Notre Dame has chosen to abandon its Catholic identity for its new identity “Secularism”

My good friend and former boss Fr. Peter Rossa, Pastor of St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Scottsdale, AZ posted today the text of his homily regarding the "Notre Dame Flap". I was very moved by the conviction of his words. By now most of you have heard of the issue and outcry that was created when Notre Dame invited Barack Obama to speak and their Commencement. However, many people are still wondering "what's the big deal?"

I have stayed out of it as I figured much more intelligent and articulate people are writing on it. But when I read Fr. Rossa's homily today I was very convicted by his words and felt he gave a very good explanation of why this Notre Dame business is such a big deal - not politically but in regards to our faith. Fr. Peter is a wonderful Priest and I am grateful that he has given me permission to share his Homily with you. Feel free to leave your comments below and I'll be sure that he get's them.
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Fr. Peter Rossa - Homily - 6th Sunday of Easter

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

This week, a non-parishioner and a fellow catholic, asked me a simple question. What is all the Notre Dame flap about?

I was sort of amazed. In my mind the answer was obvious. The so-called flap was all about life and our nations growing lack of respect for it.

As I thought a little more before I answered, I realized that I’ve wrestled with this flap for some time in trying to reconcile the Faith of the Church with my daily attempt to live my life in the public square.

And yet, many others have not.

Jesus tells his disciples: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.” “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy might be complete.” “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

The Gospel proclaimed today goes to the heart of this persons question: what is all the Notre Dame flap about?

In case you missed it, the University of Notre Dame has invited President Obama to speak at its commencement ceremony and will be presenting him with an honorary law degree. Over 60 bishops in the United States have been united in voicing their displeasure and objection to the university’s presidents decision; many bishops have asked that the U.S. President be disinvited, some have suggested Fr. Jenkin’s, Notre Dame’s president, should resign, others have asked Fr. Jenkin’s religious superior to intervene. And now, there is a groundswell of people contemplating and encouraging the removal of the university’s privilege to call itself Catholic.

Yesterday, I was saddened at the irony unfolding before my eyes as I watched both CNN and Fox News. Truly news worthy, this story is being covered so thoroughly because it is so divisive, energy filled, and reveals an ongoing identity crisis within some Catholic Universities. Passions abound everywhere.

I sat shocked as I witnessed an 80+ year old man, an elderly woman, and even an elderly priest kneeling down praying the rosary while several police officers prepared stretchers, arrested them, and carried the faithful off with rosary beads still grasped in their hands.

The reporters stated that these people were unwelcome protesters at the university and that the police were acting under orders to arrest them from the university president-a catholic priest!

At any other time of the year that old man, elderly woman, and priest would have been welcomed on the university grounds; they would have been considered an example of prayer and maybe even a source of inspiration for a homily honoring their example.

But yesterday, because the university has chosen to separate itself from the beliefs of the Catholic faith, Catholics praying for the defense and sanctity of human life, were perceived as a disturbance, a source of civil disobedience and a threat to the commencement ceremony.

This is incredibly uncomfortable for us Catholics.

I, like many others, have spent much of my life in defense of our country, and our country’s freedom. Together, we’ve spent much of our lives so that others might live and be free to express themselves and their beliefs without fear of being arrested-especially while praying for the safety and conversion of others.

It seems that we’ve lost something as citizens. It saddens me that our president isn’t welcome at a Catholic University. Unfortunately, his legal thought and belief system cannot be reconciled with the Church’s most fundamental call to defend the most innocent and defenseless of people.

Jesus constantly reminds us in the Gospel that the ways of the world are not the ways of God; that being united to him brings division, and that the world’s hate will be levied against those who are united to Jesus and love him because the world hated Jesus first.

Jesus tells us today “It was not you who chose me but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain.” “This I command you: love one another.”

“Love one another.” “Bear fruit that will remain.” These words are at the heart of the Gospel message. The Gospel urges each of us to reflect on how we are to live out our faith in a manner that honors Jesus’ call to holiness.

The mission of a Catholic University is to hand on the faith. Faith first really matters. The university has lost its identity and its soul has been corrupted by a form of secular political correctness that has consistently and deliberately divorced faith and reason. Faith and reason are now seen as incompatible foes; secular reason has become the standard bearer and measure for truth.

