... and the Word became flesh & dwelt among us!
Frassati Leaders,
May the blessings of Christmas bring about a rebirth of Christ in each of your hearts as we prepare for a new year. Thanks to all of you for your continued committment and for bringing young adults together in faith and fellowship. For me, the business of life, work and family makes it harder each year to provide all of you the additional moral support and leadership. I thank Tim for being that anchor of faith and leadership in the void I've left. It makes the Christmas message from Medjuorje as a stark reminder, and very pointed message from our lady to me, almost personally:
Medjugorje, monthly message received by Marija on December 25, 2008
"Dear Children! You are running, working, gathering, but without blessing. You are not praying! Today I call you to stop in front of the manger, and to meditate on Jesus whom I give to you today also, to bless you and to help you comprehend that, without Him, you have no future. Therefore, little children, surrender your lives in the hands of Jesus, for Him to lead you and protect you from every evil. Thank you for having responded to my call."
Even though Medjugorje is not formally recognized by the Church, this message is worthy of contemplation and reflection. We are all called to stop and reflect. To gaze upon the face of a child and the significance of God becoming flesh, starting as an embryo! God becoming the littlest, most helpless of creatures. Being fully dependent on a human mother. Born into poverty. Born into a manger. Placed in a food trough for animals! God, almighty and powerful, brought into the world in this way. May we all stop and reflect on what a powerful message this is meant to convey to us. How the economy is of little consequence, of little importance in the context of the manger.
In the year of St. Paul, we need to focus on this incredible significance which is lost on a busy world, and evangelize to our brothers & sisters in Christ.
God bless each & every one of you... and thank you for serving our Lord!
Friday, December 26, 2008
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Form our Conscience and Vote!
As Catholics, we are called to vote according to our conscience... but we must form our consciences by being informed about the teachings of Christ handed down through the Church, so that we can be transformed by His love, and truly make present God's kingdom in this world. See www.catholicvote.com
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Voting with Pier Giorgio
Dear Friends of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati,
Vote NO on Proposal 2!!
Vote FOR candidates who will protect the lives of innocent children!!!
Pier Giorgio was a man of great faith, filled with joy and love, yet expressed justified anger when human rights were at stake. In his day, the fight was against facism. In our day, the greatest injustice is the holocaust of the "littlest children" through abortion and the slaughter of embryos in the name of science. As we enter the election season, we are called as Christians to stand up and speak out and vote against these injustices.
Are there other issues? Yes... but the economy, the war in Iraq, health care, poverty and education all come secondary to the social injustice that denies the very "right to life" proclaimed by our constitution, especially considering it has murdered almost 1/3 of our generation. The opposition tries to dismiss the embryo as inhuman, and suggests that the health of a mother is of greater value (when is killing someone justifiable to protect someone's health?). The opposition will claim that the slaughter of embryos (they will call it embryonic stem cell research) will potentially save many lives... but it is never good to commit evil with the unproven "hope" of some positive outcome.
If passed, Proposal 2 will extend the holocaust against the smallest of children in the name of science... not unlike what Nazi's did performing experimentations on humans in order to "perfect" mankind. It is appalling, that such a proposal would even show up on a ballot in this country.
As Christians in this country, our primary moral obligation is to vote for candidates who will seek to restore the protection of the unborn. Anyone who is an honest scientist or doctor will acknowlege that a human being is formed from the moment of conception. No doubt, there are many situations where a child develops unwanted or unintended in the womb of women. We are called to support and encourage women to make informed and wise choices, of which the "choice" of abortion is never informed nor wise.
Being adopted myself, I am grateful to my birthmother for making the great Christian sacrifice of love to bring me into this world. Despite having a life full of blessings and two loving parents that adopted me, my birthmother's gift was the single greatest act of love I've experienced in my lifetime (although it took me about 23 years to truly "get it") ... and without that act of love, I would have been silenced like the other 50,000,000 since Roe v. Wade. Please, vote... and vote for life!
God bless all of you who respond to God's call on your hearts! Verso l'alto!
Vote NO on Proposal 2!!
Vote FOR candidates who will protect the lives of innocent children!!!
Pier Giorgio was a man of great faith, filled with joy and love, yet expressed justified anger when human rights were at stake. In his day, the fight was against facism. In our day, the greatest injustice is the holocaust of the "littlest children" through abortion and the slaughter of embryos in the name of science. As we enter the election season, we are called as Christians to stand up and speak out and vote against these injustices.
Are there other issues? Yes... but the economy, the war in Iraq, health care, poverty and education all come secondary to the social injustice that denies the very "right to life" proclaimed by our constitution, especially considering it has murdered almost 1/3 of our generation. The opposition tries to dismiss the embryo as inhuman, and suggests that the health of a mother is of greater value (when is killing someone justifiable to protect someone's health?). The opposition will claim that the slaughter of embryos (they will call it embryonic stem cell research) will potentially save many lives... but it is never good to commit evil with the unproven "hope" of some positive outcome.
If passed, Proposal 2 will extend the holocaust against the smallest of children in the name of science... not unlike what Nazi's did performing experimentations on humans in order to "perfect" mankind. It is appalling, that such a proposal would even show up on a ballot in this country.
