I am afraid to open the links provided on the previous post. It looks like Spam to me and may be some type of virus which may not have been posted by a quote un quote angle.

Is anyone monitoring this site. What is the ips address of the previous poster. Maybe it is some kind of innocent joke. Very strange indeed

Do you still remember Timberland UK? Yes, it give you a comfortable and magic feeling.Buy cheap Timberland boots uk and cheap Timberland shoes uk.You will never regret!

Thomas,
Our Daily Bread 300 Oak St. near downtown Denton could be a starting place. The hours are 10:00 am - 1:30 pm
Monday thru Friday. The staff serves a great lunch. Help is available for job search. Bus tokens are also available.
Staff can help with other needs as well.
No questions asked. Betty Kaye or Jenny Hawkins are there to help. Hope you find this helpful.

On Mon, Nov 2, 2009 at 11:27 PM, QuickTopic daily digest <
qtopic-42-WN2cNMFQdFRQ@quicktopic.com> wrote:

>



--
Blessings,

Billie
< replied-to message removed by QT >

I have read articles by folks in the mental health field that speak of the benefits of reading to help in clinical depression.

Not an expert on scripture, but I am sure there must be some psalms that help with our human purpose of existence. Why Catholic? Why Baltimore Catechism? .....they provide good answers.

Dear, fr. Tim Thompson,
   I am a transplanted New Yorker who has not attended catholic church for many years and to be honest, I spent most of my adult life in and out of prison. 2 years ago after being released from prison in N.Y. I came to tx with a promise to live an honest life, yet have given up hope, no one will give me a job and basically have been a charity case all this time, I'm a hard worker and quite friendly, but do not have many friends here. Last night the thought came to me that I should end my life and would like to make a confession before I do. I tried to find a old friend, brother jack Moylan, who I know since I was 16, so as to seek some spiritual guidance but not been successful on this endeaver. My e-mail address is tommy96a@live.com. This may be a little morbib, but i am very lonely and my self esteem is low and and deflated ego with a total loss of hope.With this being said, may you have a blessed day.

i just want to note that i will not be available for confessions this saturday. i am sorry about any inconvenience this will cause.

sorry, i haven't gotten around to writing in this recently...

while there is concern about the swine flu, no directive has come down from the diocese about any changes. if and when they ask us to do that, we will comply. for now, anyone who is concerned about having the flu is advised not to come to church or any public place for that matter.

Million Rosaries for the Unborn Worldwide:

The Saint Michael the Archangel Organization is once again asking all to join in praying the Rosary for the unborn babies. This event will be held worldwide on October 16-18, 2009. It is hoped that people throughout the world will pray the Rosary for an end to the surgical and non-surgical killing of unborn babies. More information is available at

www.SaintMichaelTheArchangelOrganization.org
When you go to the St. Michael the Archangel website, there is information in obtaining bumper stickers with “Our Lady of Guadalupe”.

Father, are we getting close to the point where we again recommend not holding hands during the Our Father or exchanging handshakes? The swine flu concern may be enough reason. Thanks

Leo & Lorraine Hanus

You forget the boob tube---ultimate cause of loneliness for wives of boob tube addicts.

People used to be more content to spend time alone (as in by themselves), and this was healthy. Now, with all their activities, people tend to spend less time alone, but they feel lonelier.
 
Maybe Feeling alone when there are other people around has, in part, been enabled by technology. Technology has made it possible for us to conduct our business without actual face to face encounters: getting gas, checking out at stores and at the library, paying a toll, online shopping, online classes, face-book, email,etc… Maybe this kind of “trains” us not to interact with others as much as people once had to, so we aren’t in the habit of reaching out to others in person, and it carries over into our more personal lives.

You don't have to be single to be lonely. How about married single??

Father Tim,
What article or report were you looking at regarding loneliness on the USCBB site? I tried to find what you referenced but nothing jumped out at me when I went to this site.

Thanks for trying to jump site this forum again. It helps with loneliness as well. We are so fortunate to have devoted priest with positive attitudes regarding the church. I hope individuals do not let loneliness get the best of them and turn to destructive ways of behavior.

Father Tim, why do children suffer? My son is 2 and has had many many hospital stays and illness and will struggle his whole childhood. I question God and wonder why young ones have to bear such a burden. It breaks my heart.

Edited by author 10-01-2009 01:47 AM
Loneliness can be a sad affair as the song goes but it actually is a great time to turn to prayer and reflection on life's priorities.

much better to be alone then being placed in an unpleasant environment. At least when you are alone you can think of creative ways to make your own happiness, help others, and explore other areas of interest that perhaps in the past you have not had the time to pursue.

Edited by author 09-29-2009 01:37 PM
Help,FR. TIM, I had dinner last night with a Sydney Diocean priest and was delighted as my trip is headed to Krakow and I knew at least one other traveller was inquiring about mass times. Now I am in trouble for telling a group of travellers that "Stephen is a Priest". I am over 50 and he said that he had asked me not to tell anyone on the trip that he is a priest.

After telling me that he was a retired priest I referred to him as "Father". He never told me or helped to remind me that he had asked that I not tell anyone.

Since I have a few priest as friends I guess I may not have given it a second thought and spoke that he was a priest. I was not trying to violate his privacy. He has been a Priest for 43 years and one would think he ought to be secure in his own skin at this point. Besides, he is the one that asked to join my table I did not ask to join his table.

Please pray for Stephen and me too because it has become a difficult situation as I am stuck with him on my secular trip for the duration.
Give me a Break! I know he needs prayer but 43 years??????

A lot of people don't like my line of work. He is really lucky that he caught me off guard when he gave me a scolding or else I may have made the situation worse with my retort.

I hope he does not have poor skills with coping with lonliness. I asked if he was saying his daily prayers and he said he brought the book.

karl marx would say that it is 'das capital' but i don't trust him.

i think it may be 'capital' letters, not 'capitol' letters, though i can't really say for sure.

Our parish forum site has gone silent. So, in hopes of reviving it, here is a post, well, mainly a link. Here is a link to this sunday's readinghttp://www.usccb.org/nab/100409.shtmls:

(i can't do capitol letters right now.) we had a good discussion about marriage and about loneliiness at our faith sharing this morning. "it is not good for man to be alone..." why not? i sometimes like to be alone. i really appreciate some time to pray alone and to walk alone. but too much alone leads to loneliness which is not good. read the texts and offer your insight.

When we started attending Mass at St. Mark in January of this year I was impressed that there was no announcement at the beginning of Mass asking people to turn off cell phones, and amazingly, phones did not ring during Mass. But in the last 5-6 weeks I've noticed that 11:30 Mass is regularly disrupted by a ringing cell phone. Today it was twice by the same person! She just kept letting it ring, when she should have turned it off. Is it time to start making an announcement in the bulletin or at the beginning of Mass? It would be nice to be free of electronic intrusions in church.

Edited by author 08-04-2009 11:38 AM
I understand Fr. Tim had a bicycle accident and is having surgery at a hospital in Fort Worth. Does anyone have any details? Unfortunately we are out of town (Phoenix) so we don't have a lot of information. In the meantime, we are keeping Father in our prayers.

Fr. Thompson,
Is this church a traditional Roman Catholic Church? By traditional I mean are traditional songs sung and things like that.
Thanks, Meaghann Foley

Does St. Mark participate in the CHRP (Christ Renews his Parish) program?

Thank you Father for explaining this.

To the best of my knowledge, the Church does forbid more than one place of reservation, even though the Blessed Sacrament is reserved in two places at St. Peter's in Rome. There it is reserved at a small side altar and in the main chapel of reservation. What they do doesn't really make sense, since the main chapel is open all the time and is a place of quiet and prayer. Why reserve it at another altar? If it is important there, why not at 2 or 3 more?

The Blessed Sacrament is reserved for two purposes: first, to take communion to the sick and secondly, for adoration. It was the preferred position to reserve it in a space other than the main worship area so that the act of adoration and the act of celebrating the Eucharist are not confused (that may not be the best word.) Yes, Mass involves worship but it is not the same dynamic, it seems to me, as the act of adoration.

In any case, it can be reserved in only one place.

Does the Church forbid having two tabernacles - one in the church in view of all, and one in the chapel?

We were in Houston this past weekend and went to Sunday Mass at the new cathedral, Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. If you're in Houston near downtown, stop in for a visit. It is a truly beautiful worship space, very traditional and modern, and very serene. It is a very inspiring and peaceful space. It's comforting to know that craftspeople still exist to create such beauty.

Edited by author 05-15-2009 03:24 PM
Bea,

I have not moved and I am a girl. That’s ok; I do have a boy’s name – my parents wanted a boy, and when I came, the name stuck!

Also, I am the nursing home/homebound coordinator for St. Mark. If you and an elderly parent would like to receive Communion at home once a week, let me know. I can make arrangements for someone to come. My contact information is in the bulletin.

Jaye Griswold

I didn't have much to add to the debate about Notre Dame's invitation of President Obama to speak at the graduation. Frankly, I think that they never imagined the firestorm that would erupt. They have always invited Presidents and this means that they come with their baggage.

Another commented that the earlier Bishops' document on Church design, Environment and Art in Catholic Worship, lacked any authority. It was not a publication of the full Conference of Bishops as the current one, Built of Living Stones, is. That document carries great authority. However the previous one was more of a directive, having the authority of good advice. Built of Living Stones works off of it.

   Following up on Bea's last post. I don't know how many of you receive Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio's weekly Crossroads Initiatives, but he had a very interesting topic this week. It concerns the low population growth (in many what were once "Catholic" European countries) and the spread of Islam there. Several years ago while visiting Spain my husband and I were told we should move to Spain as the govenment would pay us to live there because we had 4 children - they were that concerned about their population growth. Follow this link to Crossroads Initiatives and watch the small attached film clip: http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/librar...come_a_Mosque_.html I can't imagine St. Peters ever becoming a mosque, but maybe we should offer some extra prayers for the Church in Europe.

Edited by author 05-09-2009 05:48 PM
Again, I have definitely been misunderstood, misinterpreted, and am now being attacked for simply pointing out the irony of a historical situation. I am most definitely pro life. And that's ALL life. Period. Paragraph. End of Chapter.

If the death penalty were to kill 50,000,000 innocent people in the span of 35 years, then I am sure it would be protested with the same vigor abortion is being protested today. Furthermore, we must remember that WE ARE the church. If you feel called to protest the death penalty then maybe you can help bring about a greater awareness, hold prayer vigils, etc.

We, the lay faithful, have just as much responsibility to promote the Gospel as any priest, bishop or clergy. Clergy is not the same as our elected representatives who are supposed to be in the public arena, fighting battles for us. The lay faithful is properly in the public arena and we are the ones responsible for making sure our Christian beliefs help shape public policy.

Lamenting whether or not the bishops called us to political responsibility in a timely fashion is not going to do us any good. The most recent call came in 2007 with the USCCB's publication No. 7-026, "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship." It is time we heed the call.

I don't think I'm viewing this through the lens of moral relativism, I'm just commenting on the irony of this not being an issue before now. Nobody complained when Carter was given an honorary degree. I was in college then, and remember my Newman Center group wanting to hold campus candlelight rallies on the anniversary of Roe v Wade and inviting the other campus religious groups to join us. We were rebuffed because at that time, abortion was considered strictly a "Catholic issue" and the mainstream protestants and evangelicals weren't really involved then (at least where I was living). So the Catholic Church really blew a chance to call attention to the importance of this issue thirty years ago when Notre Dame honored our first openly "Christian" and openly pro-choice president. And I respectfully disagree that the death penalty is less important than abortion. We cannot be pro-life in some instances and not all others. I would like to see the Church decrying the death penalty a little more, in addition to oppositon to abortion. Especially now, that we know through DNA analysis that many innocent people sit on death row.

Samra, when you view things through the lens of moral relativism, then yes, abortion is just one more issue, and there is no big deal about Obama being honored by Notre Dame.

But the truth is not all issues are equal. Some are a lot more serious. The issue of abortion is very serious.

Maybe Catholics have been quiet before, but when a giant proponent of abortion, such as Obama, is being honored by a Catholic university, they are justified in voicing their outrage. In voicing their objections they are fulfilling their duties as faithful citizens.

BEA--Thanks for your thoughtful response. I agree, two wrongs don't make a right, I was just making the observation that nobody objected in the other cases, so why suddenly is this one case so dramatically important? Are people paying more attention? Possibly, because we have so many more mass communications options available today, but that doesn't explain the lack of nearly universal condemnation by the bishops in the earlier cases. Or are people so focused on ONE issue that they forget there are many other issues to consider when selecting candidates. And because both political parties are committed to principles that are in direct contrast to Christian teaching, how are we to choose? It's a definite dilemma.

As for your question on being opinionated--I think God made us all with the capacity to develop opinions, just some of us are more willing to go out on a limb and express them. There is an interesting work by Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann called The Spiral of Silence. I read her early work when it came out in the 80s (when I was in graduate school) and she's developed it further since then. Basically, though, she hypothesizes that people are less likely to express an opinion if they sense they are in the minority, out of fear of isolation and recriminations by the majority. It's a very interesting communications and political science theory, somewhat controversial at the time, but may help explain why some people appear to be more opinionated than others, and why they may be more comfortable speaking out on certain issues and stay silent on others. Her latest work came out in the 1990s--it would be interesting to see what further research would show in the age of relative anonymity in Web 2.0 formats!

Thanks for asking about my scripture study. I'm trying to work on that informally and independently now, and will join one of the groups at St. Marks when they start up again in the fall. It's a challenge fitting in the time every day, but it's also a nice respite from all the worldly duties I'm juggling right now, and helps keep things in the proper perspective.

This is the kind of discussion I really hate to get into online, but I guess I'm having a little trouble understanding what the deal is here. Perhaps we all need to be reminded of history. Jimmy Carter was decidedly pro-choice and he was awarded an honorary degree by Notre Dame in 1977, and nobody made a peep about it. President Reagan and both Presidents Bush were pro death-penalty--another position contrary to Catholic teaching--and they were awarded honorary degrees by Notre Dame, without complaint. So why is everybody suddenly up in arms over Obama's getting an honorary degree? And if you look at the list of distinguished world figures who have been honored by Notre Dame over the decades, I don't think every one of them adhered strictly to Catholic teachings, so why now is this one honoree being singled out?

I think what this discussion really emphasizes is how difficult it is as a Catholic to decide how to vote when elections occur.

Fr. Tim, you bring up an interesting point - “For many years after the Second Vatican Council, the churches tended to be very plain and emphasized the community, hence their rounded shape.” Wasn’t this a direct result of the 1978 “Environment & Art in Catholic Worship”, which was never adopted by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops nor approved by the Vatican, rather then the emphasis on community? Parishes were led to believe in the authoritative nature of this document which stripped away many of our sacramental, liturgical and cultural traditions. We need a Church design that incorporates a sense of sacred space again, a place to escape from this secular ungodly world. It’s Jesus presence in the Eucharist that we going to Mass for, not community, correct?

