Thank you, Bishop Lazaro of Cajamarca!

Msgr. Carmelo Martinez Lazaro, SJ of Cajamarca
Order of Augustinian Recollects

A sturdy spine or backbone is what a bishop needs! If your bishop has that, announce his deeds, send him a letter of thanks, and pray for him.

It is an honor to give tribute to a bishop who is considered a minority, yet one who lives the pulpit.

"Bishop Carmelo Martinez Lazaro of Cajamarca in northern Peru has suspended the controversial priest, Father Marco Arana, both because of his participation in partisan politics and for voicing his support for abortion on several occasions." Read the rest of the article here. Thanks to CNA, Catholic News Agency.

The Catholic Church does not condemn individuals, it points out actions of its members that degrade and waterdown its teachings. A bishop's role is so important in the shepherding of his people; he ought to use the authority vested upon him to keep our Church standing strong and vibrant. An act of suspension of a clergy seems harsh, but like a family - such as my own - I make sure to discipline my five children, not with the intention of inflicting pain, but to let them understand that there are bounderies, limitations, as well as rules to observe and follow - to keep our family standing strong and vibrant.

Thank you, Bishop Carmelo Martinez Lazaro of Cajamarca! God forever bless you and keep you strong as you lead your people at the Church of our Most High Priest, Jesus Christ.

Meet Fr. Larry

Just in case you haven't seen this yet: Pope encourages priests to blog.


Thank you to all our blogger priests! They are a joy in the blogosphere: their presence gives us a sense of hope and delight to the soul.

If you haven't done so, visit Fr. Larry at Ubi Petrus, Ibi Ecclesia (Where there is Peter, there is the church) and Roman Catholic Homilies. Fr. Larry gives us very insightful posts: he puts his theology background into good use, explaining well to us the validity or fallibility of issues surrounding our faith. He also includes sources so we can expand our readings. If you wish you may send him queries and he will most likely post them - with a response - for your benefit, as well as others'.

Fr. Larry was ordained in 2003, and committed to the magisterial authority of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church founded by Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on the Rock of St. Peter and his successors (found on his profile and to which I agree).

Thank you, Fr. Larry!

Oakland A's Grant Desme entering priesthood

"I love the game, but I aspire to higher things," were the words of a 24-year old baseball player who could have had the chance of earning millions, as many sports players work hard to attain. More on the story here.

How can you not love a guy like this? Many stories are similar to this, yet they never get old because they are about a higher calling. God is the one who calls and they hear, and follow. Listening to God's voice and being obedient to the call are two important elements to becoming true soldiers for God. Our priests had all gone through this, and now, are able to perform their ministerial tasks. To acquiesce to the call is the hardest part. But once "the called" has crossed over, that is it! He becomes a Christ for all. And grace has always been sufficient, never an ounce less.

We pray for Grant Desme and all men to be bold enough in saying yes to God inspite all difficulties.

In retrospect, the act of obedience would have just proven that the hardships really were only tools for greater learning and growth.

Jesus, our Most High Priest, be praised!

Catholic Priest Appreciation Network

Thanks to my good friend Esther of A Catholic Mom in Hawaii. Her passion to pray and encourage our priests to be the best they can be - and resourcefulness - enable me to find some good things to share with you. Here's a site she's a member of that is dedicated to priests also; it's called The Catholic Priest Appreciation Network.

Here's a message from Mary Rose, its creator:

"... this will be a place for celebration.

Share your stories, photos, videos - everything and anything to show your appreciation for Catholic priests! I hope this will be a place of joy for you and a reminder to always keep our priests in prayer."

Check it out. Post your priest's name, accomplishments, and words of encouragement.

Dedicated to our Priests

"O priests, you bright candles enlightening human souls, let your brightness never be dimmed." -St. Faustina

My good friend Puna Shorba gave me a copy of the Magnificat Year for Priests Companion. It costs $3.95 which I think is a bargain. You may order several to give to friends and family, and even to priests and seminarians. Copies are also available at the Pauline Books and Media Center near you.

This booklet contains a novena for our priests, with prayers, essays, meditations, and includes the Stations of the Cross. This is a year-round prayer companion, so yes, it may be used even when it's no longer the Year for Priests. I especially recommend it to Spiritual Mothers who are actively praying for their Spiritual Sons.

God bless you generously for all you do for our priests!

Much aloha to all!

Our Pope says YES to Life

"Commitment to help families, especially young people who want to establish them, and commitment to the formation of youth are among the issues touched upon by Benedict XVI this morning as he met with the trustees of the City of Rome, the Province of Rome and the Lazio Region...."

Haitian archbishop killed

Archbishiop Serge Miot, Archbishop of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince

May his soul rest in peace. Please continue to pray for Haite and its people, those who died, the injured, the priests, sisters, missionaries, and those helping in the rescue.

Thank you all.

