Read Catechism w/Fr. Jacob

Starting today I will be posting the great work of John Warner with flocknote on a daily basis here on facebook reading small sections of the catechism each day. 

Once I post it I encourage you to read the Catechism with me each day little by little. Like the 'note' when you've read it and feel free to ask questions in the comment section that I will do my best to answer. 

I. THE LIFE OF MAN — TO KNOW AND LOVE GOD

1     God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church. To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as Redeemer and Savior. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life.

2     So that this call should resound throughout the world, Christ sent forth the apostles he had chosen, commissioning them to proclaim the gospel: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." Strengthened by this mission, the apostles "went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it."

3     Those who with God's help have welcomed Christ's call and freely responded to it are urged on by love of Christ to proclaim the Good News everywhere in the world. This treasure, received from the apostles, has been faithfully guarded by their successors. All Christ's faithful are called to hand it on from generation to generation, by professing the faith, by living it in fraternal sharing, and by celebrating it in liturgy and prayer.

II. HANDING ON THE FAITH: CATECHESIS

4     Quite early on, the name catechesis was given to the totality of the Church's efforts to make disciples, to help men believe that Jesus is the Son of God so that believing they might have life in his name, and to educate and instruct them in this life, thus building up the body of Christ.

5     "Catechesis is an education in the faith of children, young people and adults which includes especially the teaching of Christian doctrine imparted, generally speaking, in an organic and systematic way, with a view to initiating the hearers into the fullness of Christian life."

6     While not being formally identified with them, catechesis is built on a certain number of elements of the Church's pastoral mission which have a catechetical aspect, that prepare for catechesis, or spring from it. They are: the initial proclamation of the Gospel or missionary preaching to arouse faith; examination of the reasons for belief; experience of Christian living; celebration of the sacraments; integration into the ecclesial community; and apostolic and missionary witness.

7     "Catechesis is intimately bound up with the whole of the Church's life. Not only her geographical extension and numerical increase, but even more her inner growth and correspondence with God's plan depend essentially on catechesis."

8     Periods of renewal in the Church are also intense moments of catechesis. In the great era of the Fathers of the Church, saintly bishops devoted an important part of their ministry to catechesis. St. Cyril of Jerusalem and St. John Chrysostom, St. Ambrose and St. Augustine, and many other Fathers wrote catechetical works that remain models for us.

9     "The ministry of catechesis draws ever fresh energy from the councils. The Council of Trent is a noteworthy example of this. It gave catechesis priority in its constitutions and decrees. It lies at the origin of the Roman Catechism, which is also known by the name of that council and which is a work of the first rank as a summary of Christian teaching. ..." The Council of Trent initiated a remarkable organization of the Church's catechesis. Thanks to the work of holy bishops and theologians such as St. Peter Canisius, St. Charles Borromeo, St. Turibius of Mongrovejo or St. Robert Bellarmine, it occasioned the publication of numerous catechisms.

10     It is therefore no surprise that catechesis in the Church has again attracted attention in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, which Pope Paul VI considered the great catechism of modern times. The General Catechetical Directory (1971) the sessions of the Synod of Bishops devoted to evangelization (1974) and catechesis (1977), the apostolic exhortations Evangelii nuntiandi (1975) and Catechesi tradendae (1979), attest to this. The Extraordinary Synod of Bishops in 1985 asked "that a catechism or compendium of all Catholic doctrine regarding both faith and morals be composed" The Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, made the Synod's wish his own, acknowledging that "this desire wholly corresponds to a real need of the universal Church and of the particular Churches." He set in motion everything needed to carry out the Synod Fathers' wish.

Copyright © 1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. [Get your own copy of the Catechism here.]

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Cultivating Silence

In the heart of every baptized person lies the capacity for great transformation. The gift of the Holy Spirit places in us the call to be holy and to lead others into holiness by our actions.

We become more aware of this transforming power of the Holy Spirit by cultivating silence in our life. Silence is not simply the lack of audible sound waves around us nor the quiet peaceful place we seek to get away. Rather it is a certain interior disposition, a way of living from the heart, wherein we enrich our capacity to hear what Jesus desires most to say to us.

