United in Prayer, For Our Haitian Brothers and Sisters
A young man named Cory has created a profound video, lasting just over one minute. The video captures the magnitude
of the earthquake disaster in Haiti during the middle of this month, January 2010. As you watch the clip, please pray for our Haitian Brothers and Sisters in their time of need. If you can give financial support, please do.
Tebow in Pro-Life Ad [Pro-Life, Nothing Else Makes Sense]
I saw a Facebook status that mentioned something about Tim Tebow and the Super Bowl ad that he and his mother are going to be featured in on Sunday, February 7th. The commercial has been funded by Focus on the Family and has an openly pro-life sentiment. Pam Tebow, when faced with a sickness/disease during pregnancy with Tim (her 5th child), was informed by her doctors to abort the pregnancy for fear of her death, or complications with the baby. Pam said no, and proceeded with the pregnancy, giving birth
to a boy who would grow up and become one of the most recognizable faces in college sports history.
Tebow won the Heisman trophy and a National Championship, and quite arguably, the accomplishments he has made off the field far outweigh his accomplishments on the field. However, regardless of what he’s done in life, he had the right to life while in the womb! Pro-Life makes sense, pro-abortion doesn’t. It simply doesn’t make sense.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find the ad itself, but I have a news conference with Tebow’s response and also one man’s (Larry Murphy, I guess) take on the situation. (I disagree with the name-calling, but thought some of his quips were justified.)
Please stop calling abortion Pro-Choice. No one should have the choice to murder. Call it what it is, Pro-Abortion (Pro-Death).
Man up!
Tuesdays with Daddy – I Just Want to Hold You
January 26, 2010 by admin
Filed under Blog, Fatherhood, Tuesdays with Daddy
I noticed today, that for the most part, my children aren’t interested in being held by me. It’s not that I scare them, or that I’m too rough, or that my beard is scruffy on their faces, or anything like that. It’s that they have other stuff they want to be doing. On occasion, when a head is bonked, or a toe is stubbed, or a toy is stolen by their sibling and just about every 2 hours or so when that hunger thing comes around, then they come running, arms wide open, running to their daddy asking for something in their time of need.
Consequently, I realized, because of my wonderful children, that many of us are that way with our Heavenly Father. All He wants is for us to be connected with Him, to be united with Him, to love Him and to be with Him. More often than not, we want the opposite. We have other “stuff” we want to do, and we don’t include Him. He’s going to be there waiting for us, the same way I’m always there waiting for my girls, but wouldn’t it be better for us to run to Him in the good times too, when we’re not in need of something from Him? I challenge all of us, myself included, to give God our first-fruits. To give to Him the perfect time, upfront, not just the leftovers.
Man up!
GUEST POST – “The Practice of Modesty” by Ashley Crouch
Ashley Crouch is the Assistant Program Director of Love & Fidelity Network, a program designed to equip college students with the resources and training they need to support the institution of marriage, the importance of family, and the integrity of sex on their campuses. She writes:
US Marine Captain John Campbell recently made National Australian News by boldly speaking out about Australian women’s lack of modesty: “It’s about having standards, ladies,” he said. “What are standards? Well, it can begin by dressing in a manner that leaves something to the imagination to say the least…” Later he said, “Come on, ladies, don’t send us mixed messages. That’s what you do every time you dress with less than nothing on.” His voice was an isolated and courageous reminder that women play a significant role in preserving men’s purity; that women bolster men’s’ ability to love authentically.
In today’s culture, our bodies are often treated as instruments rather than as an intimate part of who we are – persons with an
immortal soul. As a result of this disconnect, there is a crisis of modesty prevalent in society. Popular trends and fashions come and go with arbitrary ease, without any thought being given to a specific standard. The virtue of modesty has all but become obsolete, while the few who make an effort to endorse its practice often end up sounding prudish and harping on rules, regulations, and guidelines.
Guidelines are in fact good and helpful, and can be found by doing a simple search online. Modesty, however, is not just about covering up so guys will not be driven to lust. Modesty is more and often depends on the context. For this reason, it is often misunderstood.
Properly understood, modesty incorporates who the woman is as a person created in the image of God called to love, while acknowledging that men and women are designed to be attracted to one another. The late Pope John Paul II spoke candidly about the human person “as a creature towards whom the only proper attitude is love.” Authentic love, however, is not defined by a person’s sexuality; Attraction between sexes is meant to exist between two free, full, faithful human persons and to blossom into fruitful love in marriage. Many women yearn to be loved and seek it through immodest dress or action. Tragically, the immodest dress and behavior of some women, while intended to foster and secure lasting affection, ironically attracts men for other reasons. A woman who dresses provocatively distracts men from love. She sends mixed messages.
