Lay Apostolates Archives - Amazing Catechists

Serving God is all about Re-gifting

As Christmas approaches we begin to hear the familiar stories about gifts, traditions, and what is appropriate or not regarding gifts. I remember growing up hearing horror stories about people passing unwanted gifts to others or, as accurately described in popular culture, “re-gifting”. The argument against this practice centered around being cheap, ungrateful, inconsiderate, and deceptive. The general feeling in those days was that re-gifting was a slap in the face of the original giver, and a blatant sign of ingratitude or disrespect for the time and effort that person put into giving the gift. Certainly, even today, most would agree that giving away a personalized or meaningful gift is improper form, as would be passing over a used or dusty gift from the past.

However, a review of more recent thoughts regarding this practice shows a growing sentiment away from total negativity toward measured acceptance and even praise of this behavior. The general sentiment seems to be that passing off an unwanted gift to someone who might enjoy or use such a gift more is a noble way of avoiding waste and spreading enjoyment. It seems that, as long as good taste and practicality is observed, many people today do not automatically shun re-gifting if the recipient will benefit or enjoy a gift which would otherwise remain unused.

The Magi brought the infant Jesus gifts in the form of gold, frankincense and myrrh, and some joke that the latter two gifts were certainly re-gifted since gold would be the preferred gift. In all seriousness, gifts were part of the very first Christmas because the Infant Jesus is a gift from God in every sense of the word. Moving forward, Our Lord’s entire ministry on earth was a continuous gift as the perfect example of loving service and care for others that we are all called to follow. Saint Therese the Little Flower once stated that she wanted to come before God with empty hands which were free of all the gifts God had given her which had been offered to others. We know from the famous Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) that we are expected to turn God’s investment in our talents into a profit of service to others.

Simply put, we re-gift when we use the gifts God has given us to serve others. Our abilities and skills do not belong to us but, rather, are merely temporary possessions which we must use to bring God’s touch to others. The singer too lazy to sing for others or, worse, who merely uses her talent to gain personal fame and material possessions without helping others is ignoring the purpose of that God-given gift. The excellent public speaker or writer who uses his talent to spread harm or create hatred is certainly misusing his talent.

At the end of the day, then, following Christ is re-gifting for the glory of God, and you are certainly welcome to pass that thought to others.

Gabriel Garnica, 2016

Gospel Shock and the Theology of the Body

By Lisa Mladinich

CATECHIST AND PARENT ALERT: I invited Bill Donaghy, a Curriculum Specialist, Instructor, and Speaker for the Theology of the Body Institute to give us a quick summary of some of the ideas behind the TOB and the Institute’s upcoming congress.

Lisa: Hey, Bill! Thank you, so much, for taking the time to lay a foundation for our readers in understanding what the TOB is all about and learning more about the upcoming TOB Congress.

Briefly, what is the Theology of the Body?

Bill: The Theology of the Body is a refreshed, renewed vision of the beauty and dignity of the human person and our universal call to love and communion, which is written in our very sexuality as male and female. It is a penetrating series of meditations on both Sacred Scripture and human experience by St. John Paul II that reveals our fundamental call to become a gift, and through this gift, to fulfill the very meaning of our being and existence!

Lisa: Sounds incredibly rich. What is the Theology of the Body Institute?

Bill: The Theology of the Body Institute is a 501(c)3non- profit, educational organization promoting the Theology of the Body at the popular level of both the Christian and the secular cultures. Through graduate level courses, on-site programs and clergy training, Theology of the Body Institute seeks to penetrate and permeate the culture with a vision of true sexuality that appeals to the deepest yearnings of the human heart for love and union.

Lisa: Would you share the journey that led you to work at the Theology of the Body Institute?

Bill: I was privileged to be a part of the World Mission Jubilee in Rome in the year 2000. By “chance” I was chosen to represent the United States along with 11 other representatives from other countries as a symbolic image echoing the original 12 apostles. We were seated near St. John Paul II for the World Mission Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s on October 22, and each received personally from him a mission cross which he placed over our heads. He said that we must “bring Jesus back to our country.” Needless to say, I was ruined after that day! How could I not dedicate my life to the New Evangelization? I found myself consuming his written works, and speaking around my little part of the world about the great things God was doing in the world. This mission spread throughout the USA, and when the Theology of the Body Institute was formed, I was invited to become a speaker for the Institute on St. John Paul II’s beautiful teaching the Theology of the Body. It was the most natural progression for me. God placed it on my heart, all I had to do was say YES!

