As humans, we like rewards. Everyone likes to feel appreciated and wanted. Who doesn't like a pat on the back? We like to win, especially in America. Pope Benedict recently talked about this on Ash Wednesday. He said, "The reward for repentance and good works is not the admiration of others, but friendship with God and the grace that comes with it, a grace that gives peace and the strength to do good, to love even those who don't deserve it and to forgive those who have offended us. That is a very powerful statement. It is definitely a guidepost for this journey of Lent. We naturally crave the admiration of others. But why is that so important to us? It really only causes us to be hurt and feel bad, especially when it doesn't come our way. We also feel jealousy when it ends up being given to others. It is an easy way for the devil to insert himself into our lives. But the grace of God can replace this need for admiration. That is definitely a good place to focus our time and prayer. We should ask God to give us the strength to do good. What exactly does that mean? Is it difficult to do good? Not to and for those we love. But the Pope presses us on this. We must love the people who don't deserve it. We must forgive the ones that persecute us. That, we all know, is very difficult. That is why we need the grace of God in order to carry out this extremely important mission. Our friendship with God must become a priority in our lives and what better time to start that relationship than during Lent. We have the perfect example in Jesus. During this time, as he prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus spent time more fully developing His relationship with God. Jesus spent time in prayer. Jesus prayed to his Father. God and Jesus took the time to engage in conversation and that serves as the perfect example of what we should also strive to do. We need to become God's friend and we know how to do that. We must spend time on the relationship and let God know how much we love Him. The admiration of God is the ultimate prize and very soon we begin to lessen the importance of receiving praise from others. We begin to lose the overwhelming obsession with defeating everyone around us. We instead deepen our loving relationship with God and build for the ultimate, unending life that we seek to live with God in Heaven.

The exciting news for Baton Rouge is the addition of a new all-Catholic radio station. Located at AM 1380, WPYR is an affiliate station of EWTN. It offers a variety of talk shows, general information, and recorded talks by a variety of speakers. It is already providing blessings to the residents of Louisiana's capital city. I am not sure of its reach yet but I do know that I am thanking God for allowing this blessing to appear in our area. Also wanted to alert you about an upcoming conference and a great website I discovered. Go West Catholic Men is a website inspired by the journey of Fr. Jean-Pierre DeSmet, the first Catholic priest to evangelize the wild west of  America. His faith in God allowed him to stand boldly and bravely. He was one of the first missionaries to bring the Catholic faith to the native Americans. Today we need men with this same courageous spirit. The website asserts that "modern culture and media have negatively influenced the mindset of many men today. This makes it difficult to discern the "truth". That truth which is found in Christ and in His Church." They are also holding a conference later this year in Pendleton, Oregon. Finally today I wanted to talk about our sanctification and how it happens. I firmly believe that God sends folks into our lives to help us become sanctified. God is constantly trying to help us to become the "holy vessel" He planned even before our birth. It seems that the very people He sends into our lives to help us are usually the ones that we run away from. You know what I am talking about. You see their number pop up on your phone and you ignore the call. These are the folks that tell us the things we don't want to hear. Very often, we are trying to avoid hearing what they have to say. Usually, they are speaking God's truth to us. But that is hard to hear as a struggling Christian. We insulate ourselves in order to hold on to our worldly concerns. You need to pray about their mission. Ask God if they are being sent by Him to make a change in your life. God will let you know if the person has been sent by Him.  During the Lenten season, we should embrace our sanctification angels. We need help in order to allow our bodies to become a living sacrifice. The favor God provides is unmerited yet we need to allow Him to work in our lives.God is trying to renew our minds. He is trying to form our minds in the likeness of Jesus Christ. Why would we want to stop this? Allow yourself to be fully sanctified.