Thanks for your clarification, Fr. Tim. And I don't envy your position, or that of the building committee as we move ahead with planning of any kind. As Bill Cosby once said, "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."

I do think a happy medium can be reached on decor--for example, when I say "traditional" design, I'm thinking more in terms of shape of the liturgical space. Whether or not it's ornate or simple in design doesn't matter, to me at least, as long as it is recognizable as a sanctuary. I'm guessing that most folks who want a traditional design would go for that.

And I agree, after Vatican II, some parishes took modernization too far. My hometown church even covered up ornate, historical decorations from the 1880's with modern 1960's era wood paneling. Fortunately, new leadership later saw the error of this, and the church was restored, minus the altar railing.

At this point in time I think it's worth discussing all this stuff, but truth is, when we get to the point of designing and funding a church, the community may have evolved and the consensus might lead in another direction from what was learned in the survey conducted several years ago. The important thing is we have a place to worship and a community to which we can feel a part of, and I think we have that now.

I shouldn't totally evade the issue of church design even if we are not planning this right now.

As the Second Vatican Council taught, the church does not have one artistic style. There have been many artistic styles in church design, church art and music. Nothing fully and finally captures spiritual beauty (if that is what we are capturing.) For many years after the Second Vatican Council, the churches tended to be very plain and emphasized the community, hence their rounded shape. There has been a reaction to that, a desire to bring back more devotional elements with statues and more ornate decorations. Quite frankly, plain, as I prefer, is out. Will the pendulum swing again? If it is a pendulum, it will but perhaps not as far in the other direction. Time will tell.

Just to clear something up... We are not planning to build a church at this moment and do not intend to design a church. The building committee has met with George Jezek of Wallace and Associates and we are initially doing a master plan for Crawford Rd. and designing the basic buildings needed for a parish, offices, education building and a gathering hall. A church will be designed and built later. So, there is no baby to throw out with the bathwater since we won't have a tub for a while. (I hope that is not a confusing metaphor or simile or whatever.)

No problem, Chris--the story of my life. Everybody calls me Sam, so that's easy to remember and spell. I was named after my dad, (Samuel) and it wasn't until I lived in Saudi Arabia that I learned my name is actually Arabic! It means dark-skinned woman, which is hilarious because I'm 6' tall and have red hair and very fair skin!

You know, when I say traditional church design, I don't mean fancy. I was married at St. Thomas Aquinas church in Indianapolis, which my father described as resembling a silo. Very plain, austere church with a negative space cross that looked like something Mark Rothko would paint. But the tabernacle was smack dab in the center, and that was a constant reminder of Our Lord's presence. So we can have a modern design but with a traditional bent, I do believe. And some modern architecture is more expensive to build than traditional.

I had the privilege of spending 6 weeks last summer in Guanajuato, Mexico, where I was trying to learn Spanish. (Mi espanol is muy mal porque tengo no mas opportunidad por practicar!) I had asked to be placed with a family that was active with the church, and ended up on a first name basis with two of the padres and several of the church members. The church, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guanajuato is relatively new to Guanajuato--it's only 312 years old, but it's home to the oldest piece of Christian art in Mexico. After Vatican II the only thing they did was update the liturgy and remove the altar rail. I have never felt so at home in a church as I did in Guanajuato, and at Christmas my husband and I returned there and based on that experience he has decided to become Catholic. But it's not the building, it's the community that is so welcoming.

I remember after Vatican II many churches stripped out all the old decorations and did new, austere decorations, but the community wasn't there, and many people were put off by the modernism. I guess my concern about a "traditional" design is that we need to have a church that encourages community while still paying homage to the history and traditions of the church. St. Tom's in Indianapolis was actually an ugly building but a beautiful community. La Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Guanajuato has lots of fancy artwork, but it's the community that welcomes everyone and makes you feel whole. And I'm old school--I like the tabernacle out front and center where you can see it. I even got into the habit of making the sign of the cross whenever passing an open church door, because the Blessed Sacrament is almost always on display in Mexican churches (which are open 24/7) and they always genuflect or make the sign of the cross when passing by.

Sorry -- it's Samra, not Sandra. My eyes....

Back to the discussion of the new building....
Please, please, do not throw out the baby with the bathwater as the Protestants have done and as too many Catholics have done since Vatican II. If people do not understand why sonething is done, or why something is included in the building, we need to teach about it, not just get rid of it! Our tradition is so very rich and full of important meaning, and worth keeping.

To Sandra - welcome to St Mark from another newcomer (November). I joined CSS right away and have been so glad I did.

I'll put Wednesday nights on my calendar. I could use a little Wisdom! ;-)

Hi Samra. You can jump in anytime, even in the middle of the year if you need to. Next year, we'll be doing the Wisdom books (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Wisdom,and Sirach) and all of the New Testament letters. See you there !

Thanks Jim. So I take it this is something you can jump into at any time? I don't have to wait to cycle back to Genesis? Where will you be picking up in September?

Hi Samra,

Welcome to St. Mark ! We have just what you're looking for. Catholic Scripture Study is a program that goes through the whole Bible in 5 years.
We just finished our 3rd year last week, and we have about 70 people that attend the weekly classes. Classes are 2 hours, consisting of a 75 minute small group discussion time followed by a 45 minute presentation. The same class is offered on Monday mornings from 9AM-11AM, and Wednesday evenings from 7PM to 9PM.

As the name implies, we learn the bible from a Catholic perspective. We'll start again right after Labor Day. There'll be announcements, but if you have any quiestions, call me @ 214-552-8935. We'll save you a seat ! Again, welcome to St. Mark !

Jim Hawk

Edited by author 04-20-2009 02:26 PM
Hi--I'm new to the parish and just starting to get acquainted. I see we may be building a new church. While I'm spoiled by being able to pretty much fall out of bed (in Southridge) and get to Mass, I think it's exciting to be able to plan a new facility for the community. I hope it is a traditional design (with the Tabernacle prominently front and center) and I hope we can incorporate native plants in the landscape--they are low maintenance and low water and will save us money in the long run as well as attract birds and butterflies that will enhance enjoyment of the property.

On a more short-term discussion, I'm looking for a Bible study group that can meet in the evening. I'm interested in the course through the University of Dallas, but was hoping St. Marks had a group that could meet regularly and informally to discuss scripture. One flaw I see in my Catholic upbringing is that The Bible wasn't emphasized--the Catechism and dogma definitely was, but understanding scripture just didn't seem to be emphasized. This was brought home to me at my high school reunion (I went to public school in Kentucky) when I met the husband of an old friend. He's a Baptist minister and was shocked to learn that we Catholics do read the Bible--he'd been taught that we do not. It made me wish for the kind of regular Bible study groups the Protestants have. However, I want the Catholic perspective on The Bible. Thanks...Sam

Well it appears that we are fortunate to be able to discuss the future building plans of St. Marks. In reviewing church history with my son who is an architectural student, i have come to learn that the reason why Catholic Church's were built in the form and structure they were (prior to Vatican II) was because Christ said when entering Jerusalem He was confronted by the leaders demanding that He stop the crowd from crying out "Hosanna" Christ response back to the leaders was that if the people do not cry out then these rocks certainly will. As i understand my son's research, the design for the building is suppose to cry out even when their is no Mass going on. So i do hope that if Fr Tim decides to build that or building cry's out "Hosanna" even when it is empty.

