"A wise man changes his mind sometimes; a fool, never!"

Prayer for the Day

“O Lord, remember the word  you spoke to me, your servant, which made me live in hope and consoled me when I was downcast.”  (Ps. 119, 49-50)

Reflection

Sorry about no posts Friday or Saturday night—I was experiencing a bit of lethargy.  I thought tonight might be another night to just let it go, but the readings at Mass were powerful for me today; almost as though they were “Spiritual Wheaties”.  And, since I had a rather long drive from home to Fresno (a full stomach makes me sleepy, and a ride seem longer), I had plenty of time to meditate on them.

Several well-known sayings were going through my mind as I listened to the readings today; “Better late than never!”  “You’re just paying “lip service”.”  “You can talk the talk, but you don’t walk the walk.”  

In all three readings (and the Psalm) God is giving us advice on when to change our minds, and when not to. If we're pretty well secure in habits of virtue, then it's not a good idea to give in to the persuasions of friends who call us old-fashioned or foolish for following the teachings of our parents and childhood religion classes - and act contrary to our principles. To change because of fear of losing face or being the butt of ridicule could risk God's displeasure, loss of grace, and even loss of eternal happiness.

There's another kind of change discussed in the readings. And that's the kind of change that may be defined as conversion - from sinful ways to virtuous ones. The prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 18:25-28) tried to persuade his fellow-exiles in Babylon that, as long as they persisted in their sinful rejection of God's commandments, God would continue their exile. When they refused to change, God allowed the destruction of the Temple as well as the whole city of Jerusalem. Eventually, they stopped blaming God for their crimes, repented of their stubbornness, and again followed the commandments.

That's the kind of change that also won the approval of Jesus in today's Gospel (Matthew 21:28-32). The first son in the parable stubbornly said "no" to his father's request. He was ready to risk the father's displeasure and even punishment. Then, wisely, he began to feel guilty. He decided it wouldn't kill him to cut short a good time with his friends to work for his father. Let's hope that it was really love that made him change his mind. But even if it was just shame, and maybe a little fear of the consequences of his refusal, he did change his mind.

This brings to mind an incident we (Marilyn and I) had with Lily this weekend.  Evidently sometime during the week last week Lily started playing with an electronic alarm clock that I keep on an end table next to the sofa in our family room and somehow set it off.  Marilyn told her quite sternly that she was not to touch the alarm clock again. 

So when I was watching her while Marilyn was out shopping, she thought it would be her chance to play with it again.  I didn’t know about Marilyn’s admonition to Lily at this point, and I thought it was “cute” that she was reading the numbers and telling me about the clock.  Marilyn came in the door, and Lily immediately dropped the clock on the floor, then smiled at Marilyn as if to say, “Who, me?” 

Marilyn expressed disappointment in Lily and she came to me for comfort.  A little later, I saw her inching close to the clock again, and just as she was about to touch it, I gently reminded her that “Mar-Mar” doesn’t like it when she plays with the clock.  She backed right off.  My thought was that she was not really concerned about a possible spanking; rather, she was more concerned about losing Marilyn’s approval than with playing with the clock!  She doesn’t know it, but Lily taught me something.  She did not want to do anything that would keep her Mar-Mar from loving her, even for a minute!  And neither do I want to do anything that would separate me from my Loving Father, even for a second!  But, just as I know Lily will probably try to play with the clock when she thinks no one is looking and I (and Mar-Mar) will forgive her, so it is with me and God.  I try not to offend Him, but I am weak.  I am ever so grateful that His love is greater than my weakness.

How do we know when to change our minds and when not to? Saint Paul gives us sound advice: "Do nothing out of selfishness . . . rather, have that mind in you which is in Christ Jesus who humbled himself even to the point of death." (Philippians Phil 2:1-11)  To change one's mind is often humbling, especially if we risk the ridicule of worldly friends or even worldly family members. But isn't it far better to heed the truth than to stubbornly keep to the road that will eventually send us over a cliff?

