GUEST POST – from The Catholic Hack – “The Gift of Healing”
The Gift of Healing!
I have often prayed for the gift of healing… on my knees asking the Holy Spirit for the charism to heal those most suffering around me. To lay hands on the sick, the dying and to see God heal them… what could be better? How proud I was of myself to have the desire to heal however, I was not being sincere with myself. If I dig deep down, and am honest, I will have to admit that I want that gift, to heal by a miracle act of God’s will, because I have NOT embraced the Cross of Christ.
You see, if I’m honest, I want those around me to be healed because their suffering makes me feel so uncomfortable and I don’t want to feel uncomfortable. I want to take away their pain so that I can feel ok again! How cowardly of me! When Pilot proclaimed “Ecce Homo” to the crowed gathered before him, they looked on with ghastly amazement at the sight of a brutalized victim held up before them. We have all seen “The Passion of The Christ” and therefore we can conjure up an image, in our mind’s eye, of what our Lord might have looked like. Beaten, flesh torn and hanging from his body, the blood soaked purple robe, the crown of thorns penetrating his skull… “Behold the Man”! How many in the crowd, who yelled out “Let his blood be upon us and upon our children” (a strikingly similar statement to the one found in Ex. 24 when Moses sprinkled the blood from the 12 Priests, on 12 alters, upon the people of Israel) also wanted to snap their fingers and have his pain taken away so that they might not feel so uncomfortable?
When St. Peter drew his sword to fend off the attack of the mob come to arrest his Lord in the garden… what did Jesus say… “shall I NOT drink from the cup that my Father has given me to drink?” To dislike the pain and discomfort of suffering is natural… to embrace it… is divine! Manly even!
When you think of the men who inspired you the most; what do they look like? How do they act? What moral character do they
possess? For me… it’s the William Wallaces (the movie… not so much the real man), and the John Waynes of the world, but mostly… it’s Jesus Christ, and my patron saint, St. Peter. The men who always do the right thing no matter what… even when faced with ultimate adversity. Men of extreme integrity. They inspire me the most…. but you say “why St. Peter?; did he not deny our Lord three times?” Why yes he did…. so how can he be included in this list? Because I can relate to him! He was always the one who rushed head long into the wind without thinking first…. and then, when tested, was found weak. I’m weak… I have lots of faults… I always want to the do the right thing and often act before thinking. Yes, I wish I had the kind of courage to step out of the boat! Do you?
Our Lord didn’t toss out St. Peter when he committed so grievous a crime and He does not toss us out either! Another great lesson I learned from St. Peter was humility and the courage it takes to do the right thing even after you have monumentally screwed up. If I had a dollar for every time I have monumentally screwed up I would be a wealthy man… thank God for His mercy and for His sacrament which I can seek and find Reconciliation!
St. Paul said in Colossians 1:24 “I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, that is, the church.”
Do you embrace your sufferings? How about the sufferings around you? I know I want to be the man Jesus is… to take up my cross daily and follow Him. Jesus marched on Calvary Hill like a King before his army… and when faced with extreme adversity, in a garden, He didn’t hide in a bush but rather starred it in the eye and said “I AM”… come and get me. I don’t know about you but I’m sick and tired of being a coward… I want to be like Christ! I want to see past earthly suffering and behold heaven.
This week has been tough, a good friend lost her five-year battle with cancer. Her husband had divorced her, and she has two small boys who will now be taken to the Philippines to live with their dad. Her struggle both inspired me and made me feel extreme uneasiness… I prayed continually for God to heal her so that I would not have to feel this way. Yet, unlike what I would do, Kelley, actually offered up all her pain, and even her death, to God as a sacrifice so that her family might be reconciled and converted, and her boys to grow in faith. Kelley has taught me how to be a better man… to embrace suffering as an opportunity to “fill up that which is lacking in the sufferings of Christ”… namely me and my will to emulate our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now… my father-in-law, John, is also facing the last months of his life on earth in a battle with cancer. I pray for him and fight my urge to be so selfish as to only think of myself in this process. Instead I pray to embrace this suffering, for his sake, that through pain there is the gain of Heaven… the way our Lord laid down for us all. I want the courage to be a saint and to stare adversity in the eye and proclaim that I WILL drink the cup my Father has given me to drink!
