Contemplations from a Cradle Catholic

2007-06-12T06:24:00.000-07:00

Misconceptions About My Momma

Many of us know that we who are Catholics hold Mary, the Mother of Jesus, in a high regard. I also realize that many of my Christian brothers and sisters outside of the Catholic Chruch do not hold Mary in such high regard. This is a sensitive subject for me because I am a momma's boy. So what I am going to do here is work through some of the most difficult doctorines about Mary that may seem idolitrous and thus heretical, but what I hope to accomplish is to defend my Most Blessed Mother Mary and the view and respect that the Chruch as the Mystical Body of Christ has for her.

First, Mary, Mother of God. I bet this phrase makes many seperated bretheren shake and even cringe. MOTHER OF GOD!!! they might say, HOW DARE YOU!!! Ah, but wait, earlier when I refered to her as the Mother of Jesus, you didn't react in the same way. Simple equivication, Jesus is the Word of God (matter of fact the Word made flesh), He is the second person of the Trinity (The Son), thus Jesus is God (Jesus = God). If you doubt this then you may want to read the first chapter of the Gospel according to St. John. Okay moving forward, Mary, as stated before, is the Mother of Jesus, thus (if Jesus is God) Mary is the Mother of GOd. To deny this title of Mary is to deny the very Incarnation of Christ, that is why the Chruch calls her by that name, not for her sake but to show the divinity of Christ. Simple Logic.

2007-04-09T18:25:00.000-07:00

"Why do you seek the living one among the dead?"

-- The Holy Gospel According to St. Luke 24:5

Quick question, who is the living person who has had the greatest impact on you life? Your mother, your father, sibling, or best friend? How about Jesus? If you don't think He qualifies then I pose to you the same question as above.

This is just a quick little tid bit to ponder, especially now that we have crossed from the season of Lent, to the season of Easter.

Lord, help us to see You in everyone that we encounter, and to be a mirrior to Your love so that others may see You in us, Amen.

Christ our Lord is risen, Alleluiah.

2007-04-06T20:06:00.000-07:00

The Crucifixion

It is finished. Jesus, finally reaches His destination, His work is complete, He is humiliated, mortified, beaten, broken, and now is on display for all passers by to see. The Lord of the universe, who came into the world and glorified the dust by entering into human nature, is hung on the cross and breathes His last. The Deicide is completed, and our hands are red with His blood.

When Jesus died on the cross the sun refused to shine and the veil in the temple was torn. By His perfect act of Love God's relationship with us changes and with it the entire universe.

Lord, You suffered and died for us, it is our sin that is the weight of the cross, yet You embrace us and carry us with You. Only in You is our salvation complete. Help us to enter into Your Passion and Death, that we made be made new in You, my Lord, and my God.
We were at the foot of the cross, and looking up at You, with flowing tears, we exclaim, "Why Lord? You needn't do this for me" and You look down from Your cross and say, "Yes, I do. Don't you see now, how much I Love you. Fear not for 'It is finished'".

God Love You, I know He does, for He has proved it beyond all doubt.

2007-04-05T21:48:00.000-07:00

The Carrying of the Cross

Jesus takes up His cross and marches towards His death. He carries the instrument of His death and humiliation on His back, and even though He falls three times, He gets back up to finish His Most Holy Work.

Even while carrying His cross, Jesus offers hope to all of us. He glorifies suffering into something more than pain and death. Unlike other religions where there is a claim to end suffering, Christ enters into suffering and death, even a death on a cross for us, to make ammends, to offer Himself as the Worthy Lamb of God. It is here where Jesus says "Behold, I make all things new", He transforms suffering into salvation, and death into life.

Loving Jesus, You carried Your cross to the end, in order to complete Your Most Holy Work of Salvation. You, Lord, who are the Way, the Truth, and the Life, help us to carry our crosses and when we fall help us to persevere as You did, with loving endurance, on the road to Calvary.
Lord, You carried Your cross to Calvary, but the weight of the cross was not the only weight that You carried, You carried all of our transgressions with You. We recognize this and we know that we are to blame, we come to You, each time that You fall and say to You, "Put down the cross, You don't have to do this, You've already done enough!!!" And again You look at us knowing what You are going to go through and You reply, "No, I must partake of this cup, because I love you, and you are worth it."

God Love You

2007-04-04T20:04:00.000-07:00

The Crowning of Thorns

It wasn't enough for us to merely beat Jesus past a bloody pulp, that would have been too easy, so we add insult to injuy. The Lord of the universe, the Word by which all is in existence is mocked by those whom He came to save. The thorns pressed into His skull and that wasn't all, a royal cloak, and to top it off absolute mockery; the devil couldn't have done a better job.

How many times have we gone to mass and not really paid propper respect to what was going on. How many times have we not focused on the one thing, nay, Person that is right in front of us, giving Himself to us. We still mock Christ and His work, and I think that we are more guilty than the Roman soldiers that crowned Him with thorns. For they mocked Him not know who He was, we know who He is, or atleast we say we do, and we still mock Him.

Lord, help us to recognize Your Holy presence in our lives, especially in the celebration of mass. Reveal Yourself to us and help us to give into Your Revelation, to surrender to ourselves so that we may except the gift of Your Love and Grace wholly, in complete selflessness.
Again, we come to You Lord and tell You that Your work is finished and we don't deserve the gift of Yourself, at least at this cost. And You turn to us with loving and affectionate eyes and say, "No, I must go on, my work is not finished, I will pay every price, because I Love you and you are worth it."

