tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72598691555741373702024-02-20T08:49:22.089-08:00Sky ViewA current event and topic-driven blog which takes a Catholic but unconventional look at the worldJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comBlogger1025125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-63931788447741877102018-12-23T22:14:00.001-08:002018-12-23T22:15:01.513-08:005 Homiletic Tips for Public Speakers<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "times" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; margin: 0px;">Here, on the campus of the Diocese
of Green Bay, we have been blessed with several effective homilists over the
last six years. It cannot be overstated that lay people today really look
forward to good homilies. After all, many of the rites and gestures in the Mass
are no longer understood within the biblical and liturgical tradition from
which they originated. As such, aspects that precede the Mass or are a part of
the Mass itself i.e. hospitality, hymns and homilies, have taken on a great
deal of importance. In fact, these three things often influences whether or not
a person continues their spiritual journey with a parish.<br style="cursor: text; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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All of that aside, it is true, nevertheless, that lay people can learn from
good homilists; especially if their employment or ministry requires them to do
a lot of public speaking. As for my job responsibilities, I provide workshops
and give talks for both parish leaders and parishioners. Yet, my speaking
skills are always a work in progress. Indeed, sometimes I come close to hitting
the mark; but more often than not I walk away from my presentation wishing I
had done things a little differently. If truth be told, I've been doing public
speaking for a while and I have not settled in to a grove that I am happy with.
This is why I welcome feedback from others- positive or negative.<br style="cursor: text; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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</span><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; margin: 0px;">Two
Good Homilists</span></b><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "times" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; margin: 0px;"><br style="cursor: text; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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Wanting to improve in this area, I sought out the advice of two good homilists
that I work with; the names of which I will omit in this article. But I wanted
to know what their secret sauce was. That is, I was curious to learn how they
routinely delivered good sermons (or homilies) time and time again. With these
two priest, in fact, I do not recall a time when daydreaming got the best of me
during their sermons. When they preach, I'm tuned in!<br style="cursor: text; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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Eventually, their counsel resulted in five total bullet points that I have used
for my own public speaking purposes. From time to time I forget to follow
through on their advice; but I make it my aim to revisit these tips from time
to time. Here are the five tips that have been helpful to me:<br style="cursor: text; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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</b></span><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; margin: 0px;">1. One Singular Point</span></b><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "times" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; margin: 0px;"><br style="cursor: text; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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I was told by one of the priest's where I work that before any sermon he gives,
he sits down to write out one main point he wishes to communicate. He went on
to say to me in so many words, "If I can't write down one main point I
want communicate, how can I expect others to remember my sermon?"<br style="cursor: text; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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Now, if you are a big picture person like myself, or theologically minded, or
detail-challenged, then this discipline can be arduous. It can be like trying
to stand at the bottom of the deep end of the pool with the upward pull to
float to the surface. Author of the book, <em><span style="font-family: "times" , "serif"; margin: 0px;">Divine
Renovation</span></em>, Fr. James Mallon made a similar point. He argues that
theologically minded leaders tend to be "generalists". Their message
tends to be general or abstract; lacking that one singular point people can
grab hold off. Theological and spiritual truths, especially, need to be
anchored in a tangible lesson or a singular point.<br style="cursor: text; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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One way to help ensure this focus and intelligibility of your presentation is
to write down the purpose statement before you begin mapping it out. <br style="cursor: text; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; margin: 0px;"><b>2.
Begin with a Story</b></span><span style="color: #0e4361; font-family: "times" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; margin: 0px;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; cursor: text; orphans: 2; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; cursor: text; orphans: 2; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
</span><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "times" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; margin: 0px;">Never
assume that people are interested in the topic you are speaking about. <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">They have
the freedom to tune out. Yet, if we are aware that our natural</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> default as
human beings is to communicate or provide to others what we, ourselves, love,
we can then resist three unfounded assumptions about our audience: 1. That they
are interested in what we are interested in. 2. That they are asking the same
questions we are asking. 3. And that they understand insider jargon we use with
our colleagues.</span></span><span style="color: #0e4361; font-family: "times" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; margin: 0px;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; cursor: text; orphans: 2; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; cursor: text; orphans: 2; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
</span><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "times" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; margin: 0px;">What
helps to overcome these assumptions, is knowing <em><span style="font-family: "times" , "serif"; margin: 0px;">that </span></em>the main point of our talk- <em><span style="font-family: "times" , "serif"; margin: 0px;">especially if it is spiritual or
theological</span></em> -needs an onramp. Onramps or introductions that appeal
to our audience's interests or affections draws them into the main point we
wish to address. This is why stories are universally loved and listened to.
This is why three out of the first five books of the Old Testament and the four
Gospels are composed of stories. <br style="cursor: text; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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The fact is that people instinctively tune into stories. Even analogies and
references to everyday life serves as effective attention-getters. Regardless,
listeners in our post-Christian world cannot immediately enter into the higher
realm of spiritual truths. For them to be open to these truths, we need to help
them by making reference to their world; especially in the introduction. <br style="cursor: text; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
<br style="cursor: text; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" /><b>
3. The Challenge</b></span><span style="color: #0e4361; font-family: "times" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; margin: 0px;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; cursor: text; orphans: 2; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; cursor: text; orphans: 2; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
</span><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "times" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; margin: 0px;">Every
story has a plot. And every plot involves some challenge or crisis in it.
Popular books, movies and plays depend on some crisis to overcome. The bible
and in particular, the, Gospel, is no different. Challenges are not only woven
into the Gospel stories, but they are integral to the teachings of Christ. Take
for instance the parable of the sower. Three out of the four possible outcomes
of the farmer's scattered seeds (i.e. seeds landing on a path, on rocky
soil, among thorns) involve challenges and dangers. Just the same, the main
point of a talk- <em><span style="font-family: "times" , "serif"; margin: 0px;">whether it be an
insight or action item</span></em> -invariably has challenges associated with
it. Therefore, for a successful implementation of your main point, help your
audience by addressing the challenge to that point.</span><span style="color: #0e4361; font-family: "times" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; margin: 0px;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; cursor: text; orphans: 2; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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</span><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "times" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; margin: 0px;"><b>4.
The Solution</b><br style="cursor: text; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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The natural question to ask at this point is: What is the solution to the
challenge you just detailed? It is easy to complain or limit your presentation
to the problems at hand. But one of the things that I have learned by working
at the Diocese of Green Bay is to be prepared to provide the solution to any
problem I wish to address. As for giving a presentation, by providing a
user-friendly solution after having addressed the challenge, we are giving the
solution the last word. Having communicated the solution, we are not
leaving the audience with an abstract or speculative idea. Instead, the main
point of our talk should involve an actionable item; something that your
listening audience can put into practice that day.</span><span style="color: #0e4361; font-family: "times" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; margin: 0px;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; cursor: text; orphans: 2; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; cursor: text; orphans: 2; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
</span><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "times" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; margin: 0px;">St.
Francis de Sales, a 17th century Catholic bishop, like any other cleric in his
day, enjoyed positive feedback from his congregation regarding his sermons. But
he admitted that he was not flattered when they said, "O That was a
beautiful sermon." Rather, the compliments that delighted him the most
were: "I will do something!"</span><span style="color: #0e4361; font-family: "times" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; margin: 0px;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; cursor: text; orphans: 2; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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</span><span style="color: #002000; font-family: "times" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; margin: 0px;"><b>5.
The Story Again</b></span><span style="color: #0e4361; font-family: "times" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; margin: 0px;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; cursor: text; orphans: 2; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; cursor: text; orphans: 2; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
</span><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "times" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; margin: 0px;">Finally,
just as a story can serve as onramp or introduction to the main point of the
presentation, some reference to that same story can be equally valuable as an
off-ramp. In fact, when it is done well, it brings a nice closure to the talk.</span><span style="color: #0e4361; font-family: "times" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; margin: 0px;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; cursor: text; orphans: 2; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; cursor: text; orphans: 2; outline-color: transparent; outline-style: none; outline-width: 0px; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;" />
</span><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "times" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; margin: 0px;">These
five simple points are, in part, why I look forward to hearing sermons at daily
Mass from the priests who work on the diocesan campus. Not only am I
inspired by their well-delivered talks (i.e. homilies, sermons) for my own
spiritual growth, but I use these five tips to constantly refine my public speaking. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-62388373158899311232018-12-23T22:07:00.001-08:002018-12-23T22:07:51.026-08:00Social Media Boundaries for Children: 4 Tips<div class="separator" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: both; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Jesus came to turn the hearts of parents toward their
children and the hearts of children toward their parents (cf. Luke 1:17;
Malachi 3:23-24). But social media, although good in itself, can sometimes get
in the way of this saving grace. </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Not too long ago I was talking to my neighbor while doing some yard work. We
did something that few neighbors do these days: we actually talked to each
other. Imagine that!</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">My neighbor happens to be the father of two teenage
daughters. And off the cuff, he confided to me that his daughters rarely
give him more than a one or two-word answer to his questions when he comes home
from work; this, because they are spending an unlimited time on their i-phones.<o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">During the conversation, I had wondered why he didn't
leverage his parental authority to improve that situation. In fact, he seemed
resigned to his inability to do anything about it. In any case, I realized that
neighbors are not the only ones that rarely talk to each nowadays. Face-to-face
conversations are also a rarity in many households between parents and
children.<o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Having witnessed the disengagement of many young people
from adult conversation- not just at people's houses but in public restaurants
-I resolved to spare my family of this dysfunctional pattern. Indeed, this is a
ditch I am willing to die in. <o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: black;"><br />
THE VALUE OF BOUNDARIES</span></b><span style="color: black;"><o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
Ultimately, the functionality and contentment of a family rests, in large part,
on how well they communicate with one another and with God. And as for children
and adolescents, effective communication skills rehearsed and developed at home
shapes how they will interact with people in their adulthood years. But
learning the value of face-to-face interaction cannot be done without firm,
clear and consistent boundaries.<o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I can only share with the reader what seems to be working
in my family. There are four boundaries principles and practices that my wife
and I try to enforce at home with our children. To be sure, providing
boundaries for social media is always a work in progress. Such progress is marked
by setbacks and going back to the drawing board. Yet, we don't give-in or
give-up. To do so would be too costly for our children. <o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: black;"><br />
<br />
BOUNDARY SUGGESTIONS</span></b><span style="color: black;"><o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
Below are suggestions for creating social media boundaries for your children.
We have found them to be useful in our household. Hopefully, they will be
useful in yours.<o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: black;"><br />
1. Privilege, Not a Right</span></b><span style="color: black;"><o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
First, it was important for my wife and I to first communicate to our kids that
i-pads, i-phones, and even computers are a privilege; not a right. In fact,
from time to time, reminders are issued to them that "their" gadgets
are really our gadgets. After all, we not only paid for the devices, but we
continue to pay the bills to use those devices (i.e. internet, phone plans).
Within this clearly communicated context, boundaries and other disciplinary
measures are more easily applied.<o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
<b>2. The Main Level</b><o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
Second, all gadgets, computers, etc. stay on the main level. The truth is that
the internet, especially without parental oversight, is a wide open door to the
world. As most parents are willing to concede, there are some things in the
world that children and teens are not mature enough to properly assimilate.
Over exposure to adult content compromises both innocence and impedes maturity.
In other words, growing up too fast is often the antithesis of growing up the
right way.<o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Furthermore, it wasn't too long ago that the social life of
teens was confined to the school, sporting venues, their friends houses etc. To
an extent, teenagers were able to leave the drama of their social life at these
different places when it was time to go home. Today, however, a young boy or
girl is inclined to constantly carry this drama around in their hand; even at
home. Just a decade ago, when things got tough at school, a child's
home used to be a refuge; a place where one's social life could be put in
perspective. The question is: Is your home still a place where the social drama
of your children's lives can be left at the door?<o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: black;">3. Time-Limits</span></b><span style="color: black;"><o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
With moderation comes time-limits. If truth be told, being overstimulated by
social media can cause depression, anxiety, attention deficits and
communication breakdown in both children and adults. There can be
unintended consequences with overexposure to social media; the effects of which
are difficult to trace back to their cause. <o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
Playing video games on X-box, using the computer and even texting friends are
all good things. Yet, it ceases to be good when our children can no longer walk
away from these things without <i>constantly thinking</i> about them.
Time-limits can be helpful in this respect. <o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
<b>4. Adulting with Adults</b><o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
Lastly, dinner time with family and adult time with company are good
"adulting" opportunities for children. "Adulting" is
a relatively new term to describe the successful transition from adolescence to
emerging-adulthood. Yet, this transition is impeded when children and teens are
allowed to retreat in the corner and play with their gadgets; this, when their
parents host social gatherings with other adults. <o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
Often, the result from this type of social disengagement is that a discomfort
level is developed when such children and teenagers are required to interact
with adults outside of their households. Sustained conversations, eye-contact,
and reading non-verbal cues has become a real issue among youth. Corporations,
universities and even the U.S. military are having to retrain young adults on
these basic skills. <o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
This is why social media boundaries are so important within family structures.
Such boundaries affirm the inherent good in social media to their children
while also affirming the higher good in face-to-face conversations. <o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHkM9cxRbwaO6KqFazYkNnjp8r3ue99NeCnQaI0XubvrjR1y4W8nxOpCIFC7WrXe-Alf9Wp-YKPHeVXHlG7jrtrpLkRzyEouaE0mfgcgwsCI2GZDr-7lC3deKTmrGMKMwNd5ZHI-dA_s7i/s1600/teen-ignoring-mother-300x205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="float: right;"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></a><o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: black;">CONCLUDING THOUGHTS</span></b><span style="color: black;"><o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Like my neighbor who struggles to communicate with his
daughters, parents want what is best for their children. They want their
children to thrive as they emerge into adulthood. <o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
As for Christian parents, they want their children to eventually make a
decision to follow Jesus. Yet, if children are not talking to their parents,
chances are they are not talking to God. Indeed, effective communication skills
rehearsed and developed at home shapes <i>not only</i> how they will
interact with people in their adulthood years, but how they are currently
interacting with God. <o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">If truth be told, the more parents and children engage
in face-to-face conversations, the more their hearts are turned to one
another. This "turning of hearts" between parents and their children
provides that necessary foundation of faith for the next generation!<o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">_________________________________________</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div align="center" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="color: black;">"Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, Before the
day of the LORD comes, the great and terrible day, to turn the hearts of the
fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their
fathers." </span></i><span style="color: black;"><o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="color: black;">Malachi 3:23-24</span></i><span style="color: black;"><o:p style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-15234828022916291292016-11-17T19:54:00.000-08:002016-11-17T19:54:02.475-08:00Spiritual Resolutions<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify;">
Have you ever been in a friendship where you got the sense
that it was a one way street; something that totally dependent on your
initiative? The friendship may be
rewarding in some respects but you know it can be better. Well, I can imagine
God sees it that way with many of us. God created us so that we can freely
choose to have a relationship with him. But that relationship, if it is to endure,
consists of talking and listening to our heavenly Father every day. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As stated in the previous <i>Sky View </i>blogs, the best way to listen to God is through the
spiritual reading of Scripture! Even more than listening itself, every good relationship
involves action. And this is where resolutions come in.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Writing to one of his spiritual daughters, St. Francis de
Sales said this about spiritual resolutions: “<span style="line-height: 115%;">My daughter, you must not stop short in
general affections, without turning them into special resolutions for your own
correction and amendment. For instance, meditating on Our Dear Lord's First
Word from the Cross, you will no doubt be roused to the desire of imitating Him
in forgiving and loving your enemies. But that is not enough, unless you bring
it to some practical resolution, such as, I will not be angered any more by the
annoying things said of me by such or such a neighbor, nor by the slights
offered me by such an one; but rather I will do such and such things in order
to soften and conciliate them. In this way, my daughter, you will soon correct
your faults, whereas mere general resolutions would take but a slow and
uncertain effect.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Just as business meetings have action items so as to avoid the discussion of ideas for its own sake, so too meditation on God's Word must, at some point, be translated into specific action items to be carried out that day or soon thereafter. This is how character building and building up virtue is better secured. From this, an interior joy and peace- one that can hardly be explained -is sustained through the ups and downs of life.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;">Keep in mind that spiritual reading, above all, is to inspire a greater love for Jesus Christ. It's primary end is not to learn so as to impress others, but to be impressed so that we are in a better position to love others and above all, God.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #e69138; font-size: x-small;"><i>sProperty of the Department of New Evangelization/ Green Bay Diocese</i></span></span></div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-9602617702050019982016-11-13T19:04:00.004-08:002016-11-14T06:13:05.490-08:00How to Make Sense of Same-Sex Attraction<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX148483835" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
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<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{475411d4-46bd-4836-8de8-174419aa8138}{176}" paraid="923077935" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Future </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Obstacles</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{475411d4-46bd-4836-8de8-174419aa8138}{194}" paraid="533588889" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">It is safe to say that the Catholic Church </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">has lost a whole generation of young people on the </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">issue of </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> marriage. Just recently, one of my kids </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">had entered into this discussion with his peers; all of whom attend the local Catholic high school.</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> He upheld</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> the teaching of the Church in that marriage is a permanent union between a man and a woman</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">.</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">But his friends </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">were not on <i>that </i>page. In fact, he </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">stood alone in that discussion as one clearly out of s</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">tep with the times. </span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{475411d4-46bd-4836-8de8-174419aa8138}{226}" paraid="1881590431" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">His conversation with his friends brought back to mind a question that was posed to my daughter </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">by a friend of hers </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">in th</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">at same high school just a few </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">years ago. That question is</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">: “Why does the Catholic Church hate gays?” </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">It dawned on me that</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> the </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">premise of that question</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> was </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">a matter of fact</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> for that particular adolescent</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">. </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">In fact, the st</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">atistics regarding the beliefs </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> of </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">youth and young adults </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">on </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">s</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">ame-sex unions bear this out: to </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">love people who experience same-sex attractions</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> (SSA)</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> necessarily involves </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">accepting homosexual activity. </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">And I am afraid to say that same premise, however unjust it sounds to </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">well-formed Catholics, is </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">unquestioned one </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">in our public institutions.</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{475411d4-46bd-4836-8de8-174419aa8138}{237}" paraid="1164337730" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">However, it </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">is interesting to note that, throughout history, </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">the belief that marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> received universal support in every civil</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">ization until about the year 2000 A.D. And yet, it would seem, at least in our country</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">, that same-sex marriage </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">was a well- established institution that had existed for centuries.</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{3}" paraid="1625781143" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">It doesn’</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">t take a prophet to know </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">that same-sex marriage is here to stay </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">for the foreseeable future. The </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">fact is, </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">younger generations are more supportive of same-sex marriage than any previous generation in American history.</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> With that, the pressure on the Church </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">to conform to this new definition of </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">marriage, either </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">through litigation or </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">political </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">coercion</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">, will undoubtedly </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">increase </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">with each </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">passing year!</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Needs Unmet</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{27}" paraid="407187989" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">More important than the obstacles the Catholic </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Church will invariably experience in the near future, are those people who experie</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">nce same-</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">sex attraction but </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">who </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">do not experience the love of Jesus Christ through the community of his disciples.</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> Like </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">the Jews who, in the first century, </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">did not kno</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">w how to strike that balance between </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">God’s love </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">and his law at it pertained to lepers and tax collectors, </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">so today, in the twenty-first century, many Catholics struggle to strike that </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">balance between loving the sinner but hating the sin. For instance, if a same-sex couple came to one our local parishes seeking some guidance on matters of faith, I am pretty sure there would be some awkwardness on the part of pastoral and parish leaders.</span></div>
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<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">If truth to be told, </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">there are Catholics who do a wonderful job of loving homosexual persons right where they find them, but who, nevertheless, are ashamed to breathe a word of </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">the Church’s teaching on same-sex uni</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">ons. This, unfortunately, renders </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">their c</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">onversion highly </span><span class="SpellingError SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">improbable</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">, if, </span></span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">in fact, </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">repentance from homosexual activity is needed. Yet, on the other side of the spectrum, there are </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Catholics who are skilled at articulating Church doctrine on marriage but who, nevertheless, </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">experience difficulty in expressing the unconditional love that God has for pers</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">ons with same-sex attraction.</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{74}" paraid="688953863" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">To add to the imbalance</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">,</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> there is a</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> deafening silence on this issue in most parishes. Indeed, t</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">he fear of offending anyone </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">having anything to do with this topic has led to a paralysis of mission. The sad result is that people who experience same-sex attraction </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">commonly feel loved by the world but judged by the Church.</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> As long as </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">this paralysis </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">of mission and public misperception </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">endures, the narr</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">ative</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> that the Cathol</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">ic Church hates gays will continue</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> gain ground</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">. Not only that, gay </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">people who </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">are exhausted in their search for love in all the wrong places, but who, nevertheless, </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">sincerely want to know God’s will </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">and experience</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> his love</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> are left out in the cold.</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> Too often, </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">they are become</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> like</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> birds in flight witho</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">ut a nest. </span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{84}" paraid="242031917" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Causes of </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">SSA</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{114}" paraid="879781181" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">The Catholic Medical Association </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">(CMA) </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">recently released their findings on the causes of same-sex attraction and how to minister to </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">people who have this orientation. The title of the article is, </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.ewtn.com/library/ISSUES/homohope.HTM">Hope and Homosexuality</a></span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">. </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">The CMA </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">issued the following </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">warning</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> to Catholics: </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">“</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">The failure of the Catholic community to provide for the needs of this population is a serious omission which must not be allowed to continue.</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">”</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> I would add that </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">when the spiritual and human needs of </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">people within </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Catholic communities are not ministered </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">to because </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">c</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">ertain hot-</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">button topics are</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> a social</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> taboo, then both t</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">he Church and society suffer</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">.</span></div>
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<span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">At any rate, along with other studies, the Catholic Medical Association takes the position that same-sex attraction is not genetic. Instead, this sexual orientation is one that is brought about by environmental factors. One thing for sure, there is ample evidence that SSA is not something people are born with. Here is what CMA has to say about their findings:</span></div>
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<li aria-setsize="-1" class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="1" data-listid="2" role="listitem" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{120}" paraid="356857426" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">“If same-sex attraction were genetically determined, then one would expect identical twins to be identical in their sexual attractions. There are, however, numerous reports of identical twins who are not identical in their sexual attractions.”</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<li aria-setsize="-1" class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="2" data-listid="2" role="listitem" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{126}" paraid="417763122" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">“</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Case histories frequently reveal environmental factors which account for the development of different sexual attraction patterns in genetically identical children, supporting the theory that same sex attraction is a product of the interplay of a variety of environmental factors.</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">”</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{128}" paraid="1994379920" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{133}" paraid="680133806" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">What are these en</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">vironmental factors, you might be wondering? The CMA, along with many other credible sources, </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">found the following patterns in people with same-sex attraction:</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{135}" paraid="1015222368" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<ul class="BulletListStyle1 SCX59469676" role="list" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; cursor: text; font-family: verdana; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">
<li aria-setsize="-1" class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="3" data-listid="4" role="listitem" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{144}" paraid="538163044" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">While there are simi</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">larities in the patterns of development</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">, each individual has a unique, personal history. In the histories of persons who experience SSA, one frequently finds one or more of the following</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">”</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">:</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{148}" paraid="1233678044" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; margin-left: 48px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">-</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Alienation from father from early childhood</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{152}" paraid="1088260730" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; margin-left: 48px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">-</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Sexual abuse or rape</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{156}" paraid="303157806" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; margin-left: 48px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">-</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Mother was overprotective</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{160}" paraid="1354294153" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; margin-left: 48px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">-</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Mother was needy and demanding</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{164}" paraid="1610472136" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; margin-left: 48px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">-</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Parents failed to encourage same-sex identification [i.e. peers]</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{168}" paraid="683607704" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; margin-left: 48px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">-</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Boys: Lack of rough and tumble play / dislike team sports</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{172}" paraid="1066757255" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; margin-left: 48px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">-</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Lack of eye-hand coordination/ teasing by peers</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{176}" paraid="1651593154" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; margin-left: 48px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">-</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Poor body image</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{180}" paraid="806199735" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; margin-left: 48px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">-</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Separation from parent during critical developmental stages</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{182}" paraid="429709463" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{205}" paraid="1422711745" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">To add to CMA findings, Dale </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">O’Leary, in his book entitled, </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">One Man: </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">One Woman</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">, came to a similar conclusion about men who experience same-sex attraction</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">: </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">“Homosexual men rarely, if ever, recall father-son interaction that includes activities that they both enjoyed.”</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> And </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">i</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">f, in fact, same-sex attraction is not genetically determined and </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">but instead </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">is </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">traceable </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">to </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">the above </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">mentioned environmental factors, then </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">it can be argued that human behavior plays a big role in </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">the developm</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">ent of this sexual orientation.</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{207}" paraid="1558564990" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
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<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{224}" paraid="626912649" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">With this, </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">reparative </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">thera</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">py and </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">sound Catholic spirituality can</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">, in some cases, </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">have a positive impact on </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><i>reorienting </i>sexual attraction to the opposite sex. The caveat here is that </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">same-sex attraction can be r</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">eoriented in</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> "some" but not all cases</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">. </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">But what can be achieved in all cases, without question, is that int</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">erior joy and peace Christ offers to his followers who are willing to answer the call to live a chaste life. As Cardinal Francis George said in 1999, </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">“To deny that the power of God’s grace enables those with homosexual attractions to live chastely is to deny, effectively, that Jesus has risen from the dead.”</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{226}" paraid="1492259961" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
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<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{230}" paraid="2075984694" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Made Whole Again</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{232}" paraid="765160771" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{239}" paraid="824509459" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Whether or not SSA is successfully reoriented through reparative therapy, </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">the Catholic Medical Association argues the following:</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> “</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">With the power of grace, the sacraments, support from community, and an experienced therapist, a determined individual should be able to achieve the inner freedom promised by Christ</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">.”</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{241}" paraid="1171004872" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{a94b3801-cb5a-42af-8889-b6e0e9d4b37f}{247}" paraid="662995360" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">This is good news for people who experience SSA and their relative</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">s who have struggled </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">to make sense of it</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">! The question is, how might this come about given what was said by CMA?</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">In brief, </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">here are a few methods t</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">hat have proven to be promising for those wanting this inner freedom and, </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">if possible, a reorientation:</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<ul class="BulletListStyle2 SCX59469676" role="list" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; cursor: text; font-family: verdana; list-style-type: circle; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">
<li aria-setsize="-1" class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" data-aria-level="2" data-aria-posinset="1" data-listid="8" role="listitem" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px 0px 0px 72px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{4}" paraid="1645646285" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Forgive offender- essential for healing</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<li aria-setsize="-1" class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" data-aria-level="2" data-aria-posinset="2" data-listid="8" role="listitem" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px 0px 0px 72px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{8}" paraid="384056651" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Frequent Confession and Anointing of the Sick</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<li aria-setsize="-1" class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" data-aria-level="2" data-aria-posinset="3" data-listid="8" role="listitem" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px 0px 0px 72px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{12}" paraid="1292899642" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Encourage those with father wounds to develop relationship with God as a loving Father</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<li aria-setsize="-1" class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" data-aria-level="2" data-aria-posinset="4" data-listid="8" role="listitem" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px 0px 0px 72px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{16}" paraid="2097883043" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Picked on by peers? Meditate on Christ as a brother, friend and protector</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<li aria-setsize="-1" class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" data-aria-level="2" data-aria-posinset="5" data-listid="8" role="listitem" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px 0px 0px 72px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{22}" paraid="805077680" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Support groups, therapists, and spiritual counselors who unequivocally support the teachings of the Catholic Church are essential components of the help that is needed</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">[which includes a healthy bonding with those of the same-sex].</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{24}" paraid="1915592351" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{34}" paraid="428176161" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">The bad news is that a good number of therapists believe it is unethical to </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">offer this treatment to those people who experience same-sex attraction. But as CMA argues, </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">“</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">It should be noted that almost without exception, those who regard therapy as unethical also reject abstinence from non-marital sexual activity as a minimal goal and among the therapists who accept homosexual acts as normal many find nothing wrong with infidelity in committed relationships, anonymous sexual encounters, general promiscuity etc…</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">”</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{34}" paraid="428176161" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{34}" paraid="428176161" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Hence, the Christian values of the therapist must be factored in when seeking help.</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> Without such values, that inner freedom that Jesus Christ offers cannot be </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">received by those who want it.</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{36}" paraid="2116969921" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{40}" paraid="643017048" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">The Third Way</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{43}" paraid="1047558422" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
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<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{63}" paraid="1511258611" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rgDLWOFCRA">The Third Way </a>is a film </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">that </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">demonstrates </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">the power of Christ’s love in the lives of people who have not only experienced same-sex attraction, but who have chosen, for a period of time, to live</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> the homosexual lifestyle before their conversion. What is particularl</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">y striking is that those</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> featured in this film</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> talked about how alluring the homosexual lifestyle was for them; this, given the acceptance the world offered</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">. After a lot of pain and searching, they came to realize that this lifestyle was a dead end road. </span></div>
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<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{63}" paraid="1511258611" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Unfortunately, there were many Christian churches that were not in much of position to help them on their journey towards conversion. In fact, it was only </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">through</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> difficulty that many of them discovered </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">that </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">wonderful and grace-filled </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">balance </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">of </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">truth and l<span id="goog_95487853"></span><span id="goog_95487854"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a>ove from</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> Catholics who were willing to love them as they were but also loved them enough to share with them the Good News that God has a plan for them; and that plan includes living a chaste life in Christ with an inner freedom and joy never experienced before. </span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{63}" paraid="1511258611" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{63}" paraid="1511258611" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">This is what Brandon Vogt said about the film:</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{65}" paraid="1124963043" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{72}" paraid="1650564176" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">“</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Magnificent and moving, the film features first-hand testimony from several faithful Catholics who struggle with homosexual attraction. Most of them were heavily involved in the gay scene before committing to chastity. Their experiences shed new light and reveal how Catholics can help those experiencing same-sex attraction. Their stories ultimately affirm the great joy and freedom found in the C</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">hurch’s teaching, a ‘third way’ </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">centered on authentic love.</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">”</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{74}" paraid="1040218803" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX59469676" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{80}" paraid="1275465337" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">This is it! Christian love prepares the way for the reception and assimilation of </span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Gospel truth. And people who struggle with homosexual attraction need to be loved with that sacrificial love only Christ can give. </span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{80}" paraid="1275465337" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{80}" paraid="1275465337" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Why aren’t we Catholics reaching out to them in every parish? The failure to do this leaves a huge void. And that void has been filled with a false compassion by misguided people who accept or promote homosexual activity as natural and morally acceptable. </span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{80}" paraid="1275465337" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Paragraph SCX59469676" paraeid="{29e190fb-594c-45e6-a6e7-f4bc25dc23ee}{80}" paraid="1275465337" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">It is important to note that it is not just society's fault for pushing a radical same-sex marriage agenda; we can't just point the finger at them. The Church also, by not talking about this topic at the local level, is allowing for its own inability to proclaim the Good News about marriage</span><span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">! The secular powers that be are getting less and less sympathetic with the Catholic position on marriage. To be sure, here mission to proclaim that "God created them male and female" and that this biblical truth is the surest foundation of civilization is getting more and more difficult with each passing year.</span></div>
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<span class="TextRun SCX59469676" lang="EN-US" style="color: #385623; font-family: "angsana new" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Sponsored by the Department of New Evangelization of the Green Bay Diocese</span><span class="EOP SCX59469676" style="font-family: "angsana new" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-48942451696929782812016-11-13T17:59:00.000-08:002016-11-13T18:00:02.369-08:00USC/LA Times Poll: Lessons for Catholics<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX148483835" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX148483835" paraeid="{16b10966-35e2-4b2d-b6b6-f2a6dbb43b68}{146}" paraid="1558896835" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Polls and Human Behavior</span><span class="EOP SCX148483835" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX148483835" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX148483835" paraeid="{16b10966-35e2-4b2d-b6b6-f2a6dbb43b68}{152}" paraid="941686305" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">USC/LA Times “Daybreak” tracking poll got it right. For several months leading to the presidential election, they employed a method called “weighting” that proved to be more accurate than other polls. Instead of asking a black or white questions such as, “Who are you voting for?”, this method asked respondents to rank their support from 0 to 100 points. With this, the nuance of political leanings were more accurately measured. </span><span class="EOP SCX148483835" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX148483835" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX148483835" paraeid="{16b10966-35e2-4b2d-b6b6-f2a6dbb43b68}{157}" paraid="21267826" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">This poll also took into account demographics that are typically underrepresented in other major polls. One such sample was a 19 year old African-American male who supported Trump. He was thought to represent a small group of minorities that had an impact on the day-to-day polling results. </span><span class="EOP SCX148483835" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX148483835" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX148483835" paraeid="{16b10966-35e2-4b2d-b6b6-f2a6dbb43b68}{164}" paraid="819163090" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">What fascinated me was that the USC/LA Times team understood human behavior better than other pollsters. Scratching beneath the surface, they asked respondents who they think their neighbors voted for. Taking this factor into consideration was important because, just as with </span><span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Brexit</span><span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> vote in the United Kingdom, people are reluctant to be honest with pollsters about who or what they are voting for; this, especially if the media is maligning one ballot pick over the other. </span><span class="EOP SCX148483835" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX148483835" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX148483835" paraeid="{16b10966-35e2-4b2d-b6b6-f2a6dbb43b68}{169}" paraid="1303100391" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Conformity is a powerful social phenomenon that should always be taking into consideration when measuring human behavior. But voting in secret throws off this human tendency because, after all, no one is looking when a ballot is cast. The USC/LA Times took these two factors into consideration. And it paid off!</span><span class="EOP SCX148483835" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX148483835" paraeid="{16b10966-35e2-4b2d-b6b6-f2a6dbb43b68}{174}" paraid="1358737892" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Another interesting observation was that the USC/LA Times pollsters knew that their findings were at odds with most polling agencies. Yet, they stuck to their guns and did not waver. They trusted their polling methods even when their findings were derided by some political pundits. Keep in mind that the political narrative propagated by the media was that a Clinton victory was all but inevitable. Refusing to travel down the path of least resistance, these pollsters trusted the numbers. Again, it paid off.</span><span class="EOP SCX148483835" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX148483835" paraeid="{16b10966-35e2-4b2d-b6b6-f2a6dbb43b68}{180}" paraid="681143756" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Polls and Parishes</span><span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">:</span><span class="EOP SCX148483835" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX148483835" paraeid="{16b10966-35e2-4b2d-b6b6-f2a6dbb43b68}{185}" paraid="1637749867" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Now, you might be wondering why on earth a Catholic blogger would find this interesting. There are two important lessons that can be gleaned from the USC/LA Times presidential polling for Catholics.</span><span class="EOP SCX148483835" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX148483835" paraeid="{16b10966-35e2-4b2d-b6b6-f2a6dbb43b68}{191}" paraid="95540012" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">For one, Catholic parishes are hemorrhaging members. And even though there are constants that cannot be changed at your average local parish e.g., liturgical norms and orthodoxy of </span><span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">doctrine, there are plenty of things that can. Hospitality, music and sermons are just a few of those things.</span><span class="EOP SCX148483835" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX148483835" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCX148483835" paraeid="{16b10966-35e2-4b2d-b6b6-f2a6dbb43b68}{198}" paraid="2045069914" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">With that said, from everything I know about Mass attendance decline and the precipitous drop sacramental participation nationwide, local parishes have every reason to make an effort to measure behavior as it relates to the three religious accommodations noted above. More often than not, people leave a parish, not because of what a parish offers, but </span><span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">how</span><span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> they offer it! The Mass is one good example. Are pastoral and parish leaders doing everything they can inspire a “wow” factor at their Eucharistic celebrations? Are they willing to try new music or solicit feedback about the sermons; especially from parishioners who know a thing or two about communication?</span><span class="EOP SCX148483835" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX148483835" paraeid="{16b10966-35e2-4b2d-b6b6-f2a6dbb43b68}{203}" paraid="293672474" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Gauging people's political preferences is a legitimate science and a worthy endeavor. But getting feedback from people who once frequented a parish but no longer do so, is so much more important. Drawing from her vast philosophical and theological heritage, it can be argued that the Catholic Church understands human nature better than any other institution on earth. Still, she has been rather slow, at least at the local level, in using the insights from the human behavioral sciences (i.e. the ways in which USC/LA Times probed for honest answers from their polling respondents) to her advantage. For instance, what methods can parishes use to gauge favorable or unfavorable responses to their hospitality, liturgical music and sermons? It is a question worth asking.</span><span class="EOP SCX148483835" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX148483835" paraeid="{16b10966-35e2-4b2d-b6b6-f2a6dbb43b68}{208}" paraid="1588204294" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">The second lesson is for individual Catholics: The daily polling results from the USC/LA Times were at variance with other prominent polling agencies- including the conservative-friendly Fox News poll. Because of this, the USC/LA Times polling results were met with skepticism, if not, ridicule by their peers. Yet, they trusted their system and stuck to their convictions. In the end, they were right.</span><span class="EOP SCX148483835" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX148483835" paraeid="{16b10966-35e2-4b2d-b6b6-f2a6dbb43b68}{213}" paraid="176781204" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Today, the Catholic Church is pressured by society to conform to a host of moral deviations. Same-sex marriage, transgender ideology, and, birth control accommodation are among the practices we are told we have to accept. With this, not a few Catholics have either publicly apologized for the moral teachings of the Church or have disavowed them altogether. There is no other way to say this except that this behavior is a kind of distancing from Jesus Christ himself. After all, it is he who revealed the truths about human nature as it is officially taught by the Catholic Church..</span><span class="EOP SCX148483835" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX148483835" paraeid="{16b10966-35e2-4b2d-b6b6-f2a6dbb43b68}{218}" paraid="795299431" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">If the USC/LA Times poll can withstand the pressure by the media to conform to its narrative, then Catholics who passionately love and follow Christ can do the same; this, knowing that they had been told the truth about these hot button issues by God himself. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that when the dust settles, history will be on the side of Catholics who trust the teachings of their Savior; regardless what agenda the media and many of our public institutions push.</span><span class="EOP SCX148483835" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCX148483835" paraeid="{16b10966-35e2-4b2d-b6b6-f2a6dbb43b68}{231}" paraid="1455042324" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">St. Hilary, a Father of the Church who lived during a time when many Christians were denying the divinity of Christ, said this: </span><span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">"It is a prerogative of the Church </span><span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">that she conquers </span><span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">when she is persecuted, that she captures our intellects when her doctrines are questioned, that she conquers all at the very moment when she is abandoned by all."</span><span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> To be sure, this is a counter-intuitive statement that defies logic. But it happens to be the truth. Even </span><span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> Mark Twain remarked</span><span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">how often </span><span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">“</span><span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">the world had turned out for the burial of Roman Catholicism, only to find it postponed yet again</span><span class="TextRun SCX148483835" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">.” </span></div>
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Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-19233136750897372952016-05-17T09:12:00.001-07:002016-05-17T09:12:47.660-07:00What a Public School Board Meeting on Sex Education Taught Me About HappinessMay 17, 2016 by Vicki Burbach<br />
Article posted on Sky View courtesy of spiritualdirection.com<br />
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My husband and I – along with many other concerned parents – just spent our entire evening at a board meeting for Omaha Public Schools (OPS). On the agenda was a vote on an updated Sex Education curriculum (benignly named, Human Growth and Development). During the public comment portion of the meeting (which was limited to one hour), over a dozen parents expressed frustration with the district’s lack of transparency and their insistence on pushing forward with a curriculum that is extremely controversial, to say the least, including lessons on topics like gender identity and gender roles discussed as early as sixth grade, sexual orientation, abortion and emergency contraception.<br />
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Sadly, parental concern was not a determining factor, and the board voted resoundingly to pass the curriculum. You may be wondering why I share all this in association with the above quote about human satisfactions of the cravings of the body and soul.<br />
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After my experience at OPS and my shock at the president’s directive released this past Friday to school districts across the country, it occurs to me that many among us are so mired in the material world that their focus with respect to human sexuality has become limited to flat, one-dimensional concerns. Concerns like sexual pleasure, gender preferences, mutual consent and birth control. Their desire is for people to feel good. And they define this physical satisfaction as happiness. Their intentions sound laudable, but this thinking is short-sighted and the means they choose can never reach their desired end. By beginning and ending with the physical and completely ignoring the spiritual, their objectives involve no consideration for the complete human person, and therefore can never satisfy.<br />
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The world is teaching our children that they are a compilation of cells, defined by physical sensations, emotions and desires. They are being taught to react, rather than to think. To feel rather than to reason. They are being taught that their needs can be met in the material world, rather than given any indication of the purpose for which they were created. The plan that God had in mind when he created their beautiful, wonderful bodies is not deemed worthy of discussion.
Consequently, in an ever frantic pursuit to help humanity obtain happiness, the powers that be have decided that perhaps we can reach it by smudging the lines a bit. That in the material world, we should determine right from wrong. We should decide what pleases us without boundaries. We should be the arbiters of truth.<br />
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We have extended the great abyss from moral relativity to physical relativity and the powers that be are indoctrinating our children with an arrogance that says, “I Decide What is True for Me."<br />
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Spiritually. Morally…” and now…“Physically.”<br />
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Recently I heard about a disturbing experiment conducted by the Family Policy Institute wherein an interviewer asked college students to judge the accuracy of assertions he made about his gender, ethnicity, height and other physical features. For example, the interviewer may have been a 5’9” male; but in the interview, he would say, ‘What would you say, if I told you I am a Chinese woman?” Nearly all respondents answered things like, “Good for you.” Virtually no one challenged him, despite the fact that all physical evidence contradicted his claims. Rather, they bent over backward to make him feel comfortable about determining his own truth.
In a must-see video on original sin, Bishop Robert Barron demonstrates that this is not a new problem, but rather brings us all the way back to the Garden of Eden. The sin of Adam and Eve was taking truth into their own hands. They were determined to be the arbiters of good and evil.
Isn’t that what the world has done with regard to human sexuality?<br />
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We have become so wrapped up in determining for ourselves what is right and what is wrong, that we have forgotten the Source of all good, the Source of all truth, the Source of life itself. Or perhaps it’s the other way around. Because we have forgotten the Source of all good, the Source of all truth, the Source of life itself, we have ventured into the realm of determining for ourselves right from wrong. However we choose to look at it, the bottom line is that we are seeking to satisfy our needs through the “delights” of the world, even if that means “re-shaping” reality to satisfy them in the current moment, rather than discerning the long-term needs of body and soul.