Lisa: What an incredible witness. I know so many people whose lives were transformed by contact with St. John Paul II.

What is the greatest need in our culture today?

Bill: Great question, and I think it’s a simple answer. We need communion. We need to see and know each other, to love each other. St. Augustine said it best over 1600 years ago! “The deepest desire of the human heart is to see another and to be seen.” I think our over-stimulated, techno-holic culture has become so obsessed with screens and gadgets and quick downloads, we’ve forgotten this most basic human need… to see and to be seen. To know and be known by another. This takes time, and vulnerability, and honesty. But it so slakes the thirst of our hearts for communion!

Lisa: Great point. In teaching young people, we really need to meet them where they’re at and find a way past their screens.

What motivates you to do what you do?

Bill: I guess I’m motivated by beauty, ultimately. The beauty of life, of creation, of other people, and of God Who I think is playing a kind of “hide and seek” behind and through it all with us. The Theology of the Body has really been such a personal gift for me, to see with this kind of “sacramental vision.” It’s captivating to think and to experience that everything speaks; literally everything can become a vehicle for God to communicate His Mystery to us, culminating in the Eucharist. Life is such a gift. It becomes a romance when we realize He is the Lover seeking us His beloved.

Lisa: Amen! Take this even further for us; explain, using your own experiences, how you have found that every human heart has the same desires?

Bill: I think it’s been my own love of music, and art, and movies that has helped me to plug into this universal ache for communion and love that we all feel. It was Van Morrison’s tune “Into the Mystic” that really moved me as a young man. I think I was 16 years old. I felt this pull in the center of my chest into something, Someone, that was so big. Much bigger than me! Bigger than I could contain actually. It was scary, and beautiful, all at the same time. Then you read your philosophers (the ancients are the most clear headed I think). And the poetry, and the love that makes saints and mystics. You start to see our beautiful diversity but in and through our unified desire for a oneness. Our hearts are restless, Augustine said, until they rest in Him. I have found this to be profoundly true.

Lisa: The news is awful, these days. How might we unite beauty and suffering in our broken world?

Bill: You just have to watch the most beautiful movie that was ever made (which is about suffering) and you’ll get it: The Passion of the Christ. You’ll find that authentic beauty gives you in fact a kind of pain. The pain of longing that says “You were made for more. This world cannot contain your heart! Listen, and even in sorrow, hope!” To quote Dostoyevsky, “In the end, Beauty will redeem the world!”

Lisa: Can you explain what a Culture of Life is and what it looks like?

Bill: I think an authentic Culture of Life is a place where the other person is more important than me. It’s a place that rejoices in life, in beauty, in innocence, in the wisdom of old age, in our strength and in our vulnerability. The Culture of Life is anything but boring! It sees everything as a gift, and all of those gifts are calls for us to rise up and out of ourselves for others. That’s really why we are here after all! We are here to be a gift and to see others as a gift.

Lisa: Do you think the general attitude towards sex and sexuality is improving or getting worse?

Bill: Well, that’s a tricky question. I used to think it couldn’t get much worse, but I think the saying is true, “It’s always darkest before the dawn.” We have so disintegrated our identity, our hearts and our bodies and our souls. We are seeking meaning and purpose and a point to it all, and that’s a good thing! I just think that there’s really only one place left to go: to the healing. The prodigal son at some point, turned around and made the journey home. I think the general attitude towards sex is starting to reveal its utter shame and hollowness. We are still hungry. We need redirection, a sexual reorientation. And the Father is running out to meet us, in the body, with St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body! What a grace-filled time to be alive!

Lisa: I agree, totally. Do you think the teachings of Saint John Paul II have the power to restore our culture and build a Culture of Life?

