Pick-A-Saint

This year, I was introduced to a Catholic New Year's tradition involving the Saints. Apparently, this is something that even Saint Maria Faustina did with her fellow sisters!

Anyhow, the way it goes is that you take a bunch of Saints' names on little pieces of paper and toss them in a hat or bowl. On New Year's Day, each person in the family says a quick prayer and reaches into the bowl to pick a Saint for the year. Then, the idea is to establish a relationship with your new patron as the year progresses. Some say that, even though we do the physical picking of the name, it is the Saint that chooses us!

I thought it was a neat idea and so on January 1st, my family put together a big bowl of Saints and got to choosing. The four of us came out with a pretty impressive list of patrons and we all look forward to getting to know our newfound patrons throughout 2010.

Our new family Saints are:

1. Saint Anthony of Padua
2. Saint Dominic Savio
3. Saint Joseph
4. Saint Jerome

I encourage anyone who stumbles across this Blog to put this little tradition into practice. We can learn so much from our brothers and sisters in Heaven (the "Church Triumphant") and I think that they are just itching for an opportunity to help us.

Praise God!

Fr. Corapi Conference

I wanted to post about a great day today.

Fr. John Corapi, an SOLT priest who is well known because of his appearances on EWTN and his straight-shootin' style, gave a day-long "retreat" on the subject of the Holy Spirit today in Buffalo. The event was held in the HSBC Arena, a 14 or 15,000 seat arena where the Buffalo Sabres (NHL) hockey team plays. Anyway, the retreat was great and Fr. Corapi was spot on. He is quite a character and pulls no punches; my wife and I enjoyed his four presentations. EWTN's News Anchor, Raymond Arroyo, also gave a 45 minute talk during the event. It was very special.

In my opinion, however, even though Father Corapi was amazing, the two most awesome aspects of the day were the Mass and, later, Benediction. There were about 12,000 people at the event, so the Mass was quite a sight. I have never been at Mass with so many people-- it was really cool. Plus, it was the Feast of the Assumption, which made it even better. Our local Bishop, Edward Kmiec, presided. Following Communion, Fr. Corapi led the entire congregation in a consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary using the formula of St. Louis de Montfort. It was awesome- 12,000 people consecrating themselves to the Blessed Mother! Truly awesome!

Then, at the end of the event, there was Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament. Wow. Again, an awesome sight. To be in that place, with thousands of people, all of us worshipping our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament was just amazing-- for a moment, I thought that this must be what heaven is like. A local parish Priest led the crowd in the traditional Benediction prayers, which were prayed in Latin, as well as the Divine Praises and a couple of traditional songs. It was a fitting end to an amazing day.

Experiences like that give me great hope for the future.

Joy!

Ours is a strange and often dark world, filled with peril. There are wars and rumours of wars. There are daily events that shock the conscience and take one's breath away. Yet, through it all, we Catholics are called to find joy in the sorrow, knowing that we have been saved throught Christ.

The idea of joy amidst suffering always reminds me of a hymn that was a staple at my high school's liturgies -- "How Can I Keep From Singing."

Some quick research revealed that the hymn was written by an American Baptist minister in the mid-nineteenth century. In light of our strange and dark times, I found the words of the song (posted below) quite inspiring.

Remember: There is always joy in Christ!

My life flows on in endless song;
Above earth’s lamentation.
I hear the sweet though far off hymn
That hails a new creation:
Through all the tumult and the strife
I hear the music ringing;
It finds an echo in my soul—
How can I keep from singing?

What though my joys and comforts die?
The Lord my Savior liveth;
What though the darkness gather round!
Songs in the night He giveth:
No storm can shake my inmost calm
While to that refuge clinging;
Since Christ is Lord of Heav’n and earth,
How can I keep from singing?

I lift mine eyes; the cloud grows thin;
I see the blue above it;
And day by day this pathway smoothes
Since first I learned to love it:
The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,
A fountain ever springing:
All things are mine since I am His—
How can I keep from singing?

As always, Praise God!!