The more we isolate ourselves from God, the more vehemently we will seek happiness in the material world. And the more we will fight to define happiness outside the boundaries of reality. But the fact is that true human growth and development are not even possible without God. In that respect, we are placing ourselves in a no-win situation.<br />
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We cannot sustain this path. In the end, there will be a war between our Faith and the modern world. There is no common ground between the two, because reality and make-believe cannot coexist for long.<br />
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"The future conflict of the world will not be between Religion and Science, or between “rugged individualism” and Socialism, but between a society which is spiritual and a society which is mechanical; between a society which adores God, and a society which claims to be God; between a society which absorbs man for secular ends, and a society which respects personality and uses the secular as a means to eternal ends. The world must make the choice…Men will enlist on one side or the other; we must battle either for brotherhood in Christ, or comradeship in anti-Christ."<br />
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— Archbishop Fulton Sheen
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-58094378257122058572016-02-12T13:59:00.002-08:002016-02-12T14:01:32.734-08:00Passing on the Faith: Gotta Go Beyond the Family!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">If the last fifty to sixty years have demonstrated anything it is
that privatizing and the compartmentalizing the faith only serves to flatten
it; making it both unappealing and ineffective. I would even go so far as to
say that children rebel against this kind of faith. After all, do they not hear
the words from the Dismissal Rite of Mass: “Go and announce the Gospel of the
Lord.”? Yes they do. But a privatized and compartmentalizes faith that is set apart
from daily life and the public sphere runs counter to this liturgical mandate!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">In the book, <i>Young Catholic America</i>, Christian Smith
argues that between the ages of 18 and 23 the faith of young adults is often
lost. At the very least religious participation in this demographic has gone
into a steep decline. However, this should not surprise us in the least if
their faith is not expressed and nurtured during the week. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">If Catholicism does not inform the totality of life and is thus
reduced to going to Mass on Sundays and frequenting an occasional parish
picnic, then it is hardly worth doing the bare minimum. And, unfortunately,
fulfilling the least of their religious obligations, i.e. attending weekly
Mass, is the first to go when young adults enter college. The problem is easy
enough to identify: The high school years are a time when the identity of
adolescents is closely tied to their social life. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Having a family that practices the faith during the week- between Sunday
Masses –is a must, to be sure! But a Christian social life goes a long way in
bolstering the faith and values of youth. Rodney Stark, who wrote at
length about conversions in early Christianity, emphasized the importance the
early Church placed on fellowship and social networking. In his book, <i>The
Triumph of Christianity</i>, he reminds us: </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">“Conversion is primarily an act of conformity. But then, so is
non-conversion. In the end it is a matter of the relative strength of social
ties pulling the individual toward or away from a group.” </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">This indirectly speaks to what Pope St. John Paul II said: “A
faith which does not become culture is a faith which has not been
thoroughly received, nor fully lived out.”. In fact, one of the
litmus tests for becoming a viable candidate for the Rites of Initiation during
those early centuries of the Church was that they were expected to associate
with other Catholics. Faith possesses a personal dimension to be sure; but it
is also social and communal in nature.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">The social ties that Rodney Starks refers to are certainly not the
most important reason to be a follower of Christ. To love God for his own sake
is the noblest motive for being a Catholic. With that said, however, social
instincts and social motives are powerful. We all know what peer pressure
means for a child. And we certainly have come to learn through experience and
studies in recent decades how compelling social conformity is. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">It can be argued that when a child <i>only </i>hears
about the Good News from his or her parents- <i>even though the parents
are the primary educators and evangelists for the child</i> –the faith
will likely be perceived as a private affair; relegated only to the home.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Conversely, to have friends who share a common faith and social
values with you- to have the faith validated, so to speak, outside of the home
and outside of religious venues -is to reinforce the truth that our Catholic
faith is all-embracing; that God is an important part of everyday life and in
all sectors of life. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">This belief is wonderfully confirmed in the <i>Shema</i>, the
centerpiece for Jewish prayers. It reads: “Therefore, you shall love the LORD,
your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.
Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today. Drill them into your
children. Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest.”
(Deuteronomy 6:6-8)</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Having friends who share our love for Christ is an essential step
in taking to heart the Word of God at home and abroad. Just as important, it is an important
condition upon which the faith is passed on from one generation to the next!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">_____________________</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%;"><i>This article is the property of the Department of New Evangelization </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 150%;"><i>at the Diocese of Green Bay</i></span></div>
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Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-7265681438770952632016-02-10T13:19:00.000-08:002016-02-10T13:19:00.130-08:00 PARENTS, IT IS UP TO YOU: YOU ARE THE FIRST EDUCATORS & EVANGELISTS<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.5pt;"><b>Parents
as Primary:</b></span></div>
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRLRRhlaFIA8AxzNv2djlQbvSNR_xtrt1M_Ol0wOLAFC5sU3iWF9mnaNcJHAG0ppvgI9kOB_Y30CmxXywD8qz66KwKMf4s6xHy9RTFODPISM0G9Zv-L7ncuXQkYpKPociwlYSlTqdmdQMt/s1600/p41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRLRRhlaFIA8AxzNv2djlQbvSNR_xtrt1M_Ol0wOLAFC5sU3iWF9mnaNcJHAG0ppvgI9kOB_Y30CmxXywD8qz66KwKMf4s6xHy9RTFODPISM0G9Zv-L7ncuXQkYpKPociwlYSlTqdmdQMt/s320/p41.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.5pt;">The
Catholic Church has always taught that the parents are the primary
educator of their children. After all, they are the image of God for their
children. It is through this image that the child learns about himself, about
the world and about God. Yet, this marital oneness is not the only way the
knowledge of God is transmitted. No. Parents are duty- bound to educate their
children in the faith. In the <em>Declaration
of Christian Education,</em> a document from the Second Vatican
Council, it says, “Since parents have given children their life, they are bound
by the most serious obligation to educate their offspring and therefore must be
recognized as the primary and principal educators. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This role in education is so important
that only with difficulty can it be supplied where it is lacking.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">” </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.5pt;">(1965). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.5pt;">“</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Only with difficulty can it be
supplied where it is lacking,” is a prophetic understatement! It just so happen
that in the last forty to fifty years the parent’s role in education has been
lacking and as such, the proper formation of children has not been sufficiently
supplied; this, because the partnership upon which education and formation
rests between parents and the parish has not been honored.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.5pt;"><b>Surrogate
or Partner:</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.5pt;">When
parents, as the primary and principal educators, send their children to
Catholic schools full-time or even to a religion class once a week, there is a
very important agreement, sometimes unspoken, that the parish enters into a
partnership with the parents in educating and spiritually forming the child.
Decades ago, the local pastor or the parish formed a partnership with the
parents <em>only on the condition</em>
that the parents were practicing Catholics. If this condition was not met, the
Church refused to process the child through the education system and the
sacramental initiation program. <br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.5pt;">Today,
however, even when parents are remiss in their religious duties, many parishes
have adopted the policy to go ahead and try to partner-up with them in educating
and spiritually forming the child. But studies have shown that when the parents
do not observe God’s law and hence fail become active followers of Christ
themselves, the child will eventually follow the same path as their parents and
hence fall-away from the faith. <br />
<br />
This creates an impossible situation because the Church ends up becoming a
surrogate educator instead of a partner with the parents. In too many cases,
when the child comes of age and goes away to college, the religious formation
that was provided by the Church- <i>while
having no support at home </i>-goes to the wayside. Is it not true that
the apple rarely falls far from the tree? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.5pt;"><b>Missing
in Action:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Christian Smith's book, </span><em><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Young Catholic America: Emerging Adults, In, Out of
and Gone From the Church, </span></em><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">confirms
what many parish-leaders in the Diocese of Green Bay have been concerned about
in recent years:<i> </i></span><em><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">the difficulty adults are having in evangelizing
youth and young adults.</span></em><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">As<i> </i>one adult faith
formation coordinator said, "About 15 years ago young adults used to drift
away from the Church but then comeback when they had children. Today,
however, they are not coming back."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Smith's research reveals that 62 percent of
Catholic adolescents attend regular services during their Catholic high school
years. But this percentage drops to 22 percent in the emerging adulthood years
(ages18-23). That is to say, the Catholic Church loses a significant
number of young adults in the post-high school years. And the casualties
involve those adolescents who attended Catholic high schools.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">In fact, Sherry Weddell, in her book, </span><em><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Forming Intentional Disciples</span></em><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">, had this to say: "As the Pew report put
it, Catholics have the biggest 'generation gap' of any religious community in
the United States. Sixty-two percent of Catholics sixty-five and older in 2008
said that they attended Mass every week, while only 34 percent of Millennials
did so." (pg. 44) The question then becomes, what can we do?<br /> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;"><b>Two Indispensable Principles:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">In preparing for an adult faith formation
program called, </span><em><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">On the Same
Page</span></em><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">, I contacted a
number of Catholic apostolates who have enjoyed some success in evangelizing
youth: FOCUS, NET Ministries, Cardinal Newman Society, and Nashville
Dominicans to name a few. I asked them what they believed high rates of
faith retention rested on. The two things they identified. First, a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ needed to be in place if religious education was
to bear any fruit. Second, parental support of that relationship was said to be
of the greatest importance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">As for the first principle, </span><em><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">The General Directory for Catechesis</span></em><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;"> reads: "Only by starting with
conversion, and therefore by making allowance for the interior disposition of
'whoever believes' can catechesis, strictly speaking, fulfill its proper task
of education in the faith." (GDC, art. 62) Indeed, the way to the mind is
through the heart. “If the mind alone hears without the heart’s cooperation,
God’s Word does not bring forth all of its fruit.” (Dom Columba Marmion, <i>Christ: The Ideal of the Monk </i>1926) And
conversion, according to the </span><em><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">GDC</span></em><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">,
involves "essential moments" when the person experiences the person
of Christ; moments when the heart is touched by grace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Before religious education or catechesis can
truly be effective, a relationship with Jesus Christ is essential. Only
then will the Mass, the Sacraments and the Church take on greater relevance for
our younger generation of Catholics. As such, an intensification of
evangelization, witness talks, spiritual mentoring, retreats, and pilgrimages
as a precursor and supplement to religious education and faith formation is
worth revisiting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">As stated, the success of parishes and Catholic schools in
evangelizing and educating youth also rests upon the active support of parents.
The faith and religious participation of parents largely determine whether or
not their children as <em><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">emerging
adults</span></em> will retain the faith. To be sure, the Church was never
meant to be a surrogate in forming the child; only a partner. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When
I asked Christian Smith what his opinion was about the underlying cause of the decline in
religious participation among Catholic young adults, he said:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Well, it's really not that complicated. Most
youth, if
they have good relationships with their parents, generally end up looking a lot
like their parents religiously. What is going on with Catholics is that, on
average, Catholic parents are just less committed, invested, and involved in the
Church and their own personal faith and practice. And so that's what the kids
learn and follow when they get older.” (August 7, 2014)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">It is only when parents take a leading role in evangelizing
and educating their children can we, who work on behalf of the Church,
hope to raise up a generation of disciples who are on their way.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">__________________________</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>This article is the property of the Department of </i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>New Evangelization/ Diocese of Green Bay</i></span></div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-30482994053550903992016-02-10T11:55:00.002-08:002016-02-10T11:58:37.284-08:00Friends and Foes of Youth In A Post-Christian Age<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzTw3kLZOy0dw0pKj94omwqsXoSwZTVonAITftRSi-Ny4q-7UZZaQ7M1ArSEsbTqEJ4h9A1celDKeqrEUDq0NYGMDPPJQ7ITLgKjK_Cm9BFv4wuXpjP3f99X8rpYeloEttZ19vtZhLzIKq/s1600/p05-140615-342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzTw3kLZOy0dw0pKj94omwqsXoSwZTVonAITftRSi-Ny4q-7UZZaQ7M1ArSEsbTqEJ4h9A1celDKeqrEUDq0NYGMDPPJQ7ITLgKjK_Cm9BFv4wuXpjP3f99X8rpYeloEttZ19vtZhLzIKq/s320/p05-140615-342.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="line-height: 150%;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">osh Mitchell is a
professor of political theory at Georgetown University and the author of the
book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">Tocqueville in Arabia: Dilemmas in
a Democratic Age.</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"> He also helped with the founding of Georgetown’s School
of Foreign Service in Qatar. In fact, as a professor in Qatar from 2005 to 2008
and as a chancellor of the American University of Iraq from 2008 to 2010,
Mitchell enjoys a distinct vantage point. With his teaching experience, he had
become acquainted with how young adults in both cultures see life and the
world. As for his American students, he has duly noted their strengths, but he
has also identified the challenges they face.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Professor Mitchell’s
observations speaks to the underlying difficulty that parents and parish
leaders are facing today as they attempt to evangelize young people. We live in
an age of computers and smartphones, gadgets that can prove to be a blessing
and a curse to a nation’s faith. Indeed, every strength has a corresponding
weakness. And the weakness of being more entertained, more connected and more
informed on a 24/7 basis is that it can have the unintended consequence of
burying the human need for communion with God and neighbor. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">What is particularly new about it is that to which evangelization must pierce
through. Unlike the Old Evangelization of the Apostles and the Church Fathers,
the New Evangelization has to contend with a myriad of distractions that
inhibit the ability to be present in the moment. With these distractions,
face-to-face interaction naturally suffers. They can easily occasion people to
drift into their own little worlds. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Though they may be in the same room, they
are, nevertheless, by themselves. And this solitary existence where the need of
the family is less felt, gives fresh ventilation to narcissism and loneliness
that is latent in all of us. In fact, Professor Mitchell makes this
observation:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“My American students update their homepage;
they jot down and comment here or there for a 'friend,' spontaneously, of
course; they all know and chatter about the latest television programs or
games- and they fall asleep at night rehearsing their soliloquies to
themselves, in a recurring loop that can be halted by the one thing many of
them are most frightened to do, namely, involve themselves in actual
face-to-face relations- not for a moment, but for an extended period...My
students are more 'connected' than any generation in history of the human race.
They nevertheless sense themselves to be alone.”</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCPuGOXWaWcz5tI4JwHjWVoo7KKCrNU4ROBkKYI8AzvQtNKUbi-doROyHx4mDbI4KB07IkcjiCCWj7PrSvPx32XmqaiIfuSACCMMHSvBrv3rbOHJPkAY-ieJh-tXvRtWw9UHwOrq89Jm57/s1600/comparison1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCPuGOXWaWcz5tI4JwHjWVoo7KKCrNU4ROBkKYI8AzvQtNKUbi-doROyHx4mDbI4KB07IkcjiCCWj7PrSvPx32XmqaiIfuSACCMMHSvBrv3rbOHJPkAY-ieJh-tXvRtWw9UHwOrq89Jm57/s320/comparison1.jpg" width="316" /></a><span style="line-height: 150%;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">ust
in the last ten years, our world has changed because the way we communicate has
changed. I remember seeing a picture of St. Peter’s Square when they announced
a new pope, namely, Pope Benedict XVI, in 2005 contrasted with 2013, when the
announced Pope Francis as the new pope. As for the latter, it looked as though
every single person were using the video capacity of a smartphone. Hardly a
person in St. Peter’s Square was without one.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">
<br />
There are, to be sure, many positives about being well connected. The blessing
of a smartphone is that it not only facilitates communication, but it can do
just about everything a computer can. A good thing indeed! Yet, again, with
every positive there is a corresponding negative. For instance, with texting,
emails and the internet so readily available now, people are bound to
experience a kind of chronic and insatiable curiosity. A curiosity about what,
you might ask? A curiosity about the most recent text or email received.
Although it is not true to say this about every user, it would seem that this
curiosity continually draws us to our smartphones. And in doing so, we can lose
sight of the people in our immediate surroundings. I would even go so far as to
say it is becoming an addiction among many young Americans. These
considerations, no doubt, has an impact on our ability to evangelize;
especially the younger generations.<br />
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According to a </span><em><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Wall Street Journal’s</span></em><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> article in July of 2013, </span><em><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">A Rising Addiction Among Youths: Smartphones</span></em><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">, South Koreans are suffering from this addiction in
epidemic proportions. In part, it reads: </span><br />
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“Earlier this month, the South Korean government said it plans to provide
nationwide counseling programs for youngsters by the end of the year and train
teachers on how to deal with students with addiction. Taxpayer-funded
counseling treatment here already exists for adult addicts.” </span><br />
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But the article goes on to give us something very insightful: With an over
reliance on texting, especially among the youth, interpersonal and nonverbal
communication becomes impoverished. "Students today are very bad at
reading facial expressions," said Setsuko Tamura, a professor of applied
psychology at Tokyo Seitoku University. "When you spend more time texting
people instead of talking to them, you don't learn how to read nonverbal
language." Furthermore, strong relationships require a sense of being
present to family members and friends. Without this attentiveness, our
interaction with others becomes fragmented, rushed and superficial. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivbNrBXzugfBF2b3l4vvSVPHCj5xMcWk20WaqkGtrRNE8FhEUvQgKciFNSJhNCKd1ZJC_BWpkcz3RjT4ol_EU_rc6wdZh68DvnZmhFmwjkgCo2-r-q0IvksqQIMTxqJJiaRCjlhfHkLlhO/s1600/bored_kids_wide-40151d83b68c8d400092f742adc7210446e8d1ca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivbNrBXzugfBF2b3l4vvSVPHCj5xMcWk20WaqkGtrRNE8FhEUvQgKciFNSJhNCKd1ZJC_BWpkcz3RjT4ol_EU_rc6wdZh68DvnZmhFmwjkgCo2-r-q0IvksqQIMTxqJJiaRCjlhfHkLlhO/s320/bored_kids_wide-40151d83b68c8d400092f742adc7210446e8d1ca.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="line-height: 150%;"></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Y</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">et, nonverbal communication is not the only thing that is compromised. The
ability to think in silence for long periods of time is less attainable as
well. This is important because thinking in silence is when our communion with
God is most intense. What is more, the compulsion to communicate through the
smartphone has great potential to distract us from doing things such as
preparing for the day ahead, being attentive to our duties, and examining each
day in light of our faith in Christ. It also hinders children’s creativity and
productivity because the entertainment on smartphones, computers and X-boxes
are already prepared for them. As such, seldom do children invent their own
play. Seldom are they the authors of their own fun. Creativity is born out of silence
and even boredom, but so is spiritual growth. In fact, it is in the quiet of
our minds that the whisper of God is more easily heard and eternity is more
frequently pondered.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzTw3kLZOy0dw0pKj94omwqsXoSwZTVonAITftRSi-Ny4q-7UZZaQ7M1ArSEsbTqEJ4h9A1celDKeqrEUDq0NYGMDPPJQ7ITLgKjK_Cm9BFv4wuXpjP3f99X8rpYeloEttZ19vtZhLzIKq/s1600/p05-140615-342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In
sum, the smartphone will benefit youth- as it well the rest of us –only if they
are masters of it. But if they are compelled to use it at every moment, then
not only will the voice of God be suppressed, but the heralds of the New
Evangelization will be greeted with increasing indifference. After all, if the
voice of God is not heard from within, neither will the voice of the Church be
heard from without. To be sure, the latter derives its strength from the
former!</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-right: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-right: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">We
can expect, therefore, that out of necessity, the Catholic Church will have
more to say and teach about this new form of communication. And although church
leaders and evangelists should continue to affirm all that is good in this new
technology, they will, nevertheless, inherit the mission of having to restore
the love of silence and face-to-face communication. Religion classes in
Catholic schools, faith formation classes in parish programs and youth groups
alike will provide a great service to youth by accentuating the need for
simplicity. Not only will families and communities be indebted to this new
focus in evangelization, but the Church will too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-right: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-right: 0.5in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">____________</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;"><i>This article is the property of the Department of New Evangelization/ Diocese of Green Bay</i></span></span></div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-65585559480701570712015-12-08T16:46:00.001-08:002015-12-08T17:02:05.989-08:00MOVIE THEATERS AND PARISHES: And what the last 25 years can tell you!<em>The following blog is sponsored by the Department of New Evangelization and was written for parish leaders in the Green Bay Diocese. If you happen to be a Catholic who happens to volunteer or work at your local parish or one who happens to be interested in how people perceive the relevance of today's parish and what to do about it, this blog may for you!</em>
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Why compare movie theaters and parishes? And how does such a comparison give us any insight into parish ministry? The similarities and differences among movie consumers and Catholic churchgoers may surprise you! Even more, it just may give parish leaders a few ideas on how to attract more people to your local parish.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE6vUIzn3j-WMCssAM144Z3hPVs6iGk-_9FEpgchQdDXfy4WULk46LyoJpKZ6BLPWSDQ4vUk10dxhJYX4snEOcoSc9J1NfgBwL0qE8g3Hx4q0JNU6yqLnZkMfDi-lq5lWZO4xS-hove9aN/s1600/movie-theaters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE6vUIzn3j-WMCssAM144Z3hPVs6iGk-_9FEpgchQdDXfy4WULk46LyoJpKZ6BLPWSDQ4vUk10dxhJYX4snEOcoSc9J1NfgBwL0qE8g3Hx4q0JNU6yqLnZkMfDi-lq5lWZO4xS-hove9aN/s320/movie-theaters.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE6vUIzn3j-WMCssAM144Z3hPVs6iGk-_9FEpgchQdDXfy4WULk46LyoJpKZ6BLPWSDQ4vUk10dxhJYX4snEOcoSc9J1NfgBwL0qE8g3Hx4q0JNU6yqLnZkMfDi-lq5lWZO4xS-hove9aN/s1600/movie-theaters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE6vUIzn3j-WMCssAM144Z3hPVs6iGk-_9FEpgchQdDXfy4WULk46LyoJpKZ6BLPWSDQ4vUk10dxhJYX4snEOcoSc9J1NfgBwL0qE8g3Hx4q0JNU6yqLnZkMfDi-lq5lWZO4xS-hove9aN/s1600/movie-theaters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a>For one, people go to the movie theaters- more or less on the weekends -for an event; namely, the showing of a movie. Similarly, Catholics go to a weekend event at their parish; namely, the celebration of the Mass.Interestingly, the participant’s behavior of both events does bear a striking similarity: People who attend a movie on Saturday night or a Mass on Sunday morning rarely talk to people other than those they attended the event with. In other words, John and Jane Doe may talk to each other at the movie theater or the parish, but rarely do they engage in meaningful conversation with other people. They simply attend the event and return home.
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What should be obvious is that this event-driven behavior does not lend itself to community-building. Yet, the interesting thing to note is that this pattern of behavior has not hurt the movie industry in any way; but it has taken a toll on parish growth!For instance, in 1990 the number of Catholic parishes in the United States peaked at around 19,620.Interestingly enough, the number of indoor movie theaters during the same year was estimated to be slightly higher at 22,904.
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If we can take the number of parishes and movie theaters as a kind of measure, it can be argued that in 1990 the demand for services that the average parish provided was about the same as the public demand for movies in indoor theaters.Yet, over the next twenty five years the number of indoor movie theaters doubled while the number of parishes decreased by at least two thousand.