Often Jesus calls the disciples to Himself in an intimate conversation and it is at these moments where He speaks those things that are most important for them to know. Thus, we must strive to cultivate silence so that we can listen to what Jesus wants to teach us through the Holy Spirit about what is most important for our own lives as His disciples.
Cultivating silence then is an important task for the believer. However, no doubt, it is a difficult one; and one made no easier by the increase in noise and business through out every moment of our day.

Here are 5 practical tips to cultivate silence in your life so that you can hear what Jesus wants to tell you most and increase your capacity to be receptive to the movement of the Holy Spirit to be an agent of transformation and sanctification.

1) No car stereo day once a week.

Pick one day a week (Mon-Fri) and make it a day where you do not use your car stereo for music, talk shows, or anything. Let the time you spend in your car be free from the noise of the world and enjoy a peaceful ride free of distractions.

2) Media free evening once a week.

Take one evening a week and declare it to be media free. This means no computer, no smart phone, no tablet, no i-pad or pod. Turn off the TV, the DVD, the Blue Ray, and the radio. Spend the evening with the family. Play a board game, read a book, talk about life, or even (gasp) have dinner together at your home. Make it a long dinner too filled with conversation and learning about each other.

3) Get to Mass 15 minutes early for preparation.

I used to get to baseball games when I was a kid an hour early, to warm-up, stretch, get the line-up, swing the bat a few times and much more. If it's important to warm-up before a game wouldn't it be important to warm-up or prepare for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as we participate in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ? There are beautiful prayers in preparation for the Mass and to do in Thanksgiving. It can be hard to get to Mass early, but if you plan ahead and learn how long it takes to get there no matter how many kids you have you can start trying to make it a habit. You won't make it every week there are always hiccups in the spiritual life but hiccups go away after awhile if you keep trying.

http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/prayer_before_mass.htm
http://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=2030

4) Jesus I trust in you! Hour of Mercy.

Here's a great way to use your media to help you instead of distract you. Schedule into your calendar at 3:00 pm (the hour of mercy when Jesus breathed his last) the following prayer and pray it at 3:00 every day as a little break from work, school, or whatever. Even if your with a friend or family member stop and pray it and ask them to join.

http://www.theworkofgod.org/Devotns/DivMercy/3oclock.htm

5) 30 Minutes in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

All the other tips tend to have to do with ways to get the noise out but this is a way to try and listen to the heart of Jesus. The Eucharist is the heart of Jesus. In it He communicates His undying love and desire to be with us for all time. Spending time in adoration is to be face to face with Jesus (ad-oratio). We always tend to talk about more intimate things when we are alone with our friends, our spouses, or family members so too it is the same with Jesus. He wants to tell you important things about your life but only if we come to Him can He do so.

God is my rock. In Him I am made strong.
Mary is my refuge. In her I am secure.

Moderation? Abstinence? Conversion?

On Tuesday March 1st I was blessed with the opportunity to participate on a panel with some of our Protestant brothers and sisters on the issue of alcohol use and abuse. The panel discussion took place at the Point Loma Nazarene University and included a pastor from The Rock Church, a Lutheran minister, an Anglican Priest, a Church of the Nazarene minister, another non-denominational pastor and myself. We each were given 5-7 minutes to express our theological, scriptural, and traditional views on the issue of drinking and drunkenness. As the cards fell to the table it became clear that there were two main camps one that promoted strict abstinence and another that sought moderation as the answer to the problem. As I saw this develop it became clear to me that the solution to the problem of binge drinking and drunkenness did not revolve  around moderation or abstinence. Those were two solutions indeed, but they were solutions to a different problem. The solution to the problem of binge drinking and the college campus culture was a deeper one, one that cannot be effected by external rules, I am speaking of conversion. Conversion of the individual, yes, but more importantly the conversion and transformation of the culture itself. The problem is that in American culture we have come to see the end of drinking to be getting the buzz or the effect that it has on our minds, that is, how it loosens us up. If this is the goal of one who drinks then moderation or abstinence is superfluous because it doesn’t lend itself to the goal desired. A new goal, a different goal, must  become the desired end. 

