Pray It Off February 11 2010 Meeting

This is the packet that was given out at the Thursday night meeting on 2/11/2010. As the Post's go on I will talk about the two year history of Pray It Off and I will post the weekly meeting packets and revisit some of the older materials as well. Thank you and God bless you, Ellen

AGENDA Pray it Off February 11, 2010
Total Lbs Off 1st Session-644 2nd Session-571 Combined-12153rd Session-235 Combined-1450 4th Session -261 4th Session Combined 1711 5th Session- -145
1. Packets
2. Log Sheet/Matthew 20Matthew 19The Cardinal Virtues, The Four Hinges Of The Moral LifeThe Practice of Detachment: From Disordered Loves to Loving as God LovesRedemptive Suffering: “Offering it Up”What About PurgatoryBagels Good or Bad?The BreadbasketEating Breakfast Helps Weight LossSit and Get FitLyrics: He Is by Mark SchultzPIO Group Prayer Time
3. Opening Prayer
4. Awards: Praise:
5. Review Bible Verse
6. Review Packet Materials
7. Listen to: Song 13 He Is by Mark Schultz
8. St. Pio Intercession
9. PIO Group Prayer Time
10. Dismissal 7:00



Matthew Chapter 19

1
When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan. 2 Great crowds followed him, and he cured them there.
3
Some Pharisees approached him, and tested him, saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?" 4 He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female'
5
and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate."
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6 They said to him, "Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss (her)?" 8 He said to them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
9
I say to you, 7 whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery." 10 [His] disciples said to him, "If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry."
11
He answered, "Not all can accept [this] word, 8 but only those to whom that is granted. 12 Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage 9 for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it."
13
10 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them, 14 but Jesus said, "Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." 15 After he placed his hands on them, he went away.
16
11 12 Now someone approached him and said, "Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?" 17 He answered him, "Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. 13 If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."
18
He asked him, "Which ones?" And Jesus replied, " 'You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; 19 honor your father and your mother'; and 'you shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"
20
15 The young man said to him, "All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?" 21 Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, 16 go, sell what you have and give to (the) poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
22
When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. 23 17 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.
24
Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." 25 18 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, "Who then can be saved?"
26
Jesus looked at them and said, "For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible." 27 Then Peter said to him in reply, "We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?"
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19 Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29
And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life.
30
20 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.

The Cardinal Virtues The Four Hinges of the Moral Life By Scott P. Richert

The cardinal virtues are the four principal moral virtues. The English word cardinal comes from the Latin word cardo, which means "hinge." All other virtues hinge on these four: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.
Plato first discussed the cardinal virtues in the Republic, and they entered into Christian teaching by way of Plato's disciple Aristotle. Unlike the theological virtues, which are the gifts of God through grace, the four cardinal virtues can be practiced by anyone; thus, they represent the foundation of natural morality.
Prudence
St. Thomas Aquinas ranked prudence as the first cardinal virtue, because it is concerned with the intellect. Aristotle defined prudence as recta ratio agibilium, "right reason applied to practice." It is the virtue that allows us to judge correctly what is right and what is wrong in any given situation. When we mistake the evil for the good, we are not exercising prudence—in fact, we are showing our lack of it.
Because it is so easy to fall into error, prudence requires us to seek the counsel of others, particularly those we know to be sound judges of morality. Disregarding the advice or warnings of others whose judgment does not coincide with ours is a sign of imprudence.
Justice
Justice, according to Saint Thomas, is the second cardinal virtue, because it is concerned with the will. As Fr. John A. Hardon notes in his Modern Catholic Dictionary, it is "the constant and permanent determination to give everyone his or her rightful due." We say that "justice is blind," because it should not matter what we think of a particular person. If we owe him a debt, we must repay exactly what we owe.
Justice is connected to the idea of rights. While we often use justice in a negative sense ("He got what he deserved"), justice in its proper sense is positive. Injustice occurs when we as individuals or by law deprive someone of that which he is owed. Legal rights can never outweigh natural ones.
Fortitude
The third cardinal virtue, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, is fortitude. While this virtue is commonly called courage, it is different from what much of what we think of as courage today. Fortitude allows us to overcome fear and to remain steady in our will in the face of obstacles, but it is always reasoned and reasonable; the person exercising fortitude does not seek danger for danger's sake. Prudence and justice are the virtues through which we decide what needs to be done; fortitude gives us the strength to do it.
Fortitude is the only one of the cardinal virtues that is also a gift of the Holy Spirit, allowing us to rise above our natural fears in defense of the Christian faith.
Temperance
Temperance, Saint Thomas declared, is the fourth and final cardinal virtue. While fortitude is concerned with the restraint of fear so that we can act, temperance is the restraint of our desires or passions. Food, drink, and sex are all necessary for our survival, individually and as a species; yet a disordered desire for any of these goods can have disastrous consequences, physical and moral. Temperance is the virtue that attempts to keep us from excess, and, as such, requires the balancing of legitimate goods against our inordinate desire for them. Our legitimate use of such goods may be different at different times; temperance is the "golden mean" that helps us determine how far we can act on our desires.

