Hello!
Anyone planning to do the 15K training race this Saturday, April 4th? If so, and you'd like to meet up with some other Race for Vocations participants prior to the start of the race, meet by the registration tables. Help show your support for our vocations cause and increase awareness by joining us in wearing last year's vocations race shirt if you have one (or you can contact Agena Hurrle to purchase one for $10).
Also coming up... Bricks to Bricks 10 Miler: Sunday, April 19, 2009, 7:30 am, Franklin Central High School. Great Mini training race! Meet up with other R4V participants! Wear last year's vocations race shirt. Register at: www.kenlongassoc.com/events/bricks10mi09.html
Hope to see/meet many more R4V participants this Saturday at the 15K!
Blessings,
Agena Hurrle
782.0789
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Reflection #3 from Fr. Nagel
LIVING A SACRED SINGLE LIFE
Dear Race for Vocations Participants,
Many times those who are single wonder where their place in the Church is today. As a single Catholic, one is called to live a Sacred Single Life, until God calls them forth to another vocation such as marriage, priesthood or religious life. Our Catholic singles are such an integral and vital part of the Body of Christ! They bring life, energy, resources and gifts to the Church in awesome and inspiring ways. To live a Sacred Single Life is to live to strive to live a life of VIRTUE! To live a Sacred Single Life is to live with CHRIST as the model!
A message from Pope Benedict XVI to the Young Adults of America
“Dear friends, truth is not an imposition. Nor is it simply a set of rules. It is a discovery of the One who never fails us; the One whom we can always trust. In seeking truth we come to live by belief because ultimately truth is a person: Jesus Christ. That is why authentic freedom is not an opting out. It is an opting in; nothing less than letting go of self and allowing oneself to be drawn into Christ’s very being for others (cf. Spe Salvi, 28).
At times, however, we are tempted to close in on ourselves, to doubt the strength of Christ’s radiance, to limit the horizon of hope. Take courage! Fix your gaze on our saints. The diversity of their experience of God’s presence prompts us to discover anew the breadth and depth of Christianity. Let your imaginations soar freely along the limitless expanse of the horizons of Christian discipleship. Sometimes we are looked upon as people who speak only of prohibitions. Nothing could be further from the truth! Authentic Christian discipleship is marked by a sense of wonder. We stand before the God we know and love as a friend, the vastness of his creation, and the beauty of our Christian faith. “ Pope Benedict XVI, Papal Visit to America – April 2008
Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 1803, 1830 – 1832:
ARTICLE 7
THE VIRTUES
1803 "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."62
A virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do the good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of himself. The virtuous person tends toward the good with all his sensory and spiritual powers; he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions.
The goal of a virtuous life is to become like God.63
III. THE GIFTS AND FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
1830 The moral life of Christians is sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are permanent dispositions which make man docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
1831 The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. They belong in their fullness to Christ, Son of David.109 They complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily obeying divine inspirations.
Let your good spirit lead me on a level path.110
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God . . . If children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.111
1832 The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: "charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity."112
62 Phil 4:8, 63 St. Gregory of Nyssa, 110 Psalm 143:10, 111 Rom 8:14, 17, 112 Gal. 22-23
Questions to contemplate in prayer and while you train:
1. How does God want me to live a sacred and virtuous life?
2. Who do I know that is single and striving to live a life of virtue? What is different about them?
3. Why is Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati a model for youth and young adults of this millennium?
4. What are the challenges that we face in this world that keep us from living a sacred life in Christ?
5. What gifts (personal and of the Church) has God given me to be able to conquer these obstacles?
Excellent Supplemental Activity: Check out Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, Saint for the Youth and Young Adults of the Third Millennium www.frassatiusa.org
A Vocations Prayer
Gracious and loving God, Your people are longing to hear your word. Send laborers into your harvest - women and men on fire with your love: Dedicated single people - who incarnate your presence in their daily lives, whose availability enables them to respond to a diversity of needs. Married couples - whose relationships serve as a sign of your fidelity to your people, whose love overflows to their children and neighbors. Ordained Ministers - who gather the prayers and longing of your people who serve as a channel of your presence through the sacraments. Religious sisters, brothers, and priests - whose life in community foreshadows our eternal unity in Christ, whose service brings your life to the world.May each of us respond with courage and generosity to our particular vocations, and may the Church recognize the Spirit's call to men and women of good will, trusting in your abundance to answer all our needs. Amen. (USCCB)
Let us all continue to Run the Good Race!
