The Road to Emmaus

Go deep!

2012-02-14T22:35:00.000-08:00

The Letter of James is probably best known for itscall to make the Christian life a life of depth and not of superficiality. He finds many ways to point to a life whichis not merely a collection of good thoughts and kind wishes, but a life rich inactions. From this letter we receive theoften-quoted reminder that “Faith without works is dead.”

There is a variety of ways in which James envisionsfaith being expressed in actions, in which the Christian life is to be one ofdepth. (Jas 1: 19-27) The passage’sreminder that true faith consists in “looking after orphans and widows” soundsjust like the James we know. But slippedinto his reminders are James’ injunctions to “control the tongue” and to “keeponeself unspotted by the world.”

Most surprising is the lead off line which Jamessends our way, commanding us to “be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow toanger.” If ever there was a call todepth and not superficiality, this is it. But could we think of three things that our contemporary society findsmore difficult?

“Quick to hear.” Sounds roar around uswithout interruption. Sounds “out front”are not enough; we need “background sound.” To really hear what someone else is saying, demands that we stop and receivefrom another, that we allow the other’s words to “go deep.” Are we anxious to “receive from another?”

“Slow to speak.” Fromchat rooms and Facebook to talk shows and “reality shows” we’re not very slowto speak. Talking “off the top of ourheads” without much depth comes easily to us. Yet we delight when we hear someone who speaks “from the heart.” Do we speak “from the heart?” When we do, we are usually ridiculed orsuspected of ulterior motives.

“Slow to anger.” I doubt that Jameswould mind good anger at injustices and other things that “should not be.” What he would find hard to handle would beour society’s tendency to blame others first before looking at our ownresponsibility, the tendency to “react” rather than to “respond.” When difficult words come our way, do we“react” or do we “respond?”

Quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. James encourages us to let these actions flowfrom our faith. What a life of depththat demands!

He sighed from the depth of His spirit.....

2012-02-12T20:26:00.000-08:00

Many times in our lives we turn to God when we arein need of something. Maybe we needguidance in making an important decision or we are looking for comfort in timesof pain. God will always be there toanswer us as long as we ask in the proper way. Don’t let doubt guide your conversation with God. If you believe that He will not answer or youwish to challenge His love, He will not respond. But if you instead ask with an open mind andlove from your heart, God will always answer your prayers and guide you on yourway. (James 1: 1-11)

Often in our lives we can feel as though God isburdening us with too much. We may feeloverwhelmed or hampered by the load He has put on our back; a load we don'tfeel we deserve. We may even feel asthough God is punishing us for something and His love for us has dwindled. Thisis absolutely not true! I’m sure many ofus have heard the old saying, “God puts the biggest burdens on those whom Hebelieves can handle it the most.” Weshould take this completely to heart and use it to motivate ourselves toovercome any obstacle we face. It isnever too late to rise up and overcome the burdens in our lives; to let ourstory be one of success.

It saddens me to hear in the gospel that Christ "sighed from the depth of Hisspirit" when the people were asking for signs. (Mark 8:11) It makes mewonder if my own actions cause Christ frustration and/or sadness.

We have an advantage over the people who lived inthe time of Christ in that they had not experienced the reality of Hishorrendous death for our redemption and they had no way of realizing about Hisresurrection. We have that history, and yet even with it there are thoseseeking other evidence that Christ is God. Their search for signs continues.

Baptized Christians are to live as a"resurrection people," full of love, hope and faith, ready to passthe Good News on to others. We are to be the signs for others. How are we doingwith that tremendous responsibility? We must remember that we don't do it onour own. We are to let Christ work in and through us.

Theybegan to argue with Jesus. . . .(again, Mark 8:11)

Sadly, there are still Pharisees in the modern day.In fact, most of us become a little bit pharisaical if what we want isn't inconformity with what God requires as taught by the Holy Catholic Church.

How many Catholics practice birth control? How manyturn their heads away when the politician they wish to elect is a stridentsupporter of abortion? Unfortunately,when we are not guided by Christ, we are guided by ourselves. And we are very poor guides indeed. Jesus warns us in Matthew 15, "Everyplant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides (of theblind). If a blind person leads a blind person, both will fall into apit."

But we have a sure and reliable guide to the truth,one that is not bound by mere human considerations, but looks to eternity andto the good of each person in eternity. Our Guide, the ancient and venerable teachingsof the Holy Catholic Church, is a sure one. Jesus tells us that "the gatesof hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). And this iscertain, both because of the protection of the Holy Spirit and because of theApostolic guides who continue to help us understand what God desires from us.The Pope and the Bishops guide us in all matters of faith, and while sometimes,regrettably, they may fail as people, the truth they teach, if they teach withthe deposit of faith, is absolutely reliable.

So, the next time you find yourself asking questionsabout what the Church may teach or require (it's always good to ask questionsand seek to understand), also look to see if the incomprehension or irritationthat is experienced might not be a result of what we desire conflicting withwhat we know to be right. Ask yourselfinstead if your desires are for the greater glory of God, or for yourself. If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll knowthe answer instinctively.

The helping hand of God

2012-02-05T22:29:00.000-08:00

So many times I miss seeing God because I focus on worldlythings, or I have to search in order to find Him in a certain situation. We probably all have those times when wefeel as if God is hiding from us, but if we only open the eyes of our heart, wewould see Him at work in every aspect of our lives. God gives us the opportunity to see Him inour lives multiple times each day. Somepeople call them coincidences, but I believe that those times are the hand ofGod guiding us along the right path.

It maycome when strangers smile at us as we are walking along the street, or whensomeone holds the door open as we walk through. It’s like the people in Mark’s Gospel for Monday this week: “As theywere leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him” -Mark 6:54. People immediately recognizedJesus. There was no hesitation. Why? Jesus didn’t look any different. He was called a great teacher, even a wise prophet, but why did they immediatelyrecognize Him? I think it’s because theywere looking with the eyes of faith. Thepeople heard stories of this man named Jesus, who cured lepers and gave sightto the blind. They believed He couldcure their sick and because of their faith, many were cured.

The last few weeks have been crammed with many wonderfulopportunities and challenges, but I’m drowning in a sea of obligations. I feelas if I am rushing from one to the other, not able to breathe before the nextobligation is upon me. The Gospel mademe think of how it must have been the same for Jesus. The disciples had barely tied up the boat andpeople were scurrying to bring sick people for Him to cure. I’ll bet it would have been at timesoverwhelming. But Jesus must have beennourished by the faith of those people, who only wanted to touch the tassel of Hiscloak, just as my faith should nourish me even in the busiest of times. I can feed that faith by taking time even whenlife is hectic and I have no time, by praying, by taking time to rest in God.

That rest can be as simple as taking a deep breath andquieting my anxiousness down so the noise of the outside dims and the busygears turning in my brain slow down. Thatrest and quiet can help me to really focus on what’s important, to ask God forthe strength to do my best and the strength when life becomes overwhelming toask for His help and help from others. Sometimeswe have to ask God for the strength to say no to more obligations and to beserene in that decision. Without a doubtin my mind, the easiest way to do this is to set aside at least an hour a weekto visit Jesus in an adoration chapel. Nothing, other than Mass, gives me more peace of mind than simplysitting (or kneeling) in front of Him and telling Him my frustrations. I recently wrote this advice for someone else…Ijust didn’t have the sense (or conviction of faith) to follow it myself.

Praying for the right direction for our country--and the world

2012-02-03T21:49:00.000-08:00

Those of us who have chosen to try to follow the teaching of Jesusdo so because we have found in Him the Shepherd who has healed us and gives usa sense of direction. Most of us havefound in many Christian leaders—popes, bishops, priests, parents,teachers—people who somehow mirror and mediate the servant leadership of Jesus. But we are not only members of a church;we are citizens of a country.

In the US we are entering a season of presidential and congressionalcampaigns. It may seem like an unreasonable leap to go from the topic ofspiritual leadership to the domain of electoral politics. But it is a fact that, even in the secularrealm of public office, we seek leaders who will look to the needs of thepeople and for whom the prayer of Solomon—“an understanding heart to judge yourpeople and to distinguish right from wrong”—and the compassion of Jesus (Mk6:30-34) would not be out of place.

That’s why our U.S. Catholic bishops have reissued the message theypublished four years ago, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.” Theytell us, once again, to look for candidates who themselves demonstrateconsciences attentive to the common good and whose sense of right and wronghold up well when measured against the full spectrum of Catholic socialteaching. The bishops remind us: “Unfortunately, politics in our country oftencan be a context of powerful interests, partisan attacks, sound bites and mediahype. The Church calls for a different kind of political engagement: one shapedby the moral convictions of well-formed consciences and focused on the dignityof every human being, the pursuit of the common good, and the protection of theweak and the vulnerable.”

Just quoting that last sentence is enough to remindus that the current talk of campaigners and their TV ads generally strikeanother tone than the prayer of Solomon and the words of Jesus. It is time to read the bishops’ letter again.

Bright lights

2012-01-25T22:57:00.000-08:00

We all have a light within us and this light is a gift from God. Thelights within us are wonderful and unique, and it’s our job to let these lightswithin us shine for others to see. Our lights can be anything from havingcompassion or the gift of humor or even just having the ability to be a goodfriend and listener to others in need. The lights within us shouldn’t becovered or placed “under a bushel basket” (Mk 4:21-25); instead we should letthese gifts that God gave us shine so brightly that all those we come incontact with feel the worth of our love and the love of God.

Think of the Word of God as light. Just by hearing God’s Word we have a light within us. We’ve all heard that we are loved and saved byJesus and we are called to spread this message to everyone we meet, especiallythose who are stuck in a dark time. We need to be the light in their livesgiving them the courage and strength to let their own lights shine bright. Eventhough we may be faced with dark times and obstacles we need to make sure thatour lights are still shining brightly. Jesus’ words turn the darkness to light andfill our lives and the world with light and hope. We cannot just take God’s love and mercy forgranted; we need to make sure that we are spreading His love to everyone.Today, let us be challenged to let our lights shine and help all those weencounter find their light.

Doin' the One-eighty

2012-01-24T21:33:00.000-08:00

Last week I wrote about choices. Sometimes we make them after a lot of prayerand thought and other times they are thrust upon us. I’m thinking about the conversion of Saul,and his ensuing encounter with Ananias.

Everyone remembers Saul. He passionately hates Christians. He even has permission to round themup to kill them. In fact, he's on his way to Damascus to do exactly that, when JesusHimself appears to Saul in a flash of light so bright it literally blinds him. He tells Saul, "I am Jesus, whom you arepersecuting." Saul tries to see, but fades to black, thinking, "Uhoh." Talk about drama!

But Jesus isn’t done yet. He appears to Ananias and tells him to go seeSaul. Ananias, being a Christian who values his life, is pretty leery of thisidea. Then Jesus tells him that Saul (of all people!) is His "choseninstrument" to spread the good news! Ananias must have thought, "Huh?Saul?!" I’m sure he questioned whether or not he heard Jesus correctly. Anyway, to his credit, Ananias obeys.

Because both men do as Jesus instructed, Saul regainshis sight and does a complete 180! He is baptized, goes from Saul to Paul, andgoes from Number One Christian Opponent to Number One Christian Proponent.

This just shows usthat, with the Lord, we can expect the occasional huge surprise. His astoundingways are so much bigger than ours! Even when we don't understand what He'sdoing and naturally hesitate to obey Him, we can trust in His directives and goforward without fear. When we do, the Lord and His Spirit will do the rest.

The unforgivable sin

2012-01-22T21:22:00.000-08:00

Who among us has not shown contempt for the Holy Spirit? Oh, we didn’t think of it as contempt, but wedidn’t do as we were called, nudged, or pushed. Have you ever sensed that the Spirit wanted you to love someone youfound unlovable? Or felt the Spiritnudging you to go a direction that wasn’t the one you wanted to take? What did you do? And, me? I wish I could claim otherwise but…

Does that mean that you and I are beyond forgiveness? Is that what Jesus is saying in Mark 3:22-30? I think not. So, what sets our “contempt” apart from that of the Pharisees’ behavior? As I reflect on this gospel, I thinkcontempt or irreverence becomes blasphemy when it is deliberate and publicslander. To blaspheme the Holy Spirit—weare not “merely” disregarding the Holy Spirit, we are publicly and knowinglyreviling the Holy Spirit, as when the Pharisees defined Jesus’ behavior asSatanic.

Whew! That was close…butwait, before you go…let me leave you with a question that keeps popping into myhead. While we may not knowingly revilethe Holy Spirit, do you and I always recognize the Holy Spirit among us? Can I hear the Spirit when He speaks to me inthe voice of my enemy? Or, do I only“hear” evil? Can I feel the Spirit when Hecomes in the eyes of the homeless man I see every day when I drive towork? Or, do I only feel contempt? Hmmm…no, maybe not blasphemy…but certainlynot worthy of one who knows the good news? I wonder….

Almighty Father, direct every thought and every effort that we makein our daily lives. May we draw ever so closely to You, that we may never giveYou offense. Amen

You've got questions? He's got answers!

2012-01-20T00:01:00.000-08:00

Have I made the right decision? What do I do now? What about those others, whose lives may alsobe affected by my decision? Is this God’splan for me at this point in my life? How do I know? I’ve made sometough decisions in my life (some right and some wrong), and these are thequestions I’ve asked, even if I made the decision after many, many hours ofprayer and feeling confident that it was the right one.

As I grow older (not necessarily wiser), I’m inclined to just takemy concerns to our Blessed Mother through the recitation of her rosary and ask herto intercede for me to her Son. She hasn’tever let me down. Praying the rosary andmeditating on the life of Christ is the surest way to remind us that ourtroubles and worries and doubts are nowhere near what our Savior went throughto take away our sins.

Who needs answers, when you know someone who knows Someone who has them? After all, it’s not what you know,but Who you know! And it helps toremember that He Who Knows All loves us regardless of the choices we make.

I haven't been paying attention!

2012-01-18T23:08:00.000-08:00

I haven’t been writing much lately. At first, I thought it was because I wassicker than the proverbial dog. Then Ithought it was because I’ve been opening the center in the morning and closingit at night, working 15 to 16 hours a day.

Today, the thought crossed my mind a couple of times that I wasn’twriting because I haven’t been able to “meet” with Jesus on a regular basisthrough daily Mass or frequent visits to the adoration chapel. But that can’t be it—the Gospel of Markbrought that home to me when I read it this evening. I have been seeing Jesus. I just haven’t recognized Him!

He was that woman who was having troublepaying for all of the groceries she needed—not wanted—and I failed tostep up and help her pay for them. Hewas that man that I went out of my way to avoid simply because he was holding asign that said “HOMELESS FAMILY OF FOUR NEEDS GROCERIES OR MONEY”. He was in that small child I was irritatedwith simply because he wouldn’t stop crying due to the fact that he wasobviously undernourished. And myignorance of the presence of my Lord goes on, and on and on.

If the evil spirits could do it, why can’t I? They saw Him andrecognized Him for who He is. (Mark 3:7-12) But do we do as much? Do we seeChrist where He is now? That's the difficult question. Where is Jesus?

One of my favorite games with Lily is when she sits on my lap,right in front of me. I will put myhands over my eyes, or cover them with a book or newspaper and ask in a playfulvoice, “Wheeeerrrrrre’s Lillllly??” over and over again. Then I’ll make a big production of removingthe obstruction to my vision and say, “Oh! There she is!”, then we’ll bothstart giggling. It’s obvious we bothknow where she is, but it’s a great joy to look one another in the eye and knowthe love we share. So I ask again-- “Where is Jesus?”

Jesus lives, here and now. He is often right in front of us, asobvious as the daylight. He is among usin the form of our brothers and sisters. Indeed, He told us as much. ‘Amen, Isay to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you didfor me.’ (Matthew 25:40) This is what we must bear in mind as we pass througheach day. All of those people we meet and see, and most especially those wemake an effort not to see - those who, if we saw them, would make usuncomfortable or call us to an action we do not choose at this time - all ofthose people are Jesus for us, if we only let them be.

And there is another way in which we can look at each of thepeople around us and say, "You are the Son of God." Indeed, we are all sons and daughters of God.Jesus is our brother and He is indeed the only begotten Son of God, but we allshare in sonship, in spirit.

So, remember as you go through your day - each person you meet,and each person you greet - that person is, for you, for that time, Jesus. Dounto that person what you would do for Jesus. I know I’ll try harder from now on. Maybe He’ll say to me, “Oh! HereI am!” and we’ll both start giggling over the joy of our closeness.

