When I started writing this blog, God placed on my heart a desire to share how we are all walking a very similar path. I am not saying that we are all exactly alike but I often feel that my problems are unique and that is just not true. In addition, I find that fellow Catholics have experienced similar events. I was guided by the Holy Spirit to develop a list of seven questions and I have been sending them out all over the U.S. asking for a response. I admit it is an unusual method and probably has made some of the recipients nervous but I am happy to say that a second brave soul has responded to me. Rev. Michael Diochi of St. Bernadette’s Parish in Kansas City provided the following responses. I have listed each question before his response. To see the first response by Fr. Al Baca, refer back to the August 20 entry. If you would like to participate, simply respond to the following seven questions and forward your answers to fellmananthony@gmail.com. Enjoy!

1. What is the biggest challenge to your faith that you have faced so far? I have no serious challenge to my faith, because, I went to the Priestly Vocation as a determined child, and earlier in my life through the Junior Seminary. I have no doubt about it and I do not regret it, because, I am happy with my Priestly Call from God, whereby, I do serve God and humanity in sincerity. However, I am not impressed on how some people doubt the existence of God and, consequentially, they disregard other people's Dignity and Rights, and hence mishandle their humanness.
2. What scripture do you find yourself turning to most often? The part of the Scripture I turn to most of the time is "Jesus Christ wept" (John 11:35ff.).
3. How do you think God is revealing his presence to us in the world today? God is revealing His presence in the world, through the miraculous works He constantly does, and by His careful sustenance of the world, in spite of mankind's sinfulness and deviation from Him.
4. Do you have a book that you would recommend to people trying to develop their spirituality? The appropriate book I do recommend for you to read is the Holy Bible and other Spiritual Books dealing with the life of Saints.
5. Why do you think bad things happen to good people? Bad things happen to good people through which God aids them in the solidification of their Faith.
6. What have you found is the most effective way to introduce the word of God to a nonbeliever? The most effective way to introduce the Word of God to non-believers is through one's sincere acting out his/her Faith and Believe with good works towards Neighbors. That is to say, "A Practical Living Faith accompanied with Good Works".
7. Do you have a favorite saint and if so, why? My favorite Saint is Jesus Christ, who is the sincere Redeemer.
God bless you! Rev. Fr. M. Diochi.

What I find so fascinating about the Catholic faith is the rich history and depth. I am constantly learning new things about being a Catholic and more often than not, much of our religion is rooted in Biblical text. Which is confusing because often those that attempt to tear down the Church try to use the Bible to do so. That is a topic for an earlier day as I explained before when I wrote about doing the Devil's work for him. We as Christians should always look to commonalities rather than building walls to separate ourselves. What caused me to start this topic was the practice that many Catholics observe of having a Mass said for a deceased family member or friend. I learned today that that practice is rooted in 2 Maccabees 12:39-46. It makes sense of course if we simply think critically about our lives as humans. Are we ever in a perfect state like Jesus was when he died? We are striving for this perfection but know that ultimately our humanness will get in the way. So offering prayers of forgiveness for those we have lost is logical. Our God is loving and full of forgiveness. We just need to ask and then turn away from sin. I will continue to pray for the loved ones I have lost and I hope that my family and friends do the same for me once I am gone to my heavenly home. So that I don't leave you with a heavy heart, I thought I would share a joke on the matter as well. A priest and a bus driver both died and went to Heaven at the same time. They get to the pearly gates where Pope St. Peter greets them. He motions to the priest, and they both hop in a jeep and go out the back door. There are about 50 acres of rolling hills with a little cottage on the knoll. St. Peter turns to the priest and says "This will be yours for eternity. A perfect little cottage, right next to lovely pond, a lush little garden, and a library full of books." The priest says, "Thank you so much. This I shall enjoy!" St. Peter drops off the priest, goes back to the pearly gates and motions to the bus driver. They hop in a stretch limo and go out the front door. There are about 500 acres of land, with mountains and lakes and rivers. There is a huge 200-room castle on one of the mountains, and a wishing well that makes wishes come true. St. Peter says "This will be yours for eternity. You can live in that castle with servants to wait on you hand and foot, and you can have everything you want." The bus driver looks and St. Peter and says "Well, now, don't think I'm not grateful, but why am I getting so much more than the priest?" St. Peter just laughs and says "You brought more souls to Heaven! When the priest preached, everyone fell asleep. When you drove your bus, people prayed!"

