Today is the feast of St. George, who is very popular among Eastern Christians as well as school-age boys everywhere. We know little about St. George, who was an early Church martyr, but of course he is best known for the mythical tale of his slaying of a dragon.

Although the stories surrounding St. George are the stuff of legend, as a martyr he truly did slay a dragon, for he overcame the Evil One who is the prince of this world. By giving his entire life for Christ, he was able to defeat the power of Satan, the great dragon.

We too have dragons in our lives. The persistent sins that we can’t seem to overcome, the fear that keeps us from boldly proclaiming Christ, and the disordered sexuality that surrounds us are all dragons that we must slay. Fortunately for us we do not fight alone nor are we to fight our dragons unarmed:

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:11-17)

St. George, pray for us!

I want to recommend a number of interesting articles I have come across recently:

Jesus, Yahweh: The Name Above Every Name – An article by Dave Brown addressing the Jehoveh’s Witnesses’ rejection of the divinity of Christ.

The Anatomy of Conversion – The conversion story of David Mills, a Catholic author.

Doing Penance for Others – Mark Shea looks at the (often misunderstood) practice of doing penance for other people.

The Silence of the Monks – An article on the monks of Norcia written by Robert Moynihan. I have a good friend who is a member of that order.

Enjoy!

An article over at U.S Catholic recently caught my attention. It involved an interview with Donna Freitas about being “evangelical” and Catholic, specifically as that relates to attracting young people to the Church. One of the “tips” she offers is:

3. Remember that evangelical does not equal orthodox. Many think that becoming an evangelical Catholic means embracing all of the rules and practices of traditional Catholicism. This, however, only appeals to a small subset of conservative Catholic youth, Freitas says. Orthodoxy does not appeal to the average young person as much as a youth-created culture does.

There are a number of problems with this “tip.” The first is that Freitas treats the terms “orthodox,” “traditional” and “conservative” as synonyms. But of course they are not: “orthodox” means “right belief,” and therefore it follows that the orthodox person will want to conserve a tradition only if it is true. If it is false, the orthodox believer will work to liberate us from that tradition.

Secondly, by dismissing the importance of orthodoxy, Freitas is undercutting the full power of the Gospel. When evangelizing anyone – including young people – we are not evangelizing them to rules or practices, we are evangelizing them to Jesus Christ. But the rules and practices of the Faith, developed over the centuries by the Church and lived by the Saints, have been proven to bring us closer to Christ and allow us to live the Gospel life most fully. As evangelists, we are like tour guides; we point the way to the destination, which is Jesus Christ himself. But if we don’t have a map to follow, we can’t guide anyone else to him. Thus, an embrace of orthodox Catholicism is not a matter of being “traditional” or “conservative,” it is a matter of following the best path to Jesus Christ. By withholding that from our young people, we are doing them a grave disservice.

Finally, she talks about orthodoxy not being an “appealing” message to the “average young person,” and instead we need a “youth-created culture.” The emphasis is all wrong here: it is Jesus Christ who is appealing, not our message or our culture. What we need is a Christ-centered culture, not a youth-centered one (which is what a “youth-created” culture would be).  Orthodoxy is the best way to Jesus, thus it is the most appealing message and culture for those whose hearts are open to Christ.

We have seen almost fifty years of failed attempts at evangelization that involved watering down the Gospel and avoiding any taint of “orthodoxy.” It is time we as evangelical Catholics proclaimed the Gospel in all its fullness, and trust that the power of the Gospel will appeal to all whom the Father calls to Himself.

Dr. Gary Smalley is a popular Christian marriage counselor who has written numerous books to help strengthen marriages. In this video, he takes a bit of a different – and more humorous -  approach:

H/t: Byzantine, TX

A Long Island woman fulfilled her dream of becoming a nun recently. Nothing too exceptional about that, except the fact that she is 92 years old!

Greek-born Chrystalla Petropoulou, of Long Island, NY has fulfilled a lifelong dream. At the age of 92, the Mattituck resident has become a nun in the Greek Orthodox Church…

Petropoulou, seated in her wheelchair, officially became a nun on April 17, 2010 at the new All Saints Greek Orthodox Monastery in Calverton, Long Island. Along with Elizabeth Brandenburg, aged 28, and Maria Kallis, aged 27, Petropoulou received a new religious name and a new black habit. The three women each had hair in the shape of a cross ceremonially snipped from their heads.

