I admit my weakness not because I’m proud; it frustrates me terribly. I admit my struggle because you probably share it. And we’re not alone.

The Saints Were Sinners, Too!

Did you know that the saints were in our shoes, too? Yup, those people with the halos on our stained-glass windows and holy cards also struggled with prayer. This is often left out of books and biographies for piety’s sake. But every saint in heaven, at one point or another, wrestled with the issues we commonly face. For instance, I remember being shocked when I read this from the autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux (‘The Little Flower’):

I am ashamed to confess it, but the recitation of the Rosary costs me more than to use an instrument of penance. I feel I am saying it so badly. Try as I may to make myself meditate on the mysteries, I never manage to fix my thoughts on them.

WHAT?? I couldn’t believe it. The Little Flower – a woman declared a Doctor of the Church – had trouble praying the Rosary? Wow, that’s like me! St. Pio of Pietrelcina, also called Padre Pio, is known for his holiness and closeness to God. But that closeness did not come easily or ‘naturally.’ He wrote to his spiritual director, Fr. Agostino,

My Faith is upheld only by a constant effort of my will against every kind of human persuasion. My Faith is only the fruit of the continual efforts that I exact of myself. And all of this, Father, is not something that happens a few times a day, but it is continuous…

Holiness ain't easy! (Photo: Blessed Pier Giorgio, rock climbing.)

Yes, the saints struggled just like us! A testimony from Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, a young man:

With every day that passes, I grow more and more convinced how ugly the world is, of how much suffering there is, and, unfortunately, of how it is the good who suffer the most. Meanwhile, we who have been given so many of God’s blessings have repaid Him poorly. This is an awful reality that racks my brain; while I’m studying, every so often I ask myself: will I continue on the right path? Will I have the strength to persevere all the way?

Reading the saints’ writings helps me renew my hope. Look at these three models of holiness – who spent hours of their day in prayer – yet they constantly struggled. St. Paul writes about his own struggle in his letter to the Romans: “I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want” (Rm. 7:19).

So, if the saints struggled like us, but they made it to Heaven, how did that happen?

Tips from the Saints

1. Ask God for the grace to love prayer.

“…I feel myself somewhat drawn to prayer, I have asked of God [...] that He would give me the grace to love this holy exercise more and more, unto the hour of my death. It is the one means for our purification, the one way to union with God, the one channel by which God may unite Himself with us, that He may do anything with us for His glory. [...] The counsel, or rather the commandment: Pray always, seems to me extremely sweet and by no means impossible.” – St. Claude de la Colombiere

2. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you to pray.

“The Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.” – St. Paul

3. Put prayer in perspective.

“Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life, which is short and has to be lived by you alone; and there is only one Glory, which is eternal. If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing.” – St. Teresa of Avila (also called ‘Teresa of Jesus’)

4. Get a new hobby: Do good deeds; they turn your soul to God.

“Accustom yourself continually to make many acts of love, for they enkindle and melt the soul.” – St. Teresa of Avila (…she has lots of great advice)

5. Begin with the Sign of the Cross.

“The illusions of the devil soon vanish, especially if a man arms himself with the Sign of the Cross. The devils tremble at the Sign of the Cross of our Lord, by which He triumphed over and disarmed them.” – St. Anthony the abbot

6. When you pray, quiet yourself.

“What we need most in order to make progress is to be silent before this great God with our appetite and with our tongue, for the language he best hears is silent love.”  -St. John of Avila (also called ‘John of the Cross’)

7. When you pray, let God love you.

Prayer is the inner bath of love into which the soul plunges itself. – St. John Vianney

8. Use small doses of spiritual reading as a springboard to prayer.

“Read some chapter of a devout book….It is very easy and most necessary, for just as you speak to God when at prayer, God speaks to you when you read.” – St. Vincent de Paul

9. Don’t let prayer intimidate you. Talk with God.

“To pray is to talk to God, but about what? About Him, about yourself; joys, sorrows, successes, and failures, noble ambitions, daily worries, weaknesses! And acts of thanksgiving and petitions: and Love and reparation. In a word: to get to know Him and to get to know yourself: to get acquainted.” – St. Josemaria Escriva

