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4th Day of Christmas Inspiration…From CatholicsComeHome.org

Pope Benedict’s homily at his Christmas Mass calls us to turn away from selfishness, and ‘open the eyes of our hearts, so that we may become vigilant and clear-sighted, in this way bringing you close to others as well!’ – very inspiring!

“…For you the Saviour is born: through the Gospel and those who proclaim it, God now reminds us of the message that the Angel announced to the shepherds. It is a message that cannot leave us indifferent. If it is true, it changes everything. If it is true, it also affects me. Like the shepherds, then, I too must say: Come on, I want to go to Bethlehem to see the Word that has occurred there. The story of the shepherds is included in the Gospel for a reason. They show us the right way to respond to the message that we too have received. What is it that these first witnesses of God’s incarnation have to tell us?

The first thing we are told about the shepherds is that they were on the watch – they could hear the message precisely because they were awake. We must be awake, so that we can hear the message. We must become truly vigilant people. What does this mean? The principal difference between someone dreaming and someone awake is that the dreamer is in a world of his own. His “self” is locked into this dreamworld that is his alone and does not connect him with others. To wake up means to leave that private world of one’s own and to enter the common reality, the truth that alone can unite all people. Conflict and lack of reconciliation in the world stem from the fact that we are locked into our own interests and opinions, into our own little private world. Selfishness, both individual and collective, makes us prisoners of our interests and our desires that stand against the truth and separate us from one another. Awake, the Gospel tells us. Step outside, so as to enter the great communal truth, the communion of the one God. To awake, then, means to develop a receptivity for God: for the silent promptings with which he chooses to guide us; for the many indications of his presence. There are people who describe themselves as “religiously tone deaf”. The gift of a capacity to perceive God seems as if it is withheld from some. And indeed – our way of thinking and acting, the mentality of today’s world, the whole range of our experience is inclined to deaden our receptivity for God, to make us “tone deaf” towards him. And yet in every soul, the desire for God, the capacity to encounter him, is present, whether in a hidden way or overtly. In order to arrive at this vigilance, this awakening to what is essential, we should pray for ourselves and for others, for those who appear “tone deaf” and yet in whom there is a keen desire for God to manifest himself. The great theologian Origen said this: if I had the grace to see as Paul saw, I could even now (during the Liturgy) contemplate a great host of angels (cf. in Lk 23:9). And indeed, in the sacred liturgy, we are surrounded by the angels of God and the saints. The Lord himself is present in our midst. Lord, open the eyes of our hearts, so that we may become vigilant and clear-sighted, in this way bringing you close to others as well!”

Visit www.CatholicsComeHome.org to grow in your faith each day.


It’s Christmas Time!

Don’t forget that the Christmas season has just begun!

As many stores and public places begin to take down their Christmas decorations today and throughout this weekend, remember that Christmas day marks the beginning of the Christmas season. We continue to celebrate the joyous occasion of Christ’s birth through the Epiphany, when the wise men visit Jesus with their gifts.

Let us continue to open our hearts to Christ throughout this whole Christmas season, so we can offer Him our finest gifts this Epiphany. God gave us His only Son. Why don’t we offer ourselves back to Him?

Don’t forget to check out CatholicsComeHome.org to continue your growth in faith this Christmas season.


CatholicsComeHome.org – sharing a facebook post we received!

We received the following CatholicsComeHome.org facebook post and wanted to share.  It inspired us – hope it does the same to you:

“On a whim, I bought a CCH car magnet for myself and a DVD for my retreat group.
I was afraid to put the magnet on my car, because I’m expecting the usual ridicule from my family and friends. After watching Tom’s witness on the Coming Home show with Marcus Grodi…I went right outside and put that magnet right on my car! Thanks for being a wonderful witness to our BEAUTIFUL faith!”

May YOUR example of faith-in-action this Christmas draw others to Christ’s Catholic Church!


A Merry Eucharistic Christmas

As Catholics, we have prepared for weeks during Advent for the coming of Jesus this Christmas. But how can we bring to life the true meaning of Christmas this year?

Here is a clip from a great article that reminds us of the relationship between the Holy Eucharist and Christmas:

“To help the Child Jesus come to life in us, Pope John Paul II called us all to live an intensely Eucharistic Christmas, for the same Jesus who was placed in a manger and adored by the shepherds and wise men is placed in our hands and in our mouths in holy Communion.

“The best way for the Child Jesus to come to life again and be stamped upon our fervent memory at Christmas, he taught, is to remember that God-with-us is still with us. Bethlehem is as close as the altar and tabernacle of the nearest Catholic Church.

“This is indeed “good news of great joy for all people!” Merry Christmas!”

(Fr. Roger J. Landry. “Bringing Christmas to Life Again.” [December 23, 2005].)

Lost & Found Tip: Don’t forget to prepare a present for Jesus this Christmas…He’s the most important one in your family and the reason for the Christmas season!


5 More Diocesan partners Now airing CatholicsComeHome.org TV ads!

This past Friday 12/18 was the launch date of five additional CCH diocesan partner TV ad campaigns:

-Diocese of Sacramento
-Diocese of Providence
-Diocese of Colorado Springs
-Archdiocese of Omaha
-Diocese of Lincoln

Thanks for your continued prayers for all who will be touched by these ads!

