 Question 6 in the Baltimore Catechism asks, “Why did God make you?” and is answered quite simply: “God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him for ever in heaven.” This answer reveals a few things about the way we are called to live our lives: that our lives should chiefly be directed towards God and that the result of a life oriented towards God is eternal happiness, or God Himself. We are made to know God, to love God, and to serve God. The Lord is our focus and our destination. Now does this mean that we should never think of ourselves or that God does not desire our happiness during our earthly life? Of course not. But it does remind us that an earthly happiness is not our ultimate end and that the happiness we do experience is first and foremost rooted in God. St. Vincent de Paul is a saint whose life exemplified this. He was born to a poor farming family in rural France towards the end of the 16th century. Early in his priesthood he served as chaplain for a French noble family, providing spiritual direction, tutoring, and distributing their money to the poor. Here we begin to see that despite his connections to the upper class, he also had a heart that ached for the poor. Over time he founded several organizations and religious orders to support his work with the poor, including the men’s Congregation of the Mission and, with the support of St. Louise de Marillac, the Daughters of Charity. St. Vincent recognized that if he wished to know, love, and serve God, he must also know, love, and serve the poor. This was a devotion he spread through the preaching missions of his religious order and the numerous talks he gave to his spiritual brothers. In writing to his fellow Missioners he reminded them, “Our main purpose in life is to love God and to testify our love by our service. Let us therefore beg of our Lord, that He grant us the grace to share His ardent charity, saying with Him, ‘My food is to do the will of him that sent me’... (Jn 4:34).” For those of us that have not dedicated our lives to service through our careers or the charism of a religious community, we are still called to emulate St. Vincent’s love of the poor. When speaking about the universal call to holiness, the Second Vatican Council document Lumen Gentium explains that “all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status…must devote themselves with all their being to the glory of God and the service of their neighbor” (Lumen Gentium, 40). This reminds us that there is no separation between love of God and service to our neighbor. The Church recognizes the multiplicity of our vocations and the countless ways we are invited to answer the call to service. In St. Vincent’s words: “It matters little in which place or in what capacity we serve, provided we serve Him faithfully; and we shall do just that if we allow Him to live and act in us.” Perhaps you are single and have more time to devote to service in your community. What local organizations that support the poor can you work with? How can you be particularly attentive to the needs of your friends? Or if you are married and busy with children, how can you serve your family in your own home? Are there opportunities your family can take advantage of to serve the poor together? Living a life of charity and a life with God is not always easy to do. Yet, it is not one we are asked to fulfill on our own. St. Vincent reminds us, “If we persevere in charity, if we attain salvation, it is to God and prayer that we owe our accomplishment.” Thankfully for us, God’s grace is always providing for what we lack: “By means of these sacraments of Christian initiation, [we] thus receive in increasing measure the treasures of the divine life and advance toward the perfection of charity” (CCC 1212). St. Vincent de Paul, you remind us to “thank God that He has been pleased to accept our small services.” Intercede for us that we may have the grace to persevere in love of Him and love of our neighbor, and so one day join you in Eternal Love. *All St. Vincent de Paul quotes are taken from Virtues and Spiritual Doctrine of Saint Vincent De Paul AuthorErin Donn is a campus minister at an all-girls Catholic high school and lives in Washington, DC.
