Discovering hope and joy in the Catholic faith. August 2011 Holy Family Catholic Church Abilene, Texas What can you do with good old “Catholic Guilt”? Quiet service Our so-called “Catholic guilt” is Make things right. Key to In the service of God not everyone actually a healthy warning overcoming guilt is to make things is called to lead. There are times signal that alerts us right, but that is easier in some when we are to take a when something in situations than others. Ask your background role and go our relationship priest for suggestions, if necessary. unnoticed. No matter. When with God needs Learn from your mistakes. Review we serve with love, our service fixing. When what went wrong and resolve not to can be as important as that of dealt with in let it happen again. Remember how the most prominent apostle. positive ways, uncomfortable it was to carry guilt guilt can be and how great it felt when the burden Forgiveness, again good. was lifted. Seal your commitment Jesus certainly had reason to Get rid of with the penance you receive from harbor a grudge. He was it. Guilt is like the priest. falsely accused, unjustly a hot potato. The bad kind of guilt. Guilt is imprisoned, cruelly murdered. It’s not supposed to be a temporary feeling to Yet he forgave everyone and pleasant to nudge us back on track. Feeling wants us to do the same. hold for long. constant shame that isn’t associated Holding a grudge gives The idea is to with a corresponding sin is power over our life to the get rid of it offending person or situation. quickly. As we let go of the grudge, that Find the source. Examine your unreasonable. If that’s what you are power disappears. Instead, conscience and find the source. Then feeling, try to identify the source. Are there is room for compassion confess it during the Sacrament of there people in your life skilled at and understanding. That’s Reconciliation. Remember: God always making you feel guilty? If unsure, ask what Jesus wants for us. forgives even if people don’t. a priest or religious for help.

LAITY: The faithful who, having been incorporated into Christ through Baptism, are Why do Catholics made part of the people of God, the Church. believe in angels? The laity participate in Often pictured as creatures with intelligence and their own way in chubby cherubs with will, and are splendid and the priestly, wings, angels are immortal. Some angelic duties prophetic, and actually powerful recorded in Scripture have kingly functions beings who have been included announcing and of Christ. present since creation. assisting prophets, leading (Catechism of the They are spirits who act as God’s people out of danger, Catholic God’s servants and and announcing important Church) messengers and dwell with births. In fact, the angel Gabriel God in Heaven. announced the birth of Jesus, Angels are purely spiritual © Copyright 2011 Success Publishing & Media, LLC himself. August 2011 Page 2 3 Ways to share Christ in your community

Pope John Paul II once said that those of us who know Our culture tells us it’s funny to make jokes at Christ can’t keep him for ourselves. “We must others’ expense or interesting to gossip. Instead, proclaim him.” Try these ideas for proclaiming use Christ-speech, which is always positive. Christ in your community: Spend responsibly. As consumers we can Vote. When we cast our votes, we bring Christian bring Christ to the marketplace by buying products principles into our local, state, or federal that have been produced responsibly. Ask your retailer governments. To build a more just and for information about how and by whom the products compassionate society, look for candidates sold were made. If you don’t like the answer, shop who most closely represent our Catholic values. elsewhere. (For more information, go to the U.S. Speak with love. “This is how all will know that you are Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). www.usccb.org social justice section.)

Matthew 16:21-27, How can Jesus predicts his Passion. I resist temptation? Jesus told the Apostles he must suffer, forms: an illness, the death of a loved die, and be raised from the dead. one, the loss of a job. Actually we’d There is only one effective way to When Peter objected, Jesus have those crosses whether or not we resist temptation and that is to say rebuked him. He follow Jesus. “no.” But that is easier said than done. explained that to be By denying ourselves, Try these ideas for help: his disciples we must picking up our cross, and Make a list of what take up our cross and following Jesus, we will be most often leads you follow him. joining ourselves to Jesus. into sin. Do you have Jesus never That is how we can show friends who love to promised us, his our faith in God. Jesus will gossip? Do you drink followers, worldly help us carry our cross by too much with success. We are not giving us his strength. coworkers? Do you promised wealth, When others see how our spend too much money at the mall? good health, constant faith carries us through Write your list down and make it bliss, or an easy life. The only thing our trials, it can help them come to complete. Then decide to reject each Jesus promised us for this life is a cross. Jesus. We evangelize by how we live item on the list. Most of us will have many crosses in our lives. In the process we gain Practice saying “no” when you are our lives. Our crosses can take many eternal life. alone. Say it out loud if you have to. Don’t offer explanations. Just make it a is best known for promoting the “no.” “I don’t do that.” “That’s not devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus me.” and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Remove yourself from temptation. In He founded the Congregation of Jesus the Old Testament story of Joseph, his August 13 – Pope St. Pontian and Mary (Eudists). boss’s wife “looked at him with longing” (235). Pontian spent most of his August 25 – St. Louis of France and followed him around but Joseph papacy defeating heresy and battling (1270). After two reigns of violence, “would not agree to lie with her or even be an antipope, Hippolytus, with whom King Louis IX brought peace and near her” (Genesis 39:10). Avoid the he later reconciled. During the Roman justice to France. He improved the tax gossiping friends, go straight home persecution of the Church, Pontian system and reformed laws, founded from work, stay away from the mall. and Hippolytus were exiled to the hospitals and visited their sick. He There is nothing more important than mines in Sardinia where they were protected the rights avoiding sin. martyred. of the common

August 19 – St. John Eudes (1680). people. He died To provide practical ideas that promote Born on a farm in Normandy, France, of typhus in a faithful Catholic living. Success Publishing & Media, LLC John was priest and missionary in the crusade against Publishers of Growing in Faith™ and Partners in Faith™ Diocese of Seez. Concerned with the Muslim (540)662-7844 (540)662-7847 fax state of the clergy, he instituted advances in http://www.growinginfaith.com (Unless noted Bible quotes and references are from reforms and started seminaries. John Syria. the Revised Standard Version and the New American Bible) © Copyright 2011 Success Publishing & Media, LLC