Cath-Lit Live: ‘The Light of Tara’ by John Desjarlais

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“Cath-Lit Live!” features brief interviews with Catholic authors who are releasing new books. Hosted by Catholic author and speaker Amy J. Cattapan, “Cath-Lit Live!” gives viewers a glimpse into the latest Catholic books while getting to know a bit about the author as well.

The Light of Tara by John Desjarlais

While the Roman Empire crumbles into chaos, the flickering light of civilization is in the hands of a teenager herding sheep and swine at the edge of the world. His name is Patrick. Kidnapped by Irish pirates and sold to a Druid chieftain, Patrick befriends his master’s son and falls for the feisty daughter, making a jealous enemy of the druid’s apprentice. Even so, he boldly escapes to home after a dangerous journey, only to hear an insistent call in a dream to COME BACK. But first he must overcome a suspicious church, a backstabbing mentor, and his old rival who is now the Archdruid of Ireland, sworn to kill him and eager to enslave the beautiful woman Patrick left behind. Can he save Ireland from darkness—and free the girl he once loved?

About the author: John Desjarlais taught literature and creative writing for 25 years at Kishwaukee College in Illinois before retiring to the mountains of western North Carolina. His books include The Throne of Tara, Relics, Bleeder, Viper, and Specter.

You can catch “Cath-Lit Live” three times a month live on A.J. Cattapan’s author Facebook page. Recorded versions of the show will also be available to watch later on her YouTube channel and Instagram.

Copyright 2020 Amy J. Cattapan

Loneliness in America—A Growing and Deadly Epidemic spurred on by the Covid-19 Pandemic; where is God in all of this?

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By Larry Peterson

I have learned that loneliness has no boundaries. It stretches out its tentacles and wraps them around those who may have lost a spouse, a child, a parent, a sibling, or even a dear friend. I have been widowed twice and know full well how loneliness can create a desolate place in the widowed equation.

Loneliness holds no prejudice. It randomly chooses those it has decided to torment, and once it does, it attacks mercilessly. Its victims include people from every conceivable walk of life,  especially the unsuspecting. Many times the dull ring of the phone or a knock at the door is all it takes to hurl someone into the pit of loneliness. It can attack anyone at any time, and it has become a social condition of almost epidemic proportions.

Incredibly, during early March of 2020, loneliness was gifted with a new victim to feast on: it extended its ravenous appetite into the pandemic known as COVID-19, aka the coronavirus. Loneliness and the pandemic joined forces with “experts” and began to ravage thousands upon thousands of people with loneliness, especially senior citizens. One way was to take away their chairs and sofas. Let me explain.

I have been bringing Holy Communion to the homebound on Sundays for over twenty years. It may be the most uplifting thing I do, and I know I have been spiritually rewarded many times over. It was early March when I confronted a new wrinkle among my visits. I visit one lady, Virginia (she is 98), who resides in an apartment which is part of a single-person, independent living facility. It is a reasonably long walk from the parking lot to the building entrance. Once there, you use a keypad to gain access. I scroll to Virginia’s name and get her on the speaker. She buzzes me in.

As the sliding doors open, I stop short. No one is there. Every Sunday, there are four or five, maybe six, people in the lobby sitting around chatting and just visiting with each other. They know my name, and I always get a friendly welcome from them. We exchange a few pleasantries (I usually joke about something), and then I go on my way.

But this Sunday, the lobby was empty. I just stood there because it took me a few seconds to realize that the furniture was gone. There was no sofa, or chairs, or coffee table. Management had decided that “protecting” the residents against COVID-19 was of prime concern. So they had the furniture removed. That simple decision changed the lives of the half dozen people I knew in ways management could not have imagined. It also changed the lives of many others, of whom I was not aware. Management’s action was successful; with no place to sit, the tenants remained in their small apartments—ALONE.

The situation impacted me deeply. I have been visiting the sick and homebound for a long time, and they do not ask for much. However, in their low profile,  quiet world, they look forward to sitting together (if possible) and just talking about whatever it is they talk about. My visit is a big deal for them. I see each of my folks from maybe ten minutes up to thirty minutes, depending upon how much “chatting” is needed. I may be the only visitor they see all week. Yet my visit buoys them up for my next visit, which is a week away.  The folks that gather in the lobby every week are non-Catholic and do not receive Communion. But I do get to say a short prayer with them, and they like my doing it. So do I.

But on this Sunday morning in March of the year 2020, things changed in a way no one could have ever imagined. The powers that be decided we should be isolated from each other. They want us to avoid each other, not touch each other, and become individual entities. But we are social beings, and like it or not, we need each other. We need to touch and hold and shake hands and hug, especially among family and friends. Mandated loneliness could prove to be, in some cases, more deadly than the actual virus.

