The Joy of Fatherhood














The joy of fatherhood is wrapped in the gift
and laughter of a man's children. - E.L.D.





         Dad books at Audible                 Five Star Book on
                                                                    Fatherhood at Amazon       

The Piano Guys: A Family Christmas - MP3



Published 12.19.2013
Republished 12.31.2013; 12.29.2014
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Teaching the World to Hear and See













Fr. Cyril Axelrod Legacy Foundation: Celebrating Our Common Abilities



"My interaction with deaf, mute and blind students has reinforced the message that those of us with minor physical challenges have little excuse for not using our God given talents" (YMCA Africa Alliance.  Different ability is not inability: working with the deaf, mute and blind)

Resources





 





Original Post: 10.16.2013
Updated: 11.23.2014
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Psalm 144: 1-2
















"When I am tired and so afraid,
your love is like a fire that will light my way..."
- Third Day - Your Love is Like a River




Free Military Download of the Month Club

"Personally I have been thrilled with these CDs before while in Iraq in 2007–2008." - U.S. Navy Command Chaplain CDR Miles J. Barrett CHC

"As an ex-serviceman, I can relate to Fr. Goldmann's story. 'The Shadow of His Wings' is truly awe inspiring." - Jim - Wichita, KS




Psalm 144:1-2




Fulton Sheen's Wartime Prayer Book - The Catholic Company





Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA




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Vocations



United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
National Vocation Awareness Week
November 2-8, 2014







Six compelling excuses for not becoming a nun - debunked!


Resources





Published 01.12.2013
Republished 11.01.2014
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Faithful Citizenship




Christianity did not come by force of arms, nor could it. Christianity will never come by Act of Parliament. The wisest of earth’s scholars, and the most astute of her politicians, can lift no finger to help the Kingdom of God save by coming in to the school of Jesus, and learning of Him by the inshining of the Holy Spirit.

- Morgan, G. C. (1897). Discipleship (pp. 30–31). New York; Chicago; Toronto: Fleming H. Revell Company (Retrieved from Logos Bible Software - http://bit.ly/1z9PWVp).


Resources
"Catholicism...It's your story." (Fr. Barron)



Word on Fire: The Catholicism Project

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Sin and Forgiveness

Love Forgiveness Reconciliation, by Judy Dodds





Pope in General Audience: Every two weeks I go to Confession
- RomeReports.com - Published on Nov 20, 2013


 The spiritual effects of the sacrament of Penance are:

 - reconciliation with God by which the penitent recovers grace
- reconciliation with the Church
 - remission of the eternal punishment incurred by mortal sins
- remission, at least in part, of temporal punishments resulting from sin
- peace and serenity of conscience, and spiritual consolation
- an increase of spiritual strength for the Christian battle
Catechism of the Catholic Church, para. 1496




Resources


"When we seek forgiveness in a human relationship, the resolution of guilt can strengthen the love in that relationship,” Lynch said. “Likewise, when we ask for forgiveness of sins in confession, we have an opportunity to restore our relationship with the Father as a child of God.” - Archdioces of Denver

Organizations
  • The Fetzer Institute - Engaging with people around the world to foster awareness of power love and forgiveness in our global community.
  • Oregon Catholic Press - For more than 80 years, OCP has responded to the diverse and changing needs of churches and worshipers around the world.



Story Behind the Song: Forgiveness



To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you." - Lewis B. Smedes




Confession: Roman Catholic App - Received an imprimatur from Bishop K. Rhodes

Being with the Energy of Love and Forgiveness




"Merciful and gracious is the LORD, slow to anger, abounding in mercy." - Psalm 103:8








Published: 07.31.2013
Updated: 11.20.2013; 02.28.2014; 10.27.2014
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Student Rights












     

AllianceDefendingFreedom.org

YOUCAT - Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church





As those first responsible for the education of their children, parents have the right to choose a school for them which corresponds to their own convictions. This right is fundamental. As far as possible parents have the duty of choosing schools that will best help them in their task as Christian educators. Public authorities have the duty of guaranteeing this parental right and of ensuring the concrete conditions for its exercise. - Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph 2229






Maryland Student Says Faith Drives Morals,
Denied Admission Twice -

"During his [Dustin Buxton] admission interview, Buxton told the interviewer that his faith drives his morals, in response to a specific question about what he views as his guiding life principles. His answer was deemed unacceptable..." - ACLJ, 09.28.2104





Liberty Counsel

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: Catholic Education Newsletter







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No Greater Love





Pursuing the Language of Conversion and Truth: The Good News of Christ - Synod fathers on updating church language

The Urging of Christ's Love: The Saints and the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church

"[T]he author of a delightful book that introduces us to the principles of Catholic social teaching through the lives of the saints... His emphasis is not so much on the exposition of doctrines or texts, but on telling the stories of saints who have exemplified the principles contained in the Church’s teaching." - CatholicVote.org





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Light of the World













When Jesus spoke to the people again, he said: I am the light of the world; anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the light of life. - John 8:12

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Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for
Every Day of the Year
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger

It is about dying to ego and rising
as a sacrament of Christ.
GodSpy: Faith at the Edge



Word on Fire

Re-experience the Catechism
Logos Bible Software

The Logos Catholic collection is indispensable
and invaluable for every priest, deacon, religious or lay faithful.
- Rev. Fr. John Trigilio Jr., PhD, ThD
Verbum: Study the Faith (Powered by Logos)


"...Through the harmonious and complementary efforts of all the ranks of the People of God, may this Catechism be known and shared by everyone, so that the unity in faith whose supreme model and origin is found in the Unity of the Trinity may be strengthened and extended to the ends of the earth" (John Paul, Catechism of the Catholic Church).







