Catholics Come Home – 2 Minute Video

This is a video created by Catholics Come Home, a group dedicated to helping lapsed and fallen-away Catholics return to the Sacraments. Just a clear, concise overview of what our Church is all about. You can visit their website here.

There are other videos available at the site, as well as information for anyone struggling with the Church’s teaching.

What’s Wrong With Contraception?

Since this was the topic with the most votes on the “What would you like to learn about” poll, let’s take a closer look at it. We’ll try to keep it family friendly.

Despite what secular stereotypes may lead you to believe, the Catholic Church teaches that the “marital act”, as revealed by God, has only two conditions placed upon it:

1) that it take place in the bonds of matrimony – that the two be married and,

2) that it be open to life – not that pregnancy necessarily be achieved or even attempted each time, but that the end result could possibly end in conception. That’s it. Two things.

First is the marriage part. You have to be married. That’s the only place where sexual relations properly belong. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us: “It (sexual relations) demands a total and definitive gift of persons to one another.“(CCC, paragraph 2391) It is a total gift of the self, and therefore is only appropriate between a man and a woman who have publicly and faithfully committed their love to one another in Marriage. Anything less is a shadow of this. So when people start talking about handing out contraceptives to kids to promote “safe-sex”, they’ve missed the boat entirely.

Now, open to life. That’s a simple rule to guide us. A moment of reflection will reveal that certain “perversions” are considered illicit because they have no chance of resulting in the creation of a new life. Again, not that it must, but that it be open to it. This very simple guide will explain for us why homosexuality is wrong, why sterilization is wrong, and why contraceptive use is wrong. In all three instances, the procreative nature of the sexual act is thwarted. We’ve taken the power – God’s power – into our own hands. In a sense, it’s a re-enactment of the Original Sin. WE know better than God what’s good for us. WE will decide how this ends up.

This is simply an introduction to the topic, and the Church certainly has much more to say about the issue. If you’d like to learn more, a good place to start might be this article on Catholic.com.

Feel free to use the Comments box for questions or comments.

David Pollack to return to Bengals?

An article in today’s Enquirer examines the possibility of David Pollack returning to play for the Bengals next season. After a fractured spine, that’s impressive enough. But was most remarkable was this comment from Pollack himself:

“I will want to take some time, though, to fast and pray and spend time by myself a lot and try to figure out where God is leading me,” he said. “If it closes one chapter, it opens another.”

And it’s not even Lent! We rarely hear of people incorporating fasting into their prayer life these days (at least publicly), but I think he’s setting a great example. Who would have thought – act like a Bengal to draw closer to God? (Just kidding!)

Paragraph 1434 of the Catechism tells us that

“The interior penance of the Christian can be expressed in many and various ways. Scripture and the Fathers insist above all on three forms, fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, which express conversion in relation to oneself, to God, and to others.

Most of us pray and give some amount to charity, but do we fast? There’s something about a physical hunger to make us more deeply understand our need for God. Maybe a good place to start would be to abstain from meat on Fridays. While this is required of us during Lent, it is actually encouraged by the Church year-round.

Paragraph 1438 of the Catechism says:

The seasons and days of penance in the course of the liturgical year (Lent, and each Friday in memory of the death of the Lord) are intense moments of the Church’s penitential practice. These times are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies, pilgrimages as signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving, and fraternal sharing (charitable and missionary works). [Emphasis added]

Abstinence is not expressly required on Fridays, but only because the Church has left it to our discretion how we will make that penance. If we are not fasting or abstaining, we should be doing some other form of penance in remembrance of our Lord’s suffering. Start today?

A Must-Read for Fathers with Daughters

Zenit.org posted a great interview with an author about the role that fathers play in their daughter’s lives. It’s not very long, but it’s time very well spent. If you’ve never read much on the topic, it will be a real eye-opener. Here’s a link to the article, and an excerpt:

…the most important thing a father can do is live a life of integrity — living truthfully. A daughter, within 15 seconds, can tell if her father is in a bad mood, good mood, telling the truth or not, etc. Those fathers who don’t live truthfully do a great disservice because a daughter doesn’t believe in him, doesn’t trust him. Dads think they need to earn heroism, but they really don’t. The role of a hero is just given to him until proven otherwise. Most dads don’t know this.

Click the envelope below to send this post to a dad with a daughter. She’ll thank you later!

Giving Back in Iraq

Soccer Coaches,

If any of you or, your kids have old soccer gear that you would like to donate, we have found, what I believe to be, a terrific option!

Lori Gries’s (Ft. Thomas resident and St. Catherine parishoner) brother in law is stationed in Iraq is championing a personal / non-political campaign to reach out to the children there via soccer.

If you are interested in participating / it couldn’t be simpler – Just throw your old gear into a bag and drop it off at my place at 624 S. Ft. Thomas Ave. Ft. Thomas, Ky. 41075 between now and Christmas or; call me if you need a pick up. Your items will be mailed to Iraq between Christmas and January 1st.

Please include: Cleats, jerseys, shorts, socks, shin guards, soccer balls, pumps, etc. Items should be in good working/usable condition.

Pass it on!
Bill Lorenz
859-250-8645
bill.lorenz@fmr.com
You were not put on this Earth to be average. Great things are in your heart. Don’t just open your heart; tear it open and let it pour into the world. Dare to be great!

Happy Non Specified Holiday

Here’s a fun video message to all of the retailers who want us to buy presents, but won’t say why!

Parish Finances

Have you filled out a card for the new diocesan offertory program? Why or why not? What do you think works or doesn’t work with stewardship? What are your suggestions for paying for the needs of the parish and diocese? Click the comments link below to offer your thoughts.

Pearl Harbor Anniversary

Today marks the 66th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Let us pray for those killed and wounded in the attack, and for their families. Click here for a link to a story in today’s Enquirer about the attack.

Pope Releases Encyclical

Pope Releases Encyclical – taken from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/current/headlines.html#7

Pope Releases Encyclical on Christian Hope; Responds to Muslim Call for Dialogue Pope Benedict XVI has released a new document with some strong criticism of atheism. In the second encyclical of his papacy, Benedict said atheism has led to some of the greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice ever known.

Also this week, Benedict pledged his commitment to promoting mutual respect and tolerance between Islam and Christianity. The pope’s declaration came in response to an appeal that Muslim clerics made a month ago. The clerics had asked Benedict and leaders of other Christian denominations to work with them to find common ground. Benedict had been criticized for not immediately responding, but this week Vatican officials sent a letter of thanks to one of the Muslim clerics and said that Benedict would like to meet with Islamic leaders for further discussions.

Revisit R & E’s October 12, 2007 report on Scriptural Reasoning.

Scott Hahn to Speak at NKU Dec. 7

Internationally-known Catholic speaker Dr. Scott Hahn will be speaking at NKU’s Regents Hall on Friday, Dec. 7 at 7:30. Admission is free. Scott’s talk will be on “Reasons to Believe”. He will be discussing the “how and why” of faith, drawing from Scripture and his own struggles, as well as everyday life and even natural science. He shows that reason and revelation, nature and the supernatural, are not opposed to one another.

If you are struggling to accept all or part of the Catholic faith, this could be just what you need. He is a world-class theologian with a gift for making complicated things seem simple.