10. Schedule time for prayer, but also pray throughout the day.

Aspire continually to God, by brief, ardent upliftings of heart; praise God, invoke His aid, cast yourself in spirit at the Foot of His Cross, adore His Goodness, offer your whole soul a thousand times a day to Him, fix your inward gaze upon Him, stretch out your hands to be led by Him, as a little child to its father, clasp Him to your breast as a fragrant bouquet. In short, enkindle by every possible action your love for God[...] – it may be interwoven with all our duties and occupations – St. Francis de Sales

As I was looking over the Sunday paper, I saw so many advertisements for jewelry, perfumes, chocolates and flowers. I was telling my husband, “Honey, don’t feel you have to buy me anything for Valentine’s Day. Please don’t waste your money on flowers or jewelry or chocolates.”

As I continued to read the paper, I noticed that many restaurants were having Valentine’s Day dinner specials, too. So, then I said, “Let’s go have dinner on Valentine’s Day instead! There’s a restaurant that is offering dinner for two; which includes an appetizer, main course and dessert for only 19.99? That’s a good deal.”

Then, my husband says, “Let’s just have dinner at home.”

I thought for a moment. What am I doing? I’m sending mixed messages. First, I said, ‘Don’t waste your money on me,’ then I say, ‘Let’s buy dinner at a restaurant just because it’s Valentine’s Day?’ Why does my husband have to show me one day out of the year that he loves me? For that matter, why does anyone have to use Valentine’s Day to demonstrate their love for someone?

I began to think: God loves us every day, 24/7. He doesn’t decide on one special day to show His love for us; He shows it every day. Aren’t we supposed to do the same?

So then, I started to look in the Bible to read His Word about love. I’m very familiar with 1 Corinthians 13 (“Love is patient, Love is kind…”) since it’s often read at weddings. But then, I found a scripture in 1 John 4:7-11;

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love; not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another.

With this scripture, I challenged myself to love – not only my husband, or my mother, my sister, my friend, my neighbor – but also my enemy. I’m not just doing this because I feel like it. I’m doing this because God told me to. Shouldn’t you do the same?

Artwork from Shepherds' Field in Bethlehem: The shepherds rejoicing as they leave Christ's nativity

by Paul Vance, Assistant Pilgrimage Group Leader
(submitted from Jerusalem)

The act of listening is at the heart of pilgrimage. Like Mary, we listen to the Word spoken to us. A human-divine interaction results when the Word of the Lord presents itself to us, and, again like Mary, we ponder it. When we love God, the Word spoken must rest in our heart until we rest in it. To love our neighbor as ourselves is the next greatest commandment. The fruit derived from that love requires us to listen to our neighbor.

Today, our pilgrims celebrated Christmas for the second time in as many months. In the Church of the Nativity, where our Lord drew his first breath, we listened to the proclaimed Word. In that Word, we learned that the shepherds keeping watch in the nearby hills were the first to listen to the words of good news brought to them by the heavenly host. They left for Bethlehem to see the wondrous thing told to them. Upon entering the stable where the child lay in a manger, they were filled with joy at all they saw.

As shepherds, their station in life was the lowest of the low in the eyes of their own people. In many cases, they were perhaps treated as less than human. When they left the stable, yes, they were filled with joy, but they possessed something else. They had hope. It was a hope derived from the fact that they had encountered the Christ-child. Because they listened, they went and saw and understood that they were more than what others considered them. With Christ, there was hope born within them. They too could be children of God.

Our pilgrims experienced the same kind of hope today. They visited a Palestinian university today and participated in a forum consisting of many young Palestinian women and men. They are working on social projects oriented toward helping the marginalized in their land. Imagine that: a group of marginalized Palestinian Christian and Muslim youths are working toward improving the even more marginalized poor throughout their land. Listening to them, was to experience their hope for the future. It was a hope worth listening to and pondering in the heart. At that moment, the barriers between Christian and Muslim broke down and all that was left were children of God. To hear their dreams and watch their faces light up with the hope of a better, more just, and peaceful world is the best Christmas gift of all.

