Church of St. Mary at Clinton Heights

Reminder: tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. Ashes will be imposed here at the Church of St. Mary at 6:45am Mass, 12:05pm Service and 6:30pm Service.

Also at St. John the Evangelist & St. Joseph (on Herrick Street, downtown Rensselaer) at 12:10pm Mass and 5:15pm Service.

Recently, at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, Archbishop J. Michael Miller of Vancouver, Canada (incidentally, a former seminary professor of mine) spoke about the great gift of our Catholic faith that parents can pass on to their children.  He shared ten tips or suggestions for parents to share the gift of faith:

1. Be present to your children. Busy-ness makes it difficult to evangelize. Stay home; eat together; do things as a family.

2. Be joyful witnesses to the Gospel. Parents are the greatest influence. Their witness, especially the father’s, is a critical factor contributing to future practice.

3. Know your stuff. Catechesis is an activity of the Church and you must take pains to ensure that what you are passing on is truly the teaching of the Church.

4. Stick to the core message: Jesus loves you. He gave His life to save you and now lives beside you.

5. Pray with your children. Teach them how to pray, to become aware of God’s presence in their lives. Don’t wait for the perfect moment or prayer. Just do it.

5. Go to Sunday Mass together; every activity on Sunday should be planned around Sunday Mass. Frequent the sacrament of confession and show the kids that you have things to be sorry for yourself.

7. Read the Bible. Evangelization demands familiarity with God’s Word and prayer flows from intimacy with Scripture.

8. Sacramentalize your home. Children are fascinated by rosaries, crucifixes, holy water, palms, etc. Use sacramental and popular devotions as a great way to pass on the faith.

9. Share experiences of faith among family members. Create opportunities to invite children to talk about religion.

10. Form the moral conscience of children in truth and freedom to produce responsible young people with moral compasses shaped by Church teaching.

Enjoy our annual Busy Persons Retreat tomorrow, Tuesday, August 11. In the midst of your hectic day, enjoy some opportunities to connect with the Lord Jesus through simple meditations, prayers, meals and reflections. Continental breakfast begins at 6am, Mass at 7am, bagged lunch on the go with little reflection exercises included, relaxation workshops at 11am and 2pm, with evening prayer at 5:30pm and a catered dinner at 6pm. Take advantage of all or some of these offerings, and encounter the Lord in your busyness. Please RSVP by Monday morning (8/10) to Maureen@wp1333.wp3-o1.pgservers.com

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Mt. 11:28-30)

Do you struggle to focus your attention during Mass?

Does Mass sometimes become boring and routine?

Do you grow spiritually at each Mass or does it seem stale?

The profound wisdom found in Meditations Before Mass will help you to quiet your soul, concentrate your mind, and grow more receptive to God’s grace in the Holy Mass.

Written for ordinary Catholics who are struggling to become closer to Christ, this classic book by Romano Guardini is full of wisdom and offers practical, straightforward advice that will help you overcome distractions and restlessness while leading you into a more enriching experience when you enter into Holy Communion with God.

Over fifty years ago, Msgr. Romano Guardini resolved to help his parishioners move beyond petty hindrances to which we are all prone to full participation in the Mass. Just before Mass each Sunday, he gave a brief talk on some aspect of the Mass, teaching his congregation week by week, topic by topic, how to prepare themselves to participate more prayerfully.

So helpful were these talks that they were soon published and have since been reprinted countless times in numerous countries and languages, helping generations of Catholics to deepen their devotion during Mass.

In these pages, you’ll discover:

• What to do when Mass becomes boring and “routine”

• How to achieve a genuine not superficial stillness

• The one indispensable element for living a liturgical life

• How to gain control over your wandering attention

• One tendency we must overcome when listening to Scripture readings

• The real meaning of “keeping holy” the Sabbath and its special importance for the family

• The importance of listening, and the inner barriers that prevent it

• Why it’s good to arrive early at Mass whenever possible

• The true significance of standing and kneeling in church

• And dozens of other practical ways to enrich your worship

Meditations Before Mass by Msgr. Romano Guardini List Price: $12.95 – 208 pages

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Lord, Have Mercy

04 August 2015, Fr. David R. LeFort

Please, pardon the reality that I have not, nor will not, speak of such things in our gatherings for worship. Thankfully, there are too many children and youth present that I cannot see a strong value in issuing such teaching to young, vulnerable minds, hearts, consciences and souls. I trust, however, that their parentswho know them wellwill share the values contained herein when their children can understand, grapple with, and appreciate such matters.