Simply a Must

Prayer for the Day

Jesus, I want my life to be a living statement of who You are and what You have done in my life. I don’t want to hold anything back from You. I want to be like You in every way, so that I can clearly proclaim You to the world.

Reflection

Jesus said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised." (Luke 9:22)  This is a fairly simple statement, one that ought to make sense to us.  But there is one little “four-letter word” in there that I’ll bet is often overlooked: “must”.

Must is an interesting word with an interesting context.  For instance, “I must go to work in order to make the money to pay the bills.” Or “You must always treat others with dignity and respect.” Or “One must first be an adult before they are allowed to vote.”  From the sounds of things, “must” seems like a trap: a series of shackles that inhibits our freedom and keeps us from doing as we wish.  And so often we allow it to be.

So the question is, was Jesus forced, obliged, or coerced to be beaten by strips of leather with razor-sharp studs, stabbed by a crown of piercing thorns, and then above all, to be crucified upon a cross?

Obviously, the answer is No.

His choice was made in an act of freedom; more importantly, by an act of nothing but pure love for us.  Being fully human and fully God, Christ had every means to get Himself down from the cross, or hide from Pilate’s army.  Then again, He had every means to turn stone into bread, to worship Satan, and to thrust Himself from a mountain. (Luke 4: 1-13) But He chose not to do any of that.  He chose to be crucified for you and me.  That makes things personal; conscience and morals become involved.  Christ did not have to die to for us; rather, He knew that His actions would bring a greater good.

We are therefore left to better appreciate this act above all other acts.  We must come to recognize that our own freedom is a gift that we are called to share with each and every one of our own brothers and sisters in Christ, friend and enemy alike.  I believe that what I believe is not nearly as important as what we believe.  And it is in this fashion that we strive to take something personal and make it something even more personal with each other.  That my brothers and sisters….is simply a must.

"Fear [‘respect’] of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom." (Psalm 111:10)

Prayer for the Day

God of all kindness, today we come before You as Your children, unfaithful, hurting and in need.  We trust in Your love and forgiveness, we Your people in whom You delight!  Teach us to listen to You, to see You, and to be faithful to our covenant with You and with one another.  Show us that it is more important to love than to be right, and to be grateful than to understand.  We bless You and praise You forever!  Amen.

Reflection

God's truth is based upon His love. He invites us to participate in this love that is His very essence by developing a relationship with Him that leads us to our perceiving His perfect love and as a result recognizing the sanctity, the divine origin, of all human life.

Moral relativism, on the other hand, is an invention of those having no knowledge of God and who claim that truth must change with the times and circumstances. This belief places man above God and frees us to selfishly manipulate and trample on one another for our benefit or convenience.  Look around. Let those who have eyes see.  This is the situation our world is in right now.   “Consider your ways!” (Haggai 1:1-8)

This situation relates to Mary's sorrow at seeing her Son, the Incarnation of God's love and truth being reviled, abused and finally crucified by those ignorant of the God they purportedly worshiped. Simeon's prediction was fulfilled; Mary's heart was repeatedly pierced in a figurative way, while the piercing of Christ's heart was literal. In this, Christ's final sacrifice, the blood and water issuing from His wound baptizes and cleanses from sin all those who lovingly live in His word. "The rise and fall of many" predicted by Simeon (Luke 2:22-35) applies to us and depends upon our acceptance or rejection of living in God's Holy Word.

Answer the call

Prayer for the Day

“Lord, I trust that you hear my prayers for the lost and that you are working to bring them into your kingdom. Come quickly into the lives of those I pray for!”

Reflection

We call ourselves Christian.  Do we think of our lives as Christians a calling from Christ, or merely a statement on our part, like signing up for an organization?

Some people say that the day of our baptism is really our "birthday." We are marked for all eternity as followers of Christ. Being a Christian is a lifetime, life-changing choice. We see a striking example of this in the gospel where Matthew, the tax collector, responds instantly to the call of Christ - and we know from the gospel that his life would never again be the same. (Matthew 9:9-13)

I am somewhat amazed when I recall the "strange" people Jesus publicly invited into His company and service. They were not the smartest, the wealthiest, or even the most physically appealing; but nevertheless, they were seen as pivotal characters in salvation history.

