Fr. Greg

This month, many students and teachers are headed back to school. Pray these prayers from Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers on your own or with your children as they begin a new semester.

Prayers to Begin a School Year

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains holy days of obligation this way:

It’s back to school time, now that August is here, and for our collegians it comes quicker than for most others. Even though classes might not start until later in August, many move back to campus or places nearby soon. If this is a year of transition from high school to college, there are many things to prepare for. How are they preparing their spiritual lives?

Recently I had a meeting with Ron Kelsey concerning the desire to open an Olathe Pregnancy Clinic. This initiative was started by the Wyandotte Pregnancy Clinic which began providing services to women and families in 2007.

Olathe is among the most underserved of areas in the Kansas City metro. In area pregnancy clinics like Jackson County, 113,000 people are served; 161,000 in Wyandotte County, and in Johnson County it is at approximately 284,000 people. There are approximately 900 abortions per year in Johnson County.

I often receive requests to sign a statement that a certain individual is a practicing Catholic and eligible to serve as a godparent, Confirmation sponsor, or to receive some Sacrament in a Catholic Church where they are not registered. This is referred to as a Letter of Good Standing.
 
Unfortunately, what I sometimes notice is that the person who requests my signature:

The Catholic Church is fundamentally liturgical and sacramental in our public worship. According to the Catholic Catechism, liturgy is something “the whole Christ” celebrates – Christ together with His body the Church. The shape or the ideal of Liturgy is the Mass.

This is a great article written by Becky Roach, a Catholic wife and mother who blogs about being a Catholic parent. When you skip mass with your children, your children learn...

“1. God is important, but not that important. If I can fit God in, great, but only if it is convenient for me. Football games, sleeping in, and _____ (insert activity of choice) are more important than making an effort to be with God one hour a week.

Catholics are duty-bound to love and serve their country (see Catechism, No. 2239), to practice what is commonly called patriotism. However, looking back through history we can find instances where legitimate patriotism denigrated into the sin of nationalism. Nationalism is excessive love for one's country, usually accompanied by hatred of other countries and the people of other countries.

This weekend, I am blessed to celebrate 25 years as an ordained priest and I wish to give thanks for these years, but more for the gift of priesthood. When ordained on June 20, 1992, I celebrated the promise of ministry, and now I celebrate the fulfillment of that promise. I have failed countless times in those years and will continue to do so, but I promise again to “strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts,” and trust that He will “show me a still more excellent way” (1 Cor 12:31).

On this Father's Day weekend, I am reminded of the great gift of a Godly man who is husband and father. A Godly man is a man who places God first in his life and lives accordingly. So according to both scripture and the teachings of the Church that means being a Catholic man is like eating a pizza. It's impossible to list all of the ingredients that go into - the crust, the sauce, the toppings, etc., but the taste is a blend. There should be a blend of many things for a good Catholic man, and it is a blending of relationships.