Good Morning,

I’ll start with a few thank yous. Thank you to Miss Jennette and Miss Lillie for the care you gave my Dad over the last several months. Without a doubt, you extended the time he had with us and allowed him to pass peacefully in his home. Thank you Aunt Tricia for providing for his care and really loving him. I hope my girls love their brothers as much as you loved Daddy. Thank you Uncle Lamar for the support you provided and for helping him to have what he needed to be comfortable at home. And thank you Kris for being on call to help with Daddy. And to my mom, well if you want to know a living Saint there she is. And thank, you Kip, Blessed are the meek…Blessed are the merciful… Blessed are the pure of heart for they will see God. No father could ask for more love from their son than what you gave to Daddy. You and those I mentioned were the hands and feet and love of Jesus to Daddy.

And thank you all for coming to celebrate the life of Daddy today and giving me the opportunity to tell you about who he was to me. Just keep in mind I only knew him for about half of his life, and in a particular way, the youngest of his 3 sons. Now, you may hear a little more about me than you would like but much of what I know about Daddy is because I know myself for I am my father's son. So in the next hour or two, I hope to honor Daddy and in doing so tell you about my Father. And the best stories about my Father are not about perfect people but about imperfect people made perfect in Him.

When I was a child Daddy was my hero. I remember my elementary school classmates having the proverbial discussions of “my dad can beat up your dad!” To which I would put an end to the discussions with “My daddy’s a giant he’s 6’ 3”, 250 lbs (sometimes he even made it up to 6' 8"). As a child, I believed Daddy could do anything. I remember him fixing things all the time around the house. He was fearless and brave. I remember one trip we went on with my grandparents and the van ran out of gas on a long stretch of deserted highway in the middle of the night. Daddy told us he’d be back and stepped out of the van and disappeared into the darkness to go find help. After some time, enough time that Grandma was getting a little anxious, we heard a tap on the window. Daddy had returned to save the day. He told us a little about his adventure. Having to climb over barbed wire and trekking through the woods a couple of miles to find help. At the time, I had no doubt he left out the parts about fighting off the lions and tigers. Maybe even a pack of wolves. Yes, as a kid, Daddy was quite the hero.

And as with any great hero, Daddy had a passion for loving people. I remember when I brought Heather over to meet him for the first time. She stuck her hand out to shake his. He looked at her, smiled, and said, “oh, we don’t shake hands here, we hug.” Then he reached out and hugged her, which she kind of returned. I said, “don’t feel too bad Daddy she didn’t want to hug me at first.” This passion for people would lead him to take us to visit friends and family. I remember going to visit a lady over on Rocky Brock road. I didn’t know why at the time but it turns out we were just visiting. Just showing a widowed friend she was remembered and loved.

I remember several visits to the Garner's house to see his best friend Benny and the family. I remember Kris and I would pretend to be Daddy and Benny, we would sit on the couch and pretend to have a conversation. Following each profound statement with a confirming spit of a little pretend Redman. And the day tragedy hit the Garner family and Daddy lost his best friend, he had us there showing us how to love and support our friends in their time of need. So I didn’t really understand why he was so surprised when at the age of 13, I rode my bike from Opelika to Beauregard to visit the family of my friend who had died. At the end of the “talking to” after I got home, Daddy said next time just ask and I'll take you. Interestingly, the friend and my Dad are in a picture together in the slide show.

Our childhood trips with my Daddy are some of the most impressionable events in my life. Several of those trips included taking us to, what I now call my happy place, which was my pawpaw’s lake cabin that my Dad and my Uncles built. A place that I can close my eyes and go to when life gets a little heavy. A true cabin, no phone, no tv. I had a single bed in my grandparents' room. Kip and Kris had a room with twin beds to share and Daddy had a room. We all had our place there. We spent several weekends there each summer and My dad would take my brothers and me there for a week in summer. Just us and him. I can see my Dad cleaning catfish over on the smoothen half tree log as my brothers and I head down to the lake to swim and jump off the dock.

You may know my middle brother and I as Kris and Kurt, but there we were Sonny and Crockett, Hannibal and Face, Leonardo and Donatello. Together we would solve the crimes, chase the crooks (inevitably over rails and into the water), and put the criminals at bay. We were quite happy to have a case interrupted when Daddy would come down for a quick dip and a splash war would ensue. We would assuredly surrender after being covered in the great tsunami his wide wing span could produce in a single sweep across the water. At the end of the day, we would return up to the cabin for a dinner of fresh fried catfish. After that, once the table was cleared and our food a little settled, we sat down at the table for a game of scrabble and some Little Debbies.

