Passionately Catholic: Live and Love Every Day

Recently, I went through the drive-through at a local coffee shop. After I received my coffee, the employee said to me, “I just want to tell you that you have a very kind smile.” I looked at her and remarked back, “I bet you have one as well, I just can’t see it.” She was donning a mask and I was not. What are we all missing under the mask?

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Passionately Catholic: What We Are All Missing Under the Mask

Recently, I went through the drive-through at a local coffee shop. After I received my coffee, the employee said to me, “I just want to tell you that you have a very kind smile.” I looked at her and remarked back, “I bet you have one as well, I just can’t see it.” She was donning a mask and I was not. What are we all missing under the mask?

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Passionately Catholic: God Is in Control

Ponder this…

After watching the election results of our pro-life, pro-American president, a reassessment of the future of America must be made by all God-fearing Christians and patriots. Freedom, as defined by God and fundamentally endorsed by our country, has been incrementally removed from our daily lives. I’ve heard some say, “Not to worry, God is in control.”

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Passionately Catholic: Commandment #1

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We’ve all heard about the Ten Commandments, so let’s talk about those pesky little often-inconvenient truths. And let’s face it, we don’t like anyone telling us what we can, and especially what we cannot do, not even God. So do these commandments still apply to us today? You betcha. God knew everything when He gave them to us.

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Passionately Catholic: Pray, Sleep and Don’t Take the Tag off the Pillow

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One of the most frightening things I remember as a child was I thought that I might accidentally remove a tag from my pillow. Remember the warning Do not remove under penalty of law? The thought of being put in jail for removing the tag would keep me up at night. This begs the question, what keeps you up at night? Losing sleep because of our worries takes valuable time away from good sleep needed to function on all cylinders in the next day. How do you stop your thought induced insomnia? Here’s a recipe you might try.

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Passionately Catholic: Love Your Neighbor, Every Neighbor

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The two great commandments are to love God and to love your neighbor. And your neighbor being virtually everybody else in the whole world, is this even possible? Let’s examine how good we are at loving our neighbor. Ask yourself these questions. Do I get aggravated with others easily? Am I quick to judge the behavior of others?

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Passionately Catholic: Obey Him to the Brim

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Not many people like to be told what to do. Even as young children, we didn’t like to be told to clean our rooms, do the dishes or come home at a designated curfew. We want to do what we want, when we want and how we want. But is this what the Lord is asking us to do? Let’s take a look at sacred scripture for the answer.

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Hospital Network Blocked Clergy from Administering Rites Three Separate Times

On three occasions officials at MedStar Health System (MSHS) hospitals denied entrance to clergy to perform rites including infant baptism and end-of-life last rites, according to a Wednesday press release from the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Complaints from a patient and the Catholic Diocese of Arlington led the OCR to push Washington D.C.-area MSHS hospital operator to allow clergy into its hospitals despite COVID-19 regulations.

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Richmond Catholic Diocese Pays $6.3 Million to Sex Abuse Survivors

The Richmond Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) is paying $6.3 million to 51 survivors of sexual abuse as minors. The announcement made last Thursday is the result of an Independent Reconciliation Program (IRP) called for by Bishop Barry C. Knestout after the diocese identified dozens of clergy linked to the diocese who face allegations of abuse.

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Passionately Catholic: Cry to Heaven

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It’s hard to believe that most of us are confined to our homes and have limited access to commerce and recreation. Want a night out with your significant other. Sorry. No can-do. Want to spend time enjoying family and friends at a park. Sorry, social distancing in place. Want to watch baseball, basketball or other sports in person or on television? Sorry, closed for the season.

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Passionately Catholic: Fear Is in the Air

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Are you in a state of fear due to the coronavirus outbreak? Just a simple trip to the grocery store can strike fear into your otherwise calm spirit. People wearing face masks and gloves, empty shelves that are normally fully stocked, and people standing six feet apart at the checkout are unsettling images.

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Passionately Catholic: Take Care of Your Soul

Ponder this…

Did you know that you were made up of not only your body, but your soul as well? Each of us is a unique creation by God with a body and a soul. Let’s explore this for just a moment. We know we have a body because we can see it. But what about our soul? Even though we can’t see, feel, or touch it, we intuitively know that our thoughts and our feelings go beyond our bodies.

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Passionately Catholic: The Choice Is Yours

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We make choices every day, whether or not to press the snooze button in the morning is but one of the choices we make each day. Most choices like pressing the snooze button seem inconsequential, but if pressing the snooze button makes you late for work and potentially threatens your job and your livelihood, the snooze button option becomes a bad choice.

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Passionately Catholic: Give Others Some Time

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Have you had the opportunity to travel by air lately? If you have, you may have noticed the body language of our time. It’s called, please don’t engage me in being pleasant language. Don’t make me look at you while I’m sitting, standing, or walking to my connecting flight. There’s no need to make eye contact to smile or to exchange a mere hello. We have so many more important things to do, like playing mind numbing computer games, watching YouTube animal videos, or reading the hundreds of important emails we get every second of every minute of our day.

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Northam to Stand Down on Church Ban: God Wins

After losing in court last week, Governor Ralph Northam agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by four Madison County men who argued that the governor’s restrictions on churches violated the Virginia Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the Virginia statute for religious freedom. According to The Roanoke Star, the only COVID-19 restrictions remaining against Virginia churchgoers after the Tuesday decision is the mask mandate.

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Passionately Catholic: Embrace Life

Ponder this…

There are new terms that have recently entered our daily vocabulary. One of these rather annoying terms is social distancing. Who would have imagined that there would be six foot markers on the floors of commercial retail and even religious establishments, indicating our limitations to access one another.

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Passionately Catholic: Commandment

Ponder this…

We’ve all heard about the 10 commandments. So let’s talk about those pesky little often inconvenient truths, and let’s face it. We don’t like anyone telling us what we can, especially what we cannot do. Not even God. So do these commandments still apply to us today? You betcha. God knew everything when he gave them to us.

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Passionately Catholic: Work Has Great Dignity

Ponder this…

We hear from many of the people running for public office, the promise of free stuff, free healthcare for all, free education for all. Free cell phones, free food, and the list goes on and on. Many of us have bought into the idea that we deserve free stuff. But have we really thought about what the Lord has said about this?

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Passionately Catholic: The Gift of Family

Ponder this…

One of the most underrated career choices is motherhood.

Being a mother is more than a career, it’s a vocation. It’s actually a calling from God, the author of life. In today’s modern world, motherhood, fatherhood, and family life are often seen as optional choices to be made at the sole discretion of a woman or a man.

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