Holy Christmas to everyone. As we celebrate the birthday of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I am reminded of the good things that are happening in a world filled with sadness and hurt. It is the times when God's angels perform the daily miracles that many people do not seem to notice. On a day like today, when so many folks return home to visit family there are also folks who have spent the day alone. For everyone who posted their Santa booty on their Facebook page, there are just as many that have no computer and received no presents. Just as people strive to have the perfect holly, jolly Christmas others struggle to survive. So as we celebrate the birth of Jesus during the Christmas season, let us put our action behind what we learned in the scriptures. We need to be doers and not just hearers of the word. St. James epistle is quite clear on this point. Just as Moses heard, he also acted. Just as Mary said yes, she also acted. The list is endless with people like Noah, Peter, Elizabeth Ann Seton, Dorothy Day, John Paul II, Mother Teresa, and hopefully you. If we all do one thing for someone in need, the world will begin to change. Instead of hearing the word and checking it off our list, let's put those ideas into action. Don't just light your candle but go light your world.

There will be tribulation but there is Jesus. It is what I keep hearing as I pray for the victims in the Sandy Hook School tragedy. We are struggling to comprehend how this can happen. But just today, there is an article that says that mass killings happen once every two weeks in the United States. How can that be true? The report says that many of them go unreported. The Sandy Hook murders grabbed our collective attention because it involved innocent children. But all murdered victims are innocent. Including those killed by abortion. This is not another politicized statement about what happened in Newtown. It is statement of the fact that we as a nation have lost our moral way. When there is not right or wrong then we struggle to maintain our civility. When we prevent people from praying and instead, bully them into thinking they cannot talk about God in "public" places, we only cause confusion in a world that is already filled with chaos. So where do we go from here? I say go to Jesus. He understands how we are feeling because he loves us so deeply that he died for us. Talk with his mother, Mary as well. She knows the pain of the loss of a child. God does bring comfort to those in need. There was a story about one of the staff at Sandy Hook who survived the shooting. She says that she spent the entirety of the ordeal in a closet with two other people and they prayed the Lord's Prayer out loud; in a public school no less. Let's lift our voices in prayer for all of the families in the world who are suffering because of violence. This tragedy should definitely motivate us to effect change.

I urge everyone to pray for the victims of the Newtown, Connecticut mass murder. It is unfathomable that someone could be so evil. Not knowing his motive makes it even harder to bear. What triggered this amount of hatred? Satan is definitely meddling in the minds of some folks. We need prayer warriors to respond to this new level of evilness. There is no peace, says the Lord, for the wicked. (Isaiah 48:22)

Julea Ward was just a few credits away from her counseling degree when Eastern Michigan University expelled her. As part of her practicum, the school assigned Julea to a homosexual case study. As a Christian, Julea didn't think that she could see the student -- not because she didn't want to help, but because she didn't want to affirm his lifestyle. After consulting her supervisor, Julea referred the student to another counselor -- which is, as her attorneys pointed out, "a common, professional practice." Weeks later, the university hauled Julea before a disciplinary committee and told her she'd have to enroll in a "remediation" program. When she refused, they kicked her out of the program. For the last three years, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has fought its way through the courts to vindicate Julea. Yesterday, they succeeded. After a blockbuster ruling in January, Eastern Michigan finally agreed to settle the case this week -- capping a long and difficult legal battle. As part of the agreement, the university will not only pay Julea an undisclosed amount of money, but also remove the expulsion from her record. The 6th Circuit Court, whose ruling was the final nail in Eastern Michigan's coffin, blasted the school for bullying Julea for her faith. "A reasonable jury could conclude that Ward's professors ejected her from the counseling program because of hostility toward her speech and faith... A university cannot compel a student to alter or violate her belief systems based on a phantom policy as a price to obtaining a degree." After a compelling argument from ADF, the court agreed: "Tolerance is a two-way street."

Every time you ask a question about your TV, even if it doesn't answer back, you're doing the right thing. You are becoming more media literate. It's perfectly fine to ask questions about the pervasive influence of commercials, the content of programming, and the seductive spell cast by the glow of the flat screen (or tube, if you've got an old-enough set that still works). The task becomes a critical one for parents as they grind their teeth in anxiety over making TV their children's electronic baby sitter. Or making the computer the sitter. Or the video game. A new online guide, produced jointly by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and the Alliance for Childhood in collaboration with an organization called TRUCE -- short for Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children's Entertainment -- helps clarify the issues for parents, and grandparents, too. Called "Facing the Screen Dilemma: Young Children, Technology and Early Education," the 27-page guide asks and addresses the questions about "screen time" that parents find difficult to frame, let alone resolve. "Based on mounting evidence, we are worried about the harm done to children's health, development and learning in today's media-saturated, commercially driven culture," says the foreword to "Facing the Screen Dilemma." The full guide can be found online.

As the Church celebrates the season of Advent, Pope Benedict said that Catholics should remember “God is present” and recall his “plan of loving goodness. Advent invites us, in the midst of many difficulties, to renew the assurance that God is present," he told thousands in his general audience at the Vatican recently. Pope Benedict XVI called Advent the time which prepares us for the coming of Christ, which he said is "the great plan of loving goodness," which God wants to use to draw us to him. "He came into the world, becoming a man like us, to fulfill his plan of love and God demands we become a sign of action in the world," he told the pilgrims at Paul VI Hall. "This ‘plan of loving goodness’ hasn't remained in God's silence, in the height of his heaven, but he has revealed it by engaging in a relationship with man, whom he has revealed himself to," he said. Pope Benedict noted that God has not delivered simply a set of truths, but has communicated himself to us by becoming one of us. "God reveals his great plan of love entering into a relationship with man, coming close to him, to the point of being himself man," he added. "Saint John Chrysostom, in a famous comment on the beginning of the Letter to the Ephesians, invites people to enjoy all the beauty of this ‘plan of loving goodness’ of God revealed in Christ with these words. "What do you miss? You have become immortal, you have become free, you have become a child, you have become righteous, you're a brother, you have become a joint heir with Christ to reign and with Christ to glorify," the Pope said, quoting the saint. The Pope also reflected on how communion in Christ through the Holy Spirit is not something that overlaps with our humanity but is the fulfillment of the deepest human longings. It is the desire for the infinite that dwells in the depths of the human being and opens it to an eternal happiness, he said. The pontiff also remembered Blessed Pope John Paul II's point that "revelation sets within history a point of reference which man can't ignore, if he wants to come to understand the mystery of his existence." According to Pope Benedict, who has been delivering a series of reflections on faith at the weekly general audiences, faith is man's response to God's revelation, and we must do as St. Paul says and be obedient to faith. Faith is an attitude and a change of mentality in which man freely commits himself to God, leading to a "fundamental change in how we relate to the whole of reality, as everything appears in a new light," he noted. Seeing with God's eyes, Pope Benedict asserted, is what makes life solid and allows us to stand and not fall. "Through our faith, our hope, our love, he wants to enter the world again and again, he wants to shine his light in our night," he concluded.

The Pope's Twitter account will be @pontifex and will start on December 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Vatican representatives announced. The news of the 85-year-old tweeting came out weeks ago, but officials finally revealed the account's name and that it will be launched on the Marian feast day, which they said was a coincidence. But instead of informing people of his favorite band and other trivia, the Pope’s goal will be to impart spiritual messages to people around the globe. Greg Burke, who was recently appointed media advisor to the Holy See's Secretary of State, explained that the name was chosen because pontifex means both “Pope and bridge builder,” and the Holy Father desires to reach out to everyone with the initiative. On the first day, Pope Benedict will personally tweet, but after that assistants will tweet content he approves. "They will be his words and no one will be putting words in his mouth," Burke explained. "My personal input will be to see that it happens as often as possible.” The Pope’s account is expected to be launched at around noon, after the weekly general audience, and the inaugural day will feature answers to a handful of chosen questions related to faith, in honor of the ongoing Year of Faith. The account will include tweets in seven languages besides English. Those languages are Spanish, Arabic, German, Polish, French, Portuguese and Italian. Archbishop Celli noted that most Twitter users are aged 18 to 34, and that the Pope wants to better engage with that segment of the population. Pope Benedict's English-language Twitter account had 158,000 followers as of Monday evening at 6:30 p.m. Rome time. I want to encourage everyone to become a follower and make this the number twitter account in the world.

