The IPOD: Another tool of Evangelization

When I got my first IPOD 2 years ago, I never thought that it would bringing me closer to God. It gave me the freedom listen to different albums in different order without switching CDs, and without worring about carrying $2000 worth of CDs in the car. I also liked the photo option, although I think I never showed anyone the pictures because I always left my IPOD in the car. Unfortunately, my first IPOD was stolen in from my car in my driveway. I actually went several months without even worring about a new IPOD. I figured that it was just as easy to listen to the radio. You can only take so much music mixes of Queen/Zepplin/Pink Floyd!!!Maybe not, maybe you can handle more, but not me!!!

After a few months, I decided to look into another device. A smaller, cheaper one, was on my mind. I actually bought a $99 special from Walmart, but took it back because the software was a pain. I decided to go back to the IPOD Video (30Gig).

After hearing a soundbyte about a local radio talk show podcasts, I thought about checking out other podcasts. Baseball, politics........RELIGION...WOW! Googling "catholic podcasts" changed the face of my IPOD life. My first discovery was the disciples with microphones and the Saint Cast (www.saintcast.org). I also discovered several shows on EWTN and EWTN radio from the www.ewtn.com website that are archived for podcasting. This was before the discovery of another great evangelical tool (the DVR or TIVO). I never had time to listen or watch my shows on EWTN, so I was able to download them on my IPOD. I now have a DVR, but still find it easier to listen in the car as I do have 4 hours per day in the car.

My day starts with a downloaded copy (purchased from ITUNES Music Store) of the Rosary on my IPOD. I then usally go to an hour of either EWTN Open Line or Catholic Answers. I can pick and choose what I am in the mood for. I also have a slew of different podcasts with different levels of spirtuality, fun, and heavy topics. The beauty here as well, is I don't miss a thing, because I can pause, rewind or relisten to each podcast. If my phone wrings, I put the IPOD on pause (except the Rosary, because I don't want to put Our Lady or Jesus on hold). Just an FYI, I am listening to the Daily Breakfast Podcast as I write this while grabbing a WI FI signal in front of one of my accounts).

The power of technology has its downside...but in his infinite wisdom, GOD turns evil into good. We all know the problems with the anonymity of the Internet and the dangers that poses to our children and our sanctity, but these podcasts are harnessing the goodness from this technology. I have heard homilies, prayers, and many other ministristries on these podcasts. It is not a giant leep of faith to believe that we are only seeing the beggining of this great tool. The Rosary Army (www.rosaryarmy.com) mentioned that the diocese of Atlanta is communicating information (I am assuming cathecisis and diocesean anouncements) through podcasting. Each diocese should start thinking about this tool. We want to reach as many people as possible. It is our DUTY to save souls. When you think of IPODs, and visualize people roaming around with earphones, who do you picture...TEENS...Just drive by any school around 3 pm. At least half of these kids are walking around with headphones on...WOW...Maybe this can by a tool to reach teens and get them thinking about how COOL being Catholic can be...Churches can archive homilies for teaching and for accountability for priests. I am a salesman, my presentations get better when I observe myself through feedback and video presentation. Maybe priests can get better by listening to there homilies. We are just scratching the surface of IPODing, with the improved technology of VIDEO IPODS and VIDEO CASTING.

Let's start filling up those IPODs with the message of God. Google "catholic apologetics", "marian devotions", "Catholic PodCasts"...or whatever you would like to see/hear. My site also has some links, and I will add more as I get more. Be careful on the NET, as it is not all innocent, but with some careful searching, you find the answers you seek.

GOD Bless in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The Power of Prayer

What is Prayer? St. Therese of Lisieux said “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy (Catechism of the Catholic Church). Paragraph 2559 discusses the need for humility in prayer: “…only when we humbly acknowledge that ‘we do not know how to pray as we ought’, are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer…”

Before discussing the types of prayer, we see the Catechism talks about the mindset of the person praying. We see the theme of humility throughout the discussion of prayer. We must always be aware of the “target”. Jesus Christ is our “Template” for many things, prayer included. If we compare ourselves to Him, we will always be lesser, thus striving to get better. This type of humility can surely improve many things in our spiritual life, especially prayer.

Jesus teaches us about prayer throughout the scripture. In the Gospel of Mathew (5: 5-7):
When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogoues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.