"The Sermon on the Mount" by Fra Angelico

The ministry of Jesus was unlike any other because he spoke with authority, the authority of God, and he performed miracles revealing his power over nature, sickness and evil. Jesus uses his teaching authority and his miracles so that the people might believe in him as the Messiah. However, he does not want the people to look to him as a political leader who will deliver them from the Roman occupation. His teaching is always about the Kingdom of God; about our need for conversion, to turn away from sin and to be faithful; to love God above all things and our neighbor as our self.

When the Apostles heard Jesus, they immediately left everything and followed. There were others who were attracted to Jesus just because they heard of his miracles, and hoped he would do something for them. And then, there were those who refused to believe in him and looked for an opportunity to prove he was an imposter.

They all heard the same thing and saw the same thing, but their response was different. It is for this reason that Jesus frequently taught in parables. The parables were an invitation to look deeper and to believe, and not be among those who had eyes and could not see, ears and could not hear, and hearts that would not be converted.

The same is true for us today. We all hear the same Gospel, we all have seen or heard of remarkable things that can only be explained as God’s intervention and our responses are quite different. So the question that has eternal consequences for each of us is, do we believe Jesus is God and do we want to follow him? Do we have eyes that see, ears that hear, and hearts that are willing to be converted?

Our Lord knows that our fallen nature is an obstacle to faithful discipleship; that we are inclined by our nature to be selfish. For this reason, He said we must deny our self, take up our cross and follow Him. Knowing how difficult this is for us, He pursues us and gives us opportunities to discover His Love and mercy. Sometimes an addiction can rob a person of all hope and they finally turn to God and begin life anew. It may be serious illness or financial difficulty that causes a person to realize they need God. It may be through a retreat or a pilgrimage experience that a person is awakened to the presence of God and then begin to commit their life to prayer and the sacramental life. Or perhaps it is a simple challenge to wake up and take God seriously.

About thirty years ago, someone asked me if Jesus was the Lord of my life. I don’t remember my response, but in my heart I knew I should say no. I went to Mass every Sunday, but gave God little thought after that. Did I, or did I not, want Jesus to be the Lord of my life – and did I want that to be reflected in the decisions I made in every area of my life? That thought haunted me for a while before I decided to do something about it. Within a week or so, I bought my first Bible, joined a prayer group and began to spend time in prayer every day. Those three decisions began to reshape my life and created a desire to draw close to God. My wife, Mary Jane, had the same desire and we started going to daily Mass and becoming more involved in our parish.

"Crucifixion" by Fra Angelico

We know from our personal experience that there is a great difference between knowing about God in a casual way instead of having a desire to know God in a personal way and wanting to be faithful to what He has revealed to us through the Scriptures and the Church. Our relationship with God brought new joy to our marriage and to our life in general. God has a great plan for all of us, but He must be in the center of that plan.

This is where we return to His authority. We all are tempted to do things our own way. We would like to know the minimum we must do to be a Christian so that we can get on with making our own plans. If we only want to do the minimum, we have eyes that don’t see, ears that don’t hear and hearts that do not want to be converted. God’s plan for us requires our total surrender, so that He can guide us to reach our potential for happiness in this life and for all eternity. If we think we can find our greatest happiness without placing God first in our life, we are mistaken. Most people try it and experience much sadness and unfulfilled purpose.

The Lord knows our struggles and for this reason He established His Church so that we have access to all the grace we need to be faithful and intimately connected to Him. In baptism, we become children of God and receive the theological gifts of faith, hope and charity and the gifts of the Holy Spirit – and we have the capacity to become saints. In the sacraments of reconciliation and Holy Eucharist, we encounter Christ in a personal way when He forgives our sins through His priest and gives us His body and blood under the appearance of bread and wine, so that we might be transformed into His likeness. He has given us all of the sacraments to strengthen us and provide the grace we need to overcome sin and grow in virtue – for our own good, and the good of the Church.

Jesus is still alive in His Church and He still speaks with authority and He still works miracles. For our part, do we have eyes that see, ears that hear, and hearts that are willing to be converted?

This was Deacon Tom’s homily for the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B), Mark 1: 21-28, preached at St. Matthew Catholic Church in San Antonio, Texas.

