In his new book, "Seek First the Kingdom," Washington Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl calls on Catholics to seek God's kingdom and then reflect it in their everyday lives. When Catholics deepen their own faith, their hearts are transformed, and when they share it with others, they can change their community, their nation and their world, the cardinal wrote in his book, which is subtitled "Challenging the Culture by Living Our Faith. To be in the kingdom is to be with Christ always, and to be for Christ always, in season and out of season, in private and in public, on the job and on our days off," he wrote in the book, which was published in November by Our Sunday Visitor. At a time when many people only know kingdoms from history, fairy tales and royal weddings, Cardinal Wuerl points out how God's kingdom "forms the heart of the Gospel," and as Pope Benedict XVI has noted, the phrase "the kingdom of God" appears 122 times in the New Testament, including in 90 quotes from Jesus in the Gospels. Cardinal Wuerl's new book emphasizes the importance of Catholics taking up Pope Benedict's call for the new evangelization, to learn their faith, to live it and share it with others, especially family members, friends, neighbors and co-workers who may have drifted away from the faith or never heard the good news of Jesus. The book also encourages Catholics to reflect their faith at home, in the workplace, in their community and in the public square. "You could make a very strong case that 'Seek First the Kingdom' is a response to the question, 'How do we do the new evangelization?'" the cardinal said in an interview with the Catholic Standard, Washington archdiocesan newspaper. In his book, Cardinal Wuerl noted that, in the face of the world's secularism, materialism and individualism that distract people from Christ and from true happiness, Pope Benedict has called on Catholics to be engaged in the work of the new evangelization, "to re-propose the perennial truth of Christ's Gospel."

Prayer should not center just on asking God to fulfill one's hopes and desires, but must include praise, thanks and trust in God's plan which may not match one's own, Pope Benedict XVI said. The way Jesus prayed to his Father "teaches us that in our own prayers, we must always trust in the Father's will and strive to see all things in light of his mysterious plan of love," he said during his weekly general audience. In his catechesis to nearly 6,000 people in the Vatican audience hall, Pope Benedict continued a series of talks on Christian prayer. Everyone should seek to understand that when asking something of God in prayer, "we mustn't expect the immediate fulfillment of what we are asking for, of our will, but rather trust in the will of the Father," the pope said. Requests, praise and thanks must be included in every prayer. "even when it seems to us that God is not living up to our real expectations," he said. Prayer is a dialogue with God and entails "abandoning oneself to God's love," he said. The most important thing to discover, the pope said, is that the one who answers humanity's prayers is more important than the actual prayers answered. Jesus showed that before grace is received, one must "adhere to the giver" of that grace, that is, align oneself and comply with God, the pope said.

We are constantly hearing of the ways in which new technologies are denigrating our lives. So it was with joy that I read the following story. Most colleges require students to put away their cellphones during class. However, for one class at The Catholic University of America, not bringing a cellphone to class can result in loss of points from their participation grade. Cellphone photography is a new class at Catholic University in Washington that allows students to see photography in a fresh way and explore a device they carry with them every day in a different way. Students are told to turn their everyday lives into a book of photographs. For example, one assignment was to take photos on their phone at their Thanksgiving dinner celebration with their families. Only a handful of other universities offer a class like the one taught at Catholic University. The class encourages students to post the photos taken in class on their social media sites and is taught by professional photographer Matthew Barrick. "The goal of this class is to show the true creative art of photography using a cellphone. You have your camera with you 24 hours a day," Barrick said. The class assignments consist of weekly blog entries that must include pictures students took that week on their phones, as well as ongoing work on their final project. The class's final project is called "100 photographs in 100 days," and the students can take pictures of anything they want with their phones over the course of the semester. Then, they pick the best photos and put them into an online photo book for the professor to review and grade. Barrick emphasizes that it does not matter what type of phone students use, as long as it has a camera. He thinks the most important part is that students use their eyes and imagination to take the best photos possible. I encourage you to do the same thing. Use your phone to capture the good int eh world. Put the things that you find that remind us that God is at work in a picture and then post that picture online. It just might reveal the face of God to someone who really needs to begin a relationship with our Holy Father.

Are you aware that we are presently living in the Millennium described to us in the Book of Revelation? This may come as a surprise to many of us, especially those of us who have read the Left Behind series or other premillennial works like it. The Church adheres to the prevailing idea that we are currently living in the Christian age. Now that raises some very important questions about what is going on with our world. As with anything, it all depends on perspective. Before the Millennium, Satan was able to block the sharing of the Gospel. People were not able to share in the Good News. Very few people in fact even knew about God and His message. After Jesus Christ came to defeat death, the message of salvation offered through our loving God was revealed to all. The destruction of death involves the resurrection of the dead—all of the dead, not just some dead, or death would not have been destroyed. This occurs in Revelation 20:13–14, which is after the Millennium (cf. Rev. 20:1–6). So what does that have to do with the modern day world? In a word, everything. The promise is not that the world will be free of temporal problems but that the Devil will be bound in such a way that he cannot deceive the nations. That has happened. He has been bound in such a way that he cannot stop the proclamation of the gospel. As Jesus himself said when reflecting on the results of the disciples’ ministry, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven" (Luke 10:18). Today a third of the human race is Christian, and fully half of the human race worships God in one way or another. The remainder has—with few exceptions—at least heard of the true God, and by the standards of biblical history, knowledge of the Lord does indeed cover the earth like the waters cover the sea. The light has dawned, and the darkness been dispelled. The biblical prophets would have wept for joy at the unimaginable prospect that so much of the human race would have embraced the worship of God. This was simply unthinkable in their time, and they would have regarded the current age—for all its problems—as unquestionably golden. Does this mean that we are done with our work? Absolutely not. There are many people who have not realized the majesty of God. There are people all around the world who have not heard about Jesus Christ. Many of our close friends, co-workers, and even family members have not embraced the salvation that God offers. They do not realize that the Holy Spirit resides in them and is available to them at all times. So this Christmas season is about your responsibility to open their eyes. It doesn't only have to occur in words. You can reveal the face of Christ to people through your actions. You can show them that God loves them by allowing Him to use you. After their eyes are opened, you can then begin to share all of your faith with them. It is such a powerful journey. Don't you want to share it?

There is nothing new about church leaders arguing over worship, including whether the rites have become too casual or superficial. Take St. John Chrysostom, for example, who complained about the irreverence he saw in the churches of Constantinople. Back in the old days, he said, people knew what it meant to solemnly observe the holy mysteries. Alas, some believers seemed to be going through the motions -- in the fourth century. The archbishop urged his flock: "When I say, 'Peace be unto you,' and you say, 'And with your spirit,' say it not with the voice only, but also with the mind; not in mouth only, but in understanding also." With the start of Advent, we also saw the implementation of the revised liturgy in the Catholic Church. It was different and it did require us to be more attentive. There were nervous moments and some folks were smiling when they muffed a response. Everyone was glued to their tri-fold guide. It will be a while before we become completely comfortable with the new Mass. Once we become comfortable with the new responses, then we will begin to focus on what the priest is saying. There are a number of changes for the celebrant and during the consecration it was very obvious. The use of the word chalice instead of cup was most noticeable. Again, time will allow us to more fully explore the changes. As a lifelong Catholic, I have always marveled at the drama of the Mass. It evolves in our conscientiousness the older we become. The nuances are revealed as we mature. It is in celebrating the Lord's Supper for years that we come to appreciate the beauty. It will come again. This is an exercise that will ultimately make us better. The changes encourage us to dig deeper in our faith development. And so I say to you, "Peace be with you and with your spirit."

As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving next week, it is a good time to think about those who may not be anticipating the holiday at all. Now is the time to remember friends and family who may have recently lost someone. Think about those who may be experiencing Thanksgiving for the first time without a special loved one. The holiday season is typically stressful because of the expectations we place on these gatherings. Very often people think that having a meal will settle long-held anger or unresolved differences. Often it is quiet the opposite that occurs. Our emotions are heightened and this can lead to misunderstandings. Frequently we will take things out of context because we are looking to be slighted. All of this potential conflict is piled on top of the sadness and loneliness that someone who has lost a loved one during the year is feeling. God calls us to serve those in need. This is a perfect time for all of us to renew our commitment to serving others. Think about your neighbor who may be alone for the first time. Think about a husband who has lost his wife after a long marriage. Where will he go for Thanksgiving? Is there a wife who has lost her husband and may not have family close by? She will probably feel inadequate and useless. Jesus welcomes all to the table. There is always room in the house of the Lord. Invite someone to your Thanksgiving celebration that may be searching for companionship. Just a small caveat though. Frequently when we experience the loss of a loved one, celebrations of this type may be overwhelming. If they do agree to join your celebration, make sure you stay tuned to their mood. If you see changes and shifts, respond to them with love and care. Make sure to include their lost one in your Thanksgiving prayer. You will be called upon to be much more effortful than you might have been in the past but it will be worth it in the end. Allowing yourself to serve as God's earthen vessel, especially during the holiday season, is a perfect way to grow spiritually.

Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York called on his fellow bishops to communicate to the world that the sinfulness of the church's members is not "a reason to dismiss the church or her eternal truths, but to embrace her all the more." In his first presidential address since election as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops last November, Archbishop Dolan opened and closed with the words: "Love for Jesus and his church must be the passion of our lives." Describing the church as a spiritual family that "to use the talk show vocabulary ... has some 'dysfunction,'" he said the bishops' "most pressing pastoral challenge today is to reclaim that truth, to restore the luster, the credibility, the beauty of the church." But he cited "chilling statistics we cannot ignore" that "fewer and fewer of our beloved people -- to say nothing about those outside the household of the faith -- are convinced that Jesus and his church are one. So they drift from her, get mad at the church, grow lax, join another or just give it all up," Archbishop Dolan said. "If this does not cause us pastors to shudder, I do not know what will."

Each Sunday for decades, Roman Catholic priests have offered the blessing — "Lord be with you." And each Sunday, parishioners would respond, "And also with you." Until this month. Come November 27, the response will be, "And with your spirit." And so will begin a small revolution in a tradition-rich faith. At the end of the month, parishes in English-speaking countries will begin to use a new translation of the Roman Missal, the ritual text of prayers and instructions for celebrating Mass. International committees of specialists worked under a Vatican directive to hew close to the Latin and after years of revisions negotiated by bishops' conferences and the Holy See, dioceses are preparing anxious clergy and parishioners for the rollout, one of the biggest changes in Catholic worship in generations. "We're tinkering with a very intimate and personal moment," said the Rev. Richard Hilgartner, executive director of the worship office for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. "It's public worship, it's the church's official public prayer, but for the individual faithful, it's one of the primary means of their encounter with the Lord." In the new translation, in the Nicene Creed, the phrase "one in Being with the Father," will change to "consubstantial with the Father." When a priest prays over the Holy Communion bread and wine, he will ask God for blessings "by sending down your spirit upon them like the dewfall." The new missal grew out of changes in liturgy that started with the Second Vatican Council, the 1960s meetings on modernizing the church that permitted Mass in local languages instead of Latin. Bishops in English-speaking countries created the International Commission on English in the Liturgy to undertake the translation. The panel produced a missal by 1973, but that version was considered temporary until better texts could be completed. As the commission worked to make the Mass more familiar in idiomatic English, some of the language strayed from the Latin. Also in some cases, the commission sought to use language that would be gender neutral. The work took a new direction in 2001, when the Vatican office in charge of worship issued the directive Liturgiam Authenticam, or Authentic Liturgy, which required translations closer to the Latin. The Vatican also appointed another committee, Vox Clara, or Clear Voice, to oversee the English translation. Jeffrey Tucker, a lay musician at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Auburn, Ala., said he also had concerns about how the translation was handled. Still, he said he found the new missal "extraordinary." The text and music are truly integrated for the first time since the changes from the Second Vatican Council, Tucker said. He has been introducing the new text to lay people and church leaders in recent months, and has found the reaction to mostly be, "Oh, wow.'" "The language is more accurate, but that is the most boring thing you can say about it. The more important thing about the language is that it's beautiful," said Tucker who is managing editor of Sacred Music, the journal of the Church Music Association of America. "Hardly anything ever good comes out of a committee. This time it did."

“Life is Co-Ed” has become the unofficial rallying call of the Catholic University students unhappy and unconvinced by their president’s unprecedented decision to revert all dormitories to single-sex living quarters. John Garvey, president of Catholic, announced in June that the university would be phasing in single-sex residence halls, in an effort to curb binge drinking and casual sex. He said that the change would better align the university with its moral obligations as a Roman Catholic institution. The decision to eliminate co-ed living to revert to single-sex living, which looks to be the first of its kind, has been the talk of the campus since it was enacted at the beginning of this semester, with opinion split almost 50/50 on the issue, students say. Administrators are phasing in the living policy with this year's freshman class, with units for older students remaining co-ed. But that doesn’t mean its intended outcomes are coming to fruition. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, some students say. “If people want to have sex they are going to have sex,” said Melissa Reid, a freshman living in the all-female Ryan Hall. Reid, who goes to Mass nearly every other day, said she talked about the policy in one of her psychology classes recently. Nearly all the students, including Reid, agreed that this housing change will not stop students from having sex or drinking. "If you have to separate people to prevent that then what are you saying about those people?” she said. Interviews with many other students, while walking around near the first-year dormitory area, reveal many similar comments. While students have a range of views about the wisdom of the policy, most agreed that there is still plenty of sex and drinking — and that single-sex living has not fundamentally changed those features of college life. Victor Nakas, associate vice president for public affairs at Catholic, wrote in an e-mail that students' declarations on how much binge drinking and casual sex they see is mere conjecture -- what do freshmen have as a comparison? Nakas also said that administrators know this housing policy is not going to totally eliminate drinking and casual sex. At the beginning of the semester, spray-painted graffiti depicting a man and a woman with the slogan “Life is Co-Ed” appeared on several places on campus and in the nearby Metro station. Now the student government is stepping in to try and put a number on the campus chatter surrounding the issue. Leslie Martin, speaker of Catholic’s student government, said the governing body will be voting at its meeting Wednesday on holding a referendum (which would not be binding on the university) about the issue. "We really want to make sure our student body is able to voice their opinion on such an important issue,” Martin, a senior studying politics said. Martin said to her knowledge no one in the study body was asked about the new policy before it was announced. Martin said there seems to be strong support for the referendum in the government and she expects it to pass. If the measure is approved, in about two weeks students will be able to vote online to voice their support of or opposition to the new housing policy. And Martin said the student government’s delegation is representative of the larger student population: it's split right down the middle on the issue. Personally, Martin said “we do have to remember the Catholic identity of CUA because we are the Catholic University of America,” but, still, the administration needs to smooth out some kinks in the new housing setup. She’d like to see more outlets for opposite-sex socialization and 24-hour study spaces so students don’t feel confined to friendships with those of the same gender, she said. Martin said she does not know how the administration will react if the majority of students have a negative opinion of the same-sex housing policy. But they are going to keep the discussion going — the student government is planning a town hall meeting with the vice president for student life, the general counsel and Garvey to talk about the housing change. A time and date has yet to be set, she said. Nakas said he could not comment on the referendum proposal because he did not have enough information about it. Taking a less neutral stance on the issue is the university’s chapter of DC Students Speak, a district-wide political action group advocating for student issues. The group started an online petition earlier this month, calling for the policy to be struck down. The petition, which has almost 100 signatures, says "mandatory single-sex residence halls denounce reality; promote the seclusion of male and female interaction; and deny students the free and fair right to choice, whether it be their living arrangement and/or decision-making in everyday life." The university is also facing a lawsuit in the wake of the announcement earlier this summer. John Banzhaf, a law professor at George Washington University, who is known for public interest suits, says totally eliminating co-ed dorms would violate the District of Columbia's Human Rights Act. While some students are saying the policy change is a shift back to the 1950s, others understand the reasoning. One freshman living in the all-female Magner Hall said it doesn’t bother her to be living only with other women. She has still been able to make male friends. But now it’s “more tempting to people to [bend the rules]," she said. Nakas said there are currently 11 single-sex dorms on campus, and by fall 2012, all freshmen and sophomores will live in single-sex dwellings. Freshmen and sophomores are required to live on campus. Guests may visit student rooms between 9 a.m. and midnight Sunday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. Nakas said in most first-year buildings a public safety assistant monitors and signs in room guests from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. every day. The university enforces these guest limitations with communication between resident assistants and the door attendants to identify rooms that may have gone over their visitation hours. Freshman Liam Crowley is living in the all-male Flather Hall. He put Flather down as his first choice for living preference after an older female friend and fellow student suggested it. He only found out about the housing changes for his class after he put down his deposit and committed to the university. Now, he said, he spends most of his time in the co-ed Centennial Village residence area. Several students said they understood the Catholic values behind the reversal, but said it limits the freshman class’s ability to meet friends of the opposite sex. “I think they should be co-ed and I’m pretty Catholic,” Reid said.