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There are many reasons for this growing disparity but one reason stands out above the rest: No one expects to meet new people, make new friends or to be a part of a meaningful community at a movie theater. People do not go to the movies for community-sake but rather for its entertainment value. And to be sure, this is part of the reason why there has been an increased demand for more movie theaters over the decades. The entertainment value of seeing a movie is self-evident to most viewers. They can articulate what movie they just saw, the story that was unfolded and why they liked it.
However, the same cannot be said for most people who attend Mass.Most Catholic churchgoers do not know why they dip their fingers in holy water in order to make the Sign of the Cross, why there is a procession before Mass begins, why the priest kisses the altar, why the congregation is greeted with the words, “The Lord be with you” and why the people respond, “And with your spirit!” In other words, the spiritual value of participating in the Mass is not self-evident. Indeed, the Mass does not explain itself quite like the average movie does.
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For this reason, the celebration of the Mass at the parish- unlike the showing of a movie at the local theater –cannot be the only religious event that churchgoers are exposed to or it will cease to be relevant to them.Yet, the vast majority of practicing Catholics that attend Mass on a weekly basis connect with few parishioners before or after Mass. To be sure, they head home right after the closing hymn.Like seeing a movie at the local theater, they go to the parish for the main event and only for the main event.And yet, this exclusive focus on just going to Mass week in and week out is slowly undermining Mass attendance itself.Why? Well, because the Mass was never meant to be celebrated apart from a meaningful community of fellowship and discipleship. But, sadly, the infrastructures of many parishes in North America are such that the Mass is the first and only exposure newcomers and seekers have of the Catholic faith.
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Furthermore, parishes are not set up to identify the newcomer or seeker; to accommodate them by answering their questions; to immediatelysupport them through fellowship; or to give them an invitation or some incentive to return the following week.As for the latter, movie theaters do this well by showing previews of upcoming movies. By showing previews of movies yet to debut, they are offering a tangible incentive for movie consumers to come back. But what are parishes doing to incentivize newcomers and casual churchgoers to come back? I’m afraid that offering the Mass, by itself, is not a compelling enough incentive for most people to give the parish another try. There has to be more! It’s just too easy to be an anonymous visitor.
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Bear in mind that the Mass was never meant to be an introduction to Catholic spiritual life or the only thing that is offered to newcomers and seekers. On the contrary, the Catholic Church has always taught that the Mass is the summit of Christian life; not the vestibule of Christian life. In other words, this spiritual summit, like a mountain, was meant to rest on a wide and deep foundation. Before the summit can be reached, one must first arrive at the base of the mountain first and then ascend its slopes.
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These initial steps at a lower altitude necessarily include encountering Christ through prayer, fellowship, evangelization, and discipleship in a small group or community within the parish.To have such a service immediately available to newcomers and seekers- in addition to the Mass -is to value them as individuals where they will be remembered and accompanied in their spiritual journey.
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This, no doubt, will take on different forms and will vary from parish to parish. But getting started will greatly increase the odds that more people will regard the parish community as being even more essential to their lives than the local movie theater.</div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-6081483855650733012015-08-03T15:36:00.000-07:002015-08-03T15:42:09.137-07:00A National Study of Former Young Catholics Reveals Key Insights for Parish Leaders and Parents<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiImxevmW1vqHCgK5qF9rJHVauWJ0QXZbMdceWZVr-SUn24j8Xgh46d6h7taweuqhyOVeEGuUfBIYJcEw5lNMisgUcOZcn3VaG1F8dv_gaGvSN6ShNmaolDzXPjLcDv03w6A19Sbm2C7TBP/s1600/13739-man-standing-church-aisle-silhouette-pastor_1200w_tn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiImxevmW1vqHCgK5qF9rJHVauWJ0QXZbMdceWZVr-SUn24j8Xgh46d6h7taweuqhyOVeEGuUfBIYJcEw5lNMisgUcOZcn3VaG1F8dv_gaGvSN6ShNmaolDzXPjLcDv03w6A19Sbm2C7TBP/s320/13739-man-standing-church-aisle-silhouette-pastor_1200w_tn.jpg" width="320" /></a>In the early 2000s Nicolette Manglos-Weber and Christian Smith, two sociologists at the Center for the Study of Religion and Society, surveyed 3,000 plus U.S. teenagers and their parents. In their recent study, <em><a href="https://icl.nd.edu/assets/170517/icl_former_catholics_final_web.pdf">Understanding Former Young Catholics: Findings from a National Study of American Emerging Adults</a></em>, they focused on emerging adults who were self-identified as Catholic when they were teenagers but later dropped that Catholic identity. The findings from this decade-long study reveal key insights for parish leaders and families that seek to pass on the faith to youth. Interestingly, the researchers hasten to add that “we find both causes for concern and reasons to hope.” <br />
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<strong>Stronger Than Culture:</strong>
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The good news is that although the influences of secular culture are powerful and widespread, the loss of faith is not inevitable. In fact, the strongest ally the Church has in raising up disciples for Jesus Christ is the family. Manglos-Weber and Smith go so far as to say that they can “anticipate quite accurately whether a given teenager will continue to identify as Catholic into emerging adulthood based primarily on what we know about the religious home environment in which they were raised.”
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If, for instance, parents were religiously consistent, committed, vocal, and reasonably well educated, the chances of their son or daughter retaining the faith into emerging adulthood significantly increases. To be sure, speaking regularly of the faith at home, regular Mass attendance, parish community involvement and having close friends who are religious, all contribute to a strong religious identity during the young adulthood years. What is equally important, however, is the quality of relationships adolescents have with their parents.
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"Emotional closeness between Catholic parents and their teenage children—especially with fathers—influences whether teens remain Catholic into their 20s. Greater relational distance between parents and teens increases the chance that the latter will leave the Church in emerging adulthood."
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What this study confirms is that “whether or not emerging adults are aware of it, they continue to understand and evaluate religion in reference to the models they were given growing up.” After all, it is the mother and the father that serve as the image of God for their children. It is through this image that a child understands the world, God and himself. Indeed, the manner in which parents model religion for their children is decisive. <br />
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This is why in the <em>Declaration of Christian Education</em>, a document from the Second Vatican Council, it says, “Since parents have given children their life, they are bound by the most serious obligation to educate their offspring and therefore must be recognized as the primary and principal educators. This role in education is so important that only with difficulty can it be supplied where it is lacking.” (1965)
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The one key insight that this report offers for parish leaders and families is that the faithful and consistent witness of parents can have a greater impact on their children than the secular culture itself. This is good news. As Manglos-Weber and Smith remind us, “These results also correct impressions that emerging adults’ loss of faith is inevitable or random.”
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<strong>Areas of Interest for Parishes and Parents:</strong>
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Many parishes throughout the Diocese of Green Bay are actively seeking out parents, presenting them with opportunities to be evangelized and catechized. If adult faith formation for parents was considered to be optional in the past, it is becoming clearer from what we know today that equipping parents to be the primary evangelists and educators of their own children is imperative. The future of the Church depends on it.
Furthermore, from reading the study, <em>Understanding Former Young</em> Catholics, we can identify characteristics of home environments where there was enough religious momentum for teenagers to retain the faith into the emerging adulthood years (<em>to read a summary of the findings in their own words, please scroll down</em>). To this end, efforts of adult faith formation and sacramental preparation can assist parents in the following areas:
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1. Modeling religion for teenagers. Modeling religion begins and ends with the person of Jesus Christ. It is important for youth to know that religious observance is an expression of this relationship, not its substitute.
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2. Consistency of religious expression. Personal prayer, saying grace before meals and family prayer on a daily basis reinforces the relationship teenagers have with Jesus Christ. <br />
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3. Speaking about Jesus Christ and discussing spiritual and moral issues at home. Parents can use the media (i.e. news, television programs and the social media) as opportunities to talk about the faith so that faith is both relevant and personal in their lives.<br />
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4. The social dimension of faith. A growing number of emerging adults are critical of organized religion. Yet, gathering as a people of God on the Sabbath to hear the Word, to participate in the Eucharist and to fellowship with believers supports and nourishes the personal dimension of faith. <br />
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5. Emotional closeness to children. Parents can be actively religious, but if they are not investing time in forming a close and trusting relationship with their children, then imparting the faith to them is likely to be compromised.
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In our parish ministries and homes, we can ask ourselves: Are we demonstrating in concrete ways how the social dimension of faith completes the personal dimension of faith for teenagers and emerging adults?
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<strong>American Emerging Adults:</strong>
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No doubt, there are concerns that are duly noted in the study, <em>Understanding Former Young Catholics</em>. The fact is that many parents who have their teenagers attend parish programs and Catholic schools are not religiously consistent, committed, vocal, and reasonably well educated. Ideals are worthy of pursuit but parish leaders, catechists and educators often inherit circumstances that are far from ideal.
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It is unfortunate that there are not a few teenagers who either come from families that attend Mass every Sunday but nothing more; or they come from families who do not attend Mass at all. Regardless of background, the Church is presented with opportunities to better equip teenagers to transition into emerging adulthood as disciples of Christ. In order to carry out this mission, Manglos-Weber and Smith proposes to the Church to “understand them in their particular place in life and to seek them out.”
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To actively seek them out is a must! Why? More than previous generations, today’s teenagers and emerging adults are skeptical of organized religion. Perhaps, one can argue that our religiously pluralistic society has had a relativistic effect on youth. According to the Center for the Study of Religion and Society, many of those surveyed see religious subjects as having two sides. Religious certainty is no longer considered to be a virtue. In fact, for them to express an aversion to spiritual or moral absolutes is not all that uncommon. “To believe in only one religion or profess only one version of God implies, in the minds of many emerging adults, that these other people are in error or will be judged by God. This makes it difficult for them to accept the idea that only one religious faith tradition represents the full truth.”
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Relativism, especially among youth, is becoming a real challenge for the Church’s mission. If, for instance, Jesus Christ is not the way, the truth and the life but is, instead, one of many religious leaders, then the same can be said for the Church. In a word, if all religions are equally important, then they are equally unimportant. Pope Leo XIII cautioned about the effects of this kind of relativism in 1885, “To hold, therefore, that there is no difference in matters of religion between forms that are unlike each other, and even contrary to each other, most clearly leads in the end to the rejection of all religion in both theory and practice.” (<a href="http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13sta.htm"><em>Immortale Dei: On the Christian Constitutions of States</em></a>). It should not surprise us, then, that American Emerging Adults are struggling to see the value of organized religion; including the need to attend Mass at the local parish.
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Although religious certainty and confidence are not highly esteemed virtues in a pluralistic society, I do believe it is a needed virtue if Catholicism is to become attractive to youth again. After all, Jesus radiated these virtues in the Gospels. They served him well.
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Below is an excerpt (verbatim) on the Manglos-Weber and Smith’s conclusions on the findings from their decade-long study of Catholic youth who retained their faith into emerging adulthood.
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<strong>Conclusions: Implications for Forming Committed Catholic Youth</strong><br />
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Catholic adults who are interested in keeping children raised in the Church still connected to Catholic faith and practice into their 20s ought to note these facts [to read more about the summary points, consult pages 24-25 of the <a href="https://icl.nd.edu/assets/170517/icl_former_catholics_final_web.pdf">report</a>]:
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1. Leaving the Catholic Church rarely means becoming an atheist.
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2. The effective formation of Catholic youth today need not obfuscate or compromise Church teachings, but will likely best convey them in an open, confident, exploratory, and dialogical mode.
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3. It makes a difference whether children have parents of the same religious faith or of mixed or changing religious faiths.
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4. Most Catholic youth today are growing up in environments of major religious pluralism, which can make them hesitate to make strong religious commitments themselves.
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5. Many Catholic youth, like their peers, have been convinced that religious faith and modern science are locked in an inevitable war in which science always wins.
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6. Emotional closeness between Catholic parents and their teenage children—especially with fathers—influences whether teens remain Catholic into their 20s.<br />
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7. Young Catholics whose parents regularly attend Mass, are involved in their parishes, and who talk with their children about religious faith are more likely to remain Catholic themselves, compared to those whose parents are less involved in Church and who talk less about religious matters.
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To learn more about the American Emerging Adult, I would encourage you to read <a href="https://icl.nd.edu/assets/170517/icl_former_catholics_final_web.pdf"><em>Understanding Former Young Catholics: Findings from a National Study of American Emerging Adults</em></a><em>.</em> It is a short read. Again, I am confident you will find both causes for concern and reasons to hope.
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>This article is sponsored by the </em></span><a href="http://www.gbdioc.org/departments/new-evangelization/homepage.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Department of New Evangelization</em></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em> at the </em></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Diocese of Green Bay.</em></span></span></div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-10936918199223217812015-06-29T11:08:00.000-07:002015-06-29T11:19:17.598-07:00To Sin By Silence: A homily by Fr. Peter Mitchell<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJlPbSDPHOOKJ-7Q7Pme_uBIt6CCNfm9cEXNgnrceXMyQZfBJYDTHkmzM1aBIHVzn1uBGlsMZPju79Eu2rCvkDKiQHZLv3lxm7ifzoLZAsz0RSt3BPJoKri-cbcsYbmi-99iA3zIj_KKGx/s1600/samplecatholic-wedding-songs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJlPbSDPHOOKJ-7Q7Pme_uBIt6CCNfm9cEXNgnrceXMyQZfBJYDTHkmzM1aBIHVzn1uBGlsMZPju79Eu2rCvkDKiQHZLv3lxm7ifzoLZAsz0RSt3BPJoKri-cbcsYbmi-99iA3zIj_KKGx/s320/samplecatholic-wedding-songs.jpg" style="cursor: move;" unselectable="on" width="320" /></a><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">Fr. Peter Mitchell is a pastor of St. Mary of the Immaculate Parish- Greenville, WI. The following is the homily he delivered on the Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (June 27-28, 2015)</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">"To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards out
of men." - Abraham Lincoln<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">My dear parishioners, I had hoped I would not have to give this
homily. But as your pastor and shepherd, I must </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">speak today, lest I sin by silence and act in cowardice. This past
Friday, June 26, by a 5-4 decision, the US </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">Supreme Court has told us that our entire nation must accept the
redefinition of marriage. The decision is being </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">hailed by many as a victory for love. Our President's twitter
account acclaimed the decision as victory for </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">freedom with the signature #LoveWins. It is no secret that the
Catholic Church opposes this decision, and so it </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">would seem to many in this confused cultural moment that we are
now part of a church that is opposed to love, </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">and is in fact a church that proclaims hatred by its teaching. For
a long time now our society has been being </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">prepared to celebrate and affirm this decision as a victory for
love - the press, the entertainment media, our </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">schools, the medical profession, business associations, the
military - every aspect of our society has very </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">aggressively been told that to oppose this decision is to be
against the free expression of love. Why would we </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">withhold the right to happiness and love from fellow citizens? Why
would we tell others they cannot fulfill </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">themselves in the way they choose to? Everyone is now forced to
accept this redefinition by means of judicial </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">rewriting of the law. And - here is the crux of the issue for us
as the church - if we will not accept this </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">redefinition, <b>we are expected to be silent</b>. And it is in
this light that I wish to take President Lincoln's </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">challenging words - "To sin by silence when they should
protest makes cowards out of men" - and ask how we </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">may respond courageously and joyfully to the present challenging
cultural moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">Let's be clear about what happened on Friday in terms of the big
picture of the history of Western Civilization. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">I've brought a few books along for dramatic effect. Let's see...
Socrates...out the window. Plato...out the </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">window. Aristotle...out the window. Roman law...out the window.
Notice we haven't gotten to Christian </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">sources of law and culture yet. The Old Testament - Genesis 19,
out the window. The New Testament - Romans </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">1 - read it, it is so clear! "While claiming to be wise they
became fools...God handed them over to their </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">undiscerning mind to do what is improper" - out the window.
St. Augustine, out the window. Thomas Aquinas, </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">out the window. The entire legal precedent of the United States up
to 2003, out the window. The implication of </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">course is that all of these sources of our law had a blind spot of
prejudice when it came to the definition of </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">marriage. All of these wise men were unenlightened, and it is only
as of June 26, 2015, that we can say that we </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">truly live in a free and loving society. Hence the hashtag,
#LoveWins.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">What was the reason for all of these foundational sources of our
culture condemning the behavior associated </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">with the redefinition of marriage, for calling such behavior a sin
and a crime? Let's say this very simply - with </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">great wisdom<b>, they understood that such behavior is destructive</b>.
It is destructive of the human body because </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">it goes against human nature - it causes disease and death, and no
less importantly it is destructive of the human s</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">oul. It leads to depression, anxiety, loneliness, mental illness,
and even suicide. It is destructive of families and </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">of children's happiness. This was the established consensus of the
American Psychiatric Association (APA), </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">until 1973, when it removed such behavior from its lists of mental
disorders in a change that had absolutely no </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">scientific or medical basis but was pushed through by pressure
from a small group of activists.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">Now, however, we are told that the entire society must legally
accept the redefinition of marriage and thus </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">affirm the rationalization that what is bad and destructive is
actually good and fulfilling. My dear people, let's </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">say this simply and clearly - <b>to call what is bad good is a lie</b>.
And the redefinition of marriage into something </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">other than a permanent covenant between a man a woman for the
purpose of raising a family is a lie. Why </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">would we be opposed to Friday's decision? The simple answer is-
because it is based on a lie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">If someone would ask us, "Why is it a lie?" we need to
be able to connect the dots as to how we got here. There </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">is a very simple thread of logic running through the Supreme
Court's decisions since 1966 concerning, first </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">contraception, then abortion, and finally the redefinition of
marriage. All three issues are intertwined, and </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">ultimately to embrace one as a right is to embrace the others. We
need to be able to understand that logic so as </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">to refute it. First, in 1961 Planned Parenthood sued the State of
Connecticut for the right to distribute </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">contraceptives, which was at that time against the law. In 1966 in
<i>Griswold v. Connecticut</i>, the US Supreme </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">Court defined the right to contracept as part of the "right
to privacy" it claimed to find in the Constitution. This </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">decision was then invoked in the decision with which we are all
familiar, <i>Roe v. Wade </i>in 1973, which legalized </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">the right to abortion as part of the "right to privacy.' It
made logical sense. If children intrude upon our right to </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">privacy, we need to have a way to eliminate them. To fully embrace
the use of contraceptives, many of which </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">act as abortifacients by killing the developing embryo in the
mother's womb, is to affirm abortion, which is the </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">ultimate act of contraception. The Church's beautiful teaching has
always seen this connection and proclaimed </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">it, even as our culture has scoffed. This brings us to 2015.
Friday's decision was entirely consistent with the </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">precedent of <i>Griswold </i>and <i>Roe</i>. If we as a culture
have sterilized married love by legalizing contraception and </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">abortion, it is logically consistent that we would redefine marriage
so that it no longer has any necessary </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">connection with procreation, based on the "right to
privacy." A culture where everyone is contracepting and in </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">which anyone can get an abortion, must, to be consistent, redefine
marriage. Our Supreme Court acted </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">consistently on Friday. It invoked its own language defending the
right to abortion: "At the heart of liberty is the </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the
universe, and of the mystery of human life" </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">(<i>Planned Parenthood v Casey</i>, 1992). Justice Kennedy's
opening sentence in Friday's decision reaffirms this </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">definition of liberty: "Liberty includes the right to define
and express one's own identity." This is the heart of </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">the lie. But there can be no freedom divorced from the truth of
God's law, which is also the law of human </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">nature. In ignoring the natural law, our Supreme Court has
proclaimed that we must all accept a lie.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">What is to be our response as disciples of Jesus Christ to the
lie? It is the same joyful witness that we always </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">give: living lives of poverty, chastity, and obedience and
mercifully inviting others, with us, to heed the first </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">words of Jesus in the Gospel, "Reform your lives, and believe
in the Gospel!" (Mark 1:15). Our witness needs </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">to be joyful and compassionate, convicted and committed. No less
than we are convicted that we would never </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">let our little ones play with matches, because they are
potentially destructive, so we must be convinced that the </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">redefinition of marriage is destructive to individual people and
to our entire society. If we are so convinced, we </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">will joyfully invite others as fellow sinners to turn to the
Merciful Jesus and know his healing grace as the </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">woman with the hemorrhage did in today's Gospel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">We can turn more than ever to the intercession of some of the
great martyrs of our faith who were called on to </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">witness to the truth of God's law in the face of legal
redefinition of the truth. I am thinking of the joyful witness </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">of St. Thomas More and the Martyrs of England in the 1500's. When
King Henry VIII wished to deny the truth </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">of his marriage, he ordered Parliament to pass the Act of
Supremacy, which proclaimed Henry head of the </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">Church and thus able to redefine marriage. The vast majority of
bishops in England acquiesced to Henry's </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">demand. The law was changed and persecution followed for those who
did not remain silent. The courageous </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">martyrs of that storied moment in English history are interceding
for us. They stood firm as they were accused </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">of hating their King and hating their country. St. Edmund
Campion's powerful words ring clear - at his </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">sentencing to execution, he said simply, "In condemning us,
you condemn all of your own ancestors, all that </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">was once the glory of England." The present redefinition of
marriage has indeed condemned all the great figures </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">in American history as having been fundamentally opposed to
freedom and rights in their understanding of </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">marriage as a God-given gift between a man and a woman.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">I am thinking of the joyful witness of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the
martyrs of the Third Reich. All of the </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">reforms of the 1930's were accomplished legally as the German
nation was told to embrace a lie about the </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">human person - that the Jews were not truly persons. As long as
people were silent, the lie had room to grow. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">Anyone who loved Germany was expected to support the Fuhrer. The
law was changed and persecution </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">followed for those who did not remain silent. Those who spoke out
paid the ultimate price. Bonhoeffer, a </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">Lutheran pastor who dared to speak out in protest and to resist,
wrote before his execution, "Silence in the face </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to
speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">I am thinking, lastly, and perhaps most powerfully, of the
courageous witness of John the Baptist, whose birth </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">the Church just celebrated this past week. Face to face with King
Herod, who had redefined marriage by taking </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">his brother's wife to be his own wife, John spoke the truth about
marriage: "It is not lawful for you to have your </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">brother's wife" (Mark 6:18). John chose not to remain silent,
and persecution followed. Because he spoke the </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">truth about marriage, John was beheaded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">"To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards out
of men." My dear people, all we have to do </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">today is to remain silent in the face of the lie and we will be
able to remain comfortable. May this comfortable </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">silence never be our response. In the words of the great Russian
dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn, "Let the lie </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">come into the world, let it even triumph. But not through
me." The Church in America in 2015 needs to call </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">upon the intercession of all of these holy martyrs, asking them to
obtain for our bishops and priests and for all of u</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">s the courage to bear witness to the truth about marriage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">So many are confused and hurting in their search for love today -
they are searching for Christ without even </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">knowing it. It falls to us at this moment to show forth Jesus by
our witness of poverty, chastity, and obedience.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">This witness will mean having the courage to face whatever
persecution, large and small, will come to us as a </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">result of our refusal to remain silent. It will mean enduring
accusations that we are opposed to love and hateful o</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">f those who celebrate and promote the redefinition of marriage.
