We are so excited about our new study: Walking Toward Eternity: Making Choices For Today. 

Walking Toward Eternity is a new and unique series designed to help you live your faith more fully by developing and nurturing characteristics that are essential to the Christian life. Through daily prayer and meditation with Scripture (lectio divina), you will be drawn into an intimate and life-changing encounter with Christ.

Daring to Walk the Walk, the first study in the Walking Toward Eternity series, introduces you to seven key virtues and outlines practical steps for living them out in your life.

At the end of each session, you will come to the point of change as you ask the Lord three keys questions:

1. What are you asking of me Lord?
2. What specifically do you want me to do?
3. When?

This study is about encountering the one who can really change you. To Learn more click here.

Click here to learn more about the main study, "The Bible Timeline: The Story of Salvation."

This should be the trip of a lifetime as we visit Rome & Assisi to focus on the themes of simpliicty and of the roots of our faith. Many people are trying to simplify their lives and St. Francis is the great model for that. We will spend some very good time in Assisi to reexamine our lives.

There is still room available for the pilgrimage in April, but please contact us right away to reserve your spot. Contact Travel Bonnie Lane 952-474-0903, goldeneagletraveltours@msn.com. For more information click here.

We highly encourage anyone in the 18-30 year old age bracket to go with Fr. Mike Schmitz to the Holy Land May 27-June 8. He has an amazing impact on young people. For more information click here. 

We are almost ready to have pilgrims sign up for our pilgrimage next January. We will have the brochure and registration form posted in a few weeks. We just returned from an amazing pilgrimage with 145 wonderful people. We were so blessed to have traveled with so many faith-filled friends. We hope that you will consider coming with us next year! We will post the information on this page as soon as it's ready.

You can follow our pilgrimage a number of ways. 

1) www.Facebook.com/simplyjeffcavins.com 

2) Frequent Tweets on Twitter under JeffCavins or search #cavinspilgrimage 

3) or simply go to this link from our website.

We have appreciated your prayers and the pilgrims have commented often that they feel the prayers of loved ones back home. If you were not able to join us on this pilgrimage, we do hope that you will have the opportunity in the future as it really is a life changing devotion. 

Blessings!

Jeff & Emily

There's nothing wrong with making resolutions on January 1st, as many times the turn of the new year offers us a fresh opportunity to make changes. In this brief article I hope to provide you with some helpful tips on making holy, productive and life-changing resolutions that are healthy for you and those around you and that keep eternity in mind.

One of the big mistakes that we make when we make New Year's resolutions is that we cut away the branches, when the root is really the problem. For example, the person who makes a New Year's resolution to lose 25 pounds oftentimes is missing the real problem of gluttony. Rather than making the resolution to lose 25 pounds, a better resolution may be to pray before every meal and ask God for the strength to eat moderately and to see your eating as a way of giving God thanks.

A great exercise to go through prior to making resolutions is to take the time to assess your weaknesses and strengths. Many times we learn about our weaknesses by reviewing our confession record or reflecting on the spiritual direction we have received in the prior year. What are the areas that you are really struggling in? What vices seem to keep you captive and hinder you from living that life in Christ that you really desire? There are many good resources you can find, in book form and on the web, to help you combat vice with the corresponding virtue.

Another thing that's good to keep in mind is that grace builds upon nature. When it comes to making New Year's resolutions, we all have a tendency to focus on nature, that is, the physical hurdles and goals before us. But keep in mind that our "physical" lives are not separate from our "spiritual" lives, in fact they are one. To attempt to do something about our physical reality without addressing the spiritual dimension is only addressing half the equation.

In the end, we must admit that life can be a struggle and that the person we want to be does not come without a price. That desire to change and become more like Christ was put in your heart by God. I truly believe that the desire to make a New Year's resolution is in truth, the desire to become more like Christ. Christ is wooing us, drawing us to be conformed to His image. The decision we make on January 1st can become a prayer to God that comes from the depths of our heart in response to His desire to change us. Without grace, which is the life of the Trinity, change is even more difficult, so start by turning your heart and mind to God to determine what changes are necessary.