Did they know or sense the importance of their role? We might guess that some might have had an inkling, but not full knowledge of the impact their witness to Jesus was to have.

Perhaps it is so for us. Like the apostles, we too have been singled out to have a role in furthering the Kingdom of God. What part we are intended to play may be hidden not only from us, but also from others. It is with certainty, a role that God has well-equipped us to play.

St. Paul urges the Ephesians to "live in a manner worthy of the call." (Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13)

There are many choices we are free to make in a day. For example, we can choose whether to speak to a store clerk or just ignore them. We can choose to donate some funds or buy something for ourselves that we can do without. The choices go on all day. These are small choices, but they are exactly what mark our life on this earth.

Why not use today to review the many choices we make in a day? Can others identify us as a Christian by the choices we make on a day-to-day basis?  Hopefully, we will—like Matthew—accept the invitation of Christ who calls us to be His friend, His evangelist, to spread the Good News.

Getting out of our comfort zone

Prayer for the Day

“Lord, teach us how to pray…”(Luke 11:1)

 Reflection

 We Christians walk an interesting path. On one side is the comfort of the body of Christ. It feels good to be in the house of God. It’s a place where we can recharge our spiritual batteries. There is security in worshipping with others who love Christ. And yet Christ says we have to step out of our “comfort zone”.  In Luke, Jesus’ mother and “brothers” come to see him, but cannot reach him due to the crowds. Christ says, “My mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it”. (Luke 8:19-21)

If we are going to obey Christ’s commands, we have to risk. Maybe we think we aren’t qualified to present the Good News of Christ. Maybe we don’t really feel we have a gift to give.

Maybe we don’t even think we can pray. Have you ever had a time where you thought, “God doesn’t want to hear about my petty little problems?”

I have heard people offer up prayers that amazed me.  I attend Masses in Spanish occasionally.  The point is that I don’t speak Spanish.  Yet sometimes, when I see an old, withered grandma (who has obviously had a rough life) praying in front of a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus—even though I don’t understand a word she’s saying—I know I’m hearing a true prayer.  Sometimes when I pray, I feel foolish.  I read God’s word and then I have to ask God to help me understand His word. I get a vision of God running his hands through his hair in frustration. I feel my prayer is feeble compared to others I have heard. And yet, Christ tells us that God longs to hear our voice.

My prayer today is for those of us who sometimes do not know how to talk to God; who do not feel worthy to offer up a prayer to God. That we would know that God loves us and longs to hears our voice. God hears every prayer, whether it is spoken with a beautiful, eloquent voice or a soft, humble plea.

She's baaaaaack!

It's been 15 months since Mom's last post on her blog.  She started up again yesterday.  Please give it a visit and welcome her back to the "blogosphere"!  (You can find the link in the right column of my blog--"Mom's Blog" ).

Let the Light shine forth!

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Prayer for the Day

Dear Jesus, Father Peyton devoted his priestly life to strengthening the families of the world by calling them to pray together every day, especially the Rosary. His message is as important for us now as it was during his life on earth. We beg You, therefore, to hasten the day of his beatification so that Your faithful people everywhere will remember His message that “the family that prays together stays together”, will imitate him in his devotion to Your Mother and ours, and will be inspired by his holy life to draw ever closer to You with childlike confidence and love. Amen

Reflection

Light is a powerful image of how we are to live our faith.  God gives each of us a charism which has the potential to bring light to the world.  Jesus reminds us that we are expected to put our faith into practice (Luke 8: 16-18) and we do this by using our God-given gifts, talents and charism.   We are the igniters of our lights and they only begin to shine when we answer the call from the community and/or God.   We grow and discover new gifts throughout our lifetimes.  