Let's be confident that the Holy Spirit is with </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">us and is raising up a great generation of witnesses - joyful,
loving, compassionate, merciful, courageous </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">witnesses. I am confident that I am looking at those witnesses as
I preach to you today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">St. Thomas More, Edmund Campion, and the martyrs of England, pray
for us.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the martyrs of the Third Reich, pray for
us. Amen.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">Come, Holy Spirit!</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">Father Peter Mitchell<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<img height="63" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJlPbSDPHOOKJ-7Q7Pme_uBIt6CCNfm9cEXNgnrceXMyQZfBJYDTHkmzM1aBIHVzn1uBGlsMZPju79Eu2rCvkDKiQHZLv3lxm7ifzoLZAsz0RSt3BPJoKri-cbcsYbmi-99iA3zIj_KKGx/s320/samplecatholic-wedding-songs.jpg" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 677px; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 38px;" width="96" />Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-27583077611186586762015-04-04T00:06:00.003-07:002015-04-05T15:48:06.406-07:00Hospice Nurses, Heaven and Easter<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8lkjQflqa1_ylQns7AC6XAiPHaT1Lgt_qEnMdWHeClLadDkUp6hP-e86tqUTrb2gdAddtE8l0AutafQnvkGbuXCy5-MRRDtOiKojyV4b05qrbFbIv92JI1M0uLGaMYRXFMVfO0fIC36Ny/s1600/Jesus-jesus-7735247-1280-909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8lkjQflqa1_ylQns7AC6XAiPHaT1Lgt_qEnMdWHeClLadDkUp6hP-e86tqUTrb2gdAddtE8l0AutafQnvkGbuXCy5-MRRDtOiKojyV4b05qrbFbIv92JI1M0uLGaMYRXFMVfO0fIC36Ny/s1600/Jesus-jesus-7735247-1280-909.jpg" height="227" width="320" /></a>Over the last two years, the Department of New Evangelization has been offering an adult faith formation program entitled, <em>Hospice Nurses and Heaven</em>. As an Adult Faith Formation Coordinator at the Diocese of Green Bay, I team up with a former hospice nurse to speak about how death is not the end of life but only the beginning. After all, life can be lived in one of two ways: 1. To live as if death were the end of life. 2. Or to live as though death were the beginning of life. The Catholic faith, in fact, bids us to believe the latter.
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This belief is expressed in any number of ways, but chief among them is that the Church annually celebrates the memory of the Saints on the day they died; not on the day they were born. Even more important is the observance of our Lord’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday. From these religious practices, something very practical and relevant is put into effect: The trials of life are put into perspective; most notably, grieving the loss of a loved one.
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<em>Hospice Nurses and Heaven</em> not only presents the teachings of the Catholic Church on what is called the “Last Things”- that is, death, purgatory, heaven and hell -but it recounts stories told by hospice nurses about their patients who routinely reach out to “the other side” as they are actively dying. Hospice nurses from around the world report the same recurring phenomenon about their dying patients: interaction with deceased loved ones, reaching out to the Light, smelling roses, seeing angels and the like. <br />
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Of course, not all encounters with the other side are positive. After all, we die as we live. Unfortunately, people choose to live their lives without acknowledging God or living a moral life. As such, a person’s passage into eternity is not always one of peace, joy and hope. With that said, however, the reason why the adult faith formation program is called, “Hospice Nurses and Heaven” and not, “Hospice Nurses and Hell,” is because every person is called by God to be with him in heaven. Furthermore, the main purpose of the program is to inspire hope for the grieving.
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It is important to note that the certainty of hope cannot be proven but only inspired. In fact, the Catholic doctrine on eternity cannot be demonstrated by science but it can offer credible motives for belief based on common human experiences. Among them, are hospice nurses stories and near death experiences. Yet, there is also the experience of sensing the presence of a loved one who had just passed away. Indeed, I cannot count the number of times a grieving person has shared with me that their departed loved one communicated their presence to them in some small but powerful way.<br />
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Just recently, we offered the program, <em>Hospice Nurses and Heaven</em>, to a rural parish. The co-speaker of the program decided to invite her friend along for the two hour ride. The friend happened to be a mother who had lost her 17 year old daughter in a car accident some eleven years ago. During our presentation, it was brought to my attention that the grieving mother had a special but most unusual experience. Shortly after her daughter’s death, it just so happen that she was looking out the first floor window into the backyard just when her husband was looking out the second floor window. What they saw amazed them both:<br />
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There was a crab tree that their daughter used to climb on when she was a younger girl. Naturally, when the grieving mother looked at the tree, it reminded her of her deceased daughter. But this time, both of them noticed that this tree (and only this tree) bloomed, even though it was September. Crab trees in Wisconsin do not bloom in the fall, but rather in the spring. For them, this was the sign from heaven that they needed. At the same moment, they were both assured that their daughter was not only okay but that her spirit was fully alive. <br />
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The funny thing about these experiences is that although they may not be scientific enough to convert an atheist into a believer, they offer just enough “proof” to those it was meant to touch. To be sure, the good Lord lifts the veil just enough to make belief possible but faith necessary. <br />
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You see, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is not just a holy day nor is it just an historical event. It is a reality that has manifested itself through the extraordinary but common experiences of countless people. <br />
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<span style="color: black;">Click </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuyCFc3ZlCU"><span style="color: blue;">here</span></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span>for video: <em>Glimpses of Heaven</em>, by Trudy Harris</span></div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-75583205177464590292015-04-02T16:02:00.001-07:002015-04-02T16:02:58.264-07:00The Wound of Rejection on Holy Thursday- by Bl. Mother Theresa<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsHmg-R7hJw9jx57o6MD50bj0Qp2It1wbG0yIv1Uf0i5_j1VWNeg6zuoesFavOj1wTAEsjlrbS6k_cuXfBGYhdDbo8Su1cuw505S8bn2EwkqCb0SimhTpumKanMPZdSG74DnMndLNX7ed/s1600/imagesCACSUR9Y.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsHmg-R7hJw9jx57o6MD50bj0Qp2It1wbG0yIv1Uf0i5_j1VWNeg6zuoesFavOj1wTAEsjlrbS6k_cuXfBGYhdDbo8Su1cuw505S8bn2EwkqCb0SimhTpumKanMPZdSG74DnMndLNX7ed/s1600/imagesCACSUR9Y.jpg" /></a>The Wound of Rejection on Holy Thursday:<br />
<em>What a Holy Hour Means to Our Lord</em><br />
by Bl. Mother Theresa<br />
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On Holy Thursday night Jesus showed us the "very depth of his love" (Canon of the Mass), by giving us the complete gift of Himself and His total love in the Holy Eucharist. Then, He appealed to His apostles for the first Holy Hour of prayer when He took them into the garden in the middle of the night and asked them to watch and pray with Him.<br />
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As He started to pray, He began to sweat blood. The agony He suffered was the realization that the Holy Eucharist would be rejected by so many and appreciated by so few. To reject the Holy Eucharist is to reject Jesus Himself.<br />
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He saw down through the ages how He would be left alone, "spurned and avoided by men" in so many tabernacles of the world, while He comes to bring so much love and so many blessings. He is the rejected Lover; the Prisoner of Love in the tabernacle. "He came into His own, yet His own received Him not." (Jn 1:11) How few would believe in His Real Presence, and fewer still respond to His appeal to be loved in the Blessed Sacrament. <br />
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And His heart was "filled with sorrow to the point of death." (Mk 14:34) The blood He sweat was grief poured out from a broken Heart, caused by the sorrow of His Eucharistic Love being so rejected. Then an angel brought Jesus indescribable strength and consolation by showing Him every Holy Hour that you would ever make. At that moment in the garden, Jesus saw you praying before Him now and He knew that His love would be returned. This is why your visit today is so important to Him. Your Holy Hour consoles Him for those who do not love Him, and wins countless graces for many to be converted...<br />
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So many are unwilling to make even the slightest sacrifice to visit Him, while He was willing to sacrifice everything to be with us in this most Blessed Sacrament. He laid down His mortal life for us so that He may raise us up to Divine Life in this Holy Sacrament...<br />
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Jesus could fill every Catholic Church, day and night, by letting a single ray of His glory shine out from the Sacred Host. People would come from all over the world to see the miracle, but He prefers to remain hidden that we may come to Him in faith; because only in faith are we drawn by love and not by curiosity.<br />
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<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">Rosary Meditations by Mother Teresa of Calcutta</span></em>Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-35246058638339919152014-10-12T20:21:00.001-07:002014-10-12T20:21:16.610-07:00Young Catholic America<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3g-X3YURBWNgW29rOw8ubWhXqdg1lXHdxgkWDDQ1CZlskaiyZmMgLwvVLTFI3HPfOdmCxbZb4CZGIQ7UDHAy_W_w-d9cpVVHGHTVjJ3lYvU8Hm8lGzr3iB9cG2zNUOQL9Oi2fCfWh-S6z/s1600/untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3g-X3YURBWNgW29rOw8ubWhXqdg1lXHdxgkWDDQ1CZlskaiyZmMgLwvVLTFI3HPfOdmCxbZb4CZGIQ7UDHAy_W_w-d9cpVVHGHTVjJ3lYvU8Hm8lGzr3iB9cG2zNUOQL9Oi2fCfWh-S6z/s1600/untitled.png" /></a><em>The Challenge:</em><br />
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Christian Smith's book, <em>Young Catholic America: Emerging Adults, In, Out of and Gone From the Church</em> confirms what many parish-leaders in the Diocese of Green Bay have been concerned about in recent years: The difficulty adults are having in evangelizing youth and young adults. As one adult faith formation coordinator said, "About 15 years ago young adults used to drift away from the Church but then comeback when they had children. Today, however, they are not coming back."
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Smith's research reveals that 62 percent of Catholic adolescents attend regular services during high school. But this percentage drops to 22 percent in the emerging adulthood years (ages18-23). That is to say, the Catholic Church loses a significant number of young adults in the post-high school years.
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In fact, Sherry Weddell, in her book, <em>Forming Intentional Disciples</em>, had this to say: "As the Pew report put it, Catholics have the biggest 'generation gap' of any religious community in the United States. Sixty-two percent of Catholics sixty-five and older in 2008 said that they attended Mass every week, while only 34 percent of Millennials did so." (pg. 44) The question then becomes, what can we do?
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<em>The Church's Answer:</em> <br />
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In preparing for an adult faith formation program called, <em>On the Same Page</em>, I contacted a number of Catholic apostolates who have enjoyed some success in evangelizing youth: FOCUS, NET Ministries, Cardinal Newman Society, and Nashville Dominicans to name a few. I asked them what they believed high rates of faith retention rested on. The two principles they identified were <br />
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1. A personal relationship with Jesus Christ needed to be in place if religious education was to bear any fruit. <br />
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2. Parental support of that relationship is also of the greatest importance. <br />
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As for the first principle, <em>The General Directory for Catechesis</em> reads: "Only by starting with conversion, and therefore by making allowance for the interior disposition of 'whoever believes' can catechesis, strictly speaking, fulfill its proper task of education in the faith." (GDC, art. 62) Indeed, the way to the mind is through the heart. And conversion, according to the GDC, involves "essential moments" when the person experiences the person of Christ; moments when the heart is touched by grace.
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Therefore, before religious education or catechesis can truly be effective, a relationship with Jesus Christ is essential. Only then will the Mass, the Sacraments and the Church take on greater relevance for our younger generation of Catholics. As such, an intensification of evangelization, witness talks, spiritual mentoring, retreats, and pilgrimages as a precursor to and basis for religious education and faith formation may be something that is worth taking a look at. <br />
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Lastly, the success of parishes and Catholic schools in evangelizing and educating youth also rests upon the active support of parents. The faith and religious participation of parents largely determine whether or not their children as emerging adults will retain the faith. To be sure, the Church was never meant to be a surrogate in forming the child; only a partner. It is only when parents take a leading role in evangelizing and educating their children can we, who work on behalf of the Church, hope to raise up a generation of disciples who are on their way.
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;">The Department of New Evangelization at the Diocese of Green Bay is the sponsor of this article. <a href="http://www.gbdioc.org/departments/new-evangelization.html">The Diocese of Green Bay: New Evangelization</a></span></div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-27889864900236299752014-05-20T21:26:00.000-07:002014-06-10T10:50:44.807-07:00The moral argument is not enough<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZyzaH9rfA_pIzr-LkmC5nvzyN44JgazltmTMHRRTZ4jHknpZT8To3M-0stsUYOSWSbv-5Ipb5gH5gPa3Y73tdOZogMup_lZVYxa_HhqkLkr-KM59MOc93f5n63aOC0Xc8bcjxFvuTo0p/s1600/morality1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZyzaH9rfA_pIzr-LkmC5nvzyN44JgazltmTMHRRTZ4jHknpZT8To3M-0stsUYOSWSbv-5Ipb5gH5gPa3Y73tdOZogMup_lZVYxa_HhqkLkr-KM59MOc93f5n63aOC0Xc8bcjxFvuTo0p/s1600/morality1.jpg" height="294" width="320" /></a>A lot of pastors, parents and teachers are running up against brick walls when trying to make the moral argument in favor of marriage as God intended; that is, marriage as between a man and a woman. Especially with millennials, the best arguments can made with very few results. Quite often, the response from young people is that the Catholic Church "hates gay people"; or, at the very least, the Church is discriminatory against same-sex partners who should have "equal" rights as heterosexual couples. Again, no matter how eloquent or persuasive the teacher is, it is often met with either apathy or hostility on the part of the youth or young adult.<br />
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But here is the problem: It is not the moral argument by itself that will lead to higher moral standards. What converted the barbaric and uncivilized
continent of Europe centuries ago was not the moral argument <em>per say</em>. It was the proclamation of the Gospel and being initiated into the life of Christ that made it possible for the moral law of Christ to be understood, accepted and lived out. To say it another way: Conversion to the person of Jesus Christ and a meaningful-personal relationship with him is really the only way to persuade the youth about the sanctity of marriage or even the dignity of life. Sure, there are individual exceptions here and there. But as a rule, the soul has to be sanctified before the intellect can be truly enlightened about the moral truths the Lord has revealed.<br />
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Blessed Fr. Antonio Rosmini, in 1832, wrote a book entitled, <em>Of the Five Wounds of the Holy Church</em>. In it, he reminded in contemporaries that even the exercise of heroic virtue, by the early Christians, wasn't enough to convert the ancient pagans. He said,<br />
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"To merely imitate Christ or the virtues of the Apostles was insufficient for the regeneration of mankind. On the contrary, virtue, even heroic virtue, was often an object of hatred. Without moral strength an unattainable perfection of obedience to the commands of Christ could only aggravate the pagan’s despair of reaching it."<br />
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What was needed was moral strength. And the moral strength proceeded from a practical force that arose from worship and the Sacraments "whereby man could attain the grace of the Almighty." This is why it is important to recall that the Apostles did not found of school of philosophy. Authentic Christianity was never proposed as such because ideas- no matter how true -were never enough to regenerate the soul.<br />
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Grace proceeds from an encounter with Christ. Grace, when acted on, then leads to holiness. From there, holiness becomes a real source of knowledge...knowledge of God and knowledge of his moral law. Again, Rosmini says that this was the key to the success of the early Church Fathers in bringing about so many conversions in the first Christian millennium:<br />
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"This was the leading principle and foundation of the system followed in the first centuries; knowledge and holiness were closely combined, the one springing from the other. It may be truly said that knowledge sprang from holiness, since the former was sought solely out of love to the latter; knowledge was sought after so far as it was essential to holiness, and no other knowledge was desired. In this combination we find the true spirit of that doctrine which is destined to save the world: it is no ideal doctrine, but practical and real truth."<br />
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I think this is key if we want to stop spinning the wheels while going nowhere. If the sanctity of marriage and other moral principles are to be accepted, pastors, parents and teachers will have to focus on conversion as the foundation for that acceptance. This is how it was done in early Christianity and I believe it still holds true today.<br />
<br />Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-48505717860706568952014-05-20T16:59:00.000-07:002014-05-20T20:26:46.763-07:00A Price is Demanded<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnKgTd0gXRFUZgNtbWmWXqP16zEXhSNtAvYbhqudhxLKkVtuw8QSkFfGR3mbt8ijwlHt8rItJcdML_NOSvfMevqjfgGtBenKb5QWFouU2ak_MZJEHOjNRMWpNKaymVVOKfYGsxj1-mOBdy/s1600/Robert_George_speaking_at_the_National_Religious_Freedom_conference_May_24_2012_EWTN_US_Catholic_News_5_24_12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnKgTd0gXRFUZgNtbWmWXqP16zEXhSNtAvYbhqudhxLKkVtuw8QSkFfGR3mbt8ijwlHt8rItJcdML_NOSvfMevqjfgGtBenKb5QWFouU2ak_MZJEHOjNRMWpNKaymVVOKfYGsxj1-mOBdy/s1600/Robert_George_speaking_at_the_National_Religious_Freedom_conference_May_24_2012_EWTN_US_Catholic_News_5_24_12.jpg" /></a>I'm at a Catholic conference for catechetical leaders this week in St. Louis. I was informed by one of the speakers that an evangelical pastor was denied entrance into Canada at the border simply because of his public opposition to same-sex marriage. This is yet another indication of what lingers just over the horizon. Princeton professor, Robert George, said at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast just a few days ago:
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“The days of socially acceptable Christianity are over. The days of comfortable Catholicism are past. It is no longer easy to be a faithful Christian, a good Catholic, an authentic witness to the truths of the Gospel. A price is demanded and must be paid. There are costs of discipleship—heavy costs, costs that are burdensome and painful to bear…
[A] tame Catholic, a Catholic who is ashamed of the Gospel—or who is willing to act publicly as if he or she were ashamed—is still socially acceptable. But a Catholic who makes it clear that he or she is not ashamed is in for a rough go—he or she must be prepared to take risks and make sacrifices.”
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Yet, as some Catholics mentioned at this conference that I'm at, the urgency is not yet manifested at the local parish level. But soon, I am afraid, men and women in leadership positions will be forced to provide some guidance to "unashamed" Catholics who are greeted with hostility and intolerance when their views about marriage are made known to others. After all, as Professor Robert George said, many of them will have to pay a price. And that price needs to be understood within the context of the Cross. To be accused of bigotry, to be denied services, or even to lose a job or friends will have to be seen as a participation of Christ's Passion. <br />
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It is only by paying this debt- <em>a debt caused by years of timidity and silence within the Church</em> -that the sanctity of marriage can be restored. And the more we pay the debt by boldly affirming that marriage can only be between a man and a woman, the more the virtue of courage will be reproduced and multiplied among Christians.Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-33233352787615923602014-04-18T23:37:00.000-07:002014-04-19T09:48:24.436-07:00The Only Apostle on the Hill<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCFPGPl9ELL652xnx15KtmYv-amfVb7OjG_PZzoji02cKeoRUiKbmC9olL5ia-pIYuEQa-vn01wpM-49GIZv3cLB_CZCQ74stnrp5WV1TKzEsPl2HW18E9yXmQugcTfbQ_1xP749PjqCtP/s1600/34john.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCFPGPl9ELL652xnx15KtmYv-amfVb7OjG_PZzoji02cKeoRUiKbmC9olL5ia-pIYuEQa-vn01wpM-49GIZv3cLB_CZCQ74stnrp5WV1TKzEsPl2HW18E9yXmQugcTfbQ_1xP749PjqCtP/s1600/34john.jpg" height="314" width="320" /></a>
Have you ever asked why was St. John the Evangelist was the only Apostle to stand at the foot of the Cross with the Blessed Mother and other female disciples? The other Apostles, overcome by cowardice, fled for a reason. Indeed, they had reason to be frightened. After all, there were real dangers being in associated with Christ-crucified. At worst, they could have been charged of treason and blasphemy as a kind of accomplice to Jesus; a partner in crime, so to speak. And at the very least, the Apostles could have been thrown out of the synagogue and forbidden to worship in the Jewish Temple. With these dangers lurking, the Apostles were wholly unprepared for martyrdom. They were understandably overcome with cowardice.
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But St. John the Evangelist was different. Fr. Cornelius Lapide, a sixteenth century Scripture scholar, said, “John alone remained fearlessly and firmly with Mary at the cross, amidst all the insolence and reviling of the Jews. He therefore deserved to be adopted by Jesus as His brother, and to be put in His room as the son of the Virgin Mother.” For John, the willingness to die with Christ on the hill merited a special gift. And that singular gift was the Mother of God. As an early Christian writer, Theophylact, said, “The pure is entrusted to the pure.” And as another early Christian theologian, Nonnus, paraphrases it: “O Mother, thou lover of virginity, behold thy virgin son; and on the other hand He said to His disciple, O thou lover of virginity, Behold a virgin who is thy parent, without giving thee birth.”