The headline for this piece used the word epidemic in referring to loneliness. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the loneliness factor, not just in America, but around the world. Cigna referenced a “Loneliness Index,” which shows how loneliness is an actual epidemic in the United States. This worldwide health service company used the UCLA Loneliness Scale (yes, there is a loneliness scale) in a questionnaire used to determine a person’s social isolation and their subjective feelings. What follows is from their report of May 1, 2018.  

  • 47 percent of Americans sometimes or always feel alone
  • 27 percent of Americans feel no one understands them
  • 40 percent think that their relationships have no meaning and feel isolated
  • 20 percent feel they feel close to no one and have no one to talk to
  • AMAZINGLY–Generation Z (18 to 22) is the loneliest generation. How scary is that?
  • Social media users have a 43.5 percent loneliness factor, which was comparable to the 41.7 percent for those who do not use social media.

If we think about the actual numbers, these percentages refer to it is mind-boggling. In a nation of almost 330,000,000 people, 20 percent is 66.000,000 of us. When we say 47 percent, we are almost at 150,000,000 people. How can close to half the population of the United States of America, feel alone? How can 66,000,000 people feel close to no one or have no one to talk to? And all of this is prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and its forced isolation.

Over the past 25 years, there has been a 58-percent drop in attendance at club meetings, a 43-percent drop in family dinners, and a 35-percent drop in having friends over. Children have regulated playtime while deprived of social development. We reach in our pockets and pull out electronic devices that allow us to instantly reach each other day or night anywhere in the world, but how many of us are talking to each other? This behavior is fertilizing the seeds of future loneliness.

Is our primary mode of communication now email? How many young people can even write a letter or address an envelope? Job applicants interview over the phone or Skype; couples break up via text message. Families are also having birthday parties for a loved one on ZOOM. Is this a GOOD thing?  Where is the hugging, the handshaking, the cheek kissing, the eye contact? We need that–it is who we are. Are we teaching the younger generation how to be lonely? How many families are holding hands as they thank God for the food they are about to eat, together, as a family?

Loneliness is brought upon us by things we have no control over, such as death, injury, accidents, and natural disasters. This, we understand, because this makes sense. Why are so many, especially among the young, feeling so alone with no one to turn to? This must count as one of the saddest commentaries of our era. This does NOT make sense.

The remedy may be right in our face, but the secular world will never factor it in. You see, nowhere is the name of God mentioned in these findings. In fact, nowhere is the importance of the  God-based, family even considered.

Regarding our faith, often called the One, True Faith, we have this incredible gift of The Holy Eucharist. Our core teaching is that Transubstantiation occurs when the priest says the words of consecration over the bread and wine during the celebration of Holy Mass. The bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ Himself. It is NOT symbolic. Yet 70% of professed Catholics reject this dogma. This leads back to the loneliness factor.

We have this beautiful tradition of having Eucharistic Adoration.  Christ, truly present in the consecrated Host, is placed in a monstrance and put on the altar. We believers can come and visit with Him, sit with Him, talk to Him, even simply just look at Him. On First Fridays, we have all-night Adoration at my parish, which ends with 8 a.m. Mass on Saturday morning.

During the night, there will be those of us who will come and sit with the Christ present in the Eucharist, and just “hang out” with Him. For you lonely Catholics who do not believe, you are missing so much. You do not need to be alone. Jesus is there for you–and for all of us–all the time. If you are feeling lonely, why not call your local parish and ask them when they have Adoration. Then go over and sit with Jesus. You will not be alone.

Getting back to God and family would be akin to putting the lynchpin back into the hub of life. Then, people, kids included, might be taught that they can turn to Jesus and think of His words from Matthew 28:20   And behold, I am with you always, until the end of this age.

Interestingly, the first three words of the Bible are “In the beginning …”. Could the Bible or an app for the Bible be the beginning for someone to believe that they are NEVER alone?

“Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted
is the most terrible poverty.”
St. Teresa of Calcutta

Copyright © Larry Peterson 2020

He played football and learned the pain in his leg was not from football; it was bone cancer. He was eleven years old.

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By Larry Peterson

Angiolino Bonetta was born on September 18,1948, in Cigole, a town in northern Italy located in the Diocese of Brescia, a diocese established in the first century. His parents, Francesco Bonetta and Giulia Scarlatti were not poor and managed to make ends meet, but there were no “extras.” As Angiolino grew, he displayed an inner happiness combined with an intelligent mind.

Angiolino attended schools taught by the Canossian Sisters of Charity. They noticed the intense devotion to prayer and how devoted he was for such a young boy. On April 14, 1955, at the age of six, he received his First Holy Communion. As Angiolino grew, his love for the Holy Eucharist and the Sacrament of Penance developed too. He became an altar boy and would serve Mass every Sunday. He also loved the nuns and would stay at school as long as he could to help them. The nuns, in turn, loved having Angiolino around. His eyes displayed love and kindness, and it was enjoyable being in his company.