Petropoulou, aided by her relatives and the Greek Orthdox population in Calverton, was one of the leaders in the community effort to build this monastery. In 1997, Petropoulou herself deposited $13.00 in a special bank account. This $13.00 became the basis of the fund-raising effort to get the monastery built….

In 2005, when the monastery was completed, Sunday services began. But the monastery lacked nuns. Unfortunately Petropoulou, who had dreamt of this since childhood, was now too sick and frail to do it alone. All of that changed when Brandenburg (of St. Louis) and Kallis (of Detroit) agreed to move into the Calverton monastery last August. Petropoulou followed on their heels in September. In all, five women currently live at the Calverton Monastery, and two others are expected soon…

Born in Cyprus, Petropoulou never married and has no children. Although she’d wanted to become a nun “since the day I was born,” life stood in the way. Her family moved first to England, then to the United States, where there was no monastery available in which she could have studied. When she grew older, she stayed at home to care for her elderly parents.

In the end, the dream of her childhood has become a reality. Speaking through an interpreter, Petropoulou told Newsday reporters, “I don’t care about doctors. I don’t care about medicine. I just want to die at the monastery.”

It is encouraging to know that women like Petropoulou are praying for the Church and the world. May God grant her many (more) years!

I was teaching Catechism to my son yesterday, and our topic was vocations. I was talking about living various vocations in the Church, such as being a lay person or a priest. At dinner, my wife was asking him what he learned about vocations, and he said,

“Well, you can either be a priest or a lame person.”

If you have been involved in Catholic evangelization for any length of time, you have heard the popular quote attributed to St. Francis, “Preach the Gospel always. If necessary, use words.” Typically the quote is used to show that one does not have to outwardly talk about Christ in order to evangelize, but instead one’s life is the primary means of evangelization.

But there are a number of problems with this quote and its use today.  First, it was not said by St. Francis. The first reference to it comes centuries after the death of Francis, and frankly, it does not jibe in any way with the great Saint’s life. After all, Francis went town to town preaching to the people, and his life’s desire was to preach to the Sultan. Heck, Francis even preached to birds! Nothing in his life leads one to believe that he would have said anything of this nature.

Another problem is that all too often this quote is used to assuage the feelings of Catholics who are afraid to tell people about Christ, making them feel comfortable with not preaching the Gospel with words. They are led to believe that just living a Christian life is all that is necessary and that God will convert others even if we don’t say anything to them. The truth is that God has made words integral to preaching the Gospel – they are not just an afterthought – and also that just about every Catholic is called to evangelization with words.

Furthermore, this quote is not consistent with the teachings of the New Testament. “Evangelization” comes from the Greek word for “proclaiming good news” and one of its original uses was in the context of announcing news of military victory. This good news was proclaimed to a town, letting them know that they were now free from the enemy. The first Christians quickly adopted the word to mean the proclamation of the good news of Christ’s victory over sin and death. The Acts of the Apostles is a story of evangelization, and it has three main characters: Peter, Stephen, and Paul. Each of these three men are seen boldly proclaiming – with words – the Gospel message. There is little mention of how they lived their lives outside of their preaching.

The reason for this is that it was assumed that Christians would live lives of holiness. One would not preach about something that had not changed one’s own life. In fact, the main message of Paul’s preaching was often: look how Jesus has changed my life! But he did not simply live a changed life – he told others about it. To think that Paul, or any other evangelist, would reduce evangelization to just living a Christian life is ludicrous.

Christianity is very much tied to the spoken and written word. After all, the foundation of our faith is the fact that “the Word became flesh.” Jesus Christ is the Word, and we very often need to use words to bring others to him. I would not be Catholic today if my college roommate had not used words (many of them) to explain and defend the Catholic Faith. Yes, the witness of other Catholics’ lives was very instrumental in my conversion, but without the proclamation of the Gospel by my roommate, I would have never decided to become Catholic.

None of this is to say that we should not strive to live a holy life that witnesses to Christ’s love in our lives. This is just assumed of the Christian. But if you live a truly Christian life, it is impossible that you will not be asked about it and that you will not have opportunities to tell others about Christ. As just one example, my wife cannot go anywhere with our five kids without someone making a comment about it. This gives her plenty of opportunities to tell others about the life-giving love of God.

