Hey All---

I got asked the other day, what's the best part of marriage. I happened to be holding William, and just pointed right at him. :-) The gift of life, the gift of a child. What a beautiful fruit of marriage!

Further bringing that point home..and how our lives now revolve around him, a highlight of our anniversary this past Sunday was a 2 hour nap that little William allowed his tired parents to get :-) Welcome to parenthood!

Of course, we also had a nice dinner to celebrate as well :-)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question O' The Week:

"How do you find meaning in the Bible?"
-Good question. The Bible is the Living Word of God. And it does speak to us. There are a number of different levels of meaning in the Bible. The first, objective meaning, is what you can find in commentaries or the footnotes that most Bibles have. It's what the Church tells us is it means. And the Church relies on the saints and traditions of 2000 years to arrive at that meaning. (And these people are a lot smarter then you and me :-) ). The second level is a personal one. What is God saying to you through this passage? What stands out to you? For God uses his Word, in the Bible, to communicate to you and me.

When I teach Bible studies, I always do two things. We read through the passage and I always ask the person if anything stood out to them or especially caught their attention. (The personal meaning). And we'll talk about that. Next, we then go through the objective meaning as revealed by the Church through 2000 years of history.

One key note...since God is the author of the Bible...and leads people on both levels...the personal message can never contradict the objective meaning. After all, can God contradict himself? Of course not.

So read the Bible, do it in a spirit of prayer, listen to what God is saying to you, and read the footnotes and commentaries.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prayer Intentions
-For the McMahon family in LaCrosse. The father died tragically and the mom gave birth shortly after her husbands funeral. They have 3 other young children.
-For all the graduates, as they seek God's will for their futures.
-For all those affected by the earthquake in Indonesia.
For all of these and the intentions we each hold, we pray to the Lord.
.....Lord hear our prayer.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcements
Next Gen. JPII Meeting---Sunday, June 4th, "Stump the Priest" in the park. 6-8pm at Pfiffner Park, Meet at the Gazebo.Think of some stumping questions for Fr. Louis. We will also have an ice cream social, I'll bring the ice cream, you bring your favorite topping. Bring any outdoor games as well. In case of inclement weather, the meeting will be held in Kolbe Hall.

Next Thursday--Sr. Mary Gabriel of the Nashville Dominicans will be coming home! She is from St. Peter's Parish. 5 years ago she entered the convent. She's coming back to say thank you to all who have been a part of her journey so far. Awesome young woman of God! Phil Kosloski, our parish seminarian, will be there as well. It's at 7pm in Kolbe Hall.

God bless you!
Phil Lawson

Catholic Teens 5-23-06

Hey All--

Do you ever wonder whether you can make a difference in the world? Do you ever wonder, "what can I possibly do to change anything?" It's a good question...I mean we all feel very insignificant at times. Think about this little story...

A 10 year old boy was walking along the ocean shore after the tide had receded. He was picking up the starfish that had been left behind and one-by-one picking them up and tossing them back into the ocean. (For if they were just left, they'd die of exposure before the tide came back in). A 20 year old guy was walking along the shore and saw what the little boy was doing. He approached him and asked him why he was bothering to throw some of them back in, "after all, you can't possibly throw them all back in...what difference does it make." The little boy looked up at the guy, threw another starfish back into the ocean, and responded, "it makes a difference to this one." And the little boy continued throwing them back, one-by-one.

We all make a difference, and it's usually in the little things. You'd be amazed at the difference you can make, even in one person's life just by being there and helping. And just like the starfish who was saved and thrown back into the ocean, you may very well save someone's life. We all have our own part to play in this world, no matter how "little" or "insignificant" it may appear to others.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question O' The Week:
"I heard that people in Heaven don't remember their Earthly life. Is that true? Like you won't remember your husband/wife, parents, or friends?"

-Heaven is a very different place. It is eternal happiness with God and everyone is joined in Union w/God. So as opposed to having a "best friend" or just being close to your family on earth/.....in Heaven, you are that close to everyone. Everyone is a family, the family of God...and a perfect family at that.

