Oct 10 2009
Act 1, Scene 1: God is knocking on your door. (OK, he probably won’t actually knock on your door, but we all know he does call us.) You open the door and God says, “Hi, I’ve got this plan for you. I need you to go work on … ”
As God continues with his revelation for your life, you’re thinking, “This is not a good time to be called. I have a job and I need to work. I owe about…read more
Sep 03 2009
I recently read the following and found it inspiring and revealing and wanted to share it with you.
I didn’t get it until 10 a.m. Mass, August 16, 2009.
For years I heard about the Church being the bride of Christ. I’ve read over and over again that marriages should resemble the union of Christ and his Church.
I’ve also heard for many, many years that, during the Mass, we are offered with Christ to the Father.
But I didn’t get it.
August 16, I got it:
“Let your Holy Spirit come upon these gifts so that they may become the Body and Blood of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Our pastor, Father Charles Mitchell, prayed these words over the bread and wine – and over all of us.
· We were part of the offering to the Father; we were united to Jesus in the consecration of the sacred species.
Then came those ancient words, the words uttered by Christ himself, spoken by the priest who is, in this liturgy, standing in, for and with Christ: “This is my Body,” and “This is my Blood” – and there is no longer bread and wine but the living, resurrected and glorious Jesus Christ, completely present, his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.
And then we receive him – something marvelous happens.
· We are transformed by Eucharist – really and truly becoming his Body. We take on his flesh as he took on our flesh. We are one with him – intimately united in divine life and love.
And then, in another moment of insight, I saw the Mass as a wedding ceremony, uniting all of us to him as his Church, his bride, with whom we are intimately united.
Consider the Mass as a marriage ceremony:
· The procession into the church is the meeting and greeting of the future bride and groom.
· The penitential rite is the apology lovers make to each other for their inadequacies (although Christ never offends us).
· The Liturgy of the Word is the “getting to know you” period, the courtship.
· The offertory is the proposal and engagement.
· The Great Amen is the vow lovers take.
· Reception of the Eucharist is the “First and Lasting Food” for the couple. (For all of us, it is the consummation of the spiritual, holy and glorious marriage of Christ and his Church.)
· The dismissal, “Go in peace,” is the marching orders to go out and live the union with God in such a way that others want to become what we have become – the Body of Christ.
In baptism we are begin to live the divine life of God himself. He draws us into the divinity and joy of the Most Holy Trinity. We live as one with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Then at the Mass, we have this “marriage feast of the Lamb,” a dynamic and dramatic, face-to-face meeting with Christ. This special encounter deepens and strengthens our union with him. With every Mass and Communion we are invited to dive deeper into the mystery of God’s love and life. We are one with God. God is so great and vast we can never get to the end of him.
But we go deeper and deeper – until at last, we achieve full union with him – and with all the other saints in heaven.
Written by Deacon Henry Liebersat of St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church, Altamonte Springs, FL. Used with permission of Deacon Henry.
Aug 22 2009
Thirty or 40 years ago if you had asked someone if they were honest or truthful, they would have looked at you as if you had two heads. Back then there was no discernable difference between the two. Our attitudes have changed so much that people often manipulate their words and actions so they are scrupulously truthful without being absolutely honest. Unfortunately, the act of being absolutely truthful without being honest is acceptable in our secular society. Read more…
Aug 07 2009
Crown will offer a bi-lingual Life Group Leader Training class on Saturday, August 29, 2009 in Pinecrest, FL. Registration can be accomplished by going to www.Crown.org/CrownEvents/default_new.asp. The location of the training is:
Bilingual Small group leader training
August 29, 2009
8:30-3:00pm
St Louis Catholic Church
7270 SW 120 ST
Pinecrest, FL 33156
Call Eva Cordova at 954-294-9733 for more information.
Jul 23 2009
I just read this in ZENIT, a daily publication from Rome. The thought is what counts!
“The multiplication of the loaves is an enduring image of the Eucharist. Jesus wanted to use this humble gift of a few loaves and fishes to feed a multitude, and more (12 baskets were left!). Logic and human reason often say to us, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish.” But Jesus asks that even such meager provisions as these, together with the trust and generosity of disciples of every age, be stretched to their limits. “Let’s see. It will never be enough until we start to give it away.”
For the believer, Jesus is much more than a miracle worker; he himself is heavenly food. The believer will never again experience hunger or thirst. As bread sustains life, Jesus will sustain all who approach him in faith. To acknowledge Jesus as the living bread is the ultimate expression of God’s love in Christ’s death and glorification.”
Basilian Father Thomas Rosica, chief executive officer of the Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation and Television Network in Canada, is a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. He can be reached at: rosica@saltandlighttv.org.
May 20 2009
It used to be that credit was very hard to obtain. Before credit cards, there were loan sharks. Funk and Wagnells describes a loan shark as “One who lends money at an excessively high or illegal rate of interest.”
What would be a “reasonable” rate of interest? In the state of Florida, for personal loans under $500,000 the general interest rate limit is 18%. This is viewed as fairly liberal in the US.
Now compare this to the interest rates that credit card companies are charging! Over one-third of credit card holders are paying interest rates of over 20% and some are paying as much as 41%. In my mind, that puts the credit card companies in the same category as loan sharks!
The average household now owes $10,678 in credit card debt, up 29% from 2000, according to CardWeb.com, a research firm. If you paid the minimum payment each month with a 10% interest rate, it would take over 27 years to pay off your credit card debt. And you would pay $7,419 in interest charges. If that same debt was at 15% interest, it would take over 40 years to pay off and you would pay over $17,252 in interest charges. At 20 % (not unheard of in today’s credit world) it would take 50 years to repay the debt and you would pay $46,212 in interest charges!