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Just as two virgins were given to each other by God with the betrothal of Joseph and Mary at the beginning of the Gospel story; likewise, two virgins were given to each other at the end of the Gospel story on hill. In fact, it was this virginal purity that occasioned the heroism of St. John and the Blessed Mother. With moral purity, heroic love is possible. And it is only love and a clean conscience that inspires martyr-like strength. Mind you, it wasn’t the men who boasted of dying with Jesus that made it to the hill on Good Friday.
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Before Pentecost, the other Apostles were marked by conventional wisdom and human prudence. For Nathanael, he just couldn’t believe that anything good could come from Nazareth. Peter, it can be argued, bought into the nationalized idea that the Messiah should be a warrior-king who would triumph over Rome. With this, he tried to dissuade our Lord from identifying himself as the Suffering Servant. For Philip, he failed to grasp that Jesus, as the Son of God, was one in being with the Father. This is why the Apostle asked our Lord at the Last Supper: "Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us." And of course, even after most of the Apostles had seen the Risen Lord, it wasn’t enough for Thomas. He doubted until he saw Jesus with his one eyes and touched him with his own fingers.
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These human imperfections may explain why Nathanael, Peter, Philip and Thomas were nowhere to be found on Good Friday. They did what human prudence dictated: they hid! They played it safe!<br />
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But the child-like innocence of St. John, the beloved disciple of the Master, inspired something beyond human prudence and conventional wisdom. After all, it was he, the only Apostle out of the twelve, that exposed himself to all sorts of dangers! And it is no coincidence that this same Apostle wrote about God’s love more than any of the sacred writers of the New Testament. It was this "beloved disciple" of the Lord who understood the secret of heroism; and what lies behind heroism is pure, unadulterated love. This kind of love helps us to see in the darkness. In fact, in his first letter he wrote, “Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is nothing in him to cause a fall.” (I John 2:10)
And on Good Friday, he did not fall because he was already a sharer in that light.<br />
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Can it be that in some small way the young Apostle shared in the purity of Mary? And that moral purity of these two virginal souls is that which made them blind to dangers and all of the foolish dictates of conventional wisdom. As St. Bernard wrote to his former pupil, Pope Eugenius: “What is more precious, what more calm, and what freer from care than a good conscience? It fears not losses, it fears not reproaches, it fears not bodily tortures, for it is exalted rather than cast down by death itself.”
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Moral purity allows us to see the true value of things; what ditches are worth dying in, which ones are not. It helps us to lay hold of our reward in heaven and even the benefits of a virtuous life on earth. It takes for granted that no material gain or social advantage can be a worthy substitute for peace of soul...a peace that comes from knowing Christ. And with this, the soul does not flinch from suffering and even death.<br />
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This is why St. John the Apostle was the only Apostle who was brave enough to climb the hill with our Savior on Good Friday. This is why he was blessed to inherit the Mother of our Lord as his own mother. <br />
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St. John rose above the limitations of his apostolic companions on Good Friday because he, like Mary, was pure. And purity makes heroic love possible.
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-74940181835911455972014-04-16T23:56:00.002-07:002014-04-17T20:42:28.155-07:00Losing the Younger Generation and Getting Them Back<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVc2Kv7XbI87kjOjpPck4_1siaDALvWCrZ5Z8dUA7QwRPRMdVo3HfTPxidWluT0kojbeNErdF3TYFufFBd3VNyCuBeEWx-0Otfd1rUo79_OMn7fcjFeAee2oRxU-dguL3JH5qD15SghPdA/s1600/imagesCAKMY4CT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVc2Kv7XbI87kjOjpPck4_1siaDALvWCrZ5Z8dUA7QwRPRMdVo3HfTPxidWluT0kojbeNErdF3TYFufFBd3VNyCuBeEWx-0Otfd1rUo79_OMn7fcjFeAee2oRxU-dguL3JH5qD15SghPdA/s1600/imagesCAKMY4CT.jpg" /></a><strong><span style="color: #666666;">Sex outside of marriage:</span></strong>
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Is the Catholic Church losing our younger generation on some very important issues? In terms of numbers, the answer suggests that she is. It's probably not news to anyone that an increasing number of young people are gravitating more towards Hollywood values than they are to Gospel values. With regard to premarital sex, this has certainly been the case for three to four decades. In fact, according to an August 2011 poll, “the Public Religion Research Institute found 58 percent of <br />
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Catholics (versus 55 percent of Americans) viewed sex outside of marriage as morally acceptable, and 37 percent viewed it as morally wrong.” And it can be argued that the acceptance of pre-marital sex has paved the way for the redefinition of marriage; especially among our youth.
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<strong><br /></strong><strong><span style="color: #666666;">Anecdotal evidence:</span></strong>
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<whenever -="" a="" ages="" and="" are="" as="" at="" both="" br="" can="" cohabitation.="" every="" faith="" favor="" find="" formation="" from="" graders="" i="" in="" instructor="" issues.="" lifestyles.="" local="" majority="" marriage="" my="" ninth="" of="" on="" opted="" out="" parish="" ranging="" row="" s="" same-sex="" seek="" student="" students="" surveys="" take="" tenth="" the="" to="" two="" views-="" where="" would="" year="" years="" youth="">
</whenever><br />
<whenever -="" a="" ages="" and="" are="" as="" at="" both="" br="" can="" cohabitation.="" every="" faith="" favor="" find="" formation="" from="" graders="" i="" in="" instructor="" issues.="" lifestyles.="" local="" majority="" marriage="" my="" ninth="" of="" on="" opted="" out="" parish="" ranging="" row="" s="" same-sex="" seek="" student="" students="" surveys="" take="" tenth="" the="" to="" two="" views-="" where="" would="" year="" years="" youth="">Now, the parish I belong to is considered to be a “flagship” parish of the diocese; that is, a growing parish that the bishop sets up as a model to be imitated. Indeed, it is a Christ-centered, dynamic, orthodox parish. But the public school students who have attended its faith formation classes on a weekly basis have been, at least with regard to sex and marriage, more influenced by secularism than by Catholicism.
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<strong></strong></whenever><br />
<whenever -="" a="" ages="" and="" are="" as="" at="" both="" br="" can="" cohabitation.="" every="" faith="" favor="" find="" formation="" from="" graders="" i="" in="" instructor="" issues.="" lifestyles.="" local="" majority="" marriage="" my="" ninth="" of="" on="" opted="" out="" parish="" ranging="" row="" s="" same-sex="" seek="" student="" students="" surveys="" take="" tenth="" the="" to="" two="" views-="" where="" would="" year="" years="" youth=""><strong><span style="color: #666666;">Trends favor the alternative:</span></strong>
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</whenever><br />
<whenever -="" a="" ages="" and="" are="" as="" at="" both="" br="" can="" cohabitation.="" every="" faith="" favor="" find="" formation="" from="" graders="" i="" in="" instructor="" issues.="" lifestyles.="" local="" majority="" marriage="" my="" ninth="" of="" on="" opted="" out="" parish="" ranging="" row="" s="" same-sex="" seek="" student="" students="" surveys="" take="" tenth="" the="" to="" two="" views-="" where="" would="" year="" years="" youth="">After I read a 2011 Fox News article, I discovered that my personal experience as a faith formation teacher was not an isolated one. The Pew Research Center poll found that “Americans were opposed to gay marriage by nearly 2-1 a decade ago, the latest poll showed 45 percent in support of it, with 46 percent in opposition.” No doubt, gay-rights activism has made progress. It has long advanced its cause through the entertainment culture, the media and educational institutions. To be sure, in public high schools, and even in the lower grades, the gay-rights agenda has become part of the curriculum.
<br />
</whenever><br />
<whenever -="" a="" ages="" and="" are="" as="" at="" both="" br="" can="" cohabitation.="" every="" faith="" favor="" find="" formation="" from="" graders="" i="" in="" instructor="" issues.="" lifestyles.="" local="" majority="" marriage="" my="" ninth="" of="" on="" opted="" out="" parish="" ranging="" row="" s="" same-sex="" seek="" student="" students="" surveys="" take="" tenth="" the="" to="" two="" views-="" where="" would="" year="" years="" youth="">Even here in Northeast Wisconsin, which, I believe, is the “heartland’ of America, educators in public schools celebrate a gay-rights day. Now, if the heartland is regarded as mainstay of traditional values, certainly the efforts to push gay-rights in New England, California and metropolitan areas throughout the country are even more pronounced. To be sure, the social agenda is every bit as important, if not more so, than academic excellence in our schools.
<br />
<strong></strong></whenever><br />
<whenever -="" a="" ages="" and="" are="" as="" at="" both="" br="" can="" cohabitation.="" every="" faith="" favor="" find="" formation="" from="" graders="" i="" in="" instructor="" issues.="" lifestyles.="" local="" majority="" marriage="" my="" ninth="" of="" on="" opted="" out="" parish="" ranging="" row="" s="" same-sex="" seek="" student="" students="" surveys="" take="" tenth="" the="" to="" two="" views-="" where="" would="" year="" years="" youth=""><strong><span style="color: #666666;">Youth and Catholics:</span></strong>
<br />
</whenever><br />
<whenever -="" a="" ages="" and="" are="" as="" at="" both="" br="" can="" cohabitation.="" every="" faith="" favor="" find="" formation="" from="" graders="" i="" in="" instructor="" issues.="" lifestyles.="" local="" majority="" marriage="" my="" ninth="" of="" on="" opted="" out="" parish="" ranging="" row="" s="" same-sex="" seek="" student="" students="" surveys="" take="" tenth="" the="" to="" two="" views-="" where="" would="" year="" years="" youth="">As the Pew Research Center poll indicates, gay marriage is gaining acceptance in our younger generation. The passing of Prop 8 in California, although a momentary victory for the sanctity of marriage, revealed that such a victory is not destined to stick. Indeed, the majority of California citizens voted for Proposition 8 (a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment passed in 2008 which provides that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized) but 66 percent of voters under the age of thirty voted against it. When this younger generation comes of age and assumes key leadership positions in our country, the campaign to redefine marriage will be realized in our public institutions.
<br />
</whenever><br />
<whenever -="" a="" ages="" and="" are="" as="" at="" both="" br="" can="" cohabitation.="" every="" faith="" favor="" find="" formation="" from="" graders="" i="" in="" instructor="" issues.="" lifestyles.="" local="" majority="" marriage="" my="" ninth="" of="" on="" opted="" out="" parish="" ranging="" row="" s="" same-sex="" seek="" student="" students="" surveys="" take="" tenth="" the="" to="" two="" views-="" where="" would="" year="" years="" youth="">What is even more of a cause for concern is that people who identify themselves as Catholics fare no better than Americans in their moral beliefs. In fact, Pew found that 54 percent of Catholics supporting same-sex marriage represented an almost 20 percent increase from 2004. And much like the youth in America, the younger a Catholic is, the more likely he or she will accept same-sex marriage.
<br />
<strong></strong></whenever><br />
<whenever -="" a="" ages="" and="" are="" as="" at="" both="" br="" can="" cohabitation.="" every="" faith="" favor="" find="" formation="" from="" graders="" i="" in="" instructor="" issues.="" lifestyles.="" local="" majority="" marriage="" my="" ninth="" of="" on="" opted="" out="" parish="" ranging="" row="" s="" same-sex="" seek="" student="" students="" surveys="" take="" tenth="" the="" to="" two="" views-="" where="" would="" year="" years="" youth=""><strong><span style="color: #666666;">Back to basics: Back to the Cross</span></strong>
<br />
</whenever><br />
<whenever -="" a="" ages="" and="" are="" as="" at="" both="" br="" can="" cohabitation.="" every="" faith="" favor="" find="" formation="" from="" graders="" i="" in="" instructor="" issues.="" lifestyles.="" local="" majority="" marriage="" my="" ninth="" of="" on="" opted="" out="" parish="" ranging="" row="" s="" same-sex="" seek="" student="" students="" surveys="" take="" tenth="" the="" to="" two="" views-="" where="" would="" year="" years="" youth="">The question is: Dare we hope? Is there any reason to believe that the Catholic Church in America has an answer for what is shaping up to be a tidal wave of support for same-sex marriage and other very important moral issues? The answer is: Yes. She does have the answer. But it has to be used, shared and put into effect. And we are reminded that just when all seems lost, such as on Good Friday, God’s answer emerges. As St. Hilary of Poitier, an early Church Father, said, "It is a prerogative of the Church that she is the vanquisher when she is persecuted, that she captures our intellects when her doctrines are questioned, that she conquers all at the very moment when she is abandoned by all." <br />
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But how did the Church conquer intellects and souls in St. Hilary’s time. Jesus reminded St. Faustina what her secret of conquest is: “You will save more souls through prayer and suffering than will a missionary through his teachings and sermons alone.” This kind of penitential spirituality, so often practiced by the early Christian martyrs and monastics, took it for granted that in order to be a bearer of Christ of grace we must endure suffering and offer spiritual sacrifices on behalf of others. St. Paul reminded the Christians in Rome that being a child of God and a joint heir with Christ is a privilege with a condition. He said if we are children of God, “then [we are] heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” (Romans 8:17) Without this seed of sacrifice and suffering, the seed of our witness will seldom fall on rich soil.
<br />
<strong></strong></whenever><br />
<whenever -="" a="" ages="" and="" are="" as="" at="" both="" br="" can="" cohabitation.="" every="" faith="" favor="" find="" formation="" from="" graders="" i="" in="" instructor="" issues.="" lifestyles.="" local="" majority="" marriage="" my="" ninth="" of="" on="" opted="" out="" parish="" ranging="" row="" s="" same-sex="" seek="" student="" students="" surveys="" take="" tenth="" the="" to="" two="" views-="" where="" would="" year="" years="" youth=""><strong><span style="color: #666666;">Conversion and the moral argument:</span></strong>
<br />
</whenever><br />
<whenever -="" a="" ages="" and="" are="" as="" at="" both="" br="" can="" cohabitation.="" every="" faith="" favor="" find="" formation="" from="" graders="" i="" in="" instructor="" issues.="" lifestyles.="" local="" majority="" marriage="" my="" ninth="" of="" on="" opted="" out="" parish="" ranging="" row="" s="" same-sex="" seek="" student="" students="" surveys="" take="" tenth="" the="" to="" two="" views-="" where="" would="" year="" years="" youth="">Yet, as important as spiritual sacrifices are, there are other considerations in winning young souls to Christ. Pope Francis, for instance, has made the case (and unfortunately it has been misunderstood) that the kerygma, that is, the preaching of the Good News, is that which led to high moral standards in the first millennium and as such, it remains the chosen instrument of God in making people virtuous. And although the moral argument needs to be learned and communicated, it is impotent, at least on a large scale, without an encounter and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s good to keep in mind that the Apostles proclaimed “a person” first and foremost. Any kind of liturgical celebration or system of thought such as moral theology, sacramental theology and ecclesiology is only intelligible when the story is told.
<br />
</whenever><whenever -="" a="" ages="" and="" are="" as="" at="" both="" br="" can="" cohabitation.="" every="" faith="" favor="" find="" formation="" from="" graders="" i="" in="" instructor="" issues.="" lifestyles.="" local="" majority="" marriage="" my="" ninth="" of="" on="" opted="" out="" parish="" ranging="" row="" s="" same-sex="" seek="" student="" students="" surveys="" take="" tenth="" the="" to="" two="" views-="" where="" would="" year="" years="" youth=""></whenever><br />
<whenever -="" a="" ages="" and="" are="" as="" at="" both="" br="" can="" cohabitation.="" every="" faith="" favor="" find="" formation="" from="" graders="" i="" in="" instructor="" issues.="" lifestyles.="" local="" majority="" marriage="" my="" ninth="" of="" on="" opted="" out="" parish="" ranging="" row="" s="" same-sex="" seek="" student="" students="" surveys="" take="" tenth="" the="" to="" two="" views-="" where="" would="" year="" years="" youth="">I say this because I have spoken with frustrated high school religion teachers and parish leaders. Some routinely run up against brick walls in trying to convince young people about the sanctity of marriage and why same-sex marriage is morally wrong. Sometimes, it seems, no matter how good the moral argument is articulated, it fails to resonate. In fact, more than ever, the fundamental truth of marriage is deemed to be bigoted and hateful.
<br />
</whenever><br />
<whenever -="" a="" ages="" and="" are="" as="" at="" both="" br="" can="" cohabitation.="" every="" faith="" favor="" find="" formation="" from="" graders="" i="" in="" instructor="" issues.="" lifestyles.="" local="" majority="" marriage="" my="" ninth="" of="" on="" opted="" out="" parish="" ranging="" row="" s="" same-sex="" seek="" student="" students="" surveys="" take="" tenth="" the="" to="" two="" views-="" where="" would="" year="" years="" youth=""><strong><span style="color: #666666;">Parents as primary educators:</span></strong>
<br />
</whenever><br />
<whenever -="" a="" ages="" and="" are="" as="" at="" both="" br="" can="" cohabitation.="" every="" faith="" favor="" find="" formation="" from="" graders="" i="" in="" instructor="" issues.="" lifestyles.="" local="" majority="" marriage="" my="" ninth="" of="" on="" opted="" out="" parish="" ranging="" row="" s="" same-sex="" seek="" student="" students="" surveys="" take="" tenth="" the="" to="" two="" views-="" where="" would="" year="" years="" youth="">Conversion to Christ is the best guarantor of morality. But home is where conversion must begin. This is why parents need to reclaim their rightful place in the evangelization and education of their children. The outsourcing of this duty to Catholic schools, parishes or to the clergy has had devastating effects. One such effect is that children only hear about Christ at the parochial school or church they attend. With this, their faith is not reinforced at home. The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), a Catholic polling agency, reports that among the Catholic youth surveyed in 2012, only 8 percent said that their parents talk to them about religion on a daily basis. This is to suggest that a sizable percentage of Catholic young people do not experience Christ in prayer, conversation or other religious activities during the week. Not only is the evangelization and education the prerogative and duty of parents, but it is essential if their children are to understand and appreciate the Mass. <br />
<br /><span style="color: #666666;">
<strong>Faith becoming culture:</strong></span>
<br />
</whenever><br />
<whenever -="" a="" ages="" and="" are="" as="" at="" both="" br="" can="" cohabitation.="" every="" faith="" favor="" find="" formation="" from="" graders="" i="" in="" instructor="" issues.="" lifestyles.="" local="" majority="" marriage="" my="" ninth="" of="" on="" opted="" out="" parish="" ranging="" row="" s="" same-sex="" seek="" student="" students="" surveys="" take="" tenth="" the="" to="" two="" views-="" where="" would="" year="" years="" youth="">To put it another way: If faith in Christ is to be retained, then it is a life that has to be lived. Once it is reduced a once-a-week ritual of attending Mass on Sundays, then sooner or later it will be rejected. And although the home and the local parish are two most important mission fields for evangelization and formation, the faith of a young person needs to be validated by other facets of life. As Blessed Pope John Paul II said, “A faith which does not become culture is a faith which has not been thoroughly received, nor fully lived out.”
<br />
</whenever><br />
<whenever -="" a="" ages="" and="" are="" as="" at="" both="" br="" can="" cohabitation.="" every="" faith="" favor="" find="" formation="" from="" graders="" i="" in="" instructor="" issues.="" lifestyles.="" local="" majority="" marriage="" my="" ninth="" of="" on="" opted="" out="" parish="" ranging="" row="" s="" same-sex="" seek="" student="" students="" surveys="" take="" tenth="" the="" to="" two="" views-="" where="" would="" year="" years="" youth="">Culture is all-encompassing. And a faith which becomes “culture” is a faith that finds expression outside of the home and parish. For one, a Christ-centered social life helps us to live out the faith in our culture. To have friends who love Christ and who abide by the teachings of the Catholic Church is invaluable; especially when certain points of doctrine are becoming more counter-cultural by the day. Young Catholics need the support!
<br />
</whenever><br />
<whenever -="" a="" ages="" and="" are="" as="" at="" both="" br="" can="" cohabitation.="" every="" faith="" favor="" find="" formation="" from="" graders="" i="" in="" instructor="" issues.="" lifestyles.="" local="" majority="" marriage="" my="" ninth="" of="" on="" opted="" out="" parish="" ranging="" row="" s="" same-sex="" seek="" student="" students="" surveys="" take="" tenth="" the="" to="" two="" views-="" where="" would="" year="" years="" youth="">Rodney Stark, author of the book, <em>The Triumph of Christianity</em>, studied the conversion of the ancient pagans by the early Christians. He maintained that relationships are a deciding factor in both the conversion of outsiders and the retention of church members. “Conversion,” Stark said, “is primarily an act of conformity. But then, so is non-conversion. In the end it is a matter of the relative strength of social ties pulling the individual toward or away from a group.” And although social ties are not the most noble or the highest reasons to convert to Catholicism, they are critical nonetheless.
<br />
</whenever><br />
<whenever -="" a="" ages="" and="" are="" as="" at="" both="" br="" can="" cohabitation.="" every="" faith="" favor="" find="" formation="" from="" graders="" i="" in="" instructor="" issues.="" lifestyles.="" local="" majority="" marriage="" my="" ninth="" of="" on="" opted="" out="" parish="" ranging="" row="" s="" same-sex="" seek="" student="" students="" surveys="" take="" tenth="" the="" to="" two="" views-="" where="" would="" year="" years="" youth="">Really, when you think about it, reclaiming the younger generations is a matter of relationships; the most important of course, is between the individual and Christ. But as we have learned, the parish community cannot do it alone. Parents doing their part, and a Christian social life, help guarantee the daily encounter young people must have with Christ. With this encounter, we can dare to hope that our younger generations will not be lost to the most important moral issues of the day.
</whenever>Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-36523436681660888242014-03-26T15:28:00.001-07:002014-03-26T15:28:26.157-07:00Heaven’s remedy for making converts:
In 1859, just a few miles north of Green Bay, the Blessed Virgin appeared to a young woman named Adele Brice. As if to anticipate the spiritual drought that would hit the Midwest just a hundred years later, Our Lady gave instructions to little Adele on how to turn the hearts of sinners to her Son. And although she was commended for receiving Communion earlier that morning, the heavenly visitor expected more from her. Indeed, fulfilling her religious obligation by assisting at the Mass, although absolutely essential, was not enough to bring about the change of hearts in North East Wisconsin. She said to Adele:
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“I am the Queen of Heaven, who prays for the conversion of sinners, and I wish you to do the same. You received Holy Communion this morning, and that is well. But you must do more. Make a general confession, and offer Communion for the conversion of sinners.”