The Washington, D.C. Office of Human Rights confirmed that it is investigating allegations that Catholic University violated the human rights of Muslim students by not allowing them to form a Muslim student group and by not providing them rooms without Christian symbols for their daily prayers. The investigation alleges that Muslim students “must perform their prayers surrounded by symbols of Catholicism – e.g., a wooden crucifix, paintings of Jesus, pictures of priests and theologians which many Muslim students find inappropriate.” A spokesperson for the Office of Human Rights told Fox News they had received a 60-page complaint against the private university. The investigation, they said, could take as long a six months. The complaint was filed by John Banzhaf, an attorney and professor at George Washington University Law School. Banzhaf has been involved in previous litigation against the school involving the same-sex residence halls. He also alleged in his complaint involving Muslim students that women at the university were being discriminated against. Banzhaf said some Muslim students were particularly offended because they had to meditate in the school’s chapels “and at the cathedral that looms over the entire campus – the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. It shouldn’t be too difficult somewhere on the campus for the university to set aside a small room where Muslims can pray without having to stare up and be looked down upon by a cross of Jesus,” he told Fox News. A spokesman for Catholic University released a statement to Fox News indicating they had not seen any legal filings — but would respond once they do. “Our faithfulness to our Catholic tradition has also made us a welcome home to students of other religions,” said Victor Nakas, associate vice president for public affairs. “No students have registered complaints about the exercise of their religions on our campus.” In a 2010 interview with National Public Radio, university president John Garvey acknowledged that they don’t set aside prayer rooms for Muslim students. “We make classrooms available, or our chapels are places where they can pray,” he told NPR. “We don’t offer Halal meat, although there are always meals that conform to Halal regulations, that allow students to do what they want.” Banzhaf said that it is technically not illegal for Catholic University to refuse to provide rooms devoid of religious icons. “It may not be illegal, but it suggests they are acting improperly and probably with malice,” he said. “They do have to pray five times a day, they have to look around for empty classrooms and to be sitting there trying to do Muslim prayers with a big cross looking down or a picture of Jesus or a picture of the Pope is not very conductive to their religion.” As for the creation of a Muslim student group, Banzhaf said the university has an association of Jewish students – so why not a Muslim group? “I think they are entitled as a matter of law to be able to form a Muslim student association and to have the same privileges as associations,” he said. “I think that most of them would much prefer to have a place to pray – that they are not surrounded by various Catholic symbols – a place that is more conductive to their religious beliefs than being surrounded by pictures of Popes.” Garvey, in his 2010 interview with NPR, addressed that issue. “It’s just not something that we view as an activity that we want to sponsor because we’re a Catholic institution rather than Muslim,” he said. Patrick Reilly, the president of the Cardinal Newman Society, an organization that promotes Catholic identity among Catholic schools, seemed stunned by the complaint. “I don’t know what the attorney wants them to do – if he wants them to actually move the Basilica or if the Muslim students can find someplace where they don’t have to look at it,” he told Fox News. Catholic University, he said, is a Catholic institution. “One wouldn’t expect a Jewish institution to be responsible for providing liturgical opportunities for other faiths and I wouldn’t expect a Catholic institution to do that,” he said. “This attorney is really turning civil rights on its head,” he said. “He’s using the law for his own discrimination against the Catholic institution and essentially saying Catholic University cannot operate according to Catholic principles.”

Helping people understand how the sin of racism undermines society's ability to overcome violence and economic injustice is the top priority for Sister Patricia Chappell as the new executive director of Pax Christi USA. "People really have to acknowledge that racism is a deep integral sin in our country and we have to admit it continues to be an institutional sin," Sister Patricia told Catholic News Service October 24, shortly after the organization announced she would succeed David Robinson as head of the nationwide Catholic peace organization. "We have to acknowledge that, but then we have to be able to find ways to move forward, not just get stuck on the emotional piece of it all," said Sister Patricia, a member of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, Connecticut province. Her appointment closes Pax Christi's year of transition, which also saw the organization move its national headquarters from Erie, Pa., to Washington in order to work more closely with many Catholic and other faith-based organizations on a variety of justice issues. The role of racism in injustice has been a concern of Pax Christi USA for 20 years and has been the motivating factor for the organization's leader to undertake a years-long initiative to become a multicultural, anti-racist Catholic peace and justice movement. Sister Patricia also said she wants to reach people in the pews to understand that Pax Christi's work is rooted in Catholic social teaching. "We have to try to find some kind of way of having the priorities make sense to the ordinary people in the pew. We've got to move it from an abstract theoretical concept to making it real for the people in the pews and trying to find practical ways where we can invite people to be part of this movement," she explained.

The pictures of death this week were very disturbing. First were the pictures of the animals killed in Ohio. Appraently their owner took his own life after releasing the animals from their pens. I was especially saddened by the pictures of the tigers who were killed. Their situation in the world is so precarious as their numbers continue to dwindle. It is too bad that the law enforcement officials couldn't have tranquilized them instead but I understand the seriousness of the situation and they appear to have made the right decision based on protecting human life. The second more disturbing picture was that of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi's lifeless body. Equally disturbing was the chorus of cheers when the images appeared to the public. The world seems to be embracing what Pope John Paul II described as the "Culture of Death." We know that President Obama is an adherent of this ideology as he demonstrated on his first day in office by allocating funds to murder babies. He also trumpeted the death of Gadhafi in a press conference. A pattern has emerged with him as this is the second national leader that Mr. Obama has claimed to have facilitated the operation and approved of the method. I understand the rules of engagement for war. Is this what we really want our world to be? I can't help but think of Jesus imploring us to be peacemakers in his sermon on the mount. Let me be clear. Gadhafi was an evil man. His atrocities have been well documented and he should not have been leading a country. His actions have led to misery and sadness for many people and it should have been ended a long time ago. That being said, we must stop and think deeply about how he was killed. Does this point to a more brutal world that handles its problems with violence? In John 16:33 Jesus says, "I have said this to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Jesus' way is not the way of the world and we are called to make a difference in this world. I pray that more peacemakers stand up and say "enough" to this culture of death.

Newsday is reporting that Susan Sarandon referred to Pope Benedict XVI as a Nazi in an interview this past weekend. The actress, who portrayed Sister Helen Prejean in the movie Dead Man Walking, repeated the comment later in the interview. That indicates that she was fully aware of what she was saying. How can she ever be taken seriously again? Referring to the Pope as a Nazi? She was apparently making this remark because Pope Benedict, as required by Adolph Hitler, joined the Hitler Youth. It has been well documented that the Pope also deserted from the organization at his own peril. I am not sure of the motives of Ms. Sarandon. I am also not aware of her spiritual life although I would love to sit and have a conversation with her. I do know that Sr. Helen has not only met with her but apparently maintains a ongoing friendship with her. I pray that Sr. Helen has a frank conversation with Ms. Saradon about her recent comments. Vilifying the Pope to garner press coverage seems to be a desperate plea for attention. This situation reminds me of the internal struggle that we all experience. The self-doubt and inner critic is always at work. That is what is so comforting about having the Holy Spirit to counter-balance this negativity. Taking the time to quiet ourselves and remove ourselves from all of the world's noise is essential if we are to honor our commitment to God. He is always there to aid our spiritual growth. He wants to see us be successful and to love ourselves. It is key to being able to love others. So the incident with Ms. Saradon and her deplorable comments merely reflects what is happening in her life. We can all learn from this very public mistake.

Slowly and carefully, the Vatican is setting the stage for the third edition of the interreligious "prayer for peace" encounter in the Italian pilgrimage town of Assisi. The October 27 event marks the 25th anniversary of the first such gathering. As in 1986, it is expected to draw representatives from many Christian denominations and more than a dozen other faiths. In convening the prayer summit, Pope Benedict XVI is clearly reaffirming the ecumenical and interreligious outreach of his predecessor, Blessed John Paul II. But the German pope has also marked out his own course, with modifications and additions that, in the Vatican's view, leave the event less open to misinterpretation. For one thing, the participants will not pray together -- at least, not in a formal fashion. They will gather at the end of the day for a moment of silence and testimonials to peace. Although the border between prayer and reflection may be ambiguous in such encounters, it appears that Assisi 2011 will not repeat the formula of 1986, when representatives of each major religion offered a prayer at a final joint service. Just as 25 years ago, participants will break off during the day for separate prayer services. But the difference is that this time around the prayers will be private moments in a cloistered monastery, not public performances throughout the town of Assisi. In 1986, what generated the most interest among the media troops who went to Assisi were these very colorful and distinct forms of prayer, many of which took place inside Catholic places of worship. Buddhist monks chanted to the sound of a bronze gong. An animist from Ghana started a fire in a cup. A tribal chief from Togo invited spirits to enter a bowl of water. A Native American "blessed" people on the head with eagle feathers. For a few hours, Assisi seemed like a spiritual kaleidoscope, with clouds of smoke, sheep-hair amulets, tambourines and multi-colored robes. And it left some critics with the impression that Christian and non-Christian elements were being mixed together inappropriately. The program for this year's encounter appears designed to ensure that the private prayers will not have a public audience.

I love going to the beach. Not to sit out and bake in the sun, although if you are careful, that is a perfectly acceptable reason to go. No, I love the beach for the sand and water. Is there anything more relaxing than sitting and listening to the waves crash against the shore. It never stops and it can send you into a wonderful lull. It is a great place to clear your mind and hold a conversation with God our Father. There is a song that tells us that God knows how many grains of sand exist in our world. Isn't that amazing? When you look at the beech, have you ever imagined how many grains of sand there are? Besides the fact that new sand is being creating each second as the water continues to pound the shore. If God knows how many grains of sand exist, it reveals a deeper point about our relationship with Him. Clearly God knows everything about each one of us. Another interesting point is that God is constantly thinking of us. I know that He thinks of each one of us at least once a day. That is a comforting thought. I know that my God loves me and that He is thinking of me. Over the course of a lifetime, that is a lot of care and thoughtfulness. Do we ever acknowledge this type of support from God? Are we thinking about God each day? Some of us can go weeks or months without ever thinking of God. But God constantly thinks about us. We also know that God was thinking of us before we were born. Truly our God is marvelous and wonderful. God was invested in our lives even before we were born. It is comforting to know that God never has too much on his mind and is always thinking of us. That fact is something that should give us courage and strength. It should allow us to live our lives without fear and it should inspire us to live our lives in a new way starting today.