As he grew, Angiolino was seen to be a fast runner, and he began to excel at playing football. But the youngster was developing a limp. From its inception it got dramatically worse. Angiolino was also having sharp pain in his right leg. His mom and dad had him admitted to the hospital for testing. The initial diagnosis came back as osteomyelitis in his right leg. He was then admitted to the civil hospital in Brescia where the diagnosis became more specific: the boy had osteosarcoma.

Angiolino began his medical journey. He was in and out of the hospital on five separate occasions for treatments. On May 2, 1961, two years after he first began limping and feeling pain, he was wheeled into the operating room. His right leg was amputated, and a painful post-operative period followed. During this time, the physical pains were combined with psychic pain. Angiolino imagined he still had his leg and was feeling pain from something that was not there, while also feeling real pain from the amputation and the healing process.

This young man of great faith never failed to lean on Jesus and Our Lady. He would pray, “Lord, I have offered you everything for the poor sinners, but now help me not to deny you anything.” Next to his bed was an end table, and on it was the story of Fatima. He had read in it where  Our Lady asked people to offer penances and prayers for the conversion of sinners and the souls in Purgatory. He promised her he would do that, and he did.

After a long convalescence in the hospital, he returned home to find a party that had been arranged for him. Most of the guests were saddened to see Angiolino missing his leg. It was not a pretty sight. But it was Angiolino who cheered everyone up by yelling out, “This is a party! Look on the positive side. Now I do not have to wash my feet and cut my nails.”

He quickly began to work at cheering up those around him whether sick, injured, or not. He participated in the 1961 Spiritual Exercises held at the church of the Madonna del Sangue di Re (Novara) for the Volunteer Center of Suffering. He became a friend of all and was a role model for the sick. He comforted patients, visited wards, and always urged those he saw to strengthen themselves with prayer.

By 1962 the tumor had spread and was in the lung. Radiation was no longer effective. During this time he met Monsignor Luigi Novarese (beatified in 2010), the founder of the Volunteer for Suffering Center in 1947. Angiolino even managed to participate in a pilgrimage for the sick to Lourdes. He loved Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Bernadette.

On January 27, 1963, the parish priest heard Angiolino’s confession and brought Viaticum, his last holy Communion. The boy was anointed, and he continued praying with those around him. At two in the morning, he awoke and said to his mother, “Mom, here we are. Here is my hour.” As he stared at the statue of Our Lady, he closed his eyes and died. The date was January 28, 1963. He was fourteen years old.

On July 10, 2020, Pope Francis declared that Angiolino Bonetta was a young man of “heroic virtue” and declared him Venerable. His Beatification date has not been determined.

 copyright©Larry Peterson 2020

Did you know that St. Bernard dogs are named after a real saint? Meet St. Bernard of Menthon

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By Larry Peterson

Menthon Castle stands on the shore of Lake Annecy in a mountainous region that borders Italy, France, and Switzerland. Bernard was most likely born in the castle around the year 1020. He was born into a rich and noble family and, growing up, wanted for nothing. His parents, Richard and Bernoline, hired a man named Germain to be Bernard’s tutor.

Germain taught the boy to read and write, and was extremely diligent in teaching him religion and the prayers and devotions that were part of it. One of the most influential aspects of Germain’s curriculum was spontaneous hikes up into the mountains. These hikes would leave a deep impression on Bernard, more so than Germain could have ever imagined.

When Bernard was a bit older, he was sent to Paris to complete his education. While completing his studies, his parents arranged a marriage for their son. They had no idea that their boy was focused in a different direction. When he arrived home, he refused the marriage offer and told his parents that he was going to pursue the religious life.

(Legend has it that Bernard had to sneak from the castle the night before the arranged wedding and that during his escape he fell from a window 40 feet above the ground. The story goes on to say that Bernard was caught by angels and gently lowered to the ground, unhurt.) Most likely, he managed to escape the castle in a more traditional manner.

The historical story has Bernard arriving home, sitting down with his parents, and telling them his intentions to pursue a religious life. He was going to place himself under the guidance of Peter, the Archdeacon of Aosta, and begin his studies for the priesthood. His parents gave him their blessing. Bernard went to live with Peter, and Peter’s house became Bernard’s seminary.

The exact year of Bernard’s ordination is unknown. What is known is that after he was ordained, his ministry took him into the Alps, where challenging work awaited him. And so, among the peaks of the Alpine mountains, Bernard began working as a missionary.

Although the Diocese of Aosta extended into the Alps, Catholicism had made little inroad into the remote alpine valleys, and most folks living there were still pagan and adhered to various customs, most a combination of Christian and pagan. These isolated regions would be Beranrds parish for the next 42 years.

Bernard traveled through the treacherous mountains preaching the Gospel anywhere he could. Small towns were in isolated locations, and farms were scattered among these tiny towns. Bernard quickly learned of the dangers of Alpine travel. He would often come across pilgrims from Germany or France who were on their way to Rome and whose companions had been swept away by an avalanche or died from exposure in the freezing mountains. Bernard, to help these travelers, opened a monastery and hospice in what is now known as Great St. Bernard Pass. It is 8,100 feet above sea level.