National Awareness Vocation Week

My good friend, Esther G. of A Catholic Mom in Hawaii, has good posts for National Awareness Vocation Week. Here is the link to the Diocese of Honolulu Spiritual Mothers Apostolate site, a blog that Esther herself built. She and I maintain it for many reasons. One of which is to keep the Spiritual Mothers in our diocese informed of the latest events or issues involving our priests and seminarians. It is also a place to encourage our Spiritual Mothers to persevere in their prayers for the Spiritual Sons assigned to them, or anyone; thus, we post prayers.

This week, please remember all the seminarians who are pursuing to become the future priests of our Church. Please pray for those men and women who are in discernment, those who feel called to the priestly or religious life.

I dedicate this post to my good friend, Jack O'Keefe, who is discerning his vocation, his place in God's kingdom here on earth.

To Jack and all those in the process of discernment: May God, in his infinite goodness, fill you with wisdom that you may see clearly the path God wants you to take.

Fr. Stan Fortuna will be at Pauline Books & Media

In Toronto! Click on the picture to see details more clearly.

Fr. Samuel Medley's invitation

Pope John Paul II's book Love and Responsibility is gaining popularity. Check it out at catholic book stores (I must say that Borders has a good selection of books written by Catholic writers), or order it online here at Ignatius Press' site. I am a Pauline Cooperator, so I'd recommend -- anytime of the day (yes, I am biased! :-)) -- ordering through or visiting the nearest Pauline Books and Media Center in your area. The sisters will welcome you and be able to answer any questions you may have.

The Ignatius Press link is great because it'll take you to pages of the book, so you can view and read some of the text.

Fr. Samuel Medley, solt, is heading up a discussion group based on the book at his parish in Corpus Christi. If you are not from that area, check out his video below to see how you can benefit from the discussion.

Thank you, Fr. Samuel Medley!

Epiphany Homily by Msgr. Daniel F. Hoye

This post is dedicated to Maryellen of Grandma's Musings.

For those of us who like an extended celebration of Christmas, today IS the acceptable date of Epiphany.:-) I must make it clear though that here in the United States, this past Sunday, January 3, was when our Church celebrated it.

Meet Msgr. Daniel F. Hoye who gave his parishioners an encouraging homily. I discovered his wisdom for the occasion on Facebook. I'd joined Facebook in October of last year, and have managed to connect with so many wonderful people; to me, it is an initial step to contributing to the building of a stronger body of Christ. I have found blogging and facebooking to be good means of sharing my own love of God and the spreading of the gospel of the Most High Priest Jesus Christ. So, yes, I am doing a bit of that element - by posting for all of us Msgr. Daniel Hoye's enlightening homily.

A joyful Epiphany to you all, beloved friends in Christ. May we find the Epiphany of every ordinary or mundane task we have - for behind each one of them is an eager Christ whose light wants to be shown!

Meet Fr. Edward Tomlinson, SSC, this Epiphany

At Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu

I've had the pleasure of finding another blogger priest, through Twitter - thanks to Luke Coppen who is the editor of the Catholic Herald in UK.

The Year for Priests is such a great idea of our dear pope, Pope Benedict XVI, because it makes us aware of the presence of priests in our church - near or far. This gives us a chance to know them, recognize their work, include them in our prayers - which is so important as they are as human as we are who need prayers - and to connect with them that we may be able to pass on to others what they teach or share with us the laity. And of course, it's great finding info through others who know them or who are familiar with their work. I must say, thanks to Luke on this one!

Meet Fr. Edward Tomlinson, SSC, of The St. Barnabas Blog, who posted for us Epiphany Chalk. Marking our door with such a special chalk is a great custom of our Church, which family members can enjoy doing together. His post is warm and inviting; it gives us motivation to perform this prayer to "mark out our homes for Christ and seek his blessing in the coming year" - the words of Fr. Edward himself. January 6th is the day, but do read Fr. Edward's post to see what we truly need for what could be a great family event, or tradition.

Thank you, Fr. Edward, for this reminder! I am looking forward to doing this again with my own family! Many blessings to you!

Happy New Year to our Beloved Priests!

Happy New Year to our Beloved Priests!

We thank you for all you do to keep our Church alive

with Jesus' holy presence.

May He fill you with His unfailing love,

especially in the most trying times of your ministry.

May you be filled with His grace and wisdom

as you impart to us the teachings of the Church.

May you be filled with strength and ardor

at those times when inspiration seems to have gone.

May He give you energy beyond your needs

that you may face future challenges with passion.

May you be filled with joy

when the tasks seem so heavy.

We pray to the Father,

who has especially chosen you, yes,

YOU!

May He bless you immensely,

now and always!

We pray in Jesus' name, with Mary,

the Mother of the Most High Priest,

Amen.

-Prayers and Ponderings of Easter Almuena, 2010

Joy of Christ Press