From the Friars: Go out to all the World and Tell the Good News
The Exhortation to the Apostles, by James Tissot – Online Collection of Brooklyn Museum; Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2007, 00.159.129_PS2.jpg, Public Domain, Link
Okay, Let’s face it. The world has lots of problems. Is there any way that we can work to try to solve some of them? Well, to fix the world’s problems, we need to fix the world. So, here are
Fr. Andrew’s Four Ways to Change the World
The first thing we need to do to save the world is to pray every day. How much time should we pray each day? For adult Catholics, we should pray a minimum of thirty minutes each day. “Yes, but I’m busy, Father. I don’t have thirty minutes, to pray.” Hmmm….Do you have time to watch mind-numbing TV shows, check endless email, blow hours on Youtube, send 101 text messages each day, and play inane video games? If you spend more than 30 minutes a day doing any of these things, you can find the time to pray. Find a technology-free zone and work towards making your “free time” technology-free and you will find the 30 minutes you need.
The second thing you need to do is to attend Mass each week. Pray each day in solitude with the Lord Jesus, but pray with a community of believers each week.
Likewise, an important thing to do to save the world is to go to confession on a regular basis. The Church asks that we go to Confession at least once a year during the Lent-Easter season. But, to save the world, we need to do more than the minimum. We need to confess our sins and receive God’s mercy on a regular basis. Honestly, to grow in holiness in today’s world, we need to go to Confession at least once every three months, if not monthly. In fact, myself and the brothers go to Confession either weekly or every other week. We do this because we love Jesus and want to receive His mercy in order to be better instruments of His mercy.
The fourth thing we can do to save the world is to continue to study the faith. That is read the Bible, the Catechism of the Catholic Church or a good spiritual book. If you read 10 pages a day (perhaps 30 minutes of reading), in one month, you could read about 300 pages or one good Catholic book each month. Perhaps you’re on to me and are wondering, “Well, Father, all of these things pertain to me. I thought that you were going to tell me how to change the world?” Bingo. If you want to change the world, change yourself. What the world needs more than anything, is saints.
Follow this simple formula and become one.
— Fr. Andrew M. Beauregard, FPO