If we imagine joining our light with the light of others, and the world is flooded with generous, grace-filled goodness, the power is almost incomprehensible.  “No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather… places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light.”  (Luke 8:16)

If we are not igniting the fire of our light, then our charism may fade and the light may start to flicker; even be extinguished.   Jesus emphasizes this when he says:  “To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what they seem to have will be taken away.” (Luke 8:18)

We have a wonderful opportunity to show the world our light this coming October 15^th.  I plan to attend the Rosary Rally in San Francisco on that day, and if it is His Will my family will be able to attend as well.  I’m excited about it!  I’m hopeful that through God’s grace there will be a huge turnout to pray the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ through the intercession of His Blessed Mother.  We’ll turn thousands of individual lights into beacons for the world to see that Christ is still very much with us and in control, despite our best efforts to conceal His light “under the bed” of sin. 

This is an excellent way to allow people to see and experience the light of Christ in every one of us; to show that even when we’re tired, inconvenienced or self-conscious, we are willing to use our charisms and live as a children of God for and with others! 

May the world be encircled by the radiance of our collective response!

The call to the Vineyard

Prayer for the Day

“You have laid down your precepts to be faithfully kept. May my footsteps be firm in keeping your commands.” Ps. 119, 4-5

Reflection

The call to the vineyard (the Church), through God's gift of faith and the sacrament of baptism, is a gift for which we can never sufficiently thank God. If we remain in the vineyard and labor honestly, that is, if we cooperate with the actual graces God is continually giving us, we are assured of reaching heaven when our earthly days are ended.

The work we have to do in God's vineyard is the fulfilling of the duties of our state in life. By carrying out these duties faithfully and honestly we are doing the will of God and earning heaven.  The greater part of our day and indeed of our lives, will be taken up with tasks of themselves worldly, but these tasks when done in the state of grace and with the intention of honoring and loving God, have a supernatural value. For this we have to thank God for His goodness and generosity.  Look to St. Therese of Lisieux (“The Little Flower of Jesus”) as an example.  She could do very little, since she was in poor health; but whatever she did manage to do, no matter how small, she did with great love for Jesus.

God could have made the attainment of heaven so much more difficult. He could have demanded extraordinary mortifications and renunciations and the reward (heaven) would still be exceedingly great. Instead He allows us to live our everyday life, to enjoy the love and friendship of our family and friends, to satisfy the natural desires of our bodies, within the commandments, and yet to merit a supernatural reward while so doing. As He tells us through St. Paul: "whether you eat or drink or whatever else you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor. 10 : 31)

Looking back on our past life, how many years have we really given to God since we came to the use of reason? Those school years, the time spent learning a trade or profession, the weeks, months, years working in an office or factory or farm, the hours among the pots and pans in the kitchen — have we earned some credit in heaven for all of this, or is it all crossed off our pay sheet through lack of right intention or through sin?

If so, those years are lost to us. We were "idle" all that time. The parable of the vineyard owner and the labors, however, should give us new hope and courage. (Matthew 20:1-16a)   It may be the sixth or the ninth or even the eleventh hour of our life but we can still earn heaven if we listen to God's call and set to work diligently in His vineyard. If we put our conscience right with God today and resolve to be loyal to Him from now on He will be as generous to us, as the parable promises.

Preparing my soil. Er, I mean soul.

Prayer for the Day

Lord Jesus, send your grace upon me, help me to use it to become the best soil I can be, so when I hear the word I embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance!

Reflection

Most of us like the parable of the sower, because we think we understand it.  We all recognize the analogy that Jesus was making between the believer and the soil and how different people receive the Word, the Seed, of God.

So why did the disciples ask Jesus what it meant?!  Were they really that dense?  Could they not understand even the most apparent analogy?!  It could be that maybe I should look at the parable again, because often in my meditations I realize the Holy Spirit may be trying to teach me new and different things.

And, using His regular tactics with me, He made me think of the tasks I performed earlier today.  I was helping one of my fellow managers clean up his property to bring it up to “community standard”. 

I had the other guy use a leaf blower on the part of the lot that is heavily trod upon.  As expected, it was dry and hard and nothing except the leaves and a lot of dirt was stirred up, so much dirt that one of the neighboring businessmen called with a less than friendly complaint. 

I started by raking up some leaves under a massive oak tree.  The leaves had been there so long they had created mulch, and much vegetation was growing in it.  Mostly weeds, but they were hardy! 

