goods, and to strive to reach the eternal and everlasting dwelling-place in heaven.”

“For present glory is fleeting and meaningless, while it is possessed, unless in it we can glimpse something of heaven’s eternity.”

“But God’s mercy toward the human race provided a useful remedy when he made the reward for earthly existence a share in our heavenly existence.”

“Not unmindful of this clemency and aware that by the gratuitous consideration of divine mercy we were raised up to a position of regal dignity . . . not turning a deaf ear to the Lord’s commandments and obediently following divine urgings, we desire to take the treasures of divine generosity bestowed on us by his bounty and store them in heaven, where thieves cannot dig them up or steal them and rust or moth may not destroy them.”

“When we reflect upon all that we have now stored up, our heart will be often drawn with longing and love.”

From these passages, we know that St. Henry got it – he realized that he did not get to be king all by himself and he wasn’t king by happenstance.  He also realized that his successes were not his alone.  And most importantly, he realized that the worth of his life wasn’t dependent upon his successes as king, but what he did to get to heaven.

It doesn’t matter what you do for a living, you need to do what God has called you to do, and you must do it knowing that God put you in this place in this time to do it.  And your successes?  They belong to God and they should be getting you closer to heaven.

Our lives need to be lived for Christ; they need to be lived so as to serve Christ.  Even in this time of economic distress, God is in control and we must live and work in a way that is consistent with God’s will for us.  We must live and work as if our eternal lives depend upon it.

Your Job is That Important!

theophilus July 12th, 2009

How many of us have just gone through life doing our own thing; until, BAM, we get the powerful tugging of our soul that tells us we are supposed to do something else?

Today’s gospel (Mark 6) tells the story of the Apostles being sent out two-by-two to proclaim the Kingdom.  At some point, whether they were fishermen, tax collectors, or hangers-on, they were hit square between the eyes by the calling of Christ and they followed our Lord.

And then today’s first reading (Amos 7) has the prophet Amos telling the priest Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores.  The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”  Amos was a simple shepherd and arborist, yet God called him and he followed.

Like the Apostles and Amos, we are called!

We cannot think that we are just an accountant, machinist, carpenter, lawyer, assistant, sales person, first-responder, soldier, account executive or however we choose to define what we do for a living.  No, we are disciples of Christ, children of God, given life to bear fruit in the building of Christ’s kingdom here on earth.

No part of our lives can be separate from Christ.  Nothing we do, say or think can be considered distinct from our place in Christ’s universal Church.

We don’t have it easy in this regard.  Christ physically called the Apostles, so it would have been pretty hard for them to miss the point of what they were being called to do.  God got pretty personal with Amos, so it was rather hard for him to ignore his calling.   It would be easier if we were so divinely inspired, but most of us are not.  We must rely on our faith and the drive of the Holy Spirit that has led us to whatever it is that we do.  We must then do that job as if God himself gave us that job and Christ himself is our boss.  If you cannot feel that way about your jobs then it is time to look for something else.  And if you are unemployed, then it is time to look deep within your soul and figure out what it is that God expects of you at this moment of time.

God is in control; he has a plan for each of us.  We must listen and figure out what it is that he intends of us.

It may not be going out Noah’s Ark like (i.e. two-by-two) or prophesying to the head of your government, but God does call you to do something.  And that something is instrumental in building Christ’s kingdom.

This week, do your job, treat your family, contribute to your community, and live your life as if Christ’s kingdom hangs in the balance.  The way you live your life is that important.

Keeping Your Word

theophilus May 26th, 2009

If you are a man of honor and integrity (and most men are), you want to keep your word to others.  You want to have the reputation of getting the job done and being dependable; whether it’s your family, friends, community or job.  You don’t want to let others down.

But do you take the same attitude with Christ?  He has a plan for each of us.  He asks something of each of us every single day.  As a member of his body, we are called upon daily by him to do something, big or small, to help build his kingdom.

