By noonebutme August 07, 2013
Never did I think I would see a Roman Catholic church that was racist. However, the website shows this church is here to make people feel "comfortable" with their own race! We are supposed to gather at church to Worship and Praise and Honor God. Other Catholic churches in the Memphis area encourage and welcome ALL races and are not particularly biased toward ANY race, except this particular one and Holy Names Catholic Church is headed in the same direction. Shame. And on the website --- a "spell-caster"???? this is NOT Roman Catholic!!! ...read more
By Anonymous September 24, 2011
Review ...read more
By Parks Family March 19, 2011
I wanted to thank you (the clergy and and the congregation) for the opportunity to share your services on our visit to Memphis last week. My family was very touched by both the music and the friendliness of everyone we met. Thank you!!! ...read more
Under the Acacia Tree- 06.08.08E3 - Even Priests Do It: Evangelizing Everywhere, EverydayThis past week I was on the Priest's Study Days, sponsored by the Diocese. Msgr. Ed Burns, from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, took us on a three-day seminar about how we could become Fishers of Men. As you will remember, Jesus asked Peter and Andrew to follow him by telling them as they worked on their fishing nets, that he would make them "fishers of men." Msgr. Burns urged us to answer Jesus' call in the same way as the early apostles did and to become fishers of men ourselves. He also revealed some startling figures. For example in 1978 there were 63,882 Catholic seminarians in the world. Those were the early years of Pope John Paul II's pontificate. In 2005 when Pope John Paul II died there were 114,439 seminarians or an increase of 75%. We have to keep in mind those are figures embracing the world. On the other hand in the United States in 1975 there were 5,279 seminarians in graduate level studies. In 2007 there were 3,274. So, the world statistics are much different from the statistics here in the U.S.Nonetheless, over 400 men will become priests during these few weeks in which ordinations are held throughout the United States. Last year there were 581 ordinations in the U.S. When we first look at those figures we might tend to think that things are quite rosy in taking care of the Church's priestly needs in the future. But that would be unrealistic. We are not even close to replacing the number of priests in the who are retiring or dying. So we need more vocations.Msgr. Burns was trying to help us see that if young men were going to think about priesthood, they would need to be asked by priests individually. Eighty percent of the priests ordained this year said that they had been personally invited by a priest to become a priest. Interestingly enough, in another survey, only 30% of priests said that they had asked someone personally to join the priesthood. Msgr. Burns' point was that if we could increase the percentage of priests whodoissue personal invitations to 60%, just think of how many more priests we might have to deal with the increasing demands of an ever larger number of lay people. Our Church continues to grow throughout the world and in the United States!So, while Msgr. Burns was particularly interested in helping the priests of the Diocese see the importance of a personal invitation to people to become priests, we all have an obligation to think about asking those whom we think might make good priests to think about doing just that.God bless,Father G(Rev.) John Geaney, CSPPastorPOSTED BY: Father G AT 11:26 pm | Permalink | Comments | E-mail this ...read more
By Saint Augustine Catholic Church June 07, 2008
Tuesday, 13 May 2008 Under the Acacia Tree Graduate, But Don't Leave School Without Him!Graduationsare taking place all over the city. The kindergarten at St. Augustine will have its graduation on Tuesday. Although we refer to it as a promotion, our 6 grade will graduate on Wednesday evening. Some of our members will be graduating from their respective colleges;some have already been graduated from their high schools. It is a time for leaving;a time for moving on. All kinds of words are spoken to graduates about what the world offers and what they should do to make a difference in that world. So, I thought I’d toss a few more words toward our graduates in hopes that those words might also be applicable to all of us.When we graduate we tend to go other places. When we graduate from high school we go to a university or to work. When we graduate from the University we try to find work that fits the learning we’ve done and often find that will demand that we move from Memphis. Or, if our University already was in another city, we find ourselves settling down away from family and friends.But there is no graduation from our responsibilities to God. When we move away from our homes and the values those homes represent, the God of love is still calling out to us and looking to have a relationship with us. When we are young we sometimes might feel that we are impregnable; that nothing can stand in the way of our desires or hopes or that we can get along without a deep relationship with God. Such thinking can only lead us along a path that will lead us away from our values, our richly textured homes, and from