all things well

Mark 7:31-37

 31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of the Decap'olis. 32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech; and they besought him to lay his hand upon him. 33 And taking him aside from the multitude privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue; 34 and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, "Eph'phatha," that is, "Be opened." 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And he charged them to tell no one; but the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well; he even makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak."

Exhortations 

How do you expect the Lord to treat you when you ask for his help? Do you approach with fear and doubt, or with faith and confidence? Jesus never turned anyone aside who approached him with sincerity and trust.

And whatever Jesus did, he did well. He demonstrated both the beauty and goodness of God in his actions. When Jesus approaches a man who is both deaf and a stutterer, Jesus shows his considerateness for this man's predicament.

Jesus takes him aside privately, not doubt to remove him from embarrassment with a noisy crowd of gawkers. Jesus then puts his fingers into the deaf man's ears and he touches the man's tongue with his own spittle to physically identify with this man's infirmity and to awaken faith in him.

With a word of command the poor man's ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. What is the significance of Jesus putting his fingers into the man’s ears?

Gregory the Great, a church father from the 6th century, comments on this miracle: “The Spirit is called the finger of God. When the Lord puts his fingers into the ears of the deaf mute, he was opening the soul of man to faith through the gifts of the Holy Spirit.”

 The people's response to this miracle testifies to Jesus' great care for others: He has done all things well. No problem or burden was too much for Jesus' careful consideration.

 The Lord treats each of us with kindness and compassion and he calls us to treat one another in like manner. The Holy Spirit who dwells within us enables us to love as Jesus loves.

Do you show kindness and compassion to your neighbors and do you treat them with considerateness as Jesus did?

5th visit to the parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help

SO, This Wednesday's observations all took place in the evening as the parish conducted sessions of different groups as an introduction to Sacramental Preparation.

Among the four of us, me, Andy, Brian and Pete, we did observe and participate as well on the following parish activities which were conducted in Our Lady of Perpetual Help School: Confirmation Preparation Session; Baptism Preparation Class; and Faith First. ( Their Faith Formation Classes for children attending public schools, included a class of 2nd graders preparing for First Communion.)

The four of us arrived at the parish center around 6:00PM(New Albany Time), and were given a brief overview of the parish Sacramental Preparation Programs by the pastor himself, Fr Eric.

Afterwards, Fr Eric left us for a Penance Service at a neighboring parish, but he made sure we're settled and in good hands for the evening, working with staff members Michelle (Confirmation), Tom (Baptism), or Lori (First Communion/Faith First).

Pete and me were assigned to work with Lori in the First Communion/Faith First groups while Andy was detailed to work with Michelle in the Confirmation group. Likewise, Brian worked with Tom for the Baptism group.

The activities were finished at 8:30PM. We headed back to the seminary by 8:45Pm and arrived the campus by 10:00PM.
I headed myself to the monastery cloister while the three of my groupmates went straight to the seminary dormitory at the 3rd floor of the seminary's St Gregory building.

Photos show different groups in action.

10 reasons to make a retreat

They say that making a retreat is the most satisfying act that anyone can achieve in one's life. But more often than not, most of the people who undergo and make or join retreats do not really have the concrete reasons in hand to guide them in their personal journeying. In today's age of hustle bustle, it is highly advised that one who plans to make a retreat has to underscore significant reasons in order to arrive at the best results. The goal to achieve must be attained and this makes retreat a satisfactory one.

In this regard, I have listed at least ten powerful reasons to make a successful retreat and here they are:

1.) To solve your personal problems. - Nothing works as a greater spur to resolving problems than getting away from one's ordinary environment for a period of time to see and meditate on God's will, while looking over your own life from a distance. Private, personal desires begin to look very unimportant. God's will and God's love gradually appear to be what they really are: the most important goals in the world.

2.) To get away from wordly distractions - Because the world around you bombards you constantly about material things, you must get away from it once in a while. Never in history was the world's voice louder than it is today - in television, radio, newpapers, magazines, the Internet, social gatherings, business contacts and advertising. At a retreat, you're reminded that you can only really enjoy the god things of the world if you are living for something bigger that this world- and that is God.

3.) To renew your lifetime goals - You constantly need new ideas, more knowledge and deeper convictions about your primary goals in life, and an effective way of attaining them is through making a retreat. A retreat accomplishes the feat of increasing your spiritual goals better than any other means.

4.) To open your heart to God's love - You are granted an extraordinary store of special graces fro good Christian living through the exercises of a retreat. Extraordinary miracles of conversion have been effective through retreats, chiefly because of the great graces God bestows on those who make them well.

5.) To get advice about personal concerns - During a retreat, you are given an opportunity to discuss personally, with an expert in spiritual matters, the special problems that have come up in your life. (However, in the case of a silent and closed-personal retreat, usually done by monks and nuns and other Religious, getting a spiritual advisor may not apply.)

6.) To meet people who share your faith - You will meet and mingle with other men or women from various walks of life. Their example will encourage and inspire you, and their common prayers and sacrifices will help you. Some of your greatest encouragement will be derived from a few words with a fellow retreatant who has already met and solved problems like your own. (However, this does not apply to Cloistered monks and nuns.)

7.) To strengthen your concern and zeal - You will be prepared and fortified with your retreat to help others in temptation or trouble whom you are bound to meet in your daily life. Those who make retreats find themselves eager to speak of supernatural realities, even to worldly minded people.

8.) To examine your faults and plan progress - You owe it to your family to check up on your faults by healthy self-examination away from the family circle - during a retreat. You can find out what kind of a person you are only by getting away from your present situation once in a while, and looking carefully at the ideal you should be working toward and the reality you have actually been.

9.) To get some rest and relaxation - You will actually enjoy making a retreat. It can be a new, refreshing, relaxing and restful experience. With the tremendous spiritual good that is done for your soul, there usually comes a sense of relaxation and rest for the body. That makes a retreat worthwhile - even in the purely physical order.

10.) To talk with people who regularly make retreats - Tens of thousands of men and women testify to the incalculable good that has come to them through their retreat. If you have any lingering doubts about whether you will enjoy making a retreat, or whether you will get any good out of it, ask friends who make regular retreats. Chances are you will be given such an enthusiastic pep talk that all your doubts will be swept away either green wood or dry. (Again, this does not apply to contemplative cloistered monks and nuns.)

visiting the Filipino parishioners of Olney, Illinois

visiting the Filipino parishioners of Cape Girardeau, Missouri

meeting the parishioners of the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky

visiting seminarians undergoing the "CPE" program in SOuthEast Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Missouri