Pray for me! God Bless You and I will see you on the Hill!
Sincerely,
The Donkey Jesus Rides today!
Joe McClane
www.CatholicHack.com
catholichack@gmail.com
Twitter: Catholic_Hack
Follow Up Guest Post from Catherine DiNuzzo – “You’re Worth It!”
This post is a follow-up guest post from Catherine DiNuzzo, wife of Dave DiNuzzo. Catherine will continue to guest post on this site. Please leave comments!
Women, you are worth a TrueMan! Believe it!
Women, I want you to listen to me and to listen well. If you come to this site and take anything from it, I want you to remember that
you are special, and a precious gift from the Father! You are worth a TrueMan and you need to expect a TrueMan. I am guessing right now that you may be rolling your eyes and saying to yourself, “if she only knew what I have done or what has happend to me, she would know this is not true for me.” I know you are saying this because every time I talk to my girlfriends or speak to women at speaking engagements about this, I see women look down and shy away from me; their body language screaming these words.
God created you in His image and as the perfect mate for your “Adam”. If God created you, and everything that God creates is good, then you must be worthy of goodness… a TrueMan. When I think about my friends who refuse to believe this “cardinal rule”, most of the time it is because some less-than-virtuous man has taken advantage of them. Sometimes this is done through psychological manipulation and other times by force. To me, it doesn’t matter what has happened in your past. What is important is where you go from here. If women are going to expect men to change then we must also change. The first step in this change is loving yourself enough to except only virtuous men in your life.
How do you do it, you ask? First of all, you need to look inside yourself and break down any walls that are keeping you from seeing the true value you possess. These walls may have been past relationships gone bad, decisions that you made that hurt yourself or others, or anything that holds you back from seeing the marvelous treasure that God created you to be.
I too had to go through this step, and it was not easy. When I was in high school and college, I was in a very abusive relationship, both physically and mentally. It ended badly and with the depression that set in from being a victim of domestic violence, I turned to drinking in excess. With my life spinning downward, I had no confidence that I could ever love myself again. I was certain that I would never find a virtuous “TrueMan” who would want to love me. So, I stopped looking. After many years of this way of thinking, I was at a 3-day party, with lots of drinking and men. As I drove home, I hit my bottom. I had no self esteem, no joy in my life. I could easily say I was empty in every sense of the word. So in tears, I looked up to Heaven and said “GOD, I give up! I can’t don’t do this anymore.” I truly believe that I felt the Holy Spirit come down and shower me with grace and love. I could hear God saying, “I love you, let me take care of you, trust in my love, I am here.” And that is what I did! From that point on, pain from my past slowly started to go away. For the first time in seven years, I was able to see myself as a blessed gift that God had created. That very day, I went on a group date with Dave, my future husband!
Women, love yourself! Force yourself to see the treasure that God has created you to be. If there are walls that are blocking you from seeing this, take it to prayer and ask God to help you break down the walls. Know that in this battle, you are not alone. God is there wait for you to put your hand out and ask for help.
Fr Benedict Groeschel, a TrueMan
To call Fr Benedict a TrueMan is an understatement. What a witness, a leader, a servant! A great example to everyone. I came across this Grassroots Films video – even thought it’s a few weeks dated, I wanted to post it.
For those who don’t know, Fr Benedict Groeschel is one of the most well-known Catholic priests of our times. He started the C.F.R.s, the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and many other organizations and projects. (For a good article on Fr Benedict, click here.)