the Church that has acted as the mediator of our relationship with God. It’s easy. All kinds of people will be saying, “Everybody’s doing it,” “they’re just trying to keep you from thinking on your own,” “the Church wants to rob you of your freedom.” Well, first of all everybody isnotturning away from God. And, we, who believe God is a powerful force in our lives, hope that young people will think again and again about God. This type of reasoned thinking leads only to a deeper awareness of God which, in turn, helps reasonable people to recognize that the Churchwantsyou to be free to explore your relationship with God. The more that relationship is explored the closer we get to the truth, and that truth will indeed set all of us free.So, graduates be all that God has put you on earth to be and remember: your relationship with God will invigorate your life and give it a dimension that no other reality can replace.God bless, Father GFather John Geaney, CSPMay 18, 2008 POSTED BY: Father G AT 10:42 pm | Permalink | Comments | E-mail this ...read more
By Saint Augustine Catholic Church May 31, 2008
By: Father John J. Geaney, CSP. This blog appears as an article in the June 1, 2008, St. Augustine Catholic Church bulletin. St. Augustine Catholic Church is located at 1169 Kerr Avenue, Memphis, TN 38106. You can post your comments online. Click comments, below, and speak up! Tuesday, 27 May 2008The Under the Acacia Tree Blog - 06.01.08 Under the Acacia TreeTake a Vacation...Come Closer to God Junefirstseems to me to be a watershed date. People often look upon it as the beginning of the vacation time; the beginning of wedding time; the beginning of “the heat” times here in Memphis.While it is vacation time, it’s important to remember that especially when we are on vacation, we do not take a vacation from God. Worship on Sunday is just as vital in the summertime as it is during the winter. And no matter where you go to vacation, there is a Catholic Church within reach at which you can worship. For example, I often vacation in Lake George in New York at our Paulist house there, but I know from experience that there is a Church right in the middle of Lake George Village. There also is one at Bolton Landing, which is just up the highway in the middle of Lake George, and one near Plum Island Point on the East Side of the Lake, about halfway between the village and the middle of the lake. If you vacation in Pickwick, here in Tennessee, Our Lady of the Lake is handy, as is the Church in Savannah. In other words no matter where you go, there is a Catholic Church within easy reach if you choose to find it.Going to Mass on Sunday during vacation will be a different experience that coming here to St. Augustine, but it helps us to see what other people in other communities are doing to worship the Lord. It also gives us a chance to appreciate what we have at St. Augustine. More than likely, you will not find choirs like the ones we have at St. Augustine and it’s not likely that you’ll find a similar sensitivity to the African American culture. But you will find other cultures and other ways of doing things at Mass. You may like some of the customs you find and dislike others. However, you will find that everywhere you go, Jesus will be present in the Eucharist, and the liturgical structure of the Mass will be essentially the same.So, as you begin the various journeys during vacation times, I pray that you will find them rewarding, refreshing, and recreative. All of those adjectives are essential to coming back home renewed and ready to take on another year after vacation. Have fun! And, remember to seek out the Lord in the wonders of his creation and in the local Catholic Church as you journey away from home.God bless, Father G(Rev.) John Geaney, CSPBack to Blog List PastorJune 1, 2008POSTED BY: Father G AT 09:30 pm | Permalink | Comments | E-mail this The Wonders of God's Creation: A View of Lake GeorgeThe original land for St. Mary's on the Lake at Lake George, New York, was a gift from Charles and Cornelia O'Conor of New York on July 13, 1872. Buildings open from June to September for summer retreats and as a recreation center. Harbor Islands were acquired on December 28, 1871. New chapel and addition to the refectory erected in 1954. Chapel solemnly blessed June 11, 1954. New cabin erected on Hewit Island in 1984. The chapel on Hecker Island was refurbished and rededicated in August 1995. Click the photos below to learn more... Join Members of Saint Augustine Catholic Church: Plan Your Vacation As a Spiritual RetreatFind Catholic Churches Worldwide Online with Mass Times ...read more
By Saint Augustine Catholic Church May 30, 2008
There are a wide variety of jobs in social service. From healthcare to government positions, social service jobs provide vital resources to people in need. Some work with children while others may work with the elderly. Many people in our communities rely on the services these trained professionals pr... ...read more
In this time of economic turmoil, jobs in health care are among the most stable and satisfying careers to be in. Healthcare provider is synonymous to recession proof. Health is everyone’s concern even in the midst of financial crisis, thus one of the most demanding jobs available is infant menta... ...read more