Year: 2012

By Frank Wessling

Christians are people of hope. We live in expectation that the best is yet to come, beyond where we are now, but somehow connected to our now. Since we are moral agents, what we do now is somehow connected to that hope and expectation which shapes our life.
We are thinking about the Dec.14 slaughter of the innocents in Newtown, Conn., and remembering the ages-ago slaughter of innocents in Bethlehem by Herod which we commemorate tomorrow, Dec. 28. We believe that our actions now in response are somehow connected with God’s response to such evil — always the promise of more abundant life through Christ, eternal life found through love.
A first step is to abandon fear. The most notable instruction Jesus gave his followers when they suffered in the chaos of uncertainty and loss was “Fear not.” That was his entry into their pain: Fear not. You may feel lost and helpless but you have not lost life for yourself. You still have it, but now you know that this gift of life is not for yourself alone. You have it with, not against, all who share your world. You must use it, spend it, with me in shaping that world for fulfillment of our hope.

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By Barb Arland-Fye

Seventeen years ago, Humility of Mary Housing, Inc. in Davenport gave a teenage mom a sense of hope she desperately needed at the lowest point in her life. Trish Turner, then 17, had turned to Humility of Mary because of overwhelming responsibilities: juggling school, work, parenthood and securing a safe place to live.
The mother of one of her closest friends gave Trish the phone number for Humility of Mary Housing, Inc. “I never would have thought a phone call would have been such a saving grace.”
The supportive transitional and permanent housing program, now in its 23rd year, provides single-parent families experiencing homelessness with opportunities for growth and development that could result in self-sufficient living. Each family receives a furnished apartment and pays rent based on income and as determined by U.S. Housing and Urban Development standards.
“If you don’t have a place to call home and you don’t have food to put on the table, you can’t do anything else. When participants have these basic needs met, then they can work on goals,” said Sister Mary Ann Vogel, CHM, HMHI’s finance director.
After being accepted into the program, Trish worked closely with a service coordinator who helped her to develop a personalized plan outlining the goals she wanted to achieve. The service coordinator met regularly with Trish to assist her in assessing her strengths, abilities and skills.

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Por Guillermo Treviño

La preparación para las celebraciones  navideñas en México empiezan con la fiesta de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe el 12 de diciembre, y siguen en serio con el principio de Las Posadas, que se celebran las tardes/noches de los nueve días de diciembre entre el 16 y el 24.  La novena nos recuerda los nueve meses del  embarazo de María.  Además, las posadas simbolizan el viaje de José y María buscando un lugar para preparar el nacimiento del Niño.
Petra Morales, de la parroquia de S. Patricio en Iowa City recuerda cuando era niña, como se celebraban las posadas en Matehuana,  San Luis Potosí, México, con piñatas, dulces y arroz con leche.  “La posada es una manera de sugerirles a los adultos que sean más caritativos  y que ayuden a los que lo necesitan, ya que recuerda a María y José buscando un lugar y pidiendo la limosna de un lugar para descansar,” dijo.  El 24 de diciembre era muy especial porque su familia se pasaba la noche en vela esperando el nacimiento del Niño Jesús.  En su casa se acostumbraba poner la estatua de un Nino Jesús sobre el pesebre y no quitarla hasta el 2 de febrero.

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Por Padre Troy Richmond

En la cultura de nuestra época, muchos ven el exorcismo y la oración de liberación como algo que causa temor, quizá por la forma como Hollywood ha presentado este fenómeno.  Tengo que confesar que yo compartía este punto de vista y temía encontrarme con la presencia del mal en mi trabajo sacerdotal—hasta que tuve la oportunidad de asistir a una conferencia especial sobre el ministerio de la liberación el verano pasado.
Cada vez que rezamos el Padre Nuestro terminamos la oración diciendo “Líbranos del mal”.  Esta liberación no solamente se reserva para aquellas personas atormentadas por espíritus malignos.  Más bien,  cada uno de nosotros necesitamos que se nos libere de algo, algunos más algunos menos.  Dada nuestra naturaleza y el pecado original, debemos estar muy listos para percibir nuestra propia tendencia hacia el pecado, los males en el mundo que nos rodea, y las tentaciones del demonio.
El buscar la liberación del mal no es algo a lo que debamos temerle.  Jesús nunca nos enseñó a tenerle miedo a Satanás.  Al contrario, en muchas ocasiones oímos en el Evangelio que los espíritus dañinos que estaban siendo expulsados le tenían miedo a Jesús.  Sin embargo, de todos modos, debemos tomar las medidas necesarias para defendernos contra la influencia del mal….