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The Queen of Heaven, who also came to be known as Our Lady of Good Help, uses early Christian methods in making disciples of her Son. By offering her Communion to the Father, Adele was rehearsing for her own day to day sacrifices; the spiritual sacrifices needed for the conversion of sinners. Christ, who eternally offers himself at the altar from heaven, traces out the vocation for each and every disciple. Whether it be doing penitential acts of self-denial or corporeal works of mercy, the human body is always bound up with these acts of love and sacrifice. This is why St. Paul wrote the following to the Romans: “I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1) <br />
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No doubt, Our Lady of Good Help instructed Adele to teach the children what they should know for their salvation. But before a missionary endeavor could bear fruit, Adele would first have to pray for the conversion of sinners and offer her Communion to the Lord as a kind of spiritual sacrifice. This would lay down the needed foundation for teaching people their catechism, how to sign themselves with the sign of the Cross and how to approach the Sacraments. <br />
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With each apparition, Our Lady fashions her children into a very specific kind of discipleship. It is not enough to be a certified teacher or a trained evangelist. It is not enough to know the Faith. As with Adele in Wisconsin, she required more from the three children at Fatima; more than just learnedness. For instance, she asked Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco the following question- and only this question: "Do you wish to offer yourselves to God, to endure all the suffering that He may please to send you, as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and to ask for the conversion of sinners?" "Yes, we do." said the children. "You will have to suffer a lot, but the grace of God will be your comfort.”
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Love and suffering is the motif that gives shape to the way in which the Mother of Jesus Christ forms disciples. She, like no other, places her Crucified Son right at the center of evangelization. Indeed, our wounded Savior is at the heart of making converts. And if souls are to be saved, his life must be reproduced in each of his disciples.
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The Blessed Virgin, in various apparitions, did not invent a new way of making disciples. No. It is taken straight from the New Testament. For instance, we find that love is not only an obligation imposed on all believers, but it is something that reconciles sinners to God. Indeed, sanctified human love saves:
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“By kindness and piety guilt is expiated, and by the fear of the LORD man avoids evil.” (Proverbs 16:6) “Above all, let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins.” (I Peter 1:8) “Whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” (James 5:20)
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What also saves, what also builds-up, is a suffering infused with a love for God and neighbor. No doubt, suffering by itself is impotent. It is a mere waste. But Our Lord transformed this human experience and elevated it. He even likened his Passion to a cup and a baptism, i.e. liturgical channels of grace (Matthew 20:22 / Mark 10:38). And after making such an unusual reference, he promised that the two Apostles, St. John and St. James, the Zebedee brothers, would also drink the same cup and be baptized with the same baptism as Our Lord would. In other words, their suffering and sacrifice too would be transformed into liturgical-like channels of grace for souls. Again, this is evidenced throughout the New Testament writings:
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“[F]or whoever suffers in the flesh has broken with sin.” (I Peter 1:1) “For as Christ's sufferings overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement also overflow. If we are afflicted, it is for your encouragement and salvation…” (II Corinthians 1:5-6) “So death is at work in us, but life in you.” (II Corinthians 4:12) “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church…” (Colossians 1:24)
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The Christ-bearing pastor, the Christ-bearing evangelist, the Christ-bearing teacher and the Christ-bearing missionary is one who also bears the scars of Christ; this, by begging God for the conversion of sinners, by exposing oneself to ridicule and by offering spiritual sacrifices behind closed doors. The Saints instinctively knew that words, however eloquent, and kindness, however warm, were woefully insufficient for the making of converts.
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St. Edith Stein, even with her genius and eloquence, discovered this to be true for her. In a letter to Sister Adelgundis, Saint Edith Stein wrote, “Prayer and sacrifice, in my opinion, are much more crucial than anything we can say.” This was in reference to their former professor Edmund Husserl who was also the founder of phenomenology. Husserl happened to be a convert to Lutheranism from Judaism. St. Edith, on the other hand, was a convert from Judaism to Catholicism. Naturally, Husserl and St. Edith, both geniuses in their own right, discussed their differences as to what following Jesus Christ meant for them. But after several conversations with him, she came to this conclusion: “After every meeting with him, I come away more convinced of my inability to influence him directly and feeling the urgent necessity of offering some holocaust of my own for him.”
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It would seem this is what Our Lady is trying to tell Catholics who really want to glorify God. It is not what we do or say that is the most decisive factor in making disciples. Rather, it is what God does with what we do or say that really makes the difference. By making spiritual sacrifices or offering holocausts of our own, we place our words and deeds more firmly in the Hands of God so that He can use them as He wishes.
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-19670511280718646802014-03-04T13:48:00.000-08:002014-03-04T13:48:41.822-08:00Ecce Homo: Behold the Man!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHSmR37LxtWjRm2sCcUhnpEcbnMLjHADHpYDvP98Yw8_2MG90jp-mIhfUggXWZAg7_qwVrBDSxazzsDLcC_Hwab9TdA6n22ZYp8hGGcfugGwOHUqGedvKKxjpsfmle0VMGeOn0zoCefjsN/s1600/ecce_homo.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHSmR37LxtWjRm2sCcUhnpEcbnMLjHADHpYDvP98Yw8_2MG90jp-mIhfUggXWZAg7_qwVrBDSxazzsDLcC_Hwab9TdA6n22ZYp8hGGcfugGwOHUqGedvKKxjpsfmle0VMGeOn0zoCefjsN/s320/ecce_homo.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593437554960994370" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 320px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 309px;" /></a>“Ecce Homo!” Pilate said to the crowd. That is, “Behold the man!” Behold the man, the Christ, who stands alone and rejected by his people. <br />
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To be an outsider and misunderstood is the lot of God’s closest friends. As far as I know, there is not a single canonized Saint who was not rejected by their own in some way and hence felt alone at some critical juncture in their life. Jesus warned as much when he said he came to bring not peace but the sword. <br />
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The Lord’s chosen instrument of pruning and purification is quite often being excluded by those closest to us. By far, the worst pain is to be endured during spiritual desolation; that is, when the soul feels totally abandoned by God himself. In this instance, the soul can be so deprived of the “sense” of grace that she deems itself to be denied of God’s mercy. Not a few Saints were tempted with despair; the feeling of being totally left behind by their Best Friend. <br />
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Consider the patriarch Joseph, one of Jacob’s twelve sons. Although God guaranteed that he would be blessed in several dreams he had, he was sold into slavery by his own brothers. For twenty long years it seemed as if God abandoned him. But he was later elevated to prime minister of Egypt. As such, he was in a position to save his family from starvation. <br />
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Moses, the great legislator of God’s law, was driven out of Egypt by Ramesses II for forty years. But he too would rise up and lead hundreds of thousands of Hebrews out of slavery.<br />
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Before his anointing as king of Israel, David did not fit in with the rest of brothers. This is why he would shepherd the sheep by himself. Again, it was not his brothers that Samuel anointed the second king of Israel, but David, who was overlooked by his own father and siblings. "Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart." (I Sam. 16:7)<br />
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The prophet Elijah, for his part, was not welcomed in the so-called band of prophets. The only real companion he had was his disciple Elisha. <br />
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As for the minor prophet Hosea, he was instructed by God to marry a prostitute named Gomer (she was to symbolize the infidelity of Israel), this, only to be rejected by her later on. <br />
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Indeed, the character and greatness of these patriarchs, kings and prophets of the Old Testament came about through the rejection of their own. Rejection and banishment was no less the chosen instrument used by Christ in fashioning his Saints. Just to name only a few, there was his own family- <em>the Holy Family</em> –who had to flee Israel in order to take refuge in Egypt so as to escape the wrath of King Herod. <br />
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And centuries later there was St. Thomas Becket, St. Thomas More, and St. John Fisher who were rejected and martyred by their English countrymen. And we cannot forget Pope St. Gregory VII, a champion of Church reform. He managed to get the State off of the Church’s back, but was eventually driven out of Rome by King Henry IV only to die in exile. About seven hundred years later, St. Alphonsus Liguori was kicked out of the Redemptorist order; the religious order he himself founded. <br />
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In more recent times, the Lord continued to set men and women apart for his work through the very same means: that of trials and rejection. St. Edith Stein, for instance, was a convert from Judaism to Catholicism. As such, she was estranged from her own people- most notably her own family -because of her faith in Christ. St. Padre Pio was forbidden by the Vatican to publicly exercise his ministry for ten years. Unable to minister to his people, he became a prisoner of his friary. And there is Bishop Fulton Sheen, arguably the most gifted evangelist of the twentieth century. According to Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Bishop Sheen was an outsider with regard to his brother bishops. He never quite belonged.<br />
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After becoming familiar with God’s friends in Scripture and the Saints to follow, this recurring phenomenon of being excluded by our own should not surprise us. Our Lord himself said that no servant is above his master. And what did the Master say as he was dying on the Cross? He uttered the memorable words of Psalm 22: “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?” <br />
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Quite often the friends of God feel estranged, not only by their own people, but by God Himself. A wonderful book that captures this feeling of being alone in the desert is <em>The Spirituality of the Old Testament.</em> We discover that by no means are we singled out as if something unusual was happening to us. Instead, we are reminded that following in the footsteps of our Savior- at times a lonely walk -is the path many prophets and saints have traveled. The author, Paul Marie de la Croix, writes as about this holy abandonment: <br />
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“[S]ouls cease to understand the reason for the trials that afflict them and believe they are separated from God forever...divine conduct seems utterly incomprehensible, even extremely arbitrary and unjust. Everything bewilders them, causing uneasiness, anguish, obscurity. They more they seek God, the more deeply hidden He remains; the more they desire Him, the more he rejects them...they experience a reversal of God’s relationship to them. They seem to be permanently abandoned or even rejected, though divine favor and friendship had been theirs before.”<br />
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But as St. Francis de Sales once said, "An ounce of desolation is worth more than a pound of desolation." Through rejection and humiliations, we are given the opportunity to possess God for his own sake; to love the <em>God</em> of gifts over the <em>gifts</em> of God. To be sure, through the wine-press of suffering, we come to better understand our own sinfulness and unworthiness to have our prayers answered. The feeling of being entitled to his gifts and favors- the most common of faults–gives way to humility and gratitude. <br />
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This is why we must never wince, never draw back when faced with the possibility of offending people by speaking the truth and doing God's work. Indeed, we may be rejected and excluded; we may have to eat lunch by ourselves in the cafeteria; we may risk losing a job; we may lose friendships and disappoint colleagues; and though it pains us very much, we may be ostracized from our family. Our Lord did not say that we should merely tolerate these trying circumstances, but to rejoice in them! As hard as it may seem, we have to ask Jesus- the Man that stood condemned before the crowd -for the grace to rejoice and see through short-term sacrifces to lay hold of long-term gains. It is only then we can stand with our Lord through thick and thin.<br />
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On Good Friday our Lord stood alone before his people as a rejected king. From the Thursday night to three o’clock Friday afternoon, God the Father- <em>as if to side with the angry crowd</em> -had appeared to reject his only begotten Son. Alone our Lord Jesus stood before Pilate and his people. <em>A true outsider</em>! <br />
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He was born outside of Bethlehem in a cave and he died a condemned man outside of the walls of Jerusalem. Can there be any doubt, then, that in the Sacred Heart of Jesus there is a special place for the ostracized and the rejected. They have not been forgotten by <em>Him</em> <em>who knows what it feels to be forgotten</em>. <br />
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Have you been forgotten or excluded from those closest to you? Please know you have a friend in Christ! There is a special place in His heart for such friends.Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-79229452815705978702014-01-11T21:19:00.000-08:002014-01-11T23:27:22.720-08:00Conversion: An Enigma to Paganism and SecularismWhen Christianity is seen as an exclusive and singularly privileged religion by its adherents, history demonstrates that it does well. In fact, one can argue from history that to the extent Christians professed their faith in Christ as being wholly unique- not only a faith unlike others but a corresponding morality unlike others –conversions were never wanting. This defies conventional wisdom, to be sure. But the truth is that with high standards Christianity grew by leaps and bounds even when state-sponsored persecutions were unleashed by the Roman Empire.
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Fr. Raoul Plus, in his book, <em>Radiating Christ</em>, S.J. captured the genius of having high spiritual and moral standards. He wrote the following in 1944:
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“There is no need to be afraid of asking too much. What attracts the young especially is the hard task, the difficult exploit. If you want volunteers for easy work, they are not enthusiastic. When faced with a choice of a religious order, souls that have a vocation seem by instinct to adopt those orders which are more fervent and more exacting. Similarly, souls will only enroll themselves in the service of a leader or an organization if they see that there are sacrifices to make and hard work to do.”
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Our Lord capitalized on the attractiveness of such an appeal when he demanded from his disciples the very lives. He wanted everything from them! To bury a deceased loved one or to even say farewell to one’s family had to give way to following him. And this, more than anything else, was symbolic of the kind of conversion he required from his followers. In the Gospel of Mark he prefaced the kerygma with these revolutionary words: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:15)
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To “repent and believe” hardly seems revolutionary. But it was to the ancient pagans! To believe all that Christ taught without exception; to observe his moral law as a condition of being his disciple; and to be exclusively devoted to him while manifestly rejecting the gods of the Greco-Roman world [also known as Hellenism] was preposterous to ancient pagan sensibilities.
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Michael Green made this very point in his book, <em>Evangelism in the Early Church</em> (1970, 2003). He argued that Christian conversion- especially as it pertained to belief, morality and the exclusive claims that Christianity made on its adherents -was not only a scandal, but it was an enigma to the ancients. It simply was unknown to the unbaptized world.
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As for belief, Green said, “In the first place, Hellenistic men and women did not regard belief as necessary for the cult.” “So long as the traditional sacrifices were offered,” Green continues, “so long as the show went on, all would be well. You were not required to believe in the deities you worshiped: many people like Lucretius and Juvenal scoffed at the stories of the traditional gods but they were careful to continue the sacrifices on which on which the safety of the state and the well-being of society were held to depend.”
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Keep in mind that intolerance to religious error is a Judeo-Christian thing. The ancient pagans, on the other hand, did not subscribe to a creedal religion. The worship of certain gods was rarely fixed and religious tolerance was a social necessity. Hence, to be selective as to what one believed about the gods was entirely consistent with being a “good pagan.”
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But Christianity was different. It inherited an imperative for doctrinal purity from Judaism. Christ said to his Apostles to make disciples of all nations by “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” About four centuries later, St. Augustine, as with the early Christians, took our Lord’s words, “all that I have commanded” quite seriously. He said, "There can be nothing more dangerous than those heretics who admit nearly the whole cycle of doctrine, and yet by one word, as with a drop of poison, infect the real and simple faith taught by our Lord and handed down by Apostolic tradition."
Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that there was an expectation in the early Church that all of what Christ commanded was to be believed and obeyed.<br />
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“Secondly," Green adds, "Hellenistic men and women did not regard ethics as part of religion. It made little difference to your behavior whether you were a devotee of Mithras or a worshiper of Isis.” That’s right. Being a priest or priestess in ancient Greece did not necessitate high moral standards. Even the Greek philosophers were wanting in virtue. As regards to Plato, he “condemned drunkenness but approved of it on the feast of Bacchus. In the ‘Republic’ he recommends infanticide and a community of wives.” (James Cardinal Gibbons, <em>Our Christian Heritage</em> 1889)
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It is a Christian invention that religion and morality go hand in hand. Even the charge of hypocrisy that is often leveled against the Church nowadays is only possible because it was the Church herself that made belief and morality to be inseparable. Thanks to her, the creed that one professes is expected to correspond to the morality one lives. And all who wanted to join her ranks during those first centuries had to make a clean break with their immoral past and embrace a life of virtue. No half measures, partial commitments or nominal Christians were countenanced. “For whoever keeps the whole law,” wrote St. James, “but falls short in one particular, has become guilty in respect to all of it.” (2:10) Fidelity to all of God's laws gives credibility faith. Morality and faith cannot be divorced. Indeed, this is yet another reason why conversion was an enigma to the ancient pagans.
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“The third reason why the idea of Christian conversion was so surprising to Hellenistic people,’ Green writes, “was the exclusive claims it made on its devotees. Christians were expected to belong, body and soul, to Jesus, who was called their master…” It’s not just Michael Green that makes this important point. E. Glenn Hinson, in his book, <em>The Evangelization of the Roman Empire: Identity and Adaptability</em> (1981) also brings to the fore this idea of exclusivity. Hinson said, “What was built into their corporate life was the exclusivism of the monotheistic covenant…The institutional forms, developed gradually in response to the challenge of enlisting and incorporating new converts, did much to inculcate and sustain the exclusivism of Christianity.”
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This Christian exclusivity was expressed in ancient liturgical prayer known as the <em>Gloria</em>. The <em>Gloria</em> was added to the Mass during the second century; not too long after St. John the Apostle died. The prayer ends with the following exclamation: “For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.” If one were to read between the lines it might read something like this: <em>glory only to the Holy Trinity and to no other gods</em>! But to refuse worship or even honor of other gods was considered to be the height of arrogance and intolerance. Yet, the early Church flourished in spite of it; even in a highly pluralistic civilization.
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This leads us to the reason why Michael Green’s book, <em>Evangelism in the Early Church</em> (1970), has valuable insights for today’s Church. It has something to do with the striking similarity ancient paganism has with modern day secularism. What made the idea of Christian conversion a scandalous one to the pagans is what makes it a scandal in our secular society as well. To believe all that Christ taught through his Church without exception, to sincerely repent from all mortal sin and hence live a virtuous life, and to profess a faith that is not just one among many is an intolerable kind of conversion to those who subscribe to secular values. And to be sure, this is why such conversion is rarely insisted upon in many Catholic circles. But as Fr. Raoul Plus said, what attracts people is the hard task, the difficult exploit.
And do we not do a disservice to souls and to the Church when we over accommodate and make conversion out to be too easy?Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-4503805816553497462014-01-06T22:20:00.000-08:002014-01-07T15:51:59.147-08:00A Football Life: Lessons for Fathers<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnrlvCVRIMTMhOvfG_2aL-vpZ5UVZY2tGOpxms4NhWZ-R31AMdhaPsnOcvssqwgQJBSQ3YchenM7vUCRmjwuoQwS08mcARMyF7ZnzpmxvTv-Bz6rgFPVqqND0cJjgET-Zu1XCNKzIJ_5vE/s1600/lombardi+image.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnrlvCVRIMTMhOvfG_2aL-vpZ5UVZY2tGOpxms4NhWZ-R31AMdhaPsnOcvssqwgQJBSQ3YchenM7vUCRmjwuoQwS08mcARMyF7ZnzpmxvTv-Bz6rgFPVqqND0cJjgET-Zu1XCNKzIJ_5vE/s1600/lombardi+image.png" /></a>The NFL Network features a documentary series
entitled, <em>A Football Life</em>. Developed by NFL Films, it highlights not
just leadership skills and athletic ability but the real life situation of the
NFL stars. Each episode gives the audience a glimpse behind the public image of
these football heroes; a glimpse that the public was not privy to in the past.
If truth be told, many coaches and football players that have long been admired
by football fans had real human shortcomings like the rest of us; some worse
than others. <br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<br />
Take for instance, Vince Lombardi and Walter
Payton. These are two men I always looked up to. As for Lombardi, he was the
coach of the Green Bay Packers from 1959 to 1967. He achieved something no
other NFL coaches achieved: three consecutive NFL championships. His work ethic
was unparalleled. He once said, “The quality of a person's life is in direct
proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field
of endeavor.” He was committed to excellence as a NFL coach and it paid off. For
this reason Lombardi, for decades, has been deemed a football “god” to those
who love the game. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
Walter Payton, former running back for the
Chicago Bears (1975-1987), merited for himself a glorious public image as well;
and justly so. What he did on the football field amazed even those spectators
who weren’t big fans of the game. Moreover, he was an all-time rusher for
several years. Payton’s work ethic, like Lombardi, was superb. When it came to
the game of football, he never took the easy way out. He once said, “Never die
easy. Why run out of bounds and die easy? Make that linebacker pay. It carries
into all facets of your life. It's okay to lose, to die, but don't die without
trying, without giving it your best.” </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
I grew up admiring the leadership skills of
Vince Lombardi and the athletic ability of Walter Payton. As a leader and
coach, Vince Lombardi had a way of getting the very best out of his players.
And if he had to be tough on them, he would let them know at the end of the day
how good they could become. Payton was no less rigorous as a running back.
Having submitted himself to a demanding training regiment, he was able to break
the NFL record for the most rushing yards in one game while he had the flu. But
after watching A Football Life, featuring both of these men respectively, my
admiration was put into context. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
Men have the amazing ability to
compartmentalize. Like a Navy Seal, he can zero in on a given mission while
deliberately blocking out danger, pain and even his environment. This no doubt,
is one man’s greatest strengths; but it is also his greatest weakness. The
problem is that there is a great divide running through his very being which
separates two worlds from within. On one hand, he is a husband and a father- this the domestic world of his family. On the other hand, he is
constantly seeking to impress his personality upon the outside world through his work. He wants
to make a difference. In fact, his identity is virtually inseparable from his
work or his career. But if these two worlds from within are not reconciled,
chances are his family life will suffer neglect in the pursuit of professional
excellence. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyUF_xiRVu8MT7PI5RCVZYzKUV8iSP6kUWPstaqabEex9OhDWe8Kx9jhx7JDnhVmctIA21-vDuon82diJLsjkJndUCFradeN9-zQOuHYyFfI-XPJNhXFGTwu95USoig2K5LY6-z2irOAxz/s1600/Walterntitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyUF_xiRVu8MT7PI5RCVZYzKUV8iSP6kUWPstaqabEex9OhDWe8Kx9jhx7JDnhVmctIA21-vDuon82diJLsjkJndUCFradeN9-zQOuHYyFfI-XPJNhXFGTwu95USoig2K5LY6-z2irOAxz/s1600/Walterntitled.png" /></a>Like many men, Lombardi and Payton excelled in
their profession. But they struggled in their respective family obligations.