There is a creek that runs along behind the property and it is lined with ferns and rhododendrons that appreciate that type of soil; so much so that they “choke” off anything else that attempts to grow there. 

When the leaves were cleaned up, I determined that to make the front of the store look “friendly” I would have to plant some flowering shrubs.  The existing flower beds have not had anything in them in over 15 years because we just "didn't have the time or the energy", and when I inspected the soil I found out why; it was very dry, almost aerated sand.  I knew I would have to get some potting soil and fertilizer to make the beds receptive to the growth I was going to plant. It indeed would take some time and energy to get a receptive soil. But I was on a mission, and I was not going to leave until the job was done.

After I was done planting, I watered the plants to help them get established.  The sand was still so airy and dry that I thought I was never going to get the water to “pool” around the plants.  Finally, though, I think I got the right mixture of soil and sand. I’m optimistic that with carefully managed maintenance, the new plants will continue to grow and thrive. 

In reflection, I realized that these different soils actually exist in each of us, certainly in me.  Part of us is the trodden footpath, hard and dusty where nothing can grow, and where the wind blows away the seed, and others can get angry at us because we refuse to learn something new.  Part of us is rocky soil where we refuse to let others into our sphere because they look unusual or have different ideas.  We have many thorns and weeds in our soil that choke out the seed. 

The noise, speed and covetousness of our culture makes it very difficult to find silence or time or need to nurture the soil, to weed out and prepare the soil for the good seed, the Good News.

It seems to me that everyone has some rich soil.  But we have to till it and fertilize it.  We need to weed it and dig out the rocks and reclaim more of it as rich earth that will accept everything silently and transform it.  The earth is receptive to sun and rain alike and capable of producing much, much more than it received!  The crux is that no one notices the earth.  It is always there.  We love to be recognized.  We love to have accolades for what we accomplish.  Our habits and sentimentality make us hold on to the familiar, even if it is not good for us.  We are resistant to change and unwilling to take risks.  Pettiness, gossip, appearances and exclusion dictate our relationships with each other.

Humus and humble come from the same root word.  What we forget is human comes from the very same root word and it means soil or earth.  So how can we enrich this soil?  What does it take to recover that hard dusty ground?  How can we dig out those stones of intolerance and hate, or pull out the thorns of wealth, power and prestige?

How about contemplation, affective prayer, or prayers of the heart?  No one says this is easy, but we never learn new things or achieve accomplishments without effort and practice, practice, practice.  If you quiet yourself and pray you will get better at it.  God will see to that.

In pursuit of Mercy

Prayer for the Day

Dear Lord Jesus, Your servant Saint Paul taught us, “We brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it.” But there is one thing we take with us, Lord—Your Mercy.  Jesus, I trust in You.

Reflection

There are many things in this world to pursue—wealth, honor among men, fame, power—the list goes on and on. All of these things are things of the world, in the world, anchored to the world; and meaningless both now and hereafter if we are to please God.

What would God have us do? Saint Paul tells us to pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. (1Timothy 6:2c-12)

Pursue righteousness through the Mass, prayer, contemplation and reflection, and constantly performing an examination of conscience to determine where we've seen God in the day and how His will came to us and how it was made known to us.

Pursue devotion. The purest form of devotion is imitation. God doesn't want us to sit around with our jaw dropped in awe. No, rather, if we are devoted to Him, we will do as He did when He was among us. We will feed the hungry and be friends to the friendless. We will carry our neighbors’ burdens.

Pursue faith, through prayer; love through begging His mercy and learning from Him what the cost of true love is - dying to ourselves.

Pursue patience - certainly patience with others, but also patience for ourselves, weak vessels though we are. Weak and broken, we can’t do things perfectly; we must allow Him to help us.

Pursue gentleness - gentleness again for others, but also for ourselves, because we can’t love others if we don’t know how to love ourselves - and too often we spend so much time meditating on how wretched and imperfect we are, that we forget that we, each of us, is a child of God and loved passionately - loved indeed as an only child regardless of our weaknesses and our brokenness.