I never thought about it as a kid but looking back now, scrabble is such a fitting game for Daddy. As a kid, I never thought of my dad as an intellectual. I didn’t know that about him. I never saw him reading a book. In fact, when I thought about it, there was a lot I didn’t know about Daddy. But I didn’t know I didn’t know until my wife started asking me about him. She wanted to know what he had done for living throughout his life, what kind of education he had. How did he and my mom meet? You know, general things women or an FBI investigator want to know. But I didn’t have the answers. It turns out it's hard to really get to know someone when you're only together every other weekend and maybe one week in the summer for only 17 years of my life.

But for me, I knew what I knew of him and I thought that was okay. Until I started trying to find myself, find my place in this world, trying to find my identity. If you’ve ever been through those moments, especially, for a man, you realize you need to know your Father so you can know yourself because after all, you are your Father's son. And somehow, in a way, I had lost mine.

Over the years, through various inquiries Heather had on the occasional visit with Daddy and through different conversations with momma, I learned that Daddy had been to college and earned a degree. I learned he loved to read. You know reading is something I’ve come to love later in my life. I learned that he was a real Jack of all trades. You know I’ve become somewhat of a Jack of all trades. I learned that he was highly intelligent. You know I’m… I’m… Oh, my goodness, I am my Father's son!

I can’t remember the first time I had that epiphany. But I remember thinking I know what happened to Daddy. And I wondered if it was going to happen to me. I believe Daddy struggled to find his place in this world. He struggled to find where he fit. What was he to do with his intellect, with all his skills and love of learning things? Carpentry couldn’t satisfy him, the restaurant industry couldn’t satisfy him, management couldn’t satisfy him. I believe Daddy did all these different things searching for himself, much like many men do. I believe he thought if he could find himself, find where he fit in, he then could be a good dad, maybe even a good husband, much like many men believe. Yet these worldly pursuits left his heart restless, as it does for many men. What Daddy, and many others, failed to uncover is that, as St Augustine so eloquently puts it, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.” How do I know this was the Father's struggle? Well as I said, I am my father’s son. It was my struggle and sometimes still is. But thankfully I heed the words of St Augustine.

You see, in my search to find my Father, I came across my Mother. I knew her when I found her because she was reflected in all that momma was to me. She took me in, loved me, nurtured me, and guided me in this journey. To be clear, I am talking about finding my spiritual Mother. I found the Church and all her 2000 years of knowledge and wisdom. Everything she showed me, be it through the Mass or the scriptures or the writings of Early Church Fathers like St Augustine, it all pointed me to her Son. She said to me, “here is your Father.” I said, “oh, I know Jesus. He’s my Lord and Savior. She said, “yes, and here is your Father.” I said. “no, I’m looking for Ed Walker. I want to know what happened to him.” She said, “he is not your Father,...he is a reflection of your Father.” She asked, “how do you know he’s your father?” “Well, he gave me life and he loves me,” I replied. She said see here is your Father, Jesus Christ! He gives you true life and the love you received from your daddy is love that can only come from your Father. And I looked at my Father and he said to me, “you are my Son. I am yours and you are mine. You are my beloved.” I began to see Christ as my loving Father and not just an arbitrary ruler over my life.

I began to understand who I am in Christ. I am a father and I am my Father’s Son. I began to understand it doesn’t matter what I do in life to make money or what worldly success I have. None of that will ever satisfy me. What will satisfy me is being a father to my children and to do that well means to be a reflection of my true and their true Father, Jesus Christ. I don’t have to be a perfect father, I just need to reflect our perfect Father and He will help fill in the gaps.

Daddy wasn’t a perfect father, something else we share, and that is ok. I didn’t need him to be perfect, I just needed him to reflect our perfect Father. And as I think back about Daddy, the memories I remember most are of him doing just that. He reflected the love, the compassion, the forgiveness, and sometimes the almighty hand of God, our Father.

I don’t think Daddy ever got comfortable here, I hope that is something else we will share, for this is not my home. But perhaps he got a glimpse of where he belonged as Pop Walker.

I thank God for grandchildren. I think they are God’s gift to the most stubborn men. The men who give up on finding themselves or who lose sight of who they are. They are the gifts that put joy back into their hearts, that remind them of unconditional love. They are the face of God. So I thank God that He blessed Daddy with 9 grandchildren. When they were around, I saw the smile I remember he had when I was a child. When they were around, I remembered that kindness he was showing to them and the love he had for me. When they were around, I could see my Father reflected in Him. He loved being a grandfather and I think in those moments he may have even begun to find himself.