The Practice of Detachment: From Disordered Loves to Loving as God Loves
(historicalchristian.com)

A friend of mine e-mailed me about the Catholic idea of detachment yesterday, which she and a friend of hers are struggling to understand. She said, “We understand the concept of detachment from "things" and how attachments to "things" are a real obstacle in the interior life. But we are wondering specifically about attachments to persons.” So we have been pondering the question of how does one love another person without forming an attachment to that person which would be an obstacle to growth in the interior life? And we haven't exactly found an answer, but we did have the following thoughts that I wanted to run by you and ask if you could share your own thoughts on the topic: - perhaps the attachment forms when we are primarily seeking to receive something (i.e. love) in return from the other person - rather than devoting ourselves to serving and loving the other. So that because the focus is on receiving rather than giving, we will eventually be disappointed. Perhaps this gives rise to an attachment because we keep going back again and again to a dry well, so to speak, to keep trying to receive more than we give. - perhaps the attachment forms when we seek from a relationship with another that which can only be fulfilled by Our Lord - unfathomable, unconditional love - and again it is like a dry well - trying to gain from someone that which is not possible. - attachments to "things" can arise from placing false expectations or meanings to them - so if we translate that to an attachment to a person, is it perhaps because we have placed a false expectations upon them?
These are good questions – and detachment is one of my favorite subjects, and not always well understood.
My best short answer is that given by St. Augustine in City of God: we love God for His own sake, and love others for the sake of God, so they may know and love God also. The point of loving is to love God above all else, to love as God loves, and to love others so they may know the love of God, and so love God in return.
In our fallen state, however, love itself is disordered, and must be purified and directed to God, so it can become like God. The point of detachment is to detach from things that keep us from God, things that we love more than God, detach from disordered loves, so that we may become fully attached to God, loving God fully, and learning to love as God loves – to empty ourselves of attachments, disordered loves, so we may be filled with God and His love.
My friend is right: God is the only one who can fulfill us completely. We are His dwelling place, made to be dwelt in by God, made to share and participate in His love. In our fallen state, broken and empty on the inside, we do often try to get other people or things to fulfill us, and that is actually emotionally unhealthy, not to mention impossible.
Everything in creation exists to glorify God. The early church actually saw creation as the first sacrament, revealing and teaching us about God. To see creation correctly is to see it emerging and being held in being by God for the purpose of knowing Him and sharing life with Him, and using the things of creation accordingly. In the Middle Ages, art, music, science, architecture all were seen as aspects of the study and glorification of God, not as separate things from God (and certainly not in conflict with God). But to see things as separate from God, having nothing to do with God, can lead to their misuse – and our unhealthy attachment to them apart from God. This would be, as my friend says, to place a false expectation or meaning on things.
Here’s another aspect, which for me is the crux of the matter: some Catholics confuse Catholic detachment (detaching from misuse of things to purify your love and increase your union with God) with detachment for its own sake, as if detachment itself is a virtue, or creation is bad and so must be detached from. This would be closer to the Buddhist idea of detachment to escape the world, and the Gnostic idea that creation is bad, so must be denied. Both only acknowledge the goodness of spirit, not of creation itself.
