The New Year Off To An Uncertain Start-Money Evaporates in the Stock Market

There is so much uncertainty in the world, not sure how people without faith live. I couldn't do it. Faith gives me hope, inner strength, confidence and the certainty that no matter how things are, "with God all things are possible." And in the words of Julian of Norwich, "All will be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing will be well." Faith and belief endure, because God is real and God's truths will prevail.
In the New Year, so far,  the stock market has lost a lot of value. People have lost a lot of money over the last four days. There is real panic because people just don't know what will happen next. It's been the worst beginning of a new year for the stock market ever. I watch business news because my husband watches CNBC and so I watch it too sometimes. The smartest minds in business and finance don't know where it's all going. China's policies affect the whole world. So our economy is tied to global worries and China's economic policies.  Some people think we are headed for another recession but no one really knows.
Recessions and financial troubles come and go. The market goes up and down and there is great volatility.
People should be prudent with their money in these uncertain times. My friend who goes to a Catholic charismatic gathering near Boston every year, told me a few months ago that many people were inspired by the Holy Spirit and spoke of trying times that were coming. I said to her, at that time, "Well what do you think people should do with their money to keep it safe?" Her reply was, "put it under your mattress!"
Those of us who rely on prayer and God's truth stay close to God and weather the storms.
NJA

Another Year To Celebrate God's Love and Mercy-2015 Coming To A Close

Another year has gone by......it was a good year. Many blessings came our way. I am forever grateful for my relationship with God, for knowing God's love for me. I'm also grateful for this Year of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis.  I am very blessed to be on a vibrant, excited parish committee to plan events, lectures and gatherings to unpack all that God's mercy means and could be for God's people. Let's pray that there is an openness to knowing more and experiencing the grace of God's mercy, which is endless and so mysterious. God is so good and we are all so much in need of mercy. But that's obvious.
So a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Blessed New Year!!

I was just reading a column in Brooklyn's Catholic newspaper, The Tablet, by Fr. Robert Lauder. I have been reading and enjoying Fr. Lauder's articles for many, many years. This is an interesting story about those articles, from which I've gleaned so much knowledge. Last winter I was in the  Airport Terminal waiting for a flight. My husband went to get coffee and I was sitting reading, while waiting......When I travel I bring with me reading material and some articles that I've cut out and brought along. I was reading an article by Fr. Lauder, while waiting for my husband to get back. When he returned, I put down the article and went to get myself tea.  It was early in the morning. As I walked to the food concession, I literally walked right by Fr. Lauder....So strange. I know Fr. Lauder from when I worked in Douglaston, so I stopped him and told him what had just happened. I said I just was reading your article and here you are!! He was impressed and said that he was going back to tell the other priests, who he was traveling with, that he just met one of his fans! Yes he did! One of God's coincidences.
So here is a quote from Fr. Lauder from his recent article, which I think is very good!

     "Another Christmas! How the years fly by! This special day in 2015 has taken on more of a global meaning for me because of Pope Francis' encyclical 'Laudato Si.' If I had to sum up the Holy Father's encyclical in one sentence, the sentence would be 'Everything is connected.' That statement is the prism through which I am contemplating and celebrating Christmas this year. The birth of Jesus changes everything. It both challenges us and comforts us. It makes all persons brothers and sisters, loved and redeemed by God." (Fr. Lauder-12/19/15-The Tablet)
Amen to all of that!
God's abundant Blessings,
Nancy