Feeling better, learning new things

2012-01-15T23:01:00.000-08:00

Finally! I’m feeling muchbetter today! Thank God! I know it’s because of the prayers said on mybehalf (and the TLC I received from Marilyn and Alicia, who are blessings in mylife!) So I’m able to spend a littletime today trying to get back in the swing of things and trying also to createa halfway decent blog entry. I hope Isucceeded.=================================================================================

Although He speaks in other places of continuity with andfulfillment of what has come before, Jesus announces the “newness” that Hebrings, making use of two images. Thepractice of fasting has no place at a wedding, Jesus points out, clearlyannouncing that He is the Bridegroom, the Messiah who inaugurates the “newtimes.” As if to underscore His point,Jesus likewise points out the foolishness of an old wine skin put to use withnew wine—it just won’t work! The newwine likewise announces the “new times.” (Mark 2:18-22)

Having left behind the Christmas season only a week ago, we mightask ourselves today whether we have also left behind the “newness of life”experienced in those days. Jesus, borninto our world, continues to pursue us with a divine passion, even greater thanthat of the most loving bridegroom. And,thanks to the gift of baptism, the love of God has been poured into our heartsthrough the Holy Spirit (Romans 5, 5). Are we allowing ourselves to be pursued by Love, or have we revertedonce again to living life on our own terms? Are we drinking the new wine of the Holy Spirit, experiencing the “soberintoxication” of that divine gift, or are we “running on our own steam” onceagain?

All this “newness” which Jesus proclaims today precludes any“business as usual,” and invites us to step fully into a new time, living in anew way as we march through a new year.

Browsing through the Book of Samuel today, it struck me that wecan learn a great lesson from King Saul. Saul disobeyed God by taking thespoils from the Amalekites, an act which God had forbidden. Then, to justifyhis actions, he tells the prophet Samuel that he intended to use the primesheep and oxen taken from the Amalekites as a burnt offering to God. Samuelquickly points out to him that God does not want sacrifices, but rathercomplete obedience to His word. (1 Samuel 15:16-23)

The same is true for us - we are to always obey His word. Putanother way, it’s never right to do a wrong thing, no matter how good one'sintentions. Or, we can say it is always right to do the right thing, regardlessof any outcomes we may face. This is the wish of our God: to obey His wordwhich is always perfectly right in any circumstance.

Speaking of “newness” and “lessons learned”, I learned somethingnew yesterday. I consider myself prettygood at trivia—I always win those types of games and I’m pretty adept atcrossword puzzles and games, so I was surprised I had never heard the phrase “theSilver Rule” before! When I asked Mom thismorning if she had ever heard of it (after all, I got my passion for word gamesand trivia from her), she replied that she knew of the “Golden Rule”, but notthe “Silver Rule.” So we both learnedsomething new! Pretty good for a womanin her 90’s and her son pushing 60!

Basically, the “Silver Rule” is “Don’t do unto others what youwould not have them do unto you.” Jesusput a “positive spin” on it when He said, "Do unto others as you wouldhave them do to you." (Matthew 7:12). Our Lord’s approach exhorts positive action to love one another, whereasthe “Silver Rule” promotes no action at all, unless it is wanted. So I love you whether you want me to or not (Lol),because that’s what our Lord commanded me to do.

Tempus fugit

2012-01-11T21:51:00.000-08:00

Has it really been a whole week since I last wrote? Wow. I truly had no idea! I got caught in the clutches of my chronic bronchitis with its attending coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath that made it difficult to work (which I had to), much less think! When I got home this past Sunday, Marilyn and Alicia fixed me up with some breathing treatments (thanks to Lily's breathing machine when she was really congested last year), some heavy-duty cough syrup and a "z-pac" of antibiotics that GPat happened to be hanging onto from one of her recent ailments.
I'm still not 100%, but I am well enough to at least take a deep breath now and then without coughing! Thank God for the women in my life. And I'm not talking only about Marilyn, Alicia, and Lily. I'm talking about Sarah. I'm talking about Mom. And GPat (Marilyn's mom). And my sisters-in-law, who have been there recently for Mom and me. And of course, I'm talking about OUR Mother, Mary, the Mother of God. She's put in more than a couple of good words to her Son for me lately.

Thanks to all of you, ladies! I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate all of you! Well, I can BEGIN, I just can't finish!

I'll try to begin putting up meditations again tomorrow night and get back on schedule. Thanks for your patience with me.

Walk the walk

2012-01-04T20:58:00.000-08:00

Loveis manifested in service. Our faith calls us to love each other as Jesus lovedus. In his letter, John reminds us that Jesus loved us so much, he laid downhis life for us (1 Jn 3:11-21). So too we must be willing to lay our lives downfor others.

Nottoo long ago, we celebrated light coming into the world, God loving us so muchthat he took on the flesh of a tiny infant. God came to us, not in a roaringfire or a rushing wind, but a whisper. As the Christmas season closes, let’sremember, it doesn’t matter where our walk takes us, as long as we are walking.

A week of pondering

2012-01-01T14:19:00.000-08:00

Today is the beginning of the New Year and it is only rightand proper that we should begin this and every new year by celebrating theSolemnity of Mary, the Mother of God.

As Mary and her husband Joseph kept care of the infant Jesusin the stable at Bethlehem, it must have seemed an odd situation for the birthof a king - the Son of God. But as bizarre as the setting must have seemed,Mary greatly treasured all these wonderful things and reflected on them in thedepths of her heart. (Luke 2: 16-21)

But what's more important is that Mary, even after being toldthat she had been chosen in the divine plan and was in good favor with God,continued to follow the commands of the Lord and had Jesus circumcised andpresented to the Lord just as the law commanded. Mary obediently followed thewishes of God without question.

On this last day of the Christmas Octave, I find myself sorryI didn’t feel much like writing this last week. Fighting a cold and starting upa new location is small potatoes, when I stopped to ponder the previous weekand what each day could have brought me spiritually, if I wasn’t thinking somuch about myself. There is a lot abouteach of the feast days that the Church has wisely placed in this octave.

Of course there is Christmas Day, when the Second Person ofthe Holy Trinity became fully man! Andfor the next 33 years He emptied Himself to our Father in non-compromisingobedient fashion, even up to His death on the cross!

The second day of the octave is the Feast of St. Stephen themartyr. We don’t know how soon after theCrucifixion he was stoned to death, but the important thing to remember is thathe gave his life to God out of true love to Jesus Christ and obedience to Godthrough Jesus’ teaching.

The third day this last week we remembered St. John, “thedisciple whom Jesus loved.” Doesn’t thatsound presumptuous and somewhat conceited? Not if you stop to realize that what John is doing is inviting us totake his place at the events where he says this; (John 13, John 20, John 21 etal). He wants us to be running alongsidePeter towards the empty tomb. He invitesus to place our head upon Jesus’ chest at the Last Supper. He exhorts us to recognize the man standingon the shore of the lake as the Lord and point this out to Peter as we arefishing after the Resurrection.

On the fourth day after Christmas, through remembering theHoly Innocents, the Church reminds us that though some may not even know or beaware of Christ, God still loves us. While Stephen is remembered as the first martyr for the new Church, Ithink it’s worth noting that these very young boys didn’t even know Christ wasamong them, as Stephen did. But Godfound them worthy enough to be sacrificed for His Church to come into existenceand He rewarded them by bringing them Home.

The fifth day of the octave is set aside for St. ThomasMoore. Here was the king’s best friendwho is elevated to the position of Archbishop of Canterbury solely to fight thePope on the king’s behalf so the king can commit adultery. Well, there’s friendship—then there’sobedience to God. St. Thomas made thebetter choice, lost his earthly life, but gained eternal happiness. Not a bad trade.

Six days after Christmas we celebrate the Holy Family. Having a baby in a family is full of newexperiences, joys and fears. I can’t imaginethe intensity of those feelings when your child is the Son of God. How did Mary and Joseph cope? Oh, yeah! They were FILLED with the Holy Spirit, and the graces that follow fromthat!

On the seventh day, we celebrate a relatively obscure(compared to the rest of the previous week) saint—St. Sylvester. But when you consider that he was one of themain authors of the Nicene Creed wherein we state our belief that Jesus Christis both True God and True Man, he becomes not so obscure. His obedience to the Church and his faith inJesus Christ as both human and Divine helped him to persuade the Council atNicea that the Aryan heresy should not and could not continue.

On this, the eighth day after Christmas and the first day of2012, as we reflect on the life of the Mother of God, let us reflect awhile onour own lives. Do we follow God's wishes without question? Do we rejoice andreflect on even the strange situations in which we find ourselves? If theanswer is no, then there is no better time than now to take the steps to get onGod's straight path which leads to life everlasting. God help us all.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T20:34:00.000-08:00

I haven’t felt muchlike writing this week. With opening anew location with untrained subordinate help and fighting a cold that won’t goaway (Thanks, Lily!), it has been a struggle just to get through the week. But I’m home (long enough to do laundry andgreet the family when they come home from their celebrating at the cabintomorrow), and it is New Year’s Eve, the last day of the calendar year. I want to end 2011 the same way I started it—withan entry in my blog, no matter how sick and tired I feel.

Thisis a time when many of us are called to reflect on the year now ending, and ourplans for the year about to begin. NewYear’s resolutions are a common undertaking, with self-made promises to get moreexercise, eat healthier food, do more reading and watch less TV, do morevolunteer service, be more charitable to people we encounter, and pray morefrequently. And for many of us, thesepromises are short-lived and do not significantly change our lives.

Thetiming of this secular event doesn’t match exactly with our Catholic liturgicalcycle. Advent marks the beginning of theChurch year, but the first Sunday of Advent comes six weeks before New Year’sDay. However, as the readings remind me,we are still in the season of reflecting on what the next year will bring on asecular basis and what my actions portend for me on a spiritual level.

John’sletter (1 John 2:18-21) reminds us that we live in “the last hour” (New Year’sEve) and that we are drawn in our daily lives to move in many directions, notall of them good for us. For me, thisreminder that we are in a “last hour” invites reflection on where I am at thismoment, and what paths I have followed in the past year. When I do I can see that I haven’t alwaysdone what I set out to do a year ago, I haven’t always stayed on the road Iintended to take. It isn’t always easyto recognize the “many antichrists” that surround me, and I am confident I amguilty of unintentionally following some of them in the past. But being aware of where I have strayed fromthe road I want to travel is one message I take from this epistle.

John’sgospel (John 1:1-18) dovetails nicelywith the epistle – tomorrow (New Year’s Day) is a new beginning and in thatbeginning is Jesus, who has been in God since the beginning. So as I reflect on the wrong directions (the“antichrists”) I have followed in the past, I can plan mid-course correctionsby renewing my focus on following the teachings of Jesus in the comingyear.

A Holy Family

2011-12-29T21:10:00.000-08:00

The feast of the Holy Family is one of my favorites because it reminds me that with all of the difficulties Joseph and Mary must have endured (even those not recorded in the Gospels) I would guarantee that (except for one brief moment at the beginning of Matthew's Gospel) the thought never occured to either one of them to divorce when the going got tough. I wish more couples in this day and age would look at Mary and Joseph as role models, instead of the celebrities who treat marriage as a "convenience".

The Advent gospels directed our attention to Mary, the virgin,betrothed to Joseph; to the ways of God calling her to be the mother of Jesus,the Son of God; and to Joseph to take her as his lawful wife, God's will thathe be on earth the protector.

Can you imagine what Joseph is thinking here? As a father myself, I think I can!

During the celebration of the Nativity we see Jesus, Mary andJoseph in the stable, the crib, the animals, and the first submission andadoration by shepherds. All things were made through Christ and He issurrounded by signs of the wonders of heaven and earth. In the days that followwe hear of the first persecution. The Word tells us the family had to flee toEgypt.

The feast of the Holy Family lays out the fruit of their loveand our Redemption. Christ is dedicated at the temple and witnesses to Hisidentity speak out. The joy of the present and the cross of the future areacknowledged.

The inspiration and example of their lives lead us to examineour lives. Like Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 15:1-6; 21:1-3), and Mary andJoseph, how well do I receive the promises of God? As I contemplate thesacrificial love of the Holy Family and their communion of life, in what way doI cultivate communion with others in my family and among the community? Scripture says, "And whatever you do, inword or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks tothe Father through Him." (Colossians 3:17)

Let's pray that the killing stops!

2011-12-27T19:43:00.001-08:00

I just knew I wouldn’t get past this week without picking up thecold Lily brought home from Disneyland with her! Between the lethargy that the cold brings onand the big post-vacation workload I came back to, I haven’t had (and I stilldon’t have) much time to write. So Iwill just offer a prayer, with the help of the Holy Innocents on this, the daywe remember them.

OLord Jesus,

Ipray today for all those who are involved directly with abortions and for allthose who condone it. May your merciful love pierce their hearts and bring themto conversion. And may your loving compassion bring healing to them all,especially the young mothers. May they be enfolded in your merciful embrace,and be reunited one day with their children in heaven.

Amen.

Standing at the right side of the Father to welcome those who give their all

2011-12-25T20:50:00.000-08:00

The day afterChristmas is the feast of St. Stephen; the first martyr, my namesake, and mypatron saint. When reading about himtoday, I focused on a line I haven’t really paid attention to before. "Behold,I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand ofGod." This line caused the mob to drag Stephen outside of the city andstone him.

We read in thegospels and we recite in our creed about Jesus being seated at the right handof the Father, but in this instance He is standing and not seated. What aglorious image that the King of kings stands to welcome His first martyr and Iwonder if He has stood every time He has received one who gave it all for thekingdom. My thoughts were turned tosomething Mom related to me this morning.

While visiting mybrothers and sisters-in-law for Christmas, she was able to get toconfession. She prefers (as I do) toconfess to the priest face-to-face. Whenshe sat down in front of Father, he stated he recognized her, but he didn’tthink she was a member of his parish. She told him that she was (my brother) Bob’s mother. He told her that he would never forget Bob,and that Bob was a big help to him when he first arrived as the pastor andwhenever anything was needed, my brother was right there, whether he could walkthat day or not. He would find a way toserve his church community in any way he could. Mom said it was great for a parent to hear such good things about achild of theirs. I know the feeling. She said Bob’s wife, Marilyn, cried when sheheard the story. I must admit I did,too. It makes me wonder if Jesus stoodto welcome Bob, as well. We can hope.

The story of St.Stephen and the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 10:17-22) combine for a powerful andmaybe uncomfortable message. Doing the right thing is hard. Sometimes it can bedangerous, and, as in the case of Stephen and other martyrs, doing the rightthing and speaking with the Spirit can be fatal. In the Gospel, the message tothe disciples is a grim one, reminiscent of much of what we see and hearhappening around the world today. People do inconceivable things to each otherin distant places and around the corner. Why do these things happen? Who lets that happen?

We see hatefulthings every day. Perhaps we can’t do much about the world’s problems, but wecan do something about our own lives. We have to stand up and do the rightthing every day. When someone is being demeaned by another person, we can askGod, as Jesus says in the Gospel, to give us what to say, for the grace andwisdom to speak up and stop the tiny bits of hate, of people treating others asless than human. We treat people as less than human when we gossip, when we letan unkind remark go by, when we witness something cruel. While we may not bethe ones doing the deed, our roles as silent bystanders help build up thoselittle bits of hate.

We often letourselves off the hook by thinking these small things don’t matter. I don’twant to make a scene, we say to ourselves. I worry what others might thing, wesay to ourselves. It’s time to changethat message to ourselves. I will speak up because it’s the right thing to do.I will ask God for the grace and wisdom. As the psalm says, “Let your faceshine upon your servant; save me in your kindness.” (Psalm 31:3cd-4, 6 and 8ab,16bc and 17)

Reading over theaccount of Stephen’s life, ministry and ensuing martyrdom in Acts Chapters 6and 7, I find myself humbled. Here is a man, so in love with his Savior, sofull of faith and belief in the promises of the life to come that he gives nothought to the persecutions of this world. Here is a man who didn’t hesitate tospread the good news, a man who literally gave his earthly life for the sake ofsharing Jesus’ message, and a man who didn’t need to think twice about if thisexchange was “worth” it. Here is a man who truly reflected what it means to bean evangelist, to be someone who believes so strongly in Jesus’ message ofsalvation and love that he was willing to give his own life in the process ofsharing this great story with all he encountered. Here is a man who truly gave his life forJesus’ sake…and in doing so gained eternal life (Matthew 16:25).