The Catholic Church's position on capital punishment has evolved considerably over the centuries. And as a result, "it is not a message that is immediately understood -- that there is no room for supporting the death penalty in today's world," said a Vatican's expert on capital punishment and arms control. Because the church has only in the past few decades begun closing the window -- if not shutting it completely -- on the permissibility of the death penalty, people who give just a partial reading of the church's teachings may still think the death penalty is acceptable today, said Tommaso Di Ruzza, desk officer at the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. St. Thomas Aquinas equated a dangerous criminal to an infected limb thereby making it "praiseworthy and healthful" to kill the criminal in order to spare the spread of infection and safeguard the common good. However, over the centuries, justice has evolved from being the smiting arm of revenge toward a striving for reform and restoration, much like today's medical science, where amputation is no longer the only recourse for curing an infection. Modern-day popes have reflected that change in attitude. As far back as the 19th and early 20th centuries theologians pondered the seeming paradox between the Fifth Commandment, "You shall not kill," and the church's dark history of condoning state-held executions to deal with heresy and other threats and crimes. Pope Paul VI took concrete action in distancing the church from this form of punishment, first by formally banning the use of the death penalty in Vatican City State, although no one had been executed under the authority of the Vatican's temporal governance since 1870. Pope Paul also spoke publicly against planned executions and called for clemency for death-row inmates. Pope John Paul II also would punctuate his Angelus and general audience talks with impassioned appeals to spare the life of a prisoner on the verge of execution. It was the Polish pope who "earnestly hoped and prayed" for a global moratorium on the use of capital punishment and the abolition of the death penalty worldwide. Pope Benedict, too, continues to send appeals for clemency in high-profile cases via telegrams either through a country's bishops or nuncio, and he has praised a U.N. resolution calling upon states to institute a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. The 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church recognized "as well-founded the right and duty of legitimate public authority to punish malefactors by means of penalties commensurate with the gravity of the crime, not excluding, in cases of extreme gravity, the death penalty." At the same time, it said, "bloodless means" that could protect human life should be used when possible. The "extreme gravity" loophole was tightened with changes made in 1997, which reflected the pope's 1995 encyclical, "Evangelium Vitae." It specifies that the use of the death penalty is allowed only when the identity and responsibility of the condemned is certain and if capital punishment "is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor." However, given the resources and possibilities available to governments today for restraining criminals, "cases of the absolute necessity of the suppression of the offender 'are very rare, if not practically nonexistent,'" it says. Pope Benedict, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, had a major role in drafting the 1992 Catechism and, especially, its 1997 revised passages. When he told journalists about the changes in 1997, he said while the principles do not absolutely exclude capital punishment, they do give "very severe or limited criteria for its moral use." "It seems to me it would be very difficult to meet the conditions today," he had said. When a journalist said the majority of Catholics in the United States favor use of the death penalty, Cardinal Ratzinger said, "While it is important to know the thoughts of the faithful, doctrine is not made according to statistics, but according to objective criteria taking into account progress made in the church's thought on the issue." Di Ruzza said the divergence of many Catholics in the United States from the church's current position is a sign that "the universal church must also accompany the particular churches a little bit" and help guide them on this "journey of purification," which is more a process of "maturity rather than a revolution or change in tradition." Without reading Popes John Paul and Benedict's clear condemnations of the death penalty, the catechism will "unfortunately have the risk of being ambiguous or taken out of context," he said. The church upholds the inherent dignity of all human beings, even the most sin-filled, and believes in hope, conversion and mercy, he said. There is always room for conversion, he said, and forgiveness does not mean being naive about the real evil the human being is capable of committing. The death penalty does not solve much; a victim still feels loss and crime is not deterred, he said. Communities must strive to promote the common good, and it's dubious "that you can kill someone for the good of all," he said. "The beauty of forgiveness must also be truly discovered; it's this that saves us," said Di Ruzza. Otherwise, "by killing the just or the unjust without understanding that they have dignity, we will find ourselves after 2,000 years in the same courtyard shouting, 'Kill him!,' like they did with Jesus." "God forgave us. He did not call us to death. Jesus let us overcome death" so as to more fully embrace life, he said.

Do you know the seven gifts that we receive from the Holy Spirit? I know that sounds like a conformation question or even worse, Baltimore Catechism. But it is something that we as Catholics should know. So the answer is the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude (or courage), knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. Although looking it up in the Bible wouldn't hurt you either. In fact, that is how I came upon it in First letter to the Corinthians in chapter 12. The Bible tells us that "to each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit." We know that the Holy Spirit is our advocate. We know that we are a temple for the Holy Spirit. Realizing that the Holy Spirit brings us gifts is something that we often forget. The Bible is also clear about the fact that we don't usually receive all of these gifts. That is something that many parents seem to forget very often. Each child comes with a TAG (talents, abilities, and gifts). Very often, we as parents want to add things to the TAG that our children may not have been given. This can cause some very serious problems. It places severe pressure on our children to try to meet the expectations of their parents when God clearly had another plan. I am not saying that we shouldn't set clear benchmarks for our children. We should also encourage them to be the best that they can be. That is where the two sides need to converge. What does your child's original TAG look like? How has the Holy Spirit been generous to your child? Take a closer look at that and then help you child realize her/his potential within that realm. That will make for a much happier childhood and provide you with a solid foundation towards building a life-long relationship of love and trust with your child. Treat your child as your Father treats you. The abundance of gifts is another indication that God wants nothing but the best for us. he showers us with love and gifts and we should respond accordingly.

Psalms 103: 8-12 tells us," Merciful and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger, abounding in mercy. He will not always accuse, and nurses no lasting anger; He has not dealt with us as our sins merit, nor requited us as our wrongs deserve. For as the heavens tower over the earth, so his mercy towers over those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our sins from us." I was drawn to this passage because I was listening to the Casting Crowns song East to West this morning. It is a beautiful song filled with longing and pain. But it also has a redeeming tone. The scripture passage is filled with comforting reassurances that our Lord is just and merciful. Knowing that God forgives our sins and then moves them away from as as far as the "east if from the west." brings comfort. Thinking in the broad context of how far the east is from the west is what the writer is trying to evoke here. The east and the west never meet. They are polar opposites. The space between them is endless. Often we hear things like this and dismiss them with a surface understanding. This passage invites us to dive deeper. God nurses no lasting anger. He proved this again and again when He forgave the Jews throughout the Old Testament despite their humanness. He is still forgiving us each and every nano-second of the day. How lucky are we that our God is slow to anger? Where would we be if He were not? Casting Crowns sings "The chains of yesterday surround me, I yearn for peace and rest, I don’t wanna end up where you found me." This speaks straight to my heart. Don't we all yearn for peace and rest? God brings peace and rest. So many folks are lost searching for peace and rest and it is waiting for them if they would only turn to God. That is the task of our every day. We must tell our brothers and sisters about the peace and rest being offered by God. We must tell them about His graciousness and mercy. And we must remind them that God forgives and moves their transgressions away as far as the east is from the west.

St. Francis of Assisi appeals to believers and nonbelievers alike because they long for a world where people see each other as brothers and sisters and where they recognize and respect creation as a gift to all, said the superior of the Franciscan convent in Assisi. Conventual Franciscan Father Giuseppe Piemontese, custodian of the Sacred Convent of St. Francis, was one of eight religious leaders who spoke about "The Spirit of Assisi" during an interreligious meeting September 11-13 in Munich. The meeting was sponsored by the Community of Sant'Egidio, a Rome-based lay movement. To mark the 25th anniversary of Blessed John Paul II's gathering with religious leaders in Assisi, Pope Benedict XVI has convoked a new gathering in the Italian town October 27. Father Piemontese said the encounter will underline how important Blessed John Paul's gathering was for promoting dialogue and collaboration among religions, but it also will be a "reminder of what still remains to be done" to ensure true collaboration, respect and mutual support among peoples. Holding the gathering in Assisi makes sense to people because St. Francis "incarnated those high aspects of humanity, simplicity, humility" that enable people to recognize each other as brothers and sisters and to see all of creation as the work of the same hands that made them, he said. Syrian Orthodox Metropolitan Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim of Aleppo, Syria, said marking the anniversary of the 1986 Assisi meeting "challenges us to reflect on these last 25 years. They were brimming with fruitful experiences" and helped religious leaders "strengthen their faith and enrich their enthusiasm and enhance their collective vision." The Assisi gatherings, he said, are a reminder that "supplication to the creator" is something that unites all faiths. "We are all exhausted by the needless and endless wars around us. If the aim of our prayers is peace, then it is the loftiest of goals that we are aiming for," he said. Oded Wiener, director general of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, told those gathered in Munich, "The darkness and violence cannot be chased away with sticks (and) certainly not with knives and guns," but only with "the light of faith and the light of positive action on the part of religious leaders." "This is, in fact, the spirit of Assisi," he said. "Religious leaders and their views are of unique importance and strongly influence the interreligious mosaic," he said. "At many events, we have found that where politicians and statesmen have failed, religious leaders have succeeded in inflaming or calming down various groups." Gijun Sugitani, a leader of Japan's Tendai Buddhist movement, said that after the Berlin Wall fell and the Cold War ended -- events that occurred after the first Assisi meeting -- "people expected the swift arrival of world peace." Instead, he said, there have been new conflicts based on ethnicity, ideology and rage. Returning to Assisi in October is important, he said, because "we have a responsibility to spread the spirit of Assisi that transcends differences between the ethnicities and religions and unites us all." Mohammed Amine Smaili, a Moroccan professor of Muslim dogma and comparative religion, told the gathering that the 1986 Assisi meeting "marked a decisive and memorable about-face in our history" because the world's religions established a consensus that dialogue is the only way that humanity can understand itself. He said the democratic reform movements sweeping across North Africa and the Middle East also have reflected the spirit of Assisi as they bring people of different religions together to promote greater freedoms and human rights. Religious leaders, he said, "must speak of the holiness of peace and the curse of disrespect and hatred." St. Francis has always held special meaning for me. He embodies what we should all strive for in our lives. There would be a lot less suffering in this world if we adopted Francis' code for living. Let's pray that these meetings turn into a world-wide movement that brings people to Jesus Christ through the example of St. Francis.