It is God's love that guides, nourishes, and supports us always - and no matter what we do, or how spectacularly we fail, we are loved - loved with all His strength and all His life.

You know, it’s funny how God works in my life.  I got an e-mail from my sister-in-law Wendy today asking, “Is this the prayer Mom says every day at 3 O’clock?” with a link to this video.  She said it is very moving.  I have to agree.  What is funny, though, is that God sends me these ideas for blogs through various people and circumstances, then to top it all off He backs the ideas up with Scripture readings for the next day, knowing that I write the blogs based on the following day’s passages.  I was going to say some pithy stuff about Jesus’ Divine Mercy (the “3 O’clock Prayer”) and how, despite all of the sin that He took upon Himself on that “Good” Friday, He still has infinite mercy for us all!  But He beat me to the punch again!  I guess it’s all in the timing.  Of course, since He created time, I’m at a disadvantage.  Thank God.

In case any of you readers want to visit my blog every day and pray the 3 O’clock prayer while viewing the video, I have provided a link on the sidebar to the right.  Just click on the picture of Jesus, THE Divine Mercy.    

Our Lady of Sorrows

Prayer for the Day

Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows

By St. Bridget

O Blessed Virgin Mary, Immaculate Mother of God, who didst endure a martyrdom of love and grief, beholding the sufferings and sorrows of Jesus! Thou didst co-operate in the benefit of my redemption by thy innumerable afflictions and by offering to the Eternal Father His only-begotten Son as a holocaust and victim of propitiation for my sins. I thank thee for the unspeakable love which led thee to deprive thyself of the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus, true God and true Man, to save me, a sinner. Oh! make use of the unfailing intercession of thy sorrows with the Father and the Son; That I may steadfastly amend my life and never again crucify my loving Redeemer by new sins; arid that, persevering till death in His grace, I may obtain eternal life through the merits of His Cross and Passion. Amen.

Mother of love, of sorrow, and of mercy; pray for us.

Reflection

As disciples of Christ, we have been given a priceless gift by the Master Himself - His own Mother, Mary, to be our mother.  Imagine that!  Click here to read a reflection on this by Blessed Pope John Paul II.

Before He died on the cross for us, Jesus left us in good hands. He has given us the best of mothers (of course my own Mom is pretty close), one who is always available to listen to us, no matter where we are, no matter when we need her. Mary is always "on call" for us 24/7. She loves us and she will always hear us and pray for us, because we are her children.

Best of all, Mary always guides us to her Son. "Do whatever He tells you," she told the waiters at the wedding feast of Cana (John 2:5). Those words too are for us.  So, "do whatever He tells you."

With Mary as your mother, as your confidant, your guide and your special advocate, you can't go wrong!

Jesus offers you a beautiful invitation in John (John 19:26-27): "Behold, your mother."

My mother and I were talking about something or the other on Sunday, and the topic of “The Lady in Blue” as read by the Servant of God Archbishop Fulton J Sheen came up.  Here is a YouTubevideo; enjoy!

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

“We should glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, for he is our salvation, our life and our resurrection; through him we are saved and made free.” (Gal 6:14)

Prayer for the Day

Help us, Lord, to be so united with the paschal mystery of Jesus, that through Him the world can become a better place to dwell.  You promise us much for this life and for our eternal presence with You; may we live into that promise each day.  Amen.

Reflection

“With their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses.” (Numbers 21:4b-9) I can relate to this.  The life of faith often seems like a long trip in the desert.  At times it can seem to bring very little reward, and in the midst of the struggle, the memory of slavery in “Egypt” can seem more attractive than God’s promise of freedom.  All who walk the path of discipleship will pass through this desert.  Indeed, the experience of wandering in a desert bereft of God’s presence is so common in the Christian life that our tradition has a name for it.  The desert fathers called it the “noon-day demon.” The demon was not so much a little devil with horns as it was a description of the powerful temptation to leave the path to holiness.  The temptation can take many forms, and if we yield to it, we risk becoming bitter and alienated from God.  How odd it is that following God can lead to bitterness and alienation, but it can. 