In a recent conversation, I suggested that one of the missions of local Catholic high schools is to promote vocations, specifically to religious life but overall as well. Also participating in the conversation were several nuns who quickly admitted that their numbers were dwindling and there was not a succession plan in place to provide new sisters for the school. The conversation began to evolve and we talked about the recent success of the local Diocese in recruiting men for the priesthood. During the meeting, I noticed a lack of participation by the nuns at the table. After the meeting, I approached two of them separately to find out what they were thinking about this topic. Both expressed to me that they were excited about the topic and very grateful that I had brought it up. I mentioned their lack of input and they shared with me that they did not want to anger the parents who might accuse them of self-interests. Who is going to recruit for them if not themselves? I must say that their attitude is backed by some new science that was conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) for the National Religious Vocation Conference (NRVC). The CARA report entitled "Recent Vocations to Religious Life" revealed some interesting data. Many of the younger people who had recently chosen the religious life were not supported by their families. But my idea has merit as well according to the research. Most of the respondants noted that they first became acquainted with religious life and the various orders at school but the most frequent method of invitation came from a priest. This certainly solidifies the need for priests to be involved in our local schools. The report is extensive and can be found here (CARA). I would encourage you to read and share it. Also, as this is the Year of the Priest, all of us should be focused on how we can promote the religious life as something to be valued and respected.

Today is the feast day for St. Padre Pio. As I was growing up, I can remember my grandfather talking about this great man. He predicted, accurately, that Padre Pio would one day be named a saint. When my grandfather passed, I inherited some of his book collection. In it were several books on Padre Pio which I have spent some time studying. Padre Pio believed that the love of God was inseparable from suffering and that suffering all things for the sake of God was the way for the soul to reach God. Many say that he embraced this concept so well, he was blessed with the stigmata. He felt that his soul was lost in a chaotic maze, plunged into total desolation, as if he were in the deepest pit of hell. During his period of spiritual suffering, his followers believe that Padre Pio was attacked by the Devil, both physically and spiritually. He sincerely thought of himself as useless, unworthy of God's gifts, full of weakness and infirmity, and at the same time blessed with divine favors. Amid so much admiration around him, he would say, “I only want to be a poor friar who prays." He died on September 23, 1968. So many people struggle with the concept of Saints often citing the fact that many lived so long ago. Padre Pio is a man of our time and therefore very relevant to us. I would encourage to spend some time getting to know him better by visiting his official website here: St. Padre Pio

Have you ever been faced with an overwhelming feeling of doom? Have you ever felt like you were in the presence of the Devil? I had a recent conversation with a friend who said he truly felt that a certain person we both know is working for the Devil. He described this person as "evil incarnate." I asked him why and he said that God had placed this on his heart and he asked me to avoid this person at all costs. I must tell you that I was shaken as I had worked closely with this person for a while. I did notice a lack of willingness to embrace the Word of God but perhaps I was not being observant enough. It is nice to know that God sends guardian angels to warn us and I truly am thankful for this authentic friend. Today's reading is appropriately enough from Joel. The book itself is about a threatening catastrophe and the warning the people receive from the prophet to repent and turn to the Lord with fasting and weeping. The people did as they were told and the Lord answered their prayer. It is a frightening scene but the Lord proves that he is trustworthy and good. St. Peter writes about the Book of Joel in Acts 2:16-21, "No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: It will come to pass in the last days,' God says, 'that I will pour out a portion of my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. Indeed, upon my servants and my handmaids I will pour out a portion of my spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy. And I will work wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below: blood, fire, and a cloud of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and splendid day of the Lord, and it shall be that everyone shall be saved who calls on the name of the Lord." Are we ready for the day of the Lord? It will come even if we are not ready.

