Learning to be Quick to Listen

The last acceptable prejudice has reared its ugly head again. I am talking about anti-Catholicism in the United States. Take a look at the editorial entitled Foul Ball . I have spoken of this terrible occurrence before and reminded everyone that the Devil loves when Christians fight amongst themselves. This article also points out the difference in treatment between Catholics and Jews. Again, score one for the Fallen One. Some of our very own, Patrick Kennedy namely, have chosen to go public with anti-Catholic remarks recently. This after his departed father was treated with respect and dignity even though the late Ted Kennedy did not stand up for his faith illustrated most clearly by his votes for abortion/legalized murder. I do not know what is in Patrick Kennedy's heart but I am praying that he take some time to explore his apparent dislike for the very Church that has nurtured and sustained his family for over 200 years. The Catholic Church provides health care to the indigent ...

A co-worker approached me to talk about a preacher she heard this weekend. The topic was grace. The kind of grace that only God can give us. She said that she knew what grace was or thought she knew but the more the preacher spoke, the less convinced she became about her current interpretation of grace. It made me think about grace and what that really means. I guess that I immediately think of a special blessing that God gives us when we accept Him into our lives. But doesn't that make it seem like pixie dust or something? I then thought about grace being all of the things that God allows us to enjoy like cherries, chocolate-covered doughnuts, beautiful music, or a wonderful movie. I decided that this was a very limited way of viewing God's grace. The more I thought and prayed, the more I realized that grace is about life itself. Living in grace is about being in a loving relationship with our Father God. Having the Holy Spirit whisper in your ear when you are confused or lone...

Miracles are happening still today. I know this because I have seen a miracle happen. I wrote on this blog earlier about a good friend of mine who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Many of you know the survival rate for this terrible cancer because of the high profile case of Patrick Swayze who recently passed. Most doctors are reporting a five-percent survival rate for patients who contract this type of cancer. We began to pray mightily for my friend that he be healed of this terrible affliction and that all evil forces that could come against him be blocked by the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Our great and powerful Lord has answered our prayers and my friend is cancer free. Praise God! This miracle is a testament to God's immense empathy and might. During this terrible ordeal, I would talk with my friend and he never strayed from his strong belief that God would intervene for him. I told him that he was bringing more people to Christ everyday by his strong convictions and he j...

I find it very interesting that most of the national holidays celebrated in the United States have their origins in Catholic Christian history. Even the modern day Halloween celebration is tied to the Catholic Church. In 835, Pope Gregory IV moved the celebration for all the martyrs (later all saints) from May 13 to November 1. The night before became known as All Hallow’s Even or “holy evening.” Eventually the name was shortened to the current Halloween. On November 2, the Church celebrates All Souls Day. The purpose of these feasts is to remember those who have died, whether they are officially recognized by the Church as saints or not. It is a celebration of the “communion of saints,” which reminds us that the Church is not bound by space or time. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that through the communion of saints “a perennial link of charity exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their sins in purgatory and thos...

We have another first for the Listen Quickly blog. Deacon Alfred Ardon becomes the first deacon to respond to my seven questions. Deacon Al is in his second year of formation to become a Roman Catholic Deacon. He lives in Kingston, Washington and records his thoughts on his blog A Cascade Catholic . If you would like to participate, please respond to the seven questions and email them to me at fellmananthony@gmail.com. In the meantime, enjoy Deacon Al's responses. 1. What is the biggest challenge to your faith that you have faced so far? The biggest challenge to my faith has been the way things are heading in our country. It’s hard to believe sometimes. People and attitudes bring you down. I have to remind myself no matter how bad it gets, God is still in control. 2. What scripture do you find yourself turning to most often? Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” 3. How do you think God is revealing his presence to us in the ...

Do any of you remember the Keep on Truckin t-shirts from the seventies? Well the artist who drew that and other bizarre cartoons has just released a new book that might shock some of you. Robert Crumb’s new book is called The Book of Genesis Illustrated and is exactly what it sounds like. Crumb says that he used a King James version of the Bible along with a 2004 translation called The Five Books of Moses by scholar Robert Alter. It is 224 pages that graphically depict the stories of Adam and Eve, Noah and The Flood, Abraham and Sarah, as well as Joseph and his brothers. Biblical scholars say they are pleasantly surprised at the outcome. Apparently Crumb merely drew what he read and did not add a comical slant or infuse his work with comments or opinion. I am anxious to take a closer look at this work (disclaimer: I have not read it and am not making a recommendation yet). You can find more information about the book in a story by USA Today . If it is as true to the original text as ...

