Last night I was asked to be a sponsor for a candidate in our RCIA program at church.  I am overjoyed at the opportunity.  This is something I have prayed about for the past 4 months and was very thankful when I was asked.  After returning home I had some time to think about it and was suddenly overwhelmed with the idea.  While my journey to the Church has been a long one, I was just confirmed this past year.  I know that God is leading me to this though and will provide the tools I need through His Grace.  A friend asked me what I thought was the biggest challenge and reward to being a good sponsor.  I thought about it for a minute and responded, “A constant life of prayer is both the greatest challenge and reward.”  I am an analytical thinker, but this is a situation when my own thought process is not what I should trust.  I must go to God and let His grace work through me as He sees fit.  I’ll be praying for the candidates, the other sponsors, and the entire RCIA team daily.  What a great gift we receive when we are given the opportunity to share our faith in such a personal manner.  May God work through us and the candidates lives through this year.  May we all grow in faith, compassion and understanding as we make this walk together.

A Prayer for Sponsors of the RCIA

God of all ages, you send out your Spirit to touch the hearts of people
so that they may believe in You and in Jesus, whom You sent.

Look kindly on all catechumens and candidates, as they listen to your voice.

Open their hearts to your Spirit and bring to fulfillment
the good work you have begun in them.

As I reach out to welcome new members into the church,
make me an instrument of your love.

Teach me to revere what is holy in others,
and to be patient with what I do not understand.

Deepen my faith in the gospel, and help me to pass it on by good example.

With those who are hesitant or afraid, let me be a source of encouragement.

And with those who are weak, let me be a pillar of strength.

I humbly accept the ministry of sponsor
and pray that you will continue to guide me
and sustain me in welcoming new members into your household.

I praise you through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

I found this prayer found at St John LaLande Church’s website.

There are a few dishes we have enjoyed in my family as long as I can remember.  I’m not sure where many of these recipes originated, as they are mostly relegated to memory or very discolored, hand written recipe cards.  I thought it would be a good idea to post some of them on here so they are kept as a record as well as passed on to others outside our family.  The first recipe I’d like to share is one we had today.  It’s an incredibly simple recipe that is enjoyed by all ages.

Double Corn Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 can yellow corn


• 1 can cream corn


• 1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix


• 1/2 cup melted butter (or margarine)


• 1 cup sour cream


• 2 eggs (beaten)


• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients (except cheese) together in a large bowl


2. Pour into greased 13x9 casserole dish


3. Sprinkle top with cheese


4. Bake at 350F for 35 minutes

I used to post quite a few wallpapers on here.  I think it’s time to post a few iPhone ones that I have been enjoying.  These are designed for the iPhone 4 (640 x 960).  I’ll post more as I make them.

I just posted a picture on Flickr of my current iPhone apps.  I’m really liking iOS4 and the new folders option.

click image to view full size

One of the beautiful and terrifying aspects of being a Catholic is the ever present level of accountability. As Catholics we are called on to live our faith every moment. We are to look out for and provide for those who God puts into our lives. We are called to share our faith through example every day. We are called to reflect on God’s grace and to work towards forgiveness and holiness each and every day.

The most dangerous and often underestimated prayer is The Lord’s Prayer. As Catholics, we pray this seemingly basic prayer at every Mass, many gatherings, and more. It is a beautiful prayer given to us by Christ himself. It is a statement of our faith and beliefs. It also contains a very dangerous line. We pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”. Think about this line for a minute. It doesn’t say “forgive us and we’ll forgive others”, nor “forgive us even if we don’t forgive others”. It says clearly “forgive us AS we forgive others”. This is a serious statement because we are asking God to treat us exactly as we treat others around us. How many times have you been hurt by someone, supposedly forgiven them, yet held resentment or a subtle anger towards them for years. How would it feel for God to forgive us our sins and hold a grudge anyway? We make a powerful and conditional statement when we ask God to forgive us as we forgive others. We place a standard on ourselves to live exactly as Christ required. We are called to love our neighbors. It’s also stated that we can not truly love God if we don’t love our neighbors.

I cringe a little every time I pray The Lord’s Prayer for good reason. I am reminded daily that I must forgive others completely. This is a monumental task for us. We don’t have the strength of compassion and grace that God has. He doesn’t call us to be perfect though. We are human, and as humans, have the stains of resentment, jealousy, and hatred. Does this mean that if we slip and have resentment towards those we have forgiven, God won’t forgive us? Absolutely not! What it does mean is that we must strive to constantly re-forgive those who have wronged us daily. Resentment and anger will continue to arise from time to time, but we have the ever-present cup of grace from our God to help us work through that anger. I alone don’t have the ability to forgive others completely. I don’t have a mind capable of forgetting transgressions as far as the east is from the west. What I do have is a loving God who has given himself to me as a fountain of grace. I can use and focus on that grace to recognize my failings in forgiveness and work towards forgiving again!

Next time you pray The Lord’s Prayer, take a moment and truly absorb what you are saying. Do you hold a grudge in your heart towards someone who has hurt you? Lift up that pain and anger to the cross and let the hand of Christ show you his perfect forgiveness. No one could ever hurt you as badly as we have hurt our Lord through the ages. He came among us, loved us, and died for payment for those hurts! Imagine having the ultimate bill and the collector came and paid it for you out of love. When people hurt us, we need to try and act as Christ did. Forgiveness is a work in progress. It’s a work that was begun by the Almighty, and continues through Him, by Him, and for all of us!