The theme of humility in prayer is continued in paragraph 2562, where it states that it is the Heart that prays. The words are meaningless without the heart, and God knows what is in our hearts.

The Catechism points out different types of prayer: Blessing and Adoration, Prayer of Petition, Prayer of Intercession, and Prayer of Praise.

These different types of prayer all have a place in our lives. Through the different expressions of prayer (Vocal, Meditation, and Contemplative)

Through vocal prayer, we voice (internally and externally) our love and longing for God. “Whether or not our prayer is heard depends not on the number of words, but on the fervor or our souls” 2700.

Meditation takes our prayers to another level. Mediation is a form of prayerful reflection on scripture, icons, circumstances, that bring us closer to God. The Rosary is a perfect example of meditation.

The final type of prayer is Contemplative prayer. This can be a struggle with distraction of today’s world. Paragraph 2711 states that “entering in to contemplative prayer is like entering into the Eucharistic liturgy: we ‘gather up’ the heart, recollect our whole being under the prompting of the Holy Spirit, abide in the dwelling place of the Lord which we are, awaken our faith in order to enter into the presence of him who awaits us.”

These are very advanced concepts from a wonderful book (The Catechism of the Catholic Church). It is important through growing our prayer life, that we continue to revisit these issues and learn how to pray better…and guess what…we can pray to pray better!!!

The bottom line here is that prayer feeds the soul. It does not always have to be a memorized poetic set of verses (they are nice though), it can be as simple as “Lord have mercy on me, a sinner”. Just remember to pray early and often. Spend time to thank God, to exalt God, and remember to ask for forgiveness. Stay humble, and remember that God loves you. There is so much power in prayer. I will go into the power of intercessory prayer at another time in the discussion of the Communion of Saints, but the remember that we have our prayers, prayers of others around us, and the prayers of souls in purgatory and the amazing prayers of the Angels and Saints already in heaven. We pray for their intercession because they are close to God, in fact they are in the presence of God. As I said, this article has already gone too long, so I will go into further detail in a later blog. For now God Bless you in the Name of the Father…the Son…and the Holy Spirit…Amen…

For more information on prayer go to http://www.catholic.org/clife/prayers/

The Cafeteria is Closed

"Keep watch over yourselves and cover the whole flock of which the holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the church of God that he aqquired with his own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock. And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth to draw the disciples away after them. Acts 20:28-30.

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach [to you] a gospel other than the one that we preached to you, let that one be accursed. As we have said before, and now I say again, if anyone preaches to you a gospel other than the one you recieved, let that one be accursed. Galatians 1:8-9

Am I now currying favor with human beings or God? Or am I seeking to please people? If I were still trying to please peple, I would not be a slave of Christ. Galatians 1: 10.

Anyone who is so "progressive" as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God; whoeve remains in the teaching has the Father and the Son. 2 John 1:9

Were do we fit today in relation to these teachings? Christ is telling us about our world 2000 + years ago. We have plenty of wolves out there telling us that Christ's teachings (the teachings of his Church) are "Old Fashioned". "Why can't we use birth control?" "It is better for society to have children we can handle. " "Abortion is fine, it reduces crime, and unwanted children who are a burden on society". "Ms. So and So has lived a good life, but now she can't feed herself. She broke her hip...and does not have health care... she is ready to die...maybe she would be better off" These are arguments the secular world (wolves) want you to listen to. If you keep hearing this, they hope, you will start to think they "have a point". The Church has direct authority from Jesus Christ in questions of morality. This article is not indended to be a point by point debate on these issues (that would take much more time than I have now), but instead an argument against the popular "Cafeteria Catholic".

The points here, birth control, abortion, euthanasia, are all political hot buttons in today's world. It seems as though the birth control issue has completely fallen away, abortion is very hot today, and euthanisia (I'm afraid) is comming soon to a theatre near you. There are many aspects of the Church that people seem to make light of. They seemingly elect themselves Pope for their own convienience. As Catholics, we have a moral obligation to obey the Pope. We are given such wonderful gifts in the sacraments.