Unlike Stephen, Ioften find myself placing my own personal comfort level above the call to shareJesus’ message of salvation. Too often I find myself hiding behind pretenses of“it’s just not the right moment” or “that would make things awkward” when facedwith moments of opportunity to speak Jesus’ message to friends, acquaintances,coworkers, etc. Too often I neglect to realize how miniscule these concerns arewhen compared to eternal life. Am I really so concerned with how peopleperceive me, what they think about me, that I refrain from sharing God’s lovewith them? Am I really so focused on myself that I cannot step out of mycomfort zone to proclaim the most important news known to mankind? Sometimes(well, more like most of the time) I am. I lose sight of what matters, what islasting versus what is not. I forget that I am here for a greater purpose thanto feel comfortable, be liked, etc. I am here by the grace of God, calledaccording to his purpose…a purpose that is undeniably centered on sharing Hisoffer of love, grace and eternal life.

My prayer today isthat I might embrace this purpose, this higher calling, more wholeheartedly.That I might live a life more like Stephen’s…a life focused on sharing themessage of salvation and love extended to us by our heavenly Father. A lifethat keeps Jesus at the center, a life that isn’t dictated by my perceivedcomforts and discomforts. My prayer is that I would be granted the grace andcourage necessary to share Jesus’ message of love, hope and salvation with allthose I am blessed to encounter throughout this life.

Blessed Christmas!

2011-12-24T08:25:00.000-08:00

The story of the birth of Jesus, as told to us by Luke, is fullof joy in the midst of great conflict and sadness - even irony andrejection. It prepares us for thescandal of the cross by helping us see, in such a beautifully told story, thatJesus' mission is revealed to us, in how he came to us - in poverty andhumiliation.

There, in the hay, we begin to know. There, in the manger, we begin to understand. Our God is revealed to us by coming in thelowliest of possible places.

It is a meditation for our whole lives. This story is here to bring us light in themidst of any darkness, poverty, rejection, emptiness, sinfulness weexperience. By reminding us of where hecomes, the Good News is also a revelation of who we are. We are the "people who walk indarkness." We are people whoexperience parts of our lives as dry and unwelcoming as that hay. We are people who, on our own, not only failto know and understand; we are capable of tremendous infidelity and stubbornindependence.

We get our word "manger" from the Latin (and so French,Italian, Spanish) root, which means simply "to eat." Jesus comes, into the greatest place of ourpoverty, not only to be "with us" but to nourish us. The manger can be the place we go thisChristmas to be fed with the acceptance, love, and peace we need. There is no place of darkness in which weneed ever feel alone. There is nosituation, no loss, no tragedy that need ever leave us empty. There is no sin, no matter how selfish thatwill ever leave us apart from God's love.

We have prayed, "Come, Lord Jesus. Come and visit your people. We await your coming. Come, O Lord." Now, our eyes are opened to the wondrous joyof his coming to us in that manger 2,000 years ago, so that we will know andunderstand his coming to us in our hunger today, and ultimately so that we willlong for his final coming to bring us to the banquet that has been prepared, tofill all our longing.

And so, dear family and friends, I will conclude this Christmas Evereflection by posting links to the Nativity stories of both Luke and Matthew(the last part of Chapter One and the first part of Chapter Two) Have a veryBlessed and Happy Christmas. I hope thateach of us gets not only what we want this Christmas, but what we truly need.

Here’s a bonus reflection for your reflection during the 3^rdMystery of the Holy Rosary tonight.

Our part of God's Covenant

2011-12-23T21:15:00.001-08:00

Sometimes it seems the world is spiraling out of control. You don’t have to look far to find greed,chaos, cynicism, violence and evil in the world. Fearful and uncertain, we ask, where is thehope? In fact, after reading theheadlines you would think the order of the day should be despair rather thanhope. Yet here we sit waiting tocelebrate the birth of Christ. In themidst of the hopelessness of this world we have hope. Why is that? Are we a bunch of naïve Pollyannas? Are we delusional? Our hope isnot baseless. Our hope is not somevague, wishful thinking. It is a solidrock. It is grounded in God’s character,grounded in the fact that God loves us. How do we know? Well, tomorrow wewill be celebrating the day God sent His Son into the world for us. Christ is God’s covenant with us—His declarationof His love for us.

So what is our end of this bargain? Well, we have to accept the notion that Godreally does love us (not easy). And wehave to trust God (really not easy). Andhow do we present our hope to the world? I wish I had a good answer to that one. I believe that each one of us was created for a purpose. Our main purpose is to glorify God and thetools that we need to accomplish that have been specially crafted and fitted tous by our Creator. I meet so many peoplewho are seeking a spiritual life, but the moment I mention church they clamup. They obviously view the church as ahindrance to a relationship with God. How do we get past that? How dowe convince people that we are for, not against them? How do I introduce someone to Jesus? I can think of no better way to impact someone’slife than to do just that.

My prayer today is for everyone celebrating Christmas. That people would see our hope, maybe insomething as simple as a smile or an encouraging word. And that we would remember God’s gift andthe Reason for our hope.

Things lost, things found

2011-12-22T22:41:00.000-08:00

Zechariah was a humble man. A priest, he performed the rituals of the sanctuary for many years. But his faithful spirit was stretched by whatthe angel revealed that day in the temple. There must be some mistake. Surely he and Elizabeth were too old to conceive. Being resigned had grown familiar. Living in expectation had faded with theyears. God gave the future father thediscipline of silence from that day until the child was born. Shut off from words, he could no longerconduct rituals. In silence, Zechariahregained his senses. Like a child, helearned again to listen and see. Therewas so much he had missed about the world. When his voice returned at the naming of John, Zechariah burst intopraise. (Luke 1:57-66)
Messengers still come. We are a skeptical people, and God devises new ways to interrupt ourdoubts and wake us up. Maybe it is thecomedian who peels the blinders off our eyes. Maybe it is the winter sun that reveals every twisting branch on thetrees outside the window. Maybe it isthe crowds of people throughout the world who cry out for justice. Maybe it is gathering at the altar to givethanks. God calls us through fire andlight. Like Zechariah, we must quietdown so we can hear again. A light hascome that is not of our own making. Whenthis truth finally dawns on us, like Zechariah, we give praise.

For me, it's been a couple of days of “lost and found”. It started out with losing a letter. No, not a letter as in a message, but aletter; the letter “O”, to be precise. I’m no longer “Oompah”, but “Ohmpa”. Every time Lily spoke of me this week, it was “Ohhhhm-Pah”, not“Ooooooom-Pah”! It's not a big deal, but I noticed it. This is minor compared to my other "losts" and "founds" this week.

Wednesday was shaping up to be a long day, and my patiencehad worn thin to the point of losing it. My displeasure had begun when Irealized it was apparent that Disneyland had instructed their employees to usethe phrase “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”. I’ve been going to Disneyland every few yearsfor the past 4 decades, and they have always said “Merry Christmas” from Adventthrough New Year’s Day. I was sorry thatthey had buckled under the power of political correctness instead of recognizing Christmas asthe Birth of our Savior.

Later in the day, my family and I decided to make our way to a spotin front of Snow White’s castle for the fireworks display. I am not now, nor have I ever been, reallyfond of being in a crowded situation. Being on Main Street in Disneyland while park employees are “herding”guests where they obviously don’t want to go is as close to mayhem as I canimagine. And where the crowd wants to go is not where Disneyland wants them,for the most part, so tempers flare. “Herding” causes otherwisenormal-thinking men and women who are created in the image and likeness of Godto act in ways that are contrary to that image. I was tempted to get caught up in the frenzy, as well.

I say "tempted" because the Holy Spirit sent a messenger tocut through all of that noise and confusion I was experiencing, and show me some light in the darkness. He used a park employee to be Hismessenger! After we had staked out a pretty good spot for viewing, a young man in a Disney uniform said in a loud (butnot overly so) voice, “If you can hear me, clap once!” Just about everyone in a 20-foot radiuscomplied, and clapped once. “Great!” hesaid, and raised his voice just a little louder. “If you can hear me now, clap twice!” Clap, clap was the response. It was beginning to be a game for the crowdto shorten the wait for the fireworks display. He raised his voice just a little more and repeated his request, butthis time it was for 3 claps. After hegot the response he expected he said, “Great! Now that you can all hear me, I need you to stand up and move forward asfar as you can to create more room so that more families can enjoy the performance!”

Not only did they all move up a bit, but they did it for themost part because of the method this ingenious young man had used to make usrealize we could help someone else simply by being kind and generous. But the increase of people in the immediatearea around me caused the noise level to rise exponentially as well. I was standing up, feeling my age (sore andtired), I couldn’t hear myself think, and I was beginning to get aggravatedagain.

Call me crazy, but I know I heard another small, still voicewhisper to me, “Pray my rosary. All iscalm.” I wondered how I was going toconcentrate on the rosary in the midst of all that noise and distraction! “Close your eyes and begin!” was all that Iheard. Not one to take these matterslightly, I did precisely that. I closedmy eyes, made the sign of the cross and began. Almost immediately, the stress of the day, the aches and pains and eventhe discomfort of hearing “Happy Holidays” for the umpteenth timedisappeared.

I finished just as the fireworks began. Up to Disneyland’s usual exceptionalstandards, it was a pretty good show, with plenty of CHRISTMAS music, includingSilent Night, O Holy Night, and Joy to the World! As the latter song started playing, they shotfake snowflakes out of the street lamps, creating a “Winter Wonderland” that was very uplifting for me. I was singing Venite, Adoremus even as we made our way to “TomorrowLand”after the show. “Good for you, Walt(Disney).” I thought, “They may tryto make Christmas just another secular season, but you still managed to makeit, for me, a Holy Season.”

I lost my camera about an hour later. I was sitting on a bench outside of one of theattractions, waiting with Lily for the family to come out. Shewas asleep, and looking so peaceful that I took a picture of her, then I putthe camera in my jacket pocket. Thefamily came out, and Alicia, Vickie and I decided to go back to the hotel withLily. About 5 minutes out, I realized Ididn’t have my camera with me in any of my pockets! I rushed back and asked a couple of folks whowere sitting where I had been if they had seen it. They replied, “Yes! We just turned it over to a parkemployee.” Whew! I was relieved! This morning, I went to the Lost and Found Departmentto find out if the park employee actually turned it in. So far, they haven’tfound it, but I’m hopeful. My experienceat the fireworks display gives me hope in things not seen and in Him, Who created all things.

It's a matter of trust

2011-12-18T21:40:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I chuckle tomyself when reading scripture because it seems God is so predictable. We knowthe story of Abraham and Sarah, both elderly and Sarah unable to bear a child,and then, Sarah defies nature and gives birth to a son!

Then we have the storyof Samson whose mother was also barren, but yet she had Samson! Later, we readof Zechariah and Elizabeth both getting old and unable to have children andthen she gave birth to John the Baptist! It seems whenever God finds an oldercouple who have been unable to conceive, He makes the impossible happen and agreat child is born!

The point is, however,that God can and does take seemingly impossible situations and makes thempossible. Old women give birth, Abraham was a nomadic herder, Moses was a stutterer,Peter was a simple fisherman, Paul was a persecutor of Christians, and the listgoes on and on about how God defies logic and makes miracles happen.

Why do we doubt?Because there is just so much dark stuff out there. There is so much evidenceof bad people doing bad things. There is such a tendency in our world to thinkof my needs first, and to ignore the great suffering and sorrow of others, andthis attitude is becoming contagious.

Zechariah could speakagain, when he acknowledged his belief in the promise. He confirmed the namegiven to the promised child, "his name is John." The name"John" means "God is gracious." When we can say "Godis gracious," then we can speak again. The ability to speak, live, act,witness a hope in God's fidelity to us starts with our acknowledging that"God is gracious."

That's our Adventjourney - to say in our heart and out loud: "I believe that You are andwill be gracious, because I believe You love me and have come to set us freefrom the power of sin and death. The immenseness of Your promise is hidden inthe mystery of the humility of Your coming."

DearLord, give me the grace these very busy days to trust in your love and mercy.Give me hope. Open my heart and my eyes to see your goodness, in the midst ofthe gloom around me. Each day this week, let me experience being on a journeyof expectant hope in you. Soften my heart with your love that I may be a sourceof comfort and joy for those around me who need comforting and a renewed joy inyour fidelity.

The Meaning of Christmas

2011-12-17T22:25:00.000-08:00

The meaning of Christmas is summed up in His name, Emmanuel - thatis, God is with us - to destroy our fears and make us ambassadors of the Light.Advent has been all about waiting. And now we know what the waiting was allabout - to live our lives, consoled in the midst of our frustration with warand corruption, as well as with our own personal failures.

Because God is with us, making sense of all the suffering, all themisery, helping us believe that we are in a much larger plan - waiting for Loveto be born for the last time when all those prophecies we heard read to us inthe last few weeks are brought to fulfillment. It's a question of thatmysterious presence in our hearts that calls forth from us faith and hope andlove.

If we can only say a simple, unqualified "yes" as Marydid (Luke 1:26-38), life could be so simple, and God would be so pleased withus.

That's why it's so important that all of us confess our sinfulnessbefore Christmas, and be absolved of anything that could keep Jesus out of ourhearts. Advent ends this week and Christmas is just around the corner, whenJesus will be born again in hearts that are prepared to receive Him.

AmateurPoetry Night

(Apoem for Lily on her birthday)

Tomorrowis Sunday and you’re turning 3

Sofor one reason or other,

despiteprotests from your mother,

Oompah’sgoing to try his hand at poetry.

(Oh,man! I’m already off to a bad start!

ButI’m thinking, “That’s all right,

Aslong as it’s from the heart!”)

Aftera long week of work far out of town

Ican get pretty bored, lonesome and down.

Thoughtsof your Mar Mar, Mommy and you

Keepyour old Oompah from getting too blue.

WhenI’m home again and

Ihear your sweet voice

Myheart fills with love

Andshouts with rejoice!

You’rea gift from God—

You’rejust what I needed

Toknow that God’s plan for me

hasalready succeeded.

Happy Birthday, my sweet Princess!

Love,

Oompahand the Super Readers (long story, no time)

Saints celebrating feastdays on Lily’s birthday include Saints Rufus and Zosimus, Saint Gatian, SaintFlannan, and Saint Winebald. (In caseyou’re interested)

Family ties

2011-12-16T23:01:00.000-08:00

I hope one day to be ableto read the beginning of St. Matthew’s gospel without tripping over thepronunciation of some of the names in his recitation of the genealogy of JesusChrist all the way back to Abraham! (Mt 1:1-17) I used to think it was “nice toknow” the history of Jesus’ family, but I never imagined I would ever meditate on why it was important enough to be included in theScriptures.

I think the genealogy is tohelp us understand that Jesus Christ was like us in all things. He came from afamily that had more than a few members who might not be the kind of people"nice" people hang around with. But is that a way of judging the personwho resulted from the lineage? For some it was. But part of this teaching isthat Jesus Christ rose above His human ancestry, and such a possibility is openfor all of us. With grace we can be better than we can without it. Someone might look at our familiesjudgmentally and say that we come from a line of "losers." But thatis only to external appearances. Lol.

Anyone who joins God'sfamily through faith and grace transcends the worst past and betters the best.There's nothing as comforting to me as being a child of our Loving Father whoovercomes all obstacles, who makes even the shadiest past a source of glory andlight for the world. That we are the children of sinners—and the parents ofsinners—is subsumed in His grace and love. We become children of Light and Love; all elseis meaningless.

As we await the birth ofOur Lord, anticipating Christmas in so many ways, let’s recall our heavenlyfamily. Let’s have frequent occasion to talk to Mary, our Mother, Joseph ourfoster-father, Jesus our Brother, and most of all to spend quality time withGod, our all-loving and gracious Father.

Pray that all people may find hope

2011-12-15T22:02:00.000-08:00

I work with a young man whois an atheist. We have talked about myfaith only a couple of times and I’m sorry to say I have not been able topersuade him to just listen for Jesus’ voice in his life. From the few conversations we have had, it isobvious that he has no hope for an eternal life, and, it seems, he has no hopein this life either. What a shame. I’llkeep trying to show him, through my example (I hope) that God exists, and thatHe loves every one of us, in spite of ourselves.

We sit in what seems to bea growing darkness in the world, and we increasingly recognize that we arehelpless to truly change our situation. Whether we be Christians or not, we almost literally await a savior fromelsewhere, and our longing is intense—although we seek to abate that longingwith what is not God, such as drugs, sex, food, possessions, power, pleasure,and any warm fuzzies or bright and shiny things that can distract us from thatalmost painful hunger.