Fr Tim. please expand on your comments from 1/5/09 "Obviously what one person sees as tradition is not necessarily what another sees. And, of course, we are called to incorporate the modern as well as the tradition. Gothic cathedrals were an innovation in their day." Are there Diocesan guidelines/documentation we can access that addresses this issue of “traditional” versus “modernistic “ architectural church design ? I would expect a continuing dialogue with parishioners with various points of views regarding the future look and feel of our church.

Thanks for the kind words, Jaye and Bea. I thought I had said too much, for being so new. I tried to modify it, still did not like it, so removed them. I have not left for good!

Edited by author 04-02-2009 03:17 PM
I have kept silent for quite awhile, listened and observed, and I may be out of turn here; however, I am now wishing to ask a few questions and this seems to be the logical place to do it. It will reach many more people rather than just the one person I may question. It is a concern of mine that St. Mark has not gone forward with any building plans although the property has been secured. It may be that there has been some progress; but to my knowledge, the last known public announcement was in 2006 with an update in February 2007, and an “update” from Fr. Tim on March 25, 2009 (which mentioned a meeting with the architect on the 27th of March). I researched the St. Mark website and saw that there are currently nine members on the building committee – some are original members from 2002, I believe. My questions are thus:
1. How often are building committee meetings held? Are they publicized?
2. Are the meetings open to any parishioner to observe, join in, and participate?
3. Why are we, the parishioners, not kept apprised of any changes or at least updated yearly?
4. Is the building committee open to welcoming new members? Especially as there are many new parishioners who have joined since 2002 and I anticipate will be joining once we do make our move!
To be honest, I am being selfish when I say that I would have loved for St. Mark to have stayed in its current location. Although the inconvenience of arriving and leaving the parking lot is but a small sacrifice I can endure each week, I understand that there is also a lack of space for classrooms, large group gatherings when meals are served, etc. The current location is convenient for me as well as for many others, I am sure; but, I understand that as growth occurs, change is inevitable, and progress (changes) must occur. I am looking forward to gathering and participating at Mass whenever the new church is built. I am only too happy to have a “church” (a roof over my head) to go to each week, regardless of what it looks like, and a priest to celebrate Mass!

Cris,
I was thinking the same thing. You have a lot of good things to say! Come back...
Jaye

There has been a lot of good commentary and I want to respond to some of it.

The Building Committee will meet this Friday with our architect, George Jezek. At this time, the focus of the committee is to make a master plan for the new location and then design those buildings that we will need when we move. We have not decided what we will need there, but it would be very similar to what we have now, meaning that we will need office space, a multi-purpose space and classrooms. This seems like a minimum. We will not be designing a new church at this time, waiting to build that when a larger congregation has been formed for the new site. It would seem wise to wait til then to include others in that design.

I did spend some time looking again at building on this site. The majority of our parishioners live nearby and this is convenient for them. However, the limitations of the site (limited access and small acerage) make this inadequate. I think that we have to bite the bullit, move and then we can build what we need.

The CARA statistics are dampening (if that is the right word.) We have been saying for quite some time that we have a serious shortage of priests. This can be part of the reason that our church attendance is down but surely not the only reason and only indirectly (because of limited number of churches, limited chaplaincies to hospitals, etc.) We need more priests - applications are currently being accepted! You won't lose your job!

Edited by author 03-25-2009 08:37 AM
The CARA statistics, for sure, put a damper on what should be an exciting time for the Catholic Church. More people joining should be cause for celebration, but in view of the circumstances, this may not be the case; how sad.
Another sobering thing is that there are a large number of Catholics who no longer attend church. Do you think that not having enough Priests and/or churches can be one cause for Catholics not to practice their faith, or might this just be an excuse they could use?

The CARA statistics ARE pretty sobering and I'm wondering if our Protestant brothers and sisters are facing the same issues or concerns (thinking about megachurches vs smaller communities).

Question: How many of our families participate weekly on a regular basis and/ or financially support our parish?


With this in mind, it seems that planning for our own parish future is important to each of us--especially in regards to our building's future structure as well as for our priest who is stretched to meet all needs. Will we create a building foundation that supports our priest, the staff and any needed infrastructure?
I am also curious about building plans and whether parish members will be able to view a variety of plans--traditional and contemporary or a meaningful mix--that we can vote on or hear arguments for and against. (Ex. forum style seating combined with beautiful art & statues).

Are any building committee meetings open to the parish?
These are just questions.

Serving on the building committee (or any committee) is hard work, and I admire the dedication each member brings. Thank you for being open to all hearts and minds as you prayerfully work with Fr. Tim and others to best meet our future parish needs.

The Cara statistics are very interesting. Obviously there is a problem both now and in the future with reference to the number of vocations and priests. I was heartened to see the numbers of Deacons that have been ordained and how their numbers are increasing. It may be safe to assume those numbers will continue to increase. Do you know if there is a trend for Full-time Deacons in the Church? Maybe that will be the saving factor for our future parishes. Your thoughts?

67 million Catholics divided by 40,580 priests = one priest for every 1651 Catholics. Yet, our diocese has only one priest per 2450 Catholics. We need 50 % more priests just to be at the (very low) national average !

Should we re-examine the Church's teaching on human cloning ? (I'm just JOKING !)

Fr. Tim, the data suggests that this might be a good time for you to ask for a raise !!(haha)

Hum, the data did not come out very well. To read it more easily, try going to the CARA website, if you want better layout.

Here is the whole page from CARA. Probably violating some copyright, but what the heck:

CARA Services | Publications | The CARA Report | Contact CARA |Site Map
 
..j
  Frequently Requested Catholic Church Statistics

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CARA gets many inquiries from Church agencies and the media about the numbers for vocations, seminary enrollments, priests and vowed religious, parishes, Mass attendance, schools and the Catholic population. Below are some comparative statistics from 1965. Generally, these data reflect the situation at the beginning of the calendar year listed. The sources for this information include The Official Catholic Directory, the Vatican's Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae (ASE), and other CARA research and databases. All data are cross checked as much as possible. For the U.S, the numbers reported here include only figures for those 195 dioceses or eparchies who belong to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. This includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and all U.S. military personnel stationed overseas.


This page also includes links to other areas of the CARA website that provide answers to frequently asked questions.


For more information about CARA research and statistics, including our national and parish surveys, demographic studies, trend analyses and projections, and focus groups visit CARA Services. For more information about CARA's beginings read the following Review of Religious Research article from 1967 by Francis X. Gannon entitled, "Bridging the Research Gap: CARA, Response to Vatican II."

 Catholic Ministry Formation Statistics
 
The Permanent Diaconate
Statistics on Religious Life
Trends in U.S. Mass Attendance
 
Global Trends in Mass Attendance
 
The Catholic Vote
The CARA Catholic Poll (CCP)
 
  
To download and read some of the files on this page you will need to have or get:


 
 
 

 U.S. Data 1965 1975 1985 1995 2000 2005 2008
Total priests 58,632 58,909 57,317 49,054 45,699 42,839 40,580
 
Diocesan priests 35,925 36,005 35,052 32,349 30,607 28,702
 27,614
 
Religious priests 22,707 22,904 22,265 16,705 15,092 14,137 12,966
 
Priestly ordinations 994 771 533 511 442 454 480
 
Graduate-level seminarians 8,325 5,279 4,063 3,172 3,474 3,308 3,286
 
Permanent deacons na 898 7,204 10,932 12,378 14,574 15,893
 
Religious brothers 12,271 8,625 7,544 6,535 5,662 5,451 5,001
 
Religious sisters 179,954 135,225 115,386 90,809 79,814 68,634 59,208
 
Parishes 17,637 18,515 19,244 19,331 19,236 18,891 18,479
 
Without a resident priest pastor
 549 702 1,051 2,161 2,843 3,251 3,141
 
Where a bishop has entrusted the pastoral care of the parrish to a deacon, religious sister or brother, or other lay person (Canon 517.2)
 na na 93 314 447 553 477
Catholic population 45.6m 48.7m 52.3m 57.4m 59.9m 64.8m 64.1m
 
Percent of U.S. population 24% 23% 23% 23% 22% 23% 22%
 
Catholic elementary schools --
 --
 --
 6,979
 6,923
 6,574
 6,165
 
Students in Catholic elementary schools --
 --
 --
 1.991m
 2.013m
 1.779m
 1.634m
 
Catholic secondary schools --
 --
 --
 1,238
 1,221
 1,225
 1,213
 
Students in Catholic secondary schools --
 --
 --
 614,571
 639,954
 640,952
 656,581
 
Mass Attendance
CARA Catholic Poll (CCP): Yearly average percent of U.S.adult Catholics who say they attended Mass once a week or more (i.e., those attending every week) in CARA's telephone polls.