Traditionally as Catholics the use of alcohol is closely connected to our European culture (Italian wine, French wine, Bavarian beer, Irish drinking songs). But yet in a culture like Italy, binge drinking is only a recent development for its young people. The influence of English pubs and the American culture on Italy has begun to lead it’s cultural use of wine and strong drink astray. In the more developed cultural outlook wine or other alcoholic drinks serve morally acceptable purposes; either 1) to have a hearty conversation at the end of the day, that is, grabbing a pint and sharing conversation, 2) to celebrate and honor an important occasion, that is, weddings, promotions, or what have you and in some instances even 3) to settle the stomach for digestive reasons, for example in Italy the meal ends with a ‘digestivi’ drink, more to the point St. Paul says in 1 Timothy 5:23: “No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.” Only in the context then of these morally acceptable cultural uses of alcohol does moderation and abstinence make sense. Thus, the first movement towards preventing abuse of alcohol, say for yourself as you go off to college or for your children who are going off to college soon or are in college already is to change the reason for drinking and to teach these morally acceptable ways. 

With all that said drunkenness itself is a grievous sin. St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that if you willingly and knowingly choose to deprive yourself of the use of reason by drinking you sin mortally, because in depriving yourself of the use of reason, which is what enables you to perform virtuous deeds and avoid sin, you run the risk of falling into more and more sins. Any college party should be enough proof for the plethora of sin that comes with binge drinking. 

Don’t just ‘Drink Responsibly’ drink for the right reasons, that is, to celebrate or enjoy a good conversation. If you can put this as your reason for having a drink every now and then you should have no problem drinking in moderation and avoiding sin. 

The Soil of the Cross

In the soil of the Cross
The tree of life was planted
it spread its branches of salvation
extending to the wearied hearts of men.

In the soil of the Cross
mans sins are forgiven
as the saviors blood is drawn
for all our indignation

In the soil of the Cross
a new foundation is fertile
as the water from His side
brings forth the fruit of trial 

In the soil of the Cross
now must our hearts be buried
so that the roots of his great sacrifice
may restore our true paradise


By Father Jacob Bertrand

The Triumph of the Cross is in My Heart

When first thing in the morning I turn to prayer
Where my soul is torn open by the beauty of Your love
While Your presence is impressed on my wounded being
The triumph of the Cross is in my heart

When celebrating Your mysteries at Mass
Where your death and Resurrection is made present
While I receive you Body and Blood
The triumph of the Cross is in my heart

When I pray to the pierced soul of my Mother
Where the Word of God was conceived
While your will and hers became one
The triumph of the Cross is in my heart

When I read the stories about Your Martyr’s
Where a sprout of Your well spring of love is born
While they laid down their life for love of You
The triumph of the Cross is in my heart

When I face my struggles and hardships
Where my heart is tested as though through fire
While unto Your likeness my whole being is made
The triumph of the Cross is in my heart 


By Father Jacob Bertrand

Walking Through the Rain

I take this journey walking through the rain
Each step I take makes my heart grow humble
Can I bear this path, ripe with sacred pain?

It’s time to start on this dangerous campaign
Clouds start to form and skies sound their rumble
I take this journey walking through the rain

I know not, what lies past this rough terrain
Struggles I suffer, cause me to stumble
Can I bear this path, ripe with sacred pain?

The storms build up, what shall my soul obtain?
Eternal bliss or is God just mumble
I take this journey walking through the rain

For enduring this strife may God ordain
My life to saint-hood, my heart will tremble
Can I bear this path, ripe with sacred pain?

For one Easter ago, Christ did unchain
His great example, my heart resemble
I take this journey walking through the rain
I will bear this path, ripe with sacred pain.


By Father Jacob Bertrand

Journal Entry 9-26-10

Prayer should never begin with our requests. The Lord already knows our needs when we enter into prayer and rarely do we truly know our needs. We know our desires, but how difficult it is for even the most advanced person of prayer to sift through and find their true needs and separate them out from their desires.

The Lord is like an expert jeweler who can tell when a diamond is really a diamond and when it is fake with just a glance. So let the expert gaze on you in prayer and pick out the diamonds so that he can use them to make a beautiful arrangement of that which most truly identifies you in the depths of your soul. 

For to our Lord and savior your needs are more valuable to him than the most precious of diamonds. They are what the Lord longs to adorn himself with. Thus, he places them on his crown of thorns and becomes the king of your heart, which he yearns to be.