St. John's Catholic School in Beloit, Kan. is striving to revitalize Catholic culture by promoting openness to priestly and religious vocations among its students. “The teachers care about us and our faith and what we're going to do when we get older,” senior Leandra Silsby told Catholic News Agency, “so they help us be disciplined in our faith. In our religion class sometimes we get to go to Adoration, and that's the best time to just sit there and pray, and focus on our vocations, on what God's plan is for our lives.” Andrew Niewald, a theology teacher at the high school, says the school is committed to “teach Catholicism as it was meant to be taught.” Niewald himself graduated from St. John's in 1998 and said that the past 10 years have seen a marked improvement in the school, which has allowed it to maintain its presence at a cost of only $700 in tuition per child per year. He said that the school is three years into a “Great Books” and integrated humanities program. Four years ago the school hired Patrick McCloskey, author of 2010's “The Street Stops Here,” as a consultant, who advised them to adopt the Great Books program. “If we present this unapologetic approach to Catholicism to our kids in our school, think of the possibilities and the impact we'll have on our culture,” Niewald expressed. He praised the new program for teaching kids “how to think,” and not just “what to think. It's even better than we thought it would be, as far as what our students walk away with.” The new curriculum was enabled in no small part by Julius Capital Partners, with whom St. John's partnered to develop long-term funding solutions for the school, which is sustained by a town of only 3800 people. Niewald noted that the school is trying to give students “an experience of the faith,” rather than solely intellectual formation. To that end, St. John's high school students recently traveled to Lincoln, Neb. to pray at an abortion clinic there and to visit both a seminary and a convent. Leandra Silsby reported this was her third time praying at the abortion clinic with her classmates. “It was a great experience because a lot of us would be too afraid to go by ourselves, but going as a whole school gives us the experience of showing our faith and that we are pro life.” Sophomore Garrett Mischler said that he appreciated the visit to St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, Neb. because “it was really interesting to see how normal these young men who are going to become priests are.” Mischler said that regarding his vocation, while “everyone sort of leans towards the married life, I'm going to keep an open mind and pray, and try and see exactly what God wants me to do before I make any solid decisions.” St. John's atmosphere has already fostered committed discernment from one of its alumni. Justin Gengler graduated from the school and is now studying for the Diocese of Salina at St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver. "My time at St. John's was definitely planting the seeds that are coming into fruition at this time in my life,” he said. “I have an openness to God's will that was fostered during my time at St. John's.” The school is committed to forming the whole person, and not solely the intellect of their students. In February some 24 kids from the school will travel to Washington D.C. for the March for Life, the seventh year St. John's has participated in the march. Niewald teaches theology of the body to seniors at the school, and the juniors have a class on apologetics for three quarters. This year a Jehovah's Witness comes in once a week, and the students learn about his faith, and then start dialoguing and debating with him. Last year, Niewald said, a Baptist pastor was the guest. At the end of the year, four students got up and debated the doctrine of the Eucharist with him in a public forum, and even took questions from his congregation. “They had to come up with answers on the fly, and this to me is Catholic education,” Niewald said. For the last quarter, the juniors take a class called “Marriage, Dating, and Family Life.” There they learn about chivalry, courting, country swing and line dancing, and “practical means of living their relationship.” These are topics that Niewald characterized as “necessary in Catholic culture, in a Catholic worldview.” Niewald noted that “we had three families move here just this year for the school,” and prior to that families from both Idaho and Oklahoma had immigrated for the sake of sending their kids to St. John's. “At St. John’s Catholic School, we take great pride in the fact that we ensure that the whole student is being educated,” principal Marcy Kee said. “It is important that we challenge our students not only to grow academically, socially, but spiritually as well, which I believe is the most important component in developing the whole student. We can give our students all the pieces of the puzzle they need to be successful in today’s world, but their success in life will ultimately depend upon the relationship they have with God.”

A successful Advent initiative in Washington, D.C., is urging people to use the true meaning of the Christmas season to learn more about the Catholic faith and grow closer to Christ. In an online video, Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington, D.C., reflected that “when we think of Christmas, we think of gifts,” because gift-giving is “one of the ways in which we show our love for the people around us. We are always looking for the right gift, the perfect gift,” he observed. “Christmas is all about that great and perfect gift that is Jesus Christ.” To aid people in remembering that Christmas is an invitation to celebrate Christ’s birth and grow in a relationship with him, the archdiocese is continuing its “Find the Perfect Gift” and “Regalo Perfecto” initiatives that were successfully debuted during Advent last year. The campaigns invite holiday shoppers in the D.C. area to remember the real meaning of Christmas and to enter into a deeper relationship with Jesus. The archdiocese will distribute 10,000 yard and window signs announcing the initiative at the beginning of Advent on Dec. 2. Like last year, the initiative will include television and radio commercials, along with the signs directing people to www.findtheperfectgift.org and www.regaloperfecto.org. These websites offer information in English and Spanish on the Catholic faith, video testimonies and resources to find parishes, as well as service opportunities and prayer events during the Advent and Christmas seasons. “The perfect gift will bring a big smile, but it's sometimes not easy to find,” the website observes. It encourages readers not to be distracted by stressful searching but to open the doors to their hearts, allowing God to give them the perfect gift of Christ this year. Website viewers can also find information about prayer and what constitutes real peace and happiness. An online video offers testimonies of individuals who have converted or returned to the Catholic Church and have experienced how Christ is the perfect gift in their lives. “Since coming back to the Church, I really understand what Christmas means,” one woman explained. Another woman, who grew up in a Buddhist family in Hong Kong, said that she converted on Christmas Eve. “As a teenager, I searched for the truth, and Jesus became my perfect gift,” she said. Two men who converted while working with people with developmental disabilities said that “(t)he God we discovered in the Catholic Mass was the same God we recognized in the people we were working with.” The “Find the Perfect Gift” campaign logo depicts the three wise men following the Christmas star on a journey to the baby Jesus. Dr. Susan Timoney, assistant secretary of Pastoral Ministry and Social Concern for the archdiocese, explained that Christmas is about the world’s greatest love story. It is this immense love that led God to take on our human form and become “a vulnerable, dependent infant named Jesus,” Timoney said.

Father Jeffrey Montz delivered an insightful homily that was recommended by our own Fr. Chris Decker. It is about the recent election for sure but it is really about so much more. As our country struggles to maintain its history of religious tolerance and adherence to Christian morals, the question can only be "Are you doing your part as a soldier of Jesus Christ?" Here is a transcript of the sermon. I want to begin today by thanking those of you who went out on Tuesday and voted for the sacredness of human life. Just as the widow’s deed in our 1st reading will never be forgotten as long as the Scriptures are read, be assured that no righteous deed that we ever undertake will be forgotten by Almighty God. This past Wednesday, the day after the election, I received a message on my phone at the parish office, from a gentleman who didn’t identify himself by name but who said he was a parishioner. And in this message, this gentleman ranted for several minutes about Tuesday’s election results. And here were the first words out of his mouth, “You lost Father; you lost!” Well, the first thing I want to say about Tuesday night’s election results is that I didn’t lose on Tuesday night our entire country lost! Now, having said that, I know that there are several of you who have just decided to tune me out, or you’re now burning up with anger at me because of what I just said and you can’t wait to give me a piece of your mind. But let me say two things in this regard. Number one, I am a priest of Jesus Christ, not because of any merit of my own, not because I’m any better than anyone else. God probably chose me because I am nothing and He wants to make something out of me. But I have been anointed and consecrated by God to preach His truth. And so, you can tune me out, but be warned, you do so at your eternal peril. Second, if you’re angry because you read into my words that this homily is going to be about one elected official that you probably voted for, you’re wrong. What I have to say today goes far beyond just one elected official. What I have to say is about the over all trend that was put on display in Tuesday’s election results. Did you know, for instance, that on Tuesday several states voted by popular majority to legalize the recreational use of marijuana? Did you know that a plan to legalize physician assisted suicide was barely rejected in Massachusetts? Did you now that for the first time in our country’s history several states, by popular vote, chose to legalize gay marriage? Did you know that two of these states are run by Catholic governors who actively encouraged their constituents to vote in favor of same sex unions? Did you know that in Florida, a ban on tax payers funding of abortion was rejected by the people? Add to all of this the fact that some who were elected in Tuesday’s elections are pathological liars, people who have been exposed in their lies numerous times. Apparently, a majority of Americans now condone lying, or perhaps worse, for them the lie has become the truth, evil has become good. Now can you begin to see the trend? In the days after the elections all the talking heads in the media have been trying to explain how this all happened. But not one person in the mainstream media has gotten it right. You see, these election results are not about one party’s marketing advantage over another. Ultimately, they’re not about the appeal of one person over another, nor are they about one party being more up-to-date while the other is behind times. What we saw on Tuesday night IS about the moral decline of our nation. Tuesday’s voting results are a mere confirmation of a choice that a majority in this country made, some as far back as 50 years ago, to reject God and to embrace evil in one form or another! And who’s to blame for this choice? Well, ultimately, each individual is responsible for his or her choices. Those who chose to vote with evil are to blame for their own choices, and they all have to answer to God for the way they voted. But the reality is I don’t think any of us can take ourselves completely off the hook on this one. Why? Because one of the worst contributing factors to the moral decline of our country has been the lukewarmness that has plagued the Catholic Church for years all the way from the Bishops down to the people in the pews. Pope St. Pius X once said that “All evil in the world is due to lukewarm Catholics. Think about that for a second, All evil in the world is due to lukewarm Catholics.” Well, I have to be honest with you. I’ve seen this lukewarmness in every church parish at which I’ve served. But you know where else I see this lukewarmness? I see it when I look in the mirror; I see it in myself. And if we’re honest with ourselves I think all of us would see one or more area of lukewarmness in our own spiritual lives. My brothers and sisters, each one of us has a moral obligation to do all that we can to try to reverse the moral decline of our nation. And the first place that we have to begin is within ourselves. We have to begin by responding to that vocation which is common to all of us, what the Church calls the universal call to holiness, the call from Jesus to each one of us to become a saint! In his letter to the Philippians, St. Paul says, “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” How many of us, each day, tremble as we strive for holiness?! How many of us live with a lively fear of hell, a place that is real and a place where souls go for all eternity?! Or have we instead accepted mediocrity in our spiritual lives? ‘Oh, I’m too busy to pray Lord; I just don’t have the time… I’m too tired to pray; I’ll get to it tomorrow… Oh, I don’t like that teaching of the Church, I am not going to do that, who do they think they are coming up with this stuff… Well, I think I’ve done enough for God; what more do I have to do for Him…’ In one of His parables Jesus poses an important question that we would all do well to ask ourselves. “Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion?” Well, what cost is Jesus talking about? He’s not giving construction advice to builders and contractors. The context of that Gospel is the cost of discipleship, what it costs to be a saint, ultimately what it costs us get to Heaven. But all too often we act as if that cost is cheap! ‘Well, I go to Mass on most Sundays. I’m a good person; I haven’t murdered anybody. Of course I’m going to Heaven!’ Jesus dealt with this kind of cheap discipleship in the Gospels when He said, “Not everyone who says to me -Lord, Lord will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” On the day of judgment many will say to Jesus, ‘Well, didn’t we go to Mass fairly often on Sundays and didn’t we put some money in the collection basket? Didn’t we accept at least some of the Church’s teachings? Besides, as I said before, I’m a good person; I didn’t murder anybody.Then Jesus will declare to them, “I never knew you; go away from me you evildoers!” My brothers and sisters, in ordinary times lukewarmness in our approach to salvation is deadly. But we are not entering into ordinary times. We are not moving forward into ordinary times. There is a great battle brewing; in fact this battle is already upon us, a battle in our country between good and evil and I can feel this battle in the very marrow in my bones. If we are not striving for holiness with every fiber of our being we will not have what it takes to pay the cost of discipleship, we will not have what it takes to get to Heaven! As Jesus says near the end of Matthew’s Gospel, “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now and never will be. And if those days had not been shortened, no one would be saved…no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.” It’s clear from the trends that we see in Tuesday’s election results that people of faith in this country are going to be attacked relentlessly over and over again by one wave of evil after another. And so we must be sure that we have included these attacks in our calculations. A lukewarm faith will never survive the attacks of an army of evil that is Legion. We must become saints! And do not wait for tomorrow to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for tomorrow may be too late. Today let us resolve to root out all sin from our lives! Today let us resolves to remove all evil from our hearts! Today let us double our efforts at prayers! Today let us pray that Mary, the Mother of God, our Mother, will once again crush the head of Satan, and intercede for us the grace of perseverance! Today, let us resolve to take up our cross and be a disciple of Jesus Christ! Christ, who in the words of the Servant of God Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, “will restore within us moral indignation, Who will make us hate evil with a passionate intensity, and love goodness to a point where we can drink death like water!” The final message that I received from that gentleman’s call on Wednesday was that I need to stop preaching the way I do. I need to stop telling people how they ought to live their lives, what teachings of the Church they need to follow. “If he wants to support gay marriage I just need to shut up and give him a choice.” Well, sir, in answer to your request I give you a choice: You can either come here to this Catholic Church and listen to the Word of God and to the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Church or you can leave and go somewhere else!