God Love You

2007-04-03T20:22:00.000-07:00

The Scourging at the Pillar

This is a most unsettling scene. Jesus, the God-man, the second person of the Holy Trinity, being physically mutilated, His flesh beaten and torn, His body broken and mangled. He is beaten far past a bloody pulp, if one were to see Him that person may not even recognize that He is human. But even in His most destroyed body, He is still more perfectly human than we can ever hope to be here on the world.

The devil tempted Jesus verbally in the desert, with each temptation he tries to trick Jesus into undoing the Incarnation, but Jesus withstands, and sends Satan away. Since the devil failed in out-smarting Jesus, he is desperate and tries to undo the Incarnation his own way, by beating Jesus's humanity out of Him, and who better to help than the very people that Jesus came to save, and we do it gladly. Even though Satan succeeds in destroying Jesus's body and even though he gets us to do the dirty work, Jesus does what He did in the desert, He withstands and sends Satan away.

Lord, Jesus, we held the whip, yes Lord, the very people You came to save beat and mangled Your body, until it was not able to be recognized as human, yet You still looked upon us with love and compassion and completed Your Most Holy Work.
Again, Lord Jesus, we look at Your mangled body and we see the suffering that You have endured for us, and we, again come to You, pleading with You to stop, telling You that what You have done is enough. You look back at us and say, "No, I must go on, because you are worth it"

God Love You

2007-04-02T19:17:00.000-07:00

Not too long ago, I received a comment asking how we can motivate ourselves to think of Calvary during the season of Lent. The comment goes on to talk about all the things that get in our way in not only thinking about the scene at Calvary, but God in general. Work, school, and all sorts of things get in our way and it's difficult to focus.

This is what I am doing to help re-focus on the saving work of our Lord. This week, being Holy Week, I will go through each of the five sorrowful mysteries with comments and prayers to not only help those of you who read my posts but to help re-focus myself. I would also like to add that most of what I will post is not original, but I will simply tell the truth the way that I see it without giving two-pence what anyone thinks about it (thank you C.S. Lewis).

The Agony in the Garden

This is quite possibly the most overlooked step in the Passion of our Lord. Jesus goes away with His best buds to pray and He is freaked out about what He has to do, and His friends fall asleep and He gets mad and then it happens. No, I would disagree whole-heatedly. I would say that this was most painful for Jesus.

Jesus goes away with the most trusted of His disciples, His inner-circle, His best friends, and when He needs them the most, they fall asleep on Him. He is in so much anguish about what He must do, that His sweat was like drops of blood. Think about this, Jesus is perfect in every way, for He is fully God and fully man. He's fully man and He has fear and sorrow, but He is also fully God and is omniscient. He KNEW what was going to happen to Him. He KNEW the pain and the hurt. He could feel the whips, the thorns, the weight of the cross, the nails, and the spear thrust right there in the garden. Yet, knowing all this He was still obedient to death, even a death on a cross.

Lord, You felt so much sorrow in the Garden of Gethsemane and Your friends could not even stay awake to be with You. Help us to stay awake and pray as You asked, to not be put to the test.
Lord, Your suffering in the garden was most intense and when we look at You there and come to You, and tell You that what You have done is enough, You look right back at us and tell us "No, I must go on, because you are worth it."

God Love You

2007-03-31T11:59:00.000-07:00

"True loving affection cannot lie."

-- Fr. William Pahram a.k.a. Papa P

This morning the RICA candidates made their first confession. It's always awesome to see people enter into the loving forgiveness that is God. And on that I must confess that I that this morning I didn't give up to that loving grace. I had felt like saying something to another person and I didn't give into the love and affection that I was feeling. And then, of course, I hear Fr. Pahram say what he said at the penance service, "True loving affection cannot lie."

To understand what happend this morning I have to let you into my relationship with Fr. Pahram. He has this ability to speak directly to me and spark my intellect and focus on parts of my life that I'm not doing so well in. I don't know if he has ever spoken something that doesn't blow my mind. The man is such a conduit of Christ, that when you look up "in Persona Christi" you see Papa P there. The man is just, well, THE MAN!

So, any who, back to my story. Papa P was breaking down the first part of "The Loving Father" or "The man with two sons" parable (a.k.a. "The Prodigal Son"). And he focused in on how the father didn't even let his returning son finish his speech, he just called for a robe and a ring, and for the fatted calf to be prepared. It's here that he said the quote above. He explained that the fater didn't need to hear the speech that his son had prepared because he knew the love that his son was returning with and no amount of words could have expressed it, but his showing up expressed all that he could have wished to say. I think it's Woody Allen in one of his movies that says "90% of life is just showing up", there's great wisdom there.

Lord, words cannot express what You have done for us, for we are all constantly turn from You and wish that You would just leave us alone and to ourselves, but You, O God, know us better than we know ourselves and continue to persue us and call us home to You. Thank You, Lord for Your supreme act of Love to us who couldn't deserve it less.

God Love You.

2007-03-28T19:13:00.000-07:00

"These, then, are the two points I wanted to make. First, that human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot really get rid of it. Secondly, that they do not in fact behave in that way. They know the Law of Nature; they break it. These two facts are the foundation of all clear thinking about ourselves and the universe we live in"

-- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

I said yesterday that I had completed The Brothers Karamazov and so now I'm reading Mere Christianity and I was pleased to see that Lewis touches on what I had talked about in yesterday's post, absolute moral truths.

Lewis makes it abundantly clear in the first chapter of this book the same point that I tried to make yesterday, I thought that quite encouraging.

Another aspect that Lewis points out is the idea that we "ought" to do something; we feel obligated. Dr. Kreeft expounds on this idea in his lecture on relativism. He gives a case of one who promises a friend to help move in the morning, and when his alarm goes off, he has two feelings, one to stay in bed and sleep, and the other to get up and go help. He has the desire to stay in bed and the obligation to help his friend. Each feeling is mutally exclusive, he has no desire to get up and no obligation to sleep. What does he do? If he is a good friend he gets up and goes. Notice that I used the word "good", the right thing to do would be to help his friend because he promised, and he knows this and has the feeling that he "ought" to help, and this out weights his desire to stay in bed and sleep.

Another aspect of obligation is that no one feels an obligation to do bad things. people feel they "ought" to fulfill their promises, or tell the truth, etc., but no one feels that they "ought" to murder, or rape.

I will end the same way that I began, quoting Lewis. "Whenever you find a man who says he does not believe in a real Right and Wrong, you will find the same man going back on this a moment later. He may break his promise to you, but if you try breaking one to him he will be complaing 'It's not fair' before you can say Jack Robinson"

God Love You

2007-03-27T18:43:00.000-07:00

"If there is no God, everything is permissible."

-- Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

This statement is overlooked by most of today's atheists. Those who would have us believe that God is no more than a bedtime story; some one who is no more real that Santa Clause. But most of these people also wish us to be moral and noble in our actions, to have honor and good hearts. The best way to describe what these people want is, as C.S. Lewis puts in his lecture The Abolition of Man, to remove the organ and demand the function, to cut off the geldings and bid them bare fruit. God is the source of such moral actions and truths, to remove God from the picture would be to deny these things even exist.

Just think about it for a moment, what could be called "right" or "true" without God? The atheist would have us believe that what ever the majority or the powerful says is "right" for any particular society would be the correct answer. If this were true then Friedrich Nietzsche's idea of a "trans valuation of values" would not be so radical and ridiculous. The simple fact is that every society that has sustained itself has had similar rules and laws that govern it, and when the leaders of past societies fail to abide by these rules and laws long enough their people revolt against them in the name of justice and morals. Moreover, these rebels are "right", not because they are a majority and now have enough power to combat the unjust ruler, but because there is an absolute moral truth that judges right and wrong not just as ideas, but as truths. And these truths are rooted in God.

Lord, help our atheist brothers and sisters come to know You who love them even though they do not love You back directly. Help them to see You through us, help us to believe in You for their sake, help us to have faith in You for them that they may be converted and transformed with through and in You. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father, Amen.

God Love You.

PS.
Last night I completed The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and I couldn't be more impressed by his work. I strongly recommend reading this novel. I have heard it called "the greatest Christian novel ever written". But do beware, if you are feeble in your faith, do not read this novel, because one of the brilliant aspects of the novels is the flip side that Dosoyevsky presents in his characters, these sympathetic characters can shake the foundations of faith. I found myself challenged by the novel and its characters, but I made it through and I feel better for having read it.

2007-03-25T11:09:00.000-07:00

"There are two kinds of people in the world,
Sinners who think they're saints,
And saints who know they're sinners."
-- Dr. Peter Kreeft

This is the first step to repentance, admitting and recognizing what you are and what you've done. St. Thomas Aquinas knew that and he formed the 12 step program which still is used today to help people with addictions.

We are all addicted to sin and the sooner we recognize our faults we can help to mend the wound. Think about this, in exorcisms the priest gets the name of the demon first before he casts the demon out. The point is this, if we know what we are up against we can cast these things out and we can avoid circumstances that will lead to more sinful activities. I try to categorize my sin, and name them in confession, this way afterwards I can pray to avoid them and defeat them and even loose my passion for them.
So I guess you can ask, what's in a name? Well Moses asked that same question at the burning bush and and God replied "I AM". In the name of Jesus demons are cast out, the penitent is absolved, bread and wine become His body and His blood.

Lord, help us all to know, love, and serve You with all of our heart, mind, body, and soul, so that we may live with You forever in heaven. We ask this in the name of Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father, Amen.

God love you

2007-03-21T19:58:00.000-07:00

"If do right, no can defense"
-- Mr. Miyagi

It's crazy how things like, lines from The Karate Kid can inspire and teach, because most frequently such quotes are hilarious when applied properly. My good friend Andy McNutt and I were conversing after RCIA this past Thursday when he dropped this line from The Karate Kid and I just about died laughing, but afterwards I thought about it and I remembered what another good friend had told me about his favorite movie, which just so happens to be The Karate Kid. This particular person is seminarian and he told me that The Karate Kid was very catachetical, and slowly but surely I'm seeing it.

So as I was contemplating (cause that's what I do) this quote I incorporated it to Christianity and it fits perfectly. Just think of Calvary (which is always good to do, especially during lent), Christ did everything right and the devil had no defense for it, and now we as the the followers of Christ have to enter into Christ, the cross was a divine "Crane Style". Just like Daniel-San and his hurt leg, our hurt leg is sin, it hurts to accomplish but "If done right, no can defense".

Lord Jesus, guide us with your most Holy Spirit to enter into your life and to truly be Your mystical body so that all may know You in us and see that You are living and working in us and with us. I ask all this and so much more in the name of Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father, Amen.

God Love You.

2007-02-27T06:30:00.000-08:00

"Stay with me, Lord"

Prayer of St. Pio of Peitrelcina

Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You. You know how easily I abandon You.

Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength, that I may not fall so often.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life and without You, I am without meaning and hope.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light and without You, I am in darkness.

Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will.

Stay with me, Lord, so that I can hear Your voice and follow You.

Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You ever more, and to be always in Your company.

Stay with me, Lord, if you wish me to be always faithful to You.

Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is, I wish it to be a place of consolation for You, a dwelling of Your love.

Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late; the days are coming to a close and life is passing. Death, judgement and enternity are drawing near. It is necessary to renew my strength, so that I will not stop along the way, and for that I need You. It is getting late and death approaches. I fear the darkness, the temptatoins, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows. O how i need You, my Jesus, in this exile!

Stay with me, Jesus, because in the darkness of this life, with all its dangers, I need You.

Help me to recognize You as Your disciples did at the Breaking of the Bread, so that the Eucharistic Communion be the light which disperses the darkness, the power whicih sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.

Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death I want to be one with You, and if not by Communion, at least by Your grace and love.

Stay with me, Jesus. I do not ask for divine consolations beacuse I do not deserve them, but I only ask for the gift of Your Presence. Oh yes! I ask this of You!

Stay with me, Lord, for I seek You alone, Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart, Your Spirit, because I love You and I ask for no other reward but to love You more and more, with a strong and active love.

Grant that I may love You with all my heart while on earth, so that I can continue to love You perfectly throughtout all eternity, dear Jesus.

Amen!

2007-02-19T19:15:00.000-08:00

This is a prayer that I found in my Bible years ago and it helps to bring things into focus espeacially in times of repentence like the upcoming Lenten season.
Enjoy, and God Bless,
Matt

Prayer of Manasseh

Lord Almighty, God of our ancestors,
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
God of their righteous descendants,
You created the universe and all the splendor that fills it.
The sea obeys your command and never overflows its bounds.
The power of your wonderful, glorious name
Keeps the ocean depths in their place.
When you show your power, all creation trembles.
Your glorious splendor is overwhelming,
And your anger is more than sinners can endure.
But the mercy you promise is also greater
Than we can understand or measure.
For you are the Lord Most High;
You are patient and show mercy and compassion.
You make our punishment easier to bear when we suffer for our sins.
O Lord, in your great goodness and mercy
You promise forgiveness and salvation
To those who repent of their sin against you.
You Lord are God of the righteous people.
Repentance was not necessary for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
For they did not sin against you.
But for sinners like me you have made repentance possible.
I have committed more sins than there are grains of sand along the seashore.
They are so many, Lord, they are so many.
I have done so much that is wrong that I am not worthy to turn my face toward heaven.
I am crushed beneath the weight of my sin;
I am bowed down by its heavy iron chain.
I can find no relief, for I have made you angry.
I have set up idols everywhere;
I have done what you hate.
But now I bow in deep humility, praying for your mercy.
I have sinned, Lord, I have sinned, I confess the wicked things I have done.
I beg you, Lord, I earnestly pray; forgive me, forgive me.
Do not destroy me because of my sins;
Do not stay angry with me forever
Or store up punishment for me.
Do not condemn me to the world of the dead,
For you, O Lord, forgive those who repent.
Show me all your mercy and kindness and save me,
Even though I do not deserve it.
Then I will go on praising you as long as I live.
All the heavenly powers sing your praises,
And your glory endures forever.
Amen.

2007-02-13T20:32:00.000-08:00

"To deny our impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human"
-- Mouse, The Matrix (1999)

This is truly a sad saying. I was watching the first Matrix movie and I heard this line and was taken aback. Our understanding of moral right and wrong and our rationality is what seperates man from beast. To give into our natural impulses would make us no more than merely animals, but we are of higher dignity than that of animals, for we are made in the image and likeness of God.

I felt that this image above was intirely appropriate for the quote, because the one who would have us believe such pschy-babble is the one often depicted living in the fire. To further refute the quotation above I offer the perfect human, the witness to all humanity to what being human really is, Jesus Christ. I wonder when he was on the cross if he was giving into his impulses, or was he just denying the very thing that made him human.

"Father, into your hands I commend my spirit"

The Gospel According to Luke 23:46

2007-02-12T12:43:00.000-08:00

"Christianity is a condition of complete simplicity costing not less than everything."
-- T.S. Eliot

This is an aswer to my previous post, how do I become a saint? Well, here it is, give everything. That's all I've got for now, just ponder this and take it in, contemplate how and what you are giving, and even who are you giving to. And most especially are you giving ALL.

This is where I struggle, so pray for me and I promise I will pray for you, God bless and good luck.

Your's in Christ,

Matt Hudson, member of the body of Christ

2007-01-30T08:40:00.000-08:00

"If you look into your own heart, in utter honesty, you must admit that there is one, and only one, reason why you are not, even now, a saint... You do not wholly want to be."

-- William Law

I was listening to some Dr. Peter Kreeft lectures last night while delivering some pizzas and this quote came up and it hit me all at once the truth to it. I have heard this quote several times, because I am a Kreeft nut, and had wished to memorize it but I never got to it.

I like this quote because of its dimensions, it is very shallow when read one way and quite deep when read another way. On first look, Mr. Law seems to be judging people and one's reaction is that of defense, "who are you to tell me that I'm not doing what I need to do to be a saint?" Beyond that the quote is terrifying, "he's right, I'm not sure if I really want to be a saint, and maybe there's no hope for me." And the quote is seen as negative and even terrifying when looked only at the surface.

The reason this quote is deep when reexamined is the hope that it gives. Yes, hope, completely contradictory to the surface interpretation. When seeing the deeper meaning of the quote, Mr. Law is giving us hope. Hope that we can be saints, we only have to do it. There is no process, no "how to," no "Saints for Dummies" we just have to take Nike's slogan and apply it.

May God bless you and love you.

Matt Hudson

2006-12-02T18:58:00.000-08:00

Here is something I came up with while on the way home from work tonight while contemplating (that is what I do, I am a Philosophy nut) a homily given about a month and a half ago at St. Anne in Bartlet. The priest, I can't remember his name, talked about a prayer that he heard said by a kindergartener, it was simply "Thank you God for being God" and I wrote this short poem based on that profound prayer, I hope you enjoy.

"Thank you God for being God"a Matt Hudson original
Thank you God for being God
For everything and everywhere
You made it all, my God
The tallest mountain and the smallest hair

Never outside nor far
But always near.
Never yesterday nor tomorrow,
But always here.

Always everywhere,
In the deepest part of man.
The Great, The Powerful, The Wonderful,
The simply, "I am".

You sanctified the waters,
That we may be made a new.
You gave us Yourself to eat,
That we may abide in You.

Thank you God for being God,
For only You know how.
And that is why I love you God,
Always, forever, but most especially, right now.

Thank you good night and God bless.

2006-11-28T13:22:00.000-08:00

This is yet another return effort, I will begin my return effort with what I have come to think of as my Biblical motto:

"A word is the source of every deed; a thought, of every act
The root of all the conduct is the mind; four brances it shoots forth:
Good and evil, death and life, their absolute mistress is the tongue.
A man may be wise and benefit many, yet be of no use to himself.
Though a man may be wise, if his words are rejected
he will be deprived of all enjoyment.
When a man is wise to his own advantage,
the fruits of his knowledge are seen in his own person;
When a man is wise to his people's advantage,
the fruits of his knowldege are enduring:
Limited are the days of one man's life,
but the life Israel is days without number.
One wise for himself has full enjoyment,
and all who see his people wins a heritage of glory,
and his name endures forever."
-- The Wisdom of Sirach 37:16-25

God bless you and love you. Amen.

2006-08-07T19:56:00.000-07:00

I was watching EWTN's 25th year celebration in Denver today and while I was watching it my roommate, Kim who is from South Korea, came in and began watching it as well. We watched Raymond Arroyo talk about Mother Angellica and his biography of her. He discussed several things that Mother Angellica had to go through in her life and how she always just followed Christ and believed in the Divine providence in her life. It was a very powerful presentation.

After he was finished with his speach I went to go get my laundry, and as I was getting my basket Kim, who is here in Memphis studying English, came up to me and said "It is easy to understand this religious channel because the message is made very clear by the person's passion for what he is saying." As I went to get my laundry I thought about what he had just said and it hit me that this is a practical case of the Holy Spirit speaking through someone and making clear His message.

Lord, I pray that Your message always be present through my words, my actions, and my thoughts, that others may come to You not by my doing but by my submission to You. God Love You. Amen.

2006-08-07T19:53:00.000-07:00

Two weeks is too much

I apologize for not posting these last couple of weeks, but my computer was disabled by the Universtiy, they took my desk away and then it took them forever to get a new one for me. Between that, school, and work I just haven't been able to post as often as I would like.

Thanks for keeping up with me and I hope you like the post for today.

2006-07-21T13:40:00.000-07:00

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

--Marianne Williamson

I've read some blogs commenting about this poem, but I post this poem, this declaration, as a thinking tool, and ask that you just read it carefully and think about how true this is in your life. Furthermore, I challenge you to be everything that God has made you to be and in the words of Pope John Paul II (aka John Paul the Great) "Do not be afraid!" Lord, help me to not be afraid. Amen, and God love you.

2006-07-18T12:01:00.000-07:00

"The good news isn't something, it is somebody"
-- Fr. John Corapi

For those who don't know me, I love Fr. Corapi, he is the man who spits that hot fire of truth. I must have heard him say this phrase 100 times but each time it is like the first because it is just clean cut truth. Yet I know I never thought of it before I heard Fr. Corapi say it and then it was like a great eye opener.

I have been struggling with someone I love in discussing the Bible. This person argues with me all the time by saying that the Bible is not the word of God because there are so many translations. And I used to just listen to what was said and sit back and let it go on, but recently, especially after seeing Fr. Corapi live and growing in my faith as I have lately, I couldn't let this person go untested. My argument was the same argument that Fr. Corapi gives in several of his talks that I have heard. The argument is that the Bible is God's word and that word is Jesus. From start to finish, Genesis to Revelation, everything is about Jesus Christ.

And in regards to the many translations it is actually quite simple to understand. In respects to the multiple interpretations, it can be broken up between Protestants and Catholics. Protestants do not have the Magesterial Teaching or the Sacred Tradition that Church has so they are themselves thier own magesterium and they can interpret the Bible into whatever they like because there is no Authority, they are their own authority.

Thus, the reason for so many translations is not that the Word has changed but that the people are misinterpreting the Word. For instance, if I said "I love all the hundreds of my brothers and sisters that read this post" (Wishful thinking I know, but bare with me) and somehow, someone 1000 years from now finds a copy of the post, and reads it. Without the proper understanding of the language or how to interpret the post one might interpret the sentence quite literally and think "Wow!! His parents were really busy!" and that would not be what was meant by it.

Pray for our seperated brothers and sisters in Christ, and pray that we may all be brought together in love of Christ. Pray for our priests and all the religious. And please pray for me and all of my loved ones [that could even be you ;) ]

Thank you, God bless

2006-07-18T11:43:00.000-07:00

"Who-wa, Two-Times-Tuesdays!!!"
-- Dominos Commercial

Not only do I deliver pizzas for Dominos, but since I didn't write anything yesterday I'll give those lucky few who read this blog a speacial treat, a joke that my dad sent to me, enjoy:

MY DAD IS A FATHER

A little boy got on the bus, sat next to a man reading a book, and noticed he had his collar on backwards.The little boy asked why he wore his collar that way. The man, who was a priest, said, " I am a Father." The little boy replied, "My Dad is a father and he doesn't wear his collar like that." The priest looked up from his book and answered "I am the Father of many."The boy said, "My Dad has 4 boys, 4 girls and two grandchildren and he doesn't wear his collar that way." The priest, getting impatient, said, "I am the Father of hundreds" and went back to reading his book. The little boy sat quietly thinking for a while, then leaned over and said, "Maybe you should wear your pants backwards instead of your collar."

