Hello Everyone. I am so lucky that the Bishop leads a group of men to the Shrine of our Lady Guadalupe in Wisconsin. This is my second time going. It is a great event. We meet together and get a bus there and then once we get there we eat a nice box lunch and the Bishop brings us up to the church which is about a half a mile from the entrance. During that time he leads us in a rosary and once there we tour the area and eventually he says a mass. This is a wonderful area, there is much to see and do. After mass I hope to go to confession, I hope to take many pictures. It will be an all day thing. and I can’t wait. It is just a over all great day.
Gods love is great and it’s everywhere. God is love. He sent his only son to be human and die for us. He is like a Father. We are his children. He loves us even if we make mistakes. He is always hoping we come to him. If you look you will find him. Knock and the door will open. Know he loves you always.
Oh vanity of vanities. It seems both the first reading and the Gospel were about trimming down and minimizing your earthly goods. It is one of the hardest things for me to do. Life over the last 50+ years has been about keeping up with the Jones’s. I have been super bad at that. I have been hoarding geeky things for the last 5 years or so. Actually I have been collecting things my whole life. It started with toys like HotWheels and GI Joes. Were talking the old big GI Joes. But I was a kid and didn’t know any better. Then I found my love of comic books. Man I collected so many of those I had to get special comic long boxes to store them. And when I bought them they came with bags to put them in.
As I got older I started collecting computers and computer parts and such. I also collected video game systems and games. Man I had to much stuff. I still have to much stuff. I need to start getting rid of things. I’m not that old yet that I will go to the home or something. So to get it so I don’t collect so much stuff. I stopped getting LootCrate, which is a box of geeky goods. Some I loved some I didn’t. Also I am trying to not buy as much junk as before. I am buying more books and such to make me better . But I still buy to much stuff and I need to stop. Here’s hoping I win the battle of the stuff.
Hi All. I had help figuring out one of my biggest problems. For the longest time I really didn’t think I was worthy of Gods love and anything else God had planned for me. I had that problem for 40+ years. Until some friends and a some religious helped. I like to go to retreats. When I had a corporate job I had the money and vacation time to go on retreats. I usually went on Holy Week or in October. My Franciscan fraternity also helped me with that problem. Basically I was told very few of us are worthy and really the only reason we can be worthy is with Gods help. So that really helped with my problem. If I don’t feel worthy I should remember that God can make me worthy.
So onto my new problem. As you all know I am taking classes to be a spiritual assistant. I have a problem with me being worthy of that position and also the fact I really want to do a great job and maybe put a little to much pressure on myself. Luckily I have great people that lead the class and are our mentors. Plus all the people taking the class are super nice and look to help. We are all in the same boat, and just want to be the best spiritual assistants we can be to help our fraternities. I will just have to pray a little more so the Holy Spirit can help me understand things a bit better.
God knows I need it. I can also spend my time better. Instead of watching TV and playing video games, I could be reading or watching my Word on Fire and Formed videos to help me learn about my faith. If you are a Catholic your Archdiocese may give you free access to Formed. Formed is a bit like a Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Kindle Unlimited for Catholics. You can study, watch, listen and read. It has a lot of Catholic teaching. And Word on Fire Digital. Which is created by Bishop Barron. Who is a well known Bishop and evangelist Word on Fire Digital is like Netflix for Catholics. It has a lot of content that most Parishes use to teach. Like Catholicism, Pivotal Players and the Mass. So there is no excuse anymore. Instead of bingeing Stranger Things, I can binge Catholicism or something else that will get me closer to God. So weather I am worthy or not God can make all things happen. He can even make this sinner worthy of his love.
Hello Everyone. Sunday’s reading was one of my favorites. When I was young I really felt bad for poor Martha. She worked her fingers to the bone to help Jesus and then he just says Martha Martha! You worry and fret. Where Mary just sat and listened like a sponge and tried to understand. My priest had a great homily to go with it. About how we are just not about prayer that we need action to go with it. How Mary was right and that Martha wasn’t asked to do anything and she just did it. Also Martha was a good friend of Jesus’s because she can tell Jesus to have Mary help her. There are still times I don’t get it. But every once in a while I do.
Hello all. I hope you are all having a great week, at least the start of it. I’m going to talk about the Holy Spirit today. It is often thought as the lesser of the Trinity. God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. My Grandma used to tell me about the holy spirit when I was a kid. It was along with just offer bad things up and also to go with prayer before bed. I was a kid and didn’t understand it yet. It wasn’t until I was a Franciscan and met someone that truly taught me about the Holy Spirit. She would tell us about the Holy Spirit and what it could do.