A poll released today found 77 percent of voters believe prayers can help someone heal from an injury or illness. That is a very comforting statement. We hear so much negativity about religion today but it appears that most of us realize the value of having a relationship with God. Talking with our Father through prayer is one of the most basic things that we can do as Christians. It is something that most of us learn very early through the example of our parents. It is usually an immediate reaction when something bad happens. As we approach the 10th anniversary of the terror attack of September 11th, I am reminded of how people came together in prayer. It was a reflex to help us deal with the unknown. It was part of who we are as a people and we lean on our prayer life in times of distress. What I have been trying to do lately is to make it more of my regular life. Being in a loving relationship with God is very important to me. One of the ways we maintain our relationships is through conversation. So talking with God in a conversational way should be a natural occurrence to anyone who is looking to solidify their relationship with God. There has also been research that documents the benefit of prayer in healing situations. Scientists have documented that patients who pray and truly believe that God will heal them, generally recover a lot sooner. It makes perfect sense. Our Lord asks us to lean on Him for everything and to trust Him. Doing what He asks would obviously produce the results He promises. Mark 11:24 says, "Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours." 1 John 3:21-22 says "Beloved, if [our] hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him." The Bible is our road map and God is telling us that we should ask for help through prayer. The recent poll is comforting but it also points out that we have work to do. Twenty percent of the folks who responded to that survey said they did not believe that prayer helps. We must continue to carry the message of Jesus Christ to everyone so that they too can enjoy a loving relationship with Him.

Stay away from the darkness. It is a line in a song I heard one morning about two weeks ago and it has stayed with me. When you begin to look at how people slide into a life filled with sin, there is usually a tipping point. Something sets in motion this turn to the darkness. Very often it is a decision made in a moment without a lot of thought. Rarely, if ever, is there prayer involved and if there is, it is usually something superficial or fleeting. If you have ever been involved in a support group of any kind, you know this is true. We talk about how we got to the darkness and it typically involves making decisions without our God. Why do we do that when He offers us the complete support we seek? He knows what it is we need, yet we still make these decisions that can have a terrible effect on our lives. Some people never recover. Staying away from the darkness sounds like a great plan. How we do it is another thing entirely. Become critically reflective in everything you do. Figure out what is pushing you to the darkness. It is not about blaming others for your sins but merely making adjustments in your life so that you are relying on God and not others to help you make these decisions. A frank conversation with God can lead to some pretty drastic changes in your life. Are you ready to do that? It might mean ending a friendship or avoiding a certain event. If there are worldly things replacing God in your life, you will be drawn to the darkness. We love to be part of the crowd. We love to feel a part of something. What we don't love are the repercussions of our actions. We don't like feeling used and depressed about ourselves because of our actions. The Holy Spirit is alive in you. Will you listen to His advice? Avoiding the darkness is very much like avoiding other things that are not good for you. Smoking increases your chances of getting cancer. Avoiding cigarettes and those who smoke decreases your chances of getting cancer. It is the same thing with the darkness. Stay in the Light. Seek out the Light. Jesus Christ is the Light and we are naturally drawn to him. He will help you stay away from the darkness. Today is a good day to reignite your friendship with Jesus Christ. I am praying that we all receive wisdom from God to stay away from the darkness.

More than a million young Catholics learned the hard way about a venerable Catholic tradition: "spiritual Communion" or the "Communion of desire." After a wild storm August 20 at World Youth Day in Madrid left six people injured -- including two with broken legs -- Spanish police collapsed the tents where most of the unconsecrated hosts for the next morning's Mass were being kept. Without the hosts in the tents, organizers had 5,000 ciboriums holding 200 hosts each; they were consecrated by the pope at Mass Aug. 21 and distributed to pilgrims in the section closest to the altar. Distributing Communion to just 100,000 people wasn't a decision anyone took lightly, and apparently there were long discussions with World Youth Day organizers and Vatican officials trying to find a solution. In the end, it just wasn't possible logistically to locate another 1.5 million hosts. A couple of hours before the Mass, organizers announced that most of the people present would not be able to receive; they asked the pilgrims to offer up that sacrifice for the pope's intentions and told them they could receive Communion later in the day at any church in Madrid. The decision to cancel Communion for most Mass participants was reached "with the greatest pain," Yago de la Cierva, director of World Youth Day Madrid, told reporters. Whenever there is a huge crowd for a Mass, whether in St. Peter's Square or at a World Youth Day, there always are some people unable to get to the Communion distribution point in time to receive. But in Madrid, de la Cierva said, "almost everyone" was among those not receiving. Obviously, receiving Communion is the way to participate most fully in the Mass, but it's not always possible for everyone to receive at every Mass, nor do many Catholics in the world even have regular access to Mass. The idea of "spiritual Communion" -- inviting Jesus into one's heart and soul when receiving the actual sacrament isn't possible -- is part of Catholic tradition. In the 1700s, St. Alphonsus Liguori wrote a special prayer for spiritual communion: "My Jesus, I believe you are really here in the Blessed Sacrament. I love you more than anything in the world, and I hunger to receive you. But since I cannot receive Communion at this moment, feed my soul at least spiritually. I unite myself to you now as I do when I actually receive you." Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said it would be a huge mistake to believe the Mass had no value for those who were unable to receive Communion. "Communion is always an extraordinary gift, and one must be in awe of being able to receive it," he said. "It is not something one can presume to have an absolute right to as if he'd bought a ticket for it by going to Mass. Someone who thinks that hasn't understood who is in the consecrated host and what the Mass is," the spokesman said. The eucharistic adoration and benediction at the vigil in Madrid underlined that point, he said. Jesus is present in the Eucharist, which is why it is adored and why Catholics spend time in its presence, even outside of Mass. The "eucharistic fasting" many of the young pilgrims in Madrid were forced to endure could also help them be in spiritual solidarity with other people who find themselves desiring the Eucharist, but unable to receive it, he said. "I'm thinking of Catholics deprived of priests in many parts of the world for many reasons," he said, but there also are those "who would like to celebrate the Lord's Supper with other Christians, but don't have intercommunion out of respect for the norms of the church. Isn't it meaningful in these situations to know we can unite ourselves with Christ through love and desire?" In an era when people are encouraged to receive the sacrament frequently, they don't hear the term "spiritual Communion" very often, but it is still mentioned in church documents. The Vatican's preparatory document for the 2012 International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin said those who cannot receive the Eucharist can have spiritual Communion, declaring their desire to receiving the Eucharist and uniting "their suffering of that moment with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ." The working document for the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist in 2005 addressed the idea of offering up the sacrifice of being unable to receive Communion. It said: "Spiritual Communion, for example, is always possible for elderly persons and the sick who cannot go to church. In manifesting their love for the Eucharist, they participate in the communion of saints with great spiritual benefit for themselves and the church. By offering their sufferings to God, the church is enriched." In "Sacramentum Caritatis," the document he issued in 2007 reflecting on the synod, Pope Benedict cautioned people against thinking they had "a right or even an obligation" to receive the Eucharist every time they went to Mass. "Even in cases where it is not possible to receive sacramental Communion, participation at Mass remains necessary, important, meaningful and fruitful. In such circumstances it is beneficial to cultivate a desire for full union with Christ through the practice of spiritual communion," Pope Benedict wrote.

I must say I feel like the Israelites wandering the desert. I am dry and hot. Perhaps it is the ongoing drought. Perhaps it is the heat. Perhaps it is the economy and lack of leadership in the White House. I was heartened that Rick Perry did participate in a day of prayer in Texas. It is about time that Christians stand up for themselves and deal with the radicals who want us to deny our Lord and Savior. I saw that Jerry Buell, a veteran American history teacher at Mount Dora High School, was removed from his teaching duties this week as school officials in Lake County investigate allegations that what he posted was biased towards homosexuals. What is going on in Florida? Can people not have personal opinions anymore? I don't know Jerry Buell but I'll bet his convictions are based on his religious beliefs. That sounds like harassment based on his beliefs as a Christian. I for one am praying that the Lake County Florida officials will come to their senses and leave this former teacher of the year alone. He deserves to be a believer and a teacher. Back to the dryness, which is certainly why my posts have gotten slim. I am praying for spiritual intervention. I know my God has not turned His back on me. I need to get re-engaged with Him. It is a good lesson for us all. We simply become too busy with earthly concerns and before you know it, God is taking a back seat. He gives power to the weak. Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. We will walk and not grow weary. So let's pray for rain, for Jerry Buell, and for an end to this desert experience.

