 We can never forget that the Holy Spirit provides us with the ability to do what we do on mission for Christ. We can begin to think that what we do is simply of our own making. It is not. As with those in the Cenacle or Upper Room at Pentecost, we, too, have the power of the Holy Spirit moving and guiding us. We are called to discern what the Holy Spirit wants us to do and the way in which it is to be done. This part is a challenge. We want direct answers to our questions. When something gets difficult, we often want God to move those obstacles out of the way since we are doing the mission of Christ. And yet, one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is wisdom, which teaches us that we are not in control, God is. As human beings, we so love to be in control, but we are not. God is and we, as believers, have faith which teaches us to trust in God and in God alone. Easier said than done. Being “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4), means that other things that fill us need to give way, especially the belief that we are in control. Instead, we are in what St. Vincent Pallotti called, “holy cooperation” with God. As baptized, we are co-responsible for the mission of Christ and the Church. He gave the mission to the Apostles to “go and make disciples” (Mt 28:19). We share in that same mission until Christ comes again! May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Apostles, intercede for us and the Charity of Christ urge us on! In Christ, Apostle of the Eternal Father, Fr. Frank
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 The hope of the Resurrection is the cause of our rejoicing during the Easter season. The Risen Christ offers us peace, as he did to the frightened disciples locked in the Cenacle or Upper Room. The Cenacle itself becomes then a place of deeper community that leads to mission. The mission Christ gives is not our own. It is his. We share in it. We go forth as witnesses of the Risen Christ from the community, are sent by the community, and return to the community. This must be done in integrity through not only saying what we believe but living it. Pope Francis recently provided some reflection on this: “Many Christians only say they believe, but they live something else, as if they did not. And this is hypocrisy. The opposite of witness is hypocrisy.” (General Audience on March 22, 2023) No one wants to be accused of being a hypocrite. Few of us will perfectly live the life of faith. Witnessing Christ is not about being perfect, but by being perfected by him through ongoing conversion of heart and mind. This is accomplished through the grace of the Sacraments provided by the community of faith, the Church. As St. Vincent Pallotti taught, we are called to cooperate with this grace so that we can witness the Risen One more authentically to the world as apostles. May the charity of Christ urge us on! Blessed Easter, Fr. Frank
 The tenth anniversary of the election of Pope Francis was on March 13th and anniversary of the inauguration of his Petrine Ministry was on March 19th. As we commemorate these special anniversaries, it is worth reflecting on his continual call to all the baptized to share responsibility for the mission of Christ and the Church as missionary disciples. He is simply restating the teachings of the Second Vatican Council. Living this mission is part of our call to holiness. Pope Francis describes holiness in Gaudate et Exultate “To be holy does not require being a bishop, a priest or a religious. We are frequently tempted to think that holiness is only for those who can withdraw from ordinary affairs to spend much time in prayer. That is not the case. We are all called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves. Are you called to the consecrated life? Be holy by living out your commitment with joy. Are you married? Be holy by loving and caring for your husband or wife, as Christ does for the Church. Do you work for a living? Be holy by laboring with integrity and skill in the service of your brothers and sisters. Are you a parent or grandparent? Be holy by patiently teaching the little ones how to follow Jesus. Are you in a position of authority? Be holy by working for the common good and renouncing personal gain” (14). Prayer, both communal and individual, along with the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, which Pope Francis has emphasized often, will aid us in living holiness in the way that he describes. Lent is the perfect time to deepen our efforts, always done with the grace of God. Ad multos annos, Pope Francis! May the Charity of Christ urge us on! In God, the Infinite Love, Fr. Frank
 Lent is not a diet program nor is it a spiritual competition. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are means to an end, not ends in themselves. They are the recommended ways for us to deepen our encounter with Christ and grow in holiness. We seem to know this but when a food that we have given up for Lent is placed before us, do you say, “NOOOO, I have given it up for Lent!”? Of course, this is an exaggeration to make a point. Pope Francis in his 2023 Lenten Message focuses us on the purpose of penance during Lent. “Lenten penance is a commitment, sustained by grace, to overcoming our lack of faith and our resistance to following Jesus on the way of the cross. To deepen our knowledge of the Master, to fully understand and embrace the mystery of his salvation, accomplished in total self-giving inspired by love, we must allow ourselves to be taken aside by him and to detach ourselves from mediocrity and vanity. We need to set out on the journey, an uphill path that, like a mountain trek, requires effort, sacrifice, and concentration.” Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving do take “effort, sacrifice, and concentration.” They are also “sustained by grace.” We cannot fool ourselves into thinking that we are doing this on our own. What we are doing is cooperating with the grace of Christ who wants us to deepen our encounter with him. The Church offers us these traditional Lenten practices and penances so that we may come into greater life in him in and through our daily lives. As Pope Francis reminds us, “While our ordinary commitments compel us to remain in our usual places and our often repetitive and sometimes boring routines, during Lent we are invited to ascend ‘a high mountain’ in the company of Jesus and to live a particular experience of spiritual discipline – ascesis – as God’s holy people.” May the charity of Christ urge us on! In God, the Infinite Love, Fr. Frank
 Seeking God. Seems simple. We seek God. But, more significantly, God seeks us. Similar to the lost sheep, we sometimes go astray. We want to live our call, but that can be sometimes a challenge if we try to do it on our own. God is calling us first. God is seeking us first. We are offered the grace of Christ and are called to respond. Respond to what? St. Vincent Pallotti, whose feast day is January 22nd, tells us. We are called to be apostles of Jesus Christ. We are sent by Christ to help all come to know him in and through the Church. Pallotti promoted this inspired understanding, his charism, in the mid-1830s in Rome. How do we live it in 2023 where we are? One way is by seeking God as St. Vincent Pallotti suggests: “Seek God and you will find God. Seek God in all things and you will find God in all things. Seek God always and you will always find God.” When we seek God in this way, then we will move beyond ourselves and go forth as apostles. May the charity of Christ urge us on! In God, the Infinite Love, Fr. Frank
 Christmas approaches. We are nearly through our Advent waiting. What has this time been for us? As we enter the joyful season of celebration of the Incarnation, we have an opportunity to embrace the humble simplicity of the scene. Only the shepherds were made aware on that night and came to adore. As St. Vincent Pallotti notes, it was as God wanted it to be. “Our Lord Jesus Christ, according to the instructions and signs given to the shepherds, allowed himself to be found as a child wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger” (OOCC, II, 66). Eventually, those with faith in him came to know him as Emmanuel, God is with us. We know him. We believe in him. We witness him to others. Christ is with us. May we proclaim him as the angels did to the shepherds! Please know that the prayers of the Catholic Apostolate Center team are with you at Christmas and always. May you have a blessed Christmas! In God, the Infinite Love, Fr. Frank
 Advent offers us a time of waiting, but we sometime do not accept this offer. We are busy with preparations for Christmas and with other things. The time moves by with maybe a few fleeting Advent thoughts and aspirations. Yet, interestingly, one of the most popular resources pages that we at Catholic Apostolate Center created is the one on Advent. We find there is a desire to enter into this season in an authentic and prayerful way. As you will see below, we have some new Advent resources to share. What would you like to do during the soon to arrive Advent season? Here are a few suggestions: Live in hope Live in joy Live in peace Live in love Hope, joy, peace, and love are not greeting card sentiments. They are rooted in life in Christ and our living for him. When we live them, we live Advent. Each of us will have our own way of living them. May Advent be a time to live them more deeply and fully. May the Charity of Christ urge us on! In God, the Infinite Love, Fr. Frank
 Reviving faith, rekindling charity, and forming apostles are what we do at Catholic Apostolate Center. We do it because that is what St. Vincent Pallotti did in Rome in the first half of the nineteenth century and what his spiritual children have done for 187 years. As we conclude our tenth anniversary celebration, we offer gratitude to God, the Infinite Love, for all the blessings that we have received in this ministry. Synodality is now a common word in the Church. From the beginning, the Center team journeyed together with the Holy Spirit in a co-responsible and collaborative way. This way of being is not unique to Catholic Apostolate Center but is at the core of the witness of St. Vincent Pallotti and his spiritual legacy, the Union of Catholic Apostolate. Our second decade has begun well with many new resources and expanded collaboration with various national and international Catholic organizations. There is much more to come for active Catholics who want to live as apostles, as missionary disciples. We look forward to where the Holy Spirit moves this ministry. We discern this in the Cenacle with the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Apostles, and then go forth as apostles in service to Christ and the Church. Thank you for your support over this past decade and know that our prayers are with you. May the Charity of Christ urge us on! In Christ, Apostle of the Eternal Father, Fr. Frank