Symposium for the Year of Mercy in Huntington and Marian Festival

I spent yesterday, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, which was also the beginning of the Year of Mercy (as declared by Pope Francis) at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, Long Island. They held an Academic Symposium which was presented by St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers. Laypeople attended as well as priests and it appeared that all the seminarians from St. Joseph's came as well. They arrived and entered the refectory at lunchtime and it was impressive how many there were in attendance.
They had excellent speakers at the symposium and a variety of lectures were offered for participants. There were so many good choices that I wanted to be everywhere and listen to everyone so it was difficult to choose. I attended Fr. Kevin O'Reilly's (Academic Dean and Professor) talk, "Mary as the New Eve: 21st Century Perspectives on an Ancient Image" and Msgr. Peter Vaccari's (Rector of St. Joseph Seminary) lecture, "The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, in the Jubilee Year of Mercy."
Both lectures were great. It was the first time I heard Fr. Kevin speak and it was very enlightening. Fr. Kevin pointed out all the parallels between Eve and Mary. So there are all these parallels in the Bible which I was fascinated to learn. For instance, as Fr. Kevin said, "Eve listened to the word of the serpent but Mary obeyed the word of God." Eve gave birth to sin, but Mary's nature was used to reverse Eve's sin and bring the Savior into the world.  Mary gives to Jesus his human nature and thereby reverses Eve's sin. Very intellectually stimulating. Fr. Kevin is an entertaining and knowledgeable speaker.
I mentioned at the end of the lecture that I find it fascinating that God seems to place in salvation history parallels as well as paradoxes, which you can find throughout the Bible and Bible figures.  I find that interesting. When I get to Heaven I'm going to ask God what is the fascination with parallel and paradox about.
Msgr. Peter Vaccari's talk was also excellent. I've heard Msgr. Vaccari speak before so I knew it would be good. He mentioned the papal document declaring the "Year of Mercy" and said it stated that "All salvation history attests to the Mercy of God" ...In Jesus, the Father's mercy is made known."
Mercy is always restorative. He mentioned that the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple in Jerusalem was for the ancient Israelites God's abiding presence with them. With the destruction of the Temple the Ark disappeared. For Christians, Mary becomes the new Ark of the Covenant. Mary becomes the new seat of mercy and she brings forth the Christ. He said we should keep our eyes fixed on the merciful gaze of Jesus.
It was a wonderful day and there was a lot of very fascinating information which I will continue to dwell upon. There is much more to this "Year of Mercy" that will have to be unpacked alittle at a time.
NJA

Be Thankful For Christ! The Beginning of Advent and Thanksgiving.....2015

As we approach the great feast of Thanksgiving as well as the beginning of Advent, we should be thankful for Christ, for the One who will ultimately bring fulfillment and completion to our fallen world. There is so much sad news and reasons for anxiety in the world and yet I just prepared a talk for Advent which gave me hope. The reason for my hope, after studying and delving into my religion books was the realization (the reminder) that Jesus who is the "Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end" will make it right, in God's time. I believe that.
Teihard de Chardin, the brilliant Jesuit theologian and scientist, wrote that the fulfillment of Christ "involves every fragment of creation from the Big Bang to the final culminating moment at the end of time, nothing left out." He referred to Christ as the Total Christ, the Cosmic Christ, the Universal Christ. So the Cosmic Christ is "pulling" all of creation to a future completion and fulfillment which we cannot see yet, so as Christians we should not get discouraged or give up hope. Our hope is in Christ.
St Paul had this cosmic sense of Christ when he wrote in the Letter to the Colossians, "He is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation. For in him were created all things in heaven and earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things and in him all things hold together...." (Col. 1: 15-17).
And so now that I have finished my talk on Advent, which I will deliver next week, I can think about making rice balls for Thanksgiving and getting the dinner right.
Happy Thanksgiving!
A Blessed Advent!
NJA

Many Norwegians Giving Up Beleif in God for Belief in Ghosts-Such A Sad State and Outcome of Secularism

 It seems ghosts are everywhere in Norway and they can even move things around in offices, at least that's what some Norwegians believe.
I  recently read in the New York Times an interesting article titled, "For Many Norwegians, Ghosts Fill A Void," by Andew Higgins. In what I thought was a fascinating article, the writer explains how many Norwegians have given up belief in God and replaced it with a fascination with ghosts.
As stated in the article, "Ghosts, or at least belief in them, have been around for centuries but they have now found a particularly strong following in highly secular modern countries like Norway....While churches here may be largely empty and belief in God, according to opinion polls in steady decline, belief in, or at least fascination with ghosts and spirits is surging....."
A Methodist preacher and professor at the Norwegian School of Theology in Oslo was quoted as saying, "God is out but spirits and ghosts are filling the vacuum" (Professor Fotland).

