Parishioners Page
From the Desk of Fr. Louis
September 15,2024
Deep Attention and Devotion in Prayer
​When we personally pray, we need to use the words that come from our hearts, understanding thoroughly and dwelling upon their meaning. We need to address God with our love and feelings. Blind repetition of words without concentration and commitment, devotion or love do not bring any good in our lives. Grinding our prayers vocally and mechanically while inwardly thinking something else does not bring response from God. A blind repetition takes the name of God in vain, is fruitless. Devotional and concentrated prayers deepen the attention, spiritualizes the prayers and changes conscious.
God cannot be deceived by the mockery of prayers but easily moved by our sincerity, persistence, concentration, devotion and faith. When we pray with soul outburst, we are bound to receive the results. In all our prayers we establish ourselves as the child of God which is the most important aspect of prayer. When we face temptations and distractions while praying, we need to come back to prayer as soon as we know that we are distracted. Don’t dwell in distractions. While we are distracted in our prayer, let us not think that it is waste of time and get up and go but continue to prayer till the end of time you intended to pray. God might touch you towards the end of your prayer. But know that God is in you and listening to your heart.
September 1, 2024
Controlling One’s Desires
The true master is the one who controls his desires. By not controlling our desires, we punish
ourselves by our own indulgences, which create nervousness and anger and moods. We have no
joy in anything because we are controlled by our insatiable senses. When we have control over
our desires, we mean NO, when we say No to temptations. And we mean YES, when we say
YES to what we want for our good.
By our good desires, we have to cultivate God-centeredness in our hearts and life. Always be
busy with God and nothing can distract us. Lead a simple and contended life. The purpose of life
is to find God. So do not waste your time in useless way of life.
August 25, 2024
Conquer Evil by Realizing God
We always consider pain and suffering is evil that has to be avoided. We don’t understand why evil exists in the world. There are so many questions of this kind that we don’t have answers. But one thing is sure that we suffer evil because we have allowed ourselves to become so susceptible to the evils of this world. We must learn to be spiritually tough and strong.
Do all the things that you have to do, and enjoy what you do, but inwardly say, “Lord, I am your child, made in Your image. I don’t want anything but You”. The devotee who follows this principle, and attains God realization has conquered evil. He will find that for him there is no evil.
July 28, 2024
Be a Conqueror of Hearts
Contradictions of desires and conflicts of interests cause anger. When we are angry we can’t think clearly and see the truth and thus we can’t analyze the situation clearly. That is why our peace is to be guarded above everything else. If we can retain our inner peace, therein lies our supreme victory. If we do everything with sincerity and love in our heart, we do not have to fear anybody or anything. I am what I am before God and before my conscience. Be fearless, sincere, and loving in all you do.
Spiritual relationship is lasting, because God is our Father and we are His children. Hence we need to love everyone whole heatedly and impartially. God’s love is the supreme love. It is God who is loving us through our loved ones in the same way when I love others, it is God who is loving them through me. When the desire for self-interest is gone completely from consciousness and the only desire is to serve others and do the highest good for all, that is wisdom.
The compulsion to love our family and friends was given to us as our first lesson in learning to give love to all unconditionally. When man behaves in a humble way he strikes a beautiful chord in the hearts of other. A man of humility easily exercises a spiritual influence on others. The power of love is the greatest of all powers. We come on earth to love each other with God’s perfect love, free from any selfish desires. We should lovingly disagree as well as lovingly agree. Hence do everything for God. As long as you live, spread the truth and love – be like little children, unafraid, simple and kind. Spread the fragrance of love wherever you go.
July 21,2024
Balanced Life
We need to get educated in order to live a balanced life. Our ambition for business and other activities are meant to make us and others happy. Without this our activity will produce nervousness, greed, disrespect and finally unhappy and dissatisfaction. Hence realize the true purpose of any business or activity for the benefit of others as well as oneself.
“Sabbath is made for man and not man for the Sabbath”. God has given seven days out of which six days to work and one day for God and relaxation and introspection. Sunday is for attending religious services and spiritual self-discipline practicing concentration in prayer and meditation and time with the family that would attain inner peace and God communion and God-realization in our lives.
There are many people who are helplessly carried away by the work habits and too many social engagements on Sundays. We do need social gatherings, but actually our highest and the first engagement should be with God, Truth, higher studies, family life, association with good persons and knowing one-self and God who made you.
July 14,2024
Accepting Ourselves
The great secret of all spiritual fruitfulness and growth is learning to let God act in our lives. “Apart from Me, you can do nothing” John 15/5. Without God’s help, we are helpless however strong we are. And with God everything is possible. God’s love is infinitely more powerful than anything we can do by our own wisdom or our strength. Yet one of the most essential conditions for God’s grace to act in our lives is saying “YES” to what we are and to the situation in which we find ourselves. From there we need to approach God in trust.
What often blocks the action of God’s grace in our lives is less of our sins or failings, than it is our failure to accept our own weakness. God would never act unless we freely cooperate by accepting ourselves as we are. Similarly, if we don’t accept others as they are, we are not allowing God to act positively on our relationships and situations. There may be failures, defects and odd situations in our lives. May be sometimes without our faults we suffer, but still, we need to accept others with joy and offer them for the purification of our lives. Then God would bless us beyond our expectation. God knows how to bring good out of evil. Everything is in His control. When there is failure or success, know that God is teaching something, pay attention to it.
July 6,2024
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I come to you the people the cluster parishes of St. Pius X – Solon Springs; St. Anthony of Padua - Gordan; and St. Mary - Minong with joy and happiness as your priest to be with you and to work along with you. We are all coworkers and me as a priest leading everyone to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. I am sure of your cooperation with me in this journey towards God as one body. I invite every visitor to be a part of our journey and our cluster parish. Visitors are our support and strength and they are unseen God. Everyone is welcome to the house of God, to be the part of our cluster parish.
Finding Joy in Life
We seek joy and happiness through the fulfillment of our desires. We do not want those things that bring sorrow in the beginning or at the end. When you favor happiness from short lasting pleasures like eating, smelling, hearing, touching, seeing, that happiness and joy lasts only as long as the sensation of taste, smell, hearing, touching and seeing last or until the mind becomes bored with a sensation and is tempted by new stimulus. No one desires transitory joy that leaves sorrow. Only the unchangeable joy found in God through regular meditation and prayer can quench our thirst for joy.
The ‘evil’ promises transitory happiness and gives sorrow at the end but the ‘goodness’ seems to offer sorrow by its requisite of discipline and will power, but will surely give lasting joy at the end. When you find God in meditation and prayer, you don’t need anything. In this joy, you will have everything you ever sought. So, do not seek fulfillment through material medium but seek unconditional, indestructible Joy – God within you by way of meditation and prayer. Do not forget that God is always in you with His mercy and grace even before you fall to lead you in to Himself because you are the child of God.
Fr. Louis Maram Reddy
Submitted Pieces and Reflections
Angels on Our Shoulders
In partnership with Faith in Action this group of volunteers offers a multitude of services for our community. Grocery Grabbers will pick up your grocery order from Henson's County Foods and deliver to your doorstep. Books With Wings will deliver books you check out from the Minong Area Library, http://www.minonglibrary.org. Look at their brochure below and take advantage of their many services. If you would like to volunteer with the group the please contact Louis Columbus at 224-578-2537. Further information is on the brochure.
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Tri-Parish Cluster of Catholic Churches of St. Pius, St. Mary and St. Anthony
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