Today's Word

Religious education classes have begun in my part of the world and that just reminds me again of how grateful I am for all those who have answered God's call to share their gifts by becoming a catechist.

Catechist (KA-teh-kihst) - One who instructs another in the Faith. The General Directory for Catechesis expands on this, reminding us that it is more than mere instruction, but the "task of the catechist [is] truly to help a person encounter God." (GDC 139)

No methodology, no matter how well tested, can dispense with the person of the catechist in every phase of the catechetical process. The charism given to him by the Spirit, a solid spirituality and transparent witness of life, constitutes the soul of every method. Only his own human and Christian qualities guarantee a good use of texts and other work instruments.

The catechist is essentially a mediator. He facilitates communication between the people and the mystery of God, between subjects amongst themselves, as well as with the community. For this reason, his cultural vision, social condition and lifestyle must not be obstacles to the journey of faith. Rather, these help to create the most advantageous conditions for seeking out, welcoming and deepening the Christian message. He does not forget that belief is a fruit of grace and liberty. Thus, he ensures that his activities always draw support from faith in the Holy Spirit and from prayer. Finally, the personal relationship of the catechist with the subject is of crucial importance. (GDC 156)

When tempted, invoke your Angel.

He is more eager to help you than you are to be helped!

Ignore the devil and do not be afraid of him:

He trembles and flees at the sight of your Guardian Angel.

St. John Bosco

The Holy Father's Prayer Intentions for October

General Intention: Catholic Universities

That Catholic Universities may more and more be places where, in the light of the Gospel, it is possible to experience the harmonious unity existing between faith and reason.

Missionary Intention: World Mission Day

That the World Mission Day may afford an occasion for understanding that the task of proclaiming Christ is an absolutely necessary service to which the Church is called for the benefit of humanity.

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,

I offer You all my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day

for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart,

in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

throughout the world,

in reparation for my sins,

for the intentions of all our associates,

and in particular for the intentions

of the Holy Father for this month.

Amen.

A charge to Pious Men

Today's second reading seemed an excellent charge to Pious Men everywhere:

But you, man of God, pursue righteousness,
devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.
Compete well for the faith.
Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called
when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses.
I charge you before God, who gives life to all things,
and before Christ Jesus,
who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate for the noble confession,
to keep the commandment without stain or reproach
until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ
that the blessed and only ruler
will make manifest at the proper time,
the King of kings and Lord of lords,
who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light,
and whom no human being has seen or can see.
To him be honor and eternal power. Amen.
[1 Tm, 6-11]

I've been reading a book entitled Salt: A World History. I know, it sounds a little odd, but I'm a unit study girl from way back so the idea of pivoting a study of history around this one element common to all cultures seems logical to me.

Anyway, there's one brief section I want to share that speaks to a theme we've talked about here from time to time - the human longing for beauty. From a chapter on mines controlled by the Polish Crown it says that at first, working the mines was basically a death sentence in slave conditions. Men would climb down 50 ladders and use hand tools to dig out the precious mineral. It was so hot that men worked naked. Horses that worked the mines spent their entire lives underground. In spite of all that, miners worked to improve conditions in small ways.

In 1689, the mines began offering miners daily Catholic services at their underground place-of-work. the miners of Wieliczka began carving religious figures out of rock salt. Three hundred feet below the surface, miners carved a chapel out of rock salt with statues and bas-relief scenes along the floor, walls, and ceiling. They even fashioned elaborate chandeliers from salt crystals.

Apparently you can still visit there today. It's really pretty amazing!

Prayer in defense of the family

It was reported in yesterday's news that the Archbishop of Saint Paul/Minneapolis has recorded an 8 minute DVD outlining the Church's teachings defending marriage between one man and one woman, and that a copy will be mailed to each of the state's 800,000 Catholics.

Archbishop John Nienstedt stated "Our target is basically our Catholic people. To remind them of what we believe and why we believe it and why it's so important that they believe it." "We're not a political force," Nienstedt said, "but we are a religious force. So we think we should be part of the conversation."