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 Today we celebrate the feast of St. Lorenzo Ruiz, the protomartyr of the Philippines. A professional calligrapher, he was falsely accused of murder and ultimately hanged to death in Japan. Despite his end, St. Lorenzo remained faithful to God, exclaiming his last words: “I am a Catholic and wholeheartedly do accept death for God. Had I a thousand lives, all these to Him shall I offer.” During St. Lorenzo’s canonization, St. John Paul II said this of martyrs: “In their sufferings, their love and imitation of Jesus reached its fulfillment, and their sacramental configuration with Jesus, the one Mediator, was brought to perfection.” When I read about St. Lorenzo’s life, I became fascinated by the last moments of a martyr’s life. St. John Paul II noted that these last moments marked the fulfillment of their love and imitation of Jesus. A martyr’s love for Christ is so marked in the moment they offer their life that the severity of their situation does not have any bearing on the love that burns in their heart. Out of curiosity, I came across the last words of saints who had an impact on my own life: St. Paul the Apostle: “I am even now ready to be sacrificed, and the time of my dissolution is at hand. I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course; I have kept the faith. As for the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice which the Lord, the just judge, will render to me in that day: and not only to me, but to them also that love His coming.” St. Dominic de Guzman: “Have charity one for another, guard humility, make your treasure out of voluntary poverty.” and “Do not weep, I shall be of more use to you after death than I ever did in life.” St. Therese of Lisieux: “I have reached the point of not being able to suffer any more, because all suffering is sweet to me. My God, I love you.” St. Teresa of Calcutta: “I love you Jesus.” St. Pier Giorgio Frassati: "May I breathe forth my soul in peace with you" Read the last accounts of saints - it's a humbling experience to see that, despite the different circumstances their earthly life ended in, similar themes and sentiments are shared. All accounts share a testimony of love, of going to the Father. The present moment fades, but what they take with them is a clarity of thought, one of resolve and peace. One beauty of our Catholic tradition is the opportunity to read the accounts of holy saints throughout history who have courageously offered their lives for the Church. Fundamentally, their lives were offered out of love, and that burning love preserved them in the toughest moment of their earthly life. Their suffering in the end, redeemed through Christ, was the highest expression of their love to God. We can turn to the cross as that reminder: The cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ, the “one mediator between God and men” [1 Timothy 2:5]. But because in his incarnate divine person he has in some way united himself to every man, “the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery” is offered to all men (CCC #618). As we reflect upon the saints’ lives and come to learn about their last moments, let us call upon their intercession, that we too might meet those tough moments in our lives with the same love burning in our hearts. Our lives will take us on different paths, but back to God. If we stay true to the path of love, may our last words echo a similar breath of love and peace. All you Holy Saints of God, pray for us!
 “God withholds Himself from no one who perseveres.” –St. Teresa of Avila, Doctor of Prayer Perseverance always sounds nice; you hear the word and think “yes--I can do this!” Lately, I’ve been struggling to persevere in prayer. To combat this, I’ve found my American industriousness kicking in—resulting in my desire to impose on myself a strict prayer routine akin to that of St. Teresa’s (“If I just work hard enough, I’ll be levitating like St. Teresa in no time!”) only to wonder why it all seems to fall apart after 2 days. Discouragement soon follows, and I feel like I’m back at the beginning. I have fallen into this trap several times since I started taking my spiritual life seriously a few years ago. At the beginning, persevering in prayer and good spiritual habits can seem daunting. But the need for perseverance is a normal part of our spiritual journey. Sometimes prayer comes easily, sometimes we struggle to quiet our minds. As St. Josemaria Escriva said, “As the flames of your first enthusiasm die down, it becomes difficult to advance in the dark. —But that progress is all the more reliable for being hard. And then, when you least expect it, the darkness vanishes, and the enthusiasm and light return. Persevere! (Furrow No. 789)” It wasn’t until I heard the same advice from my spiritual director for the 100th time, combined with many Catholic podcasts and YouTube Videos, advice from friends, and books, that it finally dawned on me: you can and should tailor your spiritual life to fit your state in life and your personality! In doing so, you will find the strength to persevere. I made the mistake of thinking that the only way to grow in holiness was to follow the exact path of my favorite saints, only to end up frustrated as to why it wasn’t working or giving me any peace. After this struggle, I’ve learned four simple tips that have helped me develop better habits and persevere (and grow!) through a better spiritual routine.