Isaiah proclaims that thereis hope for those who have sought to yearn and hunger honestly (Isaiah 56:1-3a,6-8), a theme that Jesus develops in the Beatitudes (John 5:33-36), and we mustempty ourselves of depending on these insufficient substitutes for thesalvation we seek. That can amount toemptying ourselves completely even of a desire for good things, such as healthand long life, and we can then receive the salvation that our God, in Hisinfinite love and wisdom, wishes to give us and in whatever way He thinks best.

And John makes it clearthat the salvation that the Father sends is His Son, His Jesus. We must yearn for that Word of love from theFather, must hunger deeply and pray constantly for His coming to us asindividuals and as a world, and we must do His works as we wait.

Pray for the gift of honestand deep hunger, for only those who hunger and thirst will be filled with theLord. Only those who desire honestly anddeeply, who accept an uncomfortable salvation, can truly find life in aCrucified Lord.

Infinite Love

2011-12-14T22:03:00.000-08:00

God’s love neverceases to amaze me. There are plenty ofverses in the Bible to remind us of God’s unfailing love for us—more than Ihave the time to enumerate here. (How about John 3:16?) We aren’t even worthyof the love and compassion He shows us daily. We sin and make mistakes, fall from faith and disobey, but God still hasthis unconditional love for every single one of us. It is staggering to me that God could neverlove us less; He can only love us more.

God’s love is soinfinite it can be very hard to grasp sometimes. I came across this videorecently and it moved me to tears. Maybe you’ve heard the story about the man andhis son. The son has severe cerebral palsyand because of this he is also a quadriplegic and cannot talk. Using advanced technology, the doctors hookedup his brain to a computer, and he was able to express to his father that hisdream was to compete in marathons. Because his father loves him so much, he made his son’s dreams come trueby pushing him in a wheelchair, running behind him, in over 60 marathons andraces and still continues to do so. Theson’s ultimate dream was to complete in an iron man competition, so of coursethe father trained for this as well. He pulled him in an inflatable boat whileswimming, pushed him in a cart while biking, and pushed him in his wheel chairwhile running. This is an ultimate kindof love, but doesn’t even begin to compare to God’s love for us.

God is like thefather in the story in a lot of ways. Hepulls us along when we need encouragement, He carries us when we can’t carry onourselves, and He pushes us to new limits so we can trust in Him. He does this for us not because we deservewhat He has done, but because He loves us to such a degree that we can’t evencomprehend. Let’s remind ourselves ofGod’s infinite love every day.

"I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me!"

Are You the One?

2011-12-13T21:23:00.000-08:00

While John was inprison, he sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus this fundamental question.“Are you the one?” (Luke 7:19) Whether we know it or not, this is the samequestion we are asking Him today, two thousand years later. “Jesus, are You theOne I need to be living my life for, or is there another?”

It’s a relativelystraightforward question. Jesus caneither answer “yes” or “no” and the problem will be solved. But He chooses not to dictate everything inexact detail for John, and He certainly doesn’t dictate everything in perfectdetail for us either. I often wish Jesuswould speak to me with a deep, booming voice from Heaven. “Do this! Do that!” It would make discerning God’s will in my lifemuch easier, but God doesn’t operate that way. Instead, He asks us to look around us, to lookat the signs, and to answer the knock on our door when He comes to visit. Wemust see the work God is doing in our lives and be open to His call, because itwill come, but only if we listen.

I’ve said it before,and I’ll say it again: We live in anoisy world. There are countlessdistractions, like the television, the Internet, cell phones, and iPods. Noneof those things are bad, but they all contribute to the noise which surroundsus and drones out the voice of God. How often do we actually take time to bequiet and listen to God speaking in the quiet stillness? When we take the timeto watch nature, we experience something remarkable: silence. Nature grows insilence. The trees, the flowers, and even human beings all grow and mature insilence. In much the same way, our spiritual lives will grow in silence, but wehave to let it. We need to make time every day for silent prayer, whether it bemeditating on the Word of God, the mysteries of the Rosary, committing to aHoly Hour in Eucharistic Adoration, or even just having a quiet conversationwith Jesus in the depths of our heart. If we take time out of our daily livesto listen to God’s voice, we, too, will come to know for ourselves that Jesusis the Son of the God, and the One who is asking us to give our lives in pursuitof holiness.

St John of the Cross, we ask you to intercede for us in Heaven,and help us find silence and listen to the voice of God in our lives that,through our thoughts, words, deeds, and actions, we might lead others to Him.

That old North wind came in this evening. It was pleasant all day until the sun wentdown and the wind came up. Now it’s “teeth-chattering”cold! Tonight’s prayer intention is for everyonewho is suffering through these cold nights with no place to go. I pray that they may find shelter and warmthin the mantle of the Blessed Mother, and the love of her son, Jesus Christ.

A change of heart is sometimes needed

2011-12-12T20:32:00.000-08:00

"LordJesus, change my heart that I may only desire that which is pleasing to You.Help me to respect Your Will and give me the strength, joy and perseverance tocarry it out wholeheartedly."

Amen.

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As a father and grandfather, I want my children and their childrento live in God's love. If they act wrongly, I don't wish harm on them. Instead,I want them to repent and choose God's way. I want them to be free, restored,and healthy, not damaged for life because of any of their misdeeds. I want themto personally know God, experience His unconditional love (Eph 3:19), andrejoice always in His abundant mercy. Iwant them to change their hearts, learn to do right, and walk humbly with God(Mi 6:8).

God is our Father (Mt 6:9; Is 64:7). How much more does God theFather of all he living love us, His children, than do even our human parents!The Father shows great kindness in punishing us promptly for sins instead ofallowing sinful behavior to linger and merit a more serious punishment later (2Mc 6:13-15). He assures His repentant children: "On that day you need notbe ashamed of all your deeds, your rebellious actions against Me" (Zep3:11). Jesus presented the father of the prodigal son as a model of God theFather. This father did not constantly remind his returning son of his priorrebellion and wrongs; instead, the father saw only with eyes of love andwelcome. The things of the past were forgotten; God made all things new,especially His restored relationship with His repentant children (Is 43:18-19;also Rv 21:5).

God wants all His family present at His Son's Christmas birthday,including His sinful, rebellious children. Do what the Father wants (Mt 21:31).Repent, do His will, and welcome His Son Jesus.

Christ loves each of us so much that He was willing to die on theCross for us. He gave us the gift of free will so that we can choose to loveHim deeply or not at all. He knows us by that love, as opposed to the way welook at one another, that is, according to financial status, looks, degrees,etc. These things are all superficial in the eyes of God.

I’ve heard of a young man who was sharing his excitement andpleasure with anyone who would listen that he had recently become engaged. Naturally,the first question asked was, “When’s the big day?” He responded with a surprised look, statingthat he had no plans of marriage as he had everything he needed in therelationship already. His response was, I’m sorry to say too common in today’ssociety. He was willing to"engage" but not really commit to a permanent relationship by givinghis all. Sometimes it might be that way with our relationship with Christ if wedo not give our all to Him, but merely "engage" in the relationship. I’m told the young man mentioned above didmarry the woman he was engaged to and has a beautiful family.

Christ startled His followers with thisstatement in the gospel: "Amen, I say to you, tax collectors andprostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you." (Matthew 21:31)That statement gives us the chance to evaluate our own relationship withChrist. How much have we trusted our love to Him? Are we only"engaged" or do we give our all?

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Today’s prayer intentions are for those that will be alone forChristmas this year. I pray that theywill be comforted by the companionship of Jesus and his mother.

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Sorry, but the last couple of days have just been a blur. Between work, and family, (and prayer!), I didn't feel much like writing. But I think I'm back into it now!

Gaudete means "Rejoice"

2011-12-10T21:43:00.001-08:00

Thewords of this Sunday's readings are the closest we have to the joy of Christmasitself. In the second reading, we hear "Rejoice! Again I say to you,rejoice!" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-24) "Why?" we ask.

Thereason for joy is the same as that of the early Christians. They held to theirfirm belief that Jesus Christ paid the price for their sins and that He wouldbring them to glory in the life of heaven.

Yetwe can be left emotionally unmoved at this teaching. A false"holiday" spirit has robbed Jesus of His own birthday. So we need tospiritually enter into the hearts of Mary and Joseph as they excitedly awaitthe child's arrival.

St.Paul knew that the early Christians would be tested, so he exhorts them (andus) to "pray without ceasing" and to "give thanks always."Above all, he warns them, "Do not quench the Spirit." In this waythey will be "preserved blameless in spirit, soul, and body . . . for thecoming of the Lord Jesus Christ." For many, Christ came quickly as theirfaith led them to martyrdom. But they never lost their joyful spirit.

TheGospel continues the preaching of John the Baptist. (John 1:6-8, 19-28) Howcarefully he makes clear to the Pharisees that he is not the Christ, nor thelight, but a voice testifying to the light that has come into the world. Fearand doubt thrive in darkness. Just as turning on a light in dark room can takefear away from a child, so the light that increases in us each day of Adventcan shrink our fears and bolster our hopes. When the light intensifies to theradiance of faith's assurance, then we know joy.

Theonly legitimate fear we're allowed to cling to is the fear of not appreciatingenough what the coming of the Christ Child into the world really means.Historically, it was truly an earthshaking event. Nothing would ever be thesame again. Sin and darkness fled when the Son of God was born in Bethlehem. Ofcourse, people can and do close their eyes to the light and choose to livewithout His Light. Only when we refuse to repent of our sins and hang on to thedarkness can we have reason to fear.

WhenJohn in prison sends emissaries to Jesus to ask if He is really the Messiah,Jesus sends back the answer that He is already fulfilling the prophecy ofIsaiah. (Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11) He tells John that the blind now see, the deafhear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the Good News preached to them!John must have been filled with joy, even in prison.

Therehave been several examples of the joy that Christ’s light brings in my own lifeand in the lives of those around me this Advent season. On Thanksgiving Day, my mother, knowing thatI had to work and unable to accompany my wife and kids to the cabin where theywere going to spend the entire weekend, had resigned herself to having a “TVThanksgiving dinner”. I felt really badabout it, but there was nothing I could do. A couple of Mom’s neighbors, a father and son, came over and asked ifshe would like to have a Thanksgiving Day dinner with all the trimmings as theywere cooking a huge turkey and would not be able to eat it all themselves. She told them she would love to share theirmeal! Because they were having troublecooking the bird, it was a bit late when she finally ate, but they brought hertwo great big slices of turkey, some mashed potatoes and gravy, some greenbeans and some cranberry sauce. She saidit was delicious! When I made my regularvisit to her on the following Sunday, she related this story to me. She thought it would be a good idea if Ithanked them for reminding both of us what CHRISTIAN charity is all about. I agreed. They turned what could have been a very sad, very lonely time for mymother into an occasion for joy, because she saw Jesus through these two men. A short while later, I heard them gettinginto their car to go somewhere (probably church) and I rushed out to thankthem. As I opened the front door, Momsaid, “Look! Someone has planted some beautiful flowers in the box under mykitchen window!” Sure enough, freshlyplanted, recently watered flowers were standing proud in the flowerbox. I told the neighbors that I appreciated thelove they show my mother all the time. Iwasn’t thanking them so much for their kindness to Mom as for their showing methe true face of Jesus. They truly makeme feel inadequate as one who preaches often and practices seldom.

Despite the poor economy and lack of civil discourse, despitegrowing poverty and eroding morals at all levels of society, we must let Adventrekindle our own spirit of hope and bring as much light and spiritual joy as wecan to the darkness around us as we await Christmas.

Dear God, you know that our hearts long forthe joy and gladness promised by life with you. Help us to remember that youare with us always, and that our hearts will rest only when they rest with you.

Holy Spirit, guide the choices we makethroughout this week. Help us endure hardship. Remind us to be patient. Stifleour tendency to complain. Help us realize how much we owe the Creator for allwe have and all we are.

Father in heaven, we offer thanks to You forsending John the Baptist to prepare the way for the coming of the savior. Helpus to heed the Baptist’s message to repent and to renew our commitment to livein holiness.

Come Lord Jesus. So often we are impatientfor Your coming, yet we are fearful of living our lives as one with You. Comeand ease our anxiety. Come and reward our patience. Come and remove our sorrow.Our communities and our world eagerly await the day of Your birth.

My prayerintentions today are for those who truly show the face of Jesus to othersthrough their obedience of His command to love one another. I pray that they will be rewarded with Hispleasure on their own day of judgment.

Now I've seen everything!

2011-12-08T21:48:00.001-08:00

I the Lord, your God, teach you what is for your good, and leadyou on the way you should go. (Isaiah 48:17)

Coming to the end of the second week of Advent, we should now be ata point where we reflect on three things:

· We are not of this world

· We should reflect on the seriousness of sin, and

· We ought to prepare ourselves for the final judgment.

We are constantly bombarded by anti-Catholic behavior, thoughts andidols that exalt the things of this world. It would be better for us to giveour God greater time so that we might better receive His message. If we listenand learn from the Lord, we won't have to be concerned with the passing thingsof this world, things that will not last.

The choice is ours: will we follow Jesus on the path to holiness,or will He in judgment compare us to something else? (Matthew 11:16)

The choice is ours!

I haven’t seen it all, but I’ll sayit anyway!—

“Now I’ve seen everything!”

I made plansto attend Mass for today’s Holy Day of Obligation at Holy Spirit church inFresno. I had been there once before andremarked on the opulence. I hadforgotten just how opulent it is, and that grandeur really stands out in theevening darkness. The fountain out frontis lit up, and the stained glass windows seem 60 feet high!

The churchis in the Northern end of Fresno, near Clovis. That’s the “wealthy” part of town. They are not pretentious about it, though it’s obvious in their mannerof dress, the types of cars in the parking lot (I felt like I was “slumming”the place up) and their general demeanor. But they are very good Catholics nonetheless, and the Mass was verypious (except that the lector and the celebrant seemed to “rush” through thereadings and prayers.) They had a 25 or30 member choir all dressed in red albs. It reminded me of the high school choir competition in the movie “SisterAct”.

But I’ve seen that before. What I haven’t seen however, is a parishioner using an iPad as hermissal! Until tonight. I watched her as she pulled up the hymns, thereadings and even the ordinary (new translation) of the Mass. It’s unbelievable, where technology has takenus!

I’m taking Mom South with me on Sunday after Mass. She hasn’t been down there since lastJanuary, after Bob’s funeral and the Christmas holidays. She and I made plans earlier this year to godown, but one thing after another made it clear to us that we weren’t meant togo at that time. So Mom is really “chompingat the bit” to go see her other children (not that I’m not a regular bundle ofkicks and giggles each week, but Dick and Jane are coming up to LA from Texas as well, so shecan visit both my brothers and their families as well as Marilyn and her kids all at once).My prayer intentions for Saturday and Sunday this week will be for a safe tripfor all of us who are traveling, and a Blessed Christmas season for all of myfamily! Please pray for us!

Hail, Mary!

2011-12-07T22:26:00.001-08:00

HailMary, full of Grace!

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On the Solemnity ofthe Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we are reminded of theperfection of our Blessed Mother, and sadly, our own imperfection. She, alwaysand in every way, was wholly pleasing to God. Her every desire and action wasalways in response to the Divine Will of God. Though a creature with a freewill, she had, unlike us, no inclination to sin.

I think it’s awesometo consider that we should have been - could have been - like her. Buttragically, sin has mutated us; we're not what the Lord intended us to be. Happily, the generous outpouring of Hismerciful love we’re called to repentance. Our lost innocence is restored and thesupernatural outpouring of His grace inclines us to respond in love - as didMary.

So let’s rejoice onthis Holy Day and thank God for His Beautiful Mother who has embraced us as herchildren. Let us listen to her instructions and follow her example so that oneday in the heavenly Jerusalem we may love the Lord as she does.

Well, today was the ninthday of our novena to St. Peregrine for intercession on behalf of Darlene as shestruggles with cancer. She had hersurgery yesterday. Marilyn spoke to hertoday and said everything went well. Praise God!

My prayerintention today is thanksgiving and praise to God, on two particular blessingsof interest to me personally: First,Darlene’s surgery appears to have gone well. Second, after a year of prayers, the Holy Father has finally announced anew bishop for the diocese of Fresno.

Lighten your burdens

2011-12-06T21:12:00.001-08:00

Be at our side, Lord, with your invitation that brings life.Help us to be eager to respond to the needs of our world with the help of yourhopeful and affirming grace. Amen

Wheredo you find life burdensome today?