Please read the details and join me in prayer that the DVD will be met with open minds and hearts that are willing to embrace the Truth. Pray also in thanksgiving for this courageous bishop and that he and all his brother bishops will continue to boldly teach the truth with clarity and love.

I suggest this Novena to the Holy Family:

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, bless me and grant me the grace of loving Holy Church as I should, above every earthly thing, and of ever showing my love by deeds.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, bless me and grant me the grace of openly professing as I should, with courage and without human respect, the faith that I received as your gift in holy Baptism.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, bless me and grant me the grace of sharing as I should in the defense and propagation of the Faith when duty calls, whether by word or by the sacrifice of my possessions and my life.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, bless me and grant me the grace of loving my family and others in mutual charity as I should, and establish us in perfect harmony of thought, will, and action, under the rule and guidance of the shepherds of the Church.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, bless me and grant me the grace of conforming my life fully as I should to the commandments of God’s law and those of His Holy Church, so as to live always in that charity which they set forth.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I ask in particular this special favor:

(Mention your favor).

The oil of gladness

Our church has just finished a yearlong renovation project. It is beautiful and today the bishop came to celebrate the re-dedication Mass. It began with the bishop accepting the keys from the pastor and blessing the water in the baptistry. I didn't see as much of it as I might have liked, because I was chasing a toddler unimpressed by miters and crosiers. There's one piece of the liturgy that I want to remember, though.
[click here to read the full post at Light and Momentary]

Image source

Art for Home Altars

I've been working on a little project to keep home altars (a.k.a prayer tables, sacred spaces, etc.) up to date in simple ways. I'm an absolute devotee of having a space like this in my home. It's a peaceful haven, a public witness, and a constant reminder to my family of the True Center of our lives. You can read more about the details here and here.

One of the easiest ways to keep your prayer center up to date is with free (or almost free) art from religious calendars and the internet. We've posted lots of art and art links on this blog over the years and will continue to do so (we're big fans), so keep checking in for more.

For ease of use nothing beats a clear acrylic free-standing frames available from those gigantic discount stores. They're very inexpensive and the art can be easily changed by just sliding it out - no assembly required! My favorite size is 8 X 10, but they also come in smaller sizes that would be suitable for holy card art, inspirational quotes, Christmas card art, etc.

To begin with, I'm planning to print this piece by Domenico Feti of a boy and his guardian angel. The Feast of the Guardian Angels is coming up on October 2 and I like this strong, kind angel pointing the way to heaven. The demon fleeing the scene is a nice reminder of Who's in charge!

To capture this image, I will right click on the picture and chose the "Copy Image" option.

From there, open a word processing program like MS Word or MS Publisher and paste it onto a blank page by either hitting Ctrl and V or Paste Special on the Edit menu. I haven't tried it, but assume Open Office programs would work the same way.

This particular piece pasted in as an 8 x 10, so I just need to print and slide it in my frame. I recommend heavier paper if possible so it doesn't wrinkle if you use it more than once. When you're done with it, if you're like Lucy just neatly file it away. If you're like me, put it in a box with the other 100 pieces and shuffle through them every year to find it.

An appeal for an intelligent, well-instructed laity

"I want a laity, not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputatious, but men who know their religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what they hold and what they do not, who know their creed so well that they can give an account of it, who know so much of history that they can defend it"

Blessed John Henry Newman (as quoted by Pope Benedict XVI at the Mass for his beatification)

Today's Word: Beatification

Tomorrow marks the last day of Pope Benedict's visit to England, and the day on which he will declare John Henry Newman as "blessed", which brings us today's word:

Mother Theresa's Beatification (source)

Beatification (bee·at'·uh·fi·CAY·shun) A recognition that a holy person is in heaven and interceding on behalf of the faithful. This is the last step before canonization (being made a saint). In order to be beatified, there must be proof of one miracle obtained by the person's intercession (except in the case of martyrs).

After beatification, the Blessed may be publicly invoked (Masses and the Divine Office said in their honor, inclusion in the Litany of Saints, etc.) in their local dioceses (and in their order, if they were a religious), but they are still restricted to only private devotions throughout the Universal Church until they are canonized.

• More on the canonization process
• John Henry Newman: A Man of Deep Religious Courage