As St. Francis de Sales also said, “Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.” Get to know yourself, what spirituality works for you, and persevere! *This blog post is reposted and origionally published July 2, 2019.* AuthorMary DePuglio is a government contractor living in Yorktown, Virginia. She holds a Master's Degree in Russian Language and Area Studies from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
 Last week, the Union of Catholic Apostolate (UAC) held its seventh General Assembly in Frascati, Italy. The UAC is an international public association of the faithful that has its roots in the original foundation of St. Vincent Pallotti in 1835 which had lay people, religious, and clergy as co-equal and co-responsible members in communion with one another. The UAC is led by lay people, religious, and clergy. The recently elected international president is a lay woman, while the vice-president is a Pallottine priest. The members of the General Coordination Council are international and come from all states of life. This association is unique in the Church and tries to live well the call to communion and mission in the way that St. Vincent Pallotti intended. Each of us, not just those who are members of the UAC, are called to live communion and mission. Communion with God and one another, and living the mission of Christ in daily life, are what each baptized person is called to do. St. Vincent Pallotti fully understood this. The members of the Union of Catholic Apostolate embrace this understanding. The Catholic Apostolate Center serves the Union of Catholic Apostolate as well as the Church through fostering greater collaboration, communion, and co-responsibility through our many resources that assist all in going forth as apostles on mission. As a Church, we are still in need to come more fully to the understanding that all are co-responsible for the mission of Christ and his Church. We need to accompany one another more deeply into this understanding. This is the central focus of the reflections of the recent Synods. As we move into the implementation phase of the Synod on Synodality, we need to commit even more fully to living the mission of Christ and assisting others in doing so as well. May the charity of Christ urge us on! In God, the Infinite Love, Fr. Frank
 As a former high school theology teacher and perpetual theology student, I like to think of myself as a Catholic theology nerd. I like to write papers on obscure, confusing Old Testament Bible passages that I’ve studied, and I love sharing what I learn about God, His Word, and His Church with others. So, when I became a parent and my infant son did every single thing a baby could do during the one hour Mass (including pooping LOUDLY during the consecration), I was both shocked and frustrated. ‘I just want to pray!’ I exclaimed internally. This was my one hour per week to get out of the house and experience the beauty of Mass! I thought: ‘Finally, it was my turn to be encouraged and spiritually fed.’ Instead, I fed someone else. Fast forward four years, and my husband and I have three children under 5 years old in the pew with us, and our funny stories about the things that have happened during Mass could fill a book and make you laugh till your sides hurt! From chasing a toddler track star down the main aisle to a child bursting into tears after receiving Lenten ashes saying between sobs, “But I don’t want dirt on my face!,” no Sunday Mass with the Ferguson family is ever boring. Sometimes, just sometimes, I’m able to detach from my embarrassment long enough to laugh. More often than I’d like to admit, I find myself tired, weary, and overall just at a loss for how to survive Mass with my little saints. Recently, the Holy Spirit filled me with an idea; ‘Ask other moms what works for them.’ So, I did. I polled every mother of small children I knew, and what I got in return was nothing short of pure mom genius! In speaking about Mass with small children, many of the moms pointed out that the frustrations we parents often feel in Mass are normal and reasonable. One mom said, “it's OK to feel sad about [how different Mass is with children compared to going to Mass before having kids] because it is frustrating and can start to feel like spiritual dryness if you aren't able to devote the same amount of attention to [Mass] as before.” “This is a new season of life to get used to,” a different mom explained, “and you probably won’t be able to pray the same way at Mass as you did before motherhood. Accepting that means less frustration, … There will come a time again when the kids are older and aren’t as needy and you can focus on the Mass again.” Mass as a parent with young children will not (and should not) look the same as Mass when you were a single adult. It could be that for many Sundays, we parents just won’t hear the homily, or we miss the readings and the Eucharistic prayer because someone got fussy or needed to be changed, or said they needed to go potty for the fourth time in an hour. During these years, still another explained, “You may not "get much" out of Mass for yourself. Think of it as a season of "giving much" at Mass. Don't guilt trip yourself over being distracted by your kids, just offer it to the Lord. In a way, you are offering more to Jesus by coming to Him when it is difficult and you don't get much spiritual sweetness - not to mention that you are bringing Him your children, the most precious gift you can bring to the Church!” Personally, I like to imagine the rest of the parish community saying, ‘You care for that precious baby or toddler, we’ll handle the Mass responses.’ After all, everyone present prays the Mass together, as a community, so when my attention is divided, someone in the pew next to me can focus on my behalf, and pray on my behalf. Still another mom put it this way: Caring for your children during Mass “is your mission work. It’s okay if they whine and talk, … They’re little and can only handle so much. They’re going to have times where it’s too much! … Sometimes it’s okay if [it feels like] the only good thing about Mass was that you showed up.” How powerful it is to ponder the difficulty overcome by parents who continue to show up to Mass, week after week, when they know it will be a struggle! Acknowledging the challenge and continuing to bring your children to Mass is truly a commendable endeavor! The Greatest ‘Catholic Mom Wins’ Overall, I received responses back from 17 young moms with littles ranging from newborns to toddlers across half a dozen states. When asked, “What tips or tricks do you have that helped make attending Mass with little ones easier?” From parent to parent, here’s their best advice:
 A well-formed conscience is upright and truthful. It formulates its judgments according to reason, in conformity with the true good willed by the wisdom of the Creator (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1783). When was the last time you examined your conscience? Typically, we think of an examination of conscience as a way to prepare for the Sacrament of Penance. Way back when, as a second grader at Our Lady of Mercy, I was taught an examination of conscience that was based on the Ten Commandments with a strong emphasis on lying, stealing, and obeying your parents. If it has been a while, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) offers seven different types of the Examination of Conscience - some focusing on state of life such as childhood, young adults, single persons, and married persons and others used specific themes such as Catholic Social Teaching, the public square, and the Ten Commandments. Essentially, the Examination of Conscience helps us prepare for a good confession by reviewing our past behavior “in light of the Word of God.” (Catechism 1454). What is the opposite of an Examination of Conscience? It is the formation of conscience. In the formation of conscience, we are not concerned about the past. Our focus is on the present and the future. What is our ability to understand what is good and true but also what is false and evil? We look at the way we think about moral issues. Are we stepping back, looking at the situation in a rational way, or are we being impulsive? Or, are we being so calculating, that we ignore the reasons of the heart? We are also mindful of our relationship with God. Do we see God as a distant “power” or a companion beckoning us to come closer in the deepest recesses of our hearts? Catholics believe that the education of conscience - the beginning of formation - is a life-long task (Catechism 1784). There are basic steps in any type of education - whether it is mathematics, grammar, or conscience. Benjamin Bloom (1913-1999), a prominent educational psychologist, outlined six steps or levels. Being aware of these levels can help us educate our conscience. Remembering: This is the most basic level and it requires memorization. Do I have the Ten Commandments memorized? Can I recall the Beatitudes? Do I have a Catholic definition of “sin” and “grace” or the great theological virtues of faith, hope and love? This is the basic language of conscience. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the best source on “the basics.” Understanding: I need to know that “coveting my neighbor’s goods” is one of the Ten Commandments and be able to explain it to myself and others. Is coveting more like envy or is it more like plotting? I may like, or even want, my neighbor’s new car, but is that really a sin? On the other hand, if I am obsessed with owning the “newest” model, then I am sinning. Applying: Once we understand the basic concepts of right and wrong, we need to apply them to new situations. Am I coveting my sister’s beautiful table setting? As a business owner, am I spending millions on a new computer system because my competition has it? As a country, are we coveting resources in another country to the point we ignore its integral human development? Analyzing: It is helpful to compare how I think through one evil compared to another, such as stealing and bearing false witness. Do I use a similar process? Do I pull from different scripture passages? Do I rely on the Catechism for one and a theologian for another? Evaluating: We may live by axioms, such as “honesty is the best policy.” Is that always the case? What is honesty? Is withholding information the same as lying? Does the context matter? Creating: This takes various concepts - such as honesty, stealing, and coveting - and creates a new synthesis to see the good and avoid evil. Pope Leo XIV, and other church leaders and theologians, are creating a moral response to artificial intelligence. Is it honest to present AI generated work as my own? Is it stealing to train AI with copyright materials? Educating our conscience is the first step towards its formation. We need to know and understand the basic building blocks of our faith in order to apply them to moral questions we face. It is not difficult, but it takes time, concentration, some research, and creativity. One way to begin is to think about a movie you have seen. What was the moral question that person faced? What were their values? How would I, as a Catholic, consider their situation? Another suggestion is to take time just to read and ponder the moral teachings of the Church. Could we take an hour on a Sunday afternoon? Just like exercise, the more we educate and form our conscience, the easier it will be to make tough decisions in our daily lives. We will build virtue. God has given us the ability to know the difference between good and evil. We examine our conscience to see if our thoughts and actions align with the Word of God. We educate our conscience so we know, understand, and can live “upright and truthful” lives.