Yesterday for Memorial Day Mass, our priest talked about all of us being “Soldiers of Christ.”   He spoke about each of us having a duty to Christ to do his will; to stand up and join the battle.

Ask yourself these questions.  Do you strive to do your duty as a treasured son of God?  Do you strive to do his will?  Do you strive to keep your word to him in living your life?  Do you put your body, heart and soul at his disposition?

Today’s first reading is about a man who answered these questions with a resounding affirmative.  In Acts 20, St. Paul is giving one last sermon to the Ephesians.  He concludes by stating – “Yet I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the Gospel of God’s grace. . . . And so I solemnly declare to you this day that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you, for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God.”

There you have it.  St. Paul had no regrets; he knew he had done what he was called by Christ to do.

How about today’s Gospel from John 17.  Here we have Jesus praying to our Father in heaven – “I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.  They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.”

Talk about a great performance review -  “They have kept your word.”  His apostles and disciples had answered the questions the same as St. Paul.

How about today’s Saint of the Day – St. Philip Neri.  He lived in 16th Century Italy at the height of the Reformation and the start of the Counter-Reformation, when Catholic faith and devotion were rapidly declining and in need of someone to help reverse the plunge into the abyss.  St. Philip responded to Christ’s call as well by doing great things to reinvigorate the faithful throughout Italy, most particularly in Rome.  He enflamed the laity and fostered a great love among all for the Blessed Sacrament.

St. Paul; the Apostles; the first disciples; St. Philip Neri – all became worthy Soliders of Christ.  They kept God’s word and fulfilled their duty to Christ.  They gave their lives to be used according to the Lord’s will and then, more importantly, kept their word to him.

Can the same be said of us?

St. Pius V and Other Heroes for Our Times

theophilus April 30th, 2009

St. Pius V, whose feast day is today, was the lucky pope who had the job of implementing the major reforms of the Council of Trent.

In the 16th Century, Europe was in turmoil; the Church was disintegrating; large segments of laity and clergy were in open rebellion against the Holy See.

By 1545, the Reformation was in full swing; St. Thomas More’s head was off; and the Church was taking its good ole’ time in responding to threats to its very existence.

Finally, Pope Paul III got the long awaited Council of Trent started. Two other popes (Julius III and Pius IV) would preside over the Council before its conclusion in 1563.

The results were as, if not more, transformational than Vatican II. It made major reforms that carved away the abuses in the Church while strengthening the divinely inspired tradition and dogma that were under fierce attack at the time.

To execute the reforms, the Church turned to Pope St. Pius V. He fearlessly implemented these reforms and laid the groundwork for the next four hundred years of the Church.

At a perilous time for the Church and his society, he stepped up and got the job done.

In reading about St. Pius V, I also noticed other names coming up; names well-known to us, who also stepped up during this incredible era in history.  Saints with the names of Ignatius of Loyola, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Francis de Sales, Vincent de Paul, Charles Borromeo, Robert Bellarmine, Philip Neri, Peter Alcantara, Francis Xavier. Great saints; great writers; great preachers; great reformers. A collection of larger than life heroes called by God to do great work at this one particular moment.

And I wonder. Did these individuals make their era or did their era make them? If they were collectively born in another quieter and less significant era, would they have been so great? Were they called to greatness because they were needed or could others have done the trick?  Did God place these individuals in the 16th Century precisely because they would be needed?

I believe we live in times that require great people, true heroes who are larger than life. My question is whether God has provided us with this greatness? And have they, will they, step up and answer the call?

I have no doubt that Pope John Paul II did play and Pope Benedict XVI is playing the part of Pius V in our times. But, who are the other saints in our midst?

Is one of these saints, you?

Small Steps

theophilus March 31st, 2009

At the end of American Idol tonight (yes, I do watch it with my family), I was met with quite a surprise.  My Fox affiliate in Cincinnati announced that they were not going to air Osbournes: Reloaded in prime time.