In the last few weeks, we have all been witness to the Planned Parenthood exposé which considersas has been reported by mediasuch things as “fetal tissue”, “parts for sale”, “abortion rights” and “women’s reproductive health”.

No matter the “politics” or “rationalizations”, we as Christians cannot stand for a government that continually and forcefully employs and funds programs that not only denigrate women (babies that are female in gender are aborted at least 50% of the time), but more essentially, seek not to serve the good of human persons, but rather, works to craft laws and policies that allow, enable and engender within us a sense that we ourselves are able to appropriate what is good, right and valuable within Creation. Lord, have mercy on us when we act in such a way.

As a Roman Catholic pastor, I am fullytruly FULLYaware of the challenges of pregnancy. So many mothers come to me with their sorrows and concerns…so many fathers come to me with their worries and fearsso I’m not immune to the “practicalities” of bringing a child into this broken world.

That having been said, I have watched over the last few weeks a great and actual fear being realized, and I can no longer be silent.

I so love the families who worship with me each Sunday. They are of all kinds and stripes: single, married, divorced or separated…; young, growing, older or “hunched over”; black, brown, pale or sun-burned (after all, it is the height of the summer!); with or without little tykes…. Over the eight years I have been with them, I know every one of them, and I love them for who they are and for who they can be, as created in God’s own image, and beautiful in His eyes. Sure, some are in challenging circumstances: homosexual couples who are struggling to rear children, as so many are and do; coping with and trying to manage depression or another mental illness; watching the painful decline of a loved one moving closer to death. They are not “less” or cursory…they are my people…my flock…and I love them unequivocally. They are the husbands and wives who are accepting of, and loving, one, two, even six or more children within our society…gosh, these people are truly a loveable lot!

Yet, there are others who are fearful or doubting: afraid to take a step toward covenant and commitment; convinced, unfortunately, that their strengths are overcome by their weaknesses; doubtful that they can see virtue victorious over their sins and inclinations. All I can offer them, outside of my love and companionship is the solace: “Do not be afraid: the Lord is king and He is so merciful, full of love to all who call upon Him”.

Again, that having been said, I have watched over the last few weeks a great and actual fear being realized, and I can no longer be silent. I am not so concerned with “the tone”, “the manner of speaking”, nor the “inappropriate atmosphere” of such conversations as they have been taped and reported. I am, however, extremely concerned with the reality that evil exists in our everyday world. I am sickened that we, as civilized, informed and developed human persons, are continuously and recklessly abusing our stewardship of all of creation, most especially the precious gift of human life in all its forms and expressions.

Yes, we need healthcare for all…women are so crucial…and their healthcare is essential to all of us, but healthcare is worthy of something other than “planned unparenthood”. Yes, we need help in screening, health options, decisions for moving along the “healthy” continuum, but this should never be at the expense of any one of us, most especially at the expense of our most vulnerable, our truly most innocent, our most precious: our little ones, sisters and brothers, yet to be born into this world from their mothers’ wombs. If we need an organization called “Planned Parenthood”, then it should rightly serve to educate, form and encourage healthy ways of parenting our children and families, but at present, it appears that oftentimes, the very opposite is true. Yes, help us to plan well, care well, foster well…but don’t cut shortand violentlythe newest of our human race!

In closing, it will no longer be enough to simply “like” this post or retweet this listing: that just doesn’t cut it in the world in which we live: yes, social media can do a lot but it can’t effectively urge our legislators. We must ACT: please, I urge all people of goodwill, write your senator s and representatives, talk with neighbors and loved ones, challenge this terrible and deadly status quo. And may the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom we are fashioned and made, through whom we are redeemed, and in whom we live, guide us in all goodness.

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