2006-07-14T12:04:00.000-07:00

I heard this story on TV one Sunday morning and I have had it stuck in my head ever since so I figured I'd share it with you, lucky you.

This is my rendition of the anecdote:

A boy was pulling his wagon up a hill and was coming to the top of the hill when one of the rear wheels fell off and went rolling down the hill. The boy, looking frustrated, said “I’ll be damned!!” but what the boy didn’t realize was that he was in front of the rectory and a priest was out on the front porch and watched the entire incident. The priest called to the boy and said “My son, you shouldn’t curse.” The boy replied, “I know Father, I’m just mad at the wheel and it just slipped out.” The priest, understanding the world we live in, accepted this explanation and said “Be more careful and be sure to think before you speak, okay?” and the boy replied “Yes, Father”, and the priest watched as the boy fetched the wheel, fixed his wagon, and went on his way.

The next day the same boy with the same wagon went up the same hill and the same thing happened. Frustrated the boy said again “I’ll be damned!!” and again the same priest was out side observing, and again he called to the boy and said “My son!” and immediately the boy knew what he had done, and apologized again for the out burst. The priest thought “Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me” and then said to the boy “My son, the next time you’re frustrated instead of cursing say ‘Thanks be to God’.” The boy said “Yes, Father, I’ll try.” And he went down the hill, fetched the wheel, fixed the wagon, and went on his way.

The very next day the very same boy with the very same wagon went up the very same hill and the very same thing happened. Frustrated the boy said “I’ll be…” stopped himself, looked over at the rectory, noticed the same priest on the porch, took a breath, and said “Thanks be to God.” All of the sudden the wheel stopped and rolled back up the hill and jumped back into its proper place and the smiling boy went on his way. Seeing what had just transpired the priest exclaimed “Well, I’ll be damned!!!”

This is a reminder to us that even though we may have good advice to give, we sometimes don’t take our own advice. We must practice what we preach. It is also a reminder that even people in respectable positions are still human and must follow the same guidelines as each of us.

2006-07-13T12:15:00.000-07:00

"Billions upon billions of years are just a blink,
a snap of the finger, in the context of eternity"
-- Fr. Larry Richards

This quote above is from a story that Fr. Larry Richards told this past weekend at the Steubenville Mid-America Youth Conference at Springfield, MO. The story that he told was of a giant where each movement of his took 10,000 years and this giant takes one grain of sand and walks to the top of Mt. Everest and places it there and he continues to do this until all the sand from all around the Earth are on the mountain. Each step was 10,000 years, each time he bent over pick up a grain of sand was 10,000 years and so on. And Fr. Larry ended by saying that it would take billions upon billions of years for this to happen and then that all that time is but a blink compared to eternity.

The reason I'm telling this story is tell another one. One of the several things that I took away from this Conference was that Jesus gave his life to us, and all he asks in return is our life. What do these two things have in common? Jesus is God, the second person of the Holy Trinity, he is eternal. We are mere creations, mortal, we consider a long life 70 years or longer, and if the billions upon billions of years that the giant took placing the sand at the top of the mountain is but a blink in eternity what does that make our time? The point is that Jesus gave us His life (eternity) in exchange for our life (finite, mortal). Talk about a great exchange rate.

If we put these terms into finite measurements and liken eternity to $100 billion (I know there is no comparison between anything finite and infinite, just bare with me) and our life to a penny. Jesus is telling you he will give you $100 billion and all he asks for in return is your $0.01.

The catch is we must give our life to Him just as He gave His life to us, because He will not take what is not offered, one of my friends says it best "God is a lover not a rapist" he offers everything He is to us but will only take what is given; He will never steal anything from us.

Lord, I know I'm not worthy of Your life, help me to give my life and all that I am to You, not because it is my will but beacause it is what You ask of me.
Lord, I believe in You, help my disbeleif.
Lord, I trust in You, help my mistrust.

2006-07-11T13:21:00.000-07:00

"No Pain, No Gain.

No Cross, No Crown.

No Gall, No Glory."

-- William Penn

In my time away, I've been a bit busy, between moving and trips it's been somewhat eventful. One of the first things that happened was I went to visit my family in West Chester, OH and while I was there my mother and I when to see Fr. John Corapi speak. And if you haven't heard of Fr. Corapi or even heard him speak on TV or Radio or even live I would recommend that you get wit the program. His ministry is very powerful and his personality is very in your face, he is one of the most hardcore preachers I have ever listened to, and his weapon of choice, The TRUTH.

He spoke about Spirtiual warfare, for those of you who have heard Fr. Corapi speak you know it is one of his favorite subjects. He encouraged, nay, commanded us to learn our faith. He discussed our role in the on going battle between good and evil in the battle for souls. He spoke on the importance of being in a state of grace, to be fit for battle and if one is not in a state of grace that person is either on the sidelines or on the wrong side.

Fr. Corapi spoke about the importance of knowing our weapons and the weapons of the enemy. Our greatest weapon is prayer and there is no better prayer than that of the Rosary. Again, he commanded (not encouraged) us to pray the Rosary everyday and when we think that we are too busy, he asks the question "Are you busier than the Pope?" he says his Rosary everyday, all 20 mysteries. He described the Rosary as the prayer of the Gospel (Gospel = Good News = Jesus Christ).

There was sooooooo much Truth packed into one day, it was like watching 4 weeks of EWTN in one day, and it was soooooooooooooooooooo worth it.

Again I ask for your prayers, and I ask that you pray for our preists, and pray for our preists, and one more thing pray for our preists (it's kinda important). Thank you and God bless.

PS. If there is any one who is reading this stuff, I would greatly appreciate it if you would give me a comment or two so that I know that i'm not just talking into space, thanks again.