In due time, Bernard was appointed to succeed his mentor, Peter, as the Archdeacon of the Cathedral. This was no honorary appointment. The appointment also meant he was in charge of the government of the diocese, directly under the bishop. It was a powerful position, and Bernard, filled with virtue and learning, was perfect for the post.

Since the most ancient times, the paths across the Pennine Alps has been covered with snow anywhere from seven to ten feet high, with snowdrifts as high as forty feet. Eventually, Bernard opened a second monastery, which became known as the Little St. Bernard Pass. This was 7,076 feet above sea level.

Bernard’s monks had large dogs they had trained to help them find lost and injured travelers or the bodies of those that had perished in the brutally cold weather. These dogs became known as St. Bernards. (Another legend is that Bernard’s parents were among pilgrims rescued by these dogs).

St. Bernard’s work goes on to this day. Travelers are still put up in the hostels created by St. Bernard. As of 2012, there are 35 professed members of Bernard’s congregation providing pastoral care to nearby parishes and travelers from all over the world.

Bernard was canonized a saint by Pope Innocent XI in 1681. Pope Pius XI, an avid mountain climber, named St. Bernard the patron saint of mountaineers in 1923. St. Bernard is also the patron of skiers, snowboarders and rock climbers. His feast day is May 28.

St. Bernard, please pray for us.

copyright©Larry Peterson 2020

Profile: Christine Vincent and Books for Catholic Kids

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Welcome today, Guild Member Christine Vincent! Christine, tell us a little about yourself:

Christine with TripodBorn and raised in the North of Germany, I met my American husband while studying at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands. Soon after I had graduated with an MA in English Language and Literature, we moved to the US. We eventually settled on the Washington Coast where we converted to Catholicism and became rebel homeschoolers. At present, we are parents of eight and grandparents of three. We are members of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Protection of Mary in Phoenix, Arizona. This eparchy (diocese) spans the entire Western United States.

I began freelance writing and translating in college and continued to work in the fields occasionally when my children were young. In 2010, I began to work part-time at our local public library. I also started writing for online platforms and for a couple of local magazines. In 2018, I launched my website Books For Catholic Kids with the dual purpose of offering a reliable source of book recommendations and reviews for Catholic parents and of promoting my husband’s children’s book Saint Rosaline, the Carthusian: The Saint With The Shining Eyes. 

Tell us about your website, Books For Catholic Kids. What inspired it? How does it work?

Cover jpgMy heart and ministry live in my website Books For Catholic Kids, which I launched in 2018. The site offers age group-specific book lists, tips on where to find them, and a blog Stories of Books for Catholic Kids on which I post reviews and journal our self-publishing adventures with my husband’s children’s book St.Rosaline, The Carthusian: The Saint With The Shining Eyes. There is also a contributor’s feature and a book page for St. Rosaline.

As homeschooling parents, my husband and I found it hard to find good books for our children at any age level. I posted our definition of the kind of ‘good books’ we wanted our children to read on the site:

  • A good book for Catholic children is well-written, preferably beautifully written. The way to teach children to recognize good literature is to immerse them in excellent writing while keeping them away from the bad and the mediocre. It works!​
  • The book need not be written by a Catholic author but it should be compatible with Catholic spirituality and thought. ​
  • Good books should tell stories, stories that nourish the soul and the imagination, fairy tales, stories from the past, the present and the future, stories of all genres and all cultures, stories that entertain. For children, these stories should be told from a world view compatible with Catholic thought to form their faith. Mature teens need to read about other world views to learn about them and compare them to Catholicism.
  • Consider this quote by a Baptist minister: “You need to brainwash your kids. If you don’t, somebody else surely will.”

Working in our public library helped me find some good books. It also opened my eyes to the flood of occult, semi-pornographic and, make no mistake, anti-Catholic books in the library, especially in the Young Adult section. This category, by the way, is not defined by content but by Lexile score, by the difficulty of the text. The YA label does not indicate age-appropriate content. I also found that a disconcertingly large number of new books contain an evil or stupid minor character who is Catholic. It is a light but steady stream of manipulation and I believe that at this point in history even the authors are not aware of what they are doing.

I have found that good Catholic characters do not exist in contemporary secular fiction. Please email me the titles of books to prove me wrong. I am not being sarcastic. This is a sincere request. I am looking for them.

I had been playing with the idea about a website recommending Catholic children’s books for a while when my husband wrote his book. I did not know much about marketing other than that it was essential. I decided to build a promotional website which would contain additional information to give people a reason to visit. Books For Catholic Kids was born. I welcome guest posts and book suggestions as well as suggestions for improvement or additional features.