The fact that God revealed to the world, through Jesus, that Jesus “is the way, the truth, and the life” has been lost.

At the university, revelation is no-longer dogma; there is a new dogma: academic freedom. In other words, freedom from religion. Not coincidentally, the secularism that has rooted itself at Notre Dame, as in other places, has provided nourishment for the growth of a second dogma: jurisprudence. This dogma, void of natural law, is what enabled the deaths of 40 million children because of Roe v. Wade. A decision supported by the President and opposed by the Church.

Secularism, void of divine revelation, is the greatest threat to the Gospel since the founding of Christianity because it deems itself to be the arbiter of truth and denies God who is the truth.

Christ, reminds us, and has warned educators through the successors of the apostles, our bishops, that academic freedom is only free so long as it remains rooted in the truth, Jesus Christ.

Some will say that there really isn’t much to this flap.

They say that it’s not such a big deal to invite the President to give the commencement speech and award him an honorary law degree. Providing an honorary law degree to a president who’s legal views are in conflict with the fundamental beliefs of the Church is a very big deal. Some say it’s not a big deal so don’t get too excited over it; if it isn’t that big a deal why wouldn’t they just disinvite the president? Why not say we can’t give you the degree?

It’s an honor to have the President speak, and it’s an honor to receive a degree.

This event has great meaning and value, and that is why the bishops are being so vocal.

The university has chosen to abandon its Catholic identity for its new identity “Secularism.” Say and think what you will, but the images on the news are the best evidence of the loss of faith at Notre Dame.

Peaceful Catholics being hauled off to jail while praying the rosary for a respect of human life by police under orders from a Catholic University President, who is a Roman Catholic Priest, reveals just how far, and what a threat secularism, indifference and complacency have become.

I pray that the university rediscovers its true identity by loving one another as Jesus loved us for it was he who chose and appointed us to go and bear much fruit. Love one another as I have loved you.

There is no greater honor and love than this to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Faithfully in Christ,
Fr. Pete Rossa

#1stFriday - Calling all Catholics to Prayer

Originally Posted on April 2nd, 2009 - Reposting as it is May 1st and #1stFriday again!


To My Brother's and Sisters in Christ,

I was thinking today of how we Catholics on Twitter need to unite in prayer for one another and be available for prayer for others. What a difference we could make by interceding for one another on a regular basis. As a start I propose that we take advantage of 1st Friday observances. Many of us attend Adoration, a special Mass, Rosary group, and other observances of 1st Friday in our parishes.

What I would like to propose is that on every 1st Friday we post our prayer requests/intentions with the hashtag #1stFriday - be sure to use the number 1 as #FirstFriday - spelled out is already used by other groups who do art gatherings, etc. Then when you are going to go to Adoration or whatever you do on 1stFriday you can do a search for #1stFriday to find other people's prayer requests and take them with you.

Intercessory prayer is a very powerful gift that God has given us, this is one step in allowing prayer to transform our world.

1. Each #1stFriday - post your prayer requests with the hashtag #1stFriday (anyone can do this - you do not have to be Catholic -we just want to pray for you) - Note you could add your petitions on the day before in order to ensure that early Mass attendees can take the prayers with them.
2. Before you go to 1stFriday Mass or Adoration, etc, run a search in http://search.twitter.com for #1stFriday - you can either print out the prayers or just remember them as you head out. Here is a link to the RSS feed for the search http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%231stfriday

3. Offer these petitions and pray for one another.
4. Spread this message to all the Catholics you know on Twitter. If folks follow through on this I will set up a website for people who are not on Twitter to post but for now let's get #1stFriday's moving on Twitter... tell all the #catholics out there!

Your brother in Christ,
Chris Faddis

800 Men Gather on Long Island for Christ

God is Love: In the Company of Men

This is good news! 800 Men gathering to focus on Christ is a huge victory in our culture. I hope this story inspires more men to do the same.

It's Game Time. Are You Ready to Help Fight the Good Fight?

It's Game Time. Are You Ready to Help Fight the Good Fight?