Do you remember the stuff of Earth? Yes. Recall, your soul is immortal. The same soul you have on Earth, you also have in Heaven. Do you think Mary doesn't remember having Jesus at Bethlehem? Or that the saints don't remember how they got to Heaven? It's a pretty safe bet, that you'll remember stuff in Heaven :-)


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prayer Intentions:
-For the soul of Shawn McMahon, and the consolation and peace of his family. (His wife's due date is tomorrow).
-For all young people, that they make wise choices now as they look toward marriage and their vocations in the future.
-For all married couples, that they may base their marriage in God, and thereby eliminate the high divorce rate.

For all of these and all your intentions, we pray to the Lord.
Lord hear our prayer.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Announcements:
-I'm giving a talk on the Da Vinci Code tomorrow (Wednesday) night at 6:30PM. This is open to everyone, young and old!

-Looks like it's going to warm up this week..and in the 80's this weekend. Have a wondeful Memorial Day Weekend!

God bless you!
Phil Lawson

Catholic Teens 5-16-06

Hey All--

With the arrival of the movie "The Da Vinci Code" this weekend--it's time to talk about it some more. Some are saying that since this is just a work of fiction, Christians should just "get over it" and not get upset. Indeed, it can seem that we are overreacting. But are we?

The book says that the Vatican has been involved in assasinations and has covered up the "fact" that Jesus married Mary Magdalene. That Jesus wasn't really "God" but just a good teacher. And that the Church waged a campaign to keep all these "facts" silent. Plus, it portrays the religious order, Opus Dei, has being well evil---having their own assasin.

But it's all fiction right? No need to be bothered by it.

Now imagine someone wrote a book and then a movie saying that Sony Motion Pictures, (the producers for the 'Da Vinci Code) were behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks. You think they would be upset? You bet! But hey, it's only "fiction."

Or, say someone produced a movie saying Dan Brown was behind the assassination attempt of John Paul II in St. Peter's Square in 1981. Think he would mind this "fiction"? You bet he would!

And for those same reasons, Christians, the Church, Opus Dei, and lots of others, are rightly upset.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question O' The Week:

"Has anyone ever actually gotten kicked out of the church?"
Actually, yes. Although it's rare and in reality, pretty difficult to pull off, at least in the public sphere. St. Paul talks about this in a few of his letters included in the New Testament of the Bible. If a person continues to sin, refuses to repent, and is trying to lead others into sin, St. Paul talks about removing them from the community. The purpose of that was two-fold. One to show the person in sin, the seriousness of what they were doing. And two, to protect the rest of the Christian community from being lead astray.

The Church does the same thing today, and the formal name for it is "excommunication." And again, it is pretty rare today. In fact, there have only been around 5 people excommunicated publicly in the last 30 years. That's out of over 1 billion Catholics! You have to really be doing something bad, refuse to try and be better, and be trying to lead others into major sin as well.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prayer Intentions:
I'm helping lead a retreat for the sophomores at Eau Claire Regis this Friday, for them, we pray to the Lord.
For all those graduating from UWSP this Sunday, that they may find good jobs and their vocations, we pray to the Lord.
For all our Catholic teens, we pray to the Lord.
--Lord Hear Our Prayer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Announcements:
-The next Generation JPII gathering is this Sunday, May 21st at 6PM @ St. Peter's. Fr. Dan Farley, pastor of St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish, and a military chaplain will be speaking about his year in Iraq. He's done this presentation throughout the diocese, so it's well worth your time!

-This Friday evening, there will be a prayer vigil outside Rogers Cinema from 6-9pm. This is in reparation for the blasphemy that the movie puts forth and a peaceful protest. Patty, myself and William expect to be there as well.

God bless you!

Phil Lawson

Catholic Teens 5-9-06

Hey All,

I've just heard a report that Amnesty International, that worldwide group that does so much good helping spotlight political prisoners and human rights abuses, is looking to now support abortion as a "human right". How sad and disturbing. A group that does so much good to defend human rights, would turn it's back on perhaps the most defenseless and innocent of all, those still in the womb.