When I launched my site two years ago, I could hardly find any Catholic teen fiction. When I finally discovered the Catholic Writer’s Guild, and the Catholic Teen Books site, I was amazed at the quantity and quality of good books for young readers. My goal is to promote them as much as possible. I only wish I had more time to read all the different authors. So far, I have reviewed some of Teresa Linden’s books on my blog and will work on others soon.

During the last months, I had the pleasure to work on editing and promoting another book by a family member. Our seventeen-year-old daughter Anastasia just published a suspenseful, Tolkien-inspired teen fantasy novel, Adrastea: Book One in the Annals of Orbis. We were overwhelmed by the support on launch day and the enthusiastic reviews on Amazon.com.

As my kids are leaving home, I am looking for Catholic outlets to write for. Some of the topics I would like to discuss are the Eastern Catholic Churches, the rebuilding of Catholic culture, the importance of good books, the impact of fractured fairy tales and the occult in teen fiction,and poetry as the language of the Faith.

What do you hope others get from your writing?

I hope readers will find relevant information about good books, inspiration, and appreciation of good and beautiful things. I hope Catholics will realize the vital importance of screening their entertainment. I found that many parents, even good Christians who monitor their children’s entertainment in terms of movies and music, are not so diligent about their children’s reading. The idea that it is important to read and that we need to make allowances to attract our kids to books seems to override any qualms about content. I know parents cannot possibly read all the books their children want to read. I want to provide comprehensive lists, reviews, as well as links to other resources that will make it easy for parents to choose and obtain good books for their families.

Read the Vincent Family books:

St. Rosaline, the Carthusian: The Saint With the Shining Eyes by Mark Vincent

Adrastea, Book One In the Annals of Orbis by Anastasia Vincent

Follow Christine on Facebook: The Story of a Book

The Strange Paradox of COVID-19: Saving the lonely by making them lonelier

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I have learned that loneliness has no boundaries. It reaches out for everyone and captures many of the unsuspecting, including the seemingly happy, satisfied, and successful. Yes, loneliness is capable of dragging the lonely into a world of hidden misery and often depression. It can attack anyone at any time, and it has become a social condition of almost epidemic proportions.

I have been widowed twice and know full well how loneliness can occupy a unique place in the widowed equation. Loneliness also reaches out and captures those who may have lost a child, a parent, a sibling, or even a dear friend. I carry the loneliness package from all of those.

Suddenly, loneliness has been gifted with a new victim to feast on: It can now extend its ravenous appetite into the pandemic known as COVID-19, AKA the coronavirus.  Loneliness is about to ravage the senior citizen in ways never imagined. One way will be to take away their chairs and sofas.

I have been bringing Holy Communion to the homebound on Sundays for over twenty years. It may be the most uplifting thing I do, and I know I have been spiritually rewarded many times over. One Sunday in early March, I confronted a new wrinkle in my visits. Virginia (age 98) resides in an independent living apartment. It is a reasonably long walk from the parking lot to the building entrance. Once there, you use a keypad to gain access. I scroll to Virginia’s name and get her on the speaker. She buzzes me in.

As the sliding doors open, I stop short. No one is there. Every Sunday, there are four or five, maybe six, people in the lobby sitting around chatting and just visiting with each other. They know my name, and I always get a friendly welcome from them. We exchange a few pleasantries (I usually joke about something), and then I go on my way.

But this Sunday no one is there. I just stood there because it took me a few seconds to realize that no one was there because the furniture was gone. The lobby was empty. There was no sofa, or chairs, or coffee table. They had been removed, and there was no place to sit and talk. This was done courtesy of the management “protecting” the residents against COVID-19 or coronavirus. We must keep the elderly SAFE. No problem; just keep them in their rooms — ALONE.

The situation impacted me deeply. I have been visiting the sick and homebound for a long time, and they do not ask for much. However, in their low-profile, quiet world, they look forward to sitting together (if possible) and just talking about whatever it is they talk about. My visit is a big deal for them. I see each of my folks for about ten minutes each, sometimes a bit longer.

I may be the only visitor they see all week. Yet my visit buoys them up for my next visit which is a week away. The folks who gather in the lobby every week are non-Catholic and do not receive. But I do get to say a short prayer with them, and they like my doing it. So do I.

But now, on that Sunday morning in March of the year 2020, it seems things had changed in a way no one could have ever imagined. The powers that be want us to be alone. They want us to avoid each other, not touch each other, and become individual entities. But we are social beings, and like it or not, we need each other. We need to touch and hold and shake hands and hug, especially among family and friends.

Nursing homes all over the country have been placed on “lockdown.” Patients in these places will be relegated to their beds. Family and friends will not be allowed to visit them. Independent living apartments will have empty lobbies and courtyards. There will be no place for the tenants to sit and congregate.

Will our country and maybe the world soon have billions of separate individuals with no one to talk to or visit with? It is such a strange paradox: saving the lonely by making them lonelier than they already are.