As the Lenten season begins for 2010, I am concentrating on being a good Christian. I have decided to focus on morning and evening prayers and reading the Bible more for Lent. In this way, I think that I will be better prepared for Holy Week. It is requiring me to wake up earlier and I am not a morning person but there is something extraordinary about the lack of noise before my house arises. I have been distracted the last two days. A good friend died on Monday. He had a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer which he won. Then the cancer returned and attached to his liver. He simply did not have the strength to fight this time. He was a brave soul and I know he is working for us in Heaven. I will miss him because he had such a profound effect on me. He taught me how to be a good Christian man. He was a terrific mentor and a father-figure in my life. I truly loved him even though we only became friends less than a decade ago. RIP. I want to urge you to spend some time each day during Lent thinking about Jesus' journey to the cross. He knew what was coming and accepted it for our salvation. What do you think Jesus was wondering about today as he prepared for his death? His fully human thoughts had to be dismayed yet his fully God self understood fully the purpose of his mission. Let's take this walk with Jesus Christ our Savior during the next 40 days.

Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) writes in his book Jesus of Nazareth about the Sermon on the Mount and focuses on each Beatitude. Benedict writes that the third Beatitude, Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the land, is mostly about peace that is connected to freedom and land. Just as the Israelites longed for their own land, the new Israel (Christians) also long for a place to live in obedience to God. This idea that God promises land as a place that allows an openness to God, a place that is free from the temptations of the world, is a concept that must be explored more fully. Benedict goes on to say that "Israel was scattered across the world so that it might everywhere create space for God and thus fulfill the purpose of creation suggested by the first creation account [in Genesis1:1-2:4]." I may be out of my depth here but it appears that Benedict is making a connection between the old and new that signals a call to all Christians. It reignites the urgency that Christ first asks of us, namely that we spread the gospel to all people. That concept is somewhat foreign to many Catholics who prefer to go to Mass each Sunday and then leave the work of the Church to the priests and bishops. But we cannot sustain this model and the weakness of this model has surely been revealed over and over again. We are called as disciples of the Lord to spread the word. We are the Israelites who have been dispersed throughout the earth to bring the Good News to all people. Benedict writes in another section of this discussion of the third Beatitude that "Every Eucharistic assembly is for us Christians a place where the king of peace reigns...The universal communion of Christ's Church is thus a preliminary sketch of the world of tomorrow, which is destined to become the land of Jesus Christ's peace."  Is this the land that Jesus promised in the Beatitude? If so, is your church a land of peace? Is it a place where Christians are drawn to be free to worship and celebrate God? If so, how are you contributing to this "world of tomorrow"? If not, what can you do to make it so? Is there a meekness in your church that promotes this peace? We have talked before on this blog about the danger of allowing strife to build in your church. This meekness that Jesus is talking about is beneficial to your future and allows the peacemakers to work in the world. We are all called to be these peacemakers. Are you going to be meek for the Lord? Are you going to be part of the new Israel?

Can you pray for me? How often are you asked that question? I find myself being asked that so very often and not only in face to face meetings but via email and texts as well. It got me to thinking about the subject of prayer. How much is too much? I don't mean to imply that you can over-pray but I wonder if God becomes weary from our laundry lists? I know that He doesn't and if I understand anything it is that God is limitless. I also understand that it is folly and possibly dangerous to describe God in human terms but it is all we have. I think what I am beginning to understand is that the asking is not the problem. It is more about my capacity as a human to handle all of these requests. I must admit that it has gotten to the point where I cannot remember all of the things that I have been asked to pray for and so I cover it all by saying "God, you know what I am supposed to be praying for." and leave it at that. I am not proud of that fact. I should be able to be a more productive pray-er but I am not unlimited. My limitations are numerous and so I pray like a human prays and that is with limits. I really don't think God cares either. What do you think. I would love to hear you comments on this.

