The CatholiCity Message

Volume XX, Number 3 – February 25, 2016

Dear CatholiCity Citizen,

I hope your Lent began well. I often start poorly then gain steam. Have you had a bad or mediocre start? God is not a bureaucrat, so it is perfectly okay to reignite a better Lent, starting today. Find motivation and suggestions here.

Souls I Imagine Every Morning
Our operations center used to be part pet store, part bakery, so the patchwork heating system loses the battle when challenged. Despite supplemental space heaters most areas are so chilly during the winter we wear coats. My office is very narrow; it is a converted storage closet. Our wonderful landlord supports our mission, so our dirt-cheap rent is even lower than it could be. I relish the discomfort because lower rent contributes to making it possible to get more CDs and booklets to more people like you.

When I walk through the door every day I cross in front of a long, waist-high industrial table where packages are staged for pick-up by the delivery service. Together these packages contains hundreds and even thousands of booklets, CDs, and novels. Your orders, generosity, abiding Catholic faith, and love for souls puts them there. If there are a lot of packages, I'm elated.

When I see the packages I imagine the souls who are going to be helped, and who will, in the mysterious super-abundant economy of grace, change the world forever. One single CD or one booklet could help a particular person become a saint or have and raise a child who becomes a saint. I never forget this.

I have seen fewer packages than usual this Lent and I know why. So do you. Ash Wednesday came so early! It is still winter and winter feels like Christmas, not Lent. Assuming grace, people change their lives when something shakes them up, when they take in new information, or when a combination of both occurs. It takes our hard work and sacrifice to be there for them with a CD or booklet. Especially during Lent, you never know which person God has prepared for conversion, reversion, and holiness is going to wander into a church.

And please never discount the absolute need to motivate good, holy, and virtuous Catholics to become holier. Our CDs and booklets accomplish this as well; Lenten daily Mass attendees are right there for the harvest for a few more weeks.

Once again, I warmly invite you to take up the simple work and sacrifice of distributing our riveting, effective, and ridiculously affordable materials in every place you can, even if you are starting late because Lent came early. Take a few minutes to order today and we will pack and ship them faster than Amazon.

https://secure.catholicity.com

When I walk by the shipping table tomorrow and all next week, make my heart burst!

Christmas Appeal Update: We Made It!
You guys are the best! The Mary Foundation and CatholiCity will live to fight for another year! On behalf of each soul we will touch together, thank you. We still have a Miraculous Medals, fridge magnets, and elegant art-house prints left over, so now you have a rare opportunity to make a Lenten Christmas donation now.

How to Be a Better Catholic
Stop sinning, go to Confession, pray, love. Sponsored by the Catholic Church.

Politics
You already know how crazy the presidential primaries are this year. Let me know your thoughts. You know we never advocate individual candidates—you know what you're doing. You may not know that Marco Rubio is the real thing when it comes to his Catholic faith. Regardless of what you think of him as a candidate, you'll enjoy this video of him eloquently sharing about his faith.

Quotation

"Nothing, how little so ever it be, if it is suffered for God's sake, can pass without merit in the sight of God."
Thomas a Kempis

Praying Together, Entering the Wounds, Thousands of Us
Before you join me and your fellow CatholiCity Citizens in the following classic prayer to the Eucharistic Jesus, take a deep, deep breath. If there is a crucifix nearby, look at (or imagine) His wounds: the insanely painful thorns dug into his skull, the nails in each hand, the tatters of flesh from the whippings, the nail through both feet, and the wound in his side. Let us pray...

Soul of Christ, make me holy.
Body of Christ, be my salvation.
Blood of Christ, let me drink your wine.
Water flowing from the side of Christ, wash me clean.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
Kind Jesus, hear my prayer,
hide me within your wounds,
and keep me close to you.
Defend me from the evil enemy
and call me at the hour of my death
to the fellowship of your saints
that I might sing your praise with them
for all eternity, amen.

Thank you, again, for being a part of work and our lives. As always, feel free to email me with your thoughts, reactions, and ideas. You guys really are the best.

With Mary,

Bud Macfarlane
Founder and Executive Director

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