As Christians in this country, our primary moral obligation is to vote for candidates who will seek to restore the protection of the unborn. Anyone who is an honest scientist or doctor will acknowlege that a human being is formed from the moment of conception. No doubt, there are many situations where a child develops unwanted or unintended in the womb of women. We are called to support and encourage women to make informed and wise choices, of which the "choice" of abortion is never informed nor wise.
Being adopted myself, I am grateful to my birthmother for making the great Christian sacrifice of love to bring me into this world. Despite having a life full of blessings and two loving parents that adopted me, my birthmother's gift was the single greatest act of love I've experienced in my lifetime (although it took me about 23 years to truly "get it") ... and without that act of love, I would have been silenced like the other 50,000,000 since Roe v. Wade. Please, vote... and vote for life!
God bless all of you who respond to God's call on your hearts! Verso l'alto!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Thou Shalt Not Kill... One's Reputation
One aspect of this commandment which we often overlook is the defamation of character. One way to "kill" is to propagate harmful untruths about someone. Another causes scandal by making public the imperfections and brokenness of others in such a way that it harms their reputation and propagates negativism about someone. While the mainstream media does enough damage to character because scandal sells, the world of the Internet has become a slaughter house for people's dignity with almost no controls. This also extends to company reputations... not as serious as an attack against the dignity of the person, but it can be personal for those committed leaders to a just (albeit imperfect) business. There are acceptable reasons to present & discuss such topics when an individual or corporate sin is public and it threatens others security, causes scandal or harm, and making light of the injustice can prevent further harm or accelerate needed change. Far too often, as we see even in presidential races, defamation of character is used for selfish gain. This is a direct sin against the fifth commandment.
There is an establishment in the Detroit area that does great work for the community, having donated large sums of money to support great charities such as Cornerstone Schools, Grace Centers of Hope, and the St. Vincent de Paul Society to name a few. Albert & Mitsie Scaglione, the founders of Park West Gallery in Southfield, Michigan have also taken several young inner city women under their care who have "graduated" from foster care, and have no place to go. These girls who often end up in prostitution and on drugs are challenged with Albert & Mitsie's "tough love" that offers them a chance to beat the odds if they stay clean and out of trouble. Yet Park West Gallery, which has become the largest art dealer in the world, is under attack from competitors that are soliciting any blogger or customer that may have had a less-than-perfect experience at one of their cruise art auctions. Wanting to make sure Park West Gallery has addressed any internal wrongdoing, an independent auditor verified they had a 50,000-to-1 customer satisfaction ratio. Not bad for a company with over 1 Million customers. A handful of disgruntled customers can still make a lot of noise, especially when it is enabled by a competitors seeking to tackle the leader. Albert Scaglione and Park West Gallery have done its best to address customer issues, and they are working hard to improve, striving to provide educational experiences of art at sea and land auctions through very successful partnerships with almost all of the major cruise lines. Albert Scaglione is the first to admit that they haven't done everything perfectly, but it doesn't justify the smear campaign on his business and even him personally. If a customer is unsatisfied with a purchase, he wants them to call and have the chance to address the concerns. Park West Gallery guarantees that every piece of artwork is authentic that they sell at their art auctions at sea or land, yet his competitors have stooped to suggesting otherwise. This has hurt both their business and their efforts to support the community.
Many companies are suffering from the unaccountable freedom of the internet, and it can destroy a company's reputation. Freedom of speech is a right, but every right must be coupled with responsibility. We are called as Christians to be people of integrity. We have a right to stand up and voice an injustice, but we must do so in a way that retains the dignity of people.
There is an establishment in the Detroit area that does great work for the community, having donated large sums of money to support great charities such as Cornerstone Schools, Grace Centers of Hope, and the St. Vincent de Paul Society to name a few. Albert & Mitsie Scaglione, the founders of Park West Gallery in Southfield, Michigan have also taken several young inner city women under their care who have "graduated" from foster care, and have no place to go. These girls who often end up in prostitution and on drugs are challenged with Albert & Mitsie's "tough love" that offers them a chance to beat the odds if they stay clean and out of trouble. Yet Park West Gallery, which has become the largest art dealer in the world, is under attack from competitors that are soliciting any blogger or customer that may have had a less-than-perfect experience at one of their cruise art auctions. Wanting to make sure Park West Gallery has addressed any internal wrongdoing, an independent auditor verified they had a 50,000-to-1 customer satisfaction ratio. Not bad for a company with over 1 Million customers. A handful of disgruntled customers can still make a lot of noise, especially when it is enabled by a competitors seeking to tackle the leader. Albert Scaglione and Park West Gallery have done its best to address customer issues, and they are working hard to improve, striving to provide educational experiences of art at sea and land auctions through very successful partnerships with almost all of the major cruise lines. Albert Scaglione is the first to admit that they haven't done everything perfectly, but it doesn't justify the smear campaign on his business and even him personally. If a customer is unsatisfied with a purchase, he wants them to call and have the chance to address the concerns. Park West Gallery guarantees that every piece of artwork is authentic that they sell at their art auctions at sea or land, yet his competitors have stooped to suggesting otherwise. This has hurt both their business and their efforts to support the community.