WXIX announed that they were going to air the show after midnight on their website.  They did not feel that the show was appropriate to air on prime-time, network TV, especially during the times when families would be watching.

After doing a quick Google search, it looks like that the Panama City affiliate beat my Cincinnati affiliate to the punch.

And, of course, we are already hearing cries of censorship.

All I can say is – bully for WXIX (Cincinnati) and WPGX (Panama City).  It’s about time.

And before the hypocrisy of some gets too loud, let’s remember it’s this crowd that applauds when TV stations routinely refuse to run any program or ad showing the unborn child in the womb.  Let’s also remember that the First Amendment pertains to government censorship, not self-censorship by a corporation or individual.

The bottom line is that, as a father, I spend a great deal of time screening shows to make certain they are appropriate for my kids.  We have picked our Direct TV programming to make sure undue influences from the screen do not add to our already extremely difficult challenge to properly raise our kids in our toxic culture.

It’s nice to know that we finally got some help from the “free” TV that we can’t realistically shut out of our homes.  It’s a small step, but a step in the right direction.  If people really want to watch this programming, there are a hundred other venues for it, but “free” TV at 9:30, following a popular show among the young – no way.

A small step, yes; but it’s about time.

Noah & Our Culture of Death

theophilus February 19th, 2009

I love the story of Noah, especially the part about the rainbow.  It’s the perfect Old Testament story about redemption, mercy, salvation.  Noah shows us how to live as a real man of God; listening, following, obeying, trusting, not being afraid.

But I often miss key points of Noah’s story, specifically those that come after the flood waters have receded.  These points made by God to Noah (Genesis 9) shed some light on what God must really feel about our culture of death.

“For your own lifeblood, too, I will demand an accounting . . . from one man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life.”

“For in the image of God has man been made.”

“Be fertile, then, and multiply; abound on earth and subdue it.”

“See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you.”

The sanctity of human life is paramount to God and he holds each of us individually accountable.  Why?  Because we have been made in his image.

Yet, we have a prevailing culture that cuts short life in the womb, with some wanting to cut it short at the other end as well.

God wants us to be fertile; yet we short-circuit our fertility, our very ability to allow God to act through us to create life.

God wants us to hold up our side of his covenant with us; yet too many of us want the trappings and pleasures of this world instead.

Unlike Noah, too many refuse to listen, follow, and obey God.  Too many refuse to trust God and not be afraid.  Too many turn our backs on the grace-filled, divine covenant that God seeks to renew with us each and every day, most notably through the Mass and confession.

In today’s gospel (Mark 8), St. Peter proclaims to Jesus, “You are the Christ.”  We cannot proclaim the same if we embrace (or even tolerate) our culture of death.  We must be strong men of God, like Noah, and take personal responsibility for our covenant with God; a covenant that finds a culture of life at its core.

Next time you see a rainbow, remember that God put it there as a sign personally to you; a sign of his love for you; a sign of his covenant with you; a sign that he expects you, yes you, to take personal accountability for promoting a culture of life.

Promoting life may go against the social whims of the time, but do you really think that Noah cared a whit of what the rest of society was saying about him as he went about building the ark?  He trusted God and did his job.  So should we.

Endurance & Birth Defects

theophilus January 30th, 2009

January is National Birth Defects Prevention Month.

I rarely write about my own birth defects but I’m thinking I better write something about them before this month is out, especially considering that my birth defects and my faith seem to be totally intertwined with each other.

I was born with a cleft lip and cranio-facial birth defects, i.e. the different sides of my skull didn’t exactly form in perfect proportion to each other.  As a result, one side of my face is good to go, the other side has needed a great deal of work.

I have had more surgeries than I can remember; each one exhibiting the marvels of reconstructive medical science.  My conditions are so rare that I was always a must see for interns and residents on their rounds; and I even had photos taken of me for medical textbooks.  To this day, I have a standing appointment for major work with a dentist every decade or so.

