 Often times the most essential is what we mostly ignore when it comes to fulfilling God's plan for our lives. God's call is imminently beautiful and, surprising as it is, silent. It comes in a whisper. If there is any noise at all when God calls your name, it's the deafening cry of your beating heart... thumping loudly and excitedly against your chest as it feels the presence of its Creator.
You know it's inevitable... you just cannot say no. You are God's servant, and that shall remain forever the minute you say yes to His call. Indeed, for there is no way God will not fulfill His promise to you, nor forget His commitment to your soul. No, despite that we do -- many times. He knew we are fallible, yet He commits. He knew we are fallen creatures, with weaknesses that may be as immeasurable as the vast ocean, but, what can He do? He loves us even more than what can ever be measured!
So this beautiful call, I beg you, do not turn it into a task. For those of you who have been granted responsibility in the church, or in the charismatic or faith community, or even in the family... please do not turn such a call into a tedious obligation. If you are a leader, it doesn't mean you have a greater calling than those who merely follow. No. Do not transform God's beautiful call to His servant into a task, brand it as service, and then quantify or measure the extent of such task. Furthermore, do not categorize the servant according to his skills, nor talents, nor achievements. Jesus never did when He chose the disciples. He did not call the qualified, but qualified those He called.
 LOJM members serving in the Medical Mission. James 2:24 is remarkably clear: "You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone." Yet millions of Christians teach the opposite: They claim that we are "justified by faith alone"—saying good works are unnecessary for Christians in the process of justification.
This misconception is rooted in the misinterpretation of a few key texts, such as Romans 3:28: "For we hold that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law." Romans 4:5 is another: "And to one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness." On the surface, St. Paul seems to be saying works are not necessary for our justification or salvation in any sense, but that is not the case when we examine the context of these passages. Not only would this interpretation contradict the words of James 2, but it would also contradict Paul himself.
Work in Christ
Paul made very clear in Romans 2:6-8 that good works are necessary for attaining eternal life, at least for those capable of performing them: "For he will render to every man according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are factious and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury."
So what about the fact that Paul also said we are "justified by faith apart from works of law?" He was writing to a church in Rome struggling with a very prominent first-century heretical sect known today as the "Judaizers." These heretics taught that belief in Christ and obedience to the New Covenant was not enough to be saved. A man also had to keep the Mosaic Law (which, according to Hebrews 7:11-12, has been superseded in Christ) and be circumcised in order to be saved (cf. Acts 15:1-2). Paul gave us one clue—among many—that he had this sect in mind when he wrote in Romans 2:28-29, "For he is not a real Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. He is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual and not literal . . . " Paul told us in Colossians 2:11-12 that this true "circumcision of Christ" is baptism.
 Have you lost a loved one who passed away, or know someone who has? Prayers for souls in purgatory can help them! While we can derive great comfort from the hope that our loved ones are enjoying Eternal Life with God, it never hurts to pray for their souls in any case.
In purgatory, the souls of many of those who have died in God’s grace undergo purification so that they may enter heaven.
The Prayer of St. Gertrude, below, is one of the most famous of the prayers for souls in purgatory. St. Gertrude the Great (pictured at left) was a Benedictine nun and mystic who lived in the 13th century. According to tradition, our Lord promised her that 1000 souls would be released from purgatory each time it is said devoutly.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.
 Catholic apologist Laura Keynes, the great-great-great-granddaughter of the Father of Evolution, says the faith of her baptism was reanimated through intellectual pursuit.BY JAMES KELLY| Posted 8/14/13 at 10:32 AM LONDON — According to the commonly held view about her great-great-great-grandfather, Charles Darwin, Laura Keynes has apparently broken all the rules in developing a passionate Catholic faith. Apart from her family lineage, which includes her great-great-uncle, economist John Maynard Keynes, Laura also holds a doctorate from Oxford University in philosophy. But in mid-June, the Catholic Herald reported the startling news that this highly educated Darwinian descendant had evolved into a Catholic apologist, joining Britain’s Catholic Voices.
 There certainly are times when charity and justice demand that we speak up in defense of truth, but we often end up speaking when we ought to keep silent and keeping silent when we ought to speak up.It was my worst day as a parish Director of Religious Education: the Third Sunday of Advent, 2007. For weeks, I had been preparing a presentation on Catholic Christmas traditions to give to all the children in our program. As a lover of history and Catholic culture, I was eager to share the humble beauty of the Polish oplatek wafer, the colorful and vibrant Mexican las posadas plays, and of course, the inspiring story of St. Nicholas of Myra, the 4th century Greek bishop who later morphed into Santa Claus.
Unfortunately, during the segment on St. Nicholas, I let it slip that there was no such person as Santa Claus. I had not meant to divulge this intelligence, but after it came out I thought, "Who cares? They're old enough to know the truth! Somebody's got to tell them."
I would soon regret my flippant attitude and the firestorm I unleashed. As you can imagine, the kids who believed in Santa were scandalized and confused. My unfortunate pastor was deluged with calls from irate parents. "Who does your DRE think he is telling my son there is no such thing as Santa?" they demanded. "If we want our kids to believe in Santa, it's our business!" The wrath was so intense, my pastor had to send a letter to every family in the program, apologizing for my statements and acknowledging I had no authority whatsoever to "debunk" Santa to other people's kids. I had never been so miserable, and had never learned so valuable a lesson.
What is tithing according to the Catholic perspective? Here are some explanations and inputs from various Catholic resources:
 Teach me, my Lord, to be sweet and gentle In all the events of my life -
in disappointments,
in the thoughtlessness of others,
in the insincerity of those I trusted,
in the unfaithfulness of those whom I relied.
Let me put myself aside,
to think of the happiness of others,
to hide my little pains and heartaches,
so that I may be the only one to suffer from them.
Teach me to profit by the suffering that comes across my path.
Let me so use it that it may mellow me,
not harden nor embitter me;
that it may make me patient, not irritable, that it may make me broad in my forgiveness, not narrow, haughty and overbearing.
May no one be less good for having come within my influence. No one less pure, less true, less kind, less noble for having been a fellow traveller in our journey toward ETERNAL LIFE.
As I go my rounds from one distraction to another, let me whisper from time to time, a word of love to Thee. May my life be lived in the supernatural, full of power for good, and strong in its purpose of sanctity.
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