THE NEWSLETTER OF VERA CRUZ COMMUNICATIONS, Inc.
LENT 2003, ISSUE 7

Dear Friends;

As this note reaches you, we are in the final weeks of this holy Lenten season. I wanted to send you this letter now because usually at the beginning of Lent there are all kinds of reminders and encouragements, but as Lent goes on, the first blush of enthusiasm often fades away. But we must never grow tired of seeking The Lord, never grow weary of aligning our path with the mercy of God! Persevere in your prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and good deeds.

Lent is a microcosm of life itself. Those who succeed are not sprinters but long-distance runners. Don't give up! I can report to you three pieces of good news. Recent health check ups continue to give me an all clear.
I also feel a new grace at work in my life. God has poured a joy in my heart as I seek to serve Him and you. I feel as though I am operating at a different level than before. I feel so much gratitude to be able to do what I do. How good God has been to me!

Lastly I have received of late a few phone calls and some notes that encouraged me to keep on keepin' on. Friends said they have been praying for me, they believe in what I'm doing, they think I need to "stick with it." My joy overflowed with such kindness. I am so happy to be serving The Lord.

Thank you all for the love and support. It sure makes my life so much better. I hope this newsletter will offer you encouragement in these days of Lent, and practical support for your whole life. I will think of you in a special way during the Holy Triduum. Let us all pray for one another.

Your servant and brother in Christ;

Jim "Butch" Murphy

THE MYSTERY OF THE HUMAN HEART AND SIN.

Recently, I was with a group of friends at an evening of prayer. We were discussing the' readings from the 4th Sunday of Lent. Chronicles 36 tells us that "Early and often did the Lord, The God of their fathers send His messengers to them, for He had compassion on His people and His dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His warnings, and scoffed at His prophets..."
The Gospel from John 3 speaks about God loving the world so much that He sent His Son to save it. A few lines later shows the frightening response to that overture of mercy. "And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil."

With my friends, I marveled at the mercy and kindness of God, which is often met with such resistance by humanity. Original sin and our own personal sin has created within the human heart a laziness, a reluctance to change, and an actual resistance to grace. The human heart seeks the path of least resistance. Even when faced with the truth, we many times prefer to live in the lies! We are so "dull of heart" that we don't even know how far off base we are!

BILL MILLER offered to the discussion a poem he had been taught in high school over fifty years ago:

Vice is a monster of such frightful mean as to be hated needs but to be seen yet seen too often, familiar with their face we first endure...then pity...then embrace.

We all sat in chilled silence as the words of the poem struck us. How deadly the effect of sin! One might easily despair if they forgot where this conversation began...with mercy of God. Far from giving up on us, God continues to send us His mercy, love, and grace. He will not abandon us, but will seek to "turn our hearts" towards Him.

A CLEAN HEART CREATE FOR ME, GOD; RENEW IN ME A STEADFAST SPIRIT Ps 51:12

Facing our sin alone is a disgusting prospect, facing our sin in the presence of a vengeful, spite filled god is even more terrifying. Facing our sin in the light of God's tender mercy and healing grace is the beginning of a healing process and the very restoration of our humanity.

I find the promise of my salvation in the words God spoke through Ezekiel (36:25_27) "I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts. I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees.

Let us beg God to do us this kindness! Let us beseech The Lord to give us hearts that will be open to Him and the direction He offers us. Let us not continue in the stubbornness of our old_hearts but seek a new way to relate with God! Nothing else will give us life, and nothing would please Him more!

(None of us knew the title or author of the poem that Bill had shared with us. If you do, please send the answer to me at: jim@veracruzcm.com Or call it in at our office: 269-426-3300 We're racking our brains over it and would appreciate the help!)

PILGRIMAGE PLANNED

The National Service Committee of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal is having their National conference in San Antonio May 30-June 1. It promises to be a blessed time! For those who can come a few days earlier, I would like to invite you to join me in a great adventure.

When I walked across America some years ago, I fell in love with the San Antonio area. Of all the places I visited in the region, I was touched most deeply by the old Spanish missions that lie just outside of town. They are amazing time capsules of faith and culture when the area was so different from what it is today.