We had all better pray like we never prayed before that this coronavirus is vanquished quickly. We cannot live this way for very long.

Copyright©Larry Peterson 2020

Does God send us “signs,” to let us know He has heard our prayers? You Decide.

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By Larry Peterson

Looking into her eyes, he said, “There is victory over death.”

I recently attended a funeral Mass, and during the few minutes before the Mass started, something extraordinary happened. I believe God sent a messenger to share with all those in attendance an affirmation of what we proclaim to believe; that there is life after death. It all happened within a few moments, and it was entirely unexpected. How many people actually paid attention, I do not know.

The messenger’s name was Ann Marie. (interesting that Our Lady’s name is Mary and her mother’s name was Anne).  The usual protocol at a Catholic funeral Mass is that after the Mass ends, family and friends can get up and say a few words about the departed. At this Mass, Ann Marie went up to the ambo immediately before the Mass began. The funeral was for her dad, and she wanted to say a few words about him before the Mass started.

For those of us who have lost loved ones, incidents happen after their passing that some take as a “sign.” For example; a photo of the loved one suddenly falls from a shelf, landing in front of us; a sudden smell of her perfume or his after-shave fills the room; there is a knock on the door and you find no one there. These incidents can sometimes give a person a message which they believe tells them all is well, and not to worry. The flip side is it can cause others to feel their loss even more while others may not pay any attention to them. Most times, “signs” are just coincidences.

But the most prominent ‘signs” seem to come from dreams. The Bible has many stories of people receiving messages through dreams. St. Joseph was visited three different times by the angel in his dreams. We know that it was a dream that saved the baby Messiah’s life. So, I believe, as do others, that we do receive “signs,” especially if we are experiencing significant personal loss. Often, these signs come to us in dreams. Maybe it is God’s way of helping us through our grief.

Ann Marie looked out over the now-seated congregation and began to speak. Her demeanor was steady yet sad, and her voice was soft yet clear. She wanted to tell us about her dad. She just spoke from her heart about a guy named Jerome Schreiber, who was called “Jerry” by everyone; everyone except Ann Marie, who called him “Dad.”

Jerry was born in 1926 in South Ozone Park, Queens in NYC. He worked for the Brooklyn Union Gas company and was a mechanic for them until he retired. Jerry was a devout Catholic, a member of the Knights of Columbus, and was the type of man that helped make America the greatest country in the world. He was all about God, family, and country.

First, Ann Marie spoke of her dad’s kindness, gentleness, humility, compassion, and love for all people. Then she paused and told everyone about the dream.

Two days after Jerry passed, Ann Marie had a dream. It was clear and vivid with perfect sound. She was in bed and her dad was standing at the front door of their house, looking in from the outside. The light outside was brilliant and he was standing in it, smiling at Ann Marie. Looking into her eyes, through his smile, he said, “There is victory over death.”

On this day, in Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Pinellas Park, Florida, Jerry Schreiber, a Catholic man who lived a life filled with the love of God, family, and neighbor, and had journeyed to his heavenly reward two days before, sent us all a message. It was a message we can love and embrace, a message that can reinforce and fortify our sometimes doubtful faith.

His daughter, Ann Marie, was gifted by a visit from her deceased dad who gave her the message. God’s grace told her to share it with us all. She did that and we, in turn, should share it with others. So let us  never forget Jerry’s message; “There is victory over death.”

For those who believe no explanation is necessary; for those who do not, none is possible. -St. Thomas Aquinas

Copyright©Larry Peterson 2020

Francis Delalieu: this Good Samaritan saved a future Servant of God and her family from death — then he was gone.

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There were no strings attached. He simply loved his neighbor

One of the most famous Gospel readings is the one we all know as the Parable of the Good Samaritan. What follows is about someone who may be among the greatest Good Samaritans of all time, a man we know almost nothing about.

Servant of God and stigmatic Anna Louise Lateau passed away at the age of 33. It is extremely interesting that Louise would never have survived into her fourth month of life if it wasn’t for a stranger whose name was Francis Delalieu.

The Lateau family was literally near death. The father, Gregory, had died from smallpox just three months after Louise had been born. Adele, with three little children, was still bedridden after having a very rough time giving birth to Louise. Louise, still an infant, had also contracted smallpox. The oldest child, three-year-old Rosina, was trying to be the in-house caregiver, which included taking care of two-year-old Adelina.

The local doctor, overwhelmed with this smallpox epidemic, had stopped by about a week after Gregory’s death to check on the family. He did his best to show Rosina what to do. He knew it was hopeless and was sure he would soon come by and find them all dead. He told his friend, Francis Delalieu, about the family.

Try to imagine how this newly widowed mother of three babies, with no money, was feeling. The despair and hopelessness must have been unbearable as she watched her three children quietly dying before her eyes. Weakened to a point where she was unable to get out of her bed, she was probably just praying that she would not be the first to die, leaving them alone. And suddenly the front door opened and there was Francis Delalieu. God was listening after all.