For the first time in 11 years, the sun set yesterday with the shadow of a cross spilling out into the Mojave Desert. After a long and bitter battle, the seven-foot veterans' memorial was finally back in its rightful place on Sunrise Rock. For the VFW, Liberty Institute, caretakers Henry and Wanda Sandoz, and everyone who fought to save the Mojave Desert Cross, it was the perfect way to celebrate Veterans' Day. Before a crowd of more than 100, supporters rededicated the cross to the memory of America 's fallen heroes. "Judges and lawyers may have played their roles," said Liberty attorney Hiram Sasser, "but it was the veterans who earned this memorial, and it is for them that it rises once more." For the legal team, the victory was a long time coming. In 2010, after nine years of defending the memorial in court, a majority of justices agreed to keep the cross on its remote patch of desert land. But before the Sandozes could reinstate the monument, it was stolen. Maybe the vandals thought hiding the cross could make it disappear from our collective consciences. They were wrong. Plans were soon under way for another memorial. In fact, no one knew what had become of the old cross until last week when the San Mateo County Sheriff's office was called to a property in San Francisco Bay--hundreds of miles away. There, police found the object of years of litigation tied to a fence post. The attached note asked someone to contact the authorities. Although the discovery meant that the caretakers could return the original to its hilltop home, they opted for a new cross and a fresh start. Today, it crowns Sunrise Rock--not unlike the millions of crosses marking graves across our nation, each one reminding us of the great sacrifices made on our behalf. On this Veterans Day, we honor the brave men and women across the generations who served, and the many who laid down their lives in America's noblest cause: freedom. It is because of them that we can lift high this cross--and all others.

Just a year after U.S. Catholics began using the new English translation of the Roman Missal at Masses, the bishops agreed November 13 to have work begin on a revision of the Liturgy of the Hours. By a vote of 189 to 41, with one abstention, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops approved beginning work on updates to hymns, psalms, various canticles, psalm prayers, some antiphons, biblical readings and other components of the liturgical prayers used at various parts of the day. Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond of New Orleans, chairman of the Committee on Divine Worship, said the work would probably take three to five years to complete. In presenting the request for a vote to the bishops, Archbishop Aymond said the aim of retranslation would be to more accurately reflect the original Latin texts. In all, the approval covered 23 different components of the Liturgy of the Hours. Actions to be taken range from incorporating psalms from the Revised Grail Psalter to having the International Commission on English in the Liturgy retranslate some antiphons, the updated proper of the saints and the "Te Deum," a traditional hymn of praise and thanksgiving for the gift of salvation in Christ. There were short discussions of the issue both when it was introduced November 12 and when the formal vote was taken. Among points raised by some bishops were Boston Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley's comment about "how pleased I am that the committee wants to revisit the Glory Be," because laypeople tend to use an older version than the bishops do.

Pope Benedict XVI called on people to never be satisfied with their earthly achievements because true happiness entails seeking out the greater good. He said people should "not be discouraged by fatigue or by obstacles born of our sins," because striving for the greater good is demanding and cannot be built or provided by mere human effort. During his general audience talk to some 20,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square, the pope spoke about "the mysterious desire for God," which lies deep in every human heart. Despite rampant secularization and people's claims of being indifferent to God, an innate yearning for God "has not completely disappeared and still today, in many ways, appears in the heart of mankind." People always strive for happiness and a well-being that is "often far from spiritual," and yet they are also aware there still remains a deeper yearning for something that could truly satisfy their "restless heart," he said. "Every wish that arises in the human heart is echoed by a fundamental desire that is never fully satisfied," he said. True love pushes people to think beyond themselves, to be at the service of the other up to the point of self-sacrifice, he said.

After California priest Father Thomas Baker finished a grueling triathlon in Hawaii, he acknowledged that parts of the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike race and a 26.2-mile marathon were tough. That's when, he said later, he "used the rosary, my mantras and the faces of all those praying for me to help me move forward." The 53-year-old pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Lancaster conquered a windy course in Kona, Hawaii, during the October 13 Ironman World Championship and crossed the finish line with a time of 13:33:36. Fellow 82-year-old competitor, Sister Madonna Buder, a member of the Sisters for Christian Community from Spokane -- and 20-year veteran of the Ironman World Championships -- thinks Father Baker is the first Catholic priest to cross the finish line in Kona. Since Ironman officials do not track that type of data they were not able to confirm it. Sister Buder qualified for Kona this year by completing in Ironman Canada in August, becoming the oldest woman to complete in an Ironman. The strong winds slowed her biking in Kona, however, and she was not able to make the bike cut-off time before the marathon segment of the competition began. The priest, who wrote in the parish bulletin about his experience, said the course was "trying because of the heat, humidity and wind, all of which I expected but which made the time slower than usual." But, he added, "I wasn't racing but enjoying the journey. Thank you for all your love, support and especially your prayers. ... What a blessing!"

As the country approaches election day in two weeks, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia is encouraging Catholic voters to place their faith above their allegiance to political parties. “I’m always encouraging our people minimally to vote, maximally to run for political office, and make sure that they’re Catholic prior to being Democrat or Republican and that they put that into practice politically,” he said. Archbishop Chaput echoed the calls of other American bishops to have their flocks consider their faith in the voting booth. “We do believe in the separation of church and state, but we don’t believe in the separation of faith from our political life,” he said. “It’s very important for Catholics to make distinctions when voting that they never support intrinsic evils like abortion, which is evil in all circumstances. That’s a lot different from different economic policies” that people can reasonably disagree on, the archbishop explained. His remarks come as an October 22 Gallup poll shows the “economy in general” is the issue rated most important by Americans as the election nears. “But people who are practicing Catholics cannot have alternate views on abortion,” he stated. “Such foundational issues have a huge impact and it’s important that Catholics make those distinctions. A person (candidate) might be right on a lot of secondary issues but wrong on the foundational issues. And if that’s the case, it would be very difficult for a Catholic to vote for someone who, for example, favors unlimited access to abortion … undermines the meaning of marriage or supports policies that really undermine the foundation of our culture.” Archbishop Chaput sees Philadelphia as a great example of both Catholic and civic virtue. He noted that it both produced two canonized saints, John Neumann and Katherine Drexel, and was the location of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the writing of the U.S. Constitution. “I’m standing on the shoulders both in terms of the Church and the civic community,” the archbishop pointed out. “We have to produce new saints and be really good citizens.” He also connected patriotism with love of parents and family, saying that “loving our country is really participating in love of our families.” And “the meaning of family,” he asserted, is “hugely important for the future health of our country. Having mothers and fathers who love us and love one another provides security for the healthy growth of children. Confused family life leads to confused participation in the broader life of the community.” The Catholic vote has tended to follow the rest of the electorate in recent years, but with the current campaign for president running neck-and-neck, Gov. Romney and President Obama are vying for every segment of voters they can. The latest polling from Gallup suggests that Romney has 51 percent of the Catholic vote while Obama has 49 percent. In the 2008 election, 53 percent of Catholic voters supported Obama, and 47 percent supported GOP candidate John McCain. Archbishop Chaput noted that “Catholics who go to church vote quite differently than Catholics as a group, and that Catholics who take their faith seriously, for them it’s much more than a cultural affiliation – it’s a very personal affiliation with Jesus Christ and his community.”