I will be leading a pilgrimage through these Spanish Missions, as well as one of my favorite Marian shrines in the area. Our Pilgrimage will begin on Tuesday evening May 27, and will conclude on May 30 early Friday afternoon, hours before the conference begins.
Our trip will include daily mass, tours of key sights, plus fellowship and prayer in the evenings. More than just a tourist thing, I will be teaching at each of the Mission sites and leading us in prayer.

I really hope you will consider joining me for this very unique event. I expect this Pilgrimage to be a very powerful time, and I would love to share it with you. For more information about this trip, please call Chariscenter USA at 1-800-338-2445. Don't delay, as the spaces for this event are limited.

LIFE NEWS

WASHINGTON RALLY
editor's note: Stephen Jagla, a young man who did something about injustice, files this report:

My name is Stephen Jagla, and I am a freshman at Marian High School. On January 22nd, I joined a group of 25 teenagers from local high schools in Mishawaka and South Bend and attended the 30th anniversary observance of the Roe v. Wade decision in Washington D.C. We were there to be a voice for the unborn victims of abortion. These teenagers were members of a High School Youth Group called Antioch, administered by Louis. Paiz who is the youth minister at St. Monica's parish.

I am a new member of Antioch and I went on this trip to learn more about what abortion really is and to meet some new friends. In Washington D.C. thousands of people who were of many different ethnicities and religions joined together to speak out against the decision of our government which legalized abortion in this country 30 years ago. Our group marched for three and a half hours, chanting different rhymes and protest songs, until we reached the Supreme Court Building. Emotionally and physically tired, we prayed a Novena before the steps of the building that was heavily guarded with S.W.A.T. team members. I was relieved in overhearing another group of protestors say, "There is a disappointing number of people at the march this year, but there was a group of teenagers behind us who were chanting their hearts out. They made a difference."

This trip was a wonderful experience because not only did I make new friends, but I learned more about the consequences of abortion. I realized that it is so inhumane to kill an unborn child who does not have a voice of its own. Let us continue to pray for these unborn victims of violence.

RICO THREAT OVERTURNED

editor's note: RICO stands for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. It was written in 1970 to help the government fight organized crime and drug cartels.

On February 26, in an 8-1 ruling, the U. S. Supreme Court decided that Joe Scheidler and other pro-life activists did not commit extortion by protesting at abortion clinics. Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote the majority opinion, pointing out that since the pro life activists did not obtain property from their protesting, they could not be guilty of extortion. Since there was no extortion, Scheidler and others could not be punished under RICO, which carries lengthy prison terms and triple damages.

The threat of RICO charges has had a chilling effect on some forms picketing at abortion clinics. Even free speech advocacy groups breathed a sigh of relief at the Supreme Court's decision. They felt that RICO being used against protestors of any kind threatens to undermine free speech issues.

NOW's (National Organization of Women) president in 1989, Patricia Ireland, was the one who suggested that RICO laws be applied to those who protested at abortion clinics.
Joe Scheidler, a Catholic who was at the center of the firestorm for 17 years, recently told Our Sunday Visitor that he credited the victory to prayer; " There were people all over the world praying and sacrificing for victory, and I became totally confident back several months ago that the prayers were going to be answered when it really counted."

Let us continue to apply the power of prayer to the issues of Life.

THE VALUE OF A PLAN: AN INTERVIEW WITH DUGUE DAIGLE

Mr. Dugue Daigle is one of the owners of Tungway Beef, near Madisonville, Louisiana. Dugue plays a key role in the administration of his company. A devout Catholic and key member of an area-wide young adult ministry, he is also involved in real estate. Recently we had an interesting conversation about the topic of planning. Here is that conversation:

VCN: What is the value of planning?
DD: The value of planning "is of primary importance from visionary standpoint, so that whatever kind of group that does it's planning, they know where to go into the future. Through planning, a group creates a roadmap, if you will, or at least a starting point, and that map can vary as time goes on. But getting that map can get people focused.

VCN: It has been said that as valuable as planning is, and its positive effects have been proven, very few individuals, or groups actually do much planning.
DD: That seems to be the case, and I don't know if that's just a lack of experience in planning or perhaps not being educated in some basic business management. It's really been amazing in my personal experience, with family, school, Church and business... of people's 1ack of knowledge of how to plan. It's definitely something that we can continue to grow in and get experience in. Even in the most basic concepts of planning, people usually have some kind of problem.