And I have no doubt our Father is now filling in gaps and showing Daddy right where he belongs.

I’ll leave you with one last memory of Daddy, the one that means the most to me. Whenever we were done visiting or talking on the phone, as we said goodbye, He would always say, “I love you.” I don’t think there are any greater words that a Father can say to their child or one friend can say to another. It is an echo of our Father's words to us. So until we meet again I love you daddy and I love you all and I thank you for celebrating Daddy's life with us today.

I AM is your Father

“Call no man father upon the Earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven(Matt 23:9).” This is a verse people tend to turn to when criticizing the Church for calling priests Father. You ever hear this argument? Then when you ask them, “so you don’t call your dad, ‘father’?”, they respond, “no, I call him dad or daddy!” Really? Ok, so Christ is not really saying do not use that title for any man. If he were, then who are we called to honor? Honor thy mother and thy father. Remember that commandment? Read more...

What would you do to protect your child?

Most parents will answer, “Anything!” Some would even say they would lie, cheat, steal, or murder to protect their child. Most would say they would die for their child. The extremes that parents claim they would go to protect their child are remarkable. However, I wonder, if you are one of those who say you would do anything to protect your child, would you really do anything? Hopefully, you will never be put in a situation to do anything illegal for your child. But, we are often put in situations where we will have to go to extremes to protect them. Are you willing to go to those extremes?

Would you be willing to take away your child's smartphone to protect them? Would you be willing to limit their access to movies and tv shows? Would you be willing to stop promoting boyfriend/girlfriend relationships? I could go on but to sum up, the big question is would you be willing to live counter culturally to protect your child? Are we willing to go to that extreme to protect your child? Read more...

The Solemnity of St. Joseph

Today, March 19th, is the Solemnity of St. Joseph. No, we do not worship St. Joseph on this day or any other day but we do give him special recognition and honor. We do pray (not worship) to him to help us be better men, husbands, and fathers just like you might ask other men to pray for you to be these things. How does he help us do that? For one, St. Joseph prays for us when we ask. Second, we can look to his example as a man, husband, and father to show us how we should live out these roles. Don’t worry looking to Joseph does not take away from Jesus but points us closer to Him. After all, the most important people in Joseph's life were Jesus and Mary. And Mary was important to him because she is the Mother of Jesus. See, it is still all about our relationship with Jesus.

Be honest, have you ever thought to yourself, especially in time of trials, “Jesus doesn’t know what it's like to be me, he’s never been... [married or he’s never been 40 or never had kids or whatever it is your current situation brings to mind]?” This is where His gift of the Saints can help. The Saints are people that have endured the same situations, trials, tribulations, etc. that we are going through and in doing so kept their eyes on Jesus. They are now here with us, our “great cloud of witnesses”, to help us endure our situations, trials, tribulations, etc. By reflecting on their lives, we reflect on the grace, mercy, and love of Jesus. Read more...

Are you Superman?

My children think I’m Superman. And I do everything I can to keep them believing I just might be! Why? I believe every child needs a Superman. They need someone that they can always count on. They need someone to protect them from evil. They need someone to believe in. They need a Superman! And who better to be that Superman than their father.

At first, when I began to realize that my children thought I was Superman, I thought I better sit them down and straighten them out because they are going to be very disappointed when they find out the truth! I'm no Superman. What special powers do I have? Besides, don’t we all find out our Superman is not really a superman and furthermore that there are no real superheroes. I knew that this was the reality that my kids would come to know about me.

I began to ponder how to tell them I wasn’t Superman. During this time, I continued to be their ordinary dad, As their ordinary dad, I loved them, helped them, and played with them. I went about my daily routines of going to work, exercising, and fixing things around the house. I kept putting off telling them the truth and things got worse. Read more...

Welcome Reader,

I am just a man trying to live life abundantly (Jn 10:10). I believe to live an abundant life it takes help from God and from other people. This site is my offering of help to others who need help in living an abundant life. I am 42 years old. I have been married for 19 years. I have 4 born children and one on the way. Two girls, ages 14 and 11, and two boys, ages 6 and 3 years old.

I am a public school educator. Over the past 14 years, I have taught various science courses for grades 6-12th grades which include Earth and Space science, biology, physics, robotics, and I will teach computer science in the spring for the first time. I have two Bachelor’s degrees and two Master’s degrees.

I am the youngest of 3 boys. My parents divorced before I was able to form a memory of them being together. I spent every other weekend with my father growing up. My mother married my step-father when I was around 11 years old. He passed away in November of 2019.