The world's huge technological and scientific progress hasn't always made people freer or happier, Pope Benedict XVI said. While scientific knowledge and advancements "are important for human life, it's not enough on its own," the pope said at his weekly general audience. "We need not just material sustenance, we need love, meaning, hope and a solid foundation" that helps people live with courage even in the face of doubt, difficulties, and everyday problems, he said. Pope Benedict continued a new series of catecheses to accompany the Year of Faith, which runs until November 24, 2013. His talk focused on the nature of faith and what it means to believe. The pope said, "Despite the great magnitude of scientific discoveries and technological successes, humanity today does not seem to have become truly freer and more human." Along with signs of progress and increased well-being, there also are "many forms of exploitation, manipulation, violence, tyranny and injustice." Faith gives people a solid sense of certainty in uncertain times because "faith is believing in this love of God that never fails in the face of human wickedness, evil and death, but is capable of transforming every form of slavery, offering the possibility of salvation," he said. "Faith is not the simple intellectual approval by man of truths concerning God; it is an act in which I freely entrust myself to a God who is Father and loves me," the Pope said. In fact, having faith is above all about having a relationship with a God whose love is "indestructible" and who understands people's problems, he said.

Marking the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council and the start of a special Year of Faith, Pope Benedict XVI called on Catholics to revive the “authentic spirit” of Vatican II by re-proposing the church’s ancient teachings to an increasingly Godless modern world. Vatican II, Pope Benedict said, had been “animated by a desire...to immerse itself anew in the Christian mystery so as to re-propose it fruitfully to contemporary man.” He noted that Blessed John XXIII, in his speech at the opening of the council, called for both the safeguarding and the effective teaching of the “sacred deposit of Christian doctrine...this certain and immutable doctrine, which is to be faithfully respected, [and] needs to be explored and presented in a way which responds to the needs our time.” Calling for a revival in the church of the “yearning to announce Christ again to contemporary man,” the pope stressed that any new evangelization “needs to be built on a concrete and precise basis, and this basis is the documents of the Second Vatican Council.” He reaffirmed past statements rejecting expansive notions of a “spirit of Vatican II” that might be used to justify innovations diverging from traditional doctrine. “I have often insisted on the need to return, as it were, to the ‘letter’ of the council—that is to its texts—also to draw from them its authentic spirit,” the pope said. “The true legacy of the council is to be found in them. But I am convinced that the insight Blessed John XXIII epitomized with this word was and still is accurate,” he said. “Christianity must never be seen as something from the past, nor lived with one’s gaze always looking back because Jesus is yesterday, today and for all eternity,” Pope Benedict said. “This ‘renewal’ does not mean a break with tradition; rather it expresses a lasting vitality.”

The teachings of the Catholic Church are coming alive for West Virginia's young Catholics through a new initiative aimed at reaching them right where they "live" -- the Internet. In association with Outside da Box, the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston has launched "Video Catechism for Teens" -- a free online resource for youths and young adults. The site became available October 11 to coincide with the start of the Year of Faith, instituted by Pope Benedict XVI. The yearlong program of worship, catechesis and evangelization runs to November 24, 2013. To reach the young people of the church, the diocese looked at their social experience. Findings through a recent study conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed that teenagers consume about 10 hours and 45 minutes of media content every day -- four hours and 29 minutes of that time is spent watching videos on the Internet or TV. "We can easily remember a time in our lives when Facebook and YouTube didn't exist -- kids don't remember that," said Bob Perron, executive director of the diocese's Department of Youth Ministry. "We wanted to do something where we could help our kids become better catechized, but we knew we had to do it in a different, new kind of format." That format offers young people a four-minute video each month on the site that provides a dramatization of teachings from the "Catechism of the Catholic Church," presented in a way that is relevant to them and will help them understand how they may apply the teachings in their own lives. The dramatizations illustrate experiences and issues that young people face in their own lives and how they can find God in today's culture. The mission of Outside da Box, as described on its website, is "creating short films to help teens know, love and serve Jesus Christ."

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has issued a statement rebutting Vice President Joseph Biden’s claim that Catholic institutions will not be required to subsidize contraception under the new federal health-care mandate. Without mentioning Biden by name, the USCCB statement quoted a remark that the Vice President made in his October 11 debate with Republican challenger Paul Ryan: With regard to the assault on the Catholic Church, let me make it absolutely clear. No religious institution—Catholic or otherwise, including Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital—none has to either refer contraception, none has to pay for contraception, none has to be a vehicle to get contraception in any insurance policy they provide. That is a fact. That is a fact. “This is not a fact,” the USCCB statement insisted. The bishops’ statement continued: The HHS mandate contains a narrow, four-part exemption for certain "religious employers." That exemption was made final in February and does not extend to "Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital," or any other religious charity that offers its services to all, regardless of the faith of those served. HHS has proposed an additional "accommodation" for religious organizations like these, which HHS itself describes as "non-exempt." That proposal does not even potentially relieve these organizations from the obligation "to pay for contraception" and "to be a vehicle to get contraception." They will have to serve as a vehicle, because they will still be forced to provide their employees with health coverage, and that coverage will still have to include sterilization, contraception, and abortifacients. They will have to pay for these things, because the premiums that the organizations (and their employees) are required to pay will still be applied, along with other funds, to cover the cost of these drugs and surgeries.

The need to defend religious liberty, a key issue this year for the U.S. Catholic bishops and other religious leaders, will now have a new venue for discussion and action in a handful of state legislatures. Leaders from nine states -- Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Tennessee -- announced October 9 that they would be part of a new group of state religious freedom caucuses to develop state policies to protect religious liberties. The initiative was spearheaded by the American Religious Freedom Program, which is part of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a Washington think tank. Tim Schultz, the program's state legislative policy director, said in a teleconference that there has been a "renewed interest in religious freedom" in the United States. He said the discussion of religious freedom should extend beyond the courts to determine proper boundaries of religious freedom and give a place in each state where people of faith can voice their concerns. State Rep. Steve Precourt, R-Fla., told teleconference participants that religious freedom caucuses "can work to ensure that the courts are not the only recourse" for those who feel their religious rights are being challenged. He also noted that the issue of religious liberty is not a new one but "a movement that has been brewing for some time." In Florida, the issue is on the November ballot. Voters will be asked to decide on a constitutional amendment to prohibit discrimination against individuals and institutions on the basis of religious beliefs and on the issue of removing a long-standing ban on public funding "in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution." And this is what it has come to in the United States. With the continual assault on religion in general and the Catholic Church in particular, the prayer warriors are fighting back. Since Louisiana is not mentioned in the list, perhaps it is time for us to contact our legislators and join the cause.

In a survey of Catholics age 14 and older, about 12 percent of males and 10 percent of females said they considered a religious vocation at least "a little seriously," a study by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University found. The findings, released October 9, give church leaders a vast array of data on which to base positive messages about religious life for teenagers and young adults, said Father Shawn McKnight, executive director of the Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which commissioned the survey. "When you consider 12 percent of all male youth and 10 percent of all women ... just a very small percentage (committing to a vocation) would make a tremendous difference," said Father McKnight. "The survey offers solid evidence, credible evidence to base our judgments on how to promote vocations," he added. Broken down, 3 percent of male respondents and 2 percent of female respondents indicate they have "very seriously" considered a vocation, according to the study, "Consideration of Priesthood and Religious Life Among Never-Married U.S. Catholics." It was commissioned by the USCCB secretariat. Projected over the Catholic population of the United States, those figures represent 350,000 never-married men and more than 250,000 never-married women who may have very seriously considered a vocation, concluded CARA researchers Mark Gray and Mary Gautier, who conducted the study.

Here is a refreshing take on the definition of marriage issue. The National Football League Baltimore Ravens center Matt Birk has written an opinion piece that appeared in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune supporting free speech and marriage between one man and one woman. He writes, "Same-sex unions may not affect my marriage specifically, but it will affect my children -- the next generation. Ideas have consequences, and laws shape culture. Marriage redefinition will affect the broader well-being of children and the welfare of society. As a Christian and a citizen, I am compelled to care about both. I am speaking out on this issue because it is far too important to remain silent. People who are simply acknowledging the basic reality of marriage between one man and one woman are being labeled as "bigots" and "homophobic." Aren't we past that as a society? Don't we all have family members and friends whom we love who have same-sex attraction? Attempting to silence those who may disagree with you is always un-American, but especially when it is through name-calling, it has no place in respectful conversation. A defense of marriage is not meant as an offense to any person or group. All people should be afforded their inalienable American freedoms. There is no opposition between providing basic human rights to everyone and preserving marriage as the sacred union of one man and one woman. I hope that in voicing my beliefs I encourage people on both sides to use reason and charity as they enter this debate. I encourage all Americans to stand up to preserve and promote a healthy, authentic pro-marriage culture in this upcoming election." Very well put. Being attacked for your religious beliefs is nothing new. The Old Testament reading at Mass for the September 22-23 weekend was from the second chapter of Wisdom. It says, "The wicked say: Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training. Let us see whether his words be true; let us find out what will happen to him. For if the just one be the son of God, God will defend him and deliver him from the hand of his foes. With revilement and torture let us put the just one to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness and try his patience. Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words, God will take care of him." When the attacks come on Matt Birk, our God will protect him.