Despite the current focus on the issue of fatherlessness (or the lack of fathers in many homes) is really is an age old problem. The scope of the problem has just grown to enormous proportions and is very alarming. But the Old Testament addresses this issue in the Book of Malachi 4:56 which says, God will send a prophet to “turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers,” lest the land be struck “with a curse.” Few can deny that there seems to be a social curse on America when it comes to the plight of fatherhood, or lack thereof. Not only are many families lacking a father but very often we fathers are struggling under the pressures of the day. We struggle to become the leaders that our God demands. The structure of the world today creates inherent problems for fathers. So how do we overcome these issues and grow into the father that our children require? How do we support the mothers of our children? How do we model the behavior that our sons and daughters need to see so that they can seek out partners and form healthy relationships? Depending on God is always the best start. Of course, God is so good that he always gives us perfect examples to follow. St. Joseph, who was Jesus’ father on earth, provides a stellar example of good fathering. St. Joseph was a descendant of King David. This fulfilled the scripture prophecy that the Messiah would come from the house of David. Of all the men in the world throughout history, a simple village carpenter named Joseph was the one chosen to help raise the Child Jesus to adulthood. In his faithful, loving care was entrusted the childhood and youth of the Redeemer of the world. A model for fathers, Saint Joseph is invoked as a protector of the family. True fatherhood challenges men to fulfill their greatest obligations, to love unconditionally, to will the good of the other, without expecting anything in return, sacrificing the self for the family and for others. A father’s love is like that of Christ: “We are to love, then, because He loved us first” (1 John 4:19). This means following the pattern of Christ’s love, dying willingly on the Cross to give us eternal life, and to give life to His new life: “Whoever remains in me… bears fruit in plenty” (John 15:5). Pope John Paul II preached that , “fatherhood is responsibility for life: for the child first conceived in the woman’s womb and then born, in order that a new man, who is blood of your blood and flesh of your flesh, may be revealed.” So if you are a father, recommit yourself to the ideals St. Joseph. If your husband is struggling with fatherhood, pray for him and ask St. Joseph to pray with you. Modern society needs an army of fathers who will serve God as prayer warriors. Who will respond?

Hidden among the paving stones of St. Peter's Square there is a simple clock and calendar. All you need is a sunny day. The 83-foot stone obelisk in the middle of the square acts as a sundial that can accurately indicate midday and the two solstices thanks to a granite meridian and marble markers embedded in the square. Pope Benedict XVI proudly pointed out the hidden timepiece during an Angelus address he gave on the winter solstice a few years ago. "The great obelisk casts its shadow in a line that runs along the paving stones toward the fountain beneath this window and in these days, the shadow is at its longest of the year," he told pilgrims from the window of his library. In fact, at noon on Dec. 21, the obelisk's shadow falls on the marble disk furthest from the obelisk's base, while at noon on June 21 -- the summer solstice -- the tip of the shadow will fall just a few yards from the obelisk. In between are five other disks marking when the sun enters into which sign of the zodiac. A long, thin granite strip running from the obelisk toward the pope's window and through one of the fountains acts as the meridian: a line that indicates when the sun has reached true or solar noon and is at its highest point in the sky. The pope, in his solstice soliloquy, reminded people that the church has always been keenly interested in astronomy to help guide and establish fundamental liturgical days and the times of prayer such as the Angelus, which is recited in the morning, at noon and in the evening. While sunrise and sunset are easy to figure out, sundials could accurately tell midday, he said. Even when early mechanical clocks were introduced, they were a luxury item for a few and not always accurate, so using the sun to mark true noon was an important backup. In the 18th-century, Pope Clement XI decided to create an official reference point for telling time in Rome. He commissioned astronomer Francesco Bianchini to build a meridian inside Michelangelo's Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and Martyrs. The basilica's elaborate meridian was meant to do much more than mark midday; it was built to make highly accurate celestial observations and solve complex astronomical problems, said a U.S. historian of science. John Heilbron, emeritus professor of history at the University of California, Berkeley, told Catholic News Service that St. Mary of the Angels "could do things you couldn't do with telescopes at the time" like find out precise information about the inclination of the Earth's axis. Heilbron, who wrote "The Sun in the Church: Cathedrals as Solar Observatories," said the basilica's meridian was also used "to establish a very good value for the length of the year." Pope Clement wanted to verify the accuracy of the Gregorian reform of the calendar and its calculation of Easter, which had still not been widely accepted among the Protestant churches at the time. The real problem for the church was "how to compute the moons which are essential for the determination of Easter," said Jesuit Father Juan Casanovas, a solar astronomer and historian of astronomy. The Council of Nicea tackled the problem in 325 and interpreted the Mosaic rule by defining Easter to be observed on the Sunday that followed the first full moon after the vernal equinox on March 21. However, there were still complicated tables involved in calculating Easter because the Julian calendar used at the time was no longer in sync with the seasons. The Gregorian reform got rid of 10 days to bring the vernal equinox back to the traditional date of March 21, according to Father Casanovas. However, the Orthodox Church did not accept the pope's authority nor his calendar. Still today the Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar for religious functions, resulting in the Eastern date for Easter usually falling later than the Western date though occasionally the dates coincide. While Pope Gregory XIII's reform of the calendar in 1582 was not perfect, it is still easy, practical and almost universally accepted in civil society today, Father Casanovas said. Calendars will never be perfect because "a calendar deals with whole days, not fragments of hours, seconds and thousandths of a second so you have to be ready to add one day or remove a day from the calendar now and then," he said. Having a leap year has been successful but "it's not enough. There is still a little error and after centuries it accumulates," he said. The calendar is expected to gain a day by the year 4500. There have been many proposals to get the world synced to one perpetual calendar, but perfection and accuracy would come at a price. For example, a seven-day week doesn't work well mathematically, the astronomer said, because "if you divide the number of days in a year by seven, there is one day left and with a leap year there are two days left." But no one wants to meddle with the seven-day week, he said. The Hebrew, Muslim and Gregorian calendars -- even though they are radically different -- are all based on a seven-day week as reflected in Genesis' account of the number of days of creation. "It's a sacred number," he said. Heilbron said attempts to further reform the calendar by making it more rational are not only unsuccessful, some proposals have been downright "nuts." The most extreme being the French revolutionary calendar, which had three 10-day weeks in a month, 100 minutes in an hour and 10 hours in a day, he said. "In calendrics, precision and perfection should not trump practicality," he said. The imperfect marking of time "is just too deeply engrained in our social life," he said.

Mike D'Avria recently did some research on the message that most TV programs are pushing. As you can guess, sex is the most popular and he notes that there is always at least one character on each show that brags about their numerous sexual conquests. What he uncovered is that the show with the highest number of sexual liaisons was Friends. It seems the cast of friends had at least 85 different partners. Remember, this is only six people. By the way, these are the partners we saw on the show. It doesn't even touch the ones they had prior to the show's beginning. Now that is really alarming in itself. Worse still, they never talked about what can happen as a result of all of this sex, in this case outside of marriage. A 2008 study published in the American Journal of Pediatrics highlighted this fact and said that Friends is noted for “glamorizing sex while hardly mentioning its downsides, such as pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.” If you remember, Friends did not come on at 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. No, it was in the prime time, early enough to catch even the youngest of children before they had to go to bed. Another interesting point to remember about this show; the cast was notorious for negotiating salary increases as a unit and typically were some of the highest earners on TV at the time. So not only did they glorify pre-marital sex but they made a fortune doing it. This quest for wealth at all costs is really nauseating. It reveals a terrible fact about our current society. People forget about their principles as soon as the money is flashed before them. The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil in 1 Timothy 6:10. People are enticed by all of money's promises to bring them the desires of their heart. They forget, as the Israelites did many times on their journeys, that God is all you need to be happy. God will provide our daily bread. In this version of the world, most of us have food and clothing, a house and car, a job and many things yet we are still seeking more. Look to the Light for everything you need. Jesus died so that we could have eternal life. That promise to come should be your comfort. Isn't that enough to satisfy even the most greedy person?

