The Great Gift of People with Down Syndrome

I remember in college listening to a talk that Fulton Sheen gave in his famous "Life is worth living" serious where he talked about what a gift the person with Down Syndrome is to the world, he said,"a child with down syndrome will go to his/her death as white as the day of their baptism, because they are really the perfect Christians, in that they bring out everything that is good in the world without saying anything. They make people more loving, more patient, they evoke joy- because without any of the gifts the world holds in high esteem, they are joyful, and then you see the celebrities with everything the world esteems, but no joy! Plus they speak to what God really values, because God does not make mistakes. If all God cared about is how productive we are, and how successful we are, then why would he create a whole group of people that finds their joy outside of the world of results and productivity! What a gift this witness is to the world. A down syndrome child speaks with total clarity that life is worth living, because to love is ultimately what life is all about!"

I thought about this spending time this Christmas with my cousin Michael, who has down syndrome, ever since I met him, his sheer presence has brought me incredible joy. I had to relate a story that makes my point perfectly. Over the summer, Michael and I went tubing together, and our uncle Tony already knew that Michael had arms of steel and could handle any twist and turn, so after 2 minutes I am begging for mercy, and I look over to see Michael full of perfect joy! And I thought to myself, that's it! That is what we are made for, that joy!

Last winter in February, Michael was down the shore for a basketball tournament in Atlantic City, so his dad and him stayed at Tony's shore house in Avalon. Avalon to Michael means Tubing and swimming. The temperature was in the 20's that night, and the first thing Michael said to his dad when they woke up down the shore, "Dad, Are you ready to go tubing". That is the only way to go through life, with adventure and joy in our hearts!

Amazing- Please Read

My wife and I were talking about what a gift we have in this Pope, read his homily below;


Saint Luke’s account of the Christmas story, which we have just heard in the Gospel, tells us that God first raised the veil of his hiddenness to people of very lowly status, people who were looked down upon by society at large – to shepherds looking after their flocks in the fields around Bethlehem. Luke tells us that they were “keeping watch”. This phrase reminds us of a central theme of Jesus’s message, which insistently bids us to keep watch, even to the Agony in the Garden – the command to stay awake, to recognize the Lord’s coming, and to be prepared. Here too the expression seems to imply more than simply being physically awake during the night hour. The shepherds were truly “watchful” people, with a lively sense of God and of his closeness. They were waiting for God, and were not resigned to his apparent remoteness from their everyday lives. To a watchful heart, the news of great joy can be proclaimed: for you this night the Saviour is born. Only a watchful heart is able to believe the message. Only a watchful heart can instil the courage to set out to find God in the form of a baby in a stable. Let us ask the Lord to help us, too, to become a “watchful” people.
Saint Luke tells us, moreover, that the shepherds themselves were “surrounded” by the glory of God, by the cloud of light. They found themselves caught up in the glory that shone around them. Enveloped by the holy cloud, they heard the angels’ song of praise: “Glory to God in the highest heavens and peace on earth to people of his good will”. And who are these people of his good will if not the poor, the watchful, the expectant, those who hope in God’s goodness and seek him, looking to him from afar?
The Fathers of the Church offer a remarkable commentary on the song that the angels sang to greet the Redeemer. Until that moment – the Fathers say – the angels had known God in the grandeur of the universe, in the reason and the beauty of the cosmos that come from him and are a reflection of him. They had heard, so to speak, creation’s silent song of praise and had transformed it into celestial music. But now something new had happened, something that astounded them. The One of whom the universe speaks, the God who sustains all things and bears them in his hands – he himself had entered into human history, he had become someone who acts and suffers within history. From the joyful amazement that this unimaginable event called forth, from God’s new and further way of making himself known – say the Fathers – a new song was born, one verse of which the Christmas Gospel has preserved for us: “Glory to God in the highest heavens and peace to his people on earth”. We might say that, following the structure of Hebrew poetry, the two halves of this double verse say essentially the same thing, but from a different perspective. God’s glory is in the highest heavens, but his high state is now found in the stable – what was lowly has now become sublime. God’s glory is on the earth, it is the glory of humility and love. And even more: the glory of God is peace. Wherever he is, there is peace. He is present wherever human beings do not attempt, apart from him, and even violently, to turn earth into heaven. He is with those of watchful hearts; with the humble and those who meet him at the level of his own “height”, the height of humility and love. To these people he gives his peace, so that through them, peace can enter this world.
The medieval theologian William of Saint Thierry once said that God – from the time of Adam – saw that his grandeur provoked resistance in man, that we felt limited in our own being and threatened in our freedom. Therefore God chose a new way. He became a child. He made himself dependent and weak, in need of our love. Now – this God who has become a child says to us – you can no longer fear me, you can only love me.

Childlike Faith and what makes Christmas Great!

GK Chesterton wrote that what makes children so great, "is that they are serious, and that they are always happy," What could be more serious that believing in Santa Claus, talk about a serious and daring venture, to give gifts to children throughout the world in one night, now that's serious! But its so important to learn from that, because we need hearts that are that big, because what we believe as Catholics is actually larger. Children put the world on trial, they stand in utter amazement at every star, every blue sky, every storm, because its the first time they have ever seen it. Everything is seen with wonder, they actually really do live in a constant state of wonder. Everything is made new! Because for them it really is new.

