Monthly Spiritual Retreat - May

Theme: Love of Souls

Resolution: I resolve to love souls for the sake of Jesus Christ, because for them, He shed His life-blood, suffered and prayed, and died to give them life.

To know souls: A knowledge of souls, enabling me to do them good and skillfully to probe their wounds, may be acquired by means of a profound knowledge of my own conscience, the habit of meditation, and prayer.

To go out to seek souls: I must begin by welcoming all who come to me, never rebuffing them, but leading them on gently by talking to them in a language that they can understand, although this language must never be false to the eternal truths. In a soul, I ought always to see the still living point, hidden under the apparent ruin of everything, the faint spark that the Holy Spirit is still able to revive. I must never be weary or discouraged; I must work for souls without trying to ascertain the results of my labor, leaving to God the work of conversion or sanctification, which He alone can accomplish, and looking upon myself as a humble instrument in His hands, as instrument used for purposes of which I myself am ignorant. When it seems to be God’s will, I must go in search of souls, and act with all discretion and humility.

To give myself to souls, by means of prayer, suffering, and charity; I must consecrate the best part of my life to this work.

Prayer: Lord, why didst Thou choose me and treat me with so much love and goodness, when there was nothing in me to justify such treatment? No one can fully know Thy eternal will, but I think, Lord, that while gratifying Thy love and the intense desire Thou feelest for the salvation of even the lowliest of creatures, Thou didst wish to make me Thy instrument. All that is good in me proceeds from Thee; Thou hast done everything in and for me. Continue, therefore, to employ one who before They powerful intervention was nothing but evil and weakness. Make me Thy apostle; this is the favor that I crave above all others, and that I implore of Thee, my God.

From “The Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur: the Woman Whose Goodness Changed Her Husband from Atheist to Priest,” Sophia Institute Press® Manchester, New Hampshire, © 2002

Moviemakers are Flocking to Catholic Film Festival (Arizona Republic)

Priest surprised by artists' interest in 2-day inaugural event in Mesa

Srianthi Perera
The Arizona Republic
May. 19, 2005 12:00 AM

Not many Roman Catholic filmmakers receive a platform to show their works, but a film festival coming to Mesa addresses this vacuum while bringing together members from the Valley's Catholic community.

The two-day Arizona Catholic Film Festival, which opens Friday night at Christ the King Catholic Church, is the brainchild of the Rev. Chris Carpenter. The church's pastor attended the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, in January, and noted the number of films - both by Catholic filmmakers and about Catholic subjects. But he was unprepared for the response from filmmakers when he proposed a festival here.

"I was surprised to see how eager the filmmakers were to hold this festival at this fledgling venue in Mesa," he said. "Quite a few are coming, which surprised me."Among them is Joanne Caroselli, whose movie, Tony Tony Stick Around, opens the festival. This is the first feature-length film she has made at her Scottsdale production company, The Carousel Studio, and one of seven films being showcased at the festival.

Caroselli noted that the Valley's Jewish community has its own annual film festival in Phoenix and Mormons have their own production company in Salt Lake City. In that vein, Mel Gibson, whose Passion of the Christ, detailing the life of Jesus Christ, was a box-office draw, has garnered interest and done much for the Christian community, she said. And you can't underestimate the number of Catholics in Arizona.

There are an estimated 500,000 Catholic parishioners in the Phoenix Catholic Diocese, according to diocese spokeswoman Mary Jo West. Carpenter, the movie critic for the diocese's newspaper, The Catholic Sun, reviewed Caroselli's film and later selected it for the festival."I'm anxious to see what people will think of it," said Caroselli, who describes Tony Tony as a happy family drama of love and forgiveness, loosely based on her own life and featuring a son's search for a father.

Caroselli wrote the script, directed and edited the film, which has scenes shot at Tempe Town Lake and from atop Camelback Mountain. She and members of the cast will be on hand for Friday's after-screening discussion. Saturday guests include local filmmaker Derek Natzke (Hope Floats) and New York's James LaVeck, (The Witness, co-produced with Jenny Stein), who makes documentaries that oppose abortion.

Also, Los Angeles filmmaker Eddie Schmidt will discuss his movie, Twist of Faith, based on a man's recovery from sexual abuse by a priest. The film was nominated for an Academy Award this year for Best Documentary and is co-directed by Kirby Dick. "It has been a hot topic, unpleasant, but nevertheless important," said Carpenter, referring to the recent scandals involving Catholic priests. "(Twist of Faith) really opened my eyes to a victim's perspective - the damage to them, their families and friends. The movie really captures that."

Source URL:
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/mesa/articles/0519m-catholic19Z11.html

"Every soul that uplifts itself uplifts the world."- Elisabeth Leseur (1866-1914)