In the wake of two terror attacks in Norway that left at least 93 people dead, Pope Benedict XVI called for an end to hatred and ideologies that promote evil. "We are all deeply saddened by the serious terrorist acts," the pope said after praying the Angelus with pilgrims in Castel Gandolfo July 24. The pope launched an appeal "to abandon once and for all the path of violence and avoid principles of evil." As a further expression of his condolences and prayers for those affected by the attacks, the pope sent a message to Norway's King Harald V. The pope said he was praying for all those affected by "the acts of senseless violence perpetrated in Oslo and Utoya." The pope asked that the country "be spiritually united in a determined resolve to reject the ways of hatred and conflict and to work together fearlessly in shaping a future of mutual respect, solidarity and freedom for coming generations." Explosives ripped through Norwegian government headquarters in Oslo July 22, leaving seven people dead and dozens injured. Shortly after the bombing, witnesses said a man dressed as a police officer shot at people attending a summer youth camp run by the country's governing Labor Party on the island of Utoya. Police said at least 86 people died at the camp, but authorities were searching the island and the waters just offshore for several missing people. At least 96 other people were injured in the twin attacks. The suspect, 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik, has admitted to carrying out the killings but has not admitted any criminal wrongdoing. He pleaded not guilty in an Oslo court July 25 after being charged under the country's terrorism act. His lawyer told journalists July 24 that his client thought "it was gruesome having to commit these acts, but in his head, they were necessary." "He wished to attack society and the structure of society," said the lawyer, Geir Lippestad. The suspect is believed to have links to groups espousing anti-Muslim and anti-immigration views, and a desire to bring about a revolution against the government in Norway. Meanwhile, Bishop Bernt Eidsvig of Oslo told Vatican Radio July 25 that the country was united in mourning for the victims and still in shock over the killings. "It has affected every one of us. Despite political differences or other differences, this is a tragedy," he said. "We do not know anything like it in our history, that 100 people are killed in cold blood. So it is creating unity, and in spite of the grief, also strength." Bishop Eidsvig said in the interview that people were shocked the prime suspect was Norwegian saying, "Of course in all countries, there are disturbed and misled persons. I am quite sure he is one of them. He must be mentally disturbed. I don't think ideology is sufficient to explain this." The bishop said he expected a traditionally lax approach to security around government buildings would be quickly reversed, saying they had already been planning to block off the street where the suspect allegedly parked a car with a bomb inside. "In Oslo, you've practically been able to drive your car to the prime minister's office or to the king's palace if you pretended to have business there. But I think all this will come to an end fairly soon," he said. "I think we are waking up to reality."

Christy Nockels latest song “Waiting Here For You” provides a message that concerns one of the most difficult things that we as humans have to confront in our daily lives. We do not want to wait on anything or anyone. But she is clear in her song that waiting for Jesus to move and lead us where we need to go is very worthwhile. The third verse says, "You are everything You’ve promised. Your faithfulness is true. And we're desperate for Your presence. All we need is You." Waiting for the Lord to share his plan for our lives is difficult. We see others moving ahead or supposedly receiving the things that they want and we find ourselves growing restless. Sometimes we even get jealous and begin to rail against God. We feel like we are being punished even though we feel we have been faithful and patient. Christy sings that God has loved us from the start. That is a key idea that can settle even the most nervous person. God does love us. He created us to love him. He covets a loving relationship with us and he is jealous of that love. He wants us to love him first and most. We should never place other things ahead of him. So I return to a theme that has been appearing on my heart and this blog recently: what did you do for God today? If we stay focused on trying to please God and showing him praise, everything else will fall into place. Today I ask that you pray for the soul of Jim D'Amico who recently passed away. I am sure that he is receiving everything that he ever hoped for and that he has joined our Lord in heaven.

So Google asks us today why we should remember Gregor Mendel and even honors him with a Doodle. A doodle is the word Google spelled out using different themes. Anyway, Mendel was an Augustinian friar who basically discovered the concepts that lead to the science of genetics. Of course the secular world then makes the leap to Darwin and evolution. I am not sure that Friar Mendel would agree. It did make me wonder about other Catholics who have made contributions to science. It turns out that the list is enormous. Have you ever heard of Father Eugenio Barsanti? He is known for being the inventor of the internal combustion engine. It seems that he is not widely credited with this invention because his patent was misplaced somehow. What about Jean-Charles de la Faille? He was a Jesuit mathematician who determined the center of gravity of the sector of a circle for the first time. Have you ever heard of Robert Grosseteste who has been called the first man to write down a complete set of steps for performing a scientific experiment. The list goes on and on but the point is rather obvious. These great men and many more like them (including women) had deep faith. They spent many of their years on earth developing their relationship with God. Their "day job" if you will was typically about bringing the Gospel of our Lord to others so that they too would come to believe in Jesus Christ as their savior. Why don't we learn about people like this in our science courses? People of faith that also tried to understand the physical world that God has created. So if you looked at Google today, the peas were a reminder of Friar Mendel, a good Catholic who found God's wonderment so fascinating that he wanted to learn more. And in doing so, he made one of the most significant discoveries in science without compromising his faith.

St. Francis prayed for the Lord to make him an instrument of peace. So many people have been moved by this prayer and the subsequent songs. I wonder if we have been moved enough to make a difference in a world that is crying out for peace makers? Few would argue against the notion that to solve conflict created by religious intolerance, prejudice and discrimination, it is essential to understand how religion motivates believers and shapes their worldviews, that respecting all religions is not enough. While religion can be a cause of conflict, it carries political leverage that many say makes it a source for solutions and a tool for peace building. "We are giving a whole government effort to put religion on the table," said the Rev. Suzan Johnson Cook, the new U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. The United States is "on the front lines of confronting conflict and urging and pressing governments" to fight for religious freedom, she told Catholic News Service in a phone interview. Her comments came in response to remarks of participants in a recent panel discussion at the National Press Club in Washington on the role of faith-based diplomacy and the use of religion to resolve conflict, especially with regard to Pakistan. The press club discussion, held in mid-June, focused on a new book by Douglas M. Johnston, president and founder of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy, who says the U.S. should realign its view on the role religion plays in politics. This is a nice step in the right direction but there is much work to be done. Think of the intolerance for Catholicism that regularly confronts us in the media. Year after year, new movies are released that bash Catholicism. The leadership of our Church is calling on us to become more vigilant. Lord make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

According to various news services, Israel opened the traditional baptism site of Jesus to daily visits on Tuesday, a move that required the cooperation of Israel's military and the removal of nearby mines in the West Bank along the border with Jordan.

The location, where John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the waters of the Jordan River, is one of the most important sites in Christianity. Until now, it was opened several times a year in coordination with the Israeli military, but because of its sensitive location, it had not been regularly open to the public since Israel captured the site from Jordan, along with the rest of the West Bank, in the 1967 Mideast war. That war left the site in a heavily mined no-man's land along a hostile frontier until Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994.

Today, the baptism site sits among old minefields and near an Israeli military post in the Jordan Valley, where the famous river described in the Bible appears from afar as a dusty green gash of vegetation across a desert moonscape. Perhaps 10 yards
(meters) of opaque green water separate the baptism site on the Israel-controlled side from a Jordanian baptism site on the other bank.

Israel hopes the opening of the site will help draw Christian tourists, who have been
coming to Israel in growing numbers in recent years. Of the 3.45 million tourists
who arrived last year, about 69 percent were Christian, and 38 percent defined their visit as a religious pilgrimage, according to the Tourism Ministry.

Israel renovated the site at a cost of $2.3 million and removed some of the nearby
mines, Israeli officials said. Tuesday's ceremony was attended by Silvan Shalom,
the Israeli minister for regional development, and by representatives of Christian
denominations in the Holy Land.

No representatives of Jordan or the Palestinians were present. Each side has its
own objections. Palestinians reject any Israeli moves to develop the West Bank, where Palestinians hope to establish an independent state.

Yesterday's reading from St. Paul to the Romans was extremely powerful. It caused me to stop and read it again during Mass. I then had to read it twice more once I got home. I returned to it this morning. Romans 8:18-21 says, "Brothers and sisters: I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us. For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God; for creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it, in hope that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God." How timely is this passage for us today? There are so many earthly sufferings in our present time. I am not sure if there are more than in St. Paul's time but I am sure that some of them are the same. It is reassuring to know that Christians were experiencing trials during the early years of the Church just as we are today. We know that living the life of a Christian does not solve all of our problems. In fact, it creates new ones. As Christians we must get up every day and do things to honor God. As Christians we are persecuted for our beliefs. As Christians we are forced to spend tax dollars on abortion, homosexuality, and other abominations that God considers sinful. So how do we become free to worship God? How do we develop our relationship with God? We know that God exists because we can reason our creation was accomplished by a higher power. We know that we were created by a loving God who wants to have a relationship with us. We know that we were created to love God. In return, he loves us without condition. He is always ready to help and console us. He will never let us down. He always has our best interests at heart. Can you say that about anyone else in this world? The futility of the world is laid bare every day. Look at our brothers and sisters who are driven by greed, lust or power. Look at those who can never be satisfied no matter how many things they buy. Futility leads to unhappiness. But there is an alternative and it is offered freely and without burden. Jesus paid the price for us. We only need to say yes to God. Then the glorious freedom is bestowed upon us. How satisfying is that? It is like a drink of water after a walk through Death Valley. Let the Lord refresh you. Let him lead you out of futility today. Say yes!

I have been working on spiritual priorities lately. How are your spiritual priorities? Of course I am talking about the usual list that should include the Holy Trinity, spouse, family and friends. But what I am talking about here is the next level of spiritual priorities. How are you bringing the word of God to co-workers, acquaintances, and even random strangers? Have you ever has a conversation about God with a person that happens to sit next to you on an airplane? How would you even go about doing this, I wondered and prayed? Then it hit me. I start with a book. It can be the Bible but it might be something else like The Shack, Heaven Is For Real or Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way. It creates a nice jumping off point to begin a conversation especially if they ask about you the book. I was recently in an airport waiting for my flight that had been delayed. I noticed a lady was reading The Shack and so I approached her and asked if she was enjoying it. I told her that I had read it several times and still find myself turning to it on my Nook when I am looking for something to read. It gives me a sense of peace and hope. She told me that she was struggling with some of the imagery and so we talked about that a while. In the end, we exchanged contact information and I told her to let me know what she thought once she had completed her reading. Then something interesting happen. Another person sitting nearby began to talk with us about God. When I returned to my original place with the rest of my traveling party of co-workers, they asked me about the conversations that had just taken place. All of a sudden, I was bold with the power of the Holy Spirit and I began to tell them about my spiritual journey. I planted the seeds for the future. It is now up to God to grow them but I am sure He can handle it. I had prayed for wisdom about this task and out of nowhere came the answer. It is truly amazing how God can and will work in your life if you only let Him.