Comparisons: The Gallup Poll trend for the yearly average percent of U.S.adult Catholics who say they attended Mass in the last seven days (i.e., those attending in any given week). International Mass Attendance: Population weighted percentage of adult Catholics who say they attended Mass once a week or more (i.e., those attending every week) in the 38 largest Catholic population nations. -- -- -- --
33%

 35%
 36%
 
    World Data 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
Total priests 419,728 404,783 413,600 403,480 403,173 404,750 405,178 406,411
Diocesan priests 270,924 259,331 257,409 253,319 257,696 262,418 265,781 269,762
Religious priests 148,804 145,452 156,191 150,161 145,477 142,332 139,397 136,649
Diocesan priestly ordinations 4,622 4,140 3,860 4,822 5,938 6,444 6,814 6,614
Graduate-level seminarians -- -- 33,731 43,476 51,603 54,154 55,968 58,538
Permanent deacons 309 2,686 7,654 12,541 17,525 22,390 27,824 33,391
Religious brothers 79,408 70,388 73,090 65,208 62,526 59,515 55,057 54,708
Religious sisters 1,004,304 968,526 960,991 917,432 882,111 837,961 801,185 760,529
Parishes 191,398 200,116 206,503 212,021 215,805 220,077 218,196 217,616
Without a resident priest pastor
 39,431 46,074 50,469 55,343 57,664 60,705 55,729 52,509
Where a bishop has entrusted the pastoral care of the parrish to a deacon, religious sister or brother, or other lay person (Canon 517.2) na na na 1,635 2,535 3,278 3,373 3,122
Catholic population 653.6m 709.6m 783.7m 852.0m 928.5m 989.4m 1.045b 1.115b
Percent of world population 18% 17% 18% 18% 18% 17% 17% 17%



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Frequently Asked Questions

How many Catholics go to Mass every week? Graphic and Report (pgs. 20-22)
Why do Catholics say they miss weekly Mass from time to time? Graphic and Report (pgs. 48-50)
How often do Catholics receive Eucharist at Mass? Report (pgs. 44-45)
What percentage of Catholics go to Confession frequently? Graphic and Report (pgs. 57-60)

What percentage of Catholics give regularly to their parish offertory collection? Report (pg. 9)
How many Catholics consider a clerical or religious vocation? Graphic and Report (pgs. 69-75)

How many Catholics receive ashes on Ash Wednesday or abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent? Article and Report (pgs. 84-88)
What percentage of the U.S. adult population identifies as Catholic? Article
How many people raised Catholic stop considering themselves Catholic later in life? Article

Who do Catholics vote for? Since 1952 and more specific articles for the 2008, 2004, and 2000 elections
How many Hispanics are Catholic? Article
How likely are Catholics to be married to a Catholic? How likely are they to divorce? Graphic and Report
What percentage of Catholics have celebrated their First Communion and have been confirmed? Graphic and Report (pgs. 27-30)


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Putting social science research at the service of the Church since 1964.

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Here are some more statistics:

According to CARA, there are 40,580 priests in the United States. There are about 67 million Catholics. I think that we heard last night that there was one priest for every 2,450 catholics in the Diocese of Fort Worth. The trends for ordinations have remained about the same over the last 10 years.

Currently, the Diocese of Fort Worth is doing a planning study for future growth in our Diocese. They have hired the Meitler Group to do this study and have already come forward with some sobering statistics (if sobering is the right word - it may send some to drink.) Here is some of what they are saying:

In the next 20 years, the Diocese of Fort Worth can expect to see an increase of at least 113,253 Catholics which is enough to fill 10 to 15 very large parishes (almost 10,000 member parishes.) This is the conservative estimate. Another estimate puts the figure at an increase of 505,791 catholics! The discrepancy relates to the numbers of catholics who both register and practice their faith and those that simply call themselves catholic without much practice. In either case, the number is huge.

Denton County itself will see an increase of between 32,691 catholics or (the more liberal model) 145,426 catholics. I recommend they all go to ICC.

No doubt this poses a huge challenge for the church at a time when the numbers of clergy are decreasing. Already there is a huge group of catholics who no longer practice their faith; our challenge is to make our best effort to have a place that people can go when they arrive.

Just a reminder that our Penance Service is this Monday, March 16 at 7pm. Six priests will be available for reconciliation

I will try to do centering prayer once every day to increase the silence in my life. I am giving up chips (my favorite diet cheat) and grains (even the good ones make me tired anyway). Now, the soup and salad at the last Lenten Supper was perfect… No desserts for me either. The centering prayer will help me draw closer to Jesus, and the benefit will be peace. The diet changes will help me have more energy; this will be a benefit because I can be a more efficient housekeeper, which will lead to more time for God, family, and friends – the most important thing.

Wish there was another comtemplative retreat scheduled during Lent.
I missed the last one here at St. Mark.
Taking time out to be in silence for a day sounds great.

Lenten Penance - changing the direction in which we are looking for happiness. What penance are people doing for Lent? What is helping them? What has been a benefit?

In spite of saying that doing penance like fasting or abstaining or praying longer is not in of itself the heart of change, it is still helpful. It is helpful because it is a concrete way that we change our direction. We try to let go of our ordinary pleasures to find some greater pleasure in our faith. I try to not listen to the radio and TV which introduces some more silence in my life. I also give up diet Coke which only seems to make me cranky and sleepy. (I'm drinking diet green tea as I write this which I now associate with Lent and hate. It is actually pretty good.) O, and no desserts (but I'm not eating that anyway because of the carbs.)

Lorraine V, I thought that the Stations were very nice also. Kudos to Natalie Paulus and Courtney Kana of the Justice and Peace Committee who partly found them and partly wrote them. Thanks to Greg Paulus who printed the copies that we had; wish we had more. That is a good sign, though (running out of copies.)

Bea, I'm glad that you found Fr. Keating on the web. I have several tapes of Fr. Keating which you are welcome to borrow. He has written several books on centering prayer, but the most important is probably Open Mind, Open Heart (can't make the underline work.) I hope to do another centering prayer workshop pretty soon. Check out their web page, ContemplativeOutreach.org

As Fr. Keating would say, it will do you very little good to undergo many fasts and vigils if you still have the same motivation operating in your soul. Change the underlying motivation (change the direction in which you are looking for happines) and you will get somewhere.

Easier said than done, I have to admit.

The Station of the Cross held last Friday were very inspirational. I liked the way the message was personalized to the St. Mark Parish. Only wish there were enough books to be used. Hopefully, more will be printed. Or if the booklet is included in the St. Mark web site, we can download it and print it ourself.