Published 12.31.2012
Updated: 09.06.2014
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Assumption of the Virgin Mary





August 15 - Solemnity of the Assumption
American Catholic

 "In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life.  You conceived the living God and, by your prayers,
will deliver our souls from death."



Resources







Published: 08.03.2012
Updated: 08.14.2014
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Wonderful Child




















The Visual MD: The Joy of Motherhood

The Biology of Joy




A Poem for the Crying, Coming Children - J. Piper




"Contemporary jazz pianist Paul Cardall was born April 24, 1973; suffering from a congenital heart defect, he was given only days to live but defied medical expectations, enduring a series of surgeries and illnesses throughout his childhood...." (Pandora).


"Each of us is willed..., loved... [and] necessary." -Benedict, XVI as cited in Sisters of Life




Published: 07.11.2013
Updated: 08.01.2014


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Joy






"Vulnerability is also the birthplace of joy, creativity, of belonging, of love..." Brene Brown, Ph.D. 






There is a time for solemnity and a time for joy.  May every parent embrace the love of our Savior, dance with their children in celebration, and share the song of joy leading to salvation.




"Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God for the promise of life in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dear child...I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have..." (2 Timothy 1:1-8).


We can therefore hope in the glory of heaven promised by God to those who love him and do his will...to obtain the joy of heaven (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1821).


Resources:



Published 07.06.2013
Updated 07.06.2014
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Fortnight for Freedom















Religious Freedom is our First Freedom


“Respect for this fundamental human right is, in fact, one of the essential conditions for peace, fraternity and harmony." - Pope Francis (as cited in CNSNews.com)



Fortnight for Freedom
June 21 - July 4 - 2014
FortNight4Freedom.org

[S]ome laws actually restrict freedom by shrinking the sacred space we need to live out our commitments to an authority higher than the state...
- Edward A. Morse, Professor of Law




Archbishop Kurtz discusses Religious Freedom - 2012 Message

Religious freedom is important not only in its own right but is also central to other human goods: it correlates with civil liberties, political liberties, press freedom, longevity of democracy, low levels of militarization and conflict, more physicians, and lower infant mortality...
Why Religious Freedom Must be a Top Priority - Paul Marshall, Hudson Institute



Go to the barricades for religious liberty: Christians are the most persecuted creed worldwide - Cardinal Timothy Dolan



In today’s world, religious freedom is more often affirmed than put into practice...It is often threatened, and not infrequently violated. The serious outrages against this fundamental right are a source of serious concern, and need to be confronted at the global level. Defending religious liberty and making it available for everyone...is everyone’s responsibility... - Pope Francis



The current disposition of religious freedom  in the United States: The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights... - Declaration of Independence 


Resources



 Become the Salt and Light of the World


"Government, even at its best, can never be more than an auxiliary in the development of character...We desperately need to recover a sense of the fundamental purpose of education, which is to engage in the architecture of souls.  When a self-governing society ignores this responsibility, it does so at its peril" (William J. Bennett, Quantifying America's Decline, 1993).

"Catholicism...It's your story." (Fr. Barron)



Word on Fire: The Catholicism Project



 Published: 10.04.2012
Revised and Updated 03.21.2015
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Grief, Loss, Healing and Recovery






Life and Death by Paul Cardall - "Contemporary jazz pianist Paul Cardall was born April 24, 1973; suffering from a congenital heart defect, he was given only days to live but defied medical expectations, enduring a series of surgeries and illnesses throughout his childhood...."
- Pandora.com



After a loss, grief is the natural process of recovery.  From losing a job to death of a loved one, it is important to learn how to process feelings in a health way.  A panel of experts is joined by Terry Cogdon, a father whose daughter was tragically killed, as he offers insights into working through the emotions of grief. - Second Opinion TV, Published October 25, 2012

    • Practical Examples of Coping and Healing



"For I am certain of this: neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nothing already in existence and nothing still to come, nor any power, nor the heights nor the depths, nor any created thing whatever, will be able to come between us and the love of God, known to us in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 8:38-39












Te lucis ante terminum

To thee before the close of day,
Creator of the world, we pray
That, with thy wonted favour, thou
Wouldst be our guard and keeper now.

From all ill dreams defend our sight,
From fears and terrors of the night;
Withhold from us our ghostly foe,
That spot of sin we may not know.

O Father, that we ask be done,
Through Jesus Christ, thine only Son,
Who, with the Holy Ghost and thee,
Doth live and reign eternally.

Amen.




Published: 06.20.2014
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