Pain, suffering and human mortality shouldn't be explained away, ignored or denied, but embraced by faith in God, said an expert in the philosophy and ethics of science. In fact, only a concrete encounter with the Lord can provide solace for people grappling with the question of how there can be a God who is good when there is also agony and death, especially of innocent children, said Evandro Agazzi, a member of the Italian National Committee for Bioethics and the Committee for the Ethics of Research and Bioethics of the Italian National Research Council. Agazzi, an Italian philosopher, physicist and mathematician, was the guest speaker at a September 17 lecture organized by the Ut Vitam Habeant Foundation -- a Rome-based Catholic foundation, headed by Cardinal Elio Sgreccia. People's faith and trust in a benevolent God have been challenged for millennia by the existence of death, pain and suffering, especially when such ills were not considered to be the direct result of moral evil, Agazzi told an audience of more than 250 people. Ancient philosophers and other thinkers have proposed a wide variety of approaches: passive resignation; a cynical frustration that laments the burden of life; "death as liberation, so we need to get life over with as soon as possible"; or a naive belief in the harmony of nature, which will make sure all the bad will be balanced out by the good. "The real problem was the meaning of pain and suffering" and one's response to it, he said.

The new movie “Last Ounce of Courage” is a statement calling on people to “stand up for their rights and defend their religious freedom,” says a young Catholic actor with a large role in the film. Hunter Gomez, a 21-year-old actor from Arizona, said the family film is about faith and urges Americans to not “be complacent anymore,” he told CNA September 11. Gomez plays the role of Christian Revere, grandson of the movie’s main character Bob Revere, who is played by Marshall Teague. Christian finds himself rebuked for bringing a Bible to school and sees Christmas being ignored or secularized in a town where it was once celebrated by locals. “He comes home and he feels like his rights are being stepped on,” Gomez summarized. “He can’t put a cross wherever he wants or bring a Bible to school or read a Bible in public.” Christian, whose father died in war, asks his grandfather, the town’s part-time mayor, what his father died for. The question prompts the Revere family to decide to stand for their beliefs and inspire their town. Gomez said the movie is about supporting all faiths, not just Christianity. He said it has been “very well received” and is not a partisan film. “It has no political agenda. It’s simply about standing up for your rights and becoming involved in political discussion.” Gomez is presently a student at Arizona State University. His home parish is the Catholic Community of the Blessed Sacrament in Scottsdale, Ariz. He said he feels free to speak about his faith in daily life. “But you have to be careful,” he said. “You can’t say certain things.” He said there is a “misconception” that those who are vocal about their faith, especially Catholics, “can come across as a bigot or someone that is deemed by the public as crazy. I think we should be able to live in a society where especially young people can be expressive and excited about their faith and say ‘I’m a Christian’ and not have to hide that.” Gomez advised Americans to “directly confront” social pressures to conceal their faith through discussion and dialogue. The “Last Ounce of Courage” movie runs special screenings on September 11 and opens nationwide September 14.

Pro-life supporters gathered near Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte Aug. 31 for what was intended to be a peaceful, prayerful vigil in support of the right to life for the unborn and in memory of the 3,300 lives lost daily through abortion in the U.S. They were met by a handful of people who want to keep abortion legal and who tried to drown out the prayer vigil with their shouts. The prayer vigil was the first of several pro-life demonstrations planned before and during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte September 4-6. More than 40 people gathered to pray the rosary at the beginning of the ecumenical prayer vigil in front of the location where the convention was held. The two-and-a-half hour event was hosted by the Charlotte-based grass-roots organization America, Defend Life! and the Washington-based Christian Defense Coalition. "We are humbled to be able to offer a visual and symbolic expression of the damage caused by abortion in our country every day. At the same time, we are praying for the women and their children who have been bruised," said Brice Griffin, spokeswoman for America, Defend Life! The vigil participants were met by a handful of protesters carrying signs reading "Abortion on Demand and Without Apology," and shouting statements including, "Abortion is not murder! A fetus is not a baby until it is born!" The vigil participants, who were wearing "America, Defend Life!" T-shirts and holding rosaries and pro-life signs with a picture of a fetus reading, "I am a Person," prayed more loudly and spread out a bit more along the sidewalk so that their voices could be heard and their signs read by passers-by.

The Fellowship of Catholic University Students (Focus) has a presence on 16 new campuses this academic year, with missionaries at Harvard University, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and a new “digital campus.” “We believe that the key to building a better future lies with the young leaders on campus,” Focus' president, Curtis Martin, said Aug. 23. “Our goal is to inspire thousands upon thousands of men and women who, 10 years from now, 20 years from now, 30 years from now, will be in positions of influence — such that they will transform our culture.” The Colorado-based organization’s lay missionaries are typically recent college graduates who have committed two years or more to work in evangelization and campus outreach. They go to college campuses at the invitation of the local bishop and with the local Catholic campus ministry’s support. They aim to communicate the Gospel to young adults through personal outreach and friendship. Four missionaries based at the main office in Genesee, Colo., will offer missionary support to campuses without a team physically present through the new “digital campus.” Missionary teams serve 74 campuses in 31 states, including the District of Columbia. The organization has been a seedbed for vocations, with 384 participants entering religious life since its founding in 1998. In 2012 alone, 41 men and nine women who participated in Focus made a commitment to religious life. New campuses include Franciscan University of Steubenville, Baylor University, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Oklahoma, Northwestern University and the University of Virginia. Other new campuses are the University of North Texas, Tulane University, the University of Mary Washington, the University of Tennessee, the University of Tulsa and the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse. The same missionary team will serve Farleigh Dickinson University and Drew University in Madison, N.J. The missionary organization began with two part-time missionaries on a single campus. It has grown to 361 full-time missionaries today.

Michael Jones, a member of St. Columbkille Parish in Papillion, said he came to the third annual Heartland Catholic Men's Conference August 4 in Omaha to meet others in fellowship and learn more about the faith of the church. Such opportunities for inspiration and formation were lacking when he was raising children, said Jones, 63, noting that although ages of participants varied widely at the conference, many who had gathered there were about his age. "Maybe we just all got hungry (for spiritual growth) at the same time," Jones said. Similar sentiment -- a strong desire for sharing in faith formation -- appears to have been the spark that more than a dozen years ago ignited what has become a growing Catholic men's movement in the United States, said Peter Kennedy, administrator of adult faith formation in the Omaha Archdiocese's Office of Evangelization and Catechesis. And the movement is being fueled in part by concerns about a loss of male spiritual leadership in the midst of declining morals and a secularization of society, he said. "There's a genuine spiritual hunger," Kennedy told the Catholic Voice, Omaha's archdiocesan newspaper. Many men now being schooled through men's groups that concentrate on spirituality and teachings of the church say things like "I never heard this before," Kennedy said. Some aspects of Catholicism -- the centrality of the Eucharist and the church's insistence on social justice -- were taught well over the past 40 years, he said. But other aspects of catechesis often were insufficient, such as church teaching on baptism and penance, the dangers of contraception and the importance of marriage and family life, Kennedy said. At the same time, many Catholic men pursued success in the workplace and left the spiritual formation of their families to their wives, Kennedy said.

A little self-reflection every now and then never hurts. Some call it prayer; others a retreat. Peter Maurin and Dorothy Day, co-founders of the Catholic Worker, called it "clarification of thought." No matter how it's pegged, something worthy usually emerges. Stephanie Gyldendan, head organizer for ESTHER, a faith-based organization addressing social justice concerns in Neenah, Wis., finds such reflection a good thing. Members of the organization, a recipient of funding through the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, have begun to reflect more deeply on their work at the behest of the campaign, the U.S. bishops' domestic anti-poverty campaign. And they liked what they saw, Gyldendan told Catholic News Service. "It really brought in a rich discussion on why our faith traditions call us to engage in the community and work for justice," Gyldendan said. Under revised guidelines developed in 2010 as CCHD underwent its own "review and renewal" after a period of reflection, organizations seeking church funding for anti-poverty work are being asked to consider how work on affordable housing, immigrant rights, police protection and school reform enhances Catholic moral and social teaching. ESTHER, which stands for Empowerment Solidarity Truth Home Reform, is an interfaith organization that includes seven Catholic parishes as partners. Gyldendan said CCHD's new guidelines provide "room for conversation" to better understand how faith motivates action. CCHD-funded organizations are finding that the revised guidelines leave no doubt that Catholic teaching must be upheld in all activities and affiliations.

They crossed 2,000 miles of mountains and prairie, sun and sleet, city and country to spread the Catholic Church's pro-life message. "They" were mostly college-age volunteers who walked from coast to coast in four separate groups, protesting at abortion clinics along the way, before arriving in Washington for a rally Aug. 11. The walk was challenging at times, volunteers Matt Rochefort and Stephanie Culy told Catholic News Service in an interview a day before the rally. Rochefort's group braved wildlife, including a bear sighting at night. Meanwhile, Culy's group trekked up the Cascade Mountains to cross Washington state, but they remained dedicated to their mission. "We were climbing 1,600 feet in five miles, and it was windy and raining," said Culy, but any adversity they faced was worth it to take a stand against "the culture of death. This is the kind of culture we're working against. I thought of Christ walking to Golgotha. That image really stuck to me," she said. Rochefort believed the clinic protests were effective. "Not many people engaged us -- most people didn't know what pro-life is. I think a lot of the problem is the ignorance of abortion," said Rochefort. "But we don't use graphic pictures or signs. We try to be a peaceful presence. We were very enthusiastic after the first mile in Santa Monica, and this teenager, his name was Gabe and I will never forget, walks up to this group of us in pro-life shirts and begins to argue with us. It was just so amazing; he really cared about the women. I think it took a lot of courage for Gabe. We prayed for him for the rest of the walk, and I really believe he'll turn around" and see that abortion is wrong, Rochefort said.

America is a great country and as President Reagan said, "a shining city on a hill." That quote is based on the scripture passage from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount recalled in Matthew 5:14 which says, "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." Francis Cardinal George, who leads the Archdiocese of Chicago and writes a blog about all things Catholic in Chicago, jumped into the Chick Fil A fray this week, addressing the issue of religious freedom in his blog. He said, "Recent comments by those who administer our city seem to assume that the city government can decide for everyone what are the “values” that must be held by citizens of Chicago. I was born and raised here, and my understanding of being a Chicagoan never included submitting my value system to the government for approval. Must those whose personal values do not conform to those of the government of the day move from the city?" Amen brother. As our country's leadership continues to espouse the ideals of Socialism, many folks have simply folded up their tents and retreated into their homes. This isolationism has caused our nation to sink into an abyss of gridlock most exemplified in the lack of results by our political leaders. Cardinal George refuses to do that and thank God he lives in America where despite the best efforts of some, the First Amendment is still alive. He goes on to say, "The value in question is espousal of “gender-free marriage.” Approval of state-sponsored homosexual unions has very quickly become a litmus test for bigotry; and espousing the understanding of marriage that has prevailed among all peoples throughout human history is now, supposedly, outside the American consensus. Are Americans so exceptional that we are free to define “marriage” (or other institutions we did not invent) at will? What are we re-defining?" Bigotry has become the most overused (and usually incorrectly) word by those who follow the agenda of humanists. Bigotry is defined as stubborn and complete intolerance of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one's own. Make no mistake, I am not saying that there are not Catholics, Christians or religious people who may be bigots. What I want to add is that many of the humanists who support gender-free marriage are solid bigots in their own right. It galls them that people refuse to abdicate their religious beliefs in favor of a world view. The misunderstanding stems usually from a lack of awareness about faith and belief. Catholics believe the teachings of God, brought to us in human form by Jesus Christ. We believe that marriage is a sacrament celebrated through a holy ritual joining one man and one woman together for life in matrimony. It is more than a civil union. It is a commitment before God and community. The loving union joins the couple with God. The union is also about hope that God will bless the couple with children. Cardinal George again speaks clearly on this issue when he says, "Marriage exists because human nature comes in two complementary sexes: male and female. The sexual union of a man and woman is called the marital act because the two become physically one in a way that is impossible between two men or two women. Whatever a homosexual union might be or represent, it is not physically marital. Gender is inextricably bound up with physical sexual identity; and “gender-free marriage” is a contradiction in terms, like a square circle." Amen, I say again.

Going to Mass together and setting aside time each day to talk to each other are two simple practices that can help Catholic couples strengthen their marriage and be examples to others, said a papal message. Pope Benedict XVI "invites Christian couples to be 'the gentle and smiling face of the church,' the best and most convincing heralds of love sustained and nourished by faith," said a message to the participants in the international meeting of the Teams of Our Lady. The group, a movement for Catholic couples started in France in 1938, was meeting in Brasilia, Brazil, July 21-26. The papal message to the couples was signed by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state. While pressures on married couples have increased since the movement's founding, the message said, members continue to be committed to proclaiming, "not only in words, but also through their lives, the fundamental truths about human love" and how it is a reflection of God's love for humanity. The movement helps couples recognize the grace of the sacrament of marriage and encourages them to attend Mass together, Cardinal Bertone said. It also gives them "simple and practical ideas to daily live an embodied spirituality for Christian spouses."

The band Building 429 has an unusual name. It caused me to explore what it meant which I am sure is the point. They are named after the passage in Ephesians 4:29 which says "No foul language should come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for needed edification, that it may impart grace to those who hear." Edification is about spiritual growth and also refers to anything that is uplifting. Whenever I hear that word uplift, my eyes naturally turn to Heaven and I think of God. Have you noticed how prevalent foul language has become. It used to be that your television was a fairly safe sanctuary but now with the advent of "reality" shows, that has been obliterated. Sometimes I sit and count the numbers of bleeps in a five minute segment of a TV program. It is unsettling and very insulting. Why does that person think they need to use so many offensive words? Why has language become so littered with the profane? Don't even get me started on movies. I was at a theater recently and had to leave because of the level of profanity. I am not prudish but I really felt like the language was assaultive. I like a story with dialogue. I also like an action picture. Neither of those requires me to be offended five times in one sentence by the use of inappropriate language. I have also noticed that women used to be holding the line but not anymore. If you find yourself in a group with a majority of 18-30 year olds, you will likely hear lots of profanity and it is just as likely to come from the women as the men. The scripture passage from Ephesians instructs us that people will decide what kind of person we are by the way we use our words. So if you edify and build up in a positive manner, people will likely decide that you are decent and kind. They may also consider that you are a Christian or maybe religious. Some may even come to the conclusion that you are well mannered. All of these conclusions are good and things we should aspire to do. It is the little steps in improvement that bring about life-altering changes. So what comes out of your mouth? I encourage you to journal about this scripture passage. Begin to notice how you speak. Even in general situations like in the check-out line at the store or even on the phone when a telemarketer calls. Our world could use a vacation from all of the profanity. Wouldn't it be a nicer place if we spoke to edify rather than to shock?

God is so good and blesses us at the most appropriate time. My spiritual journey (especially over the last two years) has provided me with so many realizations. Learning for me is about living the lessons. Hearing about something and then experiencing it first hand gives you valuable insight. Learning to be quick to listen is only the start. I have stated on this blog that worrying is a sin. It is wrong because you are failing to trust that God will take care of you. We all know that the worrying does not have any good benefits for us and certainly has bad repercussions related to our health, both mental and physical. Yet we are usually quick to worry and think about all of the bad things that can happen in any given situation. We have all experienced the burning in the stomach that sets off so many other ailments. It also usually causes us to be short with others around us. In the end, most of the things we imagined happening could never come true. Most of the things that do happen don't even approach the level of disaster we envisioned. Yet we fall back into the same pattern time and again. Stopping this habit can be accomplished and the answer is prayer. Putting your fears and worries in God's hands is the best way to avoid the destructive behavior or worry. My God is an awesome God. As Twila Paris sings, "He reigns from Heaven above...with wisdom, power, and LOVE." That is what we should replace with our doubts and worries. The fact that God's love is so powerful it can replace all the negative thoughts and feelings we have if we just say yes. Say yes to the Lord.

On July 5, the Catholic Church remembers Saint Anthony Mary Zaccaria. A renowned preacher and promoter of Eucharistic adoration, he founded the order of priests now known as the Barnabites. In 2001, the future Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, wrote the preface for a book on St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria, praising the saint as “one of the great figures of Catholic reform in the 1500s,” who was involved “in the renewal of Christian life in an era of profound crisis.” The Italian saint, Cardinal Ratzinger wrote, “deserves to be rediscovered” as “an authentic man of God and of the Church, a man burning with zeal, a demanding forger of consciences, a true leader able to convert and lead others to good.” Anthony Mary Zaccaria was born into an Italian family of nobility in Cremona during 1502. His father Lazzaro died shortly after Anthony's birth, and his mother Antonietta – though only 18 years old – chose not to marry again, preferring to devote herself to charitable works and her son's education. Antonietta's son took after her in devotion to God and generosity toward the poor. He studied Latin and Greek with tutors in his youth, and was afterward sent to Pavia to study philosophy. He went on to study medicine at the University of Padua, earning his degree at age 22 and returning to Cremona. Despite his noble background and secular profession, the young doctor had no intention of either marrying or accumulating wealth. While caring for the physical conditions of his patients, he also encouraged them to find spiritual healing through repentance and the sacraments. Anthony also taught catechism to children, and went on to participate in the religious formation of young adults. He eventually decided to withdraw from the practice of medicine, and with the encouragement of his spiritual director he began to study for the priesthood. Ordained a priest at age 26, Anthony is said to have experienced a miraculous occurrence during his first Mass, being surrounded by a supernatural light and a multitude of angels during the consecration of the Eucharist. Contemporary witnesses marveled at the event, and testified to it after his death. Church life in Cremona had suffered decline in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The new priest encountered widespread ignorance and religious indifference among laypersons, while many of the clergy were either weak or corrupt. In these dire circumstances, Anthony Mary Zaccaria devoted his life to proclaiming the truths of the Gospel both clearly and charitably. Within two years, his eloquent preaching and tireless pastoral care is said to have changed the moral character of the city dramatically. In 1530, Anthony moved to Milan, where a similar spirit of corruption and religious neglect prevailed. There, he decided to form a priestly society, the Clerics Regular of St. Paul. Inspired by the apostle's life and writings, the order was founded on a vision of humility, asceticism, poverty, and preaching. After the founder's death, they were entrusted with a prominent church named for St. Barnabas, and became commonly known as the “Barnabites.” The priest also founded a women's religious order, the Angelic Sisters of St. Paul; and an organization, the Laity of St. Paul, geared toward the sanctification of those outside the priesthood and religious life. He pioneered the “40 Hours” devotion, involving continuous prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. In 1539, Anthony became seriously ill and returned to his mother's house in Cremona. The founder of the Clerics Regular of St. Paul died on July 5, during the liturgical octave of the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, at the age of only 36. Nearly three decades after his death, St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria's body was found to be incorrupt. He was beatified by Blessed Pope Pius IX in 1849, and declared a saint by Pope Leo XIII in 1897.

