St James tell us, "Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God" (4:4). As I listen to the endless stream of mindless blather on television, I am reminded of this powerful verse. People talk about Christmas in earthly terms. They mention Santa Claus, gifts, and trees. They want a new IPad, car, or jewelry. Their passions lie with the world. The celebration of the birth of the greatest man who ever lived does not even register with many of them. It is numbing and I am saddened. Being a lover of the world means that you want to stay in this world. You are worried about leaving the things in this world behind. I am not suggesting that we should not enjoy our time on earth. In fact, we should spend it with a higher purpose. But remember that it is temporary and the greater prize is to come in the next life. The anticipation of spending eternal life with our Lord is so exciting. It is this feeling that builds excitement in me during the time of Advent. We have been patient. We have prepared ourselves the last four weeks specifically. We are ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We walk the journey with Joseph and Mary. We feel their joy when Jesus arrives. We join the other visitors to the manger to worship the King of Kings. I want to close this post with a thank you to all that come to this site. I hope that I have remained true to God's purpose. I ask that you continue to pray for me and this ministry. I want to bring people closer to our God. I want people to develop a deeper relationship with God. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Pope Benedict XVI said the Catholic Church must reflect on what is wrong with its message and Christian life in general that allowed for the widespread sexual abuse of children by priests. While accepting responsiblity for the scandal, Benedict said the abuse must also be seen in the broader social context, in which child pornography and sexual tourism are rampant, and where as recently as the 1970s pedophilia wasn't considered the absolute evil that it is today. The pope made the remarks to Vatican cardinals and bishops gathered for his traditional Christmas speech, an eagerly anticipated address that Benedict uses to press key issues he wants the church hierarchy to reflect on. While stressing that most priests do good, honest work, Benedict said revelations of abuse in 2010 reached "an unimaginable dimension" that required the church to accept the "humiliation" as a call for renewal. "We must ask ourselves what we can do to repair as much as possible the injustices that occurred," Benedict said. "We must ask ourselves what was wrong in our message, in our entire way of configuring the Christian being, that allowed such a thing to occur. We must find a new determination in faith and goodness." Pope Benedict has previously acknowledged that the scandal was the result of sin within the church and that the church as a result must repent for it and make amends with victims. His most recent comments suggested that there might be some intrinsic problem with the way Christianity and its message was understood in the modern world that allowed for the abuse to fester unchecked. So what does this say to the Catholics in the pew? It appears to be a call to action from the Pope. We must become more concerned and active in expressing the Catholic view on the world.

Are you a slave of Christ Jesus? In the readings for this Sunday's Mass, St. Paul proclaims his allegiance to Christ. He declares that he is indeed a slave to Christ Jesus. The word slave in American conjures up different images than Paul is describing here but the essence is the same. Essentially, it was an honor and privilege according to the Old Testament, to be bound as a slave to God. Paul is bound to Jesus in all aspects. He is willing to do anything for Jesus. In fact, remembering Paul's conversion story, it makes this statement even more amazing. Saul, as Paul was known before his conversion on the road to Damascus, was indeed a Christ-hater. He despised the growing movement led by Christ. He tortured and persecuted people who were followers of Christ. But as we all know, his conversion experience turned everything around. St. Paul became, arguable, the most fervent disciple of Christ Jesus. Paul certainly devoted his life to spreading the message of Christ. So I go back to my first question. Are you a slave of Christ Jesus? Do you live every waking moment to bring Christ to the unchurched? Do you share the salvation message with everyone you come in contact with throughout the day? Or perhaps you define becoming a slave to Christ Jesus in another way. It is a deep and complex issue. Spend some time on it today. It is important to make a decision on this important question. Are you ready to make the kind of commitment that St. Paul made?

A spate of U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks portray the Vatican as horrified over clerical sex abuse in Ireland but also deeply concerned that the procedures used by Irish investigators of the scandal were "an affront to Vatican sovereignty." The cables, released December 10-12, touched on a wide range of issues, from the Vatican's efforts to deal with leftist governments in Latin America to its recent moves to welcome disaffected Anglicans into the Catholic Church. One memo reviewed the Vatican's efforts to position itself as an intermediary with Iran in case an international crisis erupts and stated that in 2007 the Vatican had helped secure the release of British sailors detained in Iranian waters. The cables offered a rare glimpse at Vatican diplomacy in action, but through the lens of the U.S. policy experts who authored the reports. Most of the cables regarding the Vatican were written by officials of the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See, sometimes after personal meetings with Vatican diplomats. The Vatican issued a disclaimer December 11, saying the reliability of the cables must be evaluated carefully and with great prudence. "Naturally these reports reflect the perceptions and opinions of the people who wrote them and cannot be considered as expressions of the Holy See itself, nor as exact quotations of the words of its officials," it said in a statement. The Vatican said publication of such secret and confidential material was a matter of "extreme seriousness." The U.S. Embassy to the Vatican repeated its condemnation of the release of classified State Department information and refused to comment on the content or authenticity of the information. The sex abuse scandal in Ireland was treated in a memo dated February 26, 2010, written by Julieta Valls Noyes, the deputy chief of mission at the embassy. She wrote that the Vatican had responded relatively quickly to the revelations of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Dublin, in part because it had "learned key lessons" from the U.S. sex abuse scandal in 2002. "Vatican and Irish officials' first concern was for the victims," the cable said. But that concern was sometimes overshadowed by the public perception in Ireland that the Vatican was worried about "pettily procedural" matters, it said. Specifically, the Vatican was upset that the independent Murphy Commission that investigated the scandal had sidestepped diplomatic channels and tried to directly convene the Vatican nuncio, or ambassador, to answer questions and obtain other information from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The Vatican complained to the Irish Embassy, saying such requests must go through diplomatic channels, and in the end the government decided not to press the Vatican to reply, the cable said. It added that contacts at the Vatican and in Ireland expected the sex abuse crisis to continue for several years, as new allegations from other Irish archdioceses come to light. The ongoing WikiLeaks situation has certainly stimulated conversation on both sides of the issue. By its nature, the political process depends on compromise. Very frequently that process comes about after many discussions, both written and spoken. The release or potential release in the future of sensitive documents like this will undoubtedly cause problems for diplomats focused on trying to resolve the many issues that occur in our complex world. I am not trying to downplay this issue in any way. But it has caused me to wonder what Jesus would have done in this situation. His leadership style was one of openness. He was most definitely a servant leader who did not ask his followers to do anything that He wouldn't do. In fact, He told them that they could not follow Him in His final endeavor, further illustrating His unique leadership style. I realize that this issue is very complex but if our leaders, both elected and otherwise, would truly govern with the best interests of the people in mind at all times, our world would be a better place. How we accomplish this is another thing altogether. Bringing the message of salvation through Jesus Christ to those in leadership positions is a good start.