If we stop to reflect in this timebefore Christmas, we may answer this question with a number of concerns: concerns about how much there is to get doneand so little time, struggles in our family, personal worry about a familymember or friend, sadness over the loss of someone dear, concerns over healthfor ourselves or a loved one, yearning for reconciliation with someone we love,pleading for freedom from addiction for ourselves or another.

Jesussays, “Come to me…and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

These words are more than nice;moreover, they deeply challenge us. These words speak the deep truth of this Advent message of what Hiscoming fully means.

Take some time today to pray withwhat you find burdensome. Often we willpray with the deep, personal concerns that we have mentioned already, and as wepray to God with these concerns, a deeper, “spiritual pain” can surface for us. Most often, we carry in our hearts someattitude of disbelief of the reality of the truth of the Incarnation. Sure, we know that Christ has redeemed theworld, but in the midst of our very personal struggles and pains, we oftensubtly think that somehow we—of ourselves—have to make it better. Often there is a deeper pain in our heartsthat has taken on a false burden of needing to make something happen. We can take on too much responsibilityinstead of placing the responsibility on God; we can feel that, “If I don’t do it,who will?” instead of asking God to do it; we can feel that we have to earnGod’s love or get it right so that He will love us; we can feel that “I’m notenough” and so we always have to try extra hard; we can become so good atmanaging our lives that we fail to be honest with ourselves and God; we canbecome so concerned about what others think that we fail to listen to what Godwants. We take on false burdens. The voices and the attitudes are unique toeach of us, but the reality is true for all of us. We believe that Jesus has come to set usfree—and we don’t believe it completely.

“Takemy yoke upon your shoulders and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble ofheart.” (Matthew 11:29)

Jesus’ emphasis is on gentleness andhumility. He asks us to assume, as Hedid, the posture of a child, to come to Him with all of our burdens and toplace them all on Him. Ask Him if youhave taken on any false burdens. Don’ttry to figure it out on your own. Hewill reveal it to you in gentleness. Through the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation or theplacing of this burden on the altar to be transformed, you and I becometransformed and are freed from the heavy burden.

“Yoursouls will find rest, for my yoke is easy and my burden light.” (Matthew 11:30)

THIS is the truth of the Christmasmessage: that Jesus has come into our deeply personal struggles and pains torelieve us, to set us free, and to bring us and those we love to fullness ofLife with Him—forever! Now that’s GoodNews!

We are halfway through the SecondWeek of Advent. On Sunday we lit the second candle on the Advent wreath, thecandle focused on love. This week, let us focus on the love God has for us, thelove he shares with us, and ask that that through his love, we will rest in himand our burdens will be light.

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Thanks to all who have been saying the novena to St. Peregrine with me this last week for my neighbor Darlene. We're still waiting to hear the results of the surgery today. Wednesday is the last day of the novena. DON'T STOP PRAYING!

Sheep are filthy animals..but the Good Shepherd still loves them

2011-12-05T20:15:00.001-08:00

Lord of all, draw us toYourself that we may live in the joy and glory of Your new life. Amen.

Reading Matthew’s gospel ofthe parable of the lost sheep and the loving Shepherd brought back a memorablesermon I heard once. “Sheep are nastyanimals” Father began, pointing to the statue of Jesus carrying the one lostsheep on his shoulders. He continued, “Theyare filthy and stupid, never obeying and going their own way.”

The polished beauty of the Holy Shepherdrescuing his sheep does not quite do justice to the stark imagery in Matthew’sGospel. Perhaps this imagery would haveits most profound meaning for sheep farmers themselves who know all too wellthe vices of sheep. As Garrison Keillorputs it, “sheep are fine as long as sheep do what sheep want to do, but when ashepherd tries to get sheep to do what he wants them to do, many people get outof the shepherding business.” Thank Godour loving Shepherd has not “gotten out of the shepherding business.” That is not to say that each human being,“created in the image and likeness of God,” is on a par with sheep. The point is, even in our weakest moments,the Shepherd is always seeking us out to bring us back to Him who loves us andcares for us unconditionally.

What are these weakestmoments in the human condition? Whileboth Matthew’s Gospel and Isaiah deal with the reality of sin and God’sunwavering fidelity in spite of that sin, for me, the tendency is to focus oncertain acts, attitudes or habits that are part of my sinful life. On a more profound level, the true sin of humanity,the sin against the Holy Spirit, which is the only sin that will not beforgiven, is the sin of refusing God’s unconditional love and acceptance. As Christians, it is easy to see our sin and,sometimes, even to let that awareness block out our beauty and uniqueness. This, however, is the greatest sin. The fact that human beings sin and stray fromthe shepherd goes without saying. Atsome point in our lives, we are each the one sheep separated from theninety-nine. Oftentimes the greatestchallenge is to accept that the Shepherd does, in fact, seek us out even in ourweakest moments.

In Isaiah we read,“…prepare the way of the Lord.” Thisperiod of Advent is a wonderful period of reflection, joy andanticipation. Just as Jerusalem can rejoicein anticipation of the fulfillment of God’s promise, so too, we can rejoice inthe coming of the Shepherd who constantly seeks us out and loves usunconditionally.

Day 7 of our novena to St. Peregrine for the victimsand survivors of cancer continues……Please add an extra prayer to the BlessedVirgin for Darlene, as she undergoes surgery on Tuesday.

My rosary intentions today are for all of those who are out ofwork this holy season. I pray that theyfind fulfilling work at a fair wage.

We need to see as God sees

2011-12-03T23:43:00.001-08:00

How and what we see influences so powerfully how wejudge people and events in our world. Look how wrong the people of John's timewere in how they judged. Even though the Jews rushed out to the desert to seethis odd, fascinating figure they referred to as John the Baptizer, how manywere just curious to see the spectacle? True, a number took to heart hiswarnings to repent of their sins. They even let this strange man baptize themin the Jordan. But how many others just laughed at the show and forgot abouthim the following week? We need, all of us, to see as God sees!

How can we make this Advent a time for new vision andunderstand the stupendous truth of God coming to earth as a little child? Eventhough there will be thousands of glittering Christmas lights all around us,how can I get excited at another breakthrough into our dark world of thedazzling light of Jesus, my Lord and Messiah? It takes deep reflection toappreciate the reality of history. What humility it took for God to come as anordinary poor man! In Jesus’ time, every Jewish male was required to make thepilgrimage to Jerusalem and offer his praise to God. For thirty whole years, noone noticed Him except a few poor shepherds and some foreign scholars we callthe "wise men." The Lord expects much more from us.

Advent is a dangerous season if we see it merely withthe eyes of an increasingly unreligious society. Advent is a time to prepare toreally see the coming of the Messiah as both historical event and as presentmiracle. I must work every day at improving my spiritual vision through readingand prayer, so that a kind of miracle can happen to me personally. This SecondSunday is an important one, because it calls forth from all of us new effortsat heeding the voice of John the Baptizer. John preached a message ofrepentance for spiritual blindness. He proclaimed the coming of Light intodarkness, a Light by which, through works of Love and Justice, we could build ahighway toward eventual Peace. Advent is a time for patience, penance, andrenewal of heart.

Day 7 of our novena to St. Peregrine for Darlene et al. Please keep praying. She has surgery on Tuesday December 6.

Myrosary intention for today is for Father Sam Woods, who will say his first Massof Thanksgiving after his ordination 2 weeks ago. Also, I pray for an increase in vocations tothe priesthood and religious life.

Heavenly Father, help me to be more like John theBaptizer in announcing the impending arrival of Your Son. Help me to become a strong “voice in thewilderness”, preparing the way of the Lord. Amen.

Moved with pity

2011-12-02T22:18:00.001-08:00

Jesus traveled through the land bearing the good newsof God's love and His redemption. Each time He met a new group of people Hisheart was moved with pity for them. He was moved because they were so lost, sodirectionless, so terrified, and so alone.

As followers of Jesus, we travel through the worldtoday (and the world has become a lot smaller through the internet) andcircumstances have not changed. Every day we encounter people who are lost,lonely, confused, or directionless. Worse than this, many of these lost soulsbelieve that they know the way and understand the path--they think they haveall of the answers. They are hard to speak to and difficult to influence. Many may even be members of our own family!

Nevertheless, continuing the mission of Jesus, we needto bring the good news to the lost souls of today. It can be as simple as asmile or a word or a helping hand. The distorted desire we meet in the streetneeds to see the light of the Desire of Ages. Then heart speaks to heart andthe lost ones can be drawn to Jesus Christ.

That is what we are called to do as CatholicChristians. We light the lamp and place it on a stand and welcome any whowander into the circle. Difficult though it may be when fighting the battle forhearts and minds, be moved to pity and prayer by the illogic and sometimessheer ill-will you hear emerging. When you see a lost soul, one so wrapped upin himself or his ideas, pray for that person regardless of how you may feelabout him. These are the substantive steps that can be used to lead each personto the triumph of the Father and the love of Jesus Christ, with the help of theHoly Spirit.

O Heavenly Father, helpus to grow close to Your Son to learn from Him all those virtues that embodyYour love and truth; Make us ambassadors of peace on earth. Amen.

Day 6 of our novena toSt. Peregrine for Darlene and all others who have cancer now or have ever hadit, so that it does not return. Praythat those suffering from cancer carry their crosses with the dignity (and help)of Christ for the sake of His sorrowful Passion.

My rosary intentionstoday are for my brother Bill, who is retiring mainly due to health concerns,but also because he’s earned the rest! Ipray for his family, as well. I tried to find a humorous photo for his retirement, but decided to use one that shows the dignity of hard work and passing a work ethic on to your children, as Bill has done. St. Joseph, pray for Bill.

Blessed are You, Lord God of all creation, for through Yourgoodness You have given us the gift of labor and fruitful productivity that Yourpeople may thrive and grow.

You invite us to be co-workers with You in the world, to join thefruit of the earth with the work of our hands that we may create something newfor the good of others. We thank You and bless You for the dignity of work, whichhas called forth from us unknown skills and talents.

Yet You call us also to cometo You, we who labor and are heavy-burdened, for work without rest isenslavement and a forgetfulness of our dependence upon You alone.

So look with favor now upon Yourfaithful servant, Bill, who has labored long days in Your vineyard and nowenters a new way of using the time and talents You have given him.

Bless him with eyes to see the places where he is most needed, withears to listen to others with the luxury of time, with hands that create forthe simple joy of creating, and with a heart lifted from the burden of toil.

Remove any fear of feeling useless or unwanted, protect him fromboredom and despair, and free him from all anxiety.

May he know that his worth and dignity are not measured by what hedoes but by who he is in Your eyes, Your precious child and our beloved brother.

And when each day is ended,may he find delight in knowing that God who has begun the good work in him willbring it to completion in Christ Jesus, ourLord. Amen.

Do you see what I see?

2011-12-01T19:52:00.001-08:00

In our day to daybusy-ness of the holiday season, it becomes too easy to become deaf and blindto God’s presence in our midst. It is so easy to lose sight of who we arecalled to be in the midst of preparing to celebrate and we may grow deaf to thereal meaning of this holy season.

When on earth, Christrevealed himself in various ways. Some, like the blind men, called out to Himas Messiah, the Son of David (Mt 9:27-31); others, like the woman who touchedHis cloak, had their quietly-held belief (Mt 9:20-22; Mk 5:25-34; Lk 8:43-47);Nicodemus came at night (Jn 3:2) and the Centurion professed his faith at thefoot of the cross (Mt 27:54). I am particularly moved by how He revealedHimself to the shepherds on the day He was born, as a baby in a manger, withnothing but His mother’s body and the breath of farm animals to keep Him warm. (Lk2: 15-20)

Advent is aboutwaiting, longing, searching for the Lord of my life, to have Him come anew, togrant me healing mercy and deeper faith. Advent is about needing a savior, mylife's refuge, and the need of all people for a Savior: "Prepare ye, theway of the Lord."(Mt 3:3) The Lordcontinues to reveal Himself in various ways today—in the Eucharist, the Word,in prayer and in the communion of believers, and, as always, in our neighbor. To quote the title of a great Christmas carol, "Do you see what I see?"

Don’t forget Day 5 of our Novena to St. Peregrine for all ofthose suffering from cancer or survivors of cancer, especially my neighborDarlene, my mother and my mother-in-law.

Myprayer today is that we each will find the quiet space in our lives and allowthe anticipation of God’s Incarnation at Christmas to find a home in our heartsand in our lives.

In God We Trust

2011-11-30T20:38:00.001-08:00

As Christians, we believe in God’s presence in Jesus’ coming amongus...and yet we wait; for what? If we already know the person of Jesus, God’spresence, Who walked among us, then for what are we waiting?

At this time of year my thoughts turn to many special people whowalked with me in life (my dad, my brothers, aunts and uncles, some friends) whohave died. I know their loving presence to me in life, but feel a great loss intheir death. I feel that they are with God and somehow still with me, but Imiss the fullness in life of who they are (were) with us here. Perhaps this istrue in many ways with how we struggle to “know” God’s presence. We believethat Jesus did walk, talk and live among us. We remember as we reflect on Hiswords and life in the Scripture. We believe that God’s spirit IS with us now.Yet, the fullness of God’s presence in our daily lives is something for whichwe seek, pray and yearn...God’s peace and love in fullness.

During this special time of Advent each year, we step back toremember that yearning, the hoping, that deep desire for God in our life, NOW!

But, as we go about our day to day lives, filled with “to do” liststhat seem to grow during the holiday season as we prepare to gather with familyand friends, we drift from the center of our yearning - the peace, theGodliness in our lives.

In whom do I trust...is it God? How and where is God truly present(or perhaps the question really is, “How and where am I really present toGod”?). Seeking, hoping, and taking timein praying for peace, and for God’s presence is one step, but if I trulybelieve that God’s Spirit IS within and around me, then how do I help createthat center of peace?

God‘s fullness IS here, but not yet realized. That is what Jesus’words call us to do; to build on a rock—to build on our faith in Him ! ! !

“Anyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them. . . .”(Mt 7:21, 24-27)

It’s not enough to listen.Action is called for! It’s insufficient to know what is good to do; one must dothe good that God has asked from one.

St. Paul reminds us that we are many parts, but we are all onebody. (1Cor 12) The gifts we have, we have been given to share. That means eachof us performs a unique, required task within the body of Christ. Each of usdoes some good that no other person can do. Some have ministry for feeding thepoor, others visit the sick and the shut-in; still others help out the Churchin its various ministries. And still others simply pray--or pray simply.

Each person has a task, a formof good that only that person may do. Even though many may visit the sick, thevisit of one particular soul to another may be more efficacious than dozens ofvisits made by another - not because the other person is not good, but becauseGod has given us our particular tasks - and when we cooperate with them, wemultiply the bounty of His Goodness through our obedience.

So, don’t worry about the tasks given to others - tend to thosethat God brings particularly to you. In this way we will multiply the blessingsgiven the body of Christ and we will please God so that He will shower us withmore gifts and more tasks. Everything we undertake should be undertaken solelyfor the love of God.

In our readying for the Christmas holidays, we need to take sometime to stop and reflect in peace; to trust and be with God and do what is just. Building on our Rock means paying attentionto where those in need around us need the most help. Is the promise of God’s fullness among ussomething we only hope for, or are we also open to working toward being God’spresence in the now toward that day of fullness?

As we continue in our Advent journey, let’s pray the words ofIsaiah: “A nation of firm purpose (unwavering faith and living presence in God)you keep in peace; in peace, for its trust in you. Trust in God forever!” (Isaiah26:1-6)

O Merciful Father, weask that You open our hearts and minds by removing all that hinders Christ'swisdom and love from entering within us. Let us then rejoice in His light,peace and joy. Amen.

It’s day 4 of our novena to St Peregrine for Darlene and all otherswho are suffering from cancer.

It’s also a good day to pray for those who have no warm place torest their head tonight. May our BlessedMother keep them warm with the love of her Son.

Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death!

The first called had happy feet

2011-11-29T21:17:00.001-08:00

O Lord, Thank You for the fishermen You called to beapostles, especially St. Andrew whose feast we celebrate today. Through them webenefit from hearing about You and believing in You! May we always listen toYour call - and follow You. Amen.
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“How beautiful are the feet of those whobring good news.” (Isaiah 52:7, Romans 10:15) On this feast of St. Andrew theApostle I am grateful for all the apostles, preachers, family and friends whosefeet have brought the good news of the Gospel to me.

Faith is the foundation of my life —truly the greatest blessing God has given me. My Christian faith has been mystrength and guide in good times—it has also been my strength and guide andcomfort in difficult times. Most of the time, however, I take this blessing forgranted. Sadly, I don’t adequately thankGod for this gift.