Modesty, on the other hand, serves to open the gateway of love between persons by revealing who a woman is as a full person, an individual with dignity, not reducible to her sexual features. When a woman practices modesty, she simultaneously protects, preserves, and presents herself to the world as a person of dignity and self-respect; for through modesty, the beauty of her femininity is highlighted rather than objectified. Modesty flows from “moderation,” where all the elements of the woman are shown cohesively and beautifully.
Ultimately, modesty is about more than clothes. It is a disposition of the heart, and a consciousness on the part of the woman that she has an origin in a loving God, who has given her a great dignity and purpose. Each woman was designed to give herself fully as a gift, but if her vocation is marriage, this gift belongs only to one person (not the world.) The woman’s awareness of her beautiful origin carries over into her actions and dress, naturally and effortlessly. Her clothes are not a denial of her sexuality, or a suppression of her femininity. Rather, they integrate her sexuality into her whole being as a person called to love, and open the way for true love to grow. The practice of modesty encourages men to see a woman with respect, and allows authentic interpersonal relationships to occur, free of distractions, free from confusion, free to love.
So the next time you reach into your closet for an outfit, perhaps remember Captain John Campbell’s words ‘Don’t send mixed messages,’ and consider what message you want to send.
January 22, the Most Devastating Day on the Calendar
Today, January 22, marks the most devastating day on the entire calendar. In 1973, the US Supreme Court made a ruling that made legal the destruction and murder of innocent life in the womb. On that day, abortion was legalized and the greatest travesty against human life was performed. Please pray for the end to abortion.
Here’s a clip, titled: “January 1973”.
God Must Really Love Me
Great perspective from one of my favorite country music singers, Craig Morgan. I think there’s a lot in this video that we can each connect with. I hope it helps give you the perspective you need today. Blessings.
“When I showed the worst, He saw the best. He pulled the world right off my chest. Every day I wake up, I feel blessed. God must really love me.”
Encouraging Men to Get Involved
Here’s my latest article on iibloom.com, posted yesterday.
For some people, it’s a struggle to figure out why men aren’t involved at church and church-related events. When we take a look at a typical parish in the United States, we see a Church that is struggling to entice, encourage and strengthen men as leaders. Why is this? Is it the content, is it the timing, is it the other people in attendance? Is it something internal? Do they feel emasculated by it? Is it a lack of catechesis? Is there a power struggle? Or maybe even something else?
(Please note, this article is a generalization; please keep this in mind. Many men are fully engaged in the life of the Church and many parishes have a thriving men’s population. The point of this article is to find ways to help encourage men who aren’t involved to become involved.)
Men won’t get involved in “stuff” if they don’t see a value in it. Also, they aren’t likely to attend a new event, group or club unless they
know someone else who is attending, and know them well. Another reason men won’t get involved is if they see the stuff as weak, lame or feminine. Unfortunately, many men see Mass, Church events, groups and retreats through this lens. On my website, I have mentioned that the Church is “by women, for women,” and this is a big reason why men aren’t involved. I say this because the vast majority of parishes in the US have a very lopsided attendance and volunteer demographic. The reason for this is because men fail to step up and into leadership and volunteer roles.
Men shouldn’t be forced into praying like women pray, it doesn’t work for us. Men need to pray the way men were created to pray. Men shouldn’t be forced into activities that are similar to women’s activities, it does’t work for us. Men should participate in activities that they were created for. There’s a difference, and that difference is important.
The difference is, as the late Pope John Paul II often talked about, is that men and women were created equal in dignity, but different in role. In order for men to fulfill their role, their lives must be oriented correctly towards what they were created for. A great place to see what it is that men were created for is to read through the creation narrative in The Book of Genesis.
So how do you encourage men to participate? It’s tough to know, exactly. I think that a great way is to get to the heart of a man…that which God put deep inside each man. It’s different from anything else in the world, and hard to explain. See, men want to be rugged and tough. They want to shoot stuff, and fix stuff, and build stuff. They want to protect and defend, they want to love and be loved. They want to feel a purpose and be accomplished. Unfortunately, so many men don’t know how to do any of that stuff.
If we want men to participate, we have to encourage them, build them up and GIVE THEM A PERSONAL INVITATION. Personal invitations, from men they trust and respect, might just be the thing to get a man involved in the Life of the Church. The personal invitation should be in person, not over phone, texting or email. And once the invitation is extended, the event better not stink! Or be lame! And, it better not be associated with ‘sissiness’! If it does, he’ll never come back.
I encourage all the faithful, if they know a man who needs to be involved, to be like St Monica. St Monica, the mother of St Augustine, prayed unceasingly for her son. Augustine was a wandering-soul. He lived a life of incredible sin and his mother still prayed. He became one of the greatest saints and writers of the Church. That man who you know might just be the next St Augustine.
Click HERE for the article on iibloom’s site.