Bill: I have absolutely no doubt that Theology of the Body is the antidote. After my first encounter with it in a Catholic bookstore at age 16, in 1986, and a reawakening after many years (in 2000), it has spoken to my heart and healed me. It has a powerful grace in it, a gospel shock, a solidity and a weight of glory that is exactly what our tired world is looking for. God gives the Church just what She needs when she needs it. All we have to do now is open up our hearts, and receive it.

Lisa: A lot of people are really excited about the 2016 TOB Congress. Tell us why it’s causing such a buzz.

Bill: This is an incredible opportunity that offers everyone the chance to hear world-renowned speakers/experts on a variety of topics through the lens of TOB. Our theme this year is “Love, Mercy, and the Gift of the Family.” It will take place in Ontario, California. Some of our speakers are SR. HELENA BURNS, BRIAN BUTLER, JASON EVERT, MATT FRADD, ARCHBISHOP GOMEZ, SR. REGINA MARIE GORMAN, DR. JOHN GRABOWSKI, DAMON OWENS, MATT PINTO, JAKE SAMOUR, JEN SETTLE, DR. PIA DE SOLENNI, DR. EDWARD SRI, ROSE SWEET, CHRISTOPHER WEST, KATRINA J. ZENO, and more!

The talk categories include catechesis and evangelization, marriage and family, pastoral ministry, philosophy and theology: covering topics like married life, healing, divorce, same sex attraction, celibacy, kids and sex, the new feminism, daily life, the Eucharist, and more! You can learn more at TOBcongress.com

Lisa: Exceptional line-up! Thank you, Bill!

The Home Recipe for Sanctity: Blessed Anna Maria Taigi

By Gabe Garnica

We recently celebrated the feast day of Blessed Anna Maria Taigi, an ordinary housewife and mother to seven children ( June 9) and, as often happens with saints’ feasts, the timing could not have been better!

Bl. Anna Maria Taigi was an ordinary person with earthly responsibilities, a spouse, and children. She was vain and superficial in her youth despite not ever being wealthy, just as each of us can be from time to time. This wonderful woman came to sanctity and service of God from the same difficulties and concerns that each of us faces on a daily basis. Her self-reflection and interior illumination allowed her to see the poor state of her soul, and she undertook a life of obedience, humility, patience, and selfless service as the remedy.

Her strong interior illumination showed the state of her soul with the effects of sin and its misery before God. With that, she embarked on a life of obedience, mortifications, submission, patience, humility and self-renunciation. She developed in this effort, finding ways to fulfill her duties while practicing total submission to the Will of God. It became her mission to comfort others in as many ways as possible. Anna Maria balanced her efforts between the practical necessities of her earthly responsibilities and the spiritual necessities of her family, such as teaching her children how to pray properly. In addition, she devoted herself to the Church, and especially to the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion, attending daily Mass. She also had a special devotion to Our Lady and to the Holy Trinity.

Anna Maria is yet another example, like St. Therese The Little Flower, that sanctity comes not so much from what we do but, more importantly, how we do what we do. She became a renown healer and a great mystic, conversed with Jesus and Mary, and displayed various supernatural gifts from God, including the ability to see all things hidden in the present and the future.

Too many people disqualify themselves from sanctity by embracing the myth that saints are born saints, and that sanctity depends upon the age in which one lives. In truth, saints are made via love and service to God and others, and sanctity can arise in any age. Blessed Anna Maria Taigi reminds us that no matter what our state in life or vocation, we are called to replace self-love and self-will with the will of God. By kissing and embracing whatever crosses Our Lord may send us out of love, we will turn any cross into a ladder to Heaven. This holy woman turned the ordinary into the extraordinary simply through love of God and others. In this so-called modern world which increasingly has no time for God, Anna Maria Taigi comes as a reminder that any time without God is simply wasted time indeed.

2016, Gabriel Garnica

10 Ways to Keep Holy Week Holy when You Work in a Parish

By Deanna Bartalini

Holy Week is upon us. And you, like most Catholics, want to enter into the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.

But you’re not like most Catholics. You belong to that special group who have chosen to serve the Church by working in a parish. And sometimes this week is difficult to enter into because you have so much work to do. I’ve been there; actually, I am there. But I’ve learned a few things on how to have a holy Holy Week.

