I wanted to turn you on to the most amazing priest especially in the Year of the Priest. I caught his TV show last night and was so inspired. His name is Fr. Cedric and you can find him at FrCedric. He is headquartered in Houston but apparently makes trips around the U.S. to talk. His show was focused on spiritual, Biblical-based prayer and he was using all of St. Paul's epistles. Very inspiring. We can certainly learn how to pray from one of our greatest saints. In a conversation earlier this week, there was a misguided person who said that they do not believe in the concept of Hell. Rather than argue with this person, I shared the passage in Matthew 41-42 that says, "The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth." I am not sure if this person changed their mind but I did plant a seed and I am sure that the Holy Spirit will draw this person to read the scripture and who knows. I found Pope Benedict's comments about his guardian angel and God's will to be amusing. If you have not seen it, look here: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16698

A friend of mine committed suicide and I attended his funeral on Saturday. It was terrible and made more tragic because one year ago, his son took his life as well. It made me look to the Bible for answers. For a long time the Church considered suicide an unforgivable sin. In scripture, 1 Samuel 31:4 has the account of Saul commanding his armor bearer to kill him, and when the armor bearer refuses, Saul falls upon his own sword. Saul had already turned from God at that point. We now understand that suicide is caused by mental illness, often depression. I am lifting my friend up to God and asking for him to take his rightful place in Heaven. He was a good man who frequently performed "good works" and had accepted the Lord as his savior. Later that same day, I did one of my favorite things, I served as a lector at Mass. The reading from the Original Testament was from 2 Kings and explained how God will not let us go hungry. I could not help thinking it was a message about my friend and the situation. We may never know why it happened but God will feed us by healing us and providing comfort to those most affected. It is a daily struggle to totally depend on God to provide for me. I must decrease my ego, my self, and let God increase. We are not built that way as humans but it gives us purpose. I will close with one of St. Paul's scriptural prayers: that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19)

How often do you think about talking to God. I am not talking about the stiff and odd "thees" and "thous" but just a conversation with our Father. In James 4:8 it says "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." What better way to do that than to talk with God throughout the day. After all, he created us for his pleasure and wants to be in contact with us. Jesus modeled this virtue frequently when he came to earth. Our small Christian community has been meeting consistently for the last five years and one of the things I have noticed is how much better we are at praying aloud. We are much better at thanking God for our blessings and crosses. We are much better at asking God to lead us in our daily lives. We are much better at communicating with him and that comes from practice. I lost a friend yesterday to suicide. It had and continues to have a profound impact on me. I feel guilty for not being more present in his life but I do know that he had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It reopens the age old question that we humans have about why things like this happen. Like the idea of the Trinity, this will remain a mystery until I see my Savior on the last day. Please pray for all of those who have experienced "sudden-loss." It is a terrible feeling of hopelessness. Psalm 31:9 Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief.

I thought the reading from the Original Testament today was very interesting. The reading from Jeremiah certainly is closely linked to the Year of the Priest, as recently proclaimed by Pope Benedict. The message to the Church is very clear. I am sure as priests prepared their sermons for Mass, they took special care to heed the message. The scripture focuses on bad leadership but also followership. On the surface, it is clear but can we dig deeper? What about our leaders who are not commenting on worldly things? What about those that avoid the difficult topics from the pulpit? What about those that divide the world into the spiritual and earthly? Do they not also intend to "destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture"? Are we as followers called by God to be "shepherds over them who will care for them"? Are you allowing yourself to be led down the wrong path? Are you part of the flock that is being scattered? The devil loves it when we do his work for him. The Church is called to be prayerful, righteous, and diligent. We must pray our leaders right. Jeremiah 23:6 concludes, "The Lord is our righteousness."

There was an incredible letter to the editor in the Catholic Commentator, the local Catholic newspaper for the Baton Rouge Diocese, that addressed the recent controversy at Notre Dame. I wish I had written it because it certainly summed up my feelings. My entire family have been big supporters of all things Notre Dame. Not anymore. That honorary degree was given to a man with blood on his hands, the innocent blood of unborn children. Started a new book, The Promise: God's Purpose and Plan for When Life Hurts by Fr. Jonathan Morris (http://www.amazon.com/Promise-Gods-Purpose-Plan-Hurts/dp/0061353418). Very easy to read and filled with real life advice with a solid undertone of scripture. More as it progresses. Wouldn't it be nice if all Catholics stopped at noon each day to praise God? Bringing the Angelus (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQse864GuN8) back into your life could make a difference. By the way, the painting is called Blood of Innocents by Rod Schneider.

Ever let your tongue create problems for you? If you answered no, surely you must be ready for sainthood. Two years ago, while on retreat at Manresa, I discovered the healing power of the Epistle of James. It was as if the Holy Spirit opened the Bible to the first page and forced me to read. When I did, I discovered a small, concise how-to guide for living my life everyday. Do I always follow it, no. Does it speak the truth, yes. Last week at our small Christian community session, my wife was filled with the Holy Spirit and proclaimed a serious life lesson that I want to share with you as well. She said we should all take a sheet of paper and draw two circles on it. In one circle, we are to place all of the things we can control. The other circle is for things we cannot control. We should then focus on the circle of things we can control. If we are walking with the Lord, that circle will not be very full and we will not be burdened with a heavy load. If you still have not read The Shack (http://theshackbook.com/) make it a priority before the summer is done. Also, I have rediscovered the blessed voice of Kathy Troccoli. Enjoy for yourself (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVqR6kTu8lE&feature=related). Finally, I want to lift up Pope Benedict and ask the Lord God to heal his broken wrist quickly so that he can resume his mission here on Earth. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! (James 3:5)