These Alone Are Enough Dan Schutee

 Take my heart, O Lord, take my hopes and dreams.
Take my mind with all its plans and schemes.
Give me nothing more than your love and grace.
These alone, O God, are enough for me.

 Take my thoughts, O Lord, and my memory.
Take my tears, my joys, my liberty.
Give me nothing more than your love and grace.
These alone, O God, are enough for me.

 I surrender, Lord, all I have and hold.
I return to you your gifts untold.
Give me nothing more than your love and grace.
These alone, O God, are enough for me.

 When the darkness falls on my final days,
take the very breath that sang your praise.
Give me nothing more than your love and grace.
These alone, O God, are enough for me.

Listen to verses 1&2 or buy the MP3 here: from the CD Age to Age - Generations of Faith

New Year Blessing

The LORD bless you and keep you!
The LORD let his face shine upon
you, and be gracious to you!
The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace!
                                                                Nm 6:22-27       

At Mass tonight, Fr. Bob told us this reading reminded him of a practice in the French Canadian community of Central Falls in his early days as a priest where tradition was to visit your father on New Year's day to receive a blessing.  People traveled through all kinds of nasty winter weather to keep the tradition.  

Demand an end to the glorification of violence!

I can't believe it's Christmas Eve and instead of celebrating the joy of the season, we are mourning the loss of brave firefighters ambushed in another senseless shooting in Webster, NY. 

Violence is eating our country, and it must be stopped. It's past time to demand that the entertainment and video game industries stop glorifying violence. If they won't clean up their own act, we citizens should press for congress to treat glorification of violence in films, on TV, and in video games like child pornography. Do we need to make it a criminal offense to produce,  promote, or possess mass murder as entertainment? I know that sounds extreme, but are you willing to accept this ongoing massacre?

In this video, a group of Hollywood stars lecture about responsibility to stop violence, but they lack the strength to look at themselves, because they know where their bread and butter come from.   

It would be amazing if the day after Christmas; retailers were inundated with a reverse holiday rush of parents returning unopened packages of violent video games like Assassin's Creed.

Share this if you agree it's time to demand a plan that starts with the entertainment industry.  

Do small things with great love

Mass journal Nov 18


"We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love"
--Blessed Mother Teresa

St. Therese of Lisieux’s holiness is based on doing “little things with great love.”


do even the smallest things out of great love - love, and always love. (140)
--Divine Mercy in My Soul, St. Faustina

Fr. Barron's Catholicism Series week 2

In the second installment of the Catholicism Series Fr. Barron speaks on the Beatitudes and how freedom and joy are achieved through self-discipline and detachment from wealth, pleasure, power and honor.    He gives an in-depth perspective on the story of the prodigal son and concludes with the idea that happiness is rooted in closeness to the one who gives us sufficiency and abundance. With the in-breaking of the kingdom of God, we change our perspective and gladly resolve to change the way we act to give our lives away to the path of love. 

It seemed very appropriate less than a week after watching Fr. Barron's commentary on the Beatitides, when celerbrating the Feast of All Saints that the Beatitudes was the Gospel reading for the day. We continue with a deeper understanding. 

Join us on Sunday November 4 at 5:30 in St. Luke's Church hall for pot luck supper followed by episode 3 of the Catholicism Series, and a group discussion, or if you cannot make the dinner, join us at 6:30 for the video and a group discussion. 

Please join St. Luke's Parish in Barrington for Fr. Barron's Catholicism Video Series - week 2 on Oct 28

We started Fr. Barron's acclaimed Catholicism Video Series on Oct. 21 at St. Luke's Parish in Barrington, RI.   We had a good turn out, but have room for many more. We would love to have you join us next Sunday evening, Oct 28 at 5:30 for a Pot Luck supper and the next installment. we will replay episode 1 during the meal for people who weren't at the first session, or join us at 6:30 for the video if you are not able to make it for the meal. Each video will be followed by a brief group discussion.  The video is an impressive high definition visual tour of our faith on the big screen.  The program will continue on Sunday evenings through Nov. 18th, then resume on January 6 for episodes 6 to 10. 

When starting a program like this, it’s important to think about our purpose, and why are we watching.  I’m sure that people in attendance are coming from different places in their own spiritual growth, but we have a few things in common.  We have a shared Catholic faith that connects us to each other and to a local, and world community.  It touches the present, spans thousands of years of history and reaches into the future.  If nothing else, Fr. Barron’s video, will provide a beautiful visual tour that explores the roots and meaning of our faith.

Many of us have seen these videos before, and I’m sure that the repeat viewers have come back  recognizing the program is so rich in content that we are able to pick up new details each time we watch.  It is good to be reminded of the richness and depth of our faith, and to grow our understanding each time we recognize another of the many layers of subtle beauty that are embedded in Catholicism. 

It is in our nature to seek purpose.  I’ve learned that the most meaningful and satisfying moments of our lives, are usually not encountered on vacation at Disney World, or while watching the superbowl.  Motivational researchers will tell you that people’s most satisfying and meaningful experiences happen when we take ourselves outside of our personal comfort zone, stretching our minds and bodies to achieve a difficult and worthwhile purpose. 

As you watch the videos, I would encourage you to think about some of life’s big questions, and how they relate to our faith, especially in this year of faith. 

•    What is my purpose?
•    Am I living my best possible life?  If not, when am I going to start?
•    Have I hitched my wagon to a cause that is greater than myself?
•    Am I making a difference?  What should I do?

There is nothing wrong with watching this program and seeing a beautiful multimedia experience and hearing some inspiring works, but how much better if we take it into our lives and use it as a catalyst to put our faith into action. 

I’ll offer a couple of points to reflect on while watch for in the first video:
In this first installment, Fr. Barron describes one of the dangers is allowing Jesus to become overly domesticated as a gentle person with great teaching, but in reality he was a subversive who challenges us to let our faith break out of the status quo. 

The second half of episode 1 describes Jesus’ fulfillment of the four tasks expected of the Messiah
•    Gathering the tribes
•    Cleansing the temple
•    Dealing with the enemies of Israel
•    Reigning as Lord of the nations
Following the video, we will break into smaller groups for a short discussion. 

So make yourself comfortable, feel free to help yourself to coffee or dessert during the program, and enjoy the video.

Lord prepare me (Sanctuary)