That's the thing about Christmas for me, it always seems like a moment of new beginnings, its positioned at the perfect time of the year, the light begins to get longer, if you look for it, you can actually see the increase in light everyday. Therefore, the perfect way to celebrate Christmas is not gifts and music, its really confession. Going to a priest and in a spirit of humility, stating, "I have done these things, but this is not me," and begin again with the heart of a child.

There is so much to learn from children, but the biggest thing for me, is how naturally joy comes to them. I think it all starts with humility and trust. The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem has a door that is intentionally too small, so that visitors must bend down and lower themselves to enter. What a great reminder, in our prayer we should go to the cave in Bethlehem, and be reminded of the two things that lead to happiness, humility and simplicity. All the things that pull us away from these two pillars must be rooted out, and there's no better time to do it than Christmas!

Bono and Pope Benedict on Christmas

“The idea that God, if there is a force of Logic and Love in the universe, that it would seek to explain itself is amazing enough. That it would seek to explain itself and describe itself by becoming a child born in straw poverty, in shit and straw…a child… I just thought: “Wow!” Just the poetry … Unknowable love, unknowable power, describes itself as the most vulnerable. There it was. I was sitting there, and it’s not that it hadn’t struck me before, but tears came streaming down my face, and I saw the genius of this, utter genius of picking a particular point in time and deciding to turn on this.” Bono!

“To many people, and in some way to all of us, this seems too beautiful to be true. In effect, here it is reaffirmed for us: Yes, there is meaning, and this meaning is not an impotent protest against the absurd. The Meaning is powerful: It is God. A good God, who is not to be confused with some lofty and distant power, to which it is impossible to ever arrive, but rather a God who has made himself close to us and to our neighbor, who has time for each one of us and who has come to stay with us.
Thus the question spontaneously arises: How is such a thing possible? Is it worthy of God to become a child? To try to open one’s heart to this truth that enlightens all of human existence, it is necessary to yield the mind and recognize the limits of our intelligence. In the cave at Bethlehem, God shows himself to us as a humble “infant” to overcome our pride. Perhaps we would have submitted more easily before power, before pride; but he does not want our submission. He appeals, rather, to our heart and to our free decision to accept his love. He has made himself little to free us from this human pretension of greatness that arises from pride; he has incarnated himself freely to make us truly free, free to love him.
Dear brothers and sisters, Christmas is a privileged opportunity to meditate on the meaning and value of our existence. Approaching this solemnity helps us to reflect, on one hand, about the drama of history in which men, wounded by sin, are permanently seeking happiness and a satisfactory meaning to life and death; on the other hand, it exhorts us to meditate on the merciful goodness of God, who has gone out to meet man to communicate to him directly the Truth that saves, and make him participate in his friendship and his life.” Pope Benedict

Its a Wonderful Life

My wife and I watched "Its a wonderful life" for about the 100th time over the weekend, and every time its seems we find a new gem. The key word is perspective, how we see the world. A great attitude is one thing, and so important. But perspective is really about how we see things, how we see the world, and how we see others. The best part for me is at the very end, when he realizes what a wonderful life he had, and he runs in the house looking for his family, he bumps into the bank examiner and someone from the government, and they say, "we are here about a certain debt," to which he replies, "I know I am going to jail, isn't it great!" The experience he went through changed none of his problems, all of the problems were the same, but he saw the world totally different.

If we could focus on one central truth of our faith, that we are children of God, beloved of the Father. Our whole perspective would change, we would view all parts of our life as part of His loving plan. Joy would flow naturally! It really starts with choosing Faith. Every time we are tempted to think, "I will never overcome this problem," We have to, in our thoughts and actions believe immediately, "God will work this out,", or add your own words of trust, "Today, with Gods help is going to work out great, " "This time its all going to work," Changing our attitude takes time, but slowly if we are faithful, our hearts and our minds can change!

To Whom Much is Given: Surviving the Massacre in Mumbai

This is a perfect post for Our Lady's Feast day of the Immaculate Conception, this man was a hostage in the Taj Hotel when it was attacked last week by terrorists, its an amazing story of faith, and how with prayer, anything is possible;