There was a great tension between their two inner worlds . Lombardi, for one,
was so consumed with his NFL coaching career that his marriage and fatherly
responsibilities were compromised. Lombardi’s wife, Marie, turned to alcohol in
his absence. And Vince Jr. had claimed that even though his father was
physically present, he was not there mentally. As for Walter Payton, throughout
much of his marriage he struggled with marital fidelity. Indeed, he struggled
to be faithful in what mattered most. And after his last game on January 11,
1988, the remaining eleven years of his life were spent trying to fill a void
in his heart that football temporarily had filled during his twelve years in
the NFL. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
Fair or unfair, the documentary, <em>A Football
Life</em>, gave the impression that once Vince Lombardi’s and Walter Payton’s
career ended, both men were depressed and at a loss. They seemed to have put
all of their eggs in one basket. But when that basket was gone, they didn’t
know what to do with their eggs. Again, man can so identify himself with his
work that when his work is suspended or when it ends, he suffers decline. In
worst case scenarios, a man will kill others or himself over a job, whereas
women rarely, if at all, are known to do this. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
Yet, the Gospel teaches us that real success-
the one that carries over into eternity –is all dependent upon how we love God
and family. A man can be successful and even admired by millions for his
success, but it doesn’t count for much on his deathbed if he wasn’t first a
successful husband and father. Without this most fundamental of successes, man
is failure in life. I think Payton learned this lesson when he died of a liver
disease. After all, it was his wife Connie and his two children that took care
of him in his last days. I believe it was then that he learned the true value
of what a family is. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
In sum, the prophet Malachi foretold that the
coming of the Messiah would make men better fathers. In other words, the Christ will come to “turn
the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to
their fathers…” (Malachi 3:24) When the angel Gabriel appeared to St. Zachariah
in the Temple, he repeated the prophet Malachi’s words. And in doing so, he
pointed to a time when God would pour out the Holy Spirit upon men, giving them
natural hearts and making them fathers again. With this outpouring, men would
better withstand being consumed by his work at the expense of his family. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
Knowing the Christian standard by which God is
the first priority, family is the second and work is the third is one thing;
but living it is another. Even with Christian men, this God-given priority is a
challenge to live up to. After all, Vince Lombardi attended daily Mass.
However, with a constant turning towards Christ in prayer and daily examination
of conscience, this Christian standard is attainable. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #783f04;">_______________________</span>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;"><em>The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own
and</em></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-small;"><em> not necessarily reflective of
any organization I works for.</em></span>
</div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-53876767060021192142014-01-03T18:36:00.003-08:002014-01-03T18:40:29.049-08:00Top Ten Mistakes Christian Parents of Teens Make<a href="http://capitalistliontamer.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/teens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Top Ten Mistakes Christian Parents of Teens Make" border="0" class=" " height="227" src="http://capitalistliontamer.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/teens.jpg" title="teens" width="227" /></a><span style="color: black;">Top Ten Mistakes Christian Parents of Teens Make </span><br />
<span style="color: #0066cc;"><span style="color: black;">Courtesy of the JeffSTRONG Pastor/Author blog</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0066cc;"><span style="color: black;">Sky View comment with mistake number six.</span></span><br />
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It might be difficult for some parents to read through, but here’s a top ten list that I’ve been wanting to write for a while. Over the next several days I’ll be expanding on each of these in succession, but for now, here is my top ten mistakes Christian parents of teens make:</div>
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<strong>10. Not spending time with your teen.</strong><br />
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A lot of parents make the mistake of not spending time with their teens because they assume their teens don’t want to spend time with them! While that’s true in some contexts, teens still want and need “chunks” of one-on-one time with parents. <br />
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Despite the fact that teens are transitioning into more independence and often carry a “I don’t need/want you around” attitude, they are longing for the securing and grounding that comes from consistent quality time.<br />
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Going for walks together, grabbing a coffee in order to “catch up,” going to the movies together, etc., all all simple investments that teens secretly want and look forward to. When you don’t carve out time to spend with your teen, you’re communicating that you’re not interested in them, and they internalize that message, consciously or unconsciously.<br />
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<strong>9. Letting your teen’s activities take top priority for your family. </strong><br />
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The number of parents who wrap their lives/schedules around their teen’s activities is mind-boggling to me. I honestly just don’t get it. I know many parents want to provide their children with experiences and opportunities they never had growing up, but something’s gone wrong with our understanding of family and parenting when our teen’s wants/”needs” are allowed to overwhelm the family’s day-to-day routines.<br />
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Parents need to prioritize investing in their relationship with God (individually and as a couple), themselves and each other, but sadly all of these are often neglected in the name of “helping the kids get ahead.” “Don’t let the youth sports cartel run your life,” says Jen singer, author of You’re A Good Mom (and Your Kids Aren’t So Bad Either). I can’t think of many good reasons why families can’t limit teens to one major sport/extra-curricular activity per season. Not only will a frenetic schedule slowly grind down your entire family of time, you’ll be teaching your teen that “the good life” is a hyper-active one. That doesn’t align itself to Jesus’ teaching as it relates to the healthy rhythms of prayer, Sabbath, and down-time, all of which are critical to the larger Christian task of “seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).<br />
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<strong>8. Spoiling your teen.</strong><br />
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We are all tempted to think that loving our kids means doing all we can to ensure they have all the opportunities and things we didn’t have growing up. This is a terrible assumption to make. It leads to an enormous amount of self-important, petty, and ungrateful kids. A lot of the time parents are well-intentioned in our spoiling, but our continual stream of money and stuff causes teens to never be satisfied and always wanting more. Your teen doesn’t need another piece of crap, what he needs is time and attention from you (that’s one expression of spoiling that actually benefits your teen!).<br />
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There are two things that can really set you back in life if we get them too early:<br />
a. Access to too much money.<br />
b. Access to too many opportunities.<br />
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Parents need to recognize they’re doing their teens a disservice by spoiling them in either of these ways. Save the spoiling for the grandkids.<br />
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<strong>7. Permissive parenting.</strong><br />
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“Whatever” — It’s not just for teens anymore! The devil-may-care ambivalence that once defined the teenage subculture has now taken root as parents shrug their shoulders, ask, “What can you do?” and let their teens “figure things out for themselves.” I think permissive parenting (i.e., providing little direction, limits, and consequences) is on the rise because many parents don’t know how to dialogue with and discipline their children. Maybe parents don’t have any limits of boundaries within their own life, so they don’t know how to communicate the value of these to their teen. Maybe it’s because they don’t want to, because their own self-esteem is too tied up in their child’s perception of them, and they couldn’t handle having their teen get angry at them for actually trying to parent. Maybe it’s because many parents feel so overwhelmed with their own issues, they can hardly think of pouring more energy into a (potentially) taxing struggle or point of contention.<br />
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Whatever the reason, permissive parenting is completely irreconcilable with a Christian worldview. I certainly do not advocate authoritarian parenting styles, but if we practice a permission parenting style we’re abdicating our God-given responsibility to provide guidance, nurture, limits, discipline and consequences to our teen (all of which actually help our teen flourish long-term).<br />
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<strong>6. Trying to be your teen’s best friend.</strong><br />
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Your teen doesn’t need another friend (they have plenty); they need a parent. Even through their teens, your child needs a dependable, confident, godly authority figure in their life. As parents we are called to provide a relational context characterized by wisdom, protection, love, support, and empowerment. As Christian parents we’re called to bring God’s flourishing rule into our family’s life. That can’t happen if we’re busy trying to befriend our teen. Trying to be your teen’s friend actually cheats them out of having these things in their lives.<br />
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Sometimes parents think that a strong relationship with their teen means having a strong friendship—but there’s a fine line that shouldn’t be crossed. You should be <em>friendly </em>to your teen but you shouldn’t be your teen’s friend. They have lots of friends, they only have one or two parents—so be the parent your teen needs you to be.<br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;">[Sky View comment: Now, I certainly understand where Jeff is coming from here. There are many parents who put themselves on the same level as their children by trying to be their friend. The problem with this is that some parents put themselves at a disadvantage in trying to exercise their authority when their children truly need discipline </span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;">Yet, I would add this qualifier: Parents are called to imitate God the Father. And through Christ, God is not only Lord and Father, that is, a source of authority for us, but he is also a friend; an intimate one for that matter. This, I believe , is what every parent is called to do: to be a source of authority and a friend. Indeed, God has given parents a template.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;">True, if we are just a friend to our children, <em>they will hardly listen to us</em>. Our parental authority is thus compromised. But it is equally true to say that if we are just an authority figure to our children, <em>they will hardly confide in us. </em>And when they experience a problem or a crisis, they may be tempted not to seek help from the people that care about them the most.]</span><br />
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<strong>5. Holding low expectations for your teen.</strong><br />
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Johann Goethe once wrote, “Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat as man as he can and should be, and he become as he can and should be.” All of us rise to the unconcious level of expectation we set for ourselves and perceive from others. During the teenage years, it’s especially important to slowly put to death the perception that your teen is still “a kid.” They are <em>emerging leaders</em>, and if you engage them as such, you will find that over time, they unconsciously take on this mantle for themselves. Yes, your teen can be moody, self-absorbed, irresponsible, etc., but your teen can also be brilliant, creative, selfless, and mature. Treating them like “kids” will reinforce the former; treating them as emerging leaders will reinforce the latter.<br />
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For an example of how the this difference in perspective plays out, I’ve written an article entitled “The Future of an Illusion” which is available as a free download from www.meredisciple.com (in the Free Downloads section). It specifically looks at my commitment to be involved in “emerging church ministry” as opposed to “youth ministry,” and it you may find some principles within it helpful.<br />
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<strong>4. Not prioritizing youth group/church involvement.</strong><br />
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This one is one of my personal pet peeves (but not just because this is my professional gig). I simply do not understand parents who expect and want their kids to have a dynamic, flourishing faith, and yet don’t move heaven and earth to get them connected to both a youth group and local church.<br />
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I’m going to let everyone in on a little secret: no teenager can thrive in their faith without these two support mechanisms. I’m not saying a strong youth group and church community is <em>all </em>they need, but what I <em>am</em> saying that you can have everything else you think your teen needs, but without these two things, don’t expect to have a spiritually healthy and mature teen. Maybe there are teens out there who defy this claim, but honestly, I can’t think of one out of my own experience. As a parent, youth group and church involvement should be a non-negotiable part of your teen’s life, and that means they take priority over homework (do it the night before), sports, or any other extra-curricular commitments.<br />
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Don’t be the parent who is soft on these two commitments, but pushes their kid in schooling, sports, etc. In general, what you sow into determines what you reap; if you want to reap a teenager who has a genuine, flourishing faith, don’t expect that to happen if you’re ok with their commitment to youth group/church to be casual and half-hearted.<br />
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<strong>3. Outsourcing your teen’s spiritual formation.</strong><br />
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While youth group and church is very important, another mistake I see Christian parents make is assuming them can completely outsource the spiritual development of their child to these two things. I see the same pattern when it comes to Christian education: parents sometimes choose to send their children/teens to Christian schools, because by doing so they think they’ve done their parental duty to raise their child in a godly way.<br />
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As a parent–and especially if you are a Christian yourself–YOU are THE key spiritual role model and mentor for your teen. And that isn’t “if you want to be” either–that’s the way it is. Ultimately, you are charged with teaching and modelling to your teen what follow Jesus means, and while church, youth groups, Christian schools can be a <em>support </em>to that end, they are only that: support mechanisms.<br />
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Read Deuteronomy 6 for an overview of what God expects from parents as it relates to the spiritual nurture and development of their children. (Hint: it’s doesn’t say, “Hand them off to the youth pastor and bring them to church on Sunday.”)<br />
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<strong>2. Not expressing genuine love and like to your teen.</strong><br />
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It’s sad that I have to write this one at all, but I’m convinced very few Christian parents actually express genuine love and “like” to their teen. It can become easy for parents to only see how their teen is irresponsible, failing, immature, etc., and become a harping voice instead of an encouraging, empowering one.<br />
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Do you intentially set aside time to tell your teen how much you love and admire them? Do you write letters of encouragement to them? Do you have “date nights” where you spend time together and share with them the things you see in them that you are proud of?<br />
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Your teen won’t ask you for it, so don’t wait for an invitation. Everyday say something encouraging to your teen that builds them up (they get enough criticism as it is!). Pray everyday for them and ask God to help you become one of the core people in your teen’s life that He uses to affirm them.<br />
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<strong>1. Expecting your teen to have a devotion to God that you are not<br /> cultivating within yourself.</strong><br />
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When I talk to Christian parents, it’s obvious that they want their teen to have a thriving, dynamic, genuine, life-giving faith. What isn’t so clear, however, is whether that parent has one <em>themselves</em>. When it comes to the Christian faith, most of the time what we learn is <em>caught </em>and not <em>taught</em>. This means that even if you have the “right answers” as a parent, if you’re own spiritual walk with God is pathetic and stilted, your teen will unconciously follow suit. Every day you are teaching your teach (explicitely and implicitely) what discipleship to Jesus looks like “in the flesh.”<br />
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What are they catching from you? Are you cultivating a deep and mature relationship with God personally, or is your Christian parenting style a Christianized version of “do as I say, not as I do”?<br />
While having a healthy and maturing discipleship walk as a parent does not garauntee your teen will follow in your footsteps, expecting your teen to have a maturing faith while you follow Jesus “from a distance” is an enormous mistake.<br />
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You are a Christian before you are a Christian parent (or any other role). Get real with God, share your own struggles and hypocrisy with your entire family, and maybe then God will begin to use your example in a positive and powerful way.Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7259869155574137370.post-18404551721986483352013-12-30T14:25:00.002-08:002013-12-30T14:25:38.931-08:00A New Year's Resolution: Mother Theresa and Cardinal Merry de Val on Humility<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZWcCfJAZq92jti9TETT6wkuNdYboK90TCah4d7Ii_TmiSn6bTiMSIMeELpBt8LO8zmAUWTKvqumNFYeyg7xHebhybsOXbw4PuhdNeziRnPCUEEWpDyIrbXe2O0475IurFk4EmutmnnQo/s1600/mother+theresa.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZWcCfJAZq92jti9TETT6wkuNdYboK90TCah4d7Ii_TmiSn6bTiMSIMeELpBt8LO8zmAUWTKvqumNFYeyg7xHebhybsOXbw4PuhdNeziRnPCUEEWpDyIrbXe2O0475IurFk4EmutmnnQo/s1600/mother+theresa.png" /></a><br />
<em>"Some are displeased with the physician who cures them by reproof, and are not angry with the man who wounds them by flattery."</em> <br />
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-St. Bernard<br />
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<strong>Blessed Mother Theresa on Humility:</strong><br />
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If you dare, the following acts of humility, proposed by Blessed Mother Theresa, will certainly make for a good New Year's resolution. Yet, some of these virtuous acts are difficult. Quite often, they can take on the veneer of legitimacy when in fact they are just expressions- which come so natural to us -of our selfishness and egocentricity. <br />
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It could even be that when we accept the challenge and try to implement these acts of humility, they can seem so far away from how we think, speak and behave. But thankfully, we do not have to rely on our own strength to live these virtues out. We have the same grace that Blessed Mother Theresa enjoyed. In fact, if we but will to live out these saintly virtues, the desire will carry us along way...but not without effort and a death to self.<br />
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Blessed Mother Theresa's Humility List:<br />
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1. Speak as little as possible about yourself.<br />
2. Keep busy with your own affairs and not those of others.<br />
3. Avoid curiosity.<br />
4. Do not interfere in the affairs of others.<br />
5. Accept small irritations with good humor.<br />
6. Do not dwell on the faults of others.<br />
7. Accept censures even if unmerited.<br />
8. Give in to the will of others.<br />
9. Accept insults and injuries.<br />
10. Accept contempt, being forgotten and disregarded.<br />
11. Be courteous and delicate even when provoked by someone.<br />
12. Do not seek to be admired and loved.<br />
13. Do not protect yourself behind your own dignity.<br />
14. Give in, in discussions, even when you are right.<br />
15. Choose always the more difficult task.<br />
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<strong>Cardinal Merry de Val on the Litany of Humility:</strong><br />
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<em>The following has been revised from an earlier post</em>:<br />
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The Scripture is pervaded with the theme of humility. Rafael Cardinal Merry de Val composed a prayer he would recite after every Mass he celebrated called <em>Litany of Humility</em>. It is an irony of Divine Providence that he was chosen as Secretary of State by our last canonized pope- St. Pius X. Every day he would pray, “From the desire of being honored and from the desire of being preferred to others…Deliver me Jesus.” Yet the Lord rewarded him with a position of being the right hand man of a saintly pope. No one can outdo the Lord in generosity.<br />
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Cardinal Merry de Val, being of stature at the Vatican, did not think it beneath him to teach the Catholic Faith in the slums of Rome; for that is what he did. Like Pope St. Pius X, he was very generous to those in need. He would often slip money underneath the doors of poor households. For him, the State dignitary deserved no more of his attention than the street sweeper. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2pxgR2_MQsymzLF3YOw91YzVmFNX7y_p7lrbWuM2llGDddXWV_tlXGz6fF7mcVNtN3XNKpJXwikPHvFK8QHj4i0dRS5Hr3UI0zu_WJKmfQrO-U1cCfJbQXa0Fh8PPf8YRXsQ-r5Vm4N_9/s1600/240px-File0021.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666187771227125970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2pxgR2_MQsymzLF3YOw91YzVmFNX7y_p7lrbWuM2llGDddXWV_tlXGz6fF7mcVNtN3XNKpJXwikPHvFK8QHj4i0dRS5Hr3UI0zu_WJKmfQrO-U1cCfJbQXa0Fh8PPf8YRXsQ-r5Vm4N_9/s320/240px-File0021.jpg" style="float: right; height: 188px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 240px;" /></a>In dealing with opponents of the Church from without or modernist theologians from within, he did not flinch from confrontation or conflict. He saw himself as a “Watchman” of the Church; jealous for the salvation of souls and the glory of God. “You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me.” (Ez 33:7)<br />
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Upon his death in 1930, he was found wearing a hair shirt. His penitential spirituality and the <em>Litany of Humility</em> he composed for himself, bore him abundant fruit. He was a man of God who was unmoved by honor and at peace with humiliations.<br />
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Following the death of St. Pius X, the Cardinal wrote a book called, <em>The Memoirs of Pope Pius X</em>. In it, he recounts that the adulation and deference that came with being a pope was a burden to St. Pius X. Indeed, for a Saint, such special treatment is a cross to be carried. Like the Lord, they avoid human praise so that they can merit the approbation of God.<br />
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Yet, many a youth today long to become famous; and when their dreams are realized, they become disillusioned with that fame. Yesterday people looked up to heroes, today they admire celebrities. For the first time in history, surveys of young people reveal that they prefer being famous more than being rich. <br />
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As for us, when we do not get the recognition we think we deserve, we get discouraged or saddened. Or when people find fault with us, we become indignant and lose our peace. As St. Gregory the Great said, <br />
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"We have known many who, when no one accuses them, confess themselves sinners; but when they have been corrected for a fault, they endeavor with all their might to defend themselves, and to remove the imputation of guilt." <br />
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Indeed, being silent when criticized is worth more to God than ten days of fasting. What is more paradoxical is that this same virtue, which gives strength for keeping silent when criticized, is the same virtue which gives strength for speaking the truth when no one else will. <br />
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When the grace of God's humility is given the chance work within the soul, then true joy and happiness takes root and the foretaste of heaven begins. Honors and human applause lose their value; in place of that, the desire to please God grows stronger. There is something to be said for holy obscurity and exclusion; it leads to purification. And ironically, it brings true and lasting joy to the soul. Our Lord said as much in the Beatitudes. <br />
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Pray the <em>Litany of Humility</em>. You will find it to be repugnant to your pride, but if you should taste the deliverance for which you pray, you will enjoy a kind of freedom few people enjoy. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." (II Cor. 3:17) And where freedom is, there is humility!<br />
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Litany of Humility <br />
Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930),<br />
Secretary of State for Pope Saint Pius X<br />
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O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.<br />
From the desire of being esteemed, <em>Deliver me, Jesus.</em><br />
From the desire of being loved... <br />
From the desire of being extolled ...<br />
From the desire of being honored ...<br />
From the desire of being praised ...<br />
From the desire of being preferred to others...<br />
From the desire of being consulted ...<br />
From the desire of being approved ...<br />
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From the fear of being humiliated ... <em>Deliver me, Jesus.</em><br />
From the fear of being despised...<br />
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...<br />
From the fear of being calumniated ...<br />
From the fear of being forgotten ...<br />
From the fear of being ridiculed ...<br />
From the fear of being wronged ...<br />
From the fear of being suspected ...<br />
That others may be loved more than I…<em>Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.</em><br />
That others may be esteemed more than I ...<br />
That, in the opinion of the world,<br />
others may increase and I may decrease ...<br />
That others may be chosen and I set aside ...<br />
That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...<br />
That others may be preferred to me in everything...<br />
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…<br />
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The <em>Litany of Humility</em>, frequently prayed and meditated on, not only hastens a death to self but it gives greater expression to the life of Christ that dwells within us. Indeed, every Saint has been infused with the attitude, the virtue and the spirit which this litany invokes. It inspires a holy striving which is diametrically opposed to the worst instincts in our fallen human nature! And thanks to Cardinal Merry de Val, we have this spiritual and moral compass known as the <em>Litany of Humility</em>. When pride and vainglory get the best of us, all we have to do is pray it. Then our feet will touch the ground once again.<br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-small;">The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own </span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-small;">and not necessarily reflective of </span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-small;">any organization I works for.</span> </div>
Joehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09349938808811049282noreply@blogger.com