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The Conservative Democrat with Liberal Leanings to the Republican Party

The Conservative Democrat with Liberal Leanings to the Republican Party

Please Read Todd Lemieux's latest post. Absolutely perfect summary of what we are called to as Catholics/Christians. It is one of the greatest tensions of our lives to remain faithful to God and vote in a way according to that rather than the other way around.

God is Love: The Conservative Democrat with Liberal Leanings to the Republican Party

Living Life-Giving Lives

I came that they might have life and have it more abundantly. John 10:10

In the sum total of your life there will be a simple formula by which you are remembered. It will not be the amount of fun things you did, it will not be the death-defying stunts you did, it will not be the amount of money you made, it will not be the amount of accolades you received, it will not be the nice cars you drove, it will not be the number of touchdowns you scored, it will not be how good looking you were, it will be none of those things. In the sum total of your life, the math will only be this; did your life give life to others? Or to put it another way, "was your life creative?".

We are by our very nature creative. At the center of our human nature God made us male and female and gave us the parts necessary to in fact create life. He also gave us talents and abilities which are of their own miraculous. The simple tasks that you and I do each day may not seem extraordinary or even creative but have you ever had a moment when you were doing an every day thing like turning on a light where you stopped and thought of how incredible it is that Thomas Edison came up with the light bulb. Have you ever had an incredible meal and wondered how the chef or cook came up with such an incredible recipe? How is it that some people just know what will taste good? We are indeed creative at our core.

This is why I say that in the sum total of your life and mine there is a simple formula - did you give life? Unfortunately, for many of us we tend to take more than we give. I talk to people all the time who seem to just live life as if it were one big bank account meant to be spent until the last cent is gone. I actually met a man in an airport smoking section once who was enjoying a very nice and expensive cigar. As we were talking the man and he told me how he had made a lot of money in life and now that he was retired he was going to spend every last cent before he dies. He said "I hope that I overdraft on my last day." I laughed - because in my mind he must be joking - and he said, "I'm not kidding. I don't want my kids to get any of it, it is all mine. I made this money and it is mine to spend."

Are you living your life as if you are trying to overdraft your account?

There are lots of people who live this way and sadly many of them look to be living the good life. Many people applaud this kind of living even faithful believers in Christ. Still you may be wondering why it is so important that your life be "life-giving".Perhaps this short story can help:

There are two bodies of water in Jerusalem. One is flourishing and full of life. There are people congregating on its beaches regularly and wild-life everywhere. There are birds of all kinds, the waters are teaming with fish, the trees and wildflowers grow abundantly, and the water is beautiful and clear. The other is quite desolate. You would never choose to swim in this water. Its banks are bare and wildlife is hard to find. People do not congregate here and most people wouldn't eat fish caught in its waters. Both bodies of water are fed by the same river - the Jordan - so why is it that one is so full of life and the other not. Because the first, the Sea of Galilee pours out a drop of water for each one it takes in. It gives away all that it has and as such it is full of life. The other, holds the water in and never lets it out of its banks, it is called the Dead. - Matthew Kelly from Rhythm of Life

If you are living a life that is not creative or life-giving you will become stagnant just like the dead sea. On the contrary the more you seek to be "life-giving" or creative with everything you do, you will find abundance in your life. I will share more on this topic in the next day, but for now consider these questions:

1. What am I doing in my life that is life-giving or creative?
2. Am I seeking to give life to others through my relationships and encounters?

Feel free to share your thoughts on this topic in the comments section. It will help me in my next couple of articles.

In Christ,
Chris Faddis

Handing Over the Spirit - TRUST

In prayer today I was trying to focus on the prayer and not what I was praying for. I was praying a Chaplet and kept losing my focus to worrying about what it was I was offering up. As I sat there losing my place for the fifth time I finally stopped and ask God why I can't focus.

I just want to trust God with everything; I want to hand it over and trust that he will take care of it all. But instead I'm sitting there thinking of solutions, figuring it out in my head while I recite the prayers. Why?

In truth I think it is because where the rubber meets the road when it comes to trusting God is in actually handing over our troubles one by one and actually letting go. This is what God desires of us in prayer. To hand it all over to him and let it be His concern. "Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?" Matt 6:27

I began to think about Christ on the Cross in that moment of handing over His spirit and breathing his last. He had to actually hand over his spirit; he had to lay it down. He had to trust that His Father would not fail Him.