I find my convictions about the life of little ones, while strong previously, becoming even more so as I watch my own son...so precious, so innocent, so defenseless, and so totally dependent on his parents. And it amazes me all the more that anyone could consider harming such a one, no matter what the circumstances.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question O' the Week:
"Is getting drunk at a wedding a sin?"
(Yes, this was an actual question submitted!)

-As God tells us, "your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit." Shouldn't you treat it nicely? (Even if it's a wedding!) The Bible does not condemn drinking. After all, Jesus turned the water into wine at the Wedding at Cana. (It wasn't grape juice.) However, in many places the Bible does condemn getting drunk.

Remember, you are made in the image and likeness of God. You are a beautiful gift of Creation. Getting drunk harms that beautiful image. As St. Paul alludes too: "Christian remember your dignity!" In other words, you're better then that.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prayer Intentions:

-For Darlene, here at St. Peter's. She recently lost 2 of her cousins.
-For Loretta, whose husband is undergoing surgery and tests tomorrow.
-For Fr. Louis, suffering the effects of the flu and allergies.

-For these and all our intentions, we pray to the Lord! Lord, hear our prayer.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Announcements:
Next Generation JPII Youth Group: Sunday, May 21st @ 6PM. Fr. Dan Farley, who served in Iraq as a chaplain, will talk about his experiences!


God bless you!
Phil Lawson

Catholic Teens 5-2-06

Hey All---

Today is the Feast of St. Athanasius, one of my favorites along with little William's patron saint. He spent his life teaching that Jesus was God, and not just a mortal man. And he suffered greatly for it, but never gave up. It appears we could use some people like that today, given the many who now teach the same thing, ( i.e. the DaVinci Code and the Gospel of Judas).

Then again, God has already given us two amazing saints in our lifetime, John Paul II and Mother Teresa! :-)

----------------------------------------------------------
Question O' the Week:
I get into these discussions at school all of the time about the Catholic religion. There are a lot of people that I know that are confused about the Catholic religion and I know how to "straighten them out" most of the time but a few days ago we started to talk about Mary. They thought that we idolize her and I know we don't, we just pray to her, right? Why do we do this?

--I love that "straighten them out" good for you! :-)
Catholics idolize no one but God. He alone is the One we adore and worship. So how does Mary fit in? God thought pretty highly of her for one. Recall how the Angel Gabriel greets her at the Annunciation and then again at the Holy Spirit's words at the Visitation of Elizabeth, "Hail, favored one..." and "blessed are you among women..." Now there are only 2 people in the Scriptures talked about so highly--Jesus...and Mary. That's some good company! Look at Rev. 12:1..where it refers to "the woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." That's Mary. Not a bad image.

Who was the first Christian? Mary. She was the first one to say "yes" to God, when she agreed to have Jesus. We do well to imitate her.

Similarly, who prompted Jesus to do his first miracle? Again, Mary, at the Wedding of Cana, where Jesus turned water into wine.

So we do not worship Mary, but we do honor her and imitate her. We ask her to pray for us and her intercession for us(the same way you ask your friends to pray for you when something bad happens or someone is ill.) She helps lead us to Jesus.

In essence, why do we attach so much importance to Mary? Because God does. If someone doesn't like it...they have to take it up with the Big Guy Himself :-)

Hope that helps!

------------------------------------------------------
Prayer Intentions:
-For a friend of mine whose grandmother passed away on Sunday afternoon.
- For the help of the Holy Spirit , to enlighten all the SPACS teachersand administration to the promise of deepening the Roman Catholic faith, in our schools, thru prayers and devotions!!

---------------------------------------
Announcements:

Next Generation JPII Youth Group this Sunday, May 7th. 6-8pm. Fr. Louis will talk about the spiritual world and demons. Promises to be an interesting topic!


God bless you!
Phil Lawson