My childhood was spent in doctor offices, dentist chairs, hospital beds, operating rooms, and with speech and hearing pathologists.

My sinuses are always a problem.  I need subtitles when I’m watching a movie on TV; and I finally broke down and started bringing a missal to Mass so I could fully “hear” the readings.  My eyesight is such that I can’t bring my eyes together in one single point of sight and my eyes have drastically different levels of vision.  I have little depth perception, so I’m always knocking into things, dropping perfectly thrown passes from my nephew, and losing my golf drives when they fly more than 150 yards off the tee.  I have a speech defect, but am in a field requiring superior communication skills.  I often need people to repeat themselves and they likewise often need me to repeat myself.

I was picked on, ridiculed and bullied as a kid; and rejected by more girls than I care to remember as a teen and college student.  Things got a little better in young adulthood.  To this day, I have people that look at me with THAT look, the one folks reserve for others that look differently than what they have come to expect.

Yet, somewhere along the line, God made me realize that I am the way he chose to make me.  I am made perfect in his image.

I have learned so much about life and about God because of my birth defects.  I have learned so much about others, both good and bad.  I have learned how God expects us to live and treat each other.  I have learned how to be truly grateful.

I am thankful to the doctors and dentists who put my face back together.  I am thankful for the nurses who comforted me when I was a scared little boy in a lonely hospital room in the middle of the night.

I am thankful for my parents, my family, my friends and the girls I’ve dated along the way who all saw through my deformities to the real me.

I am so in love with my wife that it surpasses my understanding.  She fell for and has stayed in love with an incredibly imperfect man, yet she fights for me, she fights for us.  She truly loves me, heart, soul &, yes, body.  She is such a beautiful woman, both inside and out, yet my birth defects have never been an obstacle to her loving me so.

I am so blessed that my parents see me as their son, not a deformed child; my wife sees me as her love, not a deformed man; and my children see me simply as their Daddy, not someone that looks different than others they know.

Actually, it’s been through my children that God has chosen to show me just how much he has blessed me.

My little girl looks like her mother; my son is the mirror image of me.  I have a special affection for my daughter because she is the first blood I have ever known (I am adopted).  But even more profound, I tend to wonder how much of my birth mother is in her.  She looks like my wife; but how much does she also look like my mother?

And then there is my son.  He is perfect in every way.  In him, I see what I could have been, physically.  I look at him and see what I would have looked like without the birth defects.

But, I would haven’t it any other way.  Let me repeat, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

For, I am the way God chose to make me.  I am made perfect in his image.

Every time I look in the mirror, I am humbled.  Every time I look upon someone who looks a little differently than others, I empathize.  Every time I see someone going through a hard time or in distress, I am spiritually connected to them.

And every time that I am going through hard times or get discouraged or don’t know where to turn, God reminds me that he is still there for me, that he is guiding me, that he has always guided me throughout all times of my life, both dark and bright.

He reminds me that he has tested me and found me worthy.

Today’s first reading is from Hebrews 10 and the writer hits the nail on the head, “You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised.”

My birth defects and being an orphan taught me endurance, both spiritually and physically.  God has a purpose behind everything he does.  He has a purpose for making me the way I am.  There are times when I don’t know why.  There are times when I fall into self-pity.  There are times when people treat me differently because of the way I look.  There are times when I look in the mirror and want to cry.

But, in these times, God ALWAYS brings me back to Him.  He reminds me of his will and his promise to me.

And when I doubt his special plan for me, he sends my wife to kiss me, my kids to jump on my back, and my parents to call me just to see how I am doing and to tell me that they love me.

And he also reminds me that I am a success professionally.  I am an inspiration to others.  I rise above my limitations and do what he expects of me.  I am bearing the fruit he wants from me.  And I must place my total trust in him.

It’s God’s way of telling me that I am the way God chose to make me.  I am made perfect in his image.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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