"As the hours passed, the mood inside the room remained tense but controlled. At one point the tiny red corner light on my Blackberry began to flutter. It was a colleague in my firm’s corporate security operation informing me that I should leave the premises immediately, as the terrorists were searching the hotel floor-by-floor looking for Americans and Brits to kill. I’m 6′4″ and an obvious Yank, particularly in a place like Bombay. Once spotted, I’d be a dead man for sure.
Just then a very loud bomb detonated and small arms fire rang out in one of the stairwells. I assumed the end was near.
I hurried off an email to my Mom and Dad, thanking them for my life and everything else they’d given me. Then I emailed my dear wife and sons: “Thank you, Celeste, for being my best friend and soul-mate. I love you!” I wracked my mind and heart for a few pearls of wisdom to leave my three small boys that would edify and sustain them in a life without their father. Asking the Holy Spirit for guidance, I explained to them that life was a gift, and that they should do their best to enjoy that gift. I urged them to take care of their mother, each other, and their community — and not to be afraid to discern their vocations. I counseled them to keep a daily prayer life and live the norms of piety we’d taught them. “Live life to the fullest, boys, and stay in a state of grace.”
My heartache (and heart-rate) increased as the AK fire drew closer. I approached the headwaiter and quietly asked him if I might slip out the back stairs, as my corporate security indicated I should leave the building immediately. The man assured me that we were secure, but the look on his face betrayed his fear and uncertainty. He then huddled with his two busboys while I positioned myself by the back stairs.
A moment later, the busboys announced that they would begin allowing some folks to slip out. This instantly created a mad rush toward the stairs. Though I was positioned near the doorway, a lovely Indian-accented chorus arose, saying, “Women and children first!” Ah, but of course! I gulped and stepped aside.
The women and children began exiting in groups of eight. After about a minute, men began cutting the line. After some dozen men had cut in front of me, at a point when most of the women had gotten out, I joined the outflow and was able to escape.
I am obviously very lucky — and very blessed. I learned later from our corporate security, who were monitoring my emails, that the business center was attacked by gunmen some five minutes after I was able to escape. I also learned that my friend Eugene had been shot in the lobby, but thankfully will make a full recovery. (Eugene told me the next day that I’d sprinted right past the terrorist who leveled his gun and shot him in the hip. Fortunately he was dragged into a security room, from which point he was able to escape the hotel a few minutes later.)
Colleagues and friends have asked how I feel after experiencing such a trauma. I tell them I am fine — shaken but fine. At the end of the day, I am convinced that “bona omnia fecit” (all works for the good). I will forever be inspired by the staff of The Taj, who were polite, courteous and courageous throughout the ordeal. They saved hundreds of lives, many sacrificing their own in doing so.
Agnostic and atheist friends have told me that they’d be a wreck if such a thing had happened to them. But my feeling is that the Lord, for some reason, put His protective hands around me. I had little to do with my deliverance; He was and is in control, and that is fine with me.
What good can come out of this dreadful experience? Hopefully a more widespread recognition that the power of prayer and an unshakable faith in God’s loving plan can get us through anything. That is why I am offering this account to Catholic Exchange. I want others to pray and draw closer to Christ and His Mother, especially in these uncertain times.
Why God has allowed me to live on? I have no idea. But at this point, the thought that will not leave my mind is, “From him to whom much is given, much is expected.”
I pray that I can live up to His expectations.
Copyright 2008 Catholic Exchange"
Peter O’Malley is a managing director with Deutsche Bank. He currently lives with his family in Hong Kong.

Great Thought for Advent

Enclosed is an amazing excerpt from Michael O'Brien's book Father Elijah,

"the Pope always talks about hope, and maybe that was his big grace. He taught us to hope when everything seems lost. I thought about that last December during my trial. I always had a secret dislike of advent, because it's such a crazy time of year, but I really enjoyed it this year, if you can imagine anyone enjoying a liturgical season while he's being sent to jail for something he didn't do, were not supposed to be like the ancient pagans who watched the coming winter with a terror stricken obsession, not supposed to, but funny how the deathly vapors seep into your heart without you knowing it, During Advent I learned to kick it out, I learned to gaze into the growing dark with Spring in my eyes. Impossible, yep, but Christians should always Keep an icon of the impossible in their hearts!

Favorite Movies and Books

Right to the side of the Blog, I have put a list of my favorite movies and books. Bill Bennett said something on his radio show the other day that really struck me- Culture is way more important than politics, because culture shapes politics. It should be a goal of every Christian, to promote the movies and books of our culture that are healthy and do the most to uplift the spirit.

Wild at Heart

I was so proud of my son Joseph on Saturday morning, I took him for some indoor rock climbing, and the story is pretty funny. The place was packed, because it was raining, and Josephs climb lasted about 15 minutes, which is an eternity. He was determined to make it to the top, but had to stop, regain his footing, strategize before moving on, so after a while people just start watching him climb, and a crowd was starting to form. He told me later, that he was tempted to quit. But he wouldn't stop, and finally he makes it to the top, and hits the buzzer, and the Rocky song starts playing, and the whole place starts clapping, it was an amazing Father/Son moment, because I could see in his face how proud he was that he didn't quit.

That wall is a lot like the economy right now, we may have to re-group, catch our breadth, and re-strategize, but we have to choose to "die climbing" (That was a quote in an indoor mountain climbing gym). We can't quit. We should climb with perseverance, knowing that "this too shall pass", we will find greener pastures on this icy mountain. Plus, this is the key for this blog, we need to be cheerful while we climb, knowing that our Father in heaven sees us on that mountain, sees how hard we are trying, and He will never let us fall. You can see my hand in the first picture above, I am an imperfect father, but as a father, I loved watching my son climb, and I would never let him fall! The perfect Father in heaven, knows every hair on our head, so we can with abandonment, with daring, and with joy in our hearts climb towards that loving Father!

Fireproof

My wife and I finally went and saw the movie Fireproof, we have been talking about seeing it for weeks, and we finally went. The funny thing about it, was that we have been reading the book, which the movie is based on for a while, but have never made time to see the movie. It was excellent, because it was true! Anyone watching the movie knows that if they would surrender to God, to give him the wheel, He will take over and do incredible things, and as my favorite writer Matt Kelley says, you will become the "best version" of yourself!

The great truth of this movie is this, "to not be led by your heart, but to learn to lead your heart! " That is the source of so much of our hurts, individually and as a culture. We hear and think- "Follow my heart", its almost the worlds only absolute truth. The problem is, its not true, it will only help if your heart is leading you to the right place. But sometimes our heart deceives us. We all know so many times, where we loved someone or something, and it wasn't good for us! It wasn't right. That proves that "following your heart" is not always right! The perfect example is, a married man "falls in love" with another women, so he "Follows his heart" and cheats on his wife. This happens everyday, on big and small "loves".

Here's the key to happiness, "Lead your Heart". That is the true motto- "To lead your Heart". How do we know where to lead our heart, we need to know that Love and Truth are always connected. If a Love is not True, then its not Love. (The married man "loving" another women), Truth is not present!, so its not Love. The counter is also true- You might have Truth, (An Authentic Relationship), but as St. Paul says, "without Love, it is nothing,"

Lastly, the thing about Love that should give us so much Joy, is that its a Choice! I always say this, God is so Good, and so Holy! He is not going to create this amazing thing- Love, and just watch as only the lucky few can find it. That would be cruel. This movie and this book should give us so much consolation, because Love is for everyone! We only have to make the decision to Love, and give our Heart!

Joy in the Night

I was bummed last night that my guy John McCain lost, and I was more bummed that as a people, America elected the most radically pro-abortion President in history. However, I am not one to sulk, and I am moving on to try and change hearts and minds about the beauty of Life, even when its tough!

I was given a gift though last night at 3:00 am in the morning, and that was my youngest son, our baby, decided to pee on me as I was changing his diaper in the middle of the night, and he laughed and laughed about. He was laughing so hard that I had to start laughing as well. I thought here we are in the middle of the night, in a bad economy, having just made a huge mistake on a pro-abortion candidate, and to the mind of a child, LIFE IS STILL THE BEST THING GOING!

That's the point, we need to become children of God! To Sing in the Darkness, even if your getting peed on! LOL. Never forget Nietzche quote, "The reason Christianity doesn't advance is because Christians don't sing,".

Please View before Voting

The beauty of this youtube, is that its Barrack Obama talking, its not some quotes in an e-mail. I found his words creepy, and cold. Especially the quote about if his daughters ever get pregnant, he doesn't want them punished with a baby. For starters, nobody should ever use there kids as an example to make a political point. Secondly, a child is never, I repeat never, even in the worst of circumstances a punishment. A child is and always will the worlds greatest treasure. They are the worlds teachers, that we are better off with joy and simplicity, than we are with power and material gain.

Rosary Novena for the Election

I never want this blog to be about politics, because I don't care if someone is Democrat or Republican. But certain issues are paramount, like the human rights of children in the womb. In this country you will go to jail if you harm a bald eagles nest, but you can legally take the life of a human in the womb. Something is truly wrong with that! Its hard to say this, because so many people have been mislead by our culture and had an abortion. This could have easily been me, because before my conversion in college, I never cared about abortion. Here's the good news, their healing and forgiveness in Christ! But trying to pretend that abortion is OK, will never bring the freedom that is available to anyone that has been part of an abortion.

With this in mind, many Catholics are committed to praying a Rosary everyday beginning today for the next 9 days that God may act and help all Pro-Life Candidates win their election. Remember, Jesus is the perfect man, he lives the commandments perfectly, the 4th commandment is "Honor your father and mother," At the Wedding Feast of Cana, Jesus teaches us that He will do basically anything for his mother. We go to her with this intercession! Our Lady of Life Pray for us

Greater Appreciation for my Wife

This weekend was a pay-back for all the pain I inflicted on my mom growing up, all the times I wouldn't get out of bed, all the times I said mean things to my mom. My wife went away to visit family over the weekend, and it was just me and the kids. My poor wife returned this morning to a house that looked as if a rogue militia came through our village and decided to destroy homes. There was syrup everywhere. Its actually amazing how syrup can spread in a house, and I don't even remember eating pancakes. But I actually don't remember much of the weekend. Thankfully we survived, and my beautiful, wonderful wife is back to restore order. Here's my analogy, Brad Lidge is the great closing pitcher for the Phillies, he comes in and throws fast balls to finish the game. I come in at 6:30 pm and help my wife close out the day. Here's the problem, Brad Lidge can't pitch 9 innings, and I can't manage a house for the whole weekend. I should have embraced it with a better attitude, but you live and learn! Here's a great baseball quote from the former pitcher of the yankees EL Duque Hernandez,

"In my home country, we don't have middle inning relievers, and sometimes you have to pitch back to back days, if the game goes to extra innings, your arm physically won't work anymore, so its then that you have to throw with your heart"!

