The CatholiCity Message

Volume V, Number 4 – February 28, 2001

Dear Friend in Christ,

Welcome to Lent. Lent has always been difficult for us–not because we take on all sorts of difficult fasting and prayers–but because we're probably like many of you. That is, our faith has never been "emotional." We rarely "feel" God in our life, though we perceive His Hand in a dozen small things that happen to us every day. We just believe, and We see the effects of how Jesus works in us and in the people I know.

This is not to say the Catholic Church makes anything but perfect sense to us intellectually. And oh, how we love Mary. Hey, before we forget, we need to remind you that we'll be back in just five days, on Monday, March 5th, to offer you the new recording we've been promising, "The Mass Explained." Along with last year's "Confession" tape, it's a perfect way to kick off Lent, so keep your eye on your in-box. In the meantime, here's what's on our mind, a few quotes, a prayer for all of us to pray together, and a joke...

1. PERCENTAGE CATHOLICS
We've been thinking about the importance of being a 100%, "no holds barred," completely, totally-Catholic Catholic. Is there something more important to you than serving God, keeping His commandments, praying, loving our wives and husbands and children, being open to life, and partaking in the sacraments? Are we 60% Catholic? 80%? 95%? Only you can answer that question for yourself. We guess Lent is a time to bump up those percentages. 100% Catholics change the world. Anybody can be a 100% Catholic if they want.

2. FASTING SAVES MONEY
We often urge people to fast, and some tell us how hard fasting is. Our response is that it's supposed to be hard, as it is the imitation of Christ's suffering. But there are actually many benefits to fasting upon second glance. Pain is gain, in both the spiritual and worldly senses. Fasting:

1. Improves your spiritual eyesight–it helps you see as God sees.
2. Imitates Christ, Who fasted often.
3. Is a great way to remind yourself to pray instead of eating.
4. Helps you lose weight and feel healthy.
5. Saves money (buy less food!)
6. Saves time (skip meals!) in a culture where nobody has free time.
7. Makes you feel good (when you cap off a fasting day.)
8. Builds self-discipline so you can do more good for others.

3. HANG A LOUIE
In the last message we mentioned that if you pray a Rosary in a group, say, of ten people, you not only receive the graces of your own Rosary, but of all ten Rosaries. We called it the Multiplier Effect. Dozens of people told us about the source of this wisdom: none other than Saint Louis DeMontfort, in his classic work, "The Secret of the Rosary." (http://www.tanbooks.com/, 800.4377.5876). Let's all 23,000 of us benefit from the graces of 23,000 prayers by praying together for a "good" Lent:

"Dear Mary, you suffered so much during Jesus' brutal crucifixion. Take us by the hand, and lead us up Calvary this Lent so we can be with Jesus. We promise that we will not let worldly cares distract us from the Cross this Lent, but we feel so weak, so lost, without supernatural help. Help us to spend time with Jesus in front of His Blessed Eucharistic Sacrament this Lent. Help us to be 100% Catholic. Amen."

4. BASEBALL
Hope springs eternal for we Red Sox fans. The record books for the most home runs in a season or lifetime are populated primarily by the following men: Mark McGwire, Carl Yastremski, Sammy Sosa, Roger Maris, Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, and Babe Ruth. They were or are all Catholics. Coincidence?

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"I have always liked being Catholic because it has always seemed to me more spiritual than other ways to worship. Seeing my mother attend Mass three or four times a week, I figured it was the best way for me to show my love for God."
Yogi Berra

JOKE OF THE WEEK
A Christian was thrown into the Coliseum with a lion. Terrified, he fell to his knees and started praying. At the same time, the lion dropped to his own knees and started praying, too. The Christian, filled with hope, exclaimed, "Thank you Lord, for sparing me by sending a Christian lion!" The lion replied, "I don't know about you, but I'm saying grace."

Remember, we'll be back on Monday with "The Mass Explained"!

Yours in Christ,

Your Fast Friends at CatholiCity