I grew up as a protestant and later converted to Catholicism. You can read more about that in my conversion story. It is this part of my life that has led me to create this site.

I enjoy playing soccer. I am a DIY'er. I love the outdoors. I enjoy hunting and fishing when I get the chance to go.

Hopefully, this information will give you some perspective into where I am coming from when you read the things I post. I hope they are informative and encouraging to you. Most of all I hope they help you to lead an abundant life. I would love to hear from you. Drop me an email if you have time.

Kind Regards,

Kurt Walker

manvilleministries@gmail.com

Lent 2022

3/27

In truth, I had been looking forward to my knee surgery for several weeks because I knew I would have recovery time. Contrary to what a lot of people believe, spring break (Christmas, summer break, etc.) is not always vacation time for teachers. For me, it is often time filled with working my second job or working on various projects or getting some necessary medical care. Busy, busy, busy, and go, go, go is the theme for me and a lot of you for most of our days. Watch out for the brick wall!: “Silence is the first language of God.” (St. John of the Cross). Man, doesn’t that just stop you in your tracks!

I know I often struggle to follow Jesus into the quiet of the night or early morning to listen to God. So to have this time to stop and slow down is a real blessing. During Lent is a great time to sacrifice some of that busy, busy, go, go time to stop and listen to God speak through the silence.

One of the things we can reflect on during Lent is how God was preparing His people for the coming of Christ. One of the main things God provided for His people in the desert was bread that was called manna (meaning “what is it?”). God also provided flesh to eat (quail) and water from a rock that followed them around. The manna, quail, and water were supernatural in origin but physically real and present daily. In John 6, as Jesus prepared His disciples for the fulfillment of the New Covenant and New Promised Land, He called to mind this miraculous event of feeding His people in the desert that no doubt each disciple was familiar with. Jesus then proceeds to tell them that His Body is the New Bread and His Blood is the New Drink of the New Covenant. It is through His Body and His Blood that we receive life in the New Covenant. The changing of bread and wine into The Body and Blood is supernatural, a mystery (as is the virgin birth, the resurrection and ascension, etc.), but it is physically real and present daily for us, God’s children of the New Covenant. It is this gift of His Body and Blood of the New Covenant that we celebrate every Sunday and especially at Easter.

3/20

If I could suggest something to read during lent, it would be the story of the exodus of the Jews from captivity in Egypt. There is a saying, “The New Testament is hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is revealed in the New.” So to better understand the Easter we now celebrate, we need to understand what the Old Testament Jews were celebrating in its place. The Jews were celebrating the Passover. Simplified, Passover was the feast in which Jews offered a sacrifice in remembrance of the first Passover, the final plague that led Pharaoh to free the Jews from captivity. Why did God free the Jews from Egypt? The simple answer is so they could worship Him in the manner in which God instructed them to worship. In order to get to where they could worship God appropriately, the Jewish people had to leave Egypt (sin/hell) behind and pass through the waters of the Red Sea (Baptism). Once they did this, the people would be able to worship God as He directed and follow Him to the Promised Land. During Lent, we can reflect on our time in our Egypt, i.e., our captivity (our sins, our sufferings, our sacrifices) and prepare for the freedom from these things found in the celebration of Easter!

3/5

Welcome to Lent! Many of you will spend 40 days here in hopes that Christ, in the end, will lead you to Easter. How will you know if you made it? How will you know you're not right back where you started when the 40 days is up? For those of you who want to give some thought to what you believe and to what (or where) you are trying to get to through participating in Lent, I want to help you. So let's start with the question of what is Easter?

It’s the time when we celebrate the Paschal Mystery: the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now, I want to submit to you that we have been given a particular way to do this by Jesus. I am offering you this not of my own revelation but from what has been passed on to me (and you) from the Church for 2000 years. I know many of you (for different reasons) have never had the opportunity to look at Lent and Easter with this lens. I hope that you will join me this Lent to explore this teaching. Now, to leave with a question to ponder until next time, what was going on before Christians started celebrating Easter, i.e. what were Jews celebrating and why?

I would love to hear from you:

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I hope that you will welcome the season of Lent in to your life. I’m not looking forward to the sacrifices and sufferings but to the spiritual growth that can occur through celebrating Lent. I know most Christian are looking forward to Easter. Even Christians that do not attend church regularly show up for church on Easter Sunday. Imagine how much more Easter will mean to us if we start to prepare for it now! That is what Lent is all about. Lent is a time, 40 days, for purification and preparation for Easter through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

I know when I think about Lent my mind goes first to fasting, but in preparing for Lent this year, the other two areas have been brought to my attention. What are we trying to do during Lent? Grow closer to Jesus, right? Well, what better way to grow closer to Him than to spend some extra time talking to Him. I encourage you to make prayer a part of your Lent. Speak to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. And don’t forget to listen. Spend some time just listening.