In an effort to respond to a "clear and pressing" need for priests, the Vatican released a set of guidelines to help bishops and church communities promote, recruit and educate a new generation of men for the priesthood. The church needs "suitable" candidates and must avoid men who "show signs of being profoundly fragile personalities," while helping others heal from any possible "individual deviations" from their vocations, the document said. "The witness of Christian communities giving account of the faith that is in them becomes even more necessary," because it's a community of believers committed to passing on God's love that "prepares the Lord's call that invites people to consecration and mission," it said. Based on responses to a questionnaire sent to bishops' conferences and directors of national vocations offices around the world in 2008, the Congregation for Catholic Education sought to address a widespread demand for pastoral guidelines for fostering vocations "based on clear and well-founded theology of vocation and of the identity of the ministerial priesthood." Titled "Pastoral Guidelines for Fostering Vocations to Priestly Ministry," the 29-page document was released June 25. It also marked the 70th anniversary of the inauguration of the congregation's Pontifical Work for Priestly Vocations. Describing the current situation of priestly vocations as “good and bad”, the document begins by focusing on traditionally Christian countries in the West. In notes how unbridled consumerism, falling birth-rates and a fall in religious practice have led to a decline in vocations and an increasingly elderly pool of priests to serve the Church. It puts this down to a series of reasons that leads to young men ignoring a vocation to priestly ministry: the spreading of a secularized mentality that discourages the response of young people to follow the Lord Jesus more radically and more generously; parents, who “reserve little space to the possibility of a call to a special vocation”; the gradual marginalization of the priest in social life, with the consequent loss of his relevance in the public sphere.These elements include "a tendency towards the progressive transformation of the priesthood into a profession". This can be associated with "the danger of exaggerated activism, an increasing individualism which not infrequently closes priests in a perverse and depressing solitude, and the confusion of roles in the Church which comes about when we lose the sense of distinction between roles and responsibilities, and not everyone comes together to collaborate in the one mission entrusted to the People of God". “Furthermore, in many places the choice of celibacy is questioned. Not only a secularized mentality, but also erroneous opinions within the Church bring about a lack of appreciation for the charism and the choice of celibacy”. It states that “however much the pastoral ministry for vocations in Europe and in the Americas is organized and creative, the results obtained do not correspond to the efforts made”. Instead it says that “where clear and challenging proposals of Christian life are offered”, particularly through new evangelisation initiatives that are carried out in cooperation with the domestic Church, there are signs of recovery. Again and again the document returns to the first form of Christian life and community – the family, parish and movement or association. It states young people are more open to God’s call when they are presented with a strong example of Christian life in the home, or wider community. Moreover, young men often feel encouraged to consider a vocation as a result of the “joyful witness of the priests” they have encountered in their lives.The Congregation suggests that pastoral ministry of vocations must offer boys and young men a Christian experience where they can know first hand the reality of God Himself. This means making families aware of the important role they play in forming a vocation. It encourages an experience of community life before entrance to the seminary and underlines the importance of a clear understanding of the commitments the priesthood entails, in particular with regard to celibacy. It concludes, “fostering vocations to the priesthood is a constant challenge for the Church” in particular, “a welcome for the call of God to ministerial priesthood”.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church now has more of a presence in the increasingly popular world of e-books. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has made the catechism available as a browser-based e-book. The catechism is a compendium of Catholic beliefs structured around the four pillars of faith: creed, sacraments, commandments and prayer. The USCCB announcement about the latest e-book format comes at a time when more active readers are moving to e-books from traditional formats. A Pew study conducted in February shows 21 percent of adults say they read an e-book in the past year, compared with 17 percent in December 2011 who said they had done so. Additional research shows that overall e-book owners are more likely to read than those who read via print formats. In late 2011, the USCCB accommodated that trend by releasing the e-book edition of the catechism through Amazon, iTunes and the USCCB online bookstore. Why make it available through browsers? "Providing the catechism in this particular electronic format will make this foundational resource even more accessible to people," explained Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City. "It is free to anyone who has access to the Internet."

Are you prepared to pray for your religious freedom? The U.S. bishops have called for a fortnight of prayer to end the assault by our government on our right to worship. The fourteen days begin on June 21. According to the bishop's appeal, the fortnight will culminate on Independence Day. This special period of prayer, study, catechesis, and public action will emphasize both our Christian and American heritage of liberty. It is a time to remind ourselves of the importance of our faith. I know that I have never felt more threatened as a Catholic than in the past several years. The intense worldly pressure has certainly caused me to appreciate the freedoms that we hold dear in this nation. None are more important though than the freedom to worship as we wish. So over the next three days, prepare yourself for a spiritual renewal. And come this Thursday, join the rest of the nation's approximately 68 million Catholics and pray and don't stop for the next fourteen days. Who knows, you might just discover something about yourself.

June 13 is the feast day of one of my favorite saints, Anthony of Padua. He is usually pictured holding the child Jesus (history says that this is due to a man, at whose home St. Anthony was spending the night, came upon the saint and found him holding in his arms the Child Jesus, unspeakably beautiful and surrounded with heavenly light)and a book. St. Anthony is recognized as a Doctor of the Church because of his ability to preach plainly on any topic so that anyone could understand him regardless of their educational level. Saint Anthony was canonized less than one year after his death. There is perhaps no more loved and admired saint in the Catholic Church than Saint Anthony of Padua. Though his work was in Italy, he was born in Portugal. He first joined the Augustinian Order and then left it and joined the Franciscan Order in 1221, when he was 26 years old. The reason he became a Franciscan was because of the death of the five Franciscan protomartyrs -- St. Bernard, St. Peter, St. Otho, St. Accursius, and St. Adjutus -- who shed their blood for the Catholic Faith in the year 1220, in Morocco, in North Africa, and whose headless and mutilated bodies had been brought to St. Anthony’s monastery on their way back for burial. St. Anthony became a Franciscan in the hope of shedding his own blood and becoming a martyr. He lived only ten years after joining the Franciscan Order. St. Anthony of Padua is one of the most famous disciples of St. Francis of Assisi, another of my favorite saints. He was so energetic in defending the truths of the Catholic Faith that many heretics returned to the Church. That is the call for us in 2012. Are you bringing others back to the Church? Are you defending Her from the relentless attacks? Do you engage in conversation when someone tells you "I grew up a Catholic but..." or "I used to go to Catholic Church but..."? That is the message that still comes loudly from St. Anthony. Many of you know him as the saint of lost articles. It would be more accurate to call him the saint of lost souls. He suffered when others did not believe. He prayed endlessly that people would come to know Jesus Christ. He is a terrific example for all of us even after his death some 780 years ago. Saint Anthony, pray for us!

The Sacred Heart "is a reality that marks the core of Christ's being," Philadelphia Auxiliary Bishop John J. McIntyre told attendees at the June 1-3 national conference for charismatic Catholics. It is Christ's heart "into which each of us is drawn, so that more and more, each day after day, each passing year, like his," we are "rooted in charity and full of that light which he has unleashed upon the world; a light that is stronger than sin and death and hell itself," the bishop said. Bishop McIntyre was the principal celebrant and homilist at the opening Mass of the conference, which drew approximately 2,500 Catholic women and men from around the country. They gathered at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia for a joy-filled conference and celebration of the Holy Spirit. "Let us pray with one heart together with Mary in the Upper Room" was the theme of the conference, held every five years. It brought together four distinct branches of Catholic charismatics in the United States -- English speakers, Hispanics, Filipinos and Haitians -- with both general sessions and separate sessions for the four tracks as well as a fifth that targeted youths. Prominent among the concelebrants at the opening Mass was Ukrainian Archbishop Stefan Soroka of Philadelphia. "This is my first time at this and I was really impressed by it," he said. "It was really beautiful to see the light and joy on people's faces. It was life-giving."

