Learning to be Quick to Listen

The Gospel reading on Sunday had so many lessons for all of us. The one that struck me the most is the plight of the blind man. When Jesus restored his eyesight, the first thing he saw was the face of Jesus. What a beautiful sight that must have been. It certainly made me think about my afterlife. I hope that when I leave this life and wake up in the next, the first face I see is that of Jesus. It also made me realize that I must work at getting to see His face everyday. Little things matter just as much as big things. No, I am not murdering anyone but is my tongue causing harm to someone? Do I conduct my life so that others know I am a disciple of Jesus? The lesson of the Gospel that also stuck with me is that we care too much about what others think of us. As soon as we sense that someone is not going to like us, we begin to structure our lives to maintain that relationship. Why don't we do that with God? That is the ultimate decision about anything we do. What does God think? Am...

The feast of the Annunciation of the Lord celebrates the angel Gabriel's appearance to the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26-38), his announcement that the Blessed Virgin had been chosen to be the Mother of Our Lord, and Mary's willing acceptance of God's holy plan. Originally a feast of our Lord, but now celebrated as a Marian feast, the feast of the Annunciation dates back at least to the fifth century, and the date of the feast, which is determined by the date of Christmas, was set at March 25 by the seventh century. The Annunciation, as much as or even more so than Christmas, represents Christ's Incarnation. When Mary signaled to Gabriel her acceptance of God's Will, Christ was conceived in her womb through the power of the Holy Spirit. While most of the Fathers of the Church say that Mary's fiat was essential to God's plan of salvation, God foresaw Mary's acceptance of His Will from all eternity. My plan to honor Mary's commitment and celebrate this day is...

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you. As I have gone through the day, I have been greeting people with this salutation and some of them are giving me the strangest looks. When I offer to tell them a little about who St. Patrick was and what he accomplished, they are acting like he is a fantasy. Many people have said that they assumed he was a made up saint and that he looked like a leprechaun! I can't make this stuff up. It is really a shame that the legend of a great man, who was recognized for his ministry by being canonized, has become so diminished by the "green beer revelry." A few days ago I saw an article that indicated that people of Irish descent in the U.S. were very disturbed by the images used to depict them and their ancestors. I can sympathize with them because of my French and Acadian ancestry. The depiction of "Cajuns" has become so simplistic. The use of the term Cajun for any food that is spicy is amusing. The history of the Acadian Diaspora is a...

Although recent polls on Catholics supporting same-sex “marriage” are viewed as less disheartening than they appear, the results sparked a call for education on the beauty and truth of Church teaching. Tim Roder, associate director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, said that Catholic belief in marriage is about “remaining faithful to Jesus and his teaching.” He cited Christ's words about married couples in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 10: “from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”“We cannot be driven by polls,” Roder told EWTN News March 7.Surveys indicating some Catholics' rejection of Catholic teaching show “there is still much work to be done, particularly in educating the faithful on the beauty of marriage as the unique union of one man and one woman.” Th...

What did you give up for Lent? Did you eat meat today? Why did you have ashes on your forehead on Wednesday? Are you over your Mardi Gras hangover yet? These are the questions swirling around those of us who are Catholic in South Louisiana. It is certainly comforting to live in an area that has a large number of Catholics but it also provides us with an opportunity. We can take the message of the Gospel from the Church that Jesus built on the foundation of Peter and begin to change the perceptions of what it truly means to be a Catholic in the 21st century. Heeding the call of Pope Francis to not be a "one trick pony" and only rail against abortion, we should also indicate our support for all things Catholic. That includes social justice especially when it concerns the poor. That means the Catholic education that has been provided for so long in many places that had nothing before and would have inadequate schooling without the Church's support. That means we need to shar...