Answering the Call (Mark 3:13) by Brandon McAuliffe

23 Jan Answering the Call (Mark 3:13) by Brandon McAuliffe

“Jesus rebuked him and said, ‘Quiet! Come out of him!'” ~ Mk 3:13 (full readings)
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Brandon’s Reflections:  When I got married in July 2004, my life priorities were way of out whack, but at the time I was a month shy of being 21 years old and thought that I had everything in perfect order for my life to play out just how I wanted it to – or so I thought.  In the fall of 2007, my wife and I moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area where I lived until we got divorced in the spring of 2011.  In the 3½ years that we lived there, I can count on one hand the number of times that I went to church.  The divorce had me on the verge of suicide (thank the Lord for my nephew Adair and niece Mady) not long afterwards.  I wasn’t able to ever carry it ou,t because I didn’t want Adair and Mady to think that I took the easy way out.  Instead, I prayed about what was missing in my life and it didn’t take long to get an answer.  I was missing being a part of a church family.  The first Sunday mass that I went back to, Holy Family opened me with welcome arms like I’d never been gone.  But just getting involved with going to church still left a void in me, so I talked to our youth director about what she needed.  She was shorthanded on Religious Education teachers and I told her I’d give it a shot. The first night I taught, I could tell that is where Jesus wanted me to be and I felt a peace that I hadn’t felt in years.  I’m now in my fourth year as an RE teacher, serve on our Pastoral Council, and as a Eucharistic Minister.
* Brandon lives in Abilene, TX and has no children. He works in health insurance and journalism and has two nieces and a nephew..

Faith Challenge:  We are in an always on-the-go society.  I challenge you to find a way that you can take a step back and look at something you can maybe sacrifice in your personal life to improve your spiritual lives.  For me, that’s taking two hours on Wednesday nights to teach RE instead of a family dinner, but what can you do?

Counter-Culture News: LifeSiteNews, LifeNews, American Family, Vatican, Project Rachel..
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Our Prayers: Pray LIFE Runners Creed to End Abortion.  Add Prayers. Pray with meals, bedtime, wake up, unceasingly. Consider mid-week Family Rosary (17 min). Let’s pray now.
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Feast Day:  St. Ildephonsus
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Faith Quote:  “A person’s a person, no matter how small.” ~ Dr. Seuss
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Through Christ our Lord,
Brandon McAuliffe
3 John 1:4