Learning to Dance in the Rain

Please check out my good friend Andy Person's website: caringbridge.org/visit/dottieperson; and go to the journal entry section. Andy lost his wife Dottie about year and 1/2 ago to cancer, they had five children together. Their faith and hope and even joy in suffering has been an incredible gift to me personally. Andy spoke last week at Temple University and two things from the talk struck me in a big way.

1.) Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, its about learning to dance in the rain! The most moving thing for me, is the lived Faith in this quote, and Dottie Person and now Andy have lived this. In their actions and attitude, they tell the whole world the truth, that God is Good all the time! That He is working in us personally and in the world, even when life doesn't make sense.

St. Teresa the Little Flower said it best and actually summed up what this family has lived over the past 3 years, "Everything is a grace, everything is the direct effect of our Father's love - difficulties, contradictions, humiliations, all the soul's miseries, her burdens, her needs - everything, because through them, she learns humility, realizes her weakness. Everything is a grace because everything is God's gift. Whatever be the character of life or its unexpected events - to the heart that loves, all is well."- Never allowing our suffering to crush us, but allowing it to help us grow in humility and trust in God.

Finally, the part of Andy's talk that really raised me up, was a 10 minute video of us wife Dottie, right before her death. The trust and confidence in God was nothing short of supernatural. She actaully said at one point, "I am happy, I mean really happy, like zip a de do da happy," I loved it. Faith is effective and alive all the time! With Christ we have nothing to fear, here was a women with literally everything to fear! But she lived her Faith in an abandonment to a God that loved her.

As I left the talk on Thursday night something important dawned on me, "What's the alternative" to the choas we see in the world. We can either live in discouragement and fear (Which for some people like Dottie and Andy would be justified, that's what makes their witness so powerful) or we can live in gratitude and Faith, which makes life more agreeable for everyone, and makes us happier.

Dottie Person, pray for us to live your Gratitude for God's Gifts!

The Economy, Anxiety, and the Eucharist

As the market continued to crash last week, an important thought continued to come to me. That I have to look for all the good in this crises, and what it can lead to for me personally and more importantly what it can bring to the whole culture. I am using this post to deal with the spiritual benefits of a financial crises, not the material benefits. (Even though the material benefits can be big in down market, the most wealth in real estate was created in the great depression.). But this article I want to deal with three main spiritual blessings in a financial crises, simplifying our culture, simplifying our lives, and deepening our trust and confidence in God and not ourselves.

For the past two weeks you can almost feel the simplifying of our culture in the air, and even though its effecting me personally it actuals feels good. The Wall Street Journal ran a story last week, entitled, "The Death of Bling", about how living high in America is gone at least in the short term, because there is no one this crisis doesn't effect. This leads to the "Snow-Storm effect", we are all in this together, and as a culture we need to trust in the ingrained goodness of those around us to help build each other up, and get the financial systems humming again. ( As I write this on Monday Morning, thankfully the markets are trending upward.)

Simplifying ourselves might be the greatest spiritual blessing to come of this whole mess. This economic crises was clearly caused by sin, greed and dishonesty in the housing market. But even in sin, God brings great good out of it. When we simplify our lives, we grow in freedom, the less we are attached to, the less we are cluttered, the more God can fill us, and the more we can listen to Him. I read a study that teenagers with cell phones, are disproportionately more likely to engage in all types of sin that will wound them in the future. Over this weekend, you could almost hear families sitting around the kitchen table, telling young Johnny and young Suzie that mom and dad can no longer afford their cell phone, that mom and dad can no longer afford their car, on and on. As we cut back on things we really don't need, we can be free to grow in happiness, and appreciate what we have! Truth be told, it gives us freedom to love what's free in Life (love, nature, friendships, exercise.) All clutter does is mess with our ability to enjoy these things at a deeper level.

"Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my God." Ps. 22:9-10. No matter our circumstances, this is true for all of us, God is our loving Father. During economic downturns, this becomes heightened, and we become happier people! We can no longer rely on our own strength, we need to turn and rely on God. This brings me to my final point on the Eucharist. what a gift it is that we can walk into any Catholic Church in the world, and find Jesus alone waiting for us. Waiting to pour His Love,and His Wisdom into our hearts. So many times, I have fled to the Tabernacle, with questions and unease, and so many times I have left with renewed strength and the wisdom I need for the moment.