But in the Catholic worldview, creation is good, because created by God, and is the vehicle of God’s self-revelation, through which He is giving and sharing His life. It is our inner natures that are bad, the manner in which we love that is disordered, because fallen and broken and separated from God. Detachment is necessary not because the thing outside ourselves is bad, but because our inner natures need to be purified and transformed, permeated with God and so made more Christ-like, so that we can then love others as God loves them, and use the good creation for the good purposes for which God intends it.
Is detachment something we can achieve through our own efforts, or is it solely a gift from God? My guess is that it's something like faith: it is a gift from God, although there are actions we can take to make ourselves better disposed to receiving it.
We achieve detachment through our own efforts, aided by the grace of God. Really, we can’t do anything without the aid of grace – we can’t even exist without it! And the more we rely on grace, the more successful we can be in our efforts. It’s relying too much on ourselves that causes us to fail – or to be frustrated when we fail. If we are really relying on God, we don’t get too frustrated when we fail – just get back up and turn right back to God. St. Therese of Liseaux wrote about that very thing in her autobiography: she didn’t get upset, she just got right back up and put her eyes right back on Christ! So should we.
Detachment can be related to the four cardinal virtues of prudence, temperance, justice, and fortitude, of which the Catechism states,
“Human virtues acquired by education, by deliberate acts and by a perseverance ever-renewed in repeated efforts are purified and elevated by divine grace. With God's help, they forge character and give facility in the practice of the good. The virtuous man is happy to practice them. “It is not easy for man, wounded by sin, to maintain moral balance. Christ's gift of salvation offers us the grace necessary to persevere in the pursuit of the virtues. Everyone should always ask for this grace of light and strength, frequent the sacraments, cooperate with the Holy Spirit, and follow his calls to love what is good and shun evil.”
Your quest to balance your eating, and detach from eating the wrong foods, would fall under the cardinal virtue of temperance. Eating wrong foods is not necessarily a sin – or at worst, a venial sin, related to gluttony – but it is still a good thing to moderate. One of the effects of the Fall, of original sin, is that our very appetites are disordered. Most, if not all, of the saints practiced moderation and self-denial when it came to food, as a way of practicing detachment, purifying themselves, ordering their appetites, and so being able to love God more.
To help with this, I’d suggest you also use the sacrament of confession, as that will help you gain more grace to succeed in your efforts! I keep meaning to write about confession – it’s a very under-utilized and poorly understood gift, one that frees and strengthens us if we know how to use it properly! I love it! You can even confess temptations, and it will help make the temptations go away. I’ve done this often, even if I haven’t actually sinned – and I find that almost always the temptation vanishes. It’s amazing.
The purpose of detachment is not for its own sake, but to enable us to be more attached to God, purified of unhealthy or worldly attachments so we can focus on loving God more, and loving others for the sake of God, in a selfless way.
You know, we can get attached to spiritual things, too. For example: it’s good and necessary to develop the habit of prayer. But it’s not good to get so attached to it that we become irritated if someone interrupts us while praying. If we’re praying and someone needs our attention, we should give it to them lovingly, without resentment, and return to our prayers later when we are able. That helps us cultivate selflessness, which is related to the cardinal virtue of justice – and helps us achieve the very purpose of detachment: love God above all things for His own sake, and love others so they may know and love God, too!