Fortunately there are special times eachyear when I realize anew the great blessing of faith. Advent is one of these times. My heart resonates at Old Testament passagesthat express humankind’s longing for a better world, for a messiah, for asavior, and those that speak directly to my own restlessness and to my oftenunarticulated longing for a fuller coming of God to my heart and to our world.

“Faithcomes from what is heard,” Paul reminds us. (Romans 10:17) During this advent season I ask myself, “Do Iwitness to what I have heard and believe? Can mine be the feet bringing the good news to others and the voice thatis heard and that arouses faith in others? “Their voice has gone forth to all the Earth and their words to the endof the world”. (Romans 10:18)

During this season of giving, is thereany greater gift we can share with loved ones?

Icontinue my novena to St. Peregrine for Darlene and all other victims orsurvivors of cancer. I ask you to prayfor me. I’ve caught the cold that isgoing around. Usually that means anevolution into bronchitis. Pray that Ican keep it from getting any worse this time around. Thanks.

Immacualate Heart of Mary,
Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.

Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit.....

2011-11-28T21:03:00.001-08:00

Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit . . . . (Luke 10:21)

And then Jesus prayed to the Father.

The Trinity appeared inthis instant of great joy!

We have entered Advent and we relive, in these first weeks,the long and impatient waiting of the people of Israel for the Messiah longpromised them. Jesus recognized this when He said, “Blessed are the eyes that seewhat you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what yousee but did not see it . . . “ (Luke 10:24)

Although we are not direct eyewitnesses, we are also among theprivileged because we are no longer waiting. We have been chosen among all thepeople of all time to live in an age when we know with certainty, the salvationthat is Jesus Christ. We no longer wait, but we hail Him as Lord and Savior!

And we do this through the power of the Holy Spirit who dwellswithin and who constantly urges us to a closer relationship with Jesus, theChrist. In the times before Jesus, the Holy Spirit inspired men and women tolead Israel in the way it should go—He moved them toward their salvation eventhough they walked in the dark.

In the present day, the HolySpirit constantly urges us to open our eyes to see the light that has come tous: Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is still the harbinger, announcer, andconfirmer of that most wonderful act of Holy Love—The Incarnation! But now wewalk in light and knowledge and we too should rejoice with the Holy Spirit inwhat we are most blessed to be able to see!

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Yourfaithful and kindle in them the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit, and they shall becreated, and You shall renew the face of the earth.

O, God, who by the light of the HolySpirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same HolySpirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations. We ask You this throughChrist Our Lord. Amen.

Don’t forget day 2of our novena to St. Peregrine for Darlene and all other cancer victims andsurvivors!

I’m also remembering our very own “AdventMan” (my brother Bob) on the first anniversary of his leaving this world to bewith Jesus in the next. Happy feast day,brother!

Bythe way, how cool is that? His birthdayis November 1 (All Saint’s Day) and his “feast day” is November 29^th (if he’s ever recognized bythe church as a saint—of course, until then, continue to pray for him and allthe faithful departed). It will make it easier for me to keep him inmy prayers all through the month of November!

Immaculate Heart of Mary
Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.

Chipping away at the House of the Lord

2011-11-27T23:24:00.001-08:00

The readings of the Advent season call us to prepare in theways of the Lord. For instance, all of Monday’sreadings have a “house of the Lord” context to them. Isaiah (Isaiah 2:1-5) creates a vivid pictureof people flocking to the Lord’s house, built on the highest mountain, drawn bytheir hunger to receive the word of the Lord. Isaiah predicts a time of peace, where swords are beaten intoplowshares, and war ceases to exist. Inthe psalm (Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5, 6-7, 8-9), people go rejoicing to thehouse of the Lord. And in Matthew (Matthew8:5-11), the house is not of the Lord, but of the servant, and the servantacknowledges his unworthiness to have the Lord enter his house.

One of the joys, and also frustrations, of celebratingholidays when families expand and grow is the intricate dance of determining atwhose house to gather and who should be invited. Grandma has always done this, but Aunt Marywants to try that, and what about my side of the family, when do we fit themin? These are real problems, but good ones, because we have options. We can choose to expand our house and includeothers, or we can choose to limit our house to a select few.

As Isaiah reminds us, God doesn’t have that problem. God includes us all. The house of the Lord will be on the top ofthe mountain and all will stream toward it, from all directions, each on theirown path. Who is in this human streamseeking the Lord? The rich, the poor,the strong, the weak, the sick and lame, the morally upright and the morallycorrupt, the victims and the perpetrators – in short, all of us, all 7 billionof us now wandering around on this planet.

Are we close to changing swords into plowshares? Well, there was a recent report that we livein one of the least violent times of human history. How can that be? I think it was based on the number of peoplein conflicts as a percentage of the total population, so the growth in numbersactually has made all of us a little safer. We still train for war, and still spend a lot of our resources on it(especially the US). But we also haveincreased agricultural yields to un-dreamed of levels, we have eradicated manydiseases, we have provided educational and cultural and societal opportunitiesaround the world that could not have been anticipated a century ago.

So where is the Lord’s house? Is it on top of a mountain, or is it in each of us as we strive to moveforward on the path that calls us to the Lord? Don’t we really build the house of the Lord one small act at a time byour reverence for each person, by our willingness to stop and help, by ourcivility, by our recognition that the Lord is in each of us, and therefore weall are in the house of the Lord in our every moment? Don’t we add to the house of the Lord when weremember not only the victims of heinous crimes and acts, such as the childrenharmed by pedophiles, but also when we pray for the pedophile, in whom the Lordalso resides? And don’t we chip away atthe house of the Lord when our anger, our frustration, our selfishness, ourgreed, causes us to think only of ourselves and not of the other 7 billionpilgrims on their own path to the house of the Lord?

I have to admit that I “chipped away” at the house of the Lordthis afternoon. I told Marilyn that Iwould like to leave home about 4pm or so in order to get to Bakersfield by8pm. It’s usually a 3 hour and 40 minutedrive. So, the loving wife she is, she madesure my dinner was ready close to 4pm so I could have my favorite Thanksgivingleftover—turkey tetrazzini—before leaving for another week. I was in a pretty good mood, actually, when Ileft—not considering the fact that I hate having to be gone from home so muchfor work. Everything on my drive wasgoing as usual, until about 20 minutes from home. Traffic stopped on I-5 to a standstill. “Uh oh,” I thought, “there must be anaccident ahead”. As I usually do, I saida Hail Mary for the “victims” of the accident and settled in for the wait. As the traffic started moving again, it wasat between 15 and 30 MPH with brake lights flashing about every secondsomewhere ahead of me.

After 30 more minutes, I realized I was in the middle of theholiday traffic! It was bumper tobumper, in-your-face-drivers weaving in and out and causing more congestionthan relieving it. I was getting reallyfrustrated and yelling at the other drivers, as if they could hear me. The more I screamed my frustrations out, themore frustrated I became. I realized Iwas not going to change the situation by being frustrated, but what was I goingto do? I asked the Holy Spirit to helpme calm down as I started praying the rosary. As I got deeper in prayer, I became more aware of the fact that all ofthese people I had been yelling at are also the Body of Christ and are simplytrying to get home after the holidays. At that point, my frustration and anger just simply melted away and thedrive became more bearable, thanks be to God!

And so my prayer today is for the grace to better recognizethe needs of my fellow pilgrims and act toward them in a way that adds a smallpiece to the house of the Lord as we journey together on our individual pathsto the Lord.

I found out today that my neighbor Darlene has breastcancer. Please join me in praying anovena to St. Peregrine on her behalf, and on behalf of all women who are orhave been affected by this disease. Ihave placed the novena on the rightsidebar of this blog. If you want toknow more, or if you have cancer and want to pray the novena on your ownbehalf, click on the saint’s picture. Itwill take you to EWTN’s website with more on the Saint and the novena. Thanks. I’ll remind you each day for the next eight days until the completion ofthe novena.

Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.

Watch for the changing seasons

2011-11-25T21:11:00.001-08:00

In our spiritual life, we should be attuned tothe seasons and strive to get the most out of every breath we take and everyprayer we speak. It is so easy for any of us to get caught up in the dailyhappenings of our lives and get pulled away from our faith and a life that iscentered on Jesus. Stopping to look back on the year, not to relive, but tolearn, we have an opportunity to assess: how has my relationship with Jesusgrown, how has my prayer life deepened and how have I allowed the Holy Spiritto help me to live the beatitudes?

Jesus says in the Gospel, "Beware that yourhearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties ofdaily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day willassault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times andpray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent andto stand before the Son of Man." (Lk 21:34-36)

No one knows exactly when that day will come, orwhen each individual will die. Everyoneshould live each day as if it were the day. Jesus says to be ready just in case. Those who get tied up with worldly cares, instead of giving glory andeternal praise to Him, may wish they had more time to get their spiritualaffairs in order.

I think about that passagein Daniel (Dn 3:82-87) that is all about giving praise and glory to God. If people start each day thanking God for thegift of the day, and give glory and praise to God throughout the day, it seemsto me that it’s a pretty good step in putting God first in their lives. The passage says that all people should giveglory and eternal praise to Him. Eternally praising God might not leave a lot of time for sinning.

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Almighty and merciful God, You have broken the power of evil; keep usfaithful to Your Son, working to help create a new world prevailed by truth,love, joy and peace. Amen.

Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death

Prayfor strength in faith, and pray for one another as we end this liturgical yeartoday (Saturday). Pray that the newEnglish translation of the Missal is instrumental in creating or renewing thefocus of the Mass on the Holy Eucharist; our Savior’s Body, Blood, Soul andDivinity.

A model of faith

2011-11-24T22:19:00.001-08:00

As I listened to the Mass on EWTN tonight, the Holy Spiritmoved me to thank God for my Uncle Bob. He was a great help to my mom until hecontracted Alzheimer’s disease and moved into an assisted care facility closerto his daughters, who live up North. There are two Scripture readings that remind me of UncleBob. One is the epistle that was read attoday’s Mass (1 Cor 1:3-9):

Brothers and sisters:

Grace to you and peace from Godour Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God alwayson your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, that inhim you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, asthe testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for therevelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on theday of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowshipwith his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

The other is the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 18: 1-5):

At that time the disciplesapproached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Hecalled a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you,unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom ofheaven. Whoever humbles himself likethis child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this inmy name receives me.

Whenever I think of my Uncle Bob, it’s those twocharacteristics that come to the fore; the strength (firmness) of his faith,and the (child-like) humility that he brings to that faith. He is agreat example to all of us. Ifirmly believe that though he cannot express it nor even show it outwardly dueto his illness, his humble faith in his Creator remains firm.

God bless you, Uncle Bob.

He is with us every day

2011-11-24T19:02:00.001-08:00

Jesustells us that He will come again. He tells us that if we are watching we canknow when spring will be here. He tells us that the time will come and thesigns will be there.

ButHe also tells us in other places that it is all too easy to read the signswrong. And time and again people have done so. How many times in the past yearor so have we heard the word "apocalypse?" How many times have peopletold us that Jesus will be here soon?

Theodd thing is that Jesus is always here. Jesus is present in the Eucharist andin the body of Christian Prayer. In a real sense, He has never really left. So,while He encourages us to look forward to His second coming in glory, He alsois there with us every day telling us not to spend so much time looking for thesigns of the future, but to revel in His presence here and now.

Truly, He will come again, and there will be great joy. But donot let the hope of the Second Coming overshadow the joy of experiencing Jesusright here and right now.

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O Blessed Redeemer, make us aware of those conditions that shouldawaken us to a coming change and prepare us for a time of difficulttesting. Amen.

Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death

My prayer intentionsfor today are for the people who are going to start shopping at 12am on Fridaymorning. I pray that as they shop fortheir loved ones’ Christmas presents they remember to do so in a Christ-likemanner. Every year, it seems, we hear ofsomeone who has been crushed to death by a frenzied mob over something meaninglessin this life, like a TV set or the hottest new toy. I also pray that those shoppers who arefocused on getting the best deals put as much focus on the needs of the poorand hungry as the nights grow darker and colder earlier.

One day a year hardly seems adequate

2011-11-23T21:17:00.001-08:00

O God, of Whose mercies there isno number, and of Whose goodness the treasure is infinite; we render thanks toYour most gracious majesty for the gifts You have bestowed upon us, evermorebeseeching Your clemency, that as You grant the petitions of them that ask You,You will never forsake them, but will prepare for the reward to come. We ask Youthis through Christ our Lord. Amen.===================================================================

Not everyone will be sitting down to a homespun Thanksgivingfeast this week. In fact I’m one ofthose who won’t. I have to work becauseof some unforeseen circumstances so I will be about 250 miles from home onThanksgiving Day. Am I disappointed? Yes! ButI am still thankful for lots of things: the love that I share with my wife andkids and grandchild and my mother, my recent healing, I am employed, etc.,etc. I could go on and on! I am truly blest! I only wish I were worthy to receive all ofthe blessings God bestows on me!

And if you really think about it, we all have reasons to bethankful. In these exhausting economictimes, if you're finding yourself stretched for one, try to look at the mostastonishing of our blessings, which we share with each other purely because weenjoy the same awe-inspiring Creator:

"May you be praised, O Lord, in all your creatures,especially brother sun, by whom you give us light for the day; he is beautiful,radiating great splendor, and offering us a symbol of you, the Most High. . . .May you be praised, my Lord, for sister water, who is very useful and humble,precious and chaste. . . . May you be praised, my Lord, for sister earth, ourmother, who bears and feeds us, and produces the variety of fruits and dappledflowers and grasses. . . . Praise and bless my Lord, give thanks and serve Himin all humility." (St. Francis ofAssisi, Canticle of the Creatures)

St. Francis doesn’t even mentionthe very air we breathe, or the gift of awareness and self-knowledge that isunique to the children of God! Thank Godthat He made Himself known to us so we can thank Him!

Each of us is directed to give our Lord praise andthanksgiving, today and every day that His Love commits us here. - Catechism ofthe Catholic Church, Para. 344

Immaculate Heart of Mary
Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death

So that’s my intention for today—to give thanks and praiseto our Lord; Glory be to the Father, and of the Son and of the HolySpirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be! Amen!

Don't worry about what you are to say.....pray the rosary!

2011-11-22T21:01:00.001-08:00

In Luke 21, Jesus is speaking to His disciples regardingwhat they are to expect after His departure from this earth. At first glance,it may seem like a rather brusque and cold farewell speech. “Hey, after I’mgone things are gonna be pretty rough. Because of following me, you’re going tobe betrayed , hated, seized, put into prison, and generally despised.” I canjust imagine the disciples’ thoughts in response to this…”Umm, seriously? We’vebeen here with You through thick and thin and this is what You’re going toleave us with as a parting gift?” (At least that’s what would have been goingthrough my mind…)

However, with a more thorough reading of the passage, itbecomes clear that Jesus is in fact imparting a blessing (not a curse) upon Hisfollowers. He’s letting them (and us) know that no matter how bad it gets, nomatter how much it hurts, He will always, always, always be there. He’ll bethere when those closest to us let us down, when the world turns its back onus, even when our very life and existence are threatened. Throughout all ofthis pain, all of these struggles, Jesus will be there with us, holding us closeand giving us the words of wisdom and the grace needed to turn each of thesemoments of hurt into moments of beauty and testimony that reflect back on themiraculous nature of His love.

Each one of us has experienced unspeakable moments’ of pain,betrayal and sadness in this life. Moments when it seemed that all was lost, that nothing can possibly hurtmore or be worse than what we are currently experiencing. All too often in my own life I forget whatshould be at the forefront of my mind in times like these….that Jesus haspromised not to leave me, not to forget me, not to turn away from me. He hasn’tleft me out there to wade through the muck and mire of each painful moment bymyself. On the contrary, He’s made a promise to be there, a promise to provideme with the wisdom to speak His words in every situation, and a promise that“not a hair on [my] head will be destroyed”.

My prayer today isthat we can each turn to Jesus more instinctively, more completely and morefully in times of pain and suffering. That our hearts and spirits will becomforted by the assurance that He will always be there with us, that we arenever alone and that no matter what happens, in the end “all will work for goodto those that love God, that are called according to his purpose” (Romans8:28). I pray that we may find peace today in knowing that we are never aloneand that our eternal lives are forever secured with Jesus.