Even more important is the amount of earnings you are losing. In the first example above, if you were investing the average monthly interest charge instead of sending it to the credit card company, at a 7% rate of return over the 27 years, you could have earned $22,235. In the second example (15% interest rate on the credit card), you could have saved $97,305 earning at 7% over the 40 years. In the last example, (20% interest rate on the credit card), you could have saved over $423,973 over the same 50 year period at only a 7% rate of return!
Don’t let your credit cards put you in the poor house! Spend only what you can afford in your budget. Pay off your credit cards each month; save your money and create your own personal bank.
May 19 2009
On a recent TV news program, one of the leading causes of debt was listed as medical bills. Unfortunately this is true in many cases, and we must add those who have gone into debt because of medical bills to our daily prayers; both for the return of their health and for success in paying down their debt.
What about those who are in debt, not because of medical issues, but because they have accumulated large credit card debt? These people need our prayers also! For whatever reason; greed, keeping up with the neighbors, lack of planning, etc., these people have put themselves at the mercy of the credit card companies. For these people, getting out of debt can be even harder than for those with huge medical bills.
These people have a credit card illness. Many times they have used their credit to reward themselves with things that they think they deserve, even if they can’t really afford them. But they deserve them! It’s part of the entitlement philosophy that has crept into our society. I’m entitled to have this or that. I deserve it.
As a society we need to take stock of where we are with our finances, both personal finances and government finances. Deficit spending (buying when you know that you don’t have money in the budget) is bad. It’s time to scale back our expenses; pay off our debts and actually save a little for the future. Write down every penny that you spend for 30 days, add it up and then compare that to how much income you had for the same 30 days. If you spent more than you earned, then you have a problem that needs to be fixed. And it can be fixed.
Work on fixing your self-inflicted credit issues. Pray for your success so that you are “not servant to the lenders” (Prov 22:7) and pray for those whose debt is due to medical issues.
May 11 2009
Q. It is so hard to keep on track with our financial plans. While it’s easy to map out a budget based on our values, it’s sometimes difficult to not be swept up into cultural expectations (new TV, furniture, lots of entertainment). Finding others (community, friends) who are willing to discuss both the values and the practical implications is difficult. Who will journey with us and help keep us on track while we do the same for them?
Kristine
A. Until the recent financial crisis, nothing in our culture encouraged us to be content, save for a rainy day and live a simple lifestyle. However, with the economy in its current shape, there is certainly much more cultural awareness of fiscal responsibility.
In many cases, it is not easy to talk to friends about being a careful spender, sticking to a budget or delaying spending. That is until someone with some courage and conviction broaches the subject. Once the ice is broken and you share your heart with friends, the whole topic becomes easier to discuss.
One of the best ways to open the door is to take the Crown Life Group Study. The small group dynamics of the bible study allow the people in class to naturally develop a common bond and a way to encourage each other through studying scripture, completing the practical applications, and learning a new way of thinking about the money and possessions Gad has entrusted to us as stewards.
QUESTIONS CAN BE SENT TO qanda@crowncatholic.org
Feb 25 2009
In many households the broom is kept behind the door. You use it and put it behind the door until the next time you need it. Is this what you do with your spiritual life? Is this what you do with God? Do you go to church on Sunday (hopefully every Sunday), spend your hour there and then come home and put your spiritual life “behind the door” until next week?
Does the current economic crisis have you running scared? Why? Who is your God? If you are running scared, I would submit that your God isn’t our Creator, but your god is money. You aren’t content with your life either spiritually or financially and you know that your finances won’t save you, but because you store your spiritual life behind the door, you don’t have your faith to sustain you.
Get involved in your church! Don’t just put your spiritual life behind the door after church on Sunday. Go to a Bible study; volunteer to help with the outreach or benevolence program that your church runs. Volunteer to help with the religious education programs. Help with a paint up/fix up project. Do something!
Lastly I urge you to take a Crown Financial Ministries class. Crown teaches how God can interact with you in your everyday life. Not just with your money, but also in how you work, how you give, how to train your children, how you make decisions, the way you save and invest, and how you think about eternity.
Get your spiritual life out from behind the door and make it part of your daily life. Recognize that God is Lord of all. Recognize that God owns everything; all your “stuff”. Recognize that God has provided everything that you have. You are a steward of His possessions. Once you recognize God’s sovereignty you are on your way to putting your spiritual life in order, and you will find it much easier to put your financial life in order.
Come out from behind the door and be proactive with your life.
Feb 01 2009
The Bible really doesn’t say anything about money, does it?
Did you know that there are 2,350 verses in the bible on money, possessions and stewardship, approximately 500 verses on prayer and fewer than 500 verses on faith? Jesus said more about money and possessions than any other subject.
Maybe the bible has so much to say about finances because making, managing and spending money consumes so much of our time.
During the Crusades in the 12th century, the mercenaries who fought were baptized because it was a “religious” war. When they were baptized, they held their swords out of the water indicating that Jesus was not in control of their swords. Today, many people hold their money “out of the water” indicating that God has no place in the financial realm. So many times we divorce our spiritual lives from our financial situation, when in fact how we handle money has a direct impact on our spiritual lives.
“If therefore, you have not been faithful in the use of worldly wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?” (Luke 16:11) Are you being faithful in using the worldly wealth entrusted to you?
If your life is consumed by materialism, you cannot be spiritual. All too often, despite our best intentions, our ‘secular’ or ‘worldly’ life is controlling our spiritual life. It should be the other way around - the spiritual must control the material. Yet, we find that we can’t do anything for our spiritual life because our secular life gets in the way. Learn what the bible has to say about money possessions and stewardship!!