While listening to a local Christian radio station yesterday, I had the privilege to hear an 11 year old call in for a contest they were running. The idea was that you had to sing or rap any part of a Toby mac song. This young fellow sang almost half of Mac's song City on Our Knees. It was very inspiring because he sang with such conviction and belief. It is why Jesus sought out the children during his time here on earth. Their spirituality can be truly inspiring. I saw on a fellow blogger's site that Fr. Simeon Gallagher had been in the Boston area recently. If you have a chance to hear him speak, do not miss it. He is truly inspired by the Holy Spirit and in this Year of the Priest represents the best there is. In 1 Thessalonians 5:11 St. Paul writes, "Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, as indeed you do." Is there nothing nicer than hearing a compliment. In the business world, good managers know that credit is free and should be spread around often. We as Christians should also look for opportunities to build each other up. Because our society is moving at such a fast pace, we need to take the time to build one another up. St. Paul goes on to say, "We urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, cheer the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient with all. See that no one returns evil for evil; rather, always seek what is good (both) for each other and for all." I can only imagine what our city, country and world would look like if we merely took these simple suggestions to heart and implemented them in our lives everyday. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in You. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I believe in Your love for me. Sacred Heart of Jesus, Your Kingdom come.

One of the easiest ways that Satan can enter your life is by using your ego. I find this particularly frustrating and taming my ego has become a routine exercise for me. Strife enters your life through little, insignificant incidents. It can be when someone ignores you or is short with you in conversation. Our ego then becomes bruised and decides that this person does not like us. Before long, we are having thoughts that this person is spreading gossip about us and we retaliate. Just as C. S. Lewis's characters Screwtape and Wormwood celebrated with glee, the Devil delights in creating this scenario over and over. He can quickly check us off his "to-do" list for that day and move on to others. We quickly become his servant and accomplish his task for him. Lewis gives us the perfect example of this in his book and as I have said before, if you have not read it, The Screwtape Letters should be on your must read list. Take a closer look at the world around you and see if you can identify the ways in which Satan has insinuated himself. Is there strife in your family or your workplace. One of the main targets for this type of destructive work is the Church. Does your church have problems and dissension? Do you know what is causing it? Can you help to stop it? If Satan can take root in our Church, what is sacred? We must work together as the Body of Christ to rid our Church of strife and sin. And it may just start with taking a look at your ego.

No matter what you think of Whitney Houston, you have to agree that her voice has to be a gift from God. I really felt sorry for her last night as I watched an interview she was doing. I really felt her sincerity when she talked about staying with her self-destructive and abusive husband because she took her wedding vows seriously. She shared how she was brought up in a Christian house and that she had pledged her commitment before God in church and that meant she had to endure no matter what. I can remember the time when she sang the National Anthem before the Superbowl. Is there a more beautiful or heartfelt rendition out there? The voice is so pure. What about her remake of I Will Always Love You? God certainly gave her a gift. I hope that her return to God will prove to be permanent. I have missed her voice. The reading today is from Colossians. St. Paul is confronted with new Christians who are still confused about who Jesus is and their old cultic practices. Paul asks them, "If you died with Christ to the elemental powers of the world, why do you submit to regulations as if you were still living in the world?" I will never know why God sent me to this passage but it does relate to Whitney Houston. She admitted to being seduced by the money and power that she amassed by becoming a star. She also admits how she came to realize that it all meant nothing because she lost herself in the process and she found her way back through the Bible. I think Paul is referencing the exact types of things that seduced Whitney Houston. We are frequently dazzled by the lifestyles of the rich and famous but when we are exposed to the truth about their lives, we frequently think we would be different. Why is that? I have firmly set my sights on enjoying my rewards in heaven. If that means I have to live a more aesthetic and austere life, then that is fine. God is working in me now to move to this new goal. I hope He is happy with the end result.

St. Paul's letter to the Galatians is the topic of the day. Galatians 5:14 says, "For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." And we do love ourselves don't we? Look at the billions of dollars we spend on looking good. So if we put this commandment into practice, can you not see how many of our problems simply fall away immediately? St. Paul goes on to say in 5:16-18, "I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh. For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want. But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law." Allowing the Holy Spirit to work within us also allows God to use us to share his message on earth. If you know someone that is like this, it may be you yourself, you also see how other people are drawn to this type of person. The Spirit illuminates people who are faithful and are guided. Finally, in 5:22-23 Paul says, "In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." All of the things we long for are given to us by the Spirit but there is a catch. We must allow ourselves to be guided by the Spirit. I am in. Are you? I want to urge you to pray for all those around you who are suffering. Pray that they offer up their suffering, in the way that St. Padre Pio did, like Christ did on the cross. Our suffering can be used for the good of others. It is about replacing the bad with the good.