"Christ in the House of Mary and Martha" by Vermeer

My big plan this evening was to sit down, meditate on Scripture and then write an inspirational blog about staying close to Christ in everyday life. The Scripture reading I selected to quietly mediate on is the Gospel story in Luke 10:38-42:  The story goes . . .

As they continued their journey he entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary [who] sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.

My big plan was diverted as soon as I sat down. My eleven year old son walks up to me with two math worksheets in his hands, tears in his eyes and that “I don’t get this” frustrated look on his face.  Filled with pity for his predicament, I push my lap-top aside and help him for what turns into two hours of teaching and consoling.

We are now both exhausted.  My son plops on the couch and relaxes.  And here I am left on my own staring at a blank screen with a spent brain. I can feel the self-pity and resentment start to rise inside when a gentle voice consoles me, “You chose the better part.”

Hmmm.  You see, what we often miss in this story is that it was not that Martha was doing the wrong thing by working and asking for help, and it was not that Mary sitting instead of working was the right thing.  It was that Mary was focused on Jesus and Martha was focused on herself.

Do you ever wonder what happened between Martha and Jesus after He spoke to her? Did she walk off in a huff?  No, because whenever we have a personal encounter with Our Lord we are transformed.  I imagine that she let out a big sigh, as she was emptied of her anger and resentment, and that her shoulders relaxed as peace filled her to the brim. I imagine they smiled at each other, and Martha went back to her work with the joy that only the experience of being close to Christ can bring.

We lead busy lives with so much pressure on our time and talent; but if we want to be happy and feel purpose to our lives, we must stay close to Christ.  There are many different ways we can fit Our Lord into our busy work week:  meditating on the Rosary, impromptu praying, attending a daily Mass or sitting in Adoration for a couple of minutes between errands.  In so many ways, He calls us – and all we have to do is listen.  This is choosing the better part.

I have been married for just over two weeks and already, I am learning about the importance and meaning of my husband’s leadership role in our new family.

As Catholics, we hear that our calling from God – our vocation – is the way of life in which we become the ‘best versions of ourselves.’ While my husband and I have both clearly begun to thrive in marriage, Dan’s newfound strength is clear.

One of the areas in which Dan has begun to shine is prayer. Whenever we sit down to eat, he leads our prayer of thanks. Each week, he leads me in the Rosary, reflecting on the coming Sunday’s Gospel. Before Mass, he asks that we leave early so that we can receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession). On Saturday nights, he leads us in a prayer to give thanks for the Sabbath Day. During our meeting times, when we discuss budgeting and planning, he leads us in prayer asking for God’s direction. The list goes on.

When my husband makes it a point to lead us in prayer for our day, our meal, our worship, our money management, our relationship, etc., it sets a tone. And that tone, when repeated throughout the days and weeks, becomes a sacred rhythm for our life together. I don’t know if I’d be as peace-filled and joyful as I am, without Dan leading us in constant prayer. My tendency to be a worrier and constantly obsess about future obligations, commitments and potential problems has been tamed. I firmly believe that this has happened by God’s grace, through Dan’s willingness to be God’s instrument.

So, why does a husband have such influence? Clearly, I’m not an expert at being married. But from my collective experiences as a human being, I have witnessed the power of a man’s influence. Haven’t you? The many families torn apart when fathers choose to leave. Little boys learning how to treat women by modeling their fathers. Little girls learning their worth by their fathers’ actions toward women. From one of my grandfathers, I learned that the absence of a father can leave a perpetual wound in a family. From my other grandpa, I learned that the commitment of a father can teach generations of descendents to treasure life, family, and virtue.

Men and women, equal in dignity and worth, are not called to be the same. While both can lead and teach the same meaningful lessons, men and women lead and teach in distinct ways.

That is why I have a plea to all husbands: Lead your wife in prayer. Take the initiative.

It was no mistake that God came to earth as a man. He came to lead us! He says that in order to be his disciple, we must “follow” him. He calls the apostles as a leader would: “Come and follow me.” We humans needed – and continue to need – a strong leader. That is why God came as a man! Jesus is called the King of Kings. Lord of Lords. Good Shepherd. Prince of Peace. These are all leading roles.