The only real response to the noon-day demon is prayer and patience.  We must focus our gaze upon Jesus and what He has done.  We need to remember the cross and the resurrection and resist becoming dulled to its power and promise.

The words of St. Paul to the Philippians (Philippians 2:6-11) and of Jesus to Nicodemus (John 3:13-17) are also meant for us today. They tell us that God loves us all. That includes those who are suffering. In spite of what other people do to add to their suffering, God loves them. And because God loves them, there is hope. Suffering people who believe in God and appreciate His love have the great hope of salvation. Human suffering is just that, it is human or finite. Human suffering will come to an end as our lives here on earth come to an end. But God’s bright promise of eternal life is for all who believe in Him. That includes those who are suffering. Today as we work to relieve the suffering of those around us, let us also thank God for His love for all of us.

Jesus' Healing Touch

Prayer for the Day

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.  (St. Francis)

Reflection

Having faith in God will help us in life to answer our prayers, comfort us in times of need, and help us celebrate in times of joyfulness. But what is the real meaning of faith, and why is it necessary to have a strong faith in our lives?

“Of mercy and judgment I will sing; to you, O LORD, I will sing praise.”  (Psalms 101:1)

This psalm gives us direction to help us find our faith in God.  In order to find and strengthen our faith, we must be loving and make good choices and judgments. Without this, our song of faith would not be full of melodious and beautiful sounds. Instead, it would be lacking in the right pitch or tune.

In the end, the trust that we have placed in God depends on the strength of our faith that we have in him. In the Gospel of Luke (7:11-17), Jesus performed one of his many miracles in bringing the dead to life.  This is a very powerful Gospel to those who are mourning the death of a loved one.  It illustrates Jesus’ comforting touch to the woman who had just lost her only son. It’s just short of a year since my brother Bob passed into his reward.   Jesus’ healing touch in Luke’s Gospel comforts me to know that, with a strong faith, I am confident that Bob continues to walk with me every day.  In fact, I think of him often and sometimes ask for his intercession when I’m having a particularly frustrating day. 

We can bring the “healing touch” of Jesus to others through our witness of our faith in Him.  I have experienced this first-hand on many occasions; I’m sure you have, too.  How many times have you cheered up someone who was “down”, by simply listening to and praying with them?  Lots of times, I bet.  It’s just that we don’t recognize Jesus working through us in this way most of the time.   

Faith is an important aspect of life that not only helps us get past the hardships that we all endure, but also lets us celebrate the beautiful lives that we live. A question to ask ourselves is, “Do we truly have faith in God and what can we do to strengthen our faith?”

Meet Me in the Stairwell

'MEET ME IN THE STAIRWELL'

By Stacey Randall

You say you will never forget where you were when you heard the news On September 11, 2001.


Neither will I.

I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room with a man who called his wife to say 'Good-Bye.' I held his fingers steady as he dialed. I gave him the peace to say, 'Honey, I am not going to make it, but it is OK...I am ready to go.'

I was with his wife when he called as she fed breakfast to their children. I held her up as she tried to understand his words and as she realized he wasn't coming home that night.


I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a woman cried out to Me for help. 'I have been knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years!' I said. 'Of course I will show you the way home – only believe in Me now.'


I was at the base of the building with the Priest ministering to the injured and devastated souls. I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven. He heard my voice and answered.


I was on all four of those planes, in every seat, with every prayer. I was with the crew as they were overtaken. I was in the very hearts of the believers there, comforting and assuring them that their faith has saved them.


I was in Texas , Virginia , California , Michigan , Afghanistan .


I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news.


Did you sense Me?


I want you to know that I saw every face. I knew every name - though not all know Me. Some met Me for the first time on the 86th floor. Some sought Me with their last breath.


Some couldn't hear Me calling to them through the smoke and flames; 'Come to Me... this way... take my hand.' Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me.


But, I was there.


I did not place you in the Tower that day. You may not know why, but I do. However, if you were there in that explosive moment in time, would you have reached for Me?


