Articles For Heart Mind Soul

 

  Personal reflection: Jesus got baptized for free in the Jordan River.  No paperwork or rigmarole required. All that is truly needed is the essential baptismal formula of the Trinitarian invocation: "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

  Personal reflection:  All parishes should publish their financial statements, with such accountability and transparency? If not, why not? Do they have something to hide?

  PEACE IS A CONVULTED MYSTERY by Gene Chapman Tomorrow they are meeting to continue the process. But Putin’s dream has always been to reunite all of Stalin’s Soviet Union. Putin took back free Georgia by military I invasion, during their divided internal strife in 2008. Putin annexed Crimea in 2014, during the Obama Administration, deploying unmarked troops, widely condemned as illegal, highly controversial, but from memory, the excuse was Crimea was mostly Russian anyway, so no big deal. Now Russia has invaded Ukraine, the breadbasket of Europe, because our ineffectual president Biden only said a toothless “Don’t.”  I could never understand, both Obama and Biden, sending billions to Iran against America’s best interest, and one Trump invisible, stealth bomber solved the problem instantly. Now Trump is left with all the problems that weakness, always brings, to solve in some way. But for the moment, Putin seems to understand he has the losing hand, with a struggling economy, ...

  Personal reflection:  “Only $55 per person! Max $150” Is that supposed to be some sort of bargain with an exclamation mark? And furthermore, the maximum is only $150, whatever happened to the exclamation mark after this extraordinary bargain. Being facetious or factual?

  Personal reflection:  I wonder if we’ll have to scan a code to enter Heaven? Or is it hell that has a scan code? Saint Rose of Lima, pray for us.

  Personal reflection:  Publishing birthdays, and wedding  anniversaries in parish bulletin is a nice gesture. The very best way to celebrate birthdays, and wedding anniversaries is to have a Mass Intention said for the people celebrating their birthday or wedding anniversary. The Mass is offered up for their intentions. Let’s stop with the clapping, attention seeking, and all the hoopla and hullabaloo of celebrating birthdays and wedding anniversaries before, during, or after Mass. We come to church to celebrate Christ, not have others celebrate us or congratulate us.

  Personal reflection:  Maybe Donation, Cost for classes/sessions/ materials, but definitely NOT Fee for Sacraments! Sacramental graces cannot be bought and sold, they are freely bestowed by Almighty God. Why secular pictures of pencil, squiggly lines, thumb tacks, crayons and notebooks? Think spiritual not secular. Shouldn't a Catholic poster promoting Catholic Faith Formation portray the Catholic pictures that the students will be learning about?