Think about those times in your life when you have felt inspired to something really great. Where does that inspiration come from?
The Holy Spirit. God inspires us to do great things with our lives.
----Matthew Kelly

Welcome to The Not So Perfect Catholic!

Disclaimer: I am not a theologian, just a Catholic empty-nester trying to figure it all out. The views on this blog are my own.

Weird Stuff When I'm Tired During My Adoration Hour

I can think of some really weird stuff when I'm tired during my Adoration Hour. As I read John 6:51-58, I had these thoughts:
I wonder what the crowds thought when Jesus said that in order to live they had to eat his body and drink his blood. Did they think it was just so bizarre?
Those thoughts were validated when I read the Blessed is She reflection. In the second paragraph, Kendra Tierney says "Don't worry, it didn't sound any less weird or horrifying to them than it does to us today." Whew! Except that's not all I wrote in my journal.
It's easy for us since we know we can take in Jesus through the Sacrament of the Eucharist, but I wonder what they really thought of Jesus. I think it just makes everything seem so far out there. Today if someone said that we would think of zombies or vampires. Here was this man offering eternal life if they would eat of his body and drink his blood. Isn't that what the vampires in the movie promise? Maybe I'm just thinking of this because I'm exceptionally tired. Maybe that's where the originators of vampires got their idea.
See what I mean? Blessed John of Ruysbreck is quoted in Magnificat: "and therefore there abides in us, together with all saints, an eternal hunger, and an eternal desirous introversion." And there you have it: an eternal hunger. We are longing for Him. We hunger for Him. And the only way to satisfy that hunger is through the Holy Eucharist.
Proverbs 9:3-6 goes hand in hand with the scripture from John. We are all called to His table. No matter who we are, us miserable sinners, we are called. He has prepared the table for us- it's up to us to accept the invitation. To RSVP with a "no thanks" would be foolish. And Ephesians 5:16: Making the most of the opportunity, because the days are evil. If we don't stay busy and do everything for Him, we can be sucked into doing evil. I am so guilty of this. I stay out of trouble at work by staying in my room and staying busy. Even eating lunch by myself in my room is a necessity when I feel the negativity pulling me in. If I was wiser I would know when to keep my mouth closed.

A Church in Crisis

Today the Catholic Church is in crisis. Satan is pulling out all the stops to attempt to destroy Her. Just this year, Ireland voted to legalize abortion. In light of the clergy scandal, there will probably be many people who will leave the Faith just as many of Jesus' followers left when He said: "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life...". (John 6:54) The evil one won battles that day, and he will win battles over this crisis. Priests are human...they are men. They make mistakes, and unfortunately, some of them have hurt many people. But you know what? We don't participate in Mass for men. Our goal for Mass is to receive the Eucharist...the body & blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. If you're one of those who is debating leaving the Church because of the crisis....don't. Please don't put your salvation in danger because of the actions of men, or the Catholic Church as an institution.
Our faith will be tested but we have to stand firm. Satan is doing his best to destroy Catholicism. Just when we think things are better Satan rears his ugly head and finds someone who will carry out his plan to demolish The Church. I for one thought we had moved on from the crisis. Through Virtus Training, the Church has made great strides in educating anyone who went through the training on the signs and follow-through with sexual abuse. A recent article in the NCRegister was extremely disturbing with its reporting of priests and seminarians disavowing their promises. The article just made me sick to my stomach.
Pray for priests. They need our prayers more than anything. Pray for the Leaders in the Catholic Church that they are able to rid Her of the ones who are not staying loyal to Him and to their vows. Father Donald Calloway, in his book "Under the Mantle" admitted that he is tempted a lot. Priests are tempted in ways we can't even imagine. They need our prayers to hold Satan at bay.
This Prayer for Priests was given to us by our Diocesan CCW Spiritual Commission Leader:

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