The best way would be to go on retreat or leave town. That is usually not possible, if you work with the RCIA group, direct the choir, serve as the lone sacristan, or are the liturgical coordinator.

Here are ten tips that can help and are doable!

1. Plan ahead as much as possible. This means not only for the parish but for yourself and family. Have all your clothes chosen and ready for each liturgy. Keep the calendar as up to date as possible, noting the time you need to be at church–not when an event or liturgy begins. Line up any childcare ahead of time. And ladies, wear comfortable shoes. Smiling is hard if your feet hurt!

2. Spend extra time in prayer. But probably not at your parish: outdoors, at home, at another parish church–where you can be there and no one will need you to help with “just one thing for just a minute.” If possible, go to a neighboring parish for Mass that week. Allow yourself to be in the presence of God without worrying if everything is getting done.

3. Buy your favorite spring flowers, the ones that say “Easter” to you and put them on your desk and in your home.

4. Make sure you sleep and eat. Don’t rely on caffeine to get you through a non-stop Easter morning. By the noon Mass you’ll be a jittery mess and, like shoes that hurt, it makes it more difficult to be welcoming and calm.

5. Don’t host Easter dinner at your house, unless your spouse and children are willing to do it without your help–or you are serving Chinese takeout.

6. Something will go wrong and you just need to roll with it. One year, the lector for Holy Thursday forgot he was the lector. I saw him sitting in his usual pew and wondered why he was getting up. I couldn’t get his attention, so I had to read. At the same mass, the usher started taking up the collection while the priests were getting ready to wash feet. Lessons learned: Be prepared to do whatever is needed; remind people of the plan before you begin because no matter how many times we’ve done it, we are only human. That was also the year the altar server never took up the bowl of soapy water so the priests could wash their hands after washing feet.

7. If it is not absolutely necessary for you to be at church, don’t go unless you have the time and energy and your family will not suffer. While it may be nice to be present, ask yourself who it serves before you go.

8. Attend Mass with your family. If you are “working” at the Mass, have your family sit where you need to sit or as nearby as possible. If you are the choir director, try to sit with your family during the homily–if you can do so without calling attention to yourself.

9. Make time for your family traditions. You may need to arrange your family egg hunt on Easter Monday, but better on Monday than with a tired parent on Sunday.

10. And remember, we serve in the parish; but it’s Jesus who saves us all.

May you have a Blessed Holy Week!

The Releasers: An Apostolate of Prayer for the Holy Souls

By Lisa Mladinich

“I received many and great favors from the Saints but still greater favors from Holy Souls!” –St. Catherine of Bologna

In honor of the start of Lent, a penitential period of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, to prepare our hearts for Easter, I’d like to share a fascinating interview. Meet Dr. Brian Kiczek, who–with his wife, Esmeralda–has founded a special prayer ministry for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, called The Releasers.

This discussion should be considered personal witness only, but it includes recommended resources for further inquiry into this important topic. I hope you’ll check out this inspiring apostolate!

Dr. Kiczek, please tell us a little about yourself and your faith background.

Well, the story is about a long road back to Jesus. My wife and I were both raised Catholic and then fell away from the church slowly from our teenage years onward. I fell further than my wife, becoming an atheist for about five years or more. We met in college, and by that time, I was looking for answers that there was a meaning of life besides just living and then dying and becoming dust.

We got married in the Church, so that was helpful, but I was still not ready to return. However, Father Eric, who married us, reached out to me a few months later, and by then our marriage was already in trouble due to an unexpected surprise of an unplanned pregnancy. Through his prayers and caring, we both came back to the church. Once back in the church, we did not just fill the pews but became more and more on fire for souls. Now, after 17 years back in the church, our love for Jesus is greater than ever.

(Here is the full story of How Our Lady led us back to Jesus.)

Where did your interest in the Holy Souls begin?

The Holy Souls came into my life through the reading of a couple of TAN books on the subject. One is Read Me or Rue It, by Father Sullivan and the other is Purgatory Explained, by Father Schouppe [see below for links]. Both books helped me to understand how much the souls suffer in purgatory and need our prayers. Also, I understood how much they would return the favor through prayers for me, especially when they got to heaven. The thought of how powerful one would be once in heaven amazed me–and then to realize how thankful one would be to the one who helped free you from the fires that burn as hot as in hell.*

How has this interest affected your life and spirituality?