Through Baptism, we are washed clean of original sin. Through Confession we are forgiven (absolved) of any sin...ANY SIN...that we truly are sorry for...understand this, GOD loves you so much...all you have to do is ask for forgiveness through the sacrament of Confession. Lesser, venial sins, are normally forgiven through prayer and the Mass, but Mortal sins need the sacrament. Through Confession, we are able to be in a state of grace in order to properly recieve Jesus through his greatest gift: HIMSELF! You must love the Eucharist. You MUST believe that he TRULY IS PRESENT in the HOST. If you don't, you truly commit sacreliege by still recieving. The other sacrements are Holy Orders, Marriage, Annointing of the Sick.

We find in today's world, many people trying to justify living in sin. Not attending Mass, Confession, Birth Control, no prayer, Failure to defend the faith, are all things many people (Catholic people) who are good people do everyday. These types of things don't seem as evil as adultery, abortion, murder, etc. The problem is that they can do just as much damage to one's soul as any other sin. When one convinces himself that these seemingly "harmless" things are ok, the Devil starts to smile. Electing yourself Pope is very dangerous. Instead of changing the rules, one can ask for forgiveness and try their best to change. Go to Confession, recieve the Eucharist. The forgiving power of GOD is amazing. Believe the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Strive to live up to the faith, knowing that we are all sinners. Utilize the loving forgiveness Jesus through the Church to stay in good standing with GOD.

Please understand that the Church has authority from GOD. We are lay people, and most of us are not theolgians. We have such as wonderful tool in the Church. As Catholics, we do not have to interpret the Bible for ourselves. We do not have to decide tough moral questions for ourselves. Jesus lives through the Church to do this for us. We must be humble before the Lord and realize that we need the Church and all of it's wisdom, however "old fashioned" it may seem. Please read on my Divine Mercy Page Sister Faustina's vision of Hell (http://www.divinemercysunday.com/vision.htm) . Read this and decide if you want to take the chance that you know more than 2000 years of the Church. Eternity is...well...eternity...and in Hell...well...it's Hell...

Remember that GOD Loves each one of us more than we can imagine. I recently heard an analogy (not to be taken literally) that God loves us so much, that we are like Gods to him. While not taken literally, because we are not Gods, it gets the point accross on the love GOD has for us. Take advantage of this. God Bless you...

God have mercy on me, a sinner.

Amen

June is the Month of the Sacred Heart

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, to Thee I consecrate and offer up my person and my life, my actions, trials, and sufferings, that my entire being may henceforth only be employed in loving, honoring and glorifying Thee. This is my irrevocable will, to belong entirely to Thee, and to do all for Thy love, renouncing with my whole heart all that can displease Thee.
I take Thee, O Sacred Heart, for the sole object of my love, the protection of my life, the pledge of my salvation, the remedy of my frailty and insconstancy, the reparation for all the defects of my life, and my secure refuge at the hour of my death. Be Thou, O Most Merciful Heart, my justification before God Thy Father, and screen me from His anger which I have so justly merited. I fear all from my own weakness and malice, but placing my entire confidence in Thee, O Heart of Love, I hope all from Thine infinite Goodness. Annihilate in me all that can displease or resist Thee. Imprint Thy pure love so deeply in my heart that I may never forget Thee or be separated from Thee.I beseech Thee, through Thine infinite Goodness, grant that my name be engraved upon Thy Heart, for in this I place all my happiness and all my glory, to live and to die as one of Thy devoted servants.
Amen.
. -- St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Eucharistic Congress

http://www.ssfpa.org/adoration/eucharist.html

The Blessed Sacrament is Jesus: Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. This is such an awesome gift he gives of himself. In recieving him, we experience Christ similar to how Mary experienced him. While she carried him in her womb, we experience him through "eating his flesh" and "drinking his blood". Through the sacrament of Communion in a state of grace anything is possible. Heal an addiction, gain holiness, experience GOD. I once heard that even 1 experience of taking communion is enough to make anyone a saint. We can take it everyday...wow!!!! Don't pass this up.


God,
Make let me thirst for you,
but never completely quench my thirst until we meet face to face.
God I love you!
Amen!

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Catholic Comuter

Catholic Comuter

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Pray everday to the Holy Family. They are the model of perfection. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, help me be a better father, husband, and help me Love Jesus ever more.

The Comuter speaks

Hopefully this blog grows into something special. I am not sure on what I am doing, but I want to evangelize about the Catholic Church and Jesus Christ. I drive 2 hours to work (each way) and have turned this into one of the most special things in my life. I have discovered PODCASTS...Catholic podcasts...