Are we really thankful for what we have? I am not talking about big things but the everyday, mundane things. I was reading Proverbs 31 today and the thought came to me that I should probably be more aware of everything that God is giving me on a daily basis. Yes, I have to wash and vacuum my car but I should thank God that I have a car. I am always having to repair my house and cut my grass, but again, I should thank God that He has blessed me with these things. Proverbs 31 is focused on the advice that Lemuel's Mother gives him. The latter part of the passage focuses on the value of a worthy wife. It is really a beautiful passage as we approach the celebration of St. Valentine's Day. It basically focuses on all of the little things that we do in our daily lives. Of course, it goes deeper than that. It calls us to revel in each task and to find delight. It tells us that each and every task should be done for the glory of God. It really forces you to focus on your humanity. But take time to study the passage more carefully and it causes you to think about why you are doing all of these things. Do you do it merely out of habit? Are you focused on the ultimate prize of unending life in the company of God in Heaven? Do you approach each task with happiness and purpose? There is no way we can make each and every task of each and every day a celebration but we can begin to realize that we are allowed to do these things through the grace of God. He has called us to each and every task. He wants us to enjoy our life. There is a purpose to each task. Going forward, I am going to begin to focus on the task at hand and think about its ultimate purpose. But I want to return to the advice of Lemuel's Mother. I am also going to focus on how much my wife does for her family each and every day. I am going to focus on making her load lighter. I am going to let her know that I appreciate everything that she does for her family for she is cheerful. Indeed, she is the good wife that Lemuel would be lucky to find. And I thank God for that and all the little things.

When the maji followed the start to Bethlehem, did they really know why they were doing it and what they would find? They were looking for the newborn King of the Jews according to Matthew 2:1 but did they really know what significance that title held? What was their religious background? How were they trained? What did they believe? All these years later, we really don't know the answers to those questions. In the end, does it really matter? They exhibited a brand of faith that Jesus would preach about himself. He calls us all to have the faith of little children. That is best described as inquisitiveness and inquiry. A wonderment about the how and why of things. God's lesson in the maji's journey could be that we are to follow the star to find Jesus. What star you might ask? The star can be whatever it is you are called to do. What has God placed on your TAG? When we are conceived, God creates a TAG for us that includes our Talents, Abilities, and Gifts. How we choose to use them is our call. Sometimes we ignore them completely and look longingly at someone else's TAG. But God calls us to follow the star to Jesus and that means we should be good at what we do. If you are a husband, you should be the best husband. If you are a father, you should be the best father. If you are a teacher, you should be the best teacher. That is the way to Jesus. Using the best of what God has given you will help you to follow the star to Jesus. And as we learn in Luke 9:28-36, the way to God is through Jesus. Some of the disciples learned this first hand as witnesses to the transfiguration of Jesus. When God tells the men that Jesus is His chosen Son and that they should listen to Him, I wonder what they thought? If they had any doubts at all, they had to be gone at that point. What a magnificent scene. How blessed were Peter , John, and James to witness the majesty of the Father and Son? If we just follow the star, we will also be blessed. We will also experience the transfiguration and know God's glory in the presence of Jesus.

The sacrament of reconciliation has been on my mind lately. I was recently with a group of believers who were discussing the many reasons we find not to make a confession. The conversation finally wound around to the idea of sin itself. We all know what sin is but I heard a new description that is clear and concise and really struck a chord in my heart. Sin is the act that cuts the cord between me and God. Thus reconciliation is the act that repairs the cord. While we are talking with God about our sins, He is lovingly repairing the cord and reconnecting us to His loving embrace. It is our lifeline. I am sure you are like me and want that cord to remain connected to God. We know He forgives us as Psalm 32 says, "then I acknowledged my sin, did not conceal my guilt. I said I shall confess my offense to the Lord and You for Your part, took away my guilt, forgave my sin." We also know that God came for us sinners, not just for the virtuous as it says in Psalm 51. So what is it that is keeping us from making a reconciliation? For me, it is pride. That need to save face at all costs. I am worried about what my pastor will think of me. As St. Ignatius said, power, possession, and pride are at the heart of sin. I have found that it is a freeing experience to say my sins out loud and have the priest absolve me. More importantly to me, I am amazed that my priest usually has a "that's it" look on his face. He recently told me that the folks who come to reconciliation usually say many of the same things and that the sins are pretty mundane. He figures that is because the folks that come to reconciliation are really trying hard and it is the folks that don't go that are holding the really "big zingers." I don't know about you but that simple bit of humor brought me comfort and made me relax, which is probably why he said it. I also want to address the thought held by many that their sin is not "hurting" anyone else. You have heard folks say it as well, I am sure. "Well, what I am doing is only hurting me. What do you care?" But the reality is the sin is not only hurting them. It generally does impact other people. Besides, the fact that you are sinning is hurting me as well because I care about you. That has become my pat answer. As Christians, we are called to community and that fellowship requires us to care about others. When I see folks that I care about sinning, it does affect me and I am hurt. I am also worried about their salvation and hope they are concerned with mine. So I encourage you to share the concept that sin cuts the cord between you and God and that reconciliation repairs it. The act of making a confession helps us to focus on the why of what we did and allows us to resist the temptation the next time the opportunity arises. Finally, I have to wish the New Orleans Saints good luck this Sunday. If nothing else, the publicity they have received has certainly put the idea of saints in everyone's mind. Maybe they will be compelled to take a look at who the saints really are and be inspired by their life stories as well. And don't forget to watch Faith Bowl III. I know that it will be shown on EWTN before and after the Super Bowl.