2006-07-10T14:22:00.000-07:00

J esus
O thers
Y ourself

I am third
-- Fr. Larry Richards

Wow, it has been quite a long time since I have done anything with this blog, I'm quite sure that I have lost any one who had been checking up with me and my blog. So I guess I'm just writing this stuff for my own benefit, oh well, I could be doing a lot worse things with my time (trust me I know).

I was looking at my last post and I saw that I was just talking about my last final being finished, well I'm starting this one off the same way, my Chemestry final was this past Friday and I hope that I did well. And tomorrow I will be starting my second session of the Summer semester at U of Memphis, so please pray for me and my classes.

This past weekend I went with the youth group to a Steubenville Conference and had a blast, it is one of the reasons why I'm typing this, because I feel that I must share what I got from the conference with as many people as I can and it has also provided me with plenty of ammunition to continue this blog. So this is just a preview of coming attractions and a blog of confidence. I pray that any one who does read this blog will pray for me and my blog, that I may keep it up and share all that I have in store to share with whomever wishes to read my thoughts here.

Until tomorrow, in Christ, always,

Me (Matt Hudson)

2006-05-03T11:48:00.000-07:00

Finally done with finals!!!

Only 2 more semesters to go, Summer and Fall, and I be gone, just to go right back. I like to call it the circle of school. I mean, what good is a philosophy degree with out a masters? We shall see.

Oh, well, I know that I had promised to post more often, but, well, I didn't. And for that I apologize.

Any who, back to Holy Week, and more specifically the Easter Vigil. Twas great, a thing of beauty. Incarnation was packed from wall to wall and it truely showed the need for the new sanctuary that is being built, and will be completed this summer, Thank God.

On to summer with me, I'm not sure when the next time I will be able to post will be, but I will do my best to keep up with everything.

Later Days

2006-04-25T20:09:00.000-07:00

Just further proof that there is, in fact, a God!!!

Yes, brothers and sisters, He is back. And like Jesus before him he will rise from the dead and make beleivers out of nations. We are all graced for being able to see Him play and if all things go well on draft day, we will all be able to see Him hand off to DeAngello Williams, oh, what a world it would be.

2006-04-24T17:18:00.000-07:00

Where to begin, well, why not Holy week?

Ok, Holy Week was busy, awesome, and the work was completely worth it. It all started at the Chrism Mass. This was the first Chrism Mass that I have been to and if there is one thing that I will never forget it is the freakin' ridiculously large amount of priests there. Of course this is the mass where the priests of the diocese give their obedience to the bishop, but it was still cool to see all those priests under the same roof. I was not only amazed at the number of priests that were there but the number of priests that I new that were there, I didn't realize that I got around Memphis as well as I did. The priest that stuck out the most was Fr. Robert Marshall. Fr. Marshall used to be the Associate Pastor at my Parish and I hadn't seen him since my senior year in high school and the last time we spoke he was under the impression that I was leaving Memphis for Cincinnati, and that was 4 years ago. Wow.

Another thing that stuck out in the mass was my friend Robbie, who is a seminarian, was the person in charge of carrying the HUGE OIL VAT off the alter. I couldn't help but pray to myself that he would not drop the vat, and alass he carried them successfully. Whew.

The next few posts will be catch up posts, because I'm soooo behind.

Thanks for reading, I'll try to keep you posted, Later days,

Matt

2006-04-24T17:13:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have been quite lazy these past couple of weeks, I wish I could defend myself and say that I have been busy but that would not be the whole truth so I will say that I have been quite lazy in not posting.

Any who, please read on below and see what I have been doing when I was not being lazy these last few weeks.

Thank you much, please keep reading, and I promise I'll keep posting,

Matt Hudson

2006-04-03T17:18:00.000-07:00

"We can't let our future become our past,
If we are to change the world,
Won't you tell me, tell me please,
How many miles must we march"
-- Ben Harper, "How Many Miles Must We March"

Another awesome day at the GAP presentation. Today, instead of trying to talk between the pro-abortionists and the GAP reps, I spent my time near the GAP presentation talking with those who came up to the barriers. I had several conversations with pro-lifers that liked the project and other pro-lifers that thought that the pictures were brutal. I tried to spend most of my time talking with those people that were either indifferent to the topic or those pro-abortionists that came over to either criticize the project or argue their point-of-view.

All in all I think that the project was successful because of the people that we spoke to either had a change of heart or they were left defending a broken position, only held up by their stubbornness. The only difficulty that I had was dealing with the statement "we'll have to agree to disagree." I don't particularity enjoy arguing with people but today it was different because I spoke my peace and they countered with their point-of-view and, in most cases, I showed the flaw in the their thought, and say that blasted phrase.

I could tell they knew what I was saying was right by their body language, whether it be a calming face or a once intuitive stare fall into a blank look of realization, but what they said totally went against what they were feeling, they either ended the conversation and walked away or said the phrase above, "we'll just have to agree to disagree."

This experience was great and if anybody gets a chance to go to one I strongly recommend it. Again, for more info go to http://www.abortionno.org, they also have pictures and movies about what they do.

Later days, all

2006-04-03T17:09:00.000-07:00

"You must do the heaviest,

So many shall do none,
You have got to stand firm,

So many shall run"
-- Ben Harper, "Jah Work"

Wow, today was great. At the University of Memphis we had a Group visit the campus called GAP (Genocide Awareness Project). They setup pictures of aborted fetuses and compared abortion to the holocaust, American lynchings, Cambodian killing fields, 9/11 attacks, etc. The idea is to inspire dialog with students on both sides and to help show the atrocity that abortion really is. (For more info on the GAP go to http://www.abortionno.org)

I was there participating with the group and noticed that there were pro-abortion (not pro-choice) protesters and I was asked to go over there and invite them to speak with the GAP representatives, so being the guy that I am I did just that. When I got over there I spoke with a few of my Feminist Theory classmates and the leader of the group to talk with the GAP reps and they said that they could not go past the Blue Line. When I asked about the Blue Line they said it was the cops that were keeping the place safe.