Today the Lord led me to read Timothy. The focus seemed to be on 1 Timothy 2:1, "First of all, then, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth." It is interesting because I had been focusing on the President's speech last night and the outburst from the South Carolina Senator. But the Lord is clear that we should always pray for our leaders. I think that may be something that gets lost in all of the vitriol and name-calling that goes on in our political arenas. But take the time to read the passage more closely. He is reminding us to pray for each other, everyone, not just our family and friends but our world, our company, our city, our nation. The passage concludes by focusing on our mission in life. We must share the knowledge of the truth. How are you doing in this area. I know that I struggle with this task but it is getting easier through practice. Where I was timid and tentative in the past, I am now more bold. I create opportunities to talk about the Lord and His kingdom in all situations. My colleague at work calls this the Jesus web but I choose to think that the web is a positive thing. You may not know that a spider's web is the strongest material in the world based on its size. How awesome is it then to offer to your friends an opportunity to wrap themselves in the Jesus web and become safe and secure in the Good News? So let us lift up our leaders in prayer so that we may live in peace and share the knowledge of the kingdom. By the way, I love the new Toby Mac song City on Our Knees. The message in this song ties to today's topic perfectly. Toby sings, "To a city with one king, A city on our knees." How incredible would it be to see your city on its knees praising God?

How do you set the agenda for your day each morning? I am not talking about work or errands. I am talking about your spiritual day. Do you pray each morning and ask God to fill your day? Do you ask for a scripture passage to start the day? How do you decide what is most important to you that day? Most of us have a problem with time in the morning but what are you doing instead of praying? Is that going to do anything for your eternal life? What are your priorities? I challenge you to rise a few minutes earlier each morning and spend some time talking to God and then, most importantly, listen to his response to you. Ask him for a scripture that will set the tone for your day. Give it a week and see if it doesn't improve your life. It is the best way to get a new and everlasting habit going. I just discovered that the "What's in Your Wallet" folks are actually offering a credit card that supports the Pro-Life movement. How awesome is that? Take a look at the offer (Pro Life Card). The Crossroads ministry deserves our support and kudos to Capital One Bank for offering this blessed (and painless) opportunity.

I have to admit that the start of college football season has me distracted. I do enjoy watching and supporting my favorite teams. I was very appalled at the incident at the Oregon/Boise State game last night. Oregon player LeGarrette Blount punched Byron Haute in the face after the game was over. To make matters worse, Mr. Blount also attempted to attack a fan. He was constrained by Oregon and Boise State security personnel and led to the locker room. To his credit, Mr. Blount did apologize but the question remains, why did it happen in the first place? It also goes to the bigger question of what college athletics has evolved into at this point. Why is there so much anger and animosity for a game that champions sportsmanship. In fact, that is one of the main traits that experts claim is aided when students participate in organized sports, along with leadership and time management. I am personally praying for Mr. Blount and I urge you to do so as well. This event could very negatively impact his future. I hope that someone at the Oregon Catholic Student Center reaches out to Mr. Blount. By the way, I was reading the Aggie Catholic blog this morning and found out that the tabernacle was stolen from the Blessed Sacrament Chapel at the St. Francis Newman Center at Ball State University some time last night or this morning. This is greatly disturbing. Why would anyone think this is a good idea? Hopefully it will be found or returned intact.

The development of our patience skills may one of the hardest things we have to do as humans. I certainly think it is becoming a lost art. A lot of it has to do with the pace of our society. We are always looking for the quickest and fastest in everything. I remember when microwave ovens first appeared and we marveled at their efficiency and quickness. Now I hear folks complain that the microwave is taking too long. Although our time is relatively short on earth it would behoove us to slow our lives down. How often do you feel like you just don't have enough time. Or worse, after someone has passed, do you regret not visiting or talking with them more often. Part of our responsibilities to others is being a good father, mother, sister, brother, friend, etc. That means forming lasting and deep relationships and that takes time. In Psalm 40:1 it says, "I waited, waited for the Lord; who bent down and heard my cry." In Hebrews 10:36 it states, "You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised." In 2 Thessalonians 3:5 it says, "May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ." I could go on and on. The Bible, our instruction manual for living, is full of exhortations about the need for humans to be patient and to build up our endurance. I struggle each day to accomplish this request. The Lord know that we are human and weak and therefore, He is patient with us. I am praying that we all grow in our ability to be patient when it is warranted.