The best model of masculinity is Jesus. And each married man, St. Paul teaches us in Scripture, is called to reflect Christ.

Portrayal of Christ as Bridegroom, giving himself up for his Bride

St. Paul teaches us that husbands are called to lead, since Christ leads the Church:

As the church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything. (Ephesians 5:24)

(Don’t get stuck on the word “subordinate.” This doesn’t mean the wife is devalued, since Paul compares us wives to the church, which is holy – the Body of Christ! Rather, a subordinate is someone who has a leader. This is what husbands are called to be.)

Husbands are called to sanctify their wives in the Holy Spirit through Scripture:

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:25-27)

Husbands are called to love and give themselves to their wives, since this is what Christ did.

So [also] husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.“For this reason a man shall leave [his] father and [his] mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:28-32)

Dear husbands, your wife needs you to lead her. Lead her especially in prayer. This is Christ’s mission – to lead His Bride, the Church, back to God – and it is your mission. Lead your bride to God.

As I got older I realized why my mom didn’t buy me the coolest or hottest fashions.  For one it was expensive and secondly she felt it wasn’t the appropriate attire for a girl my age to wear.  She would say that when I got older and made my own money I could buy and wear whatever I wanted.  Well I’m older now and those things just don’t appeal to me anymore.  They don’t seem important at all.  I learned to accept my modest way of dressing and realized that it wasn’t really that bad.

I’ve noticed now that young teenagers wear a lot more risqué clothing than when I was growing up.  Some of the things I’ve seen girls wear make me blush and wonder how their parents let them out of the house with what their wearing.  What happened to decent clothing?  I don’t mean clothing like Laura Ingle on Little House on the Prairie, which is clothing that covers everything on your body with no part of your body exposed. 

I recently read the book Dressing with Dignity by Colleen Hammond and she really had some valid points that made me start thinking.  In her book, I learned that the Vatican has guidelines for tasteful dressing.   I also learned that Padre Pio would not allow women come to church in low neck dresses or short tight skirts.  If he saw the women and teenagers that come to church these days he would flip.  I know it’s easier to conform to the way everyone else dresses; But, what if God were shopping with me, would I really buy the clothes I’d like or would I get something that was both modest and feminine?   Instead, I’m guilty of thinking, “What can I buy that will look nice and perhaps get me noticed.”  Am I the only one who thinks this way?  I can’t be the only one who thinks this way?   If you are like me, then let’s change our way of thinking.   The next time we shop let’s think, “What can I wear that will please God?”

Miraculous Medal Chapel Altar

The reality is that she is our mother, whether we know her or not. Last November, I had the opportunity to lead a pilgrim group of 56 pilgrims on a Marian Pilgrimage to Fatima, Lourdes and the Shrines in Paris. One of those Shrines in Paris is dedicated to our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. There Mary appeared to a young nun named Catherine Laboure (Daughter of Charity) and entrusted her a mission of having a Medal made with an image of the Immaculate Conception and these words around the medal:
“O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” Mary told Catherine that those who would wear it confidentially and faithfully would receive graces. The Shrine, rather small, has beautiful mosaics depicting the story of Mary’s apparition to Catherine. Our pilgrim group spent a morning here, we celebrated the Mass and had time for silent prayer.

I was there! I knelt close to where Mary appeared to Catherine and presented an impression of herself to be struck on to a medal for us her children. A medal that reminds us of her presence, her love for us and her intercession – if we only ask her!

As I knelt, I experience an incredible peace and deep joy. I left that sacred place that morning filled with a deep peace and an assurance that Mary heard my prayer! It was impressed into my heart.

Mary wants to “make an impression” on you! Her impression of her maternal love in your heart! Her impression that she is present, we need only to go to her in prayer! She wants to make an impression in our souls. She wants us to have a relationship with her son, Jesus the Christ.

As we turn the calendar to a new year…write a note “Go to Mary!” And in doing so…she has already made her impression on you!

A view over the Judean desert, from King Herod's fortress

When I was in the Holy Land, I remember standing on the site of King Herod’s castle near the desert.