Bishop David L. Ricken of Green Bay has approved the Marian apparitions seen by Adele Brise in 1859, making the apparitions of Mary that occurred some 18 miles northeast of Green Bay the first in the United States to receive approval of a diocesan bishop. The decree on the apparitions' authenticity comes nearly two years after Bishop Ricken opened a formal investigation. On Jan. 9, 2009, he appointed three theologians to study the history of them. Brise, a Belgian immigrant, was 28 when Mary appeared to her three times in October 1859. The first appearance took place while Brise was carrying a sack of wheat to a grist mill about four miles from Robinsonville, now known as Champion. A few days later, on Oct. 9, as Brise walked to Sunday Mass in Bay Settlement, about 11 miles from her home, Mary appeared to her again. After Mass, Brise told the pastor what she had seen. He told her to "ask in God's name who it was and what it desired of her." On the way home from Bay Settlement, Mary again appeared to Brise. When Brise asked who the woman was, Mary responded, "I am the Queen of Heaven, who prays for the conversion of sinners and I wish you to do the same." She told Brise to "gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation. Teach them their catechism, how to sign themselves with the sign of the cross and how to approach the sacraments." Brise devoted the rest of her life to teaching children. She began a community of Third Order Franciscan sisters and built a school next to the shrine. Brise's father, Lambert, built a small chapel near the spot of the apparitions. When a brick chapel was built in 1880, the trees where Mary appeared were cut down and the chapel's altar was placed over the spot.

Are you taking this time of Advent to prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? I know that you feel there are presents to buy and cards to send but stop a moment to figure out what is really important. The thing that most people want at this time of the year is love in all its many shapes and forms. It could be fellowship for someone who is experiencing a dark moment in their lives. It could be a text message to someone who is searching for a guardian angel. It could be a simple act of letting someone into the traffic line. It could be a smile as you pass someone in your building. The fact is that we all need to feel loved and this is an especially stressful time not only because we feel that we have so many obligations but because we are vulnerable. So often the holiday season brings up images and memories of unhappy moments. It is human nature that we dwell on the negative and we must fight to focus on the positive. Instead of harboring those disquieting memories, focus instead on what you enjoy about this time of the year. Look for the good. Look for the light. You know that you will find Jesus Christ when you do this. He is our light and He brings joy and love to our lives through his sacrifice. Jesus taught us that the future is best left to God our Father. Allowing our Father to guide everything that we do allows us to truly live a life filled with grace. It is the ultimate "present" at a time when we are rushing to buy the perfect gift. But we already have it in the grace that God has provided. Why not pass it on? The perfect gift that you can give to celebrate Jesus' birth is God's grace. Leading others to this magnificent gift should be our focus during Advent. Give it freely and often and know that God will continue to bless you. Only grace can move us to love God, and only God can give grace, through Christ, our Mediator. As we grow in our love of God, we are more likely to share our love with others. Let's make this Advent season a time of love.

Since when did being Pro-Family make you a member of a hate group? According to Maggie Gallagher, chairman of the board for the National Organization for Marriage, that is exactly what the Southern Poverty Law Center has done in releasing a list of groups that include the Family Research Council, National Organization for Marriage, and Concerned Women for America. The SPLC says that these groups, and others, are anti-gay and therefore hate groups. Make no mistake; this is definitely the next step in advancing the gay agenda in America. Because the Catholic Church, as God has said, defines a family as a father, a mother, and children, the SPLC claims that is hate speech. The belief is not only Biblically-based but rooted in good scientific research that shows the family unit is the best building block of a good society. We as Catholic have to look no further than the Holy Family. Joseph and Mary raised Jesus in a loving home providing foundational religious instruction along with the typical parental guidance. Jesus always exhibited the utmost of respect for Mary and Joseph, even though he was God who came to earth as man. While I am not judging those who have been unable to enjoy this type of family structure, I think it is incumbent upon us as a society to maintain this cornerstone of our existence. The reliance on the family as a core unit is essential. By making this assertion, the pro-gay community is trying to redefine Christianity as bigotry. This is equally evil and we as Christians must not allow this kind of evilness to spread. Adhering to the teachings of Jesus is foundational to us as Christians. This latest attack on Christianity illustrates the desperation that the pro-gay movement is feeling even as they claim that more people are joining their ranks. The entire issue only serves to remind me how important my family has been to me. Without their support and love, my life would have been very different. I thank God for my family and hope you do the same.