Francis immediately took charge. First, he cleaned up the children. Then he reassured them and left to acquire food and necessities. This man, this stranger, surely had the love of Jesus in his heart. He was risking his own life by being in a smallpox-infected household. He was spitting into the eye of the storm as he cleaned, fed, and cared for the little children. This was, after all, 1850 and not 2017. They did not even have running water.

I have been (as have many others) a primary caregiver to someone seriously ill. Some caregivers are helping to nurse their loved one back to health after a serious surgery or accident. The upside to this type of caregiving is that an end is in sight because a reachable goal is possible, i.e. recovering from open-heart surgery.

Then there is the alternative of caring for someone who is terminally ill. The goal in these cases is to help your loved one live as peacefully and as comfortably as possible until God calls them home. And then you have a person like Francis Delalieu. The only possible motivation he might have had to step into this situation was that of a Good Samaritan. There was no family connection. There were no strings attached. He simply LOVED his neighbor.

Who was this man? Who was this stranger who came into a household that was a breeding ground for smallpox, with three babies and a bedridden mom living there — and all were near death? Who does this kind of thing simply out of kindness and compassion? Who would stay for almost two and a half years until the mother and children were once again healthy? Francis Delalieu is that person. There are many like him, but most are unheralded and unheard of.

All we can seem to find out about Francis Delalieu is that he was a farmhand or a laborer and that he lived in or around the small town of Bois d’ Haine in Belgium. That is about it. It is known he took Adele Lateau and her children under his care and nurtured them all until they were well. After that period of time Francis seems to have vanished. There seems to be no record of him after that point in time. which would be around 1853.

Anna Louise Lateau was gifted with the stigmata in the year 1868. For the rest of her life, her nourishment was only the Holy Eucharist and a few glasses of water per day. She became one of the most famous stigmatists of the 19th century. Francis Delalieu was simply an unknown man who stepped up and took care of his neighbor, just like the Good Samaritan in Jesus’ parable. I am sure his reward has been great in heaven. When God is involved, all things are possible.

Copyright©Larry Peterson 2020

Loneliness and Thanksgiving: Thoughts from a Catholic man

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God is the answer, because without Him there is no hope

By Larry Peterson

Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty. (St. Teresa of Calcutta)

This will be the third Thanksgiving since my wife passed away, and when you become widowed, there is an inescapable loneliness factor that enters your life. But I have learned that loneliness has no boundaries. It reaches out for everyone and captures many of the unsuspecting, including those who are seemingly happy, contented, and successful, dragging them into a world of hidden misery and often depression.

However, many who have experienced loss manage to bounce back and find contentment, peace, and even love again. Others cannot — why is that? The common denominator seems to be that those people who have God in their lives were never alone at all. Those who do not, remain alone. The first consequence of rejecting God is the loss of hope. They have allowed hope to be erased from their spirit.

The results of losing hope are devastating. In fact, the loneliness factor in the United States has reached epidemic proportions. Here are a few statistics that show how losing hope has affected our nation. Loss of hope leads to despair, and the ones affected most by this loss are in Generation Z: those who are in the 18 to 22-year-old range. I have grandchildren older than that. The entire concept of these young people, fresh from adolescence and beginning adulthood, having lost hope is so sad. How can this be?

Cigna referenced a “Loneliness Index” which shows that loneliness has become rampant in the United States. This worldwide health services company used the UCLA Loneliness Scale  (yes, they have a loneliness scale), which is a 20-item questionnaire designed to determine a person’s social isolation and their subjective feelings. This evaluator is used frequently to track and measure loneliness. Some of the results were astonishing. This is from their report of May 1, 2018:

  • 47 percent of Americans sometimes or always feel alone
  • 27 percent of Americans feel no one understands them
  • 40 percent feel that their relationships have no meaning and feel isolated
  • 20 percent feel they feel close to no one and have no one to talk to
  • Amazingly, Generation Z (people 18 to 22) are the loneliest generation. How heartbreaking is that?
  • Social media users have a 43.5 percent loneliness factor, which was comparable to the 41.7 percent for those who do not use social media.

Isn’t it interesting that nowhere is the name of God mentioned in these findings? And nowhere is the importance of the traditional family considered. The numbers are mind-boggling. We are a nation of almost 330 million people. If 47% say they feel “alone” that is nearly half the country. We only have to go back 25 years to the early “90s to see the rapid decline in the absence of hope.

Since then, there has been a 58% decline in club meetings, a 43% drop in family dinners, and children have their playtime regulated, depriving them of natural social development. People use their phones to message each other, apply for jobs, get interviewed, quit jobs, break up with their boyfriends or girlfriends, file divorce papers, and do all sorts of interactions without having to go face to face with a person, never saying one word.