I think about that in relation to my own struggles. I must hand each one over to God and die to it. Christ breathed his last and so too must I breathe my last breathe of concern and worry. I must give it over to Him and die to the worry - If I hand over my worry, my anxiety about one thing or another - I must like Christ say "into your hands Lord I commend my spirit." Not so I can pick it back up later. Often I think we pray, and then we go to work trying to solve this or that. Or we pray and let it go only to wake up in panic the next day continuing to worry. Rather, what we ought to do is breathe our last concern over that matter, hand it over to the Father through Christ's Divine Mercy and allow Him to do the rest. In a sense we are waiting for a "resurrection" of that concern/worry/situation.

This is a difficult task and one that must happen over and over again, as new situations rise in our lives and we hand them over one by one dying to our worry a little more each day. Each time we do this His infinite Grace and Mercy fill that place in our hearts and goes to work in our lives.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, truly present in the Holy Eucharist, I place all my trust in you.


I offer this simple prayer to help you in handing it over to Christ.

A Prayer of Trust
Father, into your hands I commend my spirit; my human weakness, my frailty, my anxiety and fear. Into your hands Lord I commend __________________ (list a concern or burden). I die to this worry in full trust and confidence that your mercy and grace are sufficient for me and that just as your Son rose from the grave you will resurrect this situation in my life.

Another prayer from the Divine Mercy Novena:

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion —
inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in
difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great
confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.

If you haven't prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet I encourage you to pray it regularly to help you in this dying to your worries and concerns. You can find it here.

Is it a Holy Week?

Hear we are on the first day of Holy Week. Passion Sunday came and went and I imagine that this week will pass by as quickly as the rest and next Monday while standing by the water cool we will all say things like, "can you believe Easter is over."

Yes, Holy week is upon us and I find myself wondering, how am I going to ensure that this is not just another week. I have to be honest I don't feel like my "lent" was all that remarkable and that is certainly because of me and no one else. I didn't really enter in this Lent and for that I am heartily sorry. I read blogs of friends who are making real strides at prayer this Lent and I have a little bit of remorse that I did not take more time aside this Lent and allow my journey to be one marked with change.

As we enter into this Holiest of weeks, as we prepare our hearts for the Passion, death, and resurrection of our savior, I pray that I may slow down, pause, reflect, and allow the Paschal Mystery to change me from the inside out this week.

I would love to hear your thoughts? What are you doing to make this week Holy in your life? What ideas have you heard or things do you do that you would like to pass on to me and others who are wanting to make this week a special one?

Please share in the comments below. I pray that we each have a blessed and truly transforming week. May Christ's sacrificial love pierce our hearts.

In Christ,
Chris Faddis

#1stFriday - Calling all Catholics to Prayer

To My Brother's and Sisters in Christ,

I was thinking today of how we Catholics on Twitter need to unite in prayer for one another and be available for prayer for others. What a difference we could make by interceding for one another on a regular basis. As a start I propose that we take advantage of 1st Friday observances. Many of us attend Adoration, a special Mass, Rosary group, and other observances of 1st Friday in our parishes.

What I would like to propose is that on every 1st Friday we post our prayer requests/intentions with the hashtag #1stFriday - be sure to use the number 1 as #FirstFriday - spelled out is already used by other groups who do art gatherings, etc. Then when you are going to go to Adoration or whatever you do on 1stFriday you can do a search for #1stFriday to find other people's prayer requests and take them with you.

Intercessory prayer is a very powerful gift that God has given us, this is one step in allowing prayer to transform our world.

1. Each #1stFriday - post your prayer requests with the hashtag #1stFriday (anyone can do this - you do not have to be Catholic -we just want to pray for you) - Note you could add your petitions on the day before in order to ensure that early Mass attendees can take the prayers with them.
2. Before you go to 1stFriday Mass or Adoration, etc, run a search in http://search.twitter.com for #1stFriday - you can either print out the prayers or just remember them as you head out. Here is a link to the RSS feed for the search http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%231stfriday

3. Offer these petitions and pray for one another.
4. Spread this message to all the Catholics you know on Twitter. If folks follow through on this I will set up a website for people who are not on Twitter to post but for now let's get #1stFriday's moving on Twitter... tell all the #catholics out there!