Today I am happy to be posting another response to the seven question survey. Esther G., a fellow blogger, provides the very insightful responses today. You can find more of her writing at A Catholic Mom in Hawaii. Esther and I share a love of St. Pio. If you want to participate, please respond to the seven questions and send them to fellmananthony@gmail.com.

1. What is the biggest challenge to your faith that you have faced so far? My biggest challenge is discerning God's will for me and doing His will and not my own.

2. What scripture do you find yourself turning to most often? The Gospel According to Matthew.

3. How do you think God is revealing his presence to us in the world today? There are many signs some as simple as seeing a beautiful flower blooming and as drastic as the earthquake in Haiti which is a wake up call to us to turn to God.

4. Do you have a book that you would recommend to people trying to develop their spirituality? Oh yes, actually I have two to recommend:  The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis and True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin by St. Louis de Montfort.

5. Why do you think bad things happen to good people? Only God knows.

6. What have you found is the most effective way to introduce the word of God to a nonbeliever? By example. Giving lectures never works.

7. Do you have a favorite saint and if so, why? I have many favorite saints.  St. Damien of Molokai our recently canonized saint is a big favorite.  Even before moving to Hawaii, I admired his devotion to the people forgotten by society.  Padre Pio is also another favorite.  He loved the Eucharist and our Blessed Mother so much yet he was kind of impatient and cranky.

We as a people are driven to reciprocate in kind. I am not sure where this comes from. I would hope it comes from the part in us that makes us generous but I suspect it may be more out of trying to look good and worrying about what others think of us. To illustrate, if you have ever had a son or daughter (or maybe this happened to you) that received a gift from their boyfriend or girlfriend, you say this in action. Within the hour, your child knew where the gift was purchased and how much it cost. They were consumed with returning the favor but they wanted to make sure that their gift in return met the same cost and quality thresholds. The entire idea of doing something for others out of love and concern was thrown out immediately. In fact, take a look at magazines that give tips on dating and this concept is still very much alive. Not only do the writers give tips on matching price but attention is paid to what the gift will "really" mean. And the game continues. Maybe that is why we find it so hard to allow Jesus to do things for us. Maybe that is why it is so hard for us to simply turn to Him and ask for help. We might be thinking that we have to reciprocate. That is ludicrous of course. How on earth could we ever match the ultimate gift that Jesus provides for us every day, namely salvation. When we look at Jesus hanging on the cross it reminds us of the suffering he endured for our sins. I recently placed myself at the foot of that cross on that day that Jesus died. I was standing with Mary, John and Mary Magdalen. Others were around as well and Peter approached towards the end time. I found myself weeping for the pain and suffering that Jesus was enduring. I cried out for someone to help Him. I prayed to God to relieve his pain. It was a truly moving reflection. It allowed me to grow closer to Jesus in a unique way other than prayer, worship or song. It certainly touched me deep inside. I also felt a warm embrace, a hug from Jesus while I was in the moment. It helped me to realize that Jesus did this out of his great love and desire for us. He wants us to have eternal live. He wants us to join Him in heaven. I also realized that I can never reciprocate. What could I ever do to match that sacrifice? The good news is that Jesus does not expect me too. He merely expects me to try. Try to tend to the needs of others. Try to put others first. Try to bring his message to as many people as possible. Try to live like He did while on earth. And in the end, that is all I can do. I have to allow the Messiah do what He does for us. He solves our problems. He fixes things. He is.