When it comes to fasting, I usually think about giving up some form of sugar during Lent, but last year I decided to give up something that would be more of a sacrifice for me. This year, I will give up something else that I feel is even more of a sacrifice than last year. What will you fast from? Is it a true sacrifice? Is it something that you will desire during Lent? I think that is important to consider. When you do have those desires for that which you have given up, ask Jesus to transform that desire into a desire for Him. If the absence of that which you have given up causes you discomfort and pain, i.e. suffering, offer up your suffering for those that are suffering not of their own free will. Thank Jesus for suffering for you and for the Easter that was and is to come in which Jesus takes away our sufferings.

Lastly, although no less important, include almsgiving in your Lenten celebration. This involves doing something for others. This can be as simple or as complex as you want. I think all of us could offer someone a kind word. A sign I recently read reads, “Be the reason someone smiles today.” What if we live like that for the next 40 days? Some of us need to start with the people at home. Be the reason your spouse smiles today. Be the reason your children smile today. Be the reason your mother-in-law smiles today! Okay, but she can learn to smile.**

I pray that this Lenten season will be a great time of growth for you. I pray you will be prepared to celebrate Easter with a whole new perspective on what the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus means to you! Christ was born for you!

On this final day of Christmas, we celebrate the Baptism of Christ (Mat 3). When Jesus was baptized the Heavens opened, the Holy Spirit descended, and God spoke. In this moment, we have the Trinity present and a prophecy from centuries ago fulfilled. Why was Jesus Baptized? His baptism was for us. His baptism sanctified all the water on Earth that henceforth any water may be used to baptize any person into the family of God. This event for Jesus was far from merely symbolic and (as the Apostles, the early church fathers, even Martin Luther taught, and the Church still teaches) for us it is far from merely symbolic. Our baptism brings us into the new covenant with God, it brings us into the family of God and that is why it is for all people young and old, alike. Christ was baptized for you, Christ was born for you. (for more on baptism checkout https://www.manvilleministries.org/rome-n-around#h.eqzvesetp732)

Happy Birthday Church!

Sunday was Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the Church. Pentecost (Greek for 50th) occurred on the 50th day after Easter Sunday in which the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and they began preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We all know Jesus came to preach the Gospel to those around Him and that He wanted His Gospel to be preached to all people in all generations. It is important to note that while Jesus was going about preaching, He was also gathering together those who would preach the Gospel when Jesus was gone. Those who followed Jesus were called His disciples. From these disciples, Jesus chose twelve men to teach particular things to and bestow on them particular authorities. Several times in the scriptures these men are pulled apart from the other disciples to receive specific instructions, truths, and authorities from Jesus. Among these 12 men, Peter, James, and John are often pulled apart to receive deeper insight into the knowledge of Jesus. It is clear from the scriptures that during His ministry, Jesus is establishing these men to lead His flock after He is gone. These men and His flock are what Jesus refers to as His Church. And this Church has a particular organization: the flock (the people) being submissive to the Shepherds (the Apostles). Then within the Apostles, as I stated, there were 3 men set apart to lead. And it is also clear from scripture that from these 3 men, one was set apart to be the leader. (Read more in Rome-N-Around)

Mother’s Day

As we approach Mother’s day, we can meditate on the question Jesus posed in Mark (3:35): Who is my mother? Who will we honor on this day? Some may not know their mom. Others may find it hard to honor their mother that they do know. If you are one of these, as hard as it may be, you may start by being thankful to them that they gave you life. Your life is a precious gift. Hopefully, you have a mother that is worthy of praise for more than just giving you life. I am fortunate to have a mother worthy of great honor for the life she gave me, the support she gives me, the sacrifices she has made for me, the unconditional love she gives me, and most of all guiding me to Jesus.

So, here I am with Jesus and he is asking me (and you) to ponder the same question he asked his followers on that day: Who is my mother? Obviously, Jesus knew who his biological mother was. So why ask this question? Well, over and over Jesus pointed his followers to a spiritual life. He showed us how a spiritual life is revealed through the physical: with physical baptism there is a spiritual baptism, with a physical confession there is a spiritual conversion, with a physical communion there is a spiritual gift. In the Gospel of Mark, we are shown this physical-spiritual connection is also revealed to us through the family unit. Not only do we have a physical father and mother and physical brothers and sisters but we also have a spiritual father and mother and spiritual brothers and sisters.