Pope Benedict XVI joined the international community in condemning a massacre in Syria, and he called for Christian and Muslim leaders in the country to guide their faithful in prayer and collaboration to restore peace and calm. The massacre in Houla May 25-26 left about 108 people dead, including 49 children and 34 women. The U.N. Security Council May 27 condemned the massacre of civilians and, while not pinning all the blame on the Syrian government, it accused the government of inappropriately using heavy weapons in a residential area. In a statement May 28, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said the massacre was "a motive of great sorrow and concern for the Holy Father and the entire Catholic community, as it is for the international community which has expressed unanimous condemnation of the incident. Renewing its appeal for an end to all forms of violence, the Holy See exhorts the parties involved and the entire international community to spare no efforts to resolve this crisis through dialogue and reconciliation," Father Lombardi said. The Vatican also said religious leaders and those who believe in God "are called to commit themselves to promoting the peace which is so much sought after, for the good of the whole population." Today we pray for the people massacred in Syria and around the world.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius delivered her remarks as scheduled May 18 at Georgetown University at an awards ceremony during the university's commencement week events. According to The Hill newspaper, she was interrupted after she began her speech by a protester shouting something about "abortion." The paper said the individual was escorted from the room "and continued yelling for several minutes outside." In her remarks at Georgetown's Public Policy Institute ceremony, Sebelius did not mention the criticism of the university's invitation to her to speak on campus, but the Archdiocese of Washington was among those who strongly criticized her appearance at the Catholic university because of her role in the HHS contraceptive mandate. The nation's Catholic bishops have repeatedly criticized the mandate, saying it threatens the religious freedom of Catholic institutions such as universities, hospitals and social service agencies because it would force them to provide employees with health insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs, contraceptives and sterilization procedures in violation of church teaching. In its May 15 statement, the Washington Archdiocese noted that because of the "dramatic impact this mandate will have on Georgetown and all Catholic institutions, it is understandable that Catholics across the country would find shocking the choice of Secretary Sebelius, the architect of the mandate, to receive such special recognition at a Catholic university. It is also understandable that Catholics would view this as a challenge to the bishops." In a May 14 statement Georgetown's president, John DeGioia, acknowledged concerns were "expressed by some" on the campus and in the larger American Catholic community objecting to Sebelius participating in the institute's awards ceremony.

David R. Carlin, Jr. has written an interesting op-ed piece that discusses the campaign to discredit Christian thinking which is highly evident in the current argument for gay marriage. Now, none other than the President of the United States has become a willing vessel for this immoral nonsense. Carlin writes, "A learned friend of mine recently wrote an op-ed piece for a newspaper in which she argued that the drive for same-sex marriage is not simply about same-sex marriage; it is also about winning moral approval for homosexuality. If society, acting through the state, tells us that homosexuals can marry one another, then it is by the same token telling us that there is nothing morally objectionable about homosexual conduct. My friend is, of course, correct. But I’ll add to this that the drive for same-sex marriage is not simply about same-sex marriage or the moral legitimization of homosexual behavior; it is also about the de-legitimizing of Christian morality. More, it is about the de-legitimizing of Christianity itself. The taboo on homosexual conduct is as old as Christianity itself and clearly goes back to Old Testament times. And if there is such a thing as natural law, the taboo is rooted in natural law; for nature (or God as author of nature) seems to have designed the anatomy and physiology of human beings in such a way that sex between men and women is sex “according to nature.” Sex between men and men or between women and women, though it can be accomplished in an unnatural manner, doesn’t seem to be what nature/God had in mind. What’s more, the taboo on homosexual conduct is not only as old as Christianity and Christian morality; it is an essential element in Christian morality, not a merely incidental element. St. Paul made this clear by going out of his way on a number of occasions to condemn it in no uncertain terms. And even though pro-homosexuality speakers and writers, with the intention of surrounding their sexual opinions with a spiritual aura, often contend that Jesus did not utter a word of condemnation of homosexual behavior, this is not exactly so; for He condemned it by implication when He spoke in an unflattering way of the city of Sodom. (See Matthew 11:23-24 and Luke 10:12.) The Catholic Church has classified it as a mortal sin — a moral offense that merits eternal damnation. The taboo on homosexual conduct is as much an essential element of Christian morality as is the taboo on abortion. And both taboos are strongly connected with the extraordinarily high valuation that Christianity has always given to the virtue of chastity. So if you wish to overthrow the Christian rules against sodomy and abortion, which is precisely what the prevailing secularist morality of the day wishes to do (and indeed is doing very successfully), then you wish to overthrow the Christian moral system. You don’t necessarily have to be conscious of that wish: Some of those who are out to destroy Christian morality are fully conscious of their intention, others are not. Whether conscious or not, however, the course you will be pursuing is a course tending to the overthrow of Christian morality." Those who do not believe that this is a designed campaign should review their history. Gay-rights advocates very explicitly laid out their plans in the 1980s. The move was made earlier but was not as obvious or vocal. Many have said that it is a movement that has focused on infiltrating all parts of the Church including the seminaries and that argument now holds merit in light of the tragedy of the child molestation charges that have damaged the Church more recently. The plot is obvious. If the opposition can wear us down and overwhelm our will with a constant cascade of attack, they assume we will give up. What they don't know or perhaps underestimate is God's will cannot be overwhelmed. With each wave of evil that comes at the Church, there is a larger wave waiting to consume the evil. We cannot fail if we are working for God. Prayer is our sword. We must not despair and if we do, we should turn to Jesus Christ to show us how to recover. Remember the words of our Savior as he faced his death "Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.” (Luke 22, 42).

Have you ever really thought about the motive of Judas Iscariot? I was watching an interesting movie recently about this apostle who is known as the one who betrayed Jesus. It was Judas who identified Jesus when the Sanhedrin came to arrest him. The movie attempted to give back-story to who Judas really was. The main message was that Judas dearly loved Jesus but he thought that he knew more than Jesus. In the end, just like in the Garden of Eden, it was ego that caused Judas to lose his way. He wanted Jesus to be a certain kind of leader. He wanted Jesus to ascertain his kingship. Judas was from Jerusalem so when Jesus went there on Palm Sunday, Judas was very happy. It may have been the first time that Judas had been to his hometown in three years. Like many of us who attach ourselves to other people and then depend on their power to define who we are, Judas wanted to show off Jesus. He wanted everyone to know that he was with the King of the Jews. Judas understood leadership in a certain way and that way was about authority and obedience. What he had failed to learn in the three years that he had been with Jesus was the type of leadership that Jesus used. Jesus was a servant leader. He modeled what type of behavior he expected from his followers. Jesus did not ask anyone to do anything that he himself would not do. A key point in the movie takes place when Jesus is angered by the moneychangers in the Temple. Jesus demands that they treat his Father's house with the respect it deserves as a place of worship. Jesus is angry and forceful. He turns over tables and demands that the merchants leave the Temple. This was what Judas was looking for at all times but Jesus had his priorities. He was focused on what we should be focused on and that is that God our Father deserves respect and reverence. Jesus was not concerned with an earthly kingship. Pope Benedict XVI has written about this very topic in his book Jesus of Nazareth. Pope Benedict writes, "the Roman emperor's claim to divine kingship encounters the Christian belief that the risen Christ is the true Son of God, the Lord of all peoples of the earth, to whom alone belongs worship in the unity of Father, Son, and Spirit." Christianity acknowledges civil authority just as Jesus did when he said to give Caesar what is owed him. Judas was seeking to combine the two but Jesus had no intention of doing so. Judas is portrayed in this movie as using the opportunity to identify Jesus to the authorities so that Jesus will have to exert his kingship. Judas thinks by doing this he will force Jesus' hand. Judas does not have the knowledge and insight that Jesus has of course. He does not know, as Jesus did, that all that is to happen must happen for our salvation. It is a recurrent theme with us. We frequently make decisions based on worldly principles. The patience to wait for God's decision is a daily struggle for us because we are still caught up in the worldly notions when we should be focusing on what is truly important. Loving God and sharing his good news should be our daily focus. The rest will be taken care of by God.

The church's first martyr found the strength to face his accusers because of his close relationship with God, Pope Benedict XVI said. St. Stephen, who was accused of blasphemy and stoned to death, upheld the faith and gave witness to Christ as the righteous one proclaimed by the prophets, the pope said during the general audience in St. Peter's Square May 2. Continuing his catechesis on Christian prayer, the pope focused on St. Stephen, who was "accused of saying that Jesus would destroy the temple and the customs handed down by Moses." The saint told his accusers the body of Jesus is the new temple of God; it is in Jesus that God and humanity are in true contact, which makes real communion with God and transformation possible, the pope said. The saint explained how God does not dwell in places made by human hands; the "new true temple where God dwells is in his son," who gathers and unites all people in the sacrament of his body and blood, the pope said. Today's Christians can draw inspiration from St. Stephen, who found strength during his martyrdom in his relationship with God and by meditating on the history of salvation. "Our prayer, too, must be nourished by listening to the word of God in communion with Jesus and his church," he said. In Christ, people can make real contact with God "with the trust and abandon of children who turn to a father who loves them infinitely," he said. Of the more than 20,000 pilgrims from all over the world who attended the general audience, an altar-server from the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, had the privilege of meeting Pope Benedict. Armando Sanchez, 17, came to Rome thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. "When they told me that I had this opportunity to go wherever I wanted and meet whomever I wanted, I did think about celebrities, but I said no," Sanchez said in an interview with The Valley Catholic, newspaper of the Brownsville diocese. At the end of the audience, Sanchez and his mother, Maria de la Luz Sanchez, greeted the pope. The pope shook their hands and blessed the teen. Sanchez has been a cancer patient for 16 years and has multiple tumors in his heart, brain and optical tracts, according to The Valley Catholic. The Make-A-Wish Foundation has been fulfilling the wishes of hundreds of thousands of children and teens with life-threatening illnesses since its founding in 1980. "Many young people would rather go to Disney -- he chose Rome," Oblate Father Michael Amesse told The Valley Catholic. "That speaks volumes. He loves God so much," said Father Amesse, who is rector of Immaculate Conception Cathedral, where Armando is an altar server. The teen's mother told The Valley Catholic that "Armando is an example for the whole world. He doesn't need or want anyone's help. He takes care of himself. He is very strong." The teen said he plans on pursuing a career in pathology after high school graduation and that is also discerning the priesthood. While he briefly went through a period of being angry about his condition, today he said he has accepted it. "Some people have stressful jobs or pressures at home, this is my cross to carry," he said.