So I went to the police and asked if they could allow the pro-abortionists to go over and speak with the GAP reps and they told me to speak to the Director of Communications Services Curt Guenther in the Admin Building, so I did. Mr. Guenther was cool and understood my feelings about the communication lines, but he was worried about the possibility of a violent outbreak, and he said that he gave both organizations a public forum to say what they wanted to say. He also said that he was not interested in getting the groups to communicate with one another, but to allow them each to present their side in public. It was here that I had an idea, I asked him what it would take to set up a debate where both sides would be represented and he gave me instructions to do so and I promptly got to work.

I went to both sides and asked if they would be interested in such a debate and they both obliged me. So I have some work to do to get this going. I ask that you pray for the organization of this debate and for the campus pro-life group I plan to start.

One final thing, my good buddy, who will remain nameless, forwarded me a newsletter via e-mail that was from the WAC (Women Action Coalition). It said that they plan to throw rotten tomatoes at the GAP reps and on top of that, my Feminist Theory teacher passed around the same newsletter and had a call to arms in the class saying that we should go over to the violent display and yell at them and throw rotten fruit at them to get our point across. And of course there was one SMART lady, dressed in jackboots, threw a tomato and was promptly grabbed by the police that were there, it was hysterical because she threw like a girl.

Any who, that is my info for today, tomorrow is the last day for the GAP presentation and I plan to be much more involved than I was today. If you are in the Memphis area and are interested in seeing the project in action the display will be there from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. hope you enjoyed reading this and I will have much more tomorrow, later days.

2006-03-28T20:05:00.000-08:00

"F-A-M-I-L-Y
Forget About Me I Love You"
-- Fr. Stan Fortuna

I never realized how good I had it. My family life has always been one of love and caring, my father was always there to be a father and my mother always there to be a mother. I may have lost both my grandfathers but I still have two amazing grandmothers to be there for me and my siblings.

I simply cannot immagine not having this structure built on love to make me the person that I am today, but don't be mistaken, I still have a lot to do to become what God made me to be.

I was teaching my Kindergarten P.R.E. class this sunday about how "Butterflies Are Good", and I turned the lesson into a teaching about baptism by comparing people who aren't baptized with the caterpillar and the people who are baptized with the butterfly. It worked quite masterfully if I may say so myself. I then went on to explain how we, those who are baptized, are adopted children of God and how we are in a spirtual family with all who are baptized and all the saints in heaven.

So, on that, I leave you with a kind farewell,

Forget About Me I Love You.

Your spirtual brother in Christ,

Matt Hudson

2006-03-27T19:19:00.000-08:00

"What a Gulli-bull"
-- Bugs Bunny

I am giving my blog it's first retraction. I would first like to say that I am quite gullible, I still haven't seen it on written on the ceiling, but everyone tells me it's there. The information below about the pie-in-the-face, more importantly the pie in my face, was just a sarcastic mention that Derek made and kept it up for a the remainder of the night. Needless to say he convinced me, thus I made the post. I apologize to the person who reads this post. By the way thanks for reading, you are the man, or woman, whatever.

2006-03-22T19:48:00.000-08:00

"God sets obvious limitations on our intelligence, but none what-so-ever on our stupidity"
-- Fr. John Corapi

Tonight, I found out that I was going to be the Youth Group representative for the pie throwing fundraiser we are having in my Parish.
Yes, me a lowly volunteer Adult Youth Minister, is going to have pies thrown at me for a nominal fee, it just makes you feel loved. Of course when they told me of the idea they didn't mention that I would be one of the targets. I backed the idea when the Youth Director, Derek (from Musings from Memphis fame), told me about it, he said that he would be the target representing the Youth Group, but as things turn out it will be me. Oh cursed day.

Tell you the truth I could care less, matter of fact I think it will be pretty fun to take pies for the team. And besides it goes towards the Youth Group going to Sydney, Australia in 2008 to see the Pope at World Youth Day. I've gone to two WYDs and loved every moment of each trip and can't wait to go to Sydney.

2006-03-21T15:51:00.000-08:00

I don't know what this has to do with being Catholic besides being Catholic Rocks and Ben Harper ROCKS!!!
Today is awesome, I found out yesterday that my favorite singer was coming out with a new album today and after class I went and I bought it. It Freakin' Rocks.

Ben Harper put together an album similar to the Foo Fighters "In Your Honor" where the first disc is angry and yelling and ROCKING, where the second album is more mello and from the heart.

He has the most sweet lyrics and is quite possibly the most funkified person I have ever heard of.

Just like to send one more shout out to Ben Harper for being the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time)

2006-03-19T19:23:00.000-08:00

Say, Say. How is everybody doing? This is my official first post, been working on my idea for quite some time and I finally got down, made this graphic, and here I am writing stuff.

I figured to give some Cradle Catholics a shout out. I've noticed most blogs that I have looked at, such as Musings from Memphis (http://musingsfrommemphis.blogspot.com/) and Musings of a Catholic Convert (http://http://shinwa4u.blogspot.com/), are made by Converts to Catholicism. Not to hate on any converts, you all are certainly Feakin' Sweet, but I would just like to give us Cradles a piece of the pie.

That's my M/O, hope you all (assuming that I won't be the only person looking at my blog) will enjoy my thoughts.

Thanks for coming out.