Below are eight questions that can act as a guide in making a good New Year's resolution. Ask yourself the following questions:

 1. Will this resolution draw me toward Christ or away from Him? Sometimes our goals become self-centered and tend to draw us away from Christ and onto our own agenda. Keep a holy card or crucifix with you when you consider a New Year's resolution.

 2. Will this resolution enhance my vocation in life? In other words, will it help me as a parent, spouse, single person, priest, or religious? Starting with your vocation is a great place to determine future action. For example, if you are a father some of your decisions are already made. Becoming a better father is something that you know God wants you to do, even more than fitting into that pair of pants in your closet.

 3. Does this resolution have eternal impact on my life and those around me? The decisions that we make today have eternal impact, so it becomes important to budget your time and resources accordingly.

 4. Have I prayed about it and asked God to lead me in my decisions? James 4:15 says that our future decisions should keep in mind the phrase, “if it is the Lord's will.” We must always qualify our plans with this phrase as sometimes it may be the will of the Lord for us to accomplish a certain thing, but we may be off when it comes to the timing.

 5. Will this resolution take time and resources away from those around me who really depend upon me? We only have so many hours in a day and so many dollars in the bank, so it becomes very important to ask ourselves if the main things in our lives are being taken care of or neglected? If you have a family, it's a good idea to consult your spouse if you are about to allocate funds or time for your special project.

 6. Am I prepared to accompany my resolution with prayer and fortitude? The prophet Zechariah once said, “not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” Simply making the resolution will not bring about the desired results, rather, fortitude and a constant reliance upon the spirit of God is what brings about the victory in our lives. Ask yourself if you are prepared to soak this change in your life with daily prayer.

 7. Am I prepared to sacrifice and offer up that which is uncomfortable in order to attain my resolution? Whether it be in sports or in the spiritual life, becoming good at something does not come without practice and sacrifice. As “location” is the key to real estate, so practice is the key to the virtuous life. Change comes by habitually practicing the good.

 8. Does this resolution further your walk with Christ and glorify the Lord or does vanity compel you? It's a wonderful thing to be physically fit, but if being fit is for the purpose of getting noticed, then your heart is in the wrong place. Become fit so that you can be a more effective witness for Christ. Remember all those times you said, "I'm too tired to do (fill in the blank)?

My prayer for you this year is that your New Year's resolution will not be simply wishful thinking, but will be Christ centered desires, followed by action and the assistance of the Holy Spirit.

 Jeff Cavins

“The Twelve Days of Christmas” celebrates the official Christmas season which starts liturgically on Christmas Day and ends twelve days later on the Feast of the Epiphany. My "true love" refers to God and "me" refers to the individual Catholic. Some believe there are more than one interpretation, so we have provided both.

Partridge in a Pear tree: Jesus Christ.

Two Turtle Doves: represent the two natures in Jesus, human and divine/the two Testaments.

Three French Hens: are the Three Persons in Trinity/Faith, Hope and Charity.

Four Calling Birds: the four gospels/four evangelists.

Five Golden Rings: are the first five books of Moses. 

Six Geese a Laying: Six days of creation.

Seven Swans a Swimming: are the Seven Sacraments/seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. 

Eight Maids a Milking: are the Eight Beatitudes. 

Nine Drummers Drumming: Nine fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Ten Ladies Dancing: are the Ten Commandments. 

Eleven Pipers Piping: are the eleven Apostles who remained faithful after the treachery of Judas. 

The Twelve Lords a Leaping: are the twelve basic beliefs of the Catholic Church as outlined in the Apostles Creed. 

Unfortunately, many people feel let down after the holidays. Annually, Christmas mysteriously raises our expectations, hopes and desires. It's as if there has been placed in our hearts a longing, a thirst, and a hunger for something that we can't quite put our finger on.

New Roman Missal for High School Teens - Word for Word by Life Teen from Life Teen on Vimeo.