Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the blessings You have planned for us during the month of July.

Fr. Longenecker on Hating the Sin while Lovng the Sinner

"When faced with controversial subjects one often hears someone spout the bromide, 'Well, we must hate the sin but love the sinner.

"While this sounds like an easy and pleasant solution, when we press it, it proves problematic. First of all, we need to think about the final judgement. When it comes down to that grim reality God does not actually separate the sinner from his actions. The sinner goes to hell - not his actions. To be sure, God's love for the sinner is boundless, but he does not separate the sin from the sinner. Can we? More importantly - do we?"

In a recent commentary, Father Dwight Longenecker (parish priest at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church, Greenville, SC) reflected on the challenges involved in "hating the sin" while "loving the sinner.".

To access Fr. Longenecker's complete post, please visit:

Fr. Dwight Longenecker: Hate the Sin Love the Sinner. Really? (1 JUL 21)

Background information:

Dwight Longenecker - Catholic priest and author

Reflection Starter from Robert Louis Stevenson

"Keep your eyes open to your mercies. The man who forgets to be thankful has fallen asleep in life." - Robert Louis Stevenson

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Oboe Concerto in B flat major

It's time for some classical music. This is a presentation of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's Oboe Concerto in B flat major, Op. 9, as presented by the Bach-Collegium München with Stefan Schilli on oboe, conducted by Christopher Hogwood:

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Oboe Concerto in B flat major

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of holy priests and deacons.

The Model of Fatherhood

Father's Day takes on added significance this year due to the fact that Pope Francis has declared this to be the Year of St. Joseph, who is the model of fatherhood for all men. Earlier this year, Catholic News Agency featured a beautiful story about the fatherhood of a 68-year-old Argentinian widower named Luis Avagliano. After being widowed, and with the blessing of his two grown children, Avagliano decided to become a priest, and he was ordained on March 19, 2021, the Solemnity of St. Joseph. On the occasion of Avagliano's ordination, Bishop Carlos Jose Tissera of Quilmes, Argentina, declared that it was no coincidence that this milestone should occur on the day that it did.

Bishop Tissera went on to compare Avagliano's experiences as a father to those of St. Joseph, saying, "Like him, you have experienced the beauty of love as a couple, the experience of marriage, the joy of being a dad; the responsibility of forming a home, the joy of expecting your children and their birth; the incomparable joy of the first babblings of a baby looking into your eyes and saying the most wonderful word: Daddy."

Avagliano recalled being raised in a loving Catholic family in Buenos Aires. When he was 15 years old, he experienced one of the most challenging periods of his life, when, in just a three-month span, both his father and his older sister passed away. "God never abandoned me," Avagliano recalled, "He gave me strength to help and support my mother. . . . With her faith we carried on. We never stopped trusting in God. His strength cannot be explained, you feel it and experience it."

Avagliano married at 23, and he and his wife Flora raised their children in the Catholic faith, having them baptized in the same church where his mother had taken him as a child. In 2014, after 38 years of marriage, Flora passed away. Expressing the closeness he still feels to her, Avagliano said, "She is up above with God, but she is present in my life always. Just as she accompanied me throughout my earthly life, she continues to accompany me throughout her life in Heaven."

After Flora's passing and a period of discernment, Avagliano eventually felt called to go beyond the permanent diaconate in which he had served during his marriage and to become ordained a priest. His two children participated in the ordination ceremony, one of them taking off his diaconal stole and putting on his priestly stole and both putting the chasuble on him. Avagliano said he considers it a blessing to have been called by God to live out both vocations to fatherhood, the one in marriage and earthly fatherhood and his new calling as a spiritual father in the Church.

Avagliano's father clearly made a lasting impression on him in the time they had together because he grew into a model of fatherhood, fulfilling his calling as a man to first look after his mother and then to raise his own family. This is the foundation that good fatherhood creates so that it prepares others to go off into the world and make their mark.

Reflecting on his own amazing call to fatherhood, Avagliano said, "How beautiful it is to fulfill what the Lord asks of you and to be open to that disposition, to be able to open your heart so that He can enter in, can transform you, can guide you, can enlighten you, can accompany you."

This essay is a recent "Light One Candle" column by Father Ed Dougherty, M.M., The Christophers' Board of Directors ; it is one of a series of weekly columns that deal with a variety of topics and current events. 

Background information:

The Christophers

Reflection Starter from Soren Kierkegaard

"There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true." - Soren Kierkegaard

Holy Father's Prayer Intention for July

The Holy Father's prayer intention for July is: 

Social friendship: "We pray that, in social, economic and political situations of conflict, we may be courageous and passionate architects of dialogue and friendship."

Harptones: "Oobidee - Oobidee - Oo"

It's time for some more doo wop. Here is a presentation of "Oobidee - Oobidee - Oo" by The Harptones:

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of Your healing wounds.

V. Rev. Lewis S. Fiorelli, OSFS, on the Healing Wounds of Jesus

"In a few days, on July 3rd, the Church will celebrate the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle and, a day later, we as a nation will celebrate Independence Day.  In this reflection, I would like to say something about both."

In a recent commentary, V. Rev. Lewis S. Fiorelli, OSFS, reflected on how the wounds of Jesus offer healing to us in the United States and throughout the world.   .

To access his complete post, please visit:

De Sales Weekly: Provincial’s Reflection: The Healing Wounds of Jesus (1 JUL 21)

Reflection Starter from Robert Quillen

"There are glimpses of heaven to us in every act, or thought, or word, that raises us above ourselves." - Robert Quillen