My primary interest is to help the poor souls in purgatory to be free from their pains and sufferings; however, those same souls have helped me more than I could ever imagine. Each day I grow more in God’s grace, and I am sure it is through their prayers and intercessions that I have received those graces. God is great through His angels and saints.

What inspired you to start The Releasers and how did you get started?

Well the story is a little sad, in the fact that it involved two of my brothers passing. My foster brother lived a pretty hard life, and while God’s grace was moving in His life before he passed, it was evident when he passed that he still needed prayers to make it out of purgatory. My wife and I both prayed for him very hard for several months, or longer. However, one day we both felt in our hearts that he was released. We both told each other and that confirmed our feelings on the matter. Since then, whenever I am in trouble and need special prayers, he is one that I pray to.

A few years after that, my older brother passed as well, and he also was in need of prayers after he died to be released. My wife felt his presence, and he asked for prayers. She felt like we needed to pray 1000 St. Gertrude Prayers to effect his release, and over the next day or two, we as a family prayed them all. Afterwards, we felt peace, and soon he was sending signs from above that he was in heaven. (Here is one story of a Vacation Planned in Heaven by him.)

After this, the idea of praying 1000 St. Gertrude prayers came into my mind to release someone special. However, that idea became too difficult to keep track of, so I just thought maybe 10 St. Gertrude prayers a day. Finally, my wife agreed to a simple idea to pray the St. Gertrude prayer as much as we could, whenever the Spirit moved us, and add the intention to our Rosaries and Masses for the Release of all the souls in purgatory. Once we completed the idea, I made some pictures and added [the program] to the Power of the Rosary Website that grows every day. God is on the Move!

Are you receiving feedback on the ways people are touched by your apostolate?

Well, the ministry is only a few months old, and already we are having hundreds of people sign up to help release souls in purgatory. Just yesterday, someone’s family member passed away, and I shared with him [about] the Releasers, and he was so happy to be able to help not only his family member but all the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

What are your goals and hopes for the future?

My goal and hope is that the whole world becomes Releasers and that purgatory would be constantly kept empty; since, if any soul needs to go there, so many prayers will be effected that they would be released immediately.

What resources do you recommend for learning more about the Holy Souls?

I have two favorite books on the subject. First, Read Me or Rue It, by Father Paul O’Sullivan. Here is a quote from it:

“As there is no hunger, no thirst, no poverty, no need, no pain, no suffering to compare with what the Souls in Purgatory endure, so there is no alms more deserving, none more pleasing to God, none more meritorious for us than the alms, the prayers, the Masses we give to the Holy Souls.”

And Purgatory: Explained by the Lives and Legends of the Saints, by Father F. X. Schouppe S.J.:

“There is no doubt,” says the devout Father Rossignoli, “that on their entrance into eternal glory the first favors which they ask of the Divine Mercy are for those who have opened to them the gates of Paradise, and they will never fail to pray for their benefactors, whenever they see them in any necessity or danger.”

So I hope your readers are inspired to join the Releasers, whose mission is to “PRAY THEM OUT!” As long as even one soul remains in purgatory, that is too many for us. We pray a powerful prayer that is said to release many souls from purgatory every time it is said. [See: Prayer of St. Gertrude]

All of these souls will become our eternal friends, who–now that they are released from these fires–shall not forget the ones who “Prayed them out.” They will never cease to pray for you in heaven until you join them there.

Thank you for this personal witness, Dr. Kiczek!

To join the Releasers visit: https://www.thepoweroftherosary.com/the-releasers.html

*Notes for clarification:

The fires of purgatory are God’s burning love for our souls. This fire is a purifying, sanctifying fire, “entirely different from the punishment of the damned.” (CCC 1031)

For more information on the fires of purgatory, see also: this review of Susan Tassone’s superb resource, “Day by Day for the Holy Souls in Purgatory: 365 Reflections.” Also: pre-order Tassone’s NEW title: The St. Faustina Prayer Book for the Holy Souls, here.

See also: Catholic Answers: https://www.catholic.com/tracts/purgatory