Redemptive Suffering: "Offering it Up" (fisheaters.com)
Job 2:10 "... if we have received good things at the hand of God, why should we not receive evil?"
From papercuts and mosquito bites to the ravages of cancer and the death of a loved one, suffering is a fact of life that all religions try to make sense of. In Hinduism, suffering is seen as the result of karmic debt owed from a prior incarnation; we suffer through, building up "good karma" to balance out what is, ultimately, our own personal fault. To Buddhists, life is suffering because we desire; this desire must be extinguished by walking the Eightfold Noble Path of right belief, right aspiration, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right thought, and right meditation.In Islam, suffering is seen as the result of Allah's positive will ("Verily We have created man into toil and struggle” -- Qu'ran 90:4). In Rabbinical Judaism, suffering is seen as everything from senseless to positively willed by God to (for some self-described "Torah-true" Jews) a result of Jewish disobedience. For some brands of Protestantism, suffering is always the result of personal sin ("You're sick? You shouldn't have been playing cards..."), and God wants only "health and wealth" for His people as long as they "believe" (and "plant seeds" by sending a "love gift" to some televangelist).In orthodox Christianity, suffering has its ultimate origins in the human will, the abuse of which, through the sin of Adam, caused the rift between God and man that only Christ can reconcile. Suffering's proximate causes are the effects of Natural Law stemming from our own actions or the actions of others (even going back through the generations), the work of demons, and God's pulling back His mantle of protection, sometimes for obvious reasons, such as punishment, sometimes for inscrutable reasons. In any case, suffering is never positively willed by God, but is allowed for our benefit in the same way a father will allow a child to suffer the consequences of his own actions so that the child will grow and learn to listen to his father, or perhaps in the same way that father might allow his child to "suffer through" piano lessons so that, someday, he will be a great pianist. We may not understand God's reasons for allowing our particular suffering, but we must always trust that we can endure with His grace, and that there is reason for it, whether it is for our correction, purification, penance, to help us realize how radically dependent we are on Him, or whether it is for His appeasement.But how are we to react to our suffering? The answer is unique to Christianity.
We are members of the Royal Priesthood, together as one in the Mystical Body of Christ Our being (non-ministerial) priests means that we make sacrifices, we offer something. The ordained Catholic priest offers, as a representative of Christ, Sacrifices at the Altar for those who say "yes" to Christ's invitation to share the fruits of Calvary, just as the ministerial priests in the Old Testament offered sacrifices for the sins of the people. But what do we of the non-ministerial royal priesthood offer? We offer ourselves -- our bodies, hearts, praise, gratitude, worship, joys, works, and our sufferings. Why do we do this? Because we are exhorted to "put on Christ" and to imitate Him, our High Priest and Spotless Victim, so that we might partake of the divine nature. In order to redeem us, Our Lord took on flesh and gave all to the Father; in order to be Christ-like, we, too, must take up our cross, accept suffering, and strive to offer Him all:
Luke 14: 27 And whosoever doth not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. II Corinthians 4:8-12 In all things we suffer tribulation: but are not distressed. We are straitened: but are not destitute. We suffer persecution: but are not forsaken. We are cast down: but we perish not. I Peter 2:19-22 For this is thankworthy: if, for conscience towards God, a man endure sorrows, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, committing sin and being buffeted for it, you endure? But if doing well you suffer patiently: this is thankworthy before God. For unto this are you called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example that you should follow his steps.