The Pill and a Happy Marriage

A couple funny things about the "the pill", how many objects can you just say the word, and everyone knows exactly what you are talking about. Imagine saying grab "the ball", and everyone knows what your talking about, (a soccer ball, or a basketball), and there's a lot of pills out there, allergy pills, cholesterol pills. But if you say "the pill", people know what your talking about. That's a sad commentary on our culture. The other funny thing about the pill, is that in many people's thought process there's no openness, its sort of like saying, "you should really consider not using tooth-paste anymore, or if you stop using deodorant, you'll will be happier". Another thing to consider, is that our culture has made great strides in trying to live in a healthier, more natural way, we believe in eating well, and taking better care of our minds and bodies, this is beautiful. But many times people fail to mention the most obvious un-natural way that people are putting into their bodies, (Just read the common side effects to contraception)

But I want to stick with what's most positive about Natural Family Planning- Your Wedding Day! My sister Patrice just got married, and it was so funny to watch it all play out, because she has been dreaming and planning this day for the past 20 years. Girls love weddings, and its clear from our faith, that they have good reason for this. Our culture is right building up the wedding Day! But the problem is, we forget that in the Catholic Sacramental vision, that day should continue everyday into eternity. In the great movie Fire-Proof- (I will post on this movie next week) The couple falls back in love, and the natural response is to renew their wedding vows. Lets start over, and begin to live what we promised. That's the amazing "Theology of the Body," the Church believes that sex is so holy, that its sacramental, we are giving flesh to our promise on the alter! That's where the problem of the pill comes in. When you insert the pill in the equation, your promises on the alter, your giving flesh to your promises becomes a lie. Because truth be told, you are not accepting everything, you are not making a total gift of yourself. Here I am, you can have everything, (except my fertility, this you can not have!) But God does not play games with us, we are His Children, that's why he made us with natural cycles that lift us up as humans. If a husband and wife works together, they can with prefect confidence avoid pregnancy, for a simple reason, NFP is based upon abstaining during fertile periods. You can't have pregnancy without sex. Think about that, that's how holy sex is, God allows us to co-operate with him in his most amazing act, creating a unique and unrepeatable human life. When we are prayerfully discerning if we should have another child, emotionally, physically, economically, we have to remember the gift God has given us. But with full confidence we can avoid pregnancy and most importantly raise up the truth of our wedding vows, bringing flesh to the promise we make.

How happy we would be if every day in our marriage we lived the joy and the celebration of our wedding day! Why is it so hard for us to believe that this is what God wants, for us to celebrate love, to celebrate our marriages. With NFP we are able to truthfully proclaim with our flesh the promises we made, and we can always be sure that God will stay faithful to his end of the promises.

The Amazing Prison Story of Russell Ford

I stumbled upon a CD about the conversion of a man by the name of Russell Ford on Friday night, he is serving a 25 year prison sentence. So obviously, I was incredibly interested. I learned so much about life in this 60 minute talk. Here is a man, who entered Prison as an angry, and evil man, he was suicidal and tried to take his life in prison on a few occasions. He was a complete atheist, bitter at the world. By God's Grace, he was forced to room with an older Prisoner, who had a conversion years early. This man challenged Russ pride, that he had no ability to understand the easiest parts of the Baltimore Catechism. He thought he would find ridiculous teachings, but what he found was the loving authority that he had always longed for. As the followers of Jesus said, "This man teaches with authority," Its the gentle yoke that we all long for, all of us long to walk in the peace of true authority, the authority of a loving Father, or a loving mother.

Then he stumbled upon the heart of the Catholic Faith, the Eucharist. As he learned about the Eucharist in his cell, he stopped and cried for over 2 hours. The Eucharist was the answer to his life's constant silent pleading, "Where is God," "Why can't I experience Him," "Why Can't I see Him,". The Eucharist answers this basic Question of Man. "Why is God hidden." He realized that God was not hidden, He was as close as the nearest Catholic Church anywhere in the world. He believed this teaching of the Church in its fullness, and here he was locked in Prison, with no way to adore Jesus, to love Him and most importantly be loved by Him in the Eucharist. His attitude was amazing, that maybe this separation was in reparation for his crimes.

This talk convicted me (no pun intended) that there are so many things in life that we take for granted everyday. Jesus present in the Eucharist, that we can receive Him in this country at anytime throughout the day. We should be more grateful for this amazing opportunity. The Freedom we enjoy everyday that a prisoner can't enjoy, nature, human love, we should as St. Paul says, "Dedicate ourselves to Thanksgiving,". Wonder and Thanksgiving are a huge help to us personally, but it also makes life more agreeable to everyone around us.

Finally, the talk made me realize the moral responsibility of happiness. This may sound cruel, because the immediate thought is, what if I don't feel happy? Russell Ford relates in his talk that he grew up in an incredibly sad home, with a "demanding and abusive father," This wasn't to take away responsibility for his actions, it was only to make an important point, that in a real way, his parents were partly to blame for their sons actions in life. My wife and I are benefactors at a drug rehab in Florida by the name of "Our Lady of Hope Community," in about 1/2 of the testimonies of the people living there, I often read about, "my home life was miserable". This is why its so critical to strive for happiness. Dennis Praeger has a great line, "unhappiness is like bad breath," If effects everyone around you, except the person giving off the bad-breath (My wife probably wishes I would do more on the breath, and less on the happiness). We have the moral responsibility to do the things that will make us happier, exercise, friendship, eating better, whatever it is, because happy people make the world better, and at their best sad people make little change, but normally sadness does great harm to those around us.

I was convicted of the need for thanksgiving by a man, who is more free than most people living in complete freedom.