Sept. 11, 2001, was not the end of the journey for you. But someday your journey will end. And I will be there for you as well. Seek Me now while I may be found. Then, at any moment, you know you are 'ready to go.'


I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.


God

During the next 60 seconds I would like you to stop whatever you are doing, and take this opportunity. (Literally it is only 1 minute.) All you have to do is the following:


Stop and think and appreciate God's power in your life, for doing what you know is pleasing to Him. Jesus said, 'If you are ashamed of Me, I will be ashamed of you before My Father' (Luke 9:26, Mark 8:38, Matthew 10:31-33)


'Yes, I love my God. He is my fountain of Life and My Savior. He Keeps me going day and night. Without Him, I am no one. But with Him, I can do everything. Christ is my strength.'

Lord, Give me strength

Prayer for the Day
Lord, give me the strength to continue to build a stronger and deeper foundation of faith in Your love. Prune away my weaknesses that bear rotten fruit so that I may follow Your will and stand strong during tough times.

Reflection

I take great comfort in trusting that I have the very real presence of Jesus Christ in my life. There is no doubt in my mind or heart, that He accompanies me every day of my life. Whether I am worthy of that companionship every day is another story but any sense of distance or aloneness is my issue, not a failure on His part.


My greatest challenge is living this gift every day. My life should reflect basking in His presence and acting in ways that are worthy of that Presence. I guess that is why Grace is such a gift – unearned and given out of God’s love and mercy. Psalm 113 resounds with the blessings so freely given and the expectation in return – to sing His praises; “Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.”


St. Paul writes that Christ came to save sinners, including Paul. (1 Tm 1:15-17) In him “Christ Jesus might display all his patience.” Paul says that Christ is patient with him and with us. Christ does not expect us to be perfect, to bear fruit at all times. When we bear rotten fruit or no fruit at all, when we are sinners, then he will forgive us. We should do the same with each other. We should not give up on a friend or relative, a co-worker or a neighbor, a politician or a business partner, who seems to only “bear rotten fruit” and “out of a store of evil produces evil.” We should not give up on them but be patient with them, and patiently present them with God’s Word, hoping and praying that it will transform them and their actions.

The blind leading the blind

Prayer for the Day

Almighty God, Creator and Guide, look upon Your people in their times of need, to offer us help in living in Your loving righteousness, by making Your will our own. Amen.

Reflection

I’m sure there are lots of things the blind do very well, but I don’t want a blind person driving my car or giving me directions.  That would be a dangerous and futile situation.  The blind leading the blind are not going to get there.  Of course, the blindness Jesus talks about is figurative rather than literal, but that sharpens rather than blunts what He is saying, as the blind He is referring to are “in denial” and don’t realize their blindness. (Luke 6:39-42)

St. Paul says he used to be ignorant, but then he learned about the Lord and now he is a minister.  Before, he didn’t know.  He too was willfully blind, as his Damascus road conversion makes clear.  It was not that he couldn’t but that he wouldn’t see the situation, but now he has learned so much he is a minister and able to help others understand the Lord, see the Lord.  (1Timothy 1:1-2, 12-14)

The worst kind of blindness, which is almost incurable, is the judgmental spirit.  Moreover, judgmental people tend to mix only with their own kind, reinforcing each other’s prejudices, hence Jesus’ warning that both will end up in the pit.  Jesus was particularly scathing about judgmental spirit because it elevates admittedly good concepts like rules, principles, and standards – even religion—above the actual plight of human beings.

When we encounter what appears to be prejudice, it is not up to us to remove the speck of sawdust from the eye by judging whether that person cannot or will not see. If we do pride ourselves on confronting bigotry, it is almost certain that there’s an even bigger log in our own eye, and we’re headed for the pit, too! Those in the biggest danger of the trip to the pit are those people who are constantly trying to fix others’ faults, trying to remedy others’ blindness, when they themselves cannot see clearly.  Trying to take a speck from someone else’s eye is not appropriate or feasible until the log is removed from your own eye.

Let our prayer be that our own blindness be cured. Then, like Paul, God might be able to use us to help others.