Think of Christ in the Garden, under so much stress and agony that He literally sweated Blood. Think of Him being hounded and mocked by people who should have fallen to their knees and kissed His Feet, adoring Him and begging mercy. Think of the Creator of the sun, moon, and stars with a crown of thorns thrust onto His head, being spat upon, beaten, and nailed to a Cross. God Himself suffered in His human nature; why should we be spared? ...And now think of Him in Heaven, pouring out onto us the graces of His once and for all Sacrifice at Calvary during the unbloody re-presentation of that Sacrifice during the Mass. He is perfect, He suffered (His Sacred Heart is still wounded by our sins!), and He offers Himself yet up to the Father at each Mass -- and to us for our redemption. We are called to offer ourselves up to the Father and for others, too.Our imitation of Him and our gifts to Him, though they are nothing without His Sacrifice, build up the Body of Christ if they are joined to His sufferings: We actually help Jesus in His redemption of the world by giving to Him our sufferings to build up the Body of Christ. Think of how we are moved by those who suffer for us. We are touched when we think of what our parents sacrificed to give us, when we think of stories of people who give kidneys to strangers or risk their lives to save someone else. Christ Himself said that "greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). Well, just as we are moved by sacrificial love when it is offered to us, the Father is moved by our offered-up sufferings when they are offered along with the Passion and Sacrifice of Jesus. We, too, can offer our sufferings for others. When given to God along with the Perfect Oblation (Christ) offered to the Father at the Mass, our offerings and sufferings are sanctified and put to use.
Offering it Up (or "Making a Good Intention") So, how do Catholics "offer up" their sufferings and sacrifices? In both formal and informal ways. Formally, many Catholics make the Morning Offering to give to Our Lord that day's efforts, works, joys, sufferings, intentions, etc. (the form may vary). At the Mass, we excercise our lay priesthood by consciously, silently, privately offering ourselves up, along with the Son, to the Father during the Offertory.Informally, we "offer it up" by simply asking God in our own words to use a suffering as it occurs; we often do this for specific intentions (ex., "Use this pain, Lord, for the salvation of my brother or for the souls in Purgatory. )It's quite a discipline to react to suffering this way! In mental or physical pain? Drop something on your toe? Putting up with a co-worker who is making your life a living Hell? Enduring the constant ache of arthritis? Standing in line at the grocery and hating every minute of it? Spill the milk? Accept these things in peace, and ask God to use them for the good of the Church or for a more specific intention close to your heart. This isn't easy to do (and I in no way claim to be good at it), but it does make the suffering more meaningful and less -- well, less insufferable!You'll find that it is not uncommon to hear one Catholic tell another who is suffering to "offer it up" as a way of dealing with his suffering. It should be remembered, though, that while it is most definitely good to tell someone to "offer it up," it is also easy -- and that we are called, too, to comfort those who are suffering, to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to care for the sick, etc. Telling someone to offer it up without also helping him to deal with the temporal and emotional effects of whatever they are going through is not the fully Christian thing to do. Even Our Lord was helped while carrying His Cross: St. Veronica wiped the sweat and Blood from His Holy Face, and St. Simon of Cyrene helped Him bear the Cross itself. Necessary and Voluntary Mortifications
"Mortification" is the act of dying to oneself by killing off the sinful desires of the flesh as taught by St. Paul: Romans 8:13-14 For if you live according to the flesh, you shall die: but if by the Spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live. For whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Mortification is practiced by doing what all Christians must -- fulfilling our duties, no matter how unpleasant; avoiding near occasions of sin (those situations that tempt us to sin); denying ourselves that which is evil, etc.It can also mean voluntarily taking on unpleasant things that aren't a matter of duty or of directly fighting off evil habits, but which simply subject the flesh in order to increase humility, express contrition, and build up the Body of Christ. These acts of mortification can include offering to God small acts, such as: fasting or practicing abstinence when not bound to; denying oneself an ordinary pleasure simply for the sake of God, such as giving up cream or sugar for your coffee for a time; taking on an unpleasant task one isn't bound to take on; sitting on the hard chair rather than the soft one, etc. And they can include offering to God acts that appear (to wordly eyes) more extreme and apparently bizarre -- the wearing of hairshirts, sleeping on a hard mattress or the floor, self-flagellation, etc. These sorts of external voluntary mortifications that aren't a matter of duty and which don't fight an evil habit directly are only beneficial insofar as they arise from the desire for humility, for penance, and to build up the Body of Christ, and insofar as they actually do lead to humility and penance. More extreme forms of mortifications should only be practiced with the guidance of a good spiritual director.