Who are they? Over and over throughout scripture Jesus tells us He is our father and here in Mark he tells who our mother, brothers, and sisters are: those who…”do the will of God.” And what mother did the will of God more than Mary. The God that has given us a spiritual Father and spiritual brothers and sisters has not failed to give us a spiritual Mother. And just like my own physical mother, my spiritual Mother is worthy of great honor for the support she gives me, the sacrifices she made for me, the unconditional love she gives me, and most of all for guiding me closer and closer to Jesus.

Most christians will give Mary honor on Sunday because she is the mother of Jesus. But ask you this year to meditate on the implications their relationship has on your relationship to Mary. If we are the Body of Christ and Mary is the mother of that body, is she not our mother, too? If Jesus’s mother is Mary, who “did the will of God,” is Mary not our mother, too? So not only on this Mother’s day can we honor her for being the mother of Jesus but we can honor her for being our Mother as well.

Our Mother, Mary, loved us enough to do God’s will and bring to us our Savior, Jesus. This is what her motherhood is always about. Whether we meditate on her life or we pray to her to intercede to Jesus for us, her desire is to show us her Son. I know my own mother would gladly pray to Jesus on my behalf and I know that she does even if I don’t ask. So too, Mary, will pray for us when we ask and she prays for us, always. Know today you are not only loved by your Heavenly Father but you are also loved by your Heavenly brothers and sisters and especially by your Heavenly Mother. Our Mother, who loves us with the love of Christ, is ever pointing us to her Son, Jesus, our savior. And for this we honor her along with our earthly mothers of Mother’s Day.

Easter is a Beginning, not an End

Where are you today? Are you still celebrating Easter? Or have you scattered about like the disciples did after Christ died? Was your life changed for a day or for a lifetime? I hope that you are still celebrating Easter. We need to remember that Easter Sunday was not the end of a season but the beginning. The Easter season will continue until Pentecost Sunday. This is the season to celebrate the resurrection and ascension of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church.

At Easter, in all the Catholic Churches across the world, the baptized in Christ renewed their baptismal promises. One thing this reminds us of is that death is not the end. Christ died but then He rose from the dead. We who were baptized have not only died with Christ as we went under the water (or it was poured on us) but we rose from the dead when we came out of the water. Now, we are alive in Christ.

Have we remembered this part? That now we live as Christ lives! And we should continue to live the way Christ lived until our time on Earth comes to end. Christ lived with eternity in mind. Are we living with eternity in mind? Christ lived as though He would return to the Father and He showed the way to the Father to others. Are you living as though you will see the face of God one day? Are you showing the way to the Father to others, especially to your wife and kids? If you are not a husband or father, are you showing Christ to those who are closest to you?

Christ has called us to be ready for eternity with God. To be ready for eternity with God we have to be perfect as Christ was perfect. Christ made us perfect through His sacrifice. We remain perfect when we live as Christ lived and do as He taught us. If you fail in doing this, don’t lose Hope. Return to Easter! At Easter, we renew our baptismal promises and offer the sacrifice of Christ to God for the forgiveness of our sins. This the power of the Cross. Christ’s one sacrifice is made for us for all time. When we return to Easter, we return to that one sacrifice and are made perfect through Christ, again.

But you may be thinking, “I will fail a lot between now and next Easter.” Again, don’t lose Hope. Every Sunday is a little Easter. This is the Mercy and Grace of God. This is the power of the Cross. This is the reason for the Church: To bring us Easter as often as we eat and drink until Christ comes, again. And this is what we should be celebrating throughout this Easter Season and every Sunday throughout the year!

Happy Easter!

Holy Week: Concluding Lent

4/2/21

How has your Lent gone? Did you pray, fast, and give the way you planned? For me, it was a struggle to do these things. As we say sometimes, “life happened” and things got in the way of me doing these things the way I wanted to this Lent. Perhaps, this is the case for you. But isn’t this a part of what Lent is about: struggling to be who Christ made us to be as we prepare for His coming. It is often in our struggles when we most recognize our need for Christ to be our shelter, our stronghold, our defender, our crutch, and most of all our savior.

So, as we live this Holy Week, the final week of Lent, let us persevere in our Hope. This week let’s renew our focus on our preparation for the coming of Christ. A few things we can do this week are:

1. Go to confession: This is one of the beautiful sacraments that Christ gives us through the Church. (John 20:21-23) Even if you’re not Catholic you can still do an examination of conscience. Ask God to reveal the things that are separating you from Him, resolve to remove these things from your life, and ask His forgiveness. These are the very things (sin) that Christ died for on the cross.