The devil seems to be having a productive summer. The prayer warriors need to redouble our efforts. Of course, this world is not our world, which makes Heaven seem so much more wonderful. James 2-4 tells us, "Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." We are building great spiritual muscles right now and we must continue to be vigilant. Here is what the locals had to say. Following passage of legislation to allow same-sex marriage in the state, the Catholic bishops of New York expressed concern "that both marriage and family will be undermined by this tragic presumption of government." In a statement, the heads of the state's eight Catholic dioceses said they were "deeply disappointed and troubled" at approval of a bill that will "alter radically and forever humanity's historic understanding of marriage." The state Senate passed the measure 33-29 in an evening vote June 24, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat and a Catholic, signed it into law later that night. Unless it is delayed by legal challenges, it will take effect in late July. The bishops said the true definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman "cannot change, though we realize that our beliefs about the nature of marriage will continue to be ridiculed, and that some will even now attempt to enact government sanctions against churches and religious organizations that preach these timeless truths." As Catholics, we know we are different. We know that God calls us to maintain His laws despite what the civil authorities legislate. At the end of times, all truth will be revealed and God's righteousness will reign. Kneel and pray today that our elected officials stop the assault on our moral beliefs.

The Catholic News Service is reporting that the U.S. Bishops have agreed to prepare a document on preaching for votes next year. Following a lively debate on the first day of their spring general assembly near Seattle, the U.S. bishops voted overwhelmingly to authorize preparation of a 50-page document on preaching for consideration in November 2012. St. Louis Archbishop Robert J. Carlson presented the proposal on behalf of the Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, which he chairs, but said the document would be drawn up in consultation with various committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Archbishop Carlson said the document would be "at once inspirational and practical, ... grounded in the tradition of the church" and would aim to "adequately convey the purpose of the homily at Mass: the personal encounter with the Incarnate Word." The topic seemed to light a spark in the bishops, more than a dozen of whom spoke in favor of the proposed document. Describing himself as a member of "the first lost generation of poor catechesis," Bishop Alexander K. Sample of Marquette, Mich., said his generation of post-Vatican II Catholics had "raised up another generation that is equally uncatechized." Although some have expressed the sentiment that "the homily should not be a time for catechesis," Bishop Sample said "we cannot lose that opportunity to truly catechize and form our people" when they are gathered for Sunday Mass. Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, said that even at bishops' meetings 35 years ago, "some would rise to say that we need to have something on sermons. People are looking for it and desperately need it," he said. "It is such an important part of our responsibility as bishops." But he said the topic of preaching was "so complicated and there are so many things we hope" to include in such a document that it is "sort of impossible" to get everything into a 50-page document. But, he added, "nothing is impossible with God." Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, Calif., expressed hope that the document would "identify the major obstacles to good preaching," including time constraints, communication issues and cultural conflicts. Retired Auxiliary Bishop Peter A. Rosazza of Hartford, Conn., said he hoped the document would include information about "different preaching styles," such as those used by African-American or Hispanic preachers, while Bishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of Oakland, Calif., said he thought the document should focus not only on Sunday homilies but on sermons at funerals and weddings. "I've heard very few funeral homilies, and I've been to a lot of funerals," Bishop Cordileone said. "I've heard eulogies and I've heard some canonization nominations, but I have heard very few homilies." The vote in favor of the proposed document was 187-3. Later in the meeting, the bishops also overwhelmingly OK'd a modification of previously approved "priorities and plans" to allow four other committees -- Cultural Diversity, Divine Worship, Doctrine, and Evangelization and Catechesis -- to work with the consecrated life committee on the document. The document on preaching was first proposed in November 2005, when the bishops approved a motion to update "Fulfilled in Your Hearing," a 1982 document on preaching at the Sunday Mass. But drafting of the updated document was suspended in March 2007 after Pope Benedict XVI announced an upcoming synod on the Bible. Responsibility for such a document also passed to a new committee with restructuring of the bishops' conference around that time. "As originally approved by the bishops in November 2005, it is our intention that the document will focus specifically on preaching at the Sunday Mass, that it be around 50 pages in length, and that it be published in Spanish and English," Archbishop Carlson said. He said the homily offers "a privileged opportunity for ordained ministers to catechize the liturgical assembly, to treat the great themes of the Christian faith. With all the complexities of modern technology and changing social attitudes, our Catholics need to know the mind of Christ and the teachings of the church," the archbishop said. "Yet it is not enough to state correctly the truths of faith from the pulpit, but to propose them in such a way as to draw attention to their attractive beauty, wisdom and connection to Christ."

Celebrating the birth of the Church yesterday was an inspiring time. Pentecost is one of the three major celebrations of the Church; the other two being Christmas and Easter. Since the secular world has decided to commercialize the latter two, Pentecost does not get the worldly attention that the other two dates garner. That is probably what makes it special in the minds of many Catholics. It is the birth of the Church. It is the day we celebrate the Holy Spirit coming into the twelve apostles and moving them to begin their ministries anew. We know that after Jesus Christ was crucified, died, and was buried, the apostles were shocked and depressed. They were fearful and stayed locked in various places to avoid persecution. But then Jesus came to them and stayed with them. It was a time of rejoicing and rebirth. They were excited but did not realize that Jesus was soon to leave them again. Once Jesus assumed His rightful place in Heaven, the apostles again had to cope with moving forward without their leader being physically present. But this time something was different. The Holy Spirit had come to rest in them. They now had the added comfort of being blessed with God's goodness. It allowed them to become the leaders of the Church and to begin to spread God's message. If you are Catholic and have received the sacrament of confirmation, you have exactly what the apostles had. You are endowed with the Holy Spirit who provides you with the ability to act in Jesus' place on earth. The Holy Spirit is considered the third person of the Holy Trinity. The Holy Spirit is distinct, as a Person, from the Father and the Son, He is consubstantial with Them; being God like Them, He possesses with Them one and the same Divine Essence or Nature. The Holy Spirit provides the gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety (godliness), and fear of the Lord. The Holy Spirit's gifts make us attentive to the voice of God. We must be aware at all times that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Having the Holy Spirit within us allows us to know that we are never alone. It is a constant comfort. So as we celebrate another birthday for the Church, it is important to focus our attention on the Holy Spirit and the gifts we are given.

If you send your children to Catholic school are you confident that they are receiving catechetical instruction that is sound and correct? I ask this because I think that many people feel like once they write the check, they can leave everything else to the school administrators. I would urge you to take a closer look. This is not to promote suspicion or innuendo. I just think it is our responsibility to maximize the Catholic experience for our children. I would ask if the school has a chaplain? If so, how often does he or she come to school if they are not there everyday? I would encourage you to ask that the school have the bishop or chaplain bless the student's on a regular basis. What about having them bless their lockers since they hold everything that the student uses at school and frequently contain things they carry with them all the time. Ask if there are multiple opportunities for the students to have public worship? Ask how regularly the students attend communal events like Mass? While all of our Catholic schools are open to other denominations, it is important that we as the body of Christ make sure that our schools maintain true spiritual purity. It is important that the leadership not only adhere to Catholic doctrine but truly believe in those principles. Our Catholic schools must be beacons of truth in this world. Our Catholic schools should look and feel different. They should be challenging our children to be difference makers in the world. The world will continue to darken and the students that attend Catholic schools provide the light for the future. They must be reminded not to hide their light. They must be supported to go and light the world. Catholic schools have always been such a blessing. We must be vigilant as prayer warriors to ensure that they continue to serve as a tabernacle for Christ.

A perfect day is receiving Godly wisdom that helps to solve a problem that has been nagging at me. Sometimes God speaks with me directly. That can happen through prayer, reading scripture or meditation. Sometimes God sends me a sign. It can be something in a book or an email. It very often is through another Spirit-filled person. Having these life mentors involved in everything that you do can be very beneficial. But finding the right person, the one who is truly allowing God to use them as an earthen vessel, can be difficult. Many people are falsely presenting themselves to others as Godly. So how can we discern who to trust? Ask yourself, "Does this person truly love me? Does this person hope to gain something by being involved in my life? Does this person model what they are telling me? Does this person walk with God?" Allowing yourself to trust another requires Godly wisdom. So the obvious thing to do is to ask God for wisdom in all things. Ask God to send you a life mentor that can help you walk your path. Allow God to work within and through you for the benefit of others. Become a life mentor to someone that you think would reciprocate. The bottom line is that God will provide what you need. He will send you the person that will help you. Godly wisdom is not about this world. The decisions you make with Godly wisdom may not make sense to people who are consumed by this world. Very often, the decision you come to may not receive the approval you may seek from others. Take solace in knowing that God is speaking to you and He knows what is best for you. He will lead you down the righteous path and help you to attain eternal life. Pray for Godly wisdom and make your decisions based on the advice that you receive from God.