VCN: I think sometimes Christians are particularly adverse to planning because in doing so they feel that they are trying to take their destiny into their own hands and somehow that is an affront to God, and its an arrogant thing to plan... what advice would you give to people who struggle with issues like these?
DD: Well, hopefully you are not planning on your own accord. Whatever planning that is done requires a lot of prayer and really seeking the counsel of The Lord. Also the plans we make should not be selfish. Our plans should be about service to the group and the Lord. Your focus would hopefully be for the benefit of society and The Church. And I think if we Christians are solid, organized people, we can give a good witness to the world and make a positive impact in the world around us. .
I think that's especially true with all the problems in the Church right now...what do we do with people who are hurt...what do we do with clergy in trouble? It seems to me that some better pastoral planning in the past could have saved us a lot of trouble now.

Those who fail to plan… plan to fail!

VCN: What are two or three practical tips for planning that you could share with us?
DD: The first step is to write things down. We all have a lot of ideas going through our minds, and if we don't write them down, we forget them. Writing also helps us focus our thoughts, which is very important.
The second thing is to look into the future a little bit. Whatever you are going to plan...what's going to be the end to it? Or where do we keep going? Or when do we need to plan again? Just take the time to look down the road a little bit. Ask yourself some questions about the days ahead.

VCN: One of the things that many people seem to have trouble with is that they come up with a plan, but they have no system to monitor it or evaluate it, or to check on it. _So group may have a good plan, but they don't "check up" on it and the whole thing falls through the cracks. What about monitoring your plan…
DD: That's where leadership comes in. You can have all the greatest plans in the world, but you got to have some mechanism for implementation and maintaining the plan, or controls so that the plans that are there at least get tried. Obviously sometimes a plan doesn't work; you have to revise them, try a different way. But implementation goes back to leadership...somebody has to be accountable. Somebody has to watch over the plan to see if it's being implemented, to see if it needs modification.

VCN: Any closing thoughts about planning?
DD: Sometimes you need to question. Questioning can be good. If you follow a trail of questioning about a particular project or plan, you'll become aware of issues that need attention, that you would not have noticed had you not raised questions.

VCN: Planning is simply a question of good stewardship. We need to be good stewards of the groups we are involved in and the time and resources God has given us. Joseph planned for the famines in Egypt. Jesus told us to count the cost before we build a tower.
Plans are not fool-proof guarantees of success. They are merely guides and reference points that help us discern, and stay focused on God's will for our lives.

"12 DAYS OF BLESSINGS" SLATED FOR SEPTEMBER 18th-30th IN ITALY

ICCRS (International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services) is planning a very special event in Italy this September. Dubbed "The 12 Days of Blessings" by the organizers, the event is really three distinct opportunities in one package.

Charismatic Leaders' Consultation Sep 18-20
The primary purpose of this consultation is to give participants the opportunity to ref1ect upon and share about the present situation within the worldwide Charismatic Renewal. This will be an opportunity to take a realistic look at both the current blessings and challenges the Renewal experiences today.

Spiritual Retreat for Charismatic Leaders
Sep 20th-25th Theme:
Holiness, the challenge for the Third Millennium Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa will be the retreat master. Fr. Raniero will lead the retreat using John Paul II's Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineuente, a marvelous guideline for Christianity in the Third Millennium. Both the Leaders' Consultation and the Retreat will be held at Castlegandolfo, the picturesque lakeside summer residence of the Holy Father.

Pilgrimage to Holy Sites in Italy Sep 25th-30th
Sites include: Tomb of St (padre) Pio, Cave of St Michael the Archangel, Lanciano(Eucharistic Miracle Sanctuary), Fiuggi, and in Rome; Coliseum, Catacombs, St. Paul's Basilica, St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican museum. The "12 Days" have something for everyone. Many people pIan on bringing friends and family members for the event. Others are planning on coming only for special segments of the gathering.
Either way, the opportunity to meet with men and women from around the world who share the vision of Pentecost, is an opportunity one does not want to pass up!

For further information about this exciting gathering: tel: 011 39 06 69 88 75 38, email: info@iccrs.org, web: www.iccrs.org

more to come...

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