Getting back to God and family would be akin to putting the linchpin back into the hub of life. Then, people, kids included, might be taught that they can turn to Jesus and never be alone. They might be taught to think of His words:

And behold, I am with you always, until the end of this age. (Matthew 28:20)

We must count our blessings on Thanksgiving, especially knowing that more than half of all Americans still believe in and honor God in their lives and that we have the freedom to do it. This Thanksgiving, millions upon millions of us will pray together, thanking God for all we have. We should also pray for all those who do not have hope in their lives. We know it can always be reignited and prayer can be the kindling used to fire up the hope lying dormant in so many.

God is just waiting to be asked to light the match.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Copyright © Larry Peterson 2019

The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is embodied in the Mass: The two are inseparable and it is an ongoing Miracle that is always occurring

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The United States has a population of close to 330 million people. Of those, there are more than 74 million people who claim to be Catholic. 70 million are registered (signed in with a parish as members). That means that Catholics comprise more than 22% of the entire population of the USA. Approximately 38% of the 70 million attend weekly Mass (roughly 26.5 million).

Of those claiming to be Catholic, many do not practice their faith, and among the millions who do attend weekly Mass, many do not even believe in one of the Church’s most fundamental teachings: the Real Presence. The Real Presence means that Jesus Christ becomes truly present, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, under the appearances of bread and wine, on the altar during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (note the word—Sacrifice). Pew Research did a recent survey and found that 7 out of 10 people who say they are Catholic do not believe this.

That finding is hard enough to comprehend, but this is the one that seems hardest to fathom; of those Catholics who attend Mass once a week, 63% know the church’s teaching, but 14% of those attending do NOT believe it, and 23% say they “do not know of it.” That means that 37% of those going to Mass has no clue what is going on. Why are they coming to Mass? What’s the point? Why not just go to a revival meeting in a tent? What happened to all the “believers?”

Courtesy of Deborah Burton. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

Courtesy of Deborah Burton. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

We must have the Mass to have the Eucharist. They are inseparable, for it is within the Mass that the ordained Catholic priest can consecrate simple bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. Make no mistake, my friends, this is not a “remembrance” or a “memorial” or a “tribute.” This is the unbloody Sacrifice of the Cross being offered again and again and again to God the Father for all of us, for all time, in perpetuity.

Something deeply mystical happens during the Catholic Mass that many Catholics do not seem to even be aware of, much less understand. When the Catholic priest bends forward over the bread and wine and says the words of consecration, “This is My Body … This is My Blood,” the bread and wine become the actual Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.

This holy Council [The Council of Trent  1545-1563] now declares again, that by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of His blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called Transubstantiation. (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1376)

The Last Supper was the very first Mass celebrated, and it was offered by Christ Himself. Jesus instituted the priesthood at this moment in time, and the Apostles became the first priests (Judas had already left). This was when Jesus empowered them to do as He did.

Our Catholic faith teaches us that Christ is TRULY PRESENT on the altar at Mass. Pick up your missalettes in church and go to the Roman canon. See the wording after the Consecration:

We, your servants and your holy people, offer to your glorious majesty from the gifts that you have given us, this pure victim, this holy victim, this spotless victim, the holy bread of eternal life and the Chalice of everlasting salvation.

In humble prayer we ask you, Almighty God: Command that these gifts be borne by the hands of your holy Angel to your altar on high in the sight of your divine majesty, so that all of us, who through this participation at the altar Receive the most holy Body and Blood of your Son, may be filled with every grace and heavenly blessing.
Through Christ, our Lord. Amen

 Christ is with us, and we, the people, are offering Him to God the Father. Our reward is the Risen Christ given back to us in the Eucharist by our Father in heaven. This is the Mystery of Faith, and this is what we believe (or are supposed to believe). I know this is what I believe.

The meaning of this is beyond the pale. It transcends human comprehension. This is when yesterday becomes today, and tomorrow became yesterday. The Mass enables us to briefly step into the “eternal now” and to take a peek at the life within the Holy Trinity and the love being shared inside it. And never forget that this Holy Sacrifice is being offered somewhere on the planet every day of the year, ’round the clock. Imagine that: somewhere, every day, ’round the clock. It is the most beautiful thing this side of heaven.

It is time for the clergy to lead us all forward in an ongoing offensive bombarding their worldwide flock with the truth of the Holy Eucharist. Then it is up to the laity to carry this fact forward. It is fundamental to the Catholic faith, and somehow, somewhere, this miraculous truth has been cast aside. Maybe a different kind of Resurrection is now needed, the Resurrection of Christ in the Eucharist.  (See tangible proof: Eucharistic Miracles.)

CHOICES

Perfection unbridled
That tells us why
And will let us understand
If we choose to see
this splendid Oblation
A perfect purity
This gift called
The Mass Ignored yet
Somewhere each minute
For us to share
The Answer there
The Perfect Love
But — choices.

Copyright Larry Peterson 2019  

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