EATING BREAKFAST HELPS WEIGHT LOSS http://www.mealsmatter.org/

If you are someone who thinks skipping breakfast will help you lose weight, think again! Studies show that eating breakfast helps weight loss and is associated with better weight control—especially a cereal breakfast.
An ongoing study of people who have maintained weight loss of at least 30 pounds for more than a year shows that eating breakfast keeps people slimmer (National Weight Control Registry). Breakfast eaters tend to eat fewer calories, less saturated fat and cholesterol and have better overall nutritional status than breakfast skippers.
A Nielsen's National Eating Trends Survey showed that women who ate cereal on a regular basis weighed about nine pounds less than those who ate cereal rarely or not at all, while men who ate breakfast weighed about six pounds less than men who didn't eat breakfast.
What is the link between eating breakfast and weight loss?
When you skip breakfast, your metabolic rate slows down and your blood sugar drops. As a result, you become hungry and have less energy. This sets you up to impulsively snack in the morning - often on high-fat sweets - or to eat extra servings or bigger portions at lunch or dinner.
When you eat breakfast, your body feels nourished and satisfied, making you less likely to overeat the rest of the day.
Eating breakfast every day may reduce the risk for obesity and insulin resistance syndrome - an early sign of developing diabetes - by as much as 35 to 50 percent, according to a study presented at a recent American Heart Association conference.
Whole-grain cereal breakfast best choice for weight loss
Breakfast choices are endless, although whole-grain cereals top the list as the best choice for weight control and improving health.
A Harvard study found that participants who ate whole-grain cereal every day were 17 percent less likely to die over the next several years from any cause, and 20 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular disease, than those who "rarely or never" ate whole-grain cereals.
Look for cereals that list whole grain or bran as their first ingredient and contain at least 2 grams of dietary fiber per serving. Bran cereal and oatmeal contain at least 7 grams per serving, or about 25 percent of the recommended daily intake.
"No time for breakfast" is no excuse
Time is at a premium for most of us. Nevertheless, it pays to make time for what may be the most important meal of the day.
Try to choose foods from at least two or more food groups. Protein foods take longer to digest and will provide sustained energy and keep you feeling full longer.
Here are quick, tasty and nutritious choices to get your day off to a good start:
Milk and whole-grain cereal
Instant oatmeal topped with raisins and milk
Whole-grain granola topped with fruit and yogurt
Peanut butter spread on 80 calorie whole-wheat toast or a half a wheat bagel
Fruit smoothie made with yogurt
Cheese and whole-grain fat free crackers
Do not overlook non traditional breakfast’s like turkey or tofu
Energy bars have exploded in popularity. Although they are convenient and may satisfy your hunger in a pinch, read the label. Even though they contain a variety of vitamins and other added nutrients, they often contain little fiber, and could be loaded with as many calories as a candy bar!

What about Purgatory by Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur (Catholic Exchange)

Purgatory is one of those things we don’t hear about very much anymore. In fact, a recent survey conducted by US Catholic indicted only 73% of Catholics believe purgatory even exists (interestingly enough, 77% believe that their prayers can help those in purgatory get to heaven). I can understand how the idea of purgatory makes many uncomfortable. Honestly, it makes me uncomfortable. While obviously a much better place than hell, I really don’t want to go there. I don’t want my loved ones to go there. It’s much easier to think that if we live a good life, God will immediately welcome us to heaven with open arms. Unfortunately, save for the elect few who are perfect at death, this is not what scripture, the Church, or the saints teach us.
Matthew 12:31-32 tells us that “whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come,” which implies that there is a place where forgiveness can still be obtained after death. By the same token, 1 Corinthians 3:15 and 1 Peter 1:7 speak of a “cleansing fire.”
In the Catechism of the Catholic Church , the Church teaches that
All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. (1030)
The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned (Cf. Council of Florence [1439]: DS 1304; Council of Trent [1563]: DS 1820; [1547]: 1580; see also Benedict XII, Benedictus Deus [1336]: DS 1000). (1031)
This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: “Therefore [Judas Maccabeus] made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin” (2 Macc 12:46). From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God (Cf. Council of Lyons II [1274]: DS 856). The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead . . .(1032)
Perhaps the saint who offered the most evidence for the existence of purgatory in recent times is St. Padre Pio. He was known to speak with souls in purgatory and dedicated much of his suffering and prayers to help free souls from that place of purgation. He is known to have stated that “I was talking with some souls who, while on their way from Purgatory to Heaven, stopped here to thank me because I remembered them in my Mass this morning,” and that “more souls of the dead from Purgatory than of the living climb this mountain to attend my Masses and seek my prayers.” St. Catherine of Genoa remarked that “There is no peace to be compared with that of the souls in Purgatory, save that of the saints in Paradise, and this peace is ever augmented by the in-flowing of God into these souls, which increases in proportion as the impediments to it are removed” and that “The ‘fire’ of purgatory is God’s love ‘burning’ the soul so that, at last, the soul is wholly aflame. It is the pain of wanting to be made totally worthy of One who is seen as infinitely lovable, the pain of desire for union that is now absolutely assured, but not yet fully tasted.”
So, then, souls in purgatory, although suffering, are also at peace, because they know that they are assured salvation. Still, they need our prayers and sacrifices and Mass offerings to help them move up to heaven more quickly. As Catholics we believe in the communion of saints which includes the souls in heaven, the souls on earth, and the souls in purgatory. We have a responsibility to pray for those who have passed on before us. In doing so, we can hope that others will pray for us after our time on earth is done. Despite what we may like to believe, Purgatory is real. We should be thankful that God does give us the chance to be made perfect even after we die.