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By Fr. Joseph DeFrancisco

Christmas Time teaches us the grace to once again celebrate God’s promise of salvation in and through God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
The presence of God-with-us (Emmanuel), Jesus, is now and forevermore a resurrected and sacramental presence of universal peace, justice and love. Yet, we know that our human condition falls short in all three areas, within the Church and world at large. Nevertheless, Jesus believed that all three could be achieved through the building up of faith community, a community that challenges itself to work for peace, true justice and unconditional love for everyone.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus truly does pray for all religious believers. “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us…”(Jn.17:20-21). Jesus assured his disciples in his exhortation on the “Good Shepherd” that he will call together, into one, the House of Israel and the lost sheep of the House of Israel. Moreover, Jesus promised them, “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. Yet, I will give my life for them and I will lead them to hear my voice. Then, there shall be one Shepherd and one flock.” (Jn.10:16ff). The call of Christian unity and religious unity was seriously addressed in the Second Vatican Council through its Decree on Ecumenism, “Unitatis Redintegratio” (1964). The Council fathers declared that the work of Christian unity was “one of the primary concerns of the entire Vatican Council (U.R, 1). “What has been revealed to the world in the person of Jesus Christ is not just a message of Redemption of the entire human race, but of also granting humanity the fullness of life and the gift of unity” (U.I.1.2).

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By Fr. Troy Richmond

Many in today’s culture view exorcism and deliverance prayer as something scary due to Hollywood’s portrayal of such phenomenon. Admittedly, I shared the same perspective and feared encountering the presence of evil in my priestly ministry — that is until I attended a special conference on the ministry of deliverance this past summer.
Each time we pray the Our Father we end with this petition. “Deliver us from evil.”  Deliverance is not something reserved for those tormented by evil spirits.  Rather, each one of us needs deliverance at one level or another. Because of our fallen nature, we must be on guard against our own tendency to sin, the evils in of the world around us, and the temptations of the devil.
Seeking deliverance from evil is not something we should fear. Jesus never instructs us to fear Satan. Rather, on many occasions we hear in the Gospels that the evil spirits being expelled were afraid of Jesus. Yet, at the same time, we should take the necessary steps to defend ourselves against the influence of evil.

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To the Editor:
In a world of instant news, it’s not surprising that what’s “newsworthy” is usually sad, often disheartening. So much so it seems morality is lost in a world of secular interests. Don’t believe this for one second.
The newsworthiness of evil events doesn’t diminish acts of good that occur after, or sometimes even during, evil events. We can’t comprehend why Evil (Satan) emanates in such ungodly, horrific fashion, but that’s Evil’s very nature: un-godliness. That we can’t comprehend the depths that Evil hates is both a sign of the Good (God) that is within us, and an opportunity for us to recognize that Evil is aware and uses our ignorance of its hate as a weapon against us.
Immorality, in an acute — usually extreme — act of evil, is often evident to even the most hardened of nonbelievers. It’s the incremental destruction of morality that’s hard to recognize due to a chronic ignorance of Evil’s subtle nature.  It’s like recognizing acute appendicitis versus chronic arthritis.
Don’t lose faith and believe the world is evil because Evil’s use of “shock and awe” creates doubt. Let’s also not let acutely evil events cause us to fail to recognize Evil’s chronic, subtle nature, lest we accept it.
We’re created by Good. We have fallen from grace, but not without redemption. We know this. God has given us the path (Jesus) and the tools (faith/prayer) to reach heaven. He’s also given us free will to choose whether or not to use them.
We must recognize immorality in its most subtle form. Let’s not give up hope. Evil wants that. Good always follows Evil because God is good; God is love, and love heals all. This season of Christmas, let’s not lose our sight on the Light of Love.
Brent Earley
Davenport