Father Rick Nagel
Dear Race for Vocations Participants,
Many times those who are single wonder where their place in the Church is today. As a single Catholic, one is called to live a Sacred Single Life, until God calls them forth to another vocation such as marriage, priesthood or religious life. Our Catholic singles are such an integral and vital part of the Body of Christ! They bring life, energy, resources and gifts to the Church in awesome and inspiring ways. To live a Sacred Single Life is to live to strive to live a life of VIRTUE! To live a Sacred Single Life is to live with CHRIST as the model!
A message from Pope Benedict XVI to the Young Adults of America
“Dear friends, truth is not an imposition. Nor is it simply a set of rules. It is a discovery of the One who never fails us; the One whom we can always trust. In seeking truth we come to live by belief because ultimately truth is a person: Jesus Christ. That is why authentic freedom is not an opting out. It is an opting in; nothing less than letting go of self and allowing oneself to be drawn into Christ’s very being for others (cf. Spe Salvi, 28).
At times, however, we are tempted to close in on ourselves, to doubt the strength of Christ’s radiance, to limit the horizon of hope. Take courage! Fix your gaze on our saints. The diversity of their experience of God’s presence prompts us to discover anew the breadth and depth of Christianity. Let your imaginations soar freely along the limitless expanse of the horizons of Christian discipleship. Sometimes we are looked upon as people who speak only of prohibitions. Nothing could be further from the truth! Authentic Christian discipleship is marked by a sense of wonder. We stand before the God we know and love as a friend, the vastness of his creation, and the beauty of our Christian faith. “ Pope Benedict XVI, Papal Visit to America – April 2008
Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 1803, 1830 – 1832:
ARTICLE 7
THE VIRTUES
1803 "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."62
A virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do the good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of himself. The virtuous person tends toward the good with all his sensory and spiritual powers; he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions.
The goal of a virtuous life is to become like God.63
III. THE GIFTS AND FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
1830 The moral life of Christians is sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are permanent dispositions which make man docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
1831 The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. They belong in their fullness to Christ, Son of David.109 They complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily obeying divine inspirations.
Let your good spirit lead me on a level path.110
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God . . . If children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.111
1832 The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: "charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity."112
62 Phil 4:8, 63 St. Gregory of Nyssa, 110 Psalm 143:10, 111 Rom 8:14, 17, 112 Gal. 22-23
Questions to contemplate in prayer and while you train:
1. How does God want me to live a sacred and virtuous life?
2. Who do I know that is single and striving to live a life of virtue? What is different about them?
3. Why is Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati a model for youth and young adults of this millennium?
4. What are the challenges that we face in this world that keep us from living a sacred life in Christ?
5. What gifts (personal and of the Church) has God given me to be able to conquer these obstacles?
Excellent Supplemental Activity: Check out Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, Saint for the Youth and Young Adults of the Third Millennium www.frassatiusa.org
A Vocations Prayer
Gracious and loving God, Your people are longing to hear your word. Send laborers into your harvest - women and men on fire with your love: Dedicated single people - who incarnate your presence in their daily lives, whose availability enables them to respond to a diversity of needs. Married couples - whose relationships serve as a sign of your fidelity to your people, whose love overflows to their children and neighbors. Ordained Ministers - who gather the prayers and longing of your people who serve as a channel of your presence through the sacraments. Religious sisters, brothers, and priests - whose life in community foreshadows our eternal unity in Christ, whose service brings your life to the world.May each of us respond with courage and generosity to our particular vocations, and may the Church recognize the Spirit's call to men and women of good will, trusting in your abundance to answer all our needs. Amen. (USCCB)
Let us all continue to Run the Good Race!
Father Rick Nagel
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Reflection #2 from Fr. Nagel
Race for Vocations Participants,
As we continue to pray for the increase of vocations to the priesthood, consecrated/religious life, sacred married life and sacred single life, one must first consider the Universal Call to Holiness and our first vocation through baptism of Charity! You are called to holiness and to respond in your life through Charity…
Universal Call to Holiness
“Dear young people of America, your personal prayer, your times of silent contemplation, and your participation in the Church’s liturgy, bring you closer to God and also prepare you to serve others. The saints show us that the life of faith and hope is also a life of charity. Contemplating Jesus on the Cross we see love in its most radical form. We can begin to imagine the path of love along which we must move (cf. Deus Caritas Est, 12). The opportunities to make this journey are abundant. Look about you with Christ’s eyes, listen with his ears, feel and think with his heart and mind. Are you ready to give all as he did for truth and justice?” Pope Benedict XVI, Papal Visit to America – April 2008
Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 825 – 826
II. THE CHURCH IS HOLY
825 "The Church on earth is endowed already with a sanctity that is real though imperfect."295 In her members perfect holiness is something yet to be acquired: "Strengthened by so many and such great means of salvation, all the faithful, whatever their condition or state - though each in his own way - are called by the Lord to that perfection of sanctity by which the Father himself is perfect."296
826 Charity is the soul of the holiness to which all are called: it "governs, shapes, and perfects all the means of sanctification."297
If the Church was a body composed of different members, it couldn't lack the noblest of all; it must have a Heart, and a Heart BURNING WITH LOVE. And I realized that this love alone was the true motive force which enabled the other members of the Church to act; if it ceased to function, the Apostles would forget to preach the gospel, the Martyrs would refuse to shed their blood. LOVE, IN FACT, IS THE VOCATION WHICH INCLUDES ALL OTHERS; IT'S A UNIVERSE OF ITS OWN, COMPRISING ALL TIME AND SPACE - IT'S ETERNAL! 298
296 LG 11, 3
298 St Theresa of Lisieux, Autobiography of a Saint
Questions to contemplate in prayer and while you train:
Can you think of someone in your life who strives to be holy? What do you see in them that you would like to see in yourself?
Have you decided to strive to be holy, with God’s grace? Why or why not?
Who is one of your favorite saints who, serves as a model for you in life?
What are some good practices one should follow as a Catholic in the journey to holiness? Acts of Charity which God calls you to?
May we all strive for holiness and act with charity in all we do!
With a Father’s Love,
Father Rick Nagel
As we continue to pray for the increase of vocations to the priesthood, consecrated/religious life, sacred married life and sacred single life, one must first consider the Universal Call to Holiness and our first vocation through baptism of Charity! You are called to holiness and to respond in your life through Charity…
Universal Call to Holiness
“Dear young people of America, your personal prayer, your times of silent contemplation, and your participation in the Church’s liturgy, bring you closer to God and also prepare you to serve others. The saints show us that the life of faith and hope is also a life of charity. Contemplating Jesus on the Cross we see love in its most radical form. We can begin to imagine the path of love along which we must move (cf. Deus Caritas Est, 12). The opportunities to make this journey are abundant. Look about you with Christ’s eyes, listen with his ears, feel and think with his heart and mind. Are you ready to give all as he did for truth and justice?” Pope Benedict XVI, Papal Visit to America – April 2008
Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 825 – 826
II. THE CHURCH IS HOLY
825 "The Church on earth is endowed already with a sanctity that is real though imperfect."295 In her members perfect holiness is something yet to be acquired: "Strengthened by so many and such great means of salvation, all the faithful, whatever their condition or state - though each in his own way - are called by the Lord to that perfection of sanctity by which the Father himself is perfect."296
826 Charity is the soul of the holiness to which all are called: it "governs, shapes, and perfects all the means of sanctification."297
If the Church was a body composed of different members, it couldn't lack the noblest of all; it must have a Heart, and a Heart BURNING WITH LOVE. And I realized that this love alone was the true motive force which enabled the other members of the Church to act; if it ceased to function, the Apostles would forget to preach the gospel, the Martyrs would refuse to shed their blood. LOVE, IN FACT, IS THE VOCATION WHICH INCLUDES ALL OTHERS; IT'S A UNIVERSE OF ITS OWN, COMPRISING ALL TIME AND SPACE - IT'S ETERNAL! 298
296 LG 11, 3
298 St Theresa of Lisieux, Autobiography of a Saint
Questions to contemplate in prayer and while you train:
Can you think of someone in your life who strives to be holy? What do you see in them that you would like to see in yourself?
Have you decided to strive to be holy, with God’s grace? Why or why not?
Who is one of your favorite saints who, serves as a model for you in life?
What are some good practices one should follow as a Catholic in the journey to holiness? Acts of Charity which God calls you to?
May we all strive for holiness and act with charity in all we do!
With a Father’s Love,
Father Rick Nagel
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2008 Team Vocations participants, Roger Neal (left), Julie Johnstone, Gabrielle Campo and Anthony Campo. John Demerly is featured in the photo in the upper right of page. (Photo from Criterion)
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