Bagels: Good or Bad?
by Dana Angelo White in Healthy Tips

Who doesn’t love a bagel for breakfast, but boy are they a calorie-dense breakfast. People are always surprised — and a little freaked out — to hear how many slices of bread actually equal a single bagel. Here’s the good and the bad.
Nutrition FactsA modest, medium-sized, plain bagel (about 3.5 to 4 inches in diameter) has about 300 calories and 1.5 grams of fat. The bagels your local bakery or bagel shop serves are probably MUCH larger than this, weighing in at closer to 500 to 600 calories a pop. To compare, that’s like eating six slices of bread! Add on some regular cream cheese at 50 calories and 5 grams of fat per tablespoon and you’ve already polished off a third of the average 2,000-calories-a-day diet.
What Is It About Bagels?How can there be such a discrepancy between bagels and bread? It all comes down to density. Bagels are more dense — imagine those six slices of bread squeezed together. This is what gives bagels their chewy texture but also ups the calories.
As for the different bagel flavors, some have more calories than others. A chocolate chip or French toast bagel will have more calories than a plain; while a poppy seed or pumpernickel bagel have about the same as the plain. A lot of folks order wheat bagels, thinking they’re the healthier choice. Many “wheat” bagels just contain a small amount of wheat flour, which means they aren’t really whole grain. If they’re “whole wheat” they may have a bit more fiber but the calories will be the same (if not a bit higher). Bagels loaded with nuts and seeds on top may appear super healthy, but may have as much as 100 calories more calories and more fat.
Hope for Bagel LoversThe good news is that the calories from bagels are nutritious and good for you (when you forgo the chocolate chips or sugary toppings), so you can make room for them in your diet.
As is often the case, portion size is most important. Opt for smaller bagels and stick to just a half. A single-ounce portion of a bagel (about the size of one of those mini-bagels) has 80 calories; use this as your guide on your next trip to the bagel shop. Instead of globs of full-fat cream cheese, get the light version to cut the calories and fat by almost 50%. Or choose other high-protein toppings such as peanut butter, smoked salmon, hummus or a scrambled egg — they will help fill you up and keep you from going for that other half of the bagel. If you’ll be tempted, offer to split a bagel with a family member or work friend.
And what about “hollowing out” your bagel? Sure, people do this and it saves calories (how many depends on how much bread you dig out), but it seems awfully wasteful. It’s much smarter to stick to half a bagel and just enjoy the other half for another breakfast.
Bottom Line: Save the bagels for one day a week. When you do enjoy it, have a half along with some protein to help keep you satisfied.



He Is by Mark Schultz

Father, let the world just fade away Let me feel your presence in this place Lord, I’ve never been so weary How I need to know you’re near me Father, let the world just fade away Till I’m on my knees. Till my heart can sing. He is He was. He always will be. Even when it feels like there is no one holding me Be still, my soul. He is.Father, let your Holy Spirit sing. Let it calm the storm inside of me As I stand amazed. Lift my hands and say. He is. He was. He always will be. He lives. He loves. He’s always with me.Even when it feels like there is no one holding me. Be still, my soul Through every fear. And every doubt. And every tear I shed Down every road. I’m not alone. No matter where I am.He is. He was. And He always will be.He lives He loves He’s always with me Even when it feels like there is no one holding me Be still, my soul Be still, and know Be still, my soul He is


PIO GROUP PRAYER TIME
February 11, 2010
· How can the virtue of temperance help you with overeating? Have you ever prayed for temperance? Can you?
· Are there things or people that you need to detach yourself from to get closer to God. Do you need detachment to help you with weight loss? Discuss.
· Can you think of someone who is suffering or who is in purgatory that you can offer up ten pounds for? Discuss “Offering up” your weight loss efforts.
· Do you consume too much bread in a week? How can you cut back on this?
· Discuss what you eat currently for breakfast and brainstorm healthy breakfast ideas.Say the Hail Mary to Close the Group