2. Read the story of the Passion of Christ in the Bible. The Mass scripture readings from Sunday and for this Friday cover this story. Additionally, many Catholic Churches will have special services throughout the week such as the Stations of Cross on Friday. During this particular service, the focus of the readings and prayers will be the journey Christ took carrying His cross to Calvary.

3. Pray. This is probably the most under used gift from Christ by men. I think it is mainly because in prayer we often feel helpless because we are not physically doing anything. We feel we are not in control. We are saying, “I can’t fix this. I need help” and that is a difficult thing for men (and women) to admit. But praying is what Christ did throughout His life. So if He did it, we can humble ourselves and do it. And we can do this with the confidence that our prayers are more powerful and effective than anything physical things that we do. So, pray throughout this week that you and your family will receive the fullness of what Christ offers His children through His passion, death, and resurrection.

I hope you have a grace filled Holy Week and a wonderful Holy Easter!

I would love to hear from you:

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I Want to be a Hero...Well, Heroes Pray

What is the connection we make with the hero in a story? Why does the “hero” story resonated so much with us? I think most people, for the moment that they are watching or reading the story, live through this character. And through this, we become the hero. But why is that appealing? One reason is because in that moment we have the hope that we can be the person we want to be. For a moment, we believe we can be the hero in our own story.

We connect with the hero that is throwing everything he has at the enemy. He/she holds nothing back and finally is able to overcome their adversary. In this, we get a sense that we can do it, too. That we can conquer our enemies, our trials, our troubles, our child that doesn’t want to potty train, our home project that’s taking forever, our financial troubles, our marriage issues, our teenager.

We connect with the hero that is fighting for his loved ones, fighting for what is right, fighting for truth and justice, fighting for those who can’t fight for themselves. We get this sense that what we are fighting for is worth it. That we can protect the ones we love, that we can overcome our enemies, that our counter-cultural ways of living and raising our children are worth the sacrifices, that our views on life and family will endure, that good will always triumph over evil. ( Read more...)

“I’m Giving Up Being Stupid for Lent!”*

Who is with me? I hope that you are looking forward to Lent. I’m not looking forward to the sacrifice and suffering but the spiritual growth that can occur through celebrating Lent. I know most christian are looking forward to Easter. Even christians that do not attend church regularly show up for church on Easter Sunday. Image how much more Easter will mean to us if we start to prepare for it now! That is what Lent is all about. Lent is a time, 40 days, for purification and preparation for Lent through prayer, fasting, and alms giving.

I know when I think about Lent my mind goes first to fasting( Read more...)

New Year Resolution, How’s That Going For You?

What was your New Year's resolution? Are you still keeping it? I had a few vague resolutions that I set. I resolved to be a better man, husband, and father. Another, more specific one (but still with vague aspects) was to start a men's ministry. I’ll tackle the latter first.

I launched Manville Ministries on Jan 1st and I am still here working on this resolution. So, I have at least one resolution still going for me. Now, the other resolutions(or it could be considered one resolution depending on your perspective) are a different story. I am working on these resolutions, but at what success? Read more...

“Check Engine Light is on.” “Check Engine Light is on.” “Check Engine Light…”

What do you do when the check engine light comes on? Most of us don’t pull over, immediately. We keep driving a few days before we get the car checked out. Then how we address the problem all depends on the diagnosis. The important point we had the car checked out when the light came on because we didn't want the car to break down on us.

What do you do when the check engine light comes on in your marriage? Do you stop to get the problem diagnosed or do you just keep going hoping the problem will not cause a break down? I mean it is not like the oil light is on! This is just a small thing that can wait, right? But if you wait too long to fix the small problem it eventually turns into a big problem.

“Check engine” signs in our marriage may manifest themselves in different ways due to one's personality. The signs may come from both spouses or they may come from one spouse. These signs may be something like being short worded with your spouse or with others due to the issue with your spouse. You may be easily irritated (or more so than normal) by your spouse or others due to the issues with your spouse. There may be more serious signs like being resentful toward your spouse or avoiding your spouse. If you don’t know what the signs are that is a sign in and of itself. Maybe, I can address that later.

Hopefully, you are checking up with your spouse regularly when there are no “lights” on, but we know we all can get complacent when things are good and not do those regular check ups. This can sometimes lead us to avoid checking up on our marriage when the “lights” do come on because we don’t want to rock the boat so to speak. But, again, avoiding a check up can allow a small problem to become a big one. Read more...

New Year Resolution: Being a better Husband?