 John: 15:9-11: As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. “I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete.” In today’s Gospel, we are given a clear picture of how we can live life in the joy of Christ. In order that our “joy might be complete” Jesus tells us that we must imitate his love for the Father. Furthermore, Jesus references clear and simple guidelines on how to remain in his love, the commandments. In my own life, I believe the key here is the need for us to imitate Christ. We often say that imitation is the highest form of flattery, and that could not be more true. Our goal should be union with God in heaven and the easiest way to achieve that union is by living a Christ-like life. Christ already loves us dearly, but how enamored is he when he sees us loving as he taught us! Christ yearns to be in relationship with us, for us to know him by loving like him. Mother Teresa had a beautiful devotion to Christ on the cross. When he exclaimed, “I thirst,” she interpreted this as Christ’s thirst for souls. He has an intimate longing for each of us to “remain in his love,” to know him and to love him. Therefore, when we imitate the love of Christ, we not only acknowledge the truth of his actions, but also are called to further relationship with God. It is crucial for us to remain in Christ’s love and in relationship with him because we thirst for him as well. Our world longs for perfection and satisfaction, but we will never be able to achieve this as the world sees it. The perfect body, the perfect job, the perfect grades, house, family, car – none of these can satisfy us like we often think it will. Christ knows this because he knows us intimately – “You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb” (Ps 139:13). He did not merely make us for this short life on earth – Christ made us to live eternally with him in heaven! Christ calls us to live this calling as citizens of heaven and to follow his commandments so that we may know him and his infinite joy. Let us pray with St. Paul that we may not be conformed to this age, but that we may be transformed by the renewal of our minds to the way of heaven, that we may discern what is the will of God, “what is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2). In conforming ourselves to Christ, in imitating his actions of love to all people and to the Father, by obeying the commandments laid out before us, we are called to be in relationship with him and thus take a most important step on the journey toward our salvation. It is important that we recognize the examples around us in Mother Teresa, St. John Paul II, our mothers and fathers, but it is also important to recognize that their holiness and their passion for the Lord steps from an imitation of Christ’s life. As the Easter season comes to a close in the next couple weeks, let us make a concerted effort to imitate Christ’s love and to conform ourselves to him. *This is a repost and was originally published May 22, 2014.* AuthorNicholas Shields is a graduate of The Catholic University of America with a degree in Mathematics.
 I can barely imagine what slavery was like and, when I get even a glimpse, it freezes my soul. The horrors of the Holocaust became more real to me having read Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning (1946) during college. I found the cruelty of the camps unbelievable and yet I was drawn to Frankl’s quest for meaning, even in the face of unimaginable suffering. It was not until 2016, at a conference for missionaries in Cincinnati, Ohio, during a visit to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center that the savagery of chattel slavery became real to me. Inside the center, there is a restored slave house. Few, small windows. The slaves were always in chains, even inside the house. The children slept upstairs. Since then, I have learned a lot about slavery. I know about cotton, a cash crop that made fortunes for plantation owners, and fed the textile mills of New England, by treating human beings as beasts of burden. Dawn to dusk, picking cotton as quickly as I can to meet my quota and avoid, at least for today, a whipping. I can barely imagine. It freezes my soul. As Americans, any conversation about freedom will evoke some image, some reference, to slavery. Whether we like it or not, it is part of our shared history. The good news is that our history - both personally and collectively - does not determine who we are. There is a freedom that God has given us in and through our conscience that no one - no slave master, no occupying army, no political leader - can take away from us. Man has the right to act in conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions. “He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience, especially in religious matters. (Catechism, 1782) One way to think about freedom is to make a distinction between “freedom from” and “freedom for.” Jesus, famously, said “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). For the people of his day, “freedom from” was from slavery in Egypt. Jesus and his people saw themselves as free people even though their country was occupied by Romans. The most severe slavery was sin. “Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.” So, what is our “freedom for?” Slavery. Saint Paul explains this in his Letter to the Romans. “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, although you were once slaves of sin, you have become obedient from the heart to the pattern of teaching to which you were entrusted. Freed from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness.” (Romans 6: 16-18). Conscience gives us the freedom to totally surrender ourselves to the perfect good, God, and all the other goods that lead us to God. We are free to become slaves of the good. Rather than an examination of conscience, we may need an examination of freedom. The first question is to consider the ways I am held captive. Am I enslaved by a pursuit of wealth, honor, pleasure? Have I said “no” to someone in need because I have put my own passions before them? Perhaps I am blinded by some assumptions about other people. Have I dehumanized whole groups of people because I fear I will lose something? Am I beholden to a political or religious leader because, frankly, I just do not want to do the work of conscience? The second question is “what is ‘the good’ slavery gives me?” Can someone be forced to love me? Can I be forced to love someone? Can I truly love someone unless I am free? What about happiness or joy? Can anyone force me to be happy? Isn’t joy a gift given by loving freely? What about creativity? Can someone force us to be creative? Sure, our creativity can be shut down, even cancelled, but can they truly rob me of the creative impulse, the need to create the good, the beautiful, the true? God has given us the power to know the difference between good and evil. We desire freedom from evil and freedom for the good. Once again, Saint Paul says it best. “But now that you have been freed from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit that you have leads to sanctification, and its end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6: 22-23) Many of us feel we are living in uncertain times. So many things are all happening at once - wars around the world, famine, political unrest, climate change. It is as if there are dark clouds on the horizon and they get darker, and closer, everyday. Once again, we can turn to Saint Paul. “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8: 38-39).
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