You can't make this stuff up! How sad for the people of Norway that so many have traded ghosts for belief in God. It's mind-boggling. How can this be? I can't fathom it. Could so many have been so poorly catechized that they could easily walk away from belief in God (and all the benefits that gives to human beings) and replace it with such superficiality? These people could not have had a relationship with the living God, with Jesus....impossible to just trade that for a belief in spirits. And what about all the repercussions of that, through future generations.
Religious rituals are good for human beings, they fill a void, they're sacred and beautiful and psychologists of all backgrounds can attest to the positive value they have for human beings, of all ages.  They offer comfort and security to the human soul and human consciousness.  Yet some people don't experience that or are not open to it. Or rebel against it.
 When you hear of such things in the modern world, you just know it's not a good development.
NJA

Hurricane Patricia and Other Sudden Scary Events-Who Is Prepared to Meet the Lord?

Are you prepared to meet the Lord? If today was the day you were to die and go to Heaven, could you look into the face of God knowing you fought the good fight against sin, evil and mediocrity?
A category 5 hurricane, the most ferocious there is, is bearing down on Mexico. Out of the blue, literally, as it was a tropical storm and then suddenly it grew to a monster hurricane. Climate scientists say that with global warming will come more powerful storms. We hope and pray for the people of Mexico. Hurricane Patricia is the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere.
Then there is the recent warning that the Los Angeles, California area is overdue for a massive earthquake. According to news reports, "There is a 99.9 percent chance that the Los Angeles area will have a magnitude 5 or greater earthquake within the next  3 years." That's pretty scary.
So we just never know. My friend's sister who was suffering from cancer was told by her doctor she wouldn't live much longer. Well she lived another three years, and was able to be present at her son's wedding. We considered that an answer to prayer.  Strangely, that same doctor choked on a pretzel within that year and died. Very sad, but the reality is, we just never know when our day to meet the Lord will come
So be ready! Fight the good fight, resist sin and do a little more to help others, to forgive others and be merciful as God is merciful. It's not easy being a Christian, no less a good Christian but its worth trying a little harder each day to get it right.
NJA

Pope Francis Asks Forgiveness For Recent Scandals, As Only He Can

At the beginning of his General Audience at the Vatican, Pope Francis began by acknowledging the recent scandals at the Vatican and also in Rome and asked for forgiveness. He wasn't specific but he could have meant a few different things that have happened of late. There are so many troubles surrounding Pope Francis. I pray the Holy Spirit guides him and he is open to the movement of the Spirit.
Right outside the Pope's window, Rome itself is embroiled in controversy as the mayor of Rome resigned over a scandal involving his expense account. Marino, a former liver transplant surgeon who became a politician about ten years ago, denies he's done anything wrong.  But he doesn't have the confidence of the people of Rome.
Then there are the recent scandals involving important figures in the Church. Two priests, one who was a member of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, an important Vatican office, are embroiled in controversy and scandal.
Pope Francis is trying so hard to do everything right, to be a positive image for the Church and he is succeeding, but there are problems in the Church. Problems that are usually not dealt with in an open and constructive way. Problems that need to be addressed in an intelligent, pro-active and pragmatic way.
God help Pope Francis as he sorts through these problems with his advisers. Finding solutions will mean "thinking out of the box," and asking the Holy Spirit for guidance. Pope Francis receives so many prayers each day, hopefully those prayers will give him clarity of thought and the knowledge of God's will for the Church.
NJA