When we depart the Church property after Mass our exits are expedited as long as parishoners turn right onto Teasley. It becomes a bottleneck when someone waits to make a left hand turn. Although posting the sign has helped, we still have people who don't abide. Would it help (or be permissable) to have a male parishoner stand at the intersection (at the Pennsylvania stop sign) motioning parishoners to turn right? I know we can hire an off-duty officer to direct traffic but it may also be cost prohibitive other than on special weekends (Christmas, Easter, etc.). An orange vest would be helpful to be worn and maybe a light wand for evening Masses. Just a thought.

Maybe I am too new to say anything. I agree with all of you but would also like to add that St Mark has a reverence for Jesus, for the Sacraments, for the Catholic Church, etc. which is the reason for our wonderful community and our wonderful worhsip. True, we can worship anywhere if we know Whom we are worshipping. And we do.

I like the simplicity of the church building we have now: the windows along the sides letting the outside in, the stained glass windows above the altar, the way the light enters the building etc… Maybe this simplicity encourages us to focus more on the people instead of our surroundings. Like Lorraine says, “In God’s time”.

Considering the current economic conditions, it's probably a blessing that our desire to build a new worship center is currently on hold. The reflection time may also provide us with time to look at other alternatives such as another access road to Carmel/Hobson. Usually when God closes one door, he opens another door (or opening). As Fr. Tim stated, we have our community (priceless). We are also blessed with a loving and caring Pastor (also priceless) and the greatest community of Catholics we have experienced in the 8 parishes we have belonged to in the past 40 years. In God's time.

BEA and Fr. Tim
Thank you for your comments. I couldn't agree more.

Edited by author 01-07-2009 12:59 PM
Recently I received a note complaining that I was not open to building a traditional church. I do not have the address of the person but thought that this would be a good way to make some kind of response.

I understand and agree with the desire for a new church. It seems like a pretty normal desire of a catholic (or any Christian for that matter) to want to worship in a space that is sacred. And that space should be something that connects to the tradition. We have to be able to identify a church as a church and not, say, a veterinarian clinic. Obviously what one person sees as tradition is not necessarily what another sees. And, of course, we are called to incorporate the modern as well as the tradtion. Gothic cathedrals were an innovation in their day.

However, I would like to suggest that people recognize that God has given them a gift in the humble space that we call a church right now. I know that there are no pews. The entry area is tiny and we are cramped. The altar rests on a platform and the baptistry is wheeled out when we need it. It is not a grand space.

However, what we have is the community. We have one another. We may not have a beautiful space but we have the beauty of the other. If we see that, it is worth more than any grand cathedral.

This was a very timely article (Teflon vs. Velcro) for me. Thank you,jayegr,for sending it.

What about the "brillo pad" personality ? We scrub off the problem, but the "abrasiveness" we use ruins the pan.

I think the reading from Isaiah on Dec. 7th goes with “changing the direction in which you look for happiness” because it is about being comforted when you repent. If you change direction by turning toward God, then you would automatically be happier deep down inside which would be a comfort. I hope this makes sense, but I’m not sure.

Anyway, below is a link to a short article which refers to the way Father Tim defined repent. It is about letting go of hurts vs. hanging onto hurts as one way of changing direction. Please read about the Teflon vs. Velcro people.

http://www.assumptionabbey.com/Newsletter/2005/33-4/33v4p3.html

I'm not sure to which quote you are referring (I never remember any quote unless I see it written.) St. Augustine said, "Our hearts are restless until they rest in you" which means that we experience restlessness or disatisfaction until we are with God. Fr. Thomas Keating says that the word 'repent' does not mean taking on penances, fasts, vigils, etc., but "change the direction in which you are looking for happiness." That was the one I was quoting for the gist of my homily. I hope this helps.

Fr. Tim, you homily was wonderful last Sunday. I would love to have the quote you read (was it from St. Augustine?), regarding "pulling heaven down to Earth". I think it is completely true, yet sometimes difficult to remember: It is impossible to be 100% happy here on Earth, that is not what Earth is for. Thanks for your thoughts.

Angel tree gifts are brought to the church.

Our Christmas Mass Schedule is the following: Christmas Vigil: 4pm, 6pm and 11pm. Christmas Day: 10am. All are welcome.

We attend mass when visiting the Hickory Creek area.
We are planning a visit for and around Christmas. I tried
to access your bulletin but was unable to do so. Would it be
asking too much for the Christmas mass schedule. Thanking you in
advance for your assistance. Merry Christmas and God bless!

can someone tell me when and where to take my angel tree gift? asap

Thanks to those who followed up on the Mass times. I have been a bit negligent of our site. Here is a link for the readings for this Sunday, Dec. 7th:

http://www.usccb.org/nab/120708.shtml

Any comments?

THE MASS TIMES FOR THE FEAST OF IMMACULATE CONCEPTION IS;
MONDAY MORNING AT 7:30 AM AND MONDAY NIGHT AT 7:00 PM.

HAVE A GREAT DAY...AND HAPPY ADVENT

Is this it? This is on the church calendar link:
Mass/MWS
Date: Monday December 8, 2008
Time: 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Type: Appointment (Public)

A 2nd collection will be taken this weekend for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). Email messages have been circulating regarding funding provided by CCHD to ACORN. That funding was cut off earlier this year and no money from last year's collection or this year's collection will go to that cause. For additional information check the following post on the National Conference of Catholic Bishops(NCCB)website:

http://www.nccbuscc.org/comm/archives/2008/08-175.shtml

The link below is an interesting (short) article regarding “why we need churches” whether they are simple or fancy. Also, the article is written in regard to the Feast of St. John Lateran and the dedication of the Basilica in his name. Community is, for sure, more important than a building, but this article brought to light some interesting ways to think about the actual building.
 
http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/librar...._John_Lateran.html

This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of St. John Lateran. It seems like a strange thing to celebrate. The Church is actually the Cathedral church of the city of Rome, not St. Peter's Basilica which is more or less the Pope's personal church (that may not be such a hot description.) I think that the point of the celebration is about union with the Bishop/Pope of Rome and not about the church. Afterall, the Cathedral is the Bishop's church, so this is a way to speak about our union with the Pope.

We had a nice discussion about the value of a church building and the importance of style in a church. Some expressed appreciation for our present church, especially liking the way the sunlight enters the building, a sign of God's presence. Others spoke of the beauty of simplicity. But the major consensus was the value of the community. It is the people of God that makes a church beautiful. Many had had experiences in less than beautiful places that were made beautiful by the people. A good reminder.

Here is a link to this Sunday's readings:

http://www.usccb.org/nab/110908.shtml

I will offer a commentary on my next entry.

This Sunday, we celebrate the Feast of All Souls. This is an opportunity for us to pray for our faithful departed (not faithfully departed, since pretty much all of the dead are faithfully departed, but not all were faithful) and to reflect on the reality of our own death. While it can be seen as morbid to think of death, I think it would be worse to live without death. This life is good, but it is not something I would want to do for eternity unless I could eat whatever I wanted without gaining weight. And no exercise or waking up early or... You get the point. While death can be seen as a punishment by God for our sins, it can also be seen as a remedy for the limitations of this world, a freedom to live a better life.

Having said all of that, I'm not particularly interested in the remedy at just this moment.

Here is a link to the readings for Sunday, Nov. 2nd:

http://www.usccb.org/nab/110208.shtml

This is a link about a Catholic pro-life pharmacy; encouraging.