Amazing Funeral- The Family Rosary

I had the incredible pleasure of attending the funeral of a good friends father last week. It was one of the most beautiful things that I have ever experienced. There were 80 priests on the alter (When Cardinals die, I don't know if there are 80 priests.) There were 100 alter boys, they had to set up a screen outside because the Church was filled to over flowing. It was like being present at the close of the movie, Its a Wonderful Life. Here was a regular father, a regular man, who loved in an extraordinary way, and his life was blessed to over-flowing. Not in a worldly sense of being blessed, but in the life of Faith he had it all. A beautiful marriage, seven amazing sons (a Pastor, 2 Marine Pilots, a Businessmen, a high school Principal, Coaches.), love from friends. In the life of Faith, he had it all. So as a father of 5, I was soaking everything up, trying to listen, and learn. These were the things I took away:

The Family Rosary- I was so struck by how well his 7 sons turned out, that I kept asking everyone I could, how? How did he do it, and the answer I kept on getting was, he didn't, but He did! This was a question he received constantly, "How did you do it," and his answer was always the same, so its worth repeating- The Rosary. After dinner every night, come floods, locust, sickness, snow, they were there praying the rosary together. With their father on his knees leading the way. Father Tom Vander Woude, his oldest son, gave the homily, and he recounted how John Paul II's greatest memory of his father was watching him pray on his knees, it was a "school of life", and that was also Father Tom's most enduring image of his father, "praying on his knees,". The power of the Rosary said together as a Family in God's Eyes. Its like the Wedding Feast of Cana times anyone present, it seems to me that God is ready to answer almost any prayer!
Strong and Loving Presence in the Home- The other thing I took away was how it appeared he never over did it when it came to talking about the faith with his kids, he simply coached every team, had dinner every night, and loved each of them individually. In sales we always say, "everyone wants to buy something, no one wants to be sold it," The cheerful loving example was enough,and it bore amazing fruit!

Sacrificial Love- His final act in this world is worth repeating here. Their youngest son Joseph has down syndrome, he is 20 years old, and while working on the family farm, Joseph fell in a septic Tank and was Drowning in Sewage, his father jumped in, had to swim around the sewage to find his son, and pulled him out. While 911 was responding, Tom, Sr. held his son above the dangerous fumes, so that the rescue team could save his life. For 20 minutes, he held a fully grown man weighing over 175 pounds above his head, while he was waist deep in toxic sewage. The rescue team pulled Joseph from the tank, and when they went in to reach for Tom Sr., he had already passed out from the fumes, and drowned in the Sewage. He died like he lived, in total sacrificial love!

This act is almost a perfect image of Christs love for man. He to comes into the sewage tank of this world, and swims around to find us drowning in its lies and deceptions. He raises us up, at the expense of himself. May Tom Vander Woulde rest in the loving arms of his Savior for all eternity!, and may we learn how to live through his life.

Great You Tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61wj4tJICcc

Important Person in my Life

Below is an amazing article of sacrificial love, its really no surprise to me. His two oldest sons had a major impact on Mary Kate and I. Maybe the biggest impact on leading both of us to the Catholic Faith. I owe this man a lot!

Father Who Died Saving Son Known For Sacrifice

If you ever ran into Nokesville dad Thomas S. Vander Woude, chances are you would also see his son Joseph. Whether Vander Woude was volunteering at church, coaching basketball or working on his farm, Joseph was often right there with him, pitching in with a smile, friends and neighbors said yesterday.
When Joseph, 20, who has Down syndrome, fell into a septic tank Monday in his back yard, Vander Woude jumped in after him. He saved him. And he died where he spent so much time living: at his son's side.
"That's how he lived," Vander Woude's daughter-in-law and neighbor, Maryan Vander Woude, said yesterday. "He lived sacrificing his life, everything, for his family."
Vander Woude, 66, had gone to Mass at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Gainesville on Monday, just as he did every day, and then worked in the yard with Joseph, the youngest of his seven sons, affectionately known as Josie. Joseph apparently fell through a piece of metal that covered a 2-by-2-foot opening in the septic tank, according to Prince William County police and family members.
Vander Woude rushed to the tank; a workman at the house saw what was happening and told Vander Woude's wife, Mary Ellen, police said. They called 911 about 12 p.m. and tried to help the father and son in the meantime.
At some point, Vander Woude jumped in the tank, submerging himself in sewage so he could push his son up from below and keep his head above the muck, while Joseph's mom and the workman pulled from above.
When rescue workers arrived, they pulled the two out, police said. Vander Woude, who had been in the tank for 15 to 20 minutes, was unconscious. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful, and he was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
Joseph remains in Prince William Hospital with double pneumonia, and doctors are monitoring him for infection, said Erin Vander Woude, Thomas Vander Woude's daughter-in-law. Joseph is in critical condition and on a ventilator, she said.
"He doesn't know that his dad died," she said.
For those who knew him, Vander Woude's sacrifice was in keeping with a lifetime of giving.
"He's the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back," said neighbor Lee DeBrish. "And if he didn't have one, he'd buy one for you."
Vander Woude was a pilot in Vietnam, a daughter-in-law said. After the war, he worked as a commercial airline pilot and in the early 1980s moved his family to Prince William from Georgia. In the years to come, he would wear many hats: farmer, athletic director, volunteer coach, parishioner, handy neighbor, grandfather of 24, husband for 43 years.
He divided his Nokesville farm into multiple plots, offering land to all his sons so they could stay close to home if they wanted, the daughter-in-law said. His eldest, Tom, became a priest. Five others -- Steve, Dan, Bob, Chris and Pat -- all married. And there was Joseph, who loved helping with all the odd jobs that filled the retired days of his father.
"He was retired," DeBrish said, "but that was a misnomer, because he was always out crankin' with the backhoe or the tractor."
All of Vander Woude's sons except Joseph attended Seton School in Manassas, where Vander Woude volunteered as coach of the boys' soccer and basketball teams for about 10 years, said the school's director, Anne Carroll.
"He never took a cent for it," she said. Carroll said that Vander Woude was a successful coach, winning multiple championships, but that his greatest strength was his ability to guide kids through challenges off the field.
"He was a mentor," she said. "He wanted them to be good young men, not just good players."
Vander Woude also served as athletic director at Christendom College in Front Royal for about five years, the school's president, Timothy T. O'Donnell, said.
But loved ones said his favorite job was the one he did last: being a good dad.
"They always considered Joseph a wonderful blessing to the family," said Francis Peffley, pastor at Holy Trinity, where Vander Woude served as a sacristan and also trained altar servers. "His whole life was spent serving people and sacrificing himself. . . . He gave the ultimate sacrifice. . . . Giving his life to save his son."

