Catholic News Around Indiana
Compiled by Brandon A. Evans
Diocese of Evansville
No news briefs are available this week
(For news from the Diocese of Evansville, log on to the website of The Message at www.themessageonline.org)
Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend
Diocesan men become battle ready to fight their Goliaths
By Tim Johnson
FORT WAYNE — Over 1,200 men from across the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend were armed for spiritual warfare to battle their Goliaths at the Rekindle the Fire Annual Diocesan Men’s Conference held at the Fort Wayne Coliseum Expo Center on Feb. 20.
Speakers Matt Fradd, Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio and Jesse Romero were the featured speakers who provided the tools for men to take home and use in their faith daily.
Throughout the conference, the Abba Prayer for Men, which offers a Catholic vision of masculinity, was introduced and encouraged to become a part of daily prayer. For resources, the men could visit AbbaChallenge.com.
Speaker Matt Fradd’s message to the men spoke of his commitment to expose the reality behind the fantasy of pornography and offered tips to protect families from the dangers of Internet pornography. His goal is set men and women set free from the harms of pornography and to fight it every day.
In overcoming pornography addiction, Fradd suggested prayer and fasting. Pray the rosary, go to the Blessed Mother and ask her to help you love her Son more. He also recommended a free app called “Victory,” which offers a daily calendar to assess progress and setbacks, track Confessions and set up accountability partners.
Fradd’s book “Delivered” has sold 50,000 and has stories of hope and honesty of people who have been set free from pornography. He also highly recommended Covenant Eyes, a filtering and accountability software. “It is the best filtering software on the web, second to none,” he said. “It blocks the bad stuff. If you have children, don’t give them a phone, don’t give them an X-box” without this filtering software.
Marcellino D’Ambrosio, who holds a doctorate in theology and biblical interpretation, spoke to the men about spiritual exercise. He emphasized a father’s role to be a spiritual leader in his family. Traditionally that role has been to bring food to the table to feed the family, but “spiritual food is also important,” D’Ambrosio said.
This cannot be done by just priests and bishops. “We are pastors of our families,” he said. “We need to bring spiritual truth to the family.”
A father who just brings home the bacon is doing an inadequate job. “Kids get a firm foundation from a father’s love,” D’Ambrosio said.
“Without a father’s love, without the affirmation of a father, a lot of times kids’ foundations are really shaky,” he added.
He said it is important to have fun with our children. It is a way of accepting them. Rejoicing and laughing together is important. And be humble — and laugh at yourself — recommended D’Ambrosio.
Photo caption: Over 1,200 men from across the diocese and multiple states gathered on Feb. 20 for the Sixth Annual Rekindle the Fire Annual Diocesan Men’s Conference held at the Fort Wayne Coliseum Expo Center on Feb. 20. Above, Matt Fradd offered the first talk of the day, which exposed the realities of the struggles of pornography addiction. The conference’s theme was “Battle Your Goliaths.” Speakers also included Marcellino D’Ambrosio and Jesse Romero. Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades celebrated Mass at the closing of the conference.
(For news from the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, log on to the website of Today’s Catholic at www.todayscatholicnews.org)
Diocese of Gary
No news briefs are available this week
(For news from the Diocese of Gary, log on to the website of the Northwest Indiana Catholic at www.nwicatholic.com)
Diocese of Lafayette
Relic’s visit an opportunity for learning and blessing
By Caroline B. Mooney
WEST LAFAYETTE — More than 100 people came to hear “Relics and Their Veneration — Are Catholics Crazy?” presented Feb. 17 at St. Thomas Aquinas Church.
“It is part of every culture that we honor our dead,” said Father Mike Ford, OP, director of the Dominican Shrine of St. Jude in Chicago. “We make sure that we treat the remains of our loved ones in a good way.”
By general definition, he noted, a relic is an object that is remaining from an earlier time and has some type of sentimental value or historical interest attached to it.
He displayed a relic from the arm of St. Jude Thaddeus, an inch-wide piece of his right radius bone. One of the 12 apostles, the saint preached in Judea, Samaria, Syria, Mesopotamia and Libya.
St. Jude is said to have cured the king of Edessa, in what is now Turkey, by bringing the king a cloth bearing a likeness of the face of Jesus. He was martyred around 65 A.D.
Images of the saint often show him carrying an image of Christ as a reminder that we are to bring Christ to others. He is the patron saint of seemingly impossible or lost causes and desperate situations.
Today, most of St. Jude’s remains are kept in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, but the relic from the arm of the saint was presented to the Dominicans in Chicago in 1949.
“Many miracles have been attributed to relics,” Father Ford said. “The work of our saints didn’t end when they went to heaven.”
Jude Ann Synesael, a member of St. Thomas Aquinas, was named for St. Jude.
“He has been a patron saint of mine for 73 years now,” she said. “My mother told me that the first thing I ever said was that I wanted to be a mother. When I had been married for three years, I prayed to St. Jude for pregnancy. I have six kids, so St. Jude really listened. The power of St. Jude’s intercession was pretty good.”
Father Ford pointed out that most items in museums are relics.
“Almost 30 percent of the wonders of the world deal with death — the pyramids, the temples, the mausoleums,” Father Ford said. “When we talk about things like this, it’s not just Catholics. In ancient Greece, Hinduism, Islam and Buddhists — they all have relics.”
It is not necessary to venerate relics if “it’s not your cup of tea,” Father Ford said. “If it doesn’t help you grow in your faith, I guarantee there is some devotion out there that is more suited to help you. For some people, relics are a big part of it.”
Photo caption: Father Michail Ford, OP, holds the reliquary containing a relic of St. Jude Thaddeus, one of the 12 apostles. The relic is a piece of bone from the saint’s arm. “Relics serve as a connection with the communion of saints,” Father Ford said during a presentation at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in West Lafayette. (Photo by Caroline B. Mooney)
(For news from the Diocese of Lafayette, log on to the website of The Catholic Moment at www.thecatholicmoment.org)