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/468381.aspx

The Gospel reading this Sunday from Matthew is Jesus' famous response to the Pharisees that one should 'give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.' Our faith sharing group this morning (Monday mornings from 8am to 9am, open to all) had a spirited discussion about this. A theologian recently said that there is a distinction between the political order and the moral order and that not everything in the moral order belongs in the political order. He means by this that not everything that we hold to be immoral should also be illegal. I believe this is true, though what those things are is the difficult thing to define. Clearly, we as Catholics have held that abortion is one of those moral issues that should also be covered in the political issues. This is surely one of the most divisive issues that our country faces. Perhaps it is providential that this reading comes just weeks before our Presidential election.

Let's try again posting the readings of the Sunday Mass. If you have the time and feel like making a comment, please do so. They are available at this link:

http://www.usccb.org/nab/101908.shtml

Thanks for your nice message, Taree. It is true that none of us knows how we are affecting others. I suppose that our actions are always preaching something. I'm sure that your own witness and faith have been the most important.

Where do you camp near the church?! I think it is illegal to camp in that park near the church.

Good morning! I just discovered your forum and hope more people join in to keep this going. We are an "outdoorsy" family that gets away from the Dallas hustle/bustle by camping with family close to your church, and go to your church services whenever we are camping. Fr. Tim - while I am a 'cradle Catholic', my husband is not - but after listening to your sermons and seeing the wonderful fellowship at St. Mark's, my husband has started his RCIA classes at our 'home church'. I just wanted to let you know that you and your congregation just never know when someone is at your services by just a 'happenstance' and you never know when your words and deeds are going to take someone's heart and turn them to Catholicism. You and your parish are wonderful, and after 20+ years of marriage, I am so thankful to you for your words and messages that reinforced what I've been explaining to my husband for all these years and moved him to start his journey in faith to Catholicism. Bless you all and please remember - a new Catholic could be right next to you, just waiting for the right words and/or conversation/actions that will bring them into our fold....

Thanks for the new chairs.

It's great having a Pastor who's not afraid to roll up his sleeves and help.

The new chairs are FABULOUS!!! Keeping a wiggly 4 yr old boy from disturbing others during mass is so much easier with solid, unmovable chairs!!

The chairs are great! They are so comfortable, and I like the Hymnal holders. Also, the acoustics are better.

Partial group picture of workers who installed new chairs in Church

New Chairs In Church

Additional information:

In light of Speaker Pelosi's erroneous remarks regarding the Church's teaching on abortion, the Bishops have posted an excellent document at www.usccb.org entitled, Respect for Unborn Human Life: The Church's Constant Teaching. It's a two page document that states the church's position on abortion for the past two centuries.

Recently Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, said on a morning news program that Saints like Thomas Aquinas and Augustine debated the beginning of human life. This prompted a parishioner to ask the following (which I am posting here and inviting your comments:

I know that the Catholic church says that she is wrong. But what does the Catholic church say about her use of St. Augustine’s comment on the time when life begins? She uses this (amongst other reasons) for supporting abortion.

 

I responded this way:

you probably have read the reaction from Abp. Chaput and other bishops accross the nation who have reacted very negatively to her statements. as i hear what they say, they explain that St. Augustine and St. Thomas were working from very inadequate ideas of biology which have since been corrected. i think that they said that ensoulment did not take place until 'quickening' which i think is when a mother feels a kick. shouldn't it be called 'kickening' then? just wondering...

 

but, frankly, they are kind of embarrasing explanations from great thinkers of the church. they were basing their teaching on what they knew. we obviously know more about embryology, etc than they did. all i can say is that we are responsible for what we know as they are responsible for what they knew.

Religious orders practice what is called 'fraternal correction' in which the members gather together and each one is held accountable to the others for their behavior. (Most likely taken from this Gospel passage.) I really don't know if they do that any more or not. It easily led to abuse. People can be pretty petty and will twist things around. They will call someone's disagreement with them a fault whereas it is really a difference of opinions. Still, it would be useful if we were open to admitting our own faults and willing to listen to others note our faults. (please do not do this to me! I meant it for other people.) We are blind to our shortcomings. Jesus seems to think that we should help people overcome their faults. I suppose it is an issue of humility and insecurity that prevents us from hearing others. What do you think?

Below is a link to this Sunday's readings. You are invited to post your comments about the Gospel or any of the other readings.

http://www.usccb.org/nab/090708.shtml

Edited by author 08-25-2008 10:16 PM
Please keep the family of Jim & Rose Bezdek in your prayers on the loss of their daughter, Elaine Groshen who passed away at 4:25 PM today (Sunday, 08/24/08).

Visitation will be on Wednesday evening, August 27th, from 7 to 9 PM with the Knights of Columbus rosary recited at 8 PM, at Mulkey Mason Jack Schmitz & Son Funeral Home, 705 North Locust Street in Denton. A funeral service will held on Thursday morning, August 28th, at 10:00 PM, at Saint Mark Catholic Church at 2800 Pennsylvania Ave, in Denton.

Memorials may be made to the American Institute for Cancer Research,
1759 R. Street NW, P.O. Box 97167, Washington DC, 20090-7167

May her soul and the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.

Dear Fr Tim,
We have been away quite a bit these last 3 months. My father, Mel Becker, who is on our prayer list, underwent mitral valve repair surgery in May, and is nearly fully recovered and better than ever! Thanks for all your prayers. The surgery was very "touch and go"... He is a "young" 82 yrs. old.

Several months back we had a wonderful open forum on the New Church property and our assistance to the ICC community. Are the minutes from that meeting posted? Was there a follow up session since then, and have any decisions been made concerning either of these issues.

Yours in Christ,
Jack Becker

Jayegr, I like your input regarding the Sunday reading. Hurt feelings can keep us from following through when things get tough. Your comment about our willingness to be challenged in our faith is also a good point. I'm usually the person who is overly sensitive to change. Your perspective provides an interesting insight to this reading.
Thanks.

I’m sure the woman felt rejected and had hurt feelings. She could have justifiably given up and walked away. The love for her daughter, however, was more important to her than her own feelings.

Yes, maybe not responding was Jesus’ way of toughening up her faith; if she had been too sensitive thinking only of her feelings instead of what she really needed, her daughter might have died. Likewise, if we become too sensitive, our feelings can become more important to us than our soul. For example, we might get offended at church and vow to never come back, which would mean we are putting our feelings above our soul. So perhaps we should be willing to be more challenged in our faith and less soft with ourselves.

It's an unusual reading, with Jesus seemingly being 'rude' to the woman - at least from our perspective. He won't talk to her, he brushes her off, telling her he wasn't sent to help non-Israelites. But commentators say that this is, in effect, a ruse: he is not responding so that she will respond in faith more deeply. Still seems a bit harsh. Are we too soft in our spirituality? Should we be more challenging?

I'm afraid that our open forum has died, but here is a try to revive it. Below is a link to this sunday's readings (it is forbidden to copy them to the website, so you'll have to go there yourself.) I'd like to try again sharing on the sunday readings. Any comments?

http://www.usccb.org/nab/081708.shtml

It is an old accusation that the Vatican is rich and should give its money away to help the poor (Judas was the first to make such a statement, 'why was this perfume not sold and the money given to the poor?! he indignantly said.) Below is an email from the Vatican that reports summarily its financial status for the year. Here it is (by the way, this email is free to all through the Vatican Information Services:)

SUMMARY:

 

- Holy See Financial Statements for 2007

 

___________________________________________________________

 

HOLY SEE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR 2007

 

VATICAN CITY, 10 JUL 2008 (VIS) - The Council of Cardinals for the Study of Organisational and Economic Problems of the Holy See held its 42nd meeting in the Vatican on 3 and 4 July, under the presidency of Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B.