Visit CatholicsComeHome.org to grow in your faith each day.


Let us focus on loving our fallen-away Catholic relatives this Advent

At Catholics Come Home, we receive many e-mails from Catholics who pray fervently, especially during the season of Advent, for their sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, neighbors and friends to return to the Catholic Church during this holy time of year. We must not forget that love and prayer are the greatest gifts we can give our family and friends to draw them more deeply into their faith. Our job as Catholics is to plant seeds, and then allow Jesus to convert hearts to Him.

The following article by Rev. John Horgan reminds us that “we can be sure that God wants us to know that He loves our loved ones even more than we do.” He also reflects on the part we must play during this Advent season: “We should pray not just for “them” but for each other, that we be ready for Christmas. We must ask for so much grace that we are radiant with it; that our words be filled with truth and kindness, our hearts with love and divine life. We must pray that everyone who comes into our church may see Jesus reflected in every face, every gesture, everyone that they see. Then they will know that He is alive and true and loving. . . and that there is no one who can compare with Him.”

Read more of this article: http://catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0689.html

Remember to visit CatholicsComeHome.org to grow in your faith each day!


The CCH Ads are airing in IL – check-out this SUPPORTIVE e-mail response we received…

The CatholicsComeHome.org TV ad campaign began airing yesterday in three dioceses in IL…and we are already receiving amazing, supportive e-mails – check this one out:

“YES!!! Just saw for the very first time a commercial on a major television network (NBC), during a break in the Ellen DeGeneres Show, a commercial PROMOTING CATHOLICISM !!! At 52, I’ve been a Catholic all my life, have been dismayed and disturbed at the apparent huge decline in number of Catholics (especially practicing ones), and the total absence of any positive portrayal in any media about the Church — in fact, it’s usually ANTI-Catholicism that’s disseminated to society by the liberal media. It’s LONG overdue to use the media to fight back, fight for our Church, fire with fire, and use marketing to restore our reputation and respect world-wide, and thereby maybe bring people back and GAIN the younger generations who are desperately in need of knowledge of God and his love for us, through the Catholic Church, but have taken in all of the bad press out there about the Church. It’s ABOUT TIME !!! Where has everyone been??!! Keep those positive messages coming!! The rest of society needs what we as a Church have to offer! It’s up to us to turn things around, and no longer be quiet about or embarrassed to say “I’m a Catholic!” With restored pride and hope for our future.
-Karen”

Thanks for your prayers and support for CCH!  You can view all the CCH TV ads at www.CatholicsComeHome.org (to see personal testimonies, visit the ‘Real People, Real Stories’ section)


CatholicsComeHome.org TV campaigns begin airing TODAY!

Today is the first day of CatholicsComeHome.org TV ad campaigns with three partner dioceses:
-Archdiocese of Chicago
-Diocese of Rockford
-Diocese of Joliet

CCH ads are airing on broadcast and cable TV through January 2010! Please keep these campaigns in your prayers….we are launching an additional 5 diocesan partner campaigns this Friday 12/18!

Stay tuned…and remember we need your support to bring these ads to TV screens nationally!

Visit: www.CatholicsComeHome.org


From the Prayer Corner

Do you pray the Jesus Prayer?

The Jesus Prayer is short, but immensely powerful. It simply consists of the word “Jesus.” (Other variations include “Lord Jesus” or “Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.) 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us, “The invocation of the holy name of Jesus is the simplest way of praying always. When the holy name is repeated often by a humbly attentive heart, the prayer is not lost by heaping up empty phrases, but holds fast to the word and “brings forth fruit with patience.” This prayer is possible “at all times” because it is not one occupation among others but the only occupation: that of loving God, which animates and transfigures every action in Christ Jesus” (CCC 2668).

Catholics Come Home Lost & Found Tip: Pray the Jesus Prayer throughout your day today. Experience the power and peace that comes from simply pronouncing the most powerful name in the world, the Word that was made flesh, the Word whose birth we celebrate in a few short weeks!

Visit www.CatholicsComeHome.org to grow deeper in your faith each day!


Catholics Come Home team presents in Australia!

CatholicsComeHome.org News:

This week our founder and president, Tom Peterson, and Communications Manager, Katie Peterson, are in Australia presenting the Catholics Come Home program!

Here’s a bit of what’s on the agenda this week-
Monday, Dec 14:
Dinner with Cardinal Pell, Archdiocese of Sydney.  He was host of World Youth Day 2008. (Cardinal Pell previously invited Mr. Peterson to present the keynote address in Sydney at the National Communications Conference, and Bishops’ Plenary meeting of 44 bishops in May 2009).

Tues-Friday:
Catholics Come Home Evangelization planning session, sponsored by Archdiocese of Melbourne and the National Office for Evangelisation …an office of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. Will be discussing ways to localize and implement CCH ads and website to invite inactive Catholics and others in Australia to come home to the Catholic faith.

We’ll keep you posted if CCH end up going ‘down under’ at a future date! (perhaps in Melbourne in Lent 2011).  Thanks for keeping CatholicsComeHome.org in your prayers.

Remember, you are always invited to visit www.CatholicsComeHome.org to grow deeper in your faith each day!


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