What was your New Year's resolution? Are you still keeping it? I had a few vague resolutions that I set. I resolved to be a better man, husband, and father. Another, more specific one (but still with vague aspects) was to start a men's ministry. I’ll tackle the latter first.

I launched Manville Ministries on Jan 1st and I am still here working on this resolution. So, I have at least one resolution still going for me. Now, the other resolutions(or it could be considered one resolution depending on your perspective) are a different story. I am working on these resolutions, but at what success? Read more...

Two Become One

I will try to be real and honest in my writings here as I have tried to do in the other sections. Not being those things can hinder growth as a man, a father, and a husband. It seems to be easier done in regards to being a man and a father. Why do we shy away from those things in being a husband? I am speaking in terms of self reflection as a husband. I think for me when I look into the mirror to see what kind of man or father I am, I see myself staring back. However, when I look in the mirror to see what kind of husband I am, I see my wife staring back. Read more...

A Tough Teaching: the Mystery of the Eucharist

Yes, the official Church teaching is the bread and wine in the Mass changes into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Without going any further, that in itself elicits the response from anyone, non-Catholics or Catholics, “this is a hard saying; who can accept it?” In fact, this is the response many of the disciples that were with Christ and had been with Him for sometime, gave to Him when He was teaching them about the Eucharist (see John 6:60). So don’t feel bad if this is your response to hearing this teaching.

This is a tough teaching for many. But it does not have to be, if we spend a little time putting it into perspective. Think about the hard teachings you already believe. Most Christians believe God became man and was fully God and fully man. How does that happen? The God that became man was born of a virgin. How does that happen? We do not really know how these miracles occur. This is why these miracles are considered mysteries because the question of how they happen is not fully understood. But that doesn’t stop us from believing them.

Why is it so different when it comes to the Eucharist? Why can someone believe in those miracles and not the miracle of the Eucharist? Read more in Rome-N-Around

Baptism in the Scriptures

Baptism is always a hot topic to discuss when it comes to differences between Catholics and Protestants. But why is it so important? For protestants, to believe baptism is not symbolic contradicts the Bible and makes the free gift of salvation by Grace through faith alone not free. For Catholics, to believe that baptism is symbolic contradicts the Bible and takes away from the fullness of the Truth of who Jesus is and what He taught about salvation. So, for both Protestants and Catholics the reason the discussion is so important is because it is a matter of salvation. I think that is important to note. Both Protestants and Catholics are concerned about the salvation of people. And it is out of this concern and love that both want others to believe as they do. But who is correct?

When we look to answer this question, I think it is proper to look at the Bible verses that include baptism in them. For this post, I am going to first share with you the verses I found that either have some form of the word baptism in them or directly refer to baptism. Then I am going to ask a couple of simple questions for you to think about. Read more in Rome-N-Around

Is This Going to be on the Test?

“Is this going to be on the test?” Anyone who has been a teacher has heard this question from their students. A lot of students (I won’t say all) just want to know what is the minimum they need to know to pass the test. Unfortunately, there are some teachers that perpetuate this attitude by teaching the minimum content to the students. Consequently, the teachers and students miss out on the fullness of the subject and the beauty that is revealed through that fullness of knowledge.

How do great teachers respond to their students when they are asked, “Will this be on the test?” With a resounding, “Yes! It’s all important and testable. I would not teach it to you if it were not important in helping you fully understand the content.” These are also the same teachers that don’t give study guides. Why? Because every lecture, every set of notes that they give is a guide as to what to study and know not just for the test but to possess the full knowledge of the subject.

This is also the same attitude that a lot of people have when it comes to their religion and, for christians, their relationship with Christ. They want to know what is the minimum they have to know or do to go to heaven. Unfortunately, there are some preachers that perpetuate this attitude by teaching the minimum content to their congregations. Too often, many are taught through Sunday morning sermons, Sunday school, and other “Bible study” meetings that the Gospel comes down to one or two main ideas...(read more in Rome-A-Around)

My Conversion Story

There are few reasons that come to mind when I think about why I am writing this. One is that I am seeking to answer a question posed to me by my mom. She asked me, “Why did you feel you needed to go to the Catholic Church?” Essentially, she was asking why her Christian son, who had a personal relationship with Jesus, joined the Catholic Church. The second reason arises from my own journey. Many times, during my journey, I found myself saying, “why didn’t anyone tell me this” or “why have I never seen that in the Bible!” I want less people to experience that. I want people to hear the truths of the Catholic Church. Thirdly, I wanted to take this opportunity to clarify my own story so that I may “...always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls [me] to account for the hope that is in [me]” (1 Peter 3:15). Read more...

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