You Can’t Fight Based on Fear
Over the years, in dealing with my addiction to pornography, I’ve realized some pretty profound things. Things about myself, about addiction, the pornography industry and how to overcome this incredible evil. [If you haven’t read through my 5 Step Plan to Overcoming an Addiction to Porn, please click HERE before you continue reading this post. – We’ll wait.] As you know, I liken this sin to a battle, an incredible fight that we enter into with evil. A man must enter into this fight aggressively in order to come out victorious. A thought I’ve had lately is that we can’t fight out of fear.
We can’t fight an addiction to porn (or any addiction) because we fear things – the fear of being caught, the fear of ruining a relationship, the fear of having to confess our sins (again), the fear of our work finding inappropriate material on their computer, 
the fear of failing, the fear of giving in to the temptation, etc. A soldier doesn’t go into battle fearful – he goes in confident in his training, his abilities and his leadership. He knows that because of the work he’s put in up to this point (the training), that he’ll prevail. He trusts his leadership to guide him through this tough time, quite possibly the hardest thing he’s ever done, or ever will do. We’re the same way, except here, our salvation is on the line.
Fight aggressively, fight with honor, fight for your life. Go into this battle knowing that you have God on your side, that you can accomplish all things through Him (Philippians 4:13) and that YOU WILL BE VICTORIOUS!
There is a fear that is healthy for us, in this battle… the fear of offending God. The use of pornography (and typically the sexual behavior that stems from its use) is sin – mortal sin. We greatly offend God; through our actions, we turn away from God’s love. We lose all trust in God. Sin is a real thing, a serious thing. Sin removes charity from our heart and separates us from God. Fearing the loss of salvation (by our choices and actions) is a healthy fear to have.
Man up!
When They Leave God Out
There are some men’s sites out there, trying to do some good work, trying to “get” at the heart of manhood. You may be familiar with The Art of Manliness, the National Fatherhood Initiative or maybe you’ve seen some footage recently on The Good Men Project – I’ve seen them all over the internet and videos of their TV appearances. I’m glad these sites, projects, books and resources are out there for men. However, when they leave God out, they’re leaving out THE important piece. Without God, faith in God and love for God, a male simply cannot fulfill his role as a man. Plain and simple.
Watch this video, and note, starting around 1:23, the attitude about “manhood being up for grabs” and “at a turning point”. And again, starting around 2:10, “there’s no good answer” – in reference to what makes a man “good”. And one last specific time to notice, 4:28 where again the notion of manhood is ever-changing and up to every one’s own interpretation.
I highly disagree with this line of thinking. There IS a standard, a definition. There is a specific way that a man can be a “good” man. It’s called virtue! Same with the *interesting* preacher from two posts ago, they’re missing the essential pieces about manhood. God guides us, strengthens us, enlivens us. Without God, we can’t live TrueManhood.
Man up!
Veteran’s Day 2009 – Thank a Vet Today
Veteran’s Day 2009 – Thank a vet today. It’s the least we can all do. I plan on making some phone calls and continuing to thank each and every soldier that I see in public. I have the privilege of working with soldiers, and knowing soldiers, and being close to soldiers. What you do for us is a great example of sacrifice and service. Our words of gratitude will never be enough.
Please check out these two videos. The first, from Applebee’s is very impressive. I encourage everyone to let a veteran or active duty member know about this deal. It’s the little things that go so far. I wish I could stand in front of our local restaurant and shake all the veteran’s hands. Maybe I’ll have to make a quick stop by there today. The second video is a compilation of some pictures of our awesome heroes. (Neither video are mine.)
Interesting Take on What Makes a Man a Man… (Funny Video)
You may or may not believe this video. I’m still not exactly sure what this preacher was talking about, or why he was talking about it. Before you watch it, let’s clarify what makes a male a man (a TrueMan)… virtue. Virtue is what makes a male a man. Prudence, Fortitude, Justice and Temperance. Faith, Hope and Love. Live them. (In Latin, virtus means manliness.) Here’s the video, have a good laugh.
Man up!