It was sunset. The silence could cut you through. My eyes looked out over the Judean desert, and with awe I realized that King Herod’s eyes looked out over this very place. Then, from the tents of the shepherds on the desert floor, I heard a baby wail.

Today, the fourth day of Christmas, we remember the Holy Innocents – King Herod’s massacre of infants when he heard the Messiah had been born. Out of jealous desire to destroy a possible threat to his kingship, Herod ordered that all boys under age two in the Bethlehem area be murdered.

Can you imagine what I felt when I heard the baby’s cry from Herod’s fortress, that night?

Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet: ‘A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more.’ (Matt. 2:17-18)

"The Holy Family with the Infant St. John" by Bartolome Esteban Murillo

Through the centuries, God called upon ordinary people to become extraordinary people in His service so that, in the fullness of time, the Word of God would become flesh and dwell among us. This, of course, is what we celebrate this Christmas until the Solemnity of Epiphany in a liturgical way. However, the reality that Our Heavenly Father loves us so much that He sent His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life should cause us to celebrate every day of our life.

In the Gospel, we see again how Almighty God chose ordinary people to fulfill His great plan. Even though Mary was conceived without sin, she did not see herself as extraordinary. She would have been praying for the coming of the Messiah just like all other religious Jews, not knowing that she had been chosen to be the Mother of God. Joseph also did not consider himself to be special. Even after they came to realize they had been chosen to fulfill a special purpose in the plan of God, they still humbly desired only to be faithful without receiving any special privileges.

Through the ages it has been the desire of Almighty God to accomplish His plan with the help of His creatures. It is amazing what human beings can do when they cooperate with the grace of God. That why it is so important for us to read the lives of the saints, so that we can see how God worked in the lives of those who loved Him and were faithful to His revelation.

God has always had a great plan for humanity. However, even though His love for us is unconditional; salvation, forgiveness, and complete happiness and fulfillment are conditional. The great plan of God can only be realized if we keep the Greatest Commandment. We must love the Lord Our God with all our mind, heart and strength. There can be nothing in our life more important than God. That means we must spend time in prayer everyday; that we must receive the grace we need to be faithful by frequenting the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Eucharist; and that we read the Scriptures daily, even if only a few minutes. This may seem difficult at first, but it is not. If we desire to draw close to God we must make the effort, but this effort soon becomes a source of joy as we become more aware of the presence of God.

Saint Irenaeus of Lyons

Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. The Word of God became man so that so that we might become like him. He established this Church so that we would have every means available to us to overcome sin and to grow in virtue, so that we may reach our potential for happiness according to his great plan. St. Irenaeus, who was a disciple of St. Polycarp, who was a disciple of St. John the Apostle of Jesus, once said, “The glory of God is man fully alive.” When we are fully alive, we give God glory – and we can only be fully alive when we are in the state of grace; when we are united with God.

We may be ordinary people, but God wants to accomplish extraordinary things through every one us. With the help of His grace, we can overcome our selfish tendencies to live for ourselves and instead, put the Kingdom of God first. With the help of His grace, we can forgive even the most painful hurts so that God’s love will grow in us, and we can be liberated from unforgiveness. With the help of God’s grace, our families will be more important to us than any material possession or form of entertainment.

So as we celebrate Christmas this year, let’s give God glory by being fully alive. Make a New Year’s resolution to go to confession at least every other month, if not monthly. Try to go to daily Mass at least once during the week. Jesus waits for us to receive him so that he can pour his grace into our souls. He is a great problem-solver if we come to him in humility. Pray together as family every day; especially it is important for husbands and wives to pray together. We are all called to be holy which means we must make sacrifices. We cannot do and be everything we want. When we faithfully follow Jesus, he will help us discover our vocation so that we can fulfill his plan for us and experience happiness now and forever.

The word “Christmas” comes from the two words “Christ” “Mass” and the word “merry” means happy. Perhaps if we would say Happy Christ Mass we would not lose the meaning of the celebration. The Mass should be the most important part of our celebration because Christ is the source of our temporal and eternal happiness. So, have a Happy Christ Mass.