This is also not to say that everyone should do street preaching (although some are called to it). The most effective evangelization is that which is done one-on-one between people who know each other already, i.e. with family members, friends, and co-workers. These people see your life on a regular basis, and you have many opportunities to tell them the reason for the hope that is within you. Often this will mean explicitly telling them about Jesus Christ. Like I already mentioned, if you live a Christian life, God will give you plenty of opportunities to tell others about Christ. Let us not waste those opportunities.

With all this in mind, I think a more fitting quote to attribute to St. Francis would be, “Preach the Gospel always. In words and in deeds.”

Friday has always been a day of penance in the Church. Even during this glorious season of Easter, Friday is still a day we should reflect on our Lord’s passion and death and do some penance in reparation for our sins and the sins of the whole world. A traditional penance for Fridays is to abstain from meat, but, at least in the United States, we are free to choose our Friday penance. When we perform a penance, we should offer an intention with it so that we might follow Paul’s advice and offer up our sufferings “on behalf of his body, which is the church” (Col. 1:24).

Pope Benedict, in his letter to the Catholics of Ireland, asked that their Friday penances over the next year (from now until Easter 2011) be offered for healing and renewal for Ireland in the face of the scandals that have rocked the Irish church. And just this past week, Benedict stated that penance is necessary as a response to the attacks of the world.

Thus, I don’t think I am going out on a limb to suggest that the Pope would love it if every Catholic worldwide were to offer their Friday penances for the next year for healing and renewal in the universal Church. Today is the first Friday we can make this intention (last Friday was part of the Octave of Easter and therefore not a day of penance), so please consider offering your penance today – and every Friday in the coming year – for healing and renewal in the Church as she battles against great evil, from both inside and outside the Church.

Today is also Pope Benedict’s birthday, so consider this year-long Friday practice a perfect birthday gift for him!

St. Teresa of Avila often emphasized that one of the most important virtues in the spiritual life is perseverance. All of us can get excited and begin some spiritual practice or work of mercy, but it takes perseverance to practice it over and over, no matter the circumstances.

As a model of perseverance, we should look to a young man from Cincinnati, Ohio:

The White House staffers who open President Barrack Obama’s mail are likely well aware of Tommy Behan’s pro-life stance.

Behan, a member of St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish and a sophomore at Lakota East High School, has written the president every day since Obama’s inauguration asking him to change his position on abortion. The 16-year-old has handwritten and mailed more than 430 letters.

“His stance is the most radical pro-choice one for a president who has ever held office,” said Behan. “In the first letter I made a vow to never stop writing until he changed it or he’s out of office.”

The teen usually writes in the evenings. He avoids email, preferring to show his passion with the extra effort a handwritten letter requires. His parents supply the pens, paper and stamps. If Behan gets pressed for time and misses a day, he’ll write additional letters until he is caught up. The letters are sometimes mailed in batches.

Behan begins each letter by telling Obama how many times he has written before. Then the teen argues the constitutionality of abortion, talks about justice for the unborn and tells of the lives that have been lost. His stance is straightforward: Life begins at conception and comes before liberty, he said.

“I keep building on my argument,” Behan said. “It really upsets me how some people choose to have an abortion when others really want to have children.”

One of six children, Behan has seen his sister and her husband suffer miscarriages. That experience has made him more passionate and given him more resolve to try to get Obama to publicly change his position.

After about three months of writing Behan received a form letter from the White House. There have been about 17 more since. The generic replies thank him for writing and sometimes acknowledge the topic.

The teen also debated the issue in an editorial in Spark, a well-known student magazine at Lakota East.

“He’s always had a deep respect for life,” said Behan’s mother, Jude Behan. “We’re very proud of him. This was not initiated by us.”

She said her son is dedicated to the letter-writing campaign and is self-motivated.

“I think his voice is being heard, and that’s what’s important,” Jude Behan said. “The ultimate is to respect life, and for those wee little one who don’t have a voice of their own, he wants to be their voice.”

Though he is persistent, Behan doesn’t expect a personal reply or phone call from the president. He also knows the president may not change his opinion, but in the end, Behan will be pleased if he honors his vow to keep writing.

Still, the teen does hope his efforts will encourage others to follow suit and contact the president regarding abortion, at least via email.

“When I wrote the first letter, I didn’t think it would go this far at all,” Behan said. “It’s been building momentum, and it’s hard to stop now. It’s definitely a cause worth fighting for.”

What an amazing young man! Would that we all would be as persistent as he is in fighting evil and preaching the Gospel.