 “Filled with the love of Christ, young people are called to be witnesses of the Gospel wherever they find themselves, by the way they live.” (Christus Vivit, 175) Missionary discipleship is most fruitful through the witness of the baptized. Many are profoundly moved, particularly by the witness of young people. People often comment on who is not active in the life of faith. How often do we put our attention on those who are? These are the people, including many young people, who live their faith and go forth daily as missionary disciples of Christ. Pope Francis teaches that “missionary disciples accompany missionary disciples” (Evangelii Gaudium, 175). The baptized do not become missionary disciples on their own, they need accompaniment. This is true for young people and true for all. Young people do need accompaniment toward missionary discipleship, but that can only happen if others are well-formed disciples. Part of this formation includes learning more about ministry with young people, particularly young adults.The Center has an online course in this area that is described in an article below. Many young people evangelize others through their witness of faith in word and deed. Sometimes this is a story that is not told. They live well their faith through missionary discipleship and have brought others to Christ and his Church. They need our support, accompaniment, and prayers. May the charity of Christ urge us on! In God, the Infinite Love, Fr. Frank
 Prayer can be challenging. One of the beautiful things about Catholicism is the variety of ways in which we can pray. That variety can be daunting at times. Where does one start? The important thing to recall is that prayer is our dialogue with God. We are called not only to speak, but also to listen. Will we have a voice from above telling us what to do? Probably not. We need to still ourselves to listen for the “tiny whispering sound” (1 Kings 19:12).
We adore and thank God in prayer. We petition God for our needs and offer contrition for the times when we have sinned. We worship Christin community, most especially at Mass, and in the solitude of our “inner room” (Matthew 6:6). In all these ways, we are in a privileged conversation with God. We need to remind ourselves that we cannot fool Christ. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows what is best for us and what we need to be the disciple we are called to be. Prayer offers us an opportunity to come to realize more fully the ways Christ gives us to live more deeply for him and less for ourselves. The fruit of prayer is greater love of God and neighbor. As the saints show us, people of authentic prayer show their holiness through acts of goodness, truth, justice, and charity toward their neighbor. Of course, we can start to make distinctions about who our neighbor is, but in the parable of the Good Samaritan, Christ clearly tells his listeners and us that everyone is our neighbor (Luke 10:15-37).We witness our life of prayer through our words and our deeds! May the Charity of Christ urge us on! In God, the Infinite Love, Fr. Frank  “At times family life is challenged by the death of a loved one. We cannot fail to offer the light of faith as a support to families going through this experience. To turn our backs on a grieving family would show a lack of mercy, mean the loss of a pastoral opportunity, and close the door to other efforts of evangelization.” - Pope Francis (Amoris Laetitia, 253)
Each life includes death. This is obvious, but lack of consideration of the topic is part of the culture of some parts of the world, particularly the United States. Yet, death occurs. Living with an eye on our eternity is something people of faith are called to do. When we do in the light of faith, we can see clearly what is important in life. Much of our time is spent in all sorts of activities. Are these helping us grow in holiness? Do they cause us to love God and love neighbor in deeper and more profound ways? If our answer is no, then as apostles of Christ, it is time for us to reevaluate where and how we use our time on this side of life. The other side of life, eternity, will come very soon. Pope Francis also invites people of faith to assist families who have experienced death. It is a prime pastoral and evangelization opportunity, not in a heavy-handed way, but in one that accompanies people in their time of grief and beyond. If they are distant from the community of faith, the death of someone in their family offers a space for compassion, love, and care by missionary disciples of Christ. Doing it right at the time of death is good but walking with families long beyond that time is true spiritual accompaniment. May the Charity of Christ urge us on! In God, the Infinite Love, Fr. Frank  Pentecost is coming and we say, “Come, Holy Spirit.” As baptized, we are already “temples of the Holy Spirit,” with the seven-fold gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit at Confirmation. What do we mean when we say “Come, Holy Spirit”? We mean that we are open to where the Holy Spirit wants us to move. That is not easy. We want to be in control of where we are going and what we are doing. This is true not only as individuals, but also sometimes true as the Church. The time in the Cenacle or the Upper Room between the Ascension of the Lord and Pentecost provided a time of prayerful waiting and deepening as a community of faith in the Risen Christ. Jesus gave them a share in his mission and when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, they were given what they needed to go forth for him. Christ gives us the same share in his mission. The challenge is for us to discern in what ways we are called to live the mission of Christ. The Holy Spirit guides us and provides us with charisms to share with the community of faith and with the world. Through prayer and discernment, we can then act. Prayer, discernment, and action can be done on our own, but are often much more fruitful when done in communion with others. One person we can call on to be with us in our prayer, discernment, and action, is the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Apostles, if we choose to ask for her guidance and intercession. We can learn from her example of discipleship of her Son. As apostles or missionary disciples of Christ, we go forth to revive faith and rekindle charity in our world. May the Charity of Christ urge us on! In God, the Infinite Love, Fr. Frank
 “Brothers and sisters our hope has a name: the name of Jesus.” –Pope Francis, Easter Vigil Homily 2022 Easter has arrived. We celebrate the Risen Christ. In our remembrance of the Passion and death of Jesus on Good Friday, we know the rest of the story. Or do we? We may know it in our minds. Do we feel it in our hearts, feel the joy of our hope that “has a name”? Pope Francis points out in his Easter Vigil homily that the joy of the Resurrection of Jesus is not something to keep to ourselves. We need to proclaim it! Like the women going to the other disciples in the Upper Room, we need to proclaim this hope from our hearts to others who call themselves his followers and far beyond. It is easy for doubt and despair to enter in even within the community of faith. These can dampen our hope. We human beings are the ones who try to limit hope, somehow thinking that we are in control. We are not. Hope in the Risen Christ is limitless. His love, mercy, and compassion are infinite, leading us to ultimate hope –salvation. Alleluia, Christ is Risen! Alleluia, Christ is Risen indeed! Alleluia, Christ is our hope! May the charity of Christ urge us on! Blessed Easter, Fr. Frank
 In two days, on the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. He has invited the bishops and priests of the world to join him that day in offering prayer for peace and consecration. The Lenten season is a time for us to intensify our prayer. May we be in prayerful solidarity with Pope Francis on March 25th! Fasting is another aspect of Lent. It provides us a means to purify our body and mind to focus greater attention on love of God and love of neighbor. May our fasting lead us to a deeper encounter with Christ as well as with those who are suffering, abandoned, and marginalized! Lent is also a time to give alms, especially to those who are most in need. There is truly a refugee crisis in many parts of the world, most especially those who are fleeing the war in Ukraine. May we join with those whose lives are uprooted by force and give to charities that are aiding them! The Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are not ends in themselves. They are meant to move us outward in deeper devotion to God and greater care, love, and compassion for all, particularly those on the peripheries. May the Charity of Christ urge us on! In God, the Infinite Love, Fr. Frank
 “Lent came quickly!” How often have we said or heard these words? No matter how fast it seems to come, Paul Jarzembowski in his new book, Hope from the Ashes: Insights and Resources for Welcoming Lenten Visitors, notes that, “Lent serves as an opportunity for our personal renewal toward holiness –to assess and reform our habits and routines, to mend relationships with God and others” (29). Our focus, though, is not simply on ourselves and our growth in holiness. The Lenten season offers us the opportunity to welcome and accompany others, especially those who join our faith communities, particularly on Ash Wednesday. Jarzembowski offers that “Ash Wednesday is like a laboratory for learning the ‘art of accompaniment’ (Evangelii Gaudium, 169)” (184). To accompany others takes time, patience, and compassion. Lent offers us that time. Prayer and fasting help us practice patience. Almsgiving, which includes our valuable time, helps us grow in compassion –suffering with others. Lent is journeying together, which is what being synodal is about. Many are isolated and alone; we are called to accompany them into deeper life in Christ in and through the Church. May our Lenten journey together lead us to an Easter of deeper personal holiness and greater accompaniment of all. May the Charity of Christ urge us on! In God, the Infinite Love, Fr. Frank
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