Immaculate Heart of Mary
Pray for us now and at the hour of our death

Blessed Lord, help us to see the harm we bring uponourselves so that we will renew our connection with Your love and truth and solive in peace, harmony and justice. Amen

Don't listen to the false messiahs

2011-11-21T21:22:00.001-08:00

O merciful God, throughChrist our King You have broken the power of evil and make all things new. Openall our hearts and fill them with Your love, truth, justice and peace.

Merciful Christ, help us seethat heaven or hell is a matter of human choice, and that we can attain eternallife with You if we, in this life, agree to being transformed in Your holyImage. Amen.

We live in a (false-)messianic age. There are messiahs by the dozen: people who will save us fromglobal warming and people who will save us from oppressive thoughts; people whowill save us from our debts, and people who will save us from our possessions;people who will save us from our government and people who will save us fromthose people. Everywhere you look there is a new messiah -- from the kitchen tothe garden we can name a dozen famous figures who will save our minds, ourmorality, our dinners, our houses, our portfolios -- you name it, there'ssomeone to save it, someone to turn to.

Our politicians promiseus salvation from greenhouse gases, social unrest, war, poverty, and hunger.And never once have any of these messiahs brought us one step closer to peaceof mind or heart. And as long as there are people, there will be false messiahs-- some taking on the mantle themselves, others having it given to them bystar-struck crowds. But Jesus has already told us -- dozens will claim to beHim, may even perform magnificent feats to prove their claims. But we are notto listen. (Luke 21:5-11)

There isone faith, one Lord, one baptism. (Ephesians 4:5) There is one God and Fatherof all. There is one Messiah, one great King and Brother whose sacrificebrought us all into the courts of His Father. There is NO ONE else, there can’tbe because the Son of God is singular -- there is but one of Him. He is Lordand Master, King and Messiah, Brother, Friend, and Helper in all of our needs.With Him we have need of no other messiah. Christ Our King is King indeed, Lordof all. Don’t wait for His second coming to be with Him; be with Him now --Friend in times of trial, and sole source of comfort in our afflictions.

Today,let’s pray for our government leaders—worldwide, nationally, and locally. They have a very tough job to do. Let’s pray that they use their authority inthe service of God by enacting laws that respect life at all stages—from conceptionto natural death.

Immaculate Heart of Mary
Pray for us now and at the hour of our death

We are given sufficient grace--we only have to accept it

2011-11-20T19:46:00.001-08:00

The memorial feast of the Presentation of Mary gives us anopportunity to recall how carefully God prepared Mary to be the Mother of HisOnly Begotten Son. Not only was sheconceived without the stain of original sin, she was preserved in grace by God'scontinuous favor.Unlike Mary, we suffer the devastating effects of original sinand do not have the fullness of grace she enjoyed, but instead, inclinationstoward both holiness and sinfulness.

It wouldn't be hard to despair over the many times we havefailed, tending more toward sinfulness if we weren't reminded that as carefullyas God prepared Mary, He also prepares us and gives us sufficient grace throughthe sacraments to accomplish His loving plan. And what is that plan, but that we bepreserved in grace, know Him, even in this life and enjoy Him forever inheaven.

Like Mary we have the opportunity and sufficient grace to giveour fiat, our consent that, like Mary, the will of God may be done in us.

OLord, may we be found pleasing in Your sight. May our willingness to helpothers be a mirror of Your own love for us. O, Blessed Virgin Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who haverecourse to thee.

Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Pray for us now and at the hour of our death

As we startThanksgiving week, remember the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked,the sick and the imprisoned in your prayers. Don’t forget about the unemployed and the homeless! Alsopray for those who have been extraordinarily blessed by God but forget to thankHim every day for those blessings. (Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa)

¡Viva Cristo Rey!

2011-11-19T22:51:00.001-08:00

Jesus said: “Mykingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, myfollowers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over…but as it is, mykingdom is not from here.” Then Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesusanswered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I cameinto the world, to testify to the truth.” (John 18: 28-38) And the truth thatJesus came to testify to was God’s love, God’s mercy, God’s forgiveness, andGod’s call to repentance.

Jesus’ Kingdom is not about ruthless power, or royalattendants, or all those things we think of when thinking of kings. LumenGentium describes Christ’s Kingship in these few words, “to reign is to serve.”Matthew Gospel sums it up best, I think, when it says: “The Son of Man came notto be served but to serve, to give his life as a ransom for the many” (Mt.20:28).

We, the people of God rejoice this Sunday in God’sLove. We hear Ezekiel’s prophecy hundreds of years ago, and we know it is thetruth: “the lost I will seek out, thestrayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal…” (Ezekiel34:11-12, 15-17) In humble repentance we accept the embrace of the GoodShepherd, and know that goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of ourlife, and that we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:1-2,2-3, 5-6) Not that we deserve it, but because Jesus gave His life for us – theultimate act of service. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays downhis life for the sheep” (Jn.10:11) Jesus loves us!!

The Kingdom of God isamongst us – in our midst. This is what we believe. God is with us. God isalways there for us, and God is always ready to help us live by God’s ways. Wemust always remember that God is always ready to forgive and comfort us when werepent. At times we might tend to doubt or feel unworthy. Maybe it is when wehave acted in some deplorable manner. Maybe it is when someone else has actedin an unloving – unchristian manner. But then we hear the call of the GoodShepherd, “Come, come to me all that are weary.” (Matthew 11:28) We rememberGod’s love -God’s mercy. We find hope again, and surrender in repentance to theGod who cherishes us. We keep on going, telling God we’re sorry, acceptingGod’s forgiveness, trying even harder, and remembering to pray for the waywardand our enemies.

"O King of Kings, I praiseYou! Be merciful to me, a sinner."

Immaculate Heart of Mary
Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death

Today, I pray for the strength to forgive those who haveoffended me, and I ask for forgiveness if I have offended others.

There is a resurrection

2011-11-18T21:11:00.001-08:00

We have many moments of death in life: loneliness, losses of loved ones, of ways ofseeing things - perspective, of ways of doing things as our bodies grow intoillnesses, of jobs, of relationships, of our dreams, etc. Some of these deaths feel like terribleblows. They knock our socks off for a while. We grieve, are angry, or we may feeldefeated. With faith, time and goodfriends, we pick ourselves up and move on in life.

We have other moments that stun us, keep us bound upinside - in webs of addiction, our own or other's. These deaths may be related to alcohol,drugs, gambling, relationships, our work, etc. We may be victims of another's aggression or domestic violence. We may be trapped in our grandiose pride or aneed to control: "It's my life andI'll fix it!" We may be caught indepression. We are caught in a tornado;a wind that envelopes us.

Jesus' message to us is "Live! God loves you!" How do we find God's love in times ofdeath? Is there really a Resurrectionand Life?

When we're caught in a tunnel of darkness that feelsdeadly we can pray hard for grace and light, perhaps to understand our darknessand move into light. Besides praying, weoften need help - another's compassionate heart. Our God loves us tenderly and is with us intimes of sorrow and death as well as moments of lively living.

In our modern world of high-speed communications, wehear news daily of wars, insurrections, earthquakes, famines and plagues. Inthis morning's news one does not have to look far to read or hear about amagnitude seven earthquake in Japan this month and in Pakistan the monthbefore, the threat of a flu pandemic, and the wars in Iraq and elsewhere. Twothousand years ago these stories would have been passed by word of mouth andwere months if not years old before they were widely spread. Today, we get itlive and in color instantaneously, twenty four hours a day. Are these the signsJesus spoke of?

Who cares? Jesus tells us to not be deceived and to notbe terrified. We are to steer the courseour Lord set us on, with Him clearly in focus, with Him and His kingdom ouraim. Remember Lot and his wife? Lot's wife turned to look at the destructionand was turned into a pillar of salt, hardened and useless. But Lot, keepinghis eyes fixed where the Lord told him, escaped and lived

When we focus ourattention on the Lord, and ignore the signs of the times, we will live in thecompany of the Lord just as Lot did.

O Father of love and truth,

You raised our Lord Jesus Christ resplendent in glory as King;open our hearts, bring all of mankind together in Christ to renew fallencreation. Amen.

Immaculate Heart of Mary
Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.

Pleasepray for those who are terrified of the “signs of the times”. Pray that the comforting mercy of Jesusenvelop them and relieve their fears.

A time and a place for everything

2011-11-17T20:09:00.001-08:00

God chooses the time andthe place for everything. Until the time came, no matter what Jesus did, thoseplotting against Him could gain no ground. The people were gathered, hanging onevery word. He could not be separated from those who were hungry to hear theWord. "They could find no way to accomplish their purpose. . . ." (Luke 19:48)

So it is today - those whoare hungry for Jesus cannot be separated from Him. Those who hang on every wordcannot be taken by those scheming again them. The plotters have changed as havethose who are plotted against, but still God determines the time and the placethat is right for each person. God determines the nature of the stand that theymust take. And God is present when that stand must be taken.

No matter what the plottersand schemers do, they cannot prevail against the person who is hanging on everyword that Jesus speaks. They have no influence. They may imprison or evenmurder, but God is there to save - always.

Think of a high and a lowpoint in your last twenty-four hours. Ofthese, in which did God appear more prevalently in your thoughts? Did you blame Him for the difficulties or didyou give Him praise for your prosperity? In too many cases, we think about God when we need a scapegoat forlife’s trials and tribulations.

God is always present inour lives and we must acknowledge His presence through praising Him. In the First book of Maccabees (4:36-37,52-59), we see the congregation of Israel falling upon their knees to givethanks and praise to God following their victory over the Gentiles. When have we actually gotten on our knees tothank Him? This may appear abnormal intoday’s society, but there is a multitude of ways that we can show thanks andpraise to God and most do not require kneeling.

Let’s do away withthe sarcastic “Thank God” and actually give thanks. If our alarm clocks woke us up this morning,let us give thanks. If we have theability to read this, let's give thanks. We are blessed with life so give thanks.

O Almighty Father,

Your justice is strong and Your mercy is great; strengthen usthrough the challenges of life to emerge cleansed, purified and wholly faithfulto Your Word. Amen.

Today,I pray for the intentions of the Pope, the bishops, and the One, Holy,Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.

Sacrifices are tough

2011-11-16T21:26:00.001-08:00

It’snot easy to give up something we want. Many times we just want to take the easy way and go along with whateveryone else is doing, but that isn’t what God wants from us. God expects more from us, and we shouldexpect more from ourselves. It would’vebeen easy for Mattathias to just make the sacrifice to the king to keep thepeace (1 Mc 2:15-29), but sometimes a little disruption is what this worldneeds to realize that society’s ways are not always right. Mattathias knew as a leader he needed to stophis people from committing this grave sin, and he did so with all his might. ThankGod our bishops know that, too, according to this news story today. I wishI had that kind of courage to speak up and say what needs to be said to changesomeone’s mind. Sometimes, I find myselfjust going along with the group, not willing to create the confrontation thatwould result from me presenting a conflicting view. Sometimes, we need to create a little tensionand discomfort for people to see the reality of a situation.

Jesus knew that sacrifice is hard, and He had to give the biggestsacrifice of all: His own life. He knewit was so hard that the minute He was faced with where He would be sacrificed, Hewept. (Lk 19:41-44) He gave of Himself so that we might be with God, and did soout of great love. He knew thestructures in place that kept the peace would ultimately be the cause of Hisdeath and the suffering that would come to His disciples. He made a sacrifice, and now we need to makesacrifices for Him.

Here is another story of heroic sacrifice.

It’s hard for me to make sacrifices. I’m always running five different directions with millions of things onmy 'to do' list. Taking time to just bestill and pray does not happen as often as it should, and we all need that timeto reflect on our actions and listen to and speak to God. When I don’t take that time on a daily basis,it creates a disconnect within me, and it can be awkward trying to remember whyI like the peace and quiet and to remember what my true purpose is. Ineed to make sacrifices for God, and sometimes that just means taking tenminutes out of my day to go sit in church and pray. It’s so simple, yet so difficult sometimes,but I know the more time I spend with God, the deeper our relationship becomes. The deeper our relationship becomes, the moreI feel confident that He will always be there to help me though the rough timesof my life. This is so important to me,because I often feel lonely when I am away from home for a week at a time, dueto my job.

I was feeling somewhat sorry for myself this morning in this regardwhen I turned on the radio and Mother Angelica (the foundress of EWTN) wason. Actually, the program is reruns of theweekly shows she hosted from 1983 to 2001. Anyway, she was talking about loneliness! (*** Holy Spirit Alert!*** He must have knownwhat I needed right then!) She said something that was obvious, yet deep at thesame time and then, when I read the readings for tomorrow for this blog, whatshe said was reinforced. She said “Weonly feel lonely when we think we’re alone.” At first, I thought “Duh”. Butthink about that. When we realize thatwe are never alone, we need not feel lonely. Jesuswill always be there, but we need to get to know Him better so that it will beeasier to recognize Him.

Again, the bestway to get to know Him is to talk with Him in prayer, and listen to Him inmeditation.

As the Psalms proclaim:

"Offerto God praise as your sacrifice

andfulfill your vows to the Most High;

Thencall upon me in time of distress;

Iwill rescue you, and you shall glorify me."

-Psalms50:14-15

O God, even though we sometimes don’t show it, weare a grateful people, and we ask You to continuously remind us of the manyreasons we have to be appreciative; forwith appreciation comes the JOY of knowing You.

Immaculate Heart of Mary
Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.

Today, I pray forall the lonely people in the world. Ipray that Jesus makes His presence known to them to relieve theirloneliness. Amen

Are we gonna talk or are we gonna fish?

2011-11-15T20:32:00.001-08:00

“Invest this until I get back.”

So much of who we are and what we are called to do is contained inthis brief line in the parable of the talents. (Luke 19:11-28) We are called and gifted. All that we have – all that we are – we haveas “gift,” given to us for a very special purpose.

The contrast Jesus uses is amazingly contemporary and is veryhelpful for our everyday lives. Jesusdoes not want us to take what we have been given and simply preserve it – toprotect the gifts, out of some fear, in a risk-free way. Jesus wants us to “invest” our gifts – totake some risk, in order to grow the value of His investment in us.

In many ways, the message of Jesus is very counter-cultural. We resist, even though we know the truth ofwhat Jesus says, from so many examples in life – muscles grow when we use themand they atrophy when we don’t use them. In our self-absorption culture, we are often discouraged from takingpersonal risks. We are often told – inhundreds of direct and subliminal ways – that we should always choose what willkeep us “healthy.” Personal sacrifice –even for a greater good – is not always seen as good for me, and is thereforeto be avoided. Being “stretched,”denying myself, serving the needs of others before my own, suffering greatly tostay faithful to a commitment, giving myself away in love, are all viewed withsuspicion in a culture adverse to self-risk.

Jesus frees us. The One Whohas given us the gifts we have will give us even more. However, even in the spiritual life, the“rate of return” is directly related to “the amount of risk” we take. Jesus stimulates our desires with thisparable, stirring in us a confident desire to make better use of the gifts Hehas given us, by risking more and more to invest them for a higher rate ofreturn.

Each of us today can go through our day, asking if we are being“overly cautious” with the gifts that have been given us. We can ask how much energy we are expendingon avoiding risk, and how “tired” we are, from protecting ourselves. We can imagine ways to take a gift we haveand use it to love more, listen more deeply, do something moreself-sacrificing, offer forgiveness, and/or spend some time for others we’dotherwise use on ourselves. And, at theend of the day, feeling some of the fatigue that comes from being stretched, wecan look at the summary of our investments for the day, and give thanks.

I am reminded of an old joke:

Two old friends, Jack and Ralphie, go fishing all the time. Ralphie calls Jack and tells him he hasdiscovered the best method for catching fish ever - "It'sindisputable!" he tells his buddy. But, he won't disclose his secret findto Jack. "I'll see ya Saturday atthe boat. You just be there!"

Saturday morning arrives and they're out there on the lake. It's a beautiful day already on a cool, butsoft morning. Jack is all fired up tofind out what Ralphie has come up with.

Ralphie opens his tackle box, picks out a hand grenade, shows adumb-founded Jack, pulls the pin, and throws the grenade overboard. BOOM! Water everywhere! And, the fishjust bob to the surface. While Jacksputters and fumes, Ralphie calmly scoops out the fish in his net. "You can't do that, Ralphie! You'll be arrested. If I had half a mind, I'd arrest you rightnow, in fact."

Meanwhile, Ralphie picks out another grenade, pulls the pin, handsit to Jack and say, "You gonna talk or you gonna fish?"

So, are we gonna talk or are we gonna fish?

Lord, God, help me to liveout the message of Jesus in my life. Help me to know that You are offering me the gift of Christ’s own lifewhen You invite me to experience the death and the resurrection in mylife. Help us all, especially in thesetroubled times, to seek the hope that is imbedded in the Paschal Mystery. Be with us in our radical understanding and livingof the message of Your Son, Jesus Christ.

Immaculate Heart of Mary
Pray for us now and at the hour of our death

Myprayer intentions for today are for those who are tempted by the all glitter oftoday’s society; that they may be able to resist the temptation to sin andinstead choose the course that will lead them closer to Christ.

Would you be ready?

2011-11-14T22:11:00.001-08:00

O Blessed Redeemer, imbue ourhearts and minds with a deep love for You, God’s living Word. May we rejoicewith You when sinners repent and receive Your new life. Amen.

If our Lord came up to you today and asked to come to your home fordinner, would you be ready? Would you be willing to let Him in and dine withyou on such short notice, knowing that your home was not clean and therefrigerator nearly empty since your plan was to buy groceries the next day? Would you welcome Him anyway, regardless ofhow things were with you personally; long overdue for a haircut, or unshavenfor a day or two? Or would you offer Hima rain check for a better day when you had time to clean, prepare a king'sfeast and have yourself all spruced up for the great visit from your Lord?

Well, all of these things really don’t matter. In the gospel, Jesus calls to Zacchaeus andinvites Himself to dinner and it is possible that Zacchaeus was not ready forthis himself. Jesus did not go toZacchaeus for a feast or to see his palatial home all cleaned and ready for thevisit. No, Jesus went to Zacchaeus because he was a tax collector, a man inneed of salvation.

Jesus comes to us the same way. He is not expecting us to be in our finestclothes with a gourmet meal all prepared and ready. He comes expecting us as weare, sinners in need of an all loving and all saving God. To be ready for Him is not to have our houseall in perfect order, but rather to be willing to accept Him when He calls andready to do His bidding and receive the free gift He brings.

Jesus will help us get our house inorder. But we have to accept Hisinvitation.

Immaculate Heart of Mary
Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.

As I think about my birthday tomorrow, I remember that itis also the feast day of St. Albert the Great. It reminds me that my sponsor for my confirmation many years ago wasAlbert Alva. Many would call that coincidence. I'm not so sure. I'm a firm believer in providence. My prayer intention today isfor Albert. I haven’t seen him in over40 years, since shortly after my confirmation my dad passed away and we movedto Northern California. Mom told me hehad passed away a few years ago. I am sograteful for his agreeing to “stand” with me on that day when the Holy Spiritconfirmed me in my Baptism. I pray that he is at peace in our Lord.

Further personal testimony of God's mercy and forgiveness

2011-11-13T23:09:00.001-08:00

No reflection on the Scriptures tonight. I just want to thank God for my most recentblessing. “Blessing” is the mild wordfor what I consider a miracle. It is amiracle, but to most of the world it wouldn’t be considered such, because it’snot going to be documented anywhere or used in the beatification cause of anyfuture saints. But I assure you, it is amiracle nonetheless. A miracle broughtabout by prayer.

As I wrote last Wednesday, I was hit by a sledge hammerto the knee, then later in the afternoon I smashed my finger. On top of that, I was already miserable witha back pain so bad I couldn’t bend over to tie my shoes!

On Thursday, when I got up out of bed I feltdifferent. It was a feeling I hadn’texperienced for quite a while. I couldn’tquite place my finger on it. I took myshower and got dressed. As I bent overto tie my shoes, it hit me! My back painwas gone! I was able to bend over andtie my shoes without the pain ripping from my lower back all the way to mytoes! In fact, I could touch mytoes! Being a little “tummy challenged”,I had to bend my knees as well, but still—I could bend at the waist, somethingI haven’t been able to do in a couple of years! But wait! There’s more! My knees didn’t hurt either, not even theknee that was in excruciating pain just the day before. There wasn’t even a bruise. And the finger I had smashed? No pain. Like nothing ever happened. WhenI got home on Friday night and showed Marilyn and Alicia how I could bend andnot have to grunt or moan to get back up, they were pretty surprised, too.

Because it’s my birthday on Tuesday the 15^th,we decided we would see a movie ("Puss in Boots"--I really enjoyed it!) and the family could take me to dinnertoday. We thought today was the betterday because Alicia had to work yesterday, and I wanted both of my daughters tobe with me to celebrate. So that meant going toMass last night and giving Mom the Eucharist then, as well. Instead of spending Sunday with Mom, I justspent Saturday, instead.

Oh, yeah. I guessI should finish my story about the miracle. When I showed Mom how I could bend over without pain, she couldn’tbelieve it! The previous Sunday I wasobviously in such pain that she was worried about me. I said, “Don’t worry! I have friends in ‘highplaces!’’’ Of course, being my mother,she reminded me not to get too cocky and remember to thank God for mywell-being. And then she told me thatthere were lots of people praying for me since Wednesday, just after I was hitwith the sledge hammer, even though noone knew about it yet!

On Wednesdays, Mom has a woman (Thelma) who visits her andgives her Holy Communion. For thoseunfamiliar with pastoral care, there is an actual ‘rite’ that is like a “CommunionService” (a Mass without a priest where previously consecrated Hosts are usedfor Communion) but usually just one-on-one. During the service on Wednesday, Thelma asked Mom if there was anyonespecial she wanted to pray for. Out ofthe blue, Mom said, my name came to her as if the Holy Spirit were promptingher. Thelma agreed with her choice,because she had seen me at Mass the previous Sunday and was aware of my backdifficulties. Thelma said she would havethe Legion of Mary pray for me, as well. I want to thank all of those whoprayed for me and ask that they continue to do so—you know, sanctifying graceand all that goes with it is much appreciated.

I am writing this testimony because I am being led bywhat I believe is the Holy Spirit to testify to the Goodness and Mercy of ourLord Jesus Christ. I am reminded of thegospel of Luke (Luke 17:11-19).

And, for the record, this is notthe first healing Jesus has granted me. Read my very first post of this blog.

Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! As it was in the beginning, is now and shallbe forever! Amen.

Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.

My prayer intentions for today are for an increase in faith andconfidence in the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ among all people of good will.

Don't bury your talents, multiply them

2011-11-12T22:40:00.001-08:00

The focus for all our tomorrows is found in the Parable of theTalents. (Matthew 25:14-30 or 25:14-15, 19-21) While we may not know forcertain whether we should identify with the person to whom the Master gave fivetalents, or two talents, or one talent, we probably can make a good guess. Itreally doesn't matter, because the master's expectations for each of hisservants were the same: make the best use of whatever talents I have given you.Just don't bury them! By thinking and praying and asking for advice, you'llcome up with some good ideas on how to invest them. Every day is a day to laborfor the truth, to give loving service to the poor, and to praise the Lord -through the Mass and Divine Office, through private prayer and private reflection,or perhaps with a friend.

Today may be the only day left for us to reconcile with someonewhom we have offended, or who has offended us, to atone for some wrong, to govisit an elderly cousin, to play with our grandchildren. How precious are thetalents and the time given us to use them! If we consider this day as perhaps ourlast day, then our talents will be used, and the benefits for us and othersmultiplied beyond belief. And it's all because we have developed the habit oftaking each day as precious. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoiceand be glad in it. With joy in the opportunities of today, we need never fearthe final Day of the Lord.

“A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” (Proverbs 31:30)I appreciate this for two reasons. Thefirst of which is that we as a society are altogether terrible at receivingcompliments; hence this verse serves as a good reminder that it is permissibleand joyous to be praised and complimented for our God-given gifts. Secondly, it’s good advice for any young man whenhe is looking for a wife. It’s easy toget caught up in a lady’s physical appearance and neglect the value of her moreimportant qualities. When I stop tothink about it, it’s those deeper traits that truly drew me to my own wife,Marilyn. I consider Marilyn and mydaughters—and of course Lily—to be “talents” that my Master has entrusted mewith. I try to set the example for themof what a ‘man who fears (appreciates with awe) the Lord” is. I hope and pray that I can ‘increase the value’of these ‘talents’ by bringing them closer to God and the love of Jesus Christthrough the power of the Holy Spirit that is in each of us through Baptism.

Sometimes it’s good to keep in mind these basics regarding ourgifts from God. Remembering the truereasons that we should be attracted to our significant others helps us bear inmind that God wants us to build our respective relationships around Him. Secondly, this serves as a reminder to offerand willingly receive praises of our God-given gifts.

Rather than bury our talents in the ground, let’s consciouslyrecognize the gifts God has given us and make a concerted effort to utilizethem for His greater glory. When wenotice it in others, let us praise our brothers and sisters for serving Godthrough their gifts. With this in mind, here are my

Prayer intentions for today

Immaculate Heart of Mary
Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death

Pray for Sam Woods, our local seminarian who will be ordained apriest on December 3. May he prove to bea good shepherd in the image of Christ.

Pray for my wife and those of my brothers, ‘whose value is farbeyond pearls.’ (Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31) They have helped my brothers and I keep ourfocus where it needs to be—leading our families to Christ.

Pray for my mother, who has never buried her “talent” of greatfaith but rather planted seeds of that faith in her children that bear greatfruit now and will continue to grow and bear fruit in the future.

Almighty Father, “It is good for me tobe with You and to put my hope in You.”( Ps. 73, 28)

Pray Pray Pray

2011-11-11T22:43:00.001-08:00

Jesus wants His disciples to be in continual dialogue with His mostdear Father, just as He was. And Jesusexhorts His disciples to intensify this dialogue during times of stress, justas He did. The dialogue is, of course,prayer.

One of my ‘old standbys’ is, "Dear Lord, I'm offering you thisday. Please help me to get throughit. Please keep the kids and my wife andmy mother safe and help me get everything done that I have to do." It’s simple, but persistent.

Jesus chooses the rather strange parable of the corrupt judge toillustrate His point of praying always, especially in need (Luke 18:1-8). Thejudge ultimately grants the widow's petition not because the petition was justbut because he does not want to be disturbed: "While it is true that Ineither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keepsbothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come andstrike me."

The point of the parable is clear: just as the widow continuallypresents her petition to the judge so must we continually present our needs tothe Lord -- and the Lord will eventually respond!

In an earlier chapter Luke presents Jesus making a similar pointthrough an equally strange parable. This parable involves two friends (Luke11:5-8). One friend in the middle of the night comes to borrow three loaves ofbread. After persistent knocking, his friend finally gets out of bed and takescare of the friend's need -- not because of friendship but because of thefriend's persistence -- and so he can finally get some sleep!

Luke adds a comforting reflection to this parable: "For whoeverasks, receives; whoever seeks, finds; whoever knocks, is admitted." Butthen unexpectedly Luke concludes the parable with a surprising comparisonbetween us and God as givers. If wehumans, sinful though we are, know how to give our children good things,"how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those whoask Him?" The best gift God can give is often not what we explicitly seekbut God's own self, the Holy Spirit!

Often we misunderstand the purpose of seeking God's help in prayer.We see prayer primarily as a means of controlling God for material advantagesfor ourselves or others; we do not see prayer as a way of acknowledging themost fundamental relationship of our life, our relationship as creature to ourCreator-Father. But through persistentprayer we have the occasion to become more aware that as creatures we are notself-sufficient but are dependent beings, like children to loving parents. And through persistent prayer we slowly cometo realize that our Father-Creator does respond to every prayer. The response is often the best gift God cangive -- God's own presence through the Holy Spirit. With this presence we havethe guidance and strength to handle life's stress and problems.

Jesus in Gethsemane is our model.

As we get caught up in our daily lives, it becomes very easy for usto take the gifts that God has given us for granted. We don’t always realize how blessed and lovedwe are by God and we just go about our lives. We must recognize what God has blessed us with and accept it with openarms. By accepting God’s great gifts, weare accepting His love.

We must also care for the many different kinds of people God hasplaced on this earth. God’s creationdoes not end with the earth; it also includes all the humans that inhabitit. Since all humans are made in God’simage, we are called to treat them with dignity and respect. At times this may be difficult for all of us,but when we do, we successfully show our love for all of God’s creation.

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OFather of all Good, draw us to drink deeply and share abundantly the love andthe truth that You have given us in Your Son, our Lord and Savior JesusChrist. Amen.

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Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.

As I drove around Bakersfield this week, I noticed the“40 Days for Life” vigils out in front of the abortion mills. My prayer intention for this Saturday is forthose heroic people who are being persistent in their pleas to our Lord throughHis Blessed Mother’s rosary and giving their time to show witness of God’s lovefor all creation.

We CAN take it with us! (Our love of God and neighbor, that is!)

2011-11-10T21:03:00.001-08:00

Mostgracious Lord, continue to pour out Your love and truth upon us by doing allthat will awaken our hearts and minds to You and so allow You to become our allin all. Amen.

Reflection

One bitterly cold day Saint Martin of Tours came across a half-nakedbeggar shivering in the cold. Manypeople had passed this man, and seen him shivering, but no one had stopped tohelp him. Moved with compassion, Martinused his sword to cut his cloak in two and gave one half to the beggar to keephim warm. Martin was not owned by hispossessions; he was able to leave them behind in order to help a stranger. And from this he came to know Christ moredeeply – that very night he had a dream in which he saw Christ wearing the halfof the cloak he gave to the man.

As I compare that to my own experiences, I fall way short of what isexpected of me. I have given money topeople on the street, bought meals for the hungry, and even gave a sweatshirtof mine to a homeless man who told me he was cold. But I didn’t EMPTY my pockets (after all, Imay need something myself later on), I stopped at feeding just one hungry mantoday (although I was asked twice), and the sweatshirt was an extra one (infact, it was an identical sweatshirt to another I had in my car!).

The book of Wisdom says, “Allmen were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God” (Wisdom 13: 1-9). To have true wisdom, then, you must know God. But do we really know God? Or do we let things get in the way?

Wisdom continues, saying, “though they seek God and wish to find him…[and] they search busilyamong his works, they are distracted by what they see, because the things seenare fair”. Do we get distracted bythe things of this earth: our belongings, our attitudes, and/or our wealth? It’s easy to get distracted by the things ofthis earth, but we are called today to be like St. Martin of Tours. We need to be willing to leave things behindthat may distract us from gaining a life with God - whether it be our materialgoods, or our ideas and prejudices. Leaving things behind is hard. It is difficult to think about parting withthe comforts of this life. But thesedistractions prevent us from knowing Christ deeply.

And, to put it in perspective, you never see aU-Haul behind a hearse* – you can’t take your ‘stuff’ with you after you die,so why treat these material goods like they’re incredibly important?

Today we are called to question, what in thislife is distracting us from knowing God? How might giving up these belongings help usstrengthen our relationship with Christ? And how can I incorporate the actions of St.Martin of Tours into my own life?

Sometimes it seems that living a life of sin is a lot easier thanliving a Christ-like one. But what wouldhappen if the Lord came down from heaven right now and passed judgment on usall? As we are told in the Gospel, ourLord's last coming will be something sudden and unexpected; it will catch many people unprepared (Luke 17:26-37). God isn’t going to warn us. He’s not going to say, “Hey everyone! I’mcoming next week so you should probably all go to confession and stop sinning”. And since we don’t know when our lastday on this earth is, and we don’t know when the Lord will come, shouldn’t welive everyday like it was our last? Shouldn’twe walk away from our sinful lives?

TheGospel’s teaching has an urgency about it; Jesus is telling us that we need toexamine our actions now so that the Lord can call on us when we least expectit. The people during Noah’s time weregoing about their sinful lives until the floods came and they died withoutrepentance. The same can be said for thepeople of Sodom and Gomorrah. God lovesus so much that he doesn’t want that to happen to us! He wants us to change our ways so that whenjudgment does comes, we don’t have to suffer like the people of Sodom andGomorrah. The Gospel is calling us toreexamine our lives and our actions. It is calling us to stop leading a sinfullife. And it is calling us to instead be an example of Christ’s steadfast loveand kindness.

*Actually, I have seen a U-Haul behind a hearse. After 19 years working for U-Haul, I may haveseen just about everything! Lol. Just for the facts, the hearse’s owner hadjust bought the car and was taking it to another city. The trailer was for his few pieces of luggagethat wouldn’t fit in the hearse.

Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.

PrayerIntentions

Nowthat the darkness starts sooner in the day, so does the cold. I pray for those who have no blanket orshelter to keep them warm, that they can find warmth in our Blessed Mother’sembrace.

I prayfor those who have no money to buy something to eat for themselves or theirchildren, that the holy Saint Joseph helps them find meaningful employment at afair wage.

I prayfor those who are lonely, that they may find solace in Christ’s love for them.

Amen.