#seek2017

Matt Fradd

Father Mike Schmitz told the most amazing story of a man who hosted Mass in China, where it's illegal to be Catholic. One night, as they were celebrating the Mass in secret, their look-out rushed into the house. Breathlessly, he warned, "They're coming!" Everyone scattered but the host - where could he run? He was taken prisoner in his own house. They tortured him for three weeks. "Tell us where the priest is, and we'll let you go," they said. The man refused to tell them. He wanted to keep the church alive for the sake of his brothers and sisters in Christ. If he had told where the priest was, Mass might not have happened for years to come. Miraculously, he was released from prison and moved to America after the guards realized he was unbreakable. He rejoiced, and joyfully attended Mass every day. Then he realized that he could make more money than he did in China, so he began to attend Mass only weekly. It wasn't a big change, but every so often, he'd miss a Sunday here and there, only after a particularly social weekend or maybe while he was travelling. It wasn't much longer till he went only at Christmas and Easter. Before he knew it, he found he wasn't going to Mass at all. How did this happen? Father Mike said it best: "What torture couldn't do, what communism couldn't do, our culture DID, and it didn't even have to try." What did our culture do? It broke the man's faith. It would be easy to fight the good fight if the battlefield were physical. If only the life and death of our soul were as real to us as the life and death of our body. How much more seriously would we take our faith? But that's not the case here. Here, we fight indifference. We fight spiritual laziness. We fight moral relativism, post-modern anti-truth doctrines, narcissism and materialism. We fight a culture that demands instant gratification in sex, love and politics. Our enemies, for the most part, are invisible. Remain vigilant, brothers and sisters. It's a war out there, and the fact that it's unseen makes it all the more dangerous. Be saints.

Br. Gabriel found his #doppelgänger at #Seek2017 @focuscatholic (Br. Donald Rank from the Denver Capuchins) #franciscanfriarsoftherenewal (at San Antonio, Texas)

I’m heading to San Antonio tomorrow for SEEK2017, but I’ve had a really bad cold and went to the doctor this morning and found out it’s actually strep.  I’m not contagious but I’m feeling achy and altogether crappy and I don’t want to be feeling like this during the conference. Can y’all pray that I begin to feel better soon and that this illness doesn’t impact my experience? Thank you all so much! I’ll be praying for each of you as well!

Dr. Scott Hahn, SEEK 2017

Anyone else go to SEEK 2017 in San Antonio? I did! And my little introverted heart is still recovering from all of the action. But my heart also received so much consolation and healing, and I saw so many college students (nearly 13,000!) making radical transformations in their lives in order to draw closer to Christ. Students reached out to old and new friends, prayed with each other, and went to Confession for the first time in years. They connected through their faith and learned more about how much God desires to bring His children closer to His heart. We worshiped Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament together, we jammed out to the Oh Hellos, and we listened to the Holy Spirit speak through so many of our wise brothers and sisters in Christ. What a beautiful week to see the young members of the Church fully alive in Christ!

Franciscan technology at #seek2017 #franciscanfriarsoftherenewal (at San Antonio, Texas)