More on Joy

After writing the Blog on Joy yesterday so much more started to dawn on me, about the importance of Joy, what it means to me personally, how it lessons temptations and more importantly what it means to those around me, how Joy makes life more agreeable for everyone! But some Philosophical points to ponder that have hit me on joy recently,

1.) Joy is something received, Because its a gift from God. This should give us great comfort because its not something that is based upon our worthiness. We don't have to feel that we need to make ourselves perfect, we don't have to become self-actualized. Because its a gift, its not performance based. Joy doesn't happen only if we are pristine and holy.
Here's why- A Gift is something that is Free, with no strings attached. We can't earn a gift, we can only be thankful for it. If Joy is a gift, then its really more about the Giver than the it is about us!
2.) We should have Joy for a very specific reason. Jesus loves us passionately and personally, we are His. He has earned our Joy, so we just need to receive it and love it.

If Joy is about receiving the gift, than the question becomes how do we receive it? The answer is Prayer and surrender, placing our whole life on the alter at Mass and giving everything to God, our worries, our fears, our weakness, and letting Christ transform us.

3.) If Joy is so important and we can only receive it, than its imperative for us to create space everyday where God can simple love us, where He can simply delight in us as His. Its as difficult and as easy as that, we have to set aside time for prayer, a time to be loved by God. He is our Father, so we should never be afraid during these times of prayer to ask for Joy. Its good for us and good for others!

The Joyful Faith

I accidentally deleted my blog last week, Google is trying to find it, but from the looks of it, its gone; I am not discouraged though because I never liked the name of the Blog that much anyway. As anyone who has ever read the old blog, the major themes that I tried to shoot for were Joy and Thanksgiving, because with all we have and all we can do, the world and most importantly our hearts are short on Joy. The reason I think its worth promoting is because of something we often forget, Joy is a gift of the Holy Spirit, and in my experience is directly tied to our Faith, our attitude, and our lifestyle. That its something attainable for everyone, as Victor Frankl pointed out in his amazing book, "A man's search for meaning," "happiness is not predicated upon your circumstances," "We all have problems, and we all suffer,".

When we are faced with the challenges of life, and for a lot of people, (me), the toughest part of life is how we see ourselves. We try and make efforts, but it seems so hard to make advancement on the road of virtue, the road to become the best version of ourselves. Faced with this, there's a few options, 1.) we can just shun the world, and believe that love and joy are not possible for me, 2.) Become cynical and depressed about life, and because misery loves company, bring everyone down around me; 3.) Or, we can walk as a child of God, and walk in that joy that most know as a child. The Joy of living in the Present moment, not worrying about the past or the future. The joy of wonder, letting God surprise us everyday with the miracle of Life. I just read that at the Comcast Center in Philadelphia, there is a 50 Foot television screen, its actually an amazing site, there is, at all hours of the day at least 100 people just staring at the television screen. It is amazing what they did there, but I couldn't help thinking that God must be saying to Himself, if they want to be wowed, just open your eyes to the Wonder and Joy that He is spilling into the world in the smallest and biggest detail of creation. Joy in my eyes is simply active trust, and active Faith in what we believe about God. If He is Good and Loving and Holy, then every moment should be lived in Joy and Trust. If He is cruel, hard, and mean, then our life should be full of fear and doubt, but that is not the God of Jesus Christ, if you have any doubts read slowly the parable of the Good Samaritan, and the Prodigal son. If we profess with our minds and hearts that Jesus is Lord, and that God is Good, in faith let us walk in Joy! Because it will build us up and those around us!