H/t: Rich

Sad news.

In my work with Little Flowers Foundation over the past eight years, I have been involved with a number of adoptions from Russia. One thing I can tell you for sure: the life of an unadopted orphan after they leave an orphanage is very rough in Russia. They are basically left out on the street with no support system and no money. Many of the girls end up as prostitutes and the boys end up in a life of crime. Adopting them before they get to that point is often the only chance these children will ever have at a normal life.

Pray for this situation and for all the children in Russia who need a family. Also, if you are so inclined and able, please consider a donation to Little Flowers Foundation and we will use it to help Catholic families bring these type of children into their homes.

I saw this on Mark Shea’s blog and I couldn’t help but re-post it here:

A well-known rule for using the Internet is that “you shouldn’t post anything on the Internet that you wouldn’t say in person.” I would actually go further. I would say that sometimes you shouldn’t post something on the Internet even if you would say it in person. Over the years I have countless times seen innocent emails or Internet posts lead to stupid arguments due to simple misunderstandings. When you write something, there is no way for the person reading it to see your body language or hear the inflection of your words or recognize your sarcasm. And because most Internet writing is done quickly without a lot of forethought, the words used might not convey exactly what the writer intended.

When it comes to Internet communications, both the writer and the reader have responsibilities:

Writer: Read and re-read your writing before you post it. Try to read it objectively, without the inflections that are in your head. Try to find ways in which it can be misunderstood before you post it.

Reader: Read the writing in the best possible light. Assume the best of the writer. Don’t add your own inflections to the writing, but try to look at it as objectively as possible. Even if you think you know that the writer intended to slam you or your beliefs, first confirm with the writer what he meant before you respond.

For more advice on safely navigating the Internet without losing your soul, see my Rules of Engagement for Catholics on the Internet.

Yesterday I wrote that the Catholic’s proper response to the scandals is to become a saint. Someone then emailed me and reasonably asked, “How do you become a saint?”

I have always taken a very practical view of this question. I don’t see sainthood as something mysterious or ethereal. I see it as something every person can obtain if they take concrete steps to do it. Here are five steps I would recommend:

1) Ask God to make you a saint. Frankly, without His help, it’s a losing battle, so you better begin with this. The good news is that He is more than willing to help you in your battle for sanctity.

2) Frequent the Sacraments. Frequently. Most spiritual directors advise attending Mass daily if possible, and confession at least monthly. I would recommend going to confession even more frequently, for it prevents our little sins from growing into big ones.

3) Pray. Try to spend at least 30 minutes a day in private prayer. You can’t know what God wants from you unless you talk to Him a lot.

4) Practice the virtues. This is the least flashy of all the recommendations, but it is vital in the battle for sanctity. One cannot be a saint without being patient with your spouse and kids, kind to your co-workers and loving to your parents. The first step to being a saint is being human.

5) Read the Bible and the lives of the saints. If you want to be a professional baseball player, you are going to read about those who have already achieved that level to see how it is done. Likewise with sainthood: reading the Bible and the lives of the saints gives great guidance for becoming a saint yourself.

Obviously, there are many other things you can do on the path to sanctity, but if you just follow the five steps above, you will be well on your way. And don’t be discouraged when you fall in your attempts to practice these steps. A distinguishing mark of the saints is that when they fall, they always get back up.

Seth Godin had a great post the other day about “Breaking News:” the habit of news agencies to make every run-of-the-mill story “breaking” in order to goose their ratings. He writes:

I have a new article posted over at Catholic Exchange called Better than Bitter — Even in the Face of Scandal. In it, I apply the principles I outlined in my blog post To be deep in history is to cease to be angry to the current scandals facing the Church.

Check it out!

With all the troubles that are afflicting the Church right now, many self-inflicted, faithful Catholics are asking themselves, what can I do? What can I do to help the Church, to overcome the evil that seems to be both inside and right outside the doors of the Church?

The answer is simple: become a saint.

I don’t say that flippantly. I really mean it. There is one way, and one way only, for each of us to help the Church. Become a saint. One of my favorite all-time quotes is from St. Josemaría Escrivá: “These world crises are crises of saints”. All crises that occur in the world are due to a lack of saints, and the only person we can make a saint is ourselves. And the great thing is that the Almighty God wants nothing more than for each of us to be saints, so we have Him on our side in our battle for sanctity.

So what are you waiting for? If you want to help the Church, become a saint. Today.