Your brother in Christ,
Chris Faddis

Sacrifice: How far do you go?

My wife and I have had some discussions recently about sacrifice. Nothing major, just little side conversations about how far we are to go in sacrificing for our spouses, our children, etc.

Christ calls us to "love one another as I have loved you." Christ loved us by dying, sacrificing everything for us. So how far are we to go? St. Paul says that husbands must love their wives as Christ loved the Church, laying down his life for us (cf. Eph 5).

I know in my own marriage, family that I am willing to die for my wife and children. Truthfully I believe I'm willing to die for most people I care about, but especially my family. I feel extremely confident that it is my responsibility to be willing to sacrifice my life for my wife and children.

But what about sacrifice that does not require actual death? What about sacrificing my wants, my desires, my career if it came to that? How far am I willing to go to sacrifice for my wife and children - my primary vocation? If it came down to it would I give up my career in youth ministry to in turn spend more time with them or to make more money so they could be more comfortable? (Just so you know this is not something we're discerning now - those of you at St. Leo's don't start thinking I'm planning to leave, this is not an issue at this point.)

There are so many aspects to this question and so many areas of our lives that we could be called to sacrifice. In fact I think that in our society today if more husbands and wives would consider that sacrifice is a part of their marriage we probably would have less divorcees our there. Marriage is about more than "compromise" or "give and take" it is about laying down your life for the other.

Sacrifice plays a role in all of our relationships, dealings - not just marriage. So the question I pose for discussion here is how far are we to go in sacrificing for our spouses, our children, or others that we love?

I do believe it is a discussion worth having. Please post your thoughts in the comments section and share this post with others who you think ought to share.

May we all learn to love as Christ loved us, laying down his life.

In Christ,
Chris Faddis
Husband, father, youth minister, blogger, goofball

Read my Youth Ministry Blog at ym.lifeteen.com

I'm excited to have been asked to share my thoughts on Youth Ministry at Life Teen Inc's site for Youth Ministers, ym.lifeteen.com. Currently you can find two blogs: 1st one is called "Set Apart" and is on creating environment for your nights, and the second is called "Responsive" and is about leading a responsive youth ministry. I'm currently working on more submissions as well.

You can also check out the site for our parish youth ministry www.stleoyouth.com for more. Projects in the works: I'm writing a feature for Life Teen's Spotlight publication which will come out later in the spring or early summer and I have a few other projects brewing.

In Christ,
Chris Faddis

FUS Portiuncula Named Site to Obtain Plenary Indulgence

I was very excited to receive this in an email from an old friend from Steubenville... the Portiuncula also known as "The Port" is a very beautiful and holy place to pray. It deserves distinction as it is a place where many people have converted, received their call to Priesthood, been engaged, received a message or calling from God, or been healed. It truly is a place "set apart".

Father Terence Henry, TOR, is pleased to share with you the wonderful news received from the Holy See regarding our very holy site, the Portiuncula, which has meant so much to our students, our grads, families, and friends of the University.

We have just received a decree from J. Francis Cardinal Stafford, Apostolic Penitentiary, naming the Portiuncula as a site to obtain a plenary indulgence. The decree reads in part:

The Apostolic Penitentiary, by the power of the most special faculty granted by Benedict XVI, graciously grants from the heavenly treasure of the Church a plenary Indulgence to be gained by each and every one of the Christian faithful, who devoutly visit the chapel called Portiuncula found at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. There they pray to God the prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father including the Our Father and the Creed. The visit should take place on (a) August 2, on which the Indulgence of the Portiuncula occurs; (b) October 4, on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi; (c) January 23, on the dedication of the tomb of the unborn; (d) one day in the year, which day each individual may freely choose; (e) as often as in a group they make a holy pilgrimage which is completed at this place (the Portiuncula).This will be in effect for seven years; nothing to the contrary withstanding.

Given at Rome from the Apostolic Penitentiary on the 11th day of February in the year of the Incarnate Lord, 2009 on this feast day remembering Our Lady of Lourdes.

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Wondering what a plenary indulgence is? http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07783a.htm