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January 31, 2005
Sorry about the infrequent posting
Sorry about the infrequent posting lately. Just not much of a chance to sit down and write....at least not time that I’m willing to take away from reading & praying & family. Plus nothing really exciting is happening, and I don’t want to spend too much time boring you with trivia. That’s as exciting as watching someone else’s home movies. Homeschooling has been back in full gear since our Christmas break. Finally, we got some snow for the kids to play in! Yesterday afternoon I took Greg (12), Cathy (9) and Pete (6), along with Greg’s neighborhood friend, Adam, out to a nearby state park that we frequent during the summer months. It’s been cold here in PA lately, and the ice on the lake is about a foot thick. They thought it was so cool to be able to walk all the way across a lake that they swim in when it’s warmer. It’s a popular lake for ice-fishing, so there were many recently-used-and-only-thinly-frozen-over holes for them to explore. Juliana (17) has returned to Michigan, where she has been spending some time living and working with this Catholic youth group. She and Angela (15) had been there from September to December. Angela didn’t return because she is scheduled to receive Confirmation here in April. For your Year of the Eucharist reading enjoyment, check out this series of articles, which recap a talk given during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 by Fr Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap, who is the preacher to the papal household:
The Eucharist and the Christian Life – Part 1
The Eucharist and the Christian Life – Part 2
The Eucharist and the Christian Life – Part 3
The Eucharist and the Christian Life – Part 4
Posted by Walter Babetski at 1:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 21, 2005
St. John Vianney Quote
Taken from the Daily Mass Readings page out at EWTN.
"The home must be in accord with the Church, that all harmful influences be withheld from the souls of children. Where there is true piety in the home, purity of morals reigns supreme."
As fathers, we must be on guard for what comes into our homes in any way, shape or form. I believe the media, in all of it's forms, is one of the main ways, if not THE main way that the devil tries, and often succeeds, to get into our homes and influence our families, not just the kids, but the parents as well.
We must be careful with what is on our TV's. We have stopped surfing the TV channels. I believe it is much better, to just simply find out ahead of time, what you want to watch, and then go right to that channel. When we channel surf, we briefly see images that are not pure, not holy. Our brains are amazing instruments that the Lord has created. They are like little computers that don't forget anything. Even brief glimpses of impure, unholy images get into our minds, and they are stuck there for many years to come. They do have an impact on us whether we admit it or not.
Of course, there are some who say throw the TV out the window. I am fine with that thinking. Yet, I believe there is a good reason to keep the TV around. EWTN is a good reason. If that's the only channel you have on, and then you stick to programming that you have more control of like DVD's, that sounds like a good plan too.
I have focused just on the TV with this post because it is the main culprit, but you have to be careful with books, magazines, music, etc. For crying out loud, you can't even drive down the highway anymore without being bombarded with impure images. We really need to pray for the conversion of our country, of our world.
Of course, I have only scratched the surface on ways our home gets exposed to impurity, to impiety. I'm hoping to see some expansion on this in the comment box.
God bless you!!!
Posted by Tom at 9:54 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
January 19, 2005
Pretty neat little prayer
My mom sent me one of those "pass this to everyone you know" e-mails. Every blue moon, there's one that's worthy of blogging. Here's a neat little prayer she forwarded on to me yesterday.
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"Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.
Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can't make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.
Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.
Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together.
Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love."
Posted by Tom at 8:39 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
January 15, 2005
Went to Confession Today
The past 3 months have been extremely hectic with the holidays, and the move from Chicago back to Michigan. Thank God the dust is beginning to settle. I usually like to get to confession at a minimum once a month. I really try to go every 2 weeks because I find that I forget too much if I go a whole month. Yep, I'm that bad. :-) This time I went 2, maybe even close to 3 months without "hitting the box."
Since so much time went by, I felt that I really needed to sit down and pray through a good examination of conscience. I was trying to think of where I had a guide sitting around, and then I remembered that Walter Babetski had posted this one back on Dec. 1st. It is excellent. Save it to your hard drive.
Thanks again, Walter. It came in very handy today.
Posted by Tom at 3:34 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
January 7, 2005
Children and the personalistic norm
This stuff is crystal-clear to children near the age of reason.
6-year-old Sarah has been playing with Beanie Baby cats today, snuggling them up together in a little crib, tucking them in, generally taking care of them. 2-year-old John came along and took the larger Mommy cat, saying "I'll use this one!" Sarah gently corrected him: "No, cats aren't for using; they're for taking care of." I quickly verified that she recognized the same for human beings, and folks, that is Karol Wojtyla's personalistic norm as found in his 1960s work Love and Responsibility: negatively, no person is to be used as an object; positively, the proper and adequate way to relate to a person is through love.
Easy, ain't it?
Posted by Bill White at 1:37 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack