The so-so Samaritan

In today's gospel, Our Lord accepts the words of the scholar in answer to the question of inheriting eternal life:  You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.

    

Later, in John's gospel, we again hear Christ say:   "This is my commandment: love one another as I love you." (John 15:12)

This gospel is quite appropriate on the Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi. This great saint would, upon entering a village, go straight to the Catholic church and prostrate himself before the doors, extending his arms toward the altar, and he would pray for many minutes in this position, before arising and entering the church.  This act indicated his complete belief in the Real Presence of Christ on the altar, reserved in the tabernacle, because this is how Francis would have acted if the "bodily" Christ was seated thereon for him to see with human eyes.

We, as mere mortals, are unable to love one another as God loves us without the help of God. But Christ has given us that help - that great grace - by giving Himself to us in the Eucharist, in Holy Communion. This is the greatest miracle on earth!

As I reflect on the message in today’s gospel, my mind and feelings go in so many directions. I echo the scholar’s question: “Who is my neighbor?” As I examine my conscience, I realize I have not always been faithful to Christ’s call because I have not always responded as did the Samaritan, but instead have been like the priest and the Levite.


I have sometimes given money to a person standing outside the door of the church, but not always. I have sometimes looked him in the eye as I gave him my money, and said “God bless you” to him, but sometimes I just have given him the bills and quickly looked away. I have sometimes said “Good morning” to an obviously homeless person on the street, but I haven’t ever asked how they are doing and what I could to do help them. I am conflicted about giving money to beggars, and while I am polite, I have more often rejected than responded positively to the pleas of street people asking me for a few coins.


I haven’t always helped the people on the margins, the poor, the under-employed, the people it is easy to overlook. I get so busy in my own daily life that I forget their daily life is much more challenging, and that their struggles are for survival, while mine are for much less basic needs.

I haven’t always listened with real interest when a colleague or a family member wants to talk about the problems they are facing. I nod my head, but my mind and feelings sometimes are somewhere else. I am sympathetic to their illnesses, and those of their family members, but I don’t do much to lessen their suffering.

It seems like the more I become aware of what I have to lose, the more afraid I am to help the victims I see. I sometimes put my safety and protecting my possessions ahead of the needs of the hurting people I encounter. I don’t always engage them with the empathy that Jesus asks of me, and I am not always interested in helping them address what hurts them.

And so my prayer today is for the gift of Jesus’ empathy and selflessness, for the strength to let go of my possessions, my safety, my concerns, my selfishness, so I can see everyone I encounter as my neighbor, as did the Samaritan, and to soothe their hurts in whatever way I can.

October: Month of the Holy Rosary

Click here for a pretty good history of the Rosary

It is, after all, October.

Missing Lily--one of the crosses I bear occasionally

I will be so glad when I finally get to go home tomorrow and stay home. Next week I get to work in Stockton instead of Fresno or Bakersfield. I really miss Marilyn, Alicia, Lily and the rest of my family when I’m gone for weeks at a time. Especially Lily. I can’t believe how much I miss her. Even though she’s beginning to “push the envelope” and exercise a bit of independence and throw minor tantrums, she is still delightful to be around. I think what delights me the most about her is the absolute love and trust she places—without even knowing it—in those of us who are entrusted with her care, which reminds me of Matthew 18:5—“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me. . . .”


The citizens of heaven are like children in all the delightful things of children - in the joy, exuberance, unbounded enthusiasm - in the willingness to make fools of themselves to amuse others and to amuse themselves, in the unbridled love of life that takes hold and whisks the child and the person caring for the child into an entirely new world view.

Whoever consents to receive a child into their hearts in the name of Jesus receives Jesus. When we care for a child who would otherwise have no life, no home, we receive Jesus. When we pray for the unborn that they are brought to life, we receive Jesus. When we encourage desperate single mothers, or lonely young teens who find themselves abandoned by all - we receive Jesus.

That’s why participating in any way you can in 40 Days for Life is important and I daresay obligatory. When Jesus dwells with us, when we receive Him as a child, we cannot help but share Him, generously and completely and from the heart. When we become children for Jesus, we are willing to be seen as fools for love of Him. And if we carry this enthusiasm into the world, if we show the joy of our love and our presence in Christ, we will fill the world with wonders and transform it.

Just as taking the hand of a child and seeing the world from the child's point of view transforms your own world, with the heart of a child, you can transform the world of others as you show them the love that Jesus shows you. Become a child for Christ, serve Him and celebrate Him with all the joy you can find within you, and gather others to you and let them feel that warmth and that joy.

Come to Jesus as a child and you will be more of an adult than you ever have been. You will know greater maturity in faith than you have ever known. And better, you will learn to live again.

God is in the details.

I try to be a good person every day, in small things and big things, but I don’t always succeed. Tomorrow’s first Friday readings reinforce the idea that God is in the details---He knows us and still loves us.

This week’s readings have been from Job. Job uses such wonderful imagery to show the mightiness of God!


“Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning
and shown the dawn its place
For taking hold of the ends of the earth,
till the wicked are shaken from its surface?” (Job 38:1, 12-21, 40:3-5)


The Psalm then shows us how God, even in that grandeur, knows each of us, when we sit and when we stand. (Ps 139:1-3, 7-8, 9-10, 13-14ab)  Small things do matter. In that prayer we ask God to guide us.


In the Gospel, we learn of Jesus sending out pairs of apostles as advance teams, but he warns them that they will be like “lambs among the wolves.” (Luke 10:13-16) They, too, must pay attention to the big and small things they find out on this journey.


Sometimes it’s easier to do the big gesture than pay attention to the small things. I need to remember that everyone deserves my respect and kindness, even when I’m not having a good day. I was not a very pleasant guy to be around on Wednesday.  I found out on Tuesday evening--late!--that our CEO, President, Executive VP and District VP were going to be in town to inspect our centers.  So when I got to the store I am working in this week on Wednesday morning, I was more worried about all of the items they would find wrong than taking the time to fix them.  I overreacted to some of the problems I perceived and I started to take it out on the team members who were working with me while we waited for the "bigwigs".  But Todd (my boss and very good friend who knows me better than I know myself sometimes) was able to keep them busy enough at the other stores that they had no time to visit me.  I realized, when Todd called to thank me for my efforts and tell me to "stand down" from the inspection mode I was in, that I had possibly offended those who were working with me, so I made a point to both apologize to them and thank them at the same time for all the help they gave me.   I think God  understood my crankiness but rejoiced with me when I atoned for it (At least that is my hope).


It’s fitting that tomorrow is the feast of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus. She lived her short life dedicated to the idea that we need to do what we can where we are. In many respects, we could consider her life small, but she made it big. Small things matter.

Pray for lost sheep

Usually, right after Mass I can get some Hosts from the tabernacle to take with me to the hospital to distribute to the sick.  But a couple of weeks ago, I guess the sacristan (or Father) miscalculated the number of wafers that would need to be consecrated and there were none left for me to get.  When I remarked to the sacristan after Mass that I assumed I would have to wait until after the next Mass to get the Eucharist, he said, "Why don't you just get Father to come back here and bless some more for you?" 


I was dumfounded!  This was not a young man telling me this.  He had obviously been a Catholic for a long time!  I had to remind him that the Host is not simply "blessed" bread, but transubstantiated through the hands of the priest into the very Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, Himself! 


Today, I came across a survey about what people know about other religions, as well as their own.  One of the findings was that forty-five percent of Roman Catholics who participated in the study didn't know that, according to church teaching, the bread and wine used in Holy Communion is not just a symbol, but becomes the Body and Blood of Christ.  So I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised at the guy's ignorance of church teaching. 


Then again today, I found a link to a Time Magazine article about the illicit (and, I might add, invalid) ordination of women to the priesthood in the US.  Canon Law 1024 says that only baptized men can receive holy orders.


The article is so full of hatred and diatribe against the Catholic Church I was actually sick to my stomach.  If these men and women can't understand that Canon Law is based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Magisterial teachings and the Truth as revealed by the Holy Spirit, we must pray that their eyes open and they repent of their grave errors. 


 
 

It makes no sense to argue about who is the greatest

In today's Gospel an argument arose among the Apostles about which of them was the greatest.


Jesus, who looks into our hearts and knows what our intentions are, simply placed a child in their midst and stated that "whoever receives this child in My name receives Me and whoever receives Me receives the One who sent Me."

It’s almost like they don’t get it, because John starts up with another question that to me sounds like he’s competing for Jesus’ notice with everybody else. He says he has seen someone “not a follower like us” who is driving out demons in Jesus’ name, thinking that Jesus will rebuke him, but instead he replies, “Do not prevent him, for whoever is not against you is for you.” (Luke 9:46-50)

One must never be deceived by one's status or accomplishments. That is how Satan tried to drive a wedge between Job and God. Satan failed, even though he went to such great lengths and reduced Job to a state of helplessness.

Sometimes we seem to forget this most important teaching of Jesus. We assume that if someone is not Catholic or Christian in a way that we recognize, they cannot help us or they oppose us. While this may be true in some cases, in many cases the opposite is true. Those who do not hinder us, help us in that much. Today we have so many who are ready to bring suit against us for speaking out in faith -- so many ready to take offense at our belief -- ready to tell us of our foolishness and our naïveté.

But there are a great many whose prayers join with ours. A great many people support what we do, but do not necessarily have the mission (or perhaps the courage, as it is in my case) to go out in the forefront of the battle. Nevertheless, they quietly support our efforts with their prayers.

There are others as well -- atheists and feminists who oppose the death penalty for the fetus in the womb -- perhaps unlikely companions in being a voice for the voiceless. For this service God blesses them -- and even if they do not join us in prayer outside abortion clinics, or perhaps make no public display at all -- nevertheless, they do not oppose us, and they work in their own ways to accomplish the same end.

We should not assume that Protestant, Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, Taoist, Hindu, or any of our brothers and sisters who do not aid us directly, necessarily oppose us. Certainly some do, but not all. And most are looking for the same thing we are.

We should strive to be supporters, not superstars. Jesus said, "For the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest." Only then will we be able to do as the psalm directs, "Incline your ear to me and hear my word." If we are "arguing" about who is the greatest, we are not listening.

Blog Lite

Blog? Or Blog Lite? I had the opportunity to drive from Fresno to Bakersfield and back earlier today and that allowed me to listen to a lot of radio programs that were focused on everything from the Rosary with Father Corapi, pro-life concerns and St. Terese of Liseux or Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman to current movie reviews from a catholic perspective.

During every program I thought, “THAT would be a good topic for my blog tonight!” But when I actually sat down to write, there were so many ideas floating around in my head that what I wrote was, in the end, either very heavy reading or incoherent babble.


So like you see in some movies where an author doesn’t like what he has written, I figuratively crumbled up my musings and tossed them in the can! What I actually did, however, was hit the delete key on my computer. Ah, technology! I didn’t even have to pretend to try and “score” a basket when I “tossed” my wad of paper towards the trashcan.


I continued to think about making an entry while watching the local Catholic channel. It’s not EWTN, although they have some EWTN programming. I was getting bored with Marcus Grodi interviewing someone from Sweden (why do most Europeans sound to those of us on “this side of the pond” so dry and monotone?), so I turned to something else until Father Corapi came on. His presentation was on ‘Beauty and Truth.” Still, the material was much too heavy for me to write about today. I made the decision I want to keep the mood and content “Lite”.


The Holy Spirit can really have a sense of humor when He wants to. All I said was, “Please, Lord, let me find something to write about that won’t tax my brain tonight!” The next program on the channel I was watching was called “Going My Way”. It has a singing priest and another one playing the piano and they sing songs from the 30’s and 40’s and joke around with one another and their “guest priest”. I was laughing so hard at the campiness of it all I almost couldn’t catch my breath! If that wasn’t enough, the next program was a Catholic game show called “Divine Intervention”, hosted by a Monsignor, no less! It was even more hilarious, (but at the same time educationally entertaining) than “Going My Way”.


Both programs should be required watching for those who think priests are all stuffy, no-nonsense, humorless individuals. I certainly know my share of priests who convey both holiness and humor. In fact, I heard someone say one time that you'll find that most of the saints, if you study them long enough, had great senses of humor!

MIRACLE OF THE HOLY ROSARY

I came across this YouTube video with Elvis Presley singing "The Miracle of the Holy Rosary."  If a non-Catholic good ole Southern Baptist kind of boy can sing with this much passion about our Blessed Mother, she can't be as bad as some of our anti-Catholic "seperated bretheren" make her out to be, can she?

Give me neither poverty nor riches (Proverbs 30)

Readings from Proverbs (Proverbs 30:5-9) and Luke (Luke 9:1-6) remind us how difficult it is to live in this world and also grow closer to God.



“Give me neither poverty nor riches; provide me only with the food I need” says Proverbs. How difficult it is to strike this balance in a world that measures, perhaps more than any other time in human history, success based on the ability to amass and command material goods! How easy it is for so many people to consume more than they need, whether it be food or housing or clothing or scarce resources such as fuel and water. And it is hard for most of us to recognize that this call to balance is not just for our own lives and well-being, but also so we will be aware of our impact on our natural world and our fellow creatures.


Jesus sends the disciples off on their ministry with not much more than the clothes on their back, challenging them to have faith that what they need in material items will come to them. The psalms (Psalm 119:29, 72, 89, 101, 104, 163) indicate that by following the Lord’s precepts we can gain discernment; by teaching the disciples to have a detachment from material goods, Jesus guides them to find discernment in simplicity and faith. If our focus is on “stuff” how can it also be on where God is calling us?


We have so much more today than the disciples had two thousand years ago. Our creature comforts, for the vast majority of society, would be unimaginable to a contemporary of Jesus. In many cases they have become “necessities.” Cable television, dishwashers, microwaves, computers, cell phones and so on all are so engrained in our lives that we cannot imagine doing without. So are we challenged to give up these items? We live in this world, not the ancient one, and so we need to measure our “needs” in different terms. But we can have an attitude of detachment. We can recognize that material items are not ends in themselves. We can place our drive for success in perspective. We can strive to live simpler lives. We can let go of our things, not embrace them. We can try to do without, or use less, not more.


Hard? Of course it is! But this simplicity, this balance, is what the scriptures call us to.

Saint Vincent De Paul, whose feast day we celebrate on Wednesday, said: "Strive to live content in the midst of those things that cause your discontent. Free your mind from all that troubles you, God will take care of things. You will be unable to make haste in this [choice] without, so to speak, grieving the heart of God, because he sees that you do not honor him sufficiently with holy trust. Trust in him, I beg you, and you will have the fulfillment of what your heart desires" (St. Vincent de Paul, Letters).

What a difference a simple little vowel makes

"Follow me." At these words from Jesus, Matthew got up from what he was doing, I presume quitting his cushy tax collector job without notice and with no real plan other than to follow Jesus. Here he was, a man reviled by all, a man, in all likelihood, mired in sin and in the exploitation of the poor and powerless; in short, a man who had it made in the ancient world. But such was (and IS—to those who will listen) the power of the voice of Christ; such was the joy of the service of Jesus that at one word from Him, this man was willing to give up everything.

We should recall Matthew’s action each time we drag our feet in one form of service or another. Each time the Lord asks us to smile at someone, speak to someone, have coffee with someone, feed someone, help in any way that lies within our power -- we should recall this man who gave up everything to follow Jesus. He gave it up at a word and left all to be with Jesus. So, surely we can follow with a service less drastic, with a task much less onerous. Surely when we remember what the great saints and apostles sacrificed for us, we can afford the little sacrifice of some of our time.


We can offer a lot of service to the less fortunate simply by giving up a few minutes to an hour each day in prayer for them. If we all spent just a little more time praying for one another rather than preying on one another, we would see the world with a lot more optimism.

Is it just me, or......????

Click here to see a video that points out how attitudes toward gender have changed significantly in the last 20 or so years. I would be curious to know if anyone else finds the answers given by the kids who think it's normal to have two "dads" is disturbing.

Why is it so hard for people to understand that God created both man and woman with the same dignity, but not the same "roles" in life?  Yes, men and women can have the same CAREERS.  But being a parent is NOT a career--it's a VOCATION.  Moms can't be dads and dads can't be moms.  And kids NEED one of each. Each of the parents has something special, yet different and yes--gender-specific--to bring to their children.  No matter how sensitive and "in touch with his feminine side" a man is, he cannot be a maternal role-model.  And no matter how much a woman feels "in touch with her masculine side", she cannot be a paternal role-model.  

I know there are cases of single moms or single dads.  These are, unfortunately, a too-common occurence.  These moms and dads have to do the best they can and find a way to provide their children with positive role-models, enlisting other family members like aunts and uncles, or even the grandparents to provide the examples of  moral, "traditional" family values.  When even these alternatives are unavailable, the Big Brother and Big Sister organizations are good ways to help in raising responsible children. 

Of course, we can't forget that our Heavenly Mother is here to help us, as well.  We only need to ask.

Golden Calves

Speaking of "golden calves".............

Then

Now

Patience IS a virtue

“Good things come to those who wait.” In today’s world of computers, cellular phones and instant access to information, this age-old maxim has been forgotten—as has patience. No one wants to wait and I know some people who actually get angry when they don’t get instant answers. OK, I confess that I’m one of those people. We’ve become so accustomed to instant satisfaction that we often have little patience when God doesn't answer our prayers right away, often causing us to ask ourselves if we even need Him anymore. We're impatient with people who do not measure up to our standards. Our impatience can offend and discourage family members, which leads in many cases to unnecessary and irreparable strife.



Our readings this week are about God's patience. They're also about God's incredible forgiveness, first with the Israelites when they panicked at Moses' absence on the mountain, and made a golden calf as a substitute for the One True God. At the very time God was presenting Moses with the Ten Commandments, they were breaking the first one! It was Moses, of course, who cooled God's anger, so that God relented - - God relented of His anger, forgave the Israelites, and gave them a second chance.


In the second reading, we read about God's patience with Paul (then called Saul), who was murdering the new Christians with great zeal. Paul tells us that Christ came to redeem sinners, and mercifully treated him "so that in me, as the foremost (sinner), Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life."


In the Gospel, we have the story of a lamb, a coin, and two brothers who were lost. There are some beautiful paintings of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, pulling that poor lamb out of a thorn bush, or carrying the exhausted and trembling lamb on his shoulders. The second story about the woman sweeping the house for a single coin, then throwing a party in her joy, seems a bit exaggerated to us today, but we certainly get the idea that Jesus is filled with happiness when someone like us, not much more important than a small coin, comes back to his senses.


The third story is the most famous, the one about the Prodigal Son. The spendthrift, younger son can't even get his carefully rehearsed speech out of his mouth before the Father smothers him with kisses, and treats him like a returning hero. He could well sing for the rest of his days, "I once was lost but now am found." We're not so sure of his angry, resentful older brother. The tearful father could not persuade him to come to the party! But the father forgives him, too.


If we can just remember God's forgiveness of our own sins and failings, and pray constantly for the grace needed to help us avoid rushing to judgment against others, God will help us to be much more patient with the foibles of our friends and family.

Andrea Bocelli tells a “little story” about abortion

Where have all the prayers gone?

Click HERE for an article written by the Catholic Exchange.

A clear instruction manual

I battled a case of food poisoning starting Tuesday night and into Wednesday night, so I didn’t feel much like writing. There were a couple of things I wanted to get out there, though, so I’ll start by saying,


Happy Birthday, Blessed Mother! You don’t look a day over 29, if the statues carved and pictures painted over the last couple of millennia are accurate! Lol.

What do you give someone who already has (virtually) everything she will ever need? What more could she need now that she is in the presence of her Father, Son and Spouse? Maybe the only gift any of us can offer to her is to honor her request that we say the rosary every day for the conversion of sinners.

Speaking of gifts, Lily got a child-sized rocking chair for Christmas last year, but she wasn’t old enough to enjoy it at 1 year old, so we put it away until this week. Marilyn had me put it together. I didn’t want to do it at first because instructions included with most pieces of furniture I’ve ever assembled usually caused me to grumble and fumble my way through the assembly. But I was pleasantly surprised by the manufacturer’s decision to label each individual piece, including the screws and match those labels to the step-by-step instructions and clear pictures.


I can relate this to the Gospel for Thursday, Lk 6:27-38. Jesus’ instructions for how to treat one another are so clear, there is no way anyone could misinterpret them—not that we don’t try constantly. I’ll bet that every situation Jesus mentions in this Gospel are experienced by all of us every single day to some degree or another. How about it? Can you follow directions? I must admit that I often act like a typical man and don’t bother with instructions—and as a result, I usually have to step back and look to see which instruction I failed to follow before I can finish the job.


Just to prove how simple the Gospel is, I am going back to an old format for my blog (just for today’s entry) and pasting the passage here:


Jesus said to his disciples:
"To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.


To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic.


Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.


Do to others as you would have them do to you. For if you love those who love you,
what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.


And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same.


If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you?  Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount.


But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.


Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.


Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."

Open yourself to feel the joy around you

Do you recall when you last felt joy and delight? In a world where we are bombarded with life and all of its details, I think joy might escape sometimes, unheeded in our rush to finish our to-do list. We do have to get those things done. We have responsibilities to our families, to our jobs, to society.



For adults, the moments of pure joy can be few and far between. And we probably take so much time trying to figure out if that moment actually was joy that we miss it.


This makes me think of Lily when she and I are rolling around on the floor playing “Wheeerrrre’s Lily?”. This is a game we made up together wherein I pretend not to see her, and look for her everywhere but right in front of me, where she is standing and waiting for me to say, “Ooh! There she is!”, and then we giggle together. This can go on for about 20 minutes! Lily and I are both so completely in the moment, present, full of joy and delighted to be there in one another's company.
Tuesday’s responsorial psalm made me think of this:


“The Lord takes delight in his people.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.”


The Lord does take delight in us. We need to remember that when we are being less than delightful. The festive language of the psalm contrasts with a more stern reading from Corinthians, where we are told the unjust will not inherit the Kingdom of God. The list of those of us who will not inherit is pretty exhaustive and a good reminder to be true to God and to ourselves, to our true selves where there is joy.


How do we open ourselves up to joy? The Gospel gives us a clue. Jesus goes to the mountain to pray. Take time for yourself to pray even if your mountain isn’t quite so mountainous. Quiet time, even if it’s in the shower or in your car after dropping the kids off or late in the evening when you’re loading the dishwasher or at your computer.


Jesus then came down from the mountain and chose the Twelve. Surround yourself with people who believe in you. You can’t do it all yourself.


Be in the moment, be present and feel the power of joy. The Lord takes delight in his people.

A bad argument is no argument at all

 Read THIS OPINION from my hometown paper.  This guy and I don't always see eye to eye, but this time he got it right.

Growth in freedom from sin requires sacrifices

First, a quick note on the new look of my blog.  I haven't really been happy with the background of my blog for a while now.  Even though green is my favorite color, I found this template of a road that looks like it's headed someplace pleasant.  Isn't that the journey we're all on?  So until I get the "itch" to change it again, this is my new format.

The beginning of today's gospel often turns people off. Jesus' call to complete renunciation of everything that gets in the way of discipleship seems extreme. Could it be possible for my "father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters" to get in the way of my following Jesus? And do I really have to reject even my "own life"? Jesus is asking total commitment of us. He isn't looking for us to limit our commitment to celebrating Mass on Sunday and avoiding evil. He expects us to live the Gospel and to announce the Good News to others, and to do this, knowing there will be a great cost.


For some of us, a great resistance might come from our families. However, I suspect the greatest resistance for most of us comes from two other places first: 1) our own hearts and 2) the cultural support group we all have around us. The first place where conversion happens is in our own hearts. Jesus is asking us to let him love us and to let him win over our hearts. We understand the challenge most when we know our own hearts well, when we understand the parts of our own hearts that resist the Gospel, the parts of each of us that need healing and conversion. This is where Jesus encourages us to prepare, to calculate if we have the resources to build what we need to build, to wage the battle we need to wage. Too often it is difficult for me to let go of ideas and strong feelings and habits I've had for many years. Jesus is inviting us to consider carefully what it will take to fully give him our hearts. Imagine someone addicted to drugs who said he wanted to quit, but didn't get rid of his stash or break off ties with his user friends. Imagine a guy wanting to confront his addiction to compulsive sexual liaisons, but doesn't take the step of blocking his access to social networking sites or pornography. I think we would all agree with Jesus: They aren't equipping themselves for what they need to do.


The second place we find a challenge for conversion to discipleship is in our friends and the circle of cultural support around us. Sometimes the society we live in, and the values it espouses, are simply so contrary to the Gospel that it is difficult for us to see it. Is it possible that, in speaking to us today, Jesus might say his challenging words a bit differently?


"If anyone of you comes to me without hating your friends, associates, and any part of the culture around you, and even your own life—insofar as through these you are being shaped by any values contrary to the Gospel—you cannot be my disciple."


In every culture, there are values that conflict with the message of Jesus. Often, Church leaders clearly speak out in defense of the Gospel in a very direct and counter-cultural way. At times, the Gospel of Jesus and the teaching of the Church challenge our political biases, our financial status, and our racial prejudices. Jesus is calling us to complete renunciation of whatever is counter to the Gospel.


We might say, "I can't possibly renounce all my possessions. That would be irresponsible. I have a family. I need a roof over my head. I contribute to society and to my church."


Jesus' challenge becomes a meaningful call to action if we hear how it might apply to us and we reflect upon it more deeply.


“I'm asking you to grow in the freedom it takes to follow me with all your heart. Renounce whatever turns your heart against me, and my Word. Disassociate yourself from habits, stances, positions, parties, identities that are foreign to the spirit of generosity, self-sacrifice and love for others the way I love you. It will involve carrying a cross, but for everything you surrender, I will repay with more than you can ask or imagine.”


If we need more resources for this commitment, we only need to ask for the graces we need. Try an hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament—it works! Jesus will always give us the graces to do what he asks us to do and he will always give us the graces he wants to give us, if we are open to them.

A light goes on!

I was in a small town today where everybody knows everybody else and complaining to your councilman is as easy as walking into his neighborhood store. This particular councilman is a former mayor (and he’s running for election again!). He’s also a pastor of an evangelical church in town and owner of the local radio station.



It’s hard for him and me to conduct our business because of all the city business he has to perform and the feathers he has to soothe to keep his constituents happy. I don’t really mind, but it brought us to a conversation about civil service and intercession. I didn’t bring the word “intercession” up, but I couldn’t help but smile when I heard this Protestant minister use the word in exactly the context I would have used in describing our mother Mary’s role in our salvation.


After one interruption too many today, he apologized and said, “My constituents have tried to go to the different department heads and even the Mayor himself to get their concerns worked out, but when things don’t happen the way they want it, they know I have a little more “juice” when it comes to dealing with those in power, so they ask me to intercede on their behalf.”


Because of some of our earlier conversations about faith and morals, he knows I am Catholic to the core, so when I smiled that “Mary does the same thing for me!” smile, he just smiled back as if to say, “It’s NOT the same thing!” Even though we both know that it is the same thing, it was too hot and I was too tired today to charitably persuade him that it is. Maybe next time—I think the smile was enough evangelizing for today. There are still plenty of things we do agree on. Evangelization takes time. Stay tuned.

Freedom through mercy

Recorded talks by Father John Corapi are on the radio most mornings at 9:00 A.M. and, since I am quite often on the road at the same time, I have heard the same programs over and over and over again. And yet every time I listen to him, I hear something else that touches me in a way I haven’t been touched before, something that really puts me in touch with the Holy Spirit and His gifts. I guess that’s what makes a great preacher or homilist—the ability to speak to the soul of his listeners.



Many times I use the programs I hear on the TV or radio or the readings of the day to give me an idea to write about on my blog. I got my inspiration for today’s entry from a story Father Corapi told on his program this morning.


He related how, on the day after his ordination by Pope John Paul II, he heard a whisper from the shadows, then a request from a gentleman asking if Father Corapi would hear his confession. After agreeing, the stranger began, “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It’s been 35 years since my last confession.” After hearing the man’s litany of sins, Father gave him absolution through the power of Christ and, as Father Corapi puts it, he “could hear the chains of Satan’s oppression fall from the man and rattle on the ground.”


It’s impossible for me to convey the emotions and inflections in Father Corapi’s voice as he told the story, but I have to confess I started bawling my eyes out! Here I am driving down Highway 99, and I can’t see through the tears! Why? I didn’t know this guy! I’ve heard the story at least 20 times and never cried before! Why now?


I thought about it all day. I couldn’t stop thinking about my reaction. Then, at about 10:00 tonight, it hit me! As I see it, the reasons for the tears were two-fold: tears of overwhelming joy followed by tears of regret. The tears of joy were because of Christ’s great mercy available to all through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, a mercy that I've experienced personally. The tears of regret were for all of those who don’t realize or appreciate His loving mercy and so don’t take advantage of the Sacrament--again, a feeling I've experienced personally.


I don’t read the newspapers much anymore except the comics (hey, some are still pretty funny without being dirty) the op-ed page and the letters to the editor. On August 24, there was a pretty disgusting editorial cartoon along with an opinion article lamenting how “everyone” (even his own party, now) is finding something to complain about in regards to the President of the United States. This morning there was the following letter:


“Your Aug. 24 cartoon that appeared with the Clarence Page column depicting President Barack Obama as Christ crucified is the consummate sacrilege. You owe every Christian among your readership an apology.


Were you to run such an outrage demeaning a figure sacred to Islam, your editorial board would do well to fear for their lives. In this case, no worries. He forgives you, for you know not what you do.”


There you go. Christ’s forgiveness in a nutshell.

Let go and let God

Paul seems annoyed when he writes to the Corinthian community: “The wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God.”


No doubt the Corinthians were arranging their lives around fulfilling worldly goals — personal well being, material prosperity, professional success, health, long life. Paul was exasperated: how could they be so foolish! Had they totally forgotten the message he preached to them?


But he softens his message by reminding them that, “all belong to you, and you to Christ, and Christ to God.” Paul doesn’t seem to be accusing the Corinthians of living sinful lives but rather of living disordered lives. Their lives were “off center, ” centered on worldly goals. They had not integrated these goals with living the Gospel so they must refocus their lives.


Why? Paul puts it bluntly: You belong to Christ!


In every age we Christians experience the same temptation as the Corinthians. Our lives may not be sinful but they are frequently “off-center.” We too are often caught up in the foolishness of the wisdom of this world, forgetting to Whom we belong.


Paul’s words remain important reminders to us: We do not belong primarily to this world; we belong to Christ. Consequently we also must refocus our lives.


The responsorial psalm puts it another way: “To the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it.”


Jesus puts it succinctly: “Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven!”


Occasionally, we hear people say things like, "I don't get anything out of going to church," or "I don't feel anything when I pray," or any number of other excuses for not seeking the Kingdom of Heaven. Theologians have termed this “spiritual dryness”.


We learned, after the death of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, that she experienced spiritual dryness for years. Sometimes God allows this dryness to help us deepen our faith. We must, however, always ask ourselves the question, "Am I giving all that I might, to my prayer life?" God is always there. Maybe we are the ones who have stepped away or have turned our backs on Him.

Christ asked Simon to "put out into the deep and lower your nets for a catch."   (Luke 5: 1-11) Then we are told that the apostles experienced a tremendous catch of fish. Perhaps if we step "out into the deep" ourselves, let go of our own agendas and our own way of doing things, then God can work through us.

I am reminded of the often heard and profound statement: "Let go and let God." That leads me to the next question: What is God going to do through me today?

Giving credit where credit is due

I had a little private chuckle with “the Little Flower”, St. Therese of Lisieux today. I was in a shop that sells products to make one’s home more “serene”. They had items like Buddhas, bamboo lamp shades, and Asian style wall hangings and paintings. One of the items on sale was a packet of small rounded stones with sayings attributed to Confucius, Buddha, and other well-known Asian proverbs.

What made me laugh was the saying on one of the stones. “We can do no great things. Only small things with great love.” The attribution was given to “Anonymous”. Ironically, St. Therese must be tickled that she didn’t get credit for the words that she made up and that she used as a model of her behavior on her road to sainthood.

While I was doing some research on the 'net for tonight's blog, I came across a poster that someone more talented than I am drew up with some words from one of the prayers that St. Therese made up:

Here is the entire prayer:

May Today there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possiblities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing that you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.

One stop shopping

A really popular customer service tool in today's business world is "one-stop shopping".  It means finding almost everything you need in one place so you don't have to keep hopping from one place to another, then not having any time left to enjoy your purchases.

I discovered a "one-stop shopping" website that is great for Catholic resources such as news, teaching, blogs, and even some fun blogs!  I've posted the link in the column to the left.  Just click on the logo that you see here and you will be taken to a great site.  I spent a couple of hours getting a "fix" of Catholic teaching and news.  I didn't find anything that was contrary to the CCC.

Look for this logo.

Go ahead!  Take a chance!  You just might learn something you didn't know!

Living the faith

Whenever you read about the lives of the saints, one of the attributes they share is the suffering they had to endure. The other heroic virtue they exhibit is their ability to share that suffering with the suffering Christ endured for us without voicing regret—in fact, most have written about the joy it gives them to share in His suffering!



There are many, many different examples of this, but two of them really “stick out like sore thumbs”—Teresa of Avila and Therese of Lisieux. The fact that both are Doctors of the Church also speaks volumes of their special brand of sanctity.


During a discussion with my mom today, another couple of “future saints” came to mind—my brother Bob and my sister-in-law Marilyn. They both bear a heavy burden with grace and gratitude to God. Both my brother and she have basically suffered side-by-side for many years and I’ve not heard any whining from either of them. They just seem to accept the cross that has been given to them and they keep plugging away, setting an example for the rest of us.


God Bless you both, Bob and Marilyn!

Staying ready is the best strategy

It is interesting that people who are in the process of dying usually appreciate the value of each moment of life. Family and friends often hang onto each moment with the person and those times are vivid in their memories for years to come. What if we could live each day like that throughout our lives?



We are reminded in the gospel reading from St. Matthew that we are to "stay awake, for we do not know when the Lord will come." (Matthew 24:44)


It is often stated that we can judge a person's character by how they act when no one is watching. We need to remember that God is always with us, and in fact He watches with us. I might ask myself the rhetorical questions, "How do I live my life? Am I looking back over my shoulder, as though afraid of when the Lord will come, or instead, with arms open to fully live and relish each moment I have received from God?" Life is precious! Ask the dying person.


In an episode of the Simpsons, Bart says he plans to live a debauched life and then go for a deathbed conversion. I guess that works if you know when you’re going to die, but since you don’t always know the day or the hour, that plan can backfire.

One of my co-workers recently experienced the loss of his father. When I was able to see him and offer my condolences, he told me that his father was born Catholic and, while he was a good man in many ways he never really practiced his faith, or wanted much to do with it for that matter, as happens with so many these days. But he was fortunate—he had several days notice that he was going to die, and made arrangements to have a priest come in to the hospital room and administer the sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist. It not only made for a peaceful death for my friend’s dad, but for my friend and his family as well. Praise God! My friend said he knew this story would elate me, because he knows the importance I place on God’s good graces. And even though I never met his father, my heart soared knowing that he died in a state of grace and is hopefully already in the presence of our Lord and Savior. I need all the friends in Heaven I can get!


Jesus says to be ready at any time. When the boss is away, the employees will goof off. But if the boss comes back early, the employees who are doing their work will be rewarded, and those who are partying will be let go. We need to be ready at any time. We don’t know when our time is up and we can’t always count on having time to make things right, like my friend’s father.

Under the fig tree, high on the Lord!

I seriously considered changing the name of my blog to “Under the Fig Tree” after reading, then listening to today’s Gospel. I was actually kind of amused that of all great words I could have chosen to meditate on, the first thing that “spoke to me” was the fig tree.

When I think of fig trees, the first words that come to mind are “shade” and “refreshing”. The leaves are large (big enough to cover our nakedness), the branches are thick, and the shade that it provides is cool and refreshing, especially on hot summer days. It’s pretty much the way I think of the Church. The leaves represent the teachings and promises of Christ through the Scriptures. The branches remind me of His promise that the Church will remain strong and even continue to grow under the Pope (Peter and his successors)—“Even the gates of hell will not prevail against it”. (Matthew 16) The shade provided by the fig tree is the comfort I get from the joyful hope that a belief in Christ brings to me. I know, I know. It’s a stretch for an analogy, but that’s what happens when I try to meditate in the heat!

Another thought on today’s gospel: Who wouldn’t want a friend like Philip? Someone who is so convicted in his faith that even a snide remark (“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”) won’t turn him away from inviting you to see the Truth?  How many times have we backed off of our evangelistic efforts because of a snide remark?

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On these hot summer days and evenings, it’s hard to meditate. I mean really hard to meditate, especially after a 12-hour working day. I start to get a thought, then—POOF!—it’s gone. Thankfully, meditating on the rosary is not so difficult, because I say it in “Scriptural” format, using various printed Scripture verses between Hail Marys. But trying to maintain a meditation on the day’s readings when it’s soooo hot is really difficult.

I had an unexpected encounter in Modesto today with a guy who goes to St. Anne’s in Lodi. I see him quite often when I am able to go to daily mass there. He is a sacristan for the Saturday masses and he is a Eucharistic Minister who distributes the Precious Blood during the daily mass. We got into a conversation about Father Jairo, who is leaving in a week or so to his new assignment in Turlock. Jim said he had to speak to Fr. Jairo after mass recently. It seems Father likes to pour a bit more wine into the chalice than most of the other priests. Then the wine is turned into the Blood of Christ and given to those who want to receive Our Lord under both Species. When Communion is over, the minister consumes any of the Blood that is remaining, and the priest cleans the chalice. Jim said he had to tell Father to cut back a bit when pouring the wine, because if he ever got stopped on the way home and had to tell the police that he was “high on Our Lord Jesus Christ”, he would be put in jail for sure! And then he would have to call Father for bail money! It gave me a good laugh for the rest of the day.

A distinct brand--the mark of Baptism

In today’s competitive workplace, customers tell companies they need to have a distinct brand, character and quality, in a crowded marketplace to succeed. Advertisers call these traits a “distinct identity”. God's word, through St. Paul, describes the hallmarks of Christians. These come through the grace of Baptism, in the power of the Holy Spirit: a faith that flourishes, a love for one another that grows greater, endurance and faith despite persecutions and afflictions. (2 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 11-12)

St. Paul prays for the disciples "that our God may make you worthy of His calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith, that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in Him." This distinct identity is in Christ and it is God's work.

Monday is the feast day of St. Rose of Lima. Like the Thessalonians who made their progress in faith while in the world, St. Rose of Lima cultivated her virtuous life while living at home. Here is the entry on St. Rose of Lima from the Catholic Encyclopedia:

Virgin, patroness of America, born at Lima, Peru 20 April, 1586; died there 30 August, 1617.


At her confirmation in 1597, she took the name of Rose, because, when an infant, her face had been seen transformed by a mystical rose. As a child she was remarkable for a great reverence, and pronounced love, for all things relating to God. This so took possession of her that thenceforth her life was given up to prayer and mortification. She had an intense devotion to the Infant Jesus and His Blessed Mother, before whose altar she spent hours. She was scrupulously obedient and of untiring industry, making rapid progress by earnest attention to her parents' instruction, to her studies, and to her domestic work, especially with her needle.


After reading of St. Catherine she determined to take that saint as her model. She began by fasting three times a week, adding secret severe penances, and when her vanity was assailed, cutting off her beautiful hair, wearing coarse clothing, and roughening her hands with toil. All this time she had to struggle against the objections of her friends, the ridicule of her family, and the censure of her parents. Many hours were spent before the Blessed Sacrament, which she received daily.


Finally she determined to take a vow of virginity, and inspired by supernatural love, adopted extraordinary means to fulfill it. At the outset she had to combat the opposition of her parents, who wished her to marry. For ten years the struggle continued before she won, by patience and prayer, their consent to continue her mission.


At the same time great temptations assailed her purity, faith, and constance, causing her excruciating agony of mind and desolation of spirit, urging her to more frequent mortifications; but daily, also, Our Lord manifested Himself, fortifying her with the knowledge of His presence and consoling her mind with evidence of His Divine love. Fasting daily was soon followed by perpetual abstinence from meat, and that, in turn, by use of only the coarsest food and just sufficient to support life.


Her days were filled with acts of charity and industry, her exquisite lace and embroidery helping to support her home, while her nights were devoted to prayer and penance. When her work permitted, she retired to a little grotto which she had built, with her brother's aid, in their small garden, and there passed her nights in solitude and prayer. Overcoming the opposition of her parents, and with the consent of her confessor, she was allowed later to become practically a recluse in this cell, save for her visits to the Blessed Sacrament.


In her twentieth year she received the habit of St. Dominic. Thereafter she redoubled the severity and variety of her penances to a heroic degree, wearing constantly a metal spiked crown, concealed by roses, and an iron chain about her waist. Days passed without food, save a draught of gall mixed with bitter herbs. When she could no longer stand, she sought repose on a bed constructed by herself, of broken glass, stone, potsherds, and thorns. She admitted that the thought of lying down on it made her tremble with dread. Fourteen years this martyrdom of her body continued without relaxation, but not without consolation. Our Lord revealed Himself to her frequently, flooding her soul with such inexpressible peace and joy as to leave her in ecstasy for hours. At these times she offered to Him all her mortifications and penances in expiation for offences against His Divine Majesty, for the idolatry of her country, for the conversion of sinners, and for the souls in Purgatory.


Many miracles followed her death. She was beatified by Clement IX, in 1667, and canonized in 1671 by Clement X, the first American to be so honoured. Her feast is celebrated 24 August. She is represented wearing a crown of roses.


Lord, with the example of St. Rose of Lima to guide me, help me live in company with you where I am, give up something of my will and pride today to be more distinctly a sign of You. Amen.

Some fun

There's a new post I put up on Lily's blog (left column, about half-way down) showing a video of Lily and me having some fun.  Check it out!  And turn up the sound!

Faith, first, and obedience will follow

For they preach but they do not practice. (Matthew 23:3)



How often have we found ourselves in the position of having to say, "Do as I say, not as I do." We may not say it aloud, but think how many times you've given advice that you wish you could follow!


When we make up elaborate dance-steps and call them faith, we are inviting people to fail. When we say that in order to have faith you must toe this doctrinal line or that traditional line - - what nonsense! It is faith that allows us to embrace the doctrines, not exclusively the other way around. (It is true that the truth of a doctrine can also open the eyes to faith--but that is not the necessary way.)

Jesus tells us that Mary has done the one thing necessary. That is, she sat at His feet and listened as He spoke. This is the doctrine, this is the teaching we should be sharing. Certainly, we share the sum of our faith, gently and as a person is capable of handling it. We correct errors in thought - - but to do so, we must understand both the error and the corrective measure. If we do not, we stand to make life miserable for those around us. When we insist on doctrine without truly understanding it, we are imposing a burden that can crush the spirit. Because the truth is, that once one has grasped faith and believes, doctrines all, in time, fall in place - - there is no reason to insist upon anything because its truth is made known by the faith that we practice.

So rather than preaching and not doing, let’s love and preach by example. Let us help the brother or sister who is struggling - - let’s be like Simon of Cyrene - - shouldering what portion of their own crosses God has made us capable of bearing for them. And so, lightening their burden, let us guide our struggling brothers and sisters home - - to the center of faith and belief, where all things can become known and make sense.

Nostalgic thoughts

I had a very nice visit with my brothers in LA, as short as it was. Since my entire childhood of memory was spent in “the Valley” of “Valley Girls” fame, I get nostalgic every time I go there.



The house I lived in when my father died is two blocks off of the street I had to take to get to the hospital to see Bob, so I swung by just to see if it was how I remembered it. I was struck by the size of the entire neighborhood! When I was a kid, I thought the block was a lot longer than what it actually is. The driveway where my brother Tom broke his wrist while skateboarding looks exactly the same, but a lot closer to our house than I remembered. The house next door to the South has been torn down and a 3-story industrial company building is now there. The whole block used to be all houses on both sides of the street. Now, only the house I lived in and the one to the North of it are the only houses on “our” side of the street. The rest were torn down to make way for apartment buildings. And they are dumps! “My” house and the one next to it however, look like they were just recently painted and cleaned up. They are exactly the same color, so I assume both (probably) have the same owner now.


Looking at the house, I was stirred by so many memories! We moved into that house when I was about 8 years old, and we moved after my father died when I was 16. These are the years when most of us learn who we are (or think we are) and what we can do. Most of the anecdotes I’ve written about my childhood in this blog were experiences I gained while living in Northridge. Boy Scouts, altar boy, paper route, first car, first date, and my first migraine headache—they all happened there. The most stirring memory I had while looking at the front porch though was sitting on that porch and reading “The Wizard of Oz” for the first time from cover to cover in one afternoon. I don’t remember much else of the experience except that I did read it all in one fell swoop, and the title of the book. I was sooo proud of myself! I was about 12 years old.


As I write this blog, I am having a flood of other memories, but I don’t have the time or the inclination to go into them now, but maybe I’ll start another blog similar to Mom’s, where I just write about simpler times without all the “gadgets” that are in the world today and that take so many minds off of Christ’s message.
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Anybody that really knows me knows that I can’t just leave it at that, so I’ll write a couple of “for instances”:


As I drove back onto Reseda Blvd and made my way to the hospital, I chuckled to myself as I drove through the stoplight just past the overpass at Parthenia Avenue, where I got my first traffic ticket. Then I laughed out loud when I passed the “Jolly Jug” liquor store, where I spent a lot of my paper route money on candy and sodas! Some things just never go away! And by that, I mean both the liquor store and my habit of drinking sodas and eating candy!


And later, on the way to Bill and Wendy’s house, I was startled to see the “high-class” restaurant (the White Horse Inn) where I took my prom date for dinner looking so run down and classless. I guess time does that to buildings (ahem).

As enjoyable as this “walk down memory lane” was for me yesterday, none of those memories compares to the new ones created every day with my wife Marilyn, my daughters, and of course Lily Bug. When I came into the house tonight, she ran to me with her arms outstretched and jabbering a mile a minute! When I picked her up, she gave me a bear hug and patted my back just as I was doing with her. And then gave me a run down of what’s been happening the last couple of days around the house in “baby-speak”. A real Hallmark moment that I wouldn’t trade for all of my childhood memories!

Witness to a miracle! And getting ready for what's to come

I took some time off today to make the 1 ½ hour drive to Los Angeles to visit my brother who has been in pretty bad condition for a couple of weeks. There was discussion of removing his leg, putting him on dialysis, and worse. I felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to make the drive and see for myself what the real situation was, and to be there for my brother and sister-in-law if the worst fears were true.


I expected, from the stories I was hearing, to see Bob emaciated and out of his mind with dementia. What I found when I got there was my brother sitting in a chair in his room, getting a shave from the nurse’s aid and Bob in high spirits! Praise God! In fact, he looks exactly as he did when I left him last, and that was around Christmastime!


But, the stories were true! Bob was, for the last 4 or 5 days in very serious condition from an infection worsened by his diabetes. All of the fears I had been hearing were discussed and even expected, but by the grace of God and the prayers of his family, he has come out of the difficulty and will be going home with as clean a bill of health as can be expected with his advanced diabetes.


Upon reflection today, I feel that the call I heard from the Holy Spirit to check on Bob was not to pay may last respects, but to witness the infinite power of prayer. I have been duly impressed.

And to top it all off, I am able to spend the rest of the evening with my brother Bill and his wife, Wendy at their house.  We had a great dinner that Afton cooked for his brother and sister-in-law for their first anniversary, and did some catching up.
The only drawback to today's events is that I am really sleepy, so I'll end with this short meditation on tomorrow's readings:

Jesus is such a great teacher. His parables are so memorable and because they are stories, they draw us in, have surprising elements and stunning punch lines. Jesus was well aware of Ezekiel's preaching during the Exile. It was full of promise. The remnant left behind in a destroyed Jerusalem needed hope. God promises that the covenant will be restored. God will purify the people from their impurities and give them new hearts. The gift will include writing God's statues in their hearts. They will again be God's people. God will again be their God.


But, here in Matthew, Chapter 22, it is obvious that the ultimate gift of God - the Reign of God, announced by Jesus - has been rejected by many of his own people. Jesus ends his previous parable, about the unjust tenant farmers - by concluding, "Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit." (Mt.21:43) There will be some believing Jews, Gentiles, and the new community of his followers who will be hearing this Gospel. So Jesus next tells his listeners today's sad but promising teaching story.


“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son." It is so consoling to think of the heaven as a wedding feast. Jesus must have loved wedding feasts and found them to be the closest analogy he could find to give us a peek into what God has prepared for us.


The drama builds when the people first invited simply don't respond. The king's reponse to them in the story replays the whole history of God's working with the Chosen People and Jesus' listeners knew it immediately. Now comes the really good news: "Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find." All along it was God's plan to offer salvation and the joys of the Kingdom of heaven, not only to a chosen few, but to everyone! The victory Jesus will win over sin and death is universal. It is for all people.


Then the story takes a surprising twist. One of the invited guests doesn't have a wedding garment. (It is clear from the story, the person is without a wedding garment out of ingratitude and lack of serious respect for the king. It is not that the guest couldn't afford one.) While the invitation is universal - that is, it is free and unmerited - there is also a universal call to holiness. We are called to receive the gifted invitation by living our lives as grateful guests. We are invited to be with Jesus by being like him. We are called to come to the banquet ready to celebrate because we have been ready and open to giving our lives in imitation of the one who invited us.


We can imagine Jesus telling this story today. How often does it seem that we who have been invited to be part of the kingdom of heaven, simply take it for granted, as if all this gifted relationship with Jesus is about is our salvation. We seem quite satisfied to know that we are saved. We can unconsciously act as though, "well, if I don't do anything seriously wrong, I'm in. What more do I need to worry about?"


In this gospel it is clear that our holiness has to "surpass that of the scribes and pharisees." (Mt. 5:20) Jesus wants us to know that it is "mercy that I desire, not sacrifice." (Mt. 9:13) And, one of his final parables will tell us that our judgement - the decision about whether we ultimately will enter the Kingdom of heaven - depends upon whether we care for the "least of my brothers and sisters" - feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the sick and imprisioned. (Mt. 25)


Today, let's ask for the grace to receive the invitation worthily. Let us respond more and more fully to Jesus' invitation to love as we have been loved. Let us see, feel, act upon the invitation to eternal life by dying to ourselves a bit more today, particularly in each of our relationships. Let's forget about our own wounds and become healers of others' wounds. Let us open our hearts to hear the cries of all those who are poor and on the margins of our societies. Let us ask ourselves how we can respond, what role we can take, how we can make a difference. Today, let's put on a wedding garment, committing ourselves, and witnessing to everyone, that we are ready for the banquet of heaven.