Many companies are suffering from the unaccountable freedom of the internet, and it can destroy a company's reputation. Freedom of speech is a right, but every right must be coupled with responsibility. We are called as Christians to be people of integrity. We have a right to stand up and voice an injustice, but we must do so in a way that retains the dignity of people.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Divine Providence & Sins of Omission
Today I was taking family to the airport, and prior to getting on the expressway I was jockeying for lead position on the road, typical of us agressive Michigan drivers. At one point I was trying to get past this white Subaru Outback, amid a lot of traffic. As I passed, I glanced to my left and noticed a young Asian man driving. Really didn't think much of it... and proceeded down the expressway... and basically this car & driver was out of sight and mind.
15 minutes later, and discovering the plane would be late, we decided to stop for food. A Wendy's and Chili's caught our eye, but we missed the exit. The consensus was that we'd stop at a Wendy's... an infrequent dining choice for us, but we made the additional effort to backtrack from the next exit to pursue the square-pattied hamburgers that have lost some attention since the founder has passed. Mind you, we are in the city, amidst a plethora of possibilities, exits at every mile, and a nearby mall food court as an option. At this point you shoul be wondering where this story is going.
I entered the Wendy's, and unexpectedly noticed a young Asian man sitting alone (one of only two diners present), enjoying his Wendy's double. Focused only on the food before him, he seemed intent not to consider anyone else present in the place. It struck me immediately that he had about the same profile of the young Asian man I saw for a fracion of a second as I glanced at the driver of the white Subaru Outback about 15 miles up the expressway. Sure enough, as I looked out the window just beyond him... a white Subaru Outback was one of the two other cards in the nearly empty parking lot.
Clearly he wasn't following me, as he arrived there first, after I had shot ahead of him, then missed the exit, only to rediscover him... and it wasn't like I was glancing over at every driver on the road, and noticing every car... color and make to boot.
I spent the meal wondering if there was some reason for this, and if God was speaking to me to reach out... offer to sit with him, even to just say hello. As I was with my young daughter, the socially embedded mantra of "don't talk to strangers" was my subconscious justification for not being a Christian witness. I attempted to look for an opening... perhaps to catch a glance as he looked around the room to at least offer a friendly "hello." But he remained intent to fully ignore his surroundings even as he may have perceived my intense curiosity as I looked for that opportunity.
I rarely believe that anything like this is just pure cooincidence. We are all members of the body of Christ, and God works through us... if we let Him. Yet he proceeded to complete his lunch and leave, unaware of the internal struggle, and my failure in the virtues of both charity & courage to reach out. How much further I have to go to live up to the example of Pier Giorgio Frassati.
So young Asian man in the white Subaru Outback who stopped at Wendy's in Dearborn today, I pray that God's blessings may reach you in some other way since I failed as a vehicle of His grace.
15 minutes later, and discovering the plane would be late, we decided to stop for food. A Wendy's and Chili's caught our eye, but we missed the exit. The consensus was that we'd stop at a Wendy's... an infrequent dining choice for us, but we made the additional effort to backtrack from the next exit to pursue the square-pattied hamburgers that have lost some attention since the founder has passed. Mind you, we are in the city, amidst a plethora of possibilities, exits at every mile, and a nearby mall food court as an option. At this point you shoul be wondering where this story is going.
I entered the Wendy's, and unexpectedly noticed a young Asian man sitting alone (one of only two diners present), enjoying his Wendy's double. Focused only on the food before him, he seemed intent not to consider anyone else present in the place. It struck me immediately that he had about the same profile of the young Asian man I saw for a fracion of a second as I glanced at the driver of the white Subaru Outback about 15 miles up the expressway. Sure enough, as I looked out the window just beyond him... a white Subaru Outback was one of the two other cards in the nearly empty parking lot.
Clearly he wasn't following me, as he arrived there first, after I had shot ahead of him, then missed the exit, only to rediscover him... and it wasn't like I was glancing over at every driver on the road, and noticing every car... color and make to boot.
I spent the meal wondering if there was some reason for this, and if God was speaking to me to reach out... offer to sit with him, even to just say hello. As I was with my young daughter, the socially embedded mantra of "don't talk to strangers" was my subconscious justification for not being a Christian witness. I attempted to look for an opening... perhaps to catch a glance as he looked around the room to at least offer a friendly "hello." But he remained intent to fully ignore his surroundings even as he may have perceived my intense curiosity as I looked for that opportunity.
I rarely believe that anything like this is just pure cooincidence. We are all members of the body of Christ, and God works through us... if we let Him. Yet he proceeded to complete his lunch and leave, unaware of the internal struggle, and my failure in the virtues of both charity & courage to reach out. How much further I have to go to live up to the example of Pier Giorgio Frassati.
So young Asian man in the white Subaru Outback who stopped at Wendy's in Dearborn today, I pray that God's blessings may reach you in some other way since I failed as a vehicle of His grace.
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