 

  A communique published yesterday afternoon explains that the consolidated financial statements of the Holy See in 2007 - presented to the assembled cardinals by Archbishop Velasio De Paolis C.S., president of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See - showed a deficit of nine million euro: the difference between an income of 236,737,207 euro and outgoings of 245,805,167. This follows a three year period (2004, 2005 and 2006) that had showed a total surplus of 15,206,587 euro.

 

  As regards the institutional activity of the Holy See (Secretariat of State, congregations, councils, tribunals, the Synod of Bishops and various other offices), the communique recalls that this produces no revenue.

 

  The sector of financial activities (seven consolidated administrations, the most important of which is the Extraordinary Section of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, APSA) showed a surplus of 1.4 million euro, as compared with the 2006 surplus of 13.7 million euro. This decrease of about 12 million euro, the note explains, "is due above all to a sudden very strong reversal of trend in fluctuations of the rate of exchange, especially of the US dollar."

 

  The real estate sector closed with a net gain of 36.3 million euro, higher than that of 2006 which stood at around 32.3 million.

 

  The activity of the five media institutions connected with the Holy See (Vatican Radio, the Vatican Printing Office, the Osservatore Romano newspaper, the Vatican Publishing House and the Vatican Television Centre), closed with a deficit of 14.6 million euro, "substantially due to the deficit of Vatican Radio and the publication costs of the 'Osservatore Romano'". Nonetheless, the Vatican Printing Office and the Vatican Television Centre closed with a surplus of 1 million euro and 458,754 euro respectively. The Vatican Publishing House also closed the year with a surplus of 1.6 million euro.

 

  The Roman Curia employs a totals of 2,748 people (44 more than in 2006), of whom 778 are clergy, 333 religious and 1,637 lay people (including 425 women). Pensioners number 929.

 

  The communique goes on to announce that the consolidated financial statements of the Governorate of Vatican City State in 2007 closed with a surplus of 6.7 million euro, a drop with respect to last year's surplus of 21.8 million. "There has been", says the note, "a considerable and sustained economic and financial commitment to the protection, maintenance and restoration of the artistic patrimony of the Holy See (restoration of the Pauline Chapel, interventions on the basilicas of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls and St. Mary Major), as well as elevated costs for the internal security of Vatican City State".

 

  "For the financial year 2007, the Governorate of Vatican City State undertook to support the costs of Vatican Radio, contributing to covering half its deficit (12.2 million euro)", says the communique.

 

  Offers from the faithful to Peter's Pence, the fund which goes to the Holy Father's works of evangelical solidarity, fell considerably with respect to the preceding year. In 2006 they stood at 74.6 million euro, while in 2007 they only reached 50.8 million. The communique mentions a single individual "who has chosen to remain anonymous" who made an offer of 9.09 million euro to the Holy See.

 

  Finally, contributions from dioceses in accordance with canon 1271 of the Code of Canon Law, reached the sum of 18.7 million euro in 2007.

OP/FINANCES HOLY SEE/DE PAOLIS VIS 080710 (620)
   
  
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We had a lot of fun at the Supper Club. Cade Ware is a happy baby and loved to look around, as you can see!

The supper club theme was Hawaiian, the food delicious, and the company great!

Two blessings with Fr. Tim at our recent Supper Club meeting.

The America Magazine article is enlightening. The statement the author’s husband made, “being pro-life is being pro-other-people’s-life; everyone is pro-their-own-life”, is so true, and I can see why it was a catalyst for her conversion.
Our cultural understanding of sexual relations is upside down partly because people are spoiled and would rather have more material things than more babies. All the rationalizations/excuses used for having less children and for advocating abortions are simply justifications of a spoiled, selfish society. I’m amazed today at how many young women really don’t want to have a family (I mean one’s that aren’t aspiring to a religious life).
Yes, Children are a blessing and shouldn’t be viewed as a burden any more than the elderly should. Maybe one day things will turn around, and those who are using so much energy for pro-choice, will channel that energy into exploring better ways to raise today’s children.

I think the “Loser Letter” works as author, Mary Eberstadt, plays the devil’s advocate to expose an atheists’ position on abortion. It was interesting to find out that some atheists used to be pro-life, but now usually they aren’t, because it makes them appear religious. Also, it’s a shame that today’s children (and us) have to live in a disposable world, which seems to require an explanation as to, “why am I here”.

Fr. Tim - Thanks for sharing the pro-life article from the America magazine. We haven't won the war against abortion, but we are winning some of the battles. Take care.

The link below connects an excellent article in America magazine. The author talks about her conversion from pro-choice to pro-life. She expresses well our cultural understanding of sexuality and how this easily leads to abortion. When children are an accidental or unwanted by product of sexual relations, abortion is a ready tool to solve a problem. When they are seen (and are) a blessing from God, abortion no longer is accepted. Worth reading:

http://www.americamagazine.org/content/art...fm?article_id=10904

An article written in the tradition of "The Screwtape Letters" by C. S. Lewis is linked here:

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MmFmM...VlYjU4ZmViNzg=&w=MA

Does this work? Anyway, it is really clever and well written.

Yes, I both married my niece and was a proud Uncle at the same time. It was a nice event at St. Bartholomew's parish in Fort Worth where my sister and her daughters are members.

Fr. Tim--your niece and grandnieces are all beautiful. What a happy day they had! Were you there as her proud uncle or did you marry her or maybe both?
Glad to see the forum up and running again and that there are some guidelines in regards to fairness, decency, etc.

This is a picture of my niece who got married with one of my grandnieces.

I have upgraded this website and now pictures can be loaded as well as commentary. Below is a picture of my grandnieces at my nieces wedding. We just had a lot of first communions and confirmations at St. Mark. I think that people would be interested in seeing some pictures from church members of these events or of other events. May be you have some wedding pictures to share or something else pertinent to parish or faith life. Here's your chance.
 
Aren't my nieces cute?! They waved to the crowd all during the ceremony.

My grandnieces at their cousin's wedding, Friday, June 22, 2008

Before the First Communion Masses, there was a lot of noise in the church, I think because there were a lot of visitors and people excited about the ceremony. I haven't noticed that at other Masses with the possible exception of the Sunday evening Mass. There should be some time to socialize before Mass, but it would be better if this were done in the foyer.

Music during the Mass is not meant as a distraction but is part of the ceremony. We play and sing during the Offertory for this reason. Do you think it should be silent?

Dear Father Tim,
Would it be possible to remind parishoners that there should be little to no talking while in church? The volume has gotten to the point where it's very hard to pray, quiet the mind, and remember we are in the presence of God.

Also, the music and the volume being played just before the offetory is distracting. Again, I (and those I've heard in the congregation) find it hard to concentrate. The music (if any is played) should be something that is spiritual in nature.

Thank you for all your care and concern! We are very blest to have you.

Regards,
Susan

Wishing you a Happy Father's Day, Father.
Thank you for your gentle guidance and ministry.
Thank you for your "yes" to God.
As you always bless us here is a blessing for you, united with St. Paul, (Ephesian 3:14-19) we pray before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

I hope this works better. Good luck

The Forum is Back! Yeah! More opportunity to express your ideas, opinions, thoughts and hopes to the parish community. However, I have upgraded the service and I am able to see I.P. addresses and block users who abuse the site. While controversy should not be banned nor disagreements, any kind of abuse (as I see it) will not be tolerated. That said, I hope that people can again enjoy this site and use it to express faith.

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