Now I ask for help from the Holy Spirit when something big is going to happen. It’s usually if I speak in front of a crowd or if I have to do something important. Sometimes before meetings I will ask help from the Holy Spirit to run the meeting well and Earlier in June I went to a retreat and had to read a bible reading and on the way up I asked the Holy Spirit to not screw it up or mumble as I usually do. The older I get the more I am able to understand. I have been praying a lot to do well in Spiritual Assistant class. It is something I take very seriously and don’t want to screw it up and and also I want to really grow as a Catholic, Franciscan and a person. So I will keep praying to the Holy Spirit to do Gods will and to un harden my heart. I pray to the Holy Spirit that I listen for Gods will and I ask the same for everyone.
Hello all. Well that weekend went fast, it was fun while it lasted though. Saturday was an odd day because i didn’t play pathfinder. I thought i signed up but didn’t, so all games were full.So i sat at home and played minecraft with with my nephew and his friend. I love games that let me build things. I also was able to just chill out on the patio and drink lemonade and watch Netflix and YouTube and read.
After sitting around all day and night Saturday it was nice to wake up on Sunday and a couple things to do. I always go to early mass at 8:30am. Mostly because i am always up anyways and secondly it’s a nice way to start the day and then i have the whole day ahead of me. Luckily Sunday afternoon i had a party to go to. There is a retreat center that i like to go to every once in awhile to go on retreat. This party was a garden party the weather was a little steamy in the 90’s and humidity was a little high. but the gardens were so beautiful. I even happen to run into a few Franciscans. I may have been out in the sun a bit to long but i had such a good time. When i got home I was glad to be in air conditioned house. I was so tired i was asleep by 9:00pm. I forget how much being outside takes it out of you. It doesn’t matter because i had so much fun.
So you can understand when i woke up this morning, I was thinking not another meh monday. Off to work i go.
I fumbled a bit on my prayer life this morning. Like most Franciscans i should be praying the liturgy of the hours. I try and do the morning prayer and night prayer. I’m not perfect so i forget now and then. I tend to forget night prayer because if i am tired i sometimes fall asleep before i start. But this morning i got up and i was watching YouTube for a bit and then one of the dogs wanted to go out earlier than usual. So i went to let the pooch out and hang out with him and totally forgot it. It happens right not big deal right. I think it’s a big deal, but i tend to put to much pressure on myself. It’s not something i like or am proud about but i missed my morning prayer and oddly enough i kinda miss it. Since i live in this great age of technology i do the liturgy of the hours differently than some. Most have 4 big books with several ribbons in them to tell you where to go and what to do. Me since I’m a geek i have an iPad app. It it called Divine Office. The app is really nice because i don’t have to just read my prayers there is audio to them all and i read and listen to them. so i make it as easy on myself and I still forget. I am not very good with formal type prayer like this. That’s why i use the app. I can listen and think. It’s harder for me to read, think and then make sure i don’t skip a part or forget where i was. I’m much better at prayer that i talk to him like he’s right here next to me.
Luckily God doesn’t need me to be perfect. He is always waiting and he is patient. Thank God.
Good morning everyone, or whenever you are reading this. Now that you know I am a Franciscan. I am going a bit deeper in my profession. When you want to be a Franciscan there is 2-3 years of classes to prepare you. When you finish the classes and the council of your fraternity and you think you are ready. There is a profession, it is really a great and holy rite. Profession happens during a mass and as i said earlier it is a rite. The Secular Franciscan Order is an order of the Catholic church. It is a mass I will remember for the rest of my life. I will be a Franciscan for ten years on October 10th 2019. I have been the minister or president of my fraternity for over 5 years. But for the last two years or so i have been feeling a need to go deeper.
Most fraternities have a spiritual assistant. I have met and befriended some spiritual assistants. Some have been priests, brothers and nuns. Most these days are just regular secular people like you and me. The spiritual assistants have a job is to foster communion with the Church and with the Franciscan Family through witness and sharing of Franciscan spirituality; to be a bond of communion between the First Order and the OFS. or Secular Franciscan Order.
To become a spiritual assistant there is another 2+ years of classes and other things. Luckily it is by email and once or twice a year we get together and have a class together. I have started class in May and have really learned a lot. Not just about being a spiritual assistant but on Franciscan spirituality and more. It has helped my prayer life and has added a whole section to my library. I am also a book nerd and love to read. So i am reading a lot but i am thinking more which is a change for me. i’m not always good at slowing down and taking my time but with this i really have to because like any course work there is homework. Most of the work i really have to think about. Which is good because the more i learn the more i can help people if i am lucky enough to pass the course. If you are ever thinking about the Secular Franciscan Order go to this link for information. https://secularfranciscansusa.org/are-you-called-to-the-secular-franciscan-life/