Just how far are people willing to go in this society to get a laugh or provoke a response? The dialogue about politics has become increasingly uncivil and ratcheted up a level from Clinton to Bush and Obama. But the current prize may go to Sarah Silverman who happens to be Jewish. She unleashed a diatribe against the Catholic Church capped by a suggestion that Pope Benedict sell the Vatican to feed the poor. The Vatican sensibly did not offer comment but several Catholic organizations did come forward to explain the error in Silverman’s thinking. I can’t help but think how outraged our Jewish sisters and brothers would be if their leader(s) were lampooned like Pope Benedict. Her misstep will hopefully not set off a backlash against the Jewish people similar to what happened after the terrorist attacks of September 11 did against the Muslim population. I think that we as Catholics have become all too familiar with this type of insult. The Catholic Church has served so many for so long ...

The scripture that emerged today for me is from the epistle of St. Jude 1:16, "These people are complainers, disgruntled ones who live by their desires; their mouths utter bombast as they fawn over people to gain advantage." I have fallen prey to this many times in the past but have been working to expunge this desire from my heart. I was never one to chase after people for autographs. It never made sense to me and I have urged my children as well as students I have taught in religious education to avoid this urge as well. We are all children of God on the same journey. Why does our society choose to place some above others and generally because they are attractive (actors) or good at running, catching and throwing (athletes)? It is absurd and a cancer that continues to plague us as a people. I especially enjoyed the part in the scripture that describes the mouths uttering bombast. That of course reminded me of my favorite parts of the Epistle of St. James that urge us to con...

Kurt Hilgefort, is a Catholic father of six who publishes his thoughts on his blog Shadows of Augustine . He responded to my seven question survey with the following answers. Kurt is the first layperson to respond to the seven question survey and I think that his experience is extremely relevant to me personally and I hope that you are inspired by his thoughts as well. If you would like to respond, please send an email to fellmananthony@gmail.com with your thoughts and I will be happy to publish them as well. 1. What is the biggest challenge to your faith that you have faced so far? The biggest challenge for me has been the whole dying to self thing. On an intellectual level, there are no barriers. It comes down to a matter of accepting the authority of the Church that Christ founded upon Peter. My challenge is not in the intellect, but rather in the will. The challenge for me has always been to continually seek conversion. I want to be transformed, but I want it to be over all ...

I listen to the news now and wonder how we came to replace our journalists with ideologues. There is no more impartial recounting of the day’s events. Everything has context. And to be honest, most of us choose our cable news by our politics more than anything else. “If the news is going to be bad, I might as well hear it from someone who thinks/talks/acts/looks like me” is the prevailing thought. I receive many emails each day that point out the short comings of the folks in charge of our nation, state and city. What I do not receive are emails offering solutions to any of these problems. Paul writes in Philippians 2:14-16, “Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, as you hold on to the word of life, so that my boast for the day of Christ may be that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.” Does this call for u...

Have you ever been approached by someone who asks you if you believe in the afterlife? How did you respond? I think that we have all heard the adage that it is better to believe and be wrong than not believe at all. The Bible talks about faith a lot and Jesus dealt with the faith issue head on in the post-resurrection incident recounted in John 20:24-29 which says, “Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be...

Did you hear about Blasphemy Day? I discovered this latest version of the Devil's work via a newspaper article describing that yesterday was apparently the time for the world to "promote freedom of speech and the freedom to challenge, criticize and satirize religion without fear of murder, litigation and reprisal." I mourned Blasphemy Day by praying that the Lord would come into the hearts of these misguided souls. When I turned to the scripture today, miraculously I landed on 1 Timothy. In Chapter 1, Timothy talks about the exact kind of folks that would find satirizing religion to be a form of entertainment. 1 Timothy 1:3-11 says, "I repeat the request I made of you when I was on my way to Macedonia, that you stay in Ephesus to instruct certain people not to teach false doctrines or to concern themselves with myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the plan of God that is to be received by faith. The aim of this instruction is love fro...