Sainthood or bust!

There is a change that must occur in each of our hearts in order for the New Evangelization to transform our lives and our world.  We must be willing to put anything on the altar of sacrifice, to follow Christ unreservedly. We must fall in love with the Lord, and to do so, we need to encounter Him in a profound, personal way. “Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.” (Psalms 31: 5, Luke 23:46)

That is what separates Christianity from every other religion. We are not worshiping a distant being to which we offer daily sacrifices. No, rather, we fall in love with an actual person, a living being, Who is here with us, in our joys and sorrows, in our health and our infirmity, in our successes and our failures. We must meet this Person who offers us more than we could ever dream of for ourselves, but where do we find Him? The answer lies in the Gospel.

“I am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst” (John 6:35). There is no better place to encounter and personally experience the living Person of Jesus Christ than at Mass, where He is physically present to us, where we receive His Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, and become intimately acquainted with the almighty and eternal God. This is a great mystery, and if we truly knew what we were receiving, we would die of joy. We receive meaning, purpose, the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. There is nothing greater we can do in this life. Receiving the Eucharist makes heroes out of ordinary humans, like you and I. It equips us to be as loving as Mother Teresa, as devout as John Vianney, as courageous as Maximilian Kolbe, and as mystical as Theresa Lisieux because when we receive the Eucharist, we are receiving the rare fine air of Holiness itself as Heaven kisses earth. But it’s a hard journey and so few recognize the courage within them needed to continue.  St. Stephen found out just how hard it can be.

St. Stephen was proclaiming the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and those surrounding him rejected it, so they took him outside the city and stoned him. Stephen stood in the face of the most dominant powers of his society and proclaimed the Truth of God, whom he had personally encountered, and it cost him his life. There is a New Evangelization that is occurring within the Church today. Amidst the darkness of the modern world, the light of Truth and Love found in the Church continues to shine. We must strive to become a beacon of that light to the world around us. This begins with surrendering ourselves to Christ. Then we must encounter Him, and finally, we must proclaim Him from the rooftops, telling everyone we encounter the Good News of Jesus Christ, and living it out in every aspect of our lives.

We are living at a time when we may be persecuted for our beliefs, for proclaiming the truth, but that should not deter us. “Do not be afraid.” We have been entrusted with a mission from God, a mission to proclaim the Gospel at all times, regardless of the circumstances. We must live for the Truth of Jesus, as proclaimed by the Church, never letting anyone or anything stand in our way. While Stephen was being martyred, Saul was giving his consent because he could not understand why someone would give their very life for a man crucified. What he soon realized, however, is that Stephen was not willing to die for a poor carpenter that taught people good ideas about life. Rather, Stephen lived for the eternal Truths that God revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ, and, that choice cost Stephen his life. Ironically enough, in time, Saul, later Paul, discovered those same Truths for himself. Again, that choice cost him his life. He did not give up, let up, or quiet down until the end. He was a disciple of Christ. So, too, we called to become saints.  We must get holy or die trying because holiness is not a spectator sport. We are all in this together: Sainthood or bust!

A blogger for the people!

I had no idea that a couple of the links to the Stations of the Cross that I removed last week were so popular. Of course when the readership of my blog is an average of 8-10 people a day, 2 or 3 requests to put it back in constitutes "popular demand".   I called my Mom this evening and she was disappointed that I had removed them.  I was going to just send the links in an email to her.  Then I open up my electronic mailbox when I got to the apartment--and found that there are at least 2 more of you out there who asked me to put them back up...coincidence?  I think not!

I figured Easter was coming to a close--it isn't really, because the Easter "season" is upon us until the Holy Spirit descends upon the Apostles and Mary at Pentecost.

Since I am a "Blogger for the People" (lol), I'll put them back up. If two links were good, 3 will be better...right?  Look for them on the sidebar.  Just "click and pray".   Oh, and thanks for really using the blog as I intended it to be--a "one-stop prayer and meditation station".  If there are any other prayers or devotions you would like to see, please email me (if you're one of the lucky ones to have my address) or put it in the comments section.  I'll do the research and link them for you here.

God bless you.  Alleluia!

God is trustworthy

When I was a child, I would often pray for things that I was told I should--for sick relatives, for a easier life for my parents.  And yet those relatives still died, my parents still struggled.  I was pretty bummed out a lot of times.

It is only with maturity that I realized that God knows what's best for us and answers our prayers in His own way. He always listens! We need to get our communications right!

In the Gospel of John (John 3:31-36), we hear that the word of God is trustworthy. That best describes Christ, God the Son.

It seems that as I get older, although I still pray and talk to the Lord, I now spend more time reading scripture and just listening to His word. That makes all the difference!

Back in the saddle?

I was hoping to be a little more regular in my meditations this year, but I have bigger priorities to deal with.  As I’ve stated repeatedly since Ash Wednesday, my Lent was less than desirable in what I hoped to sacrifice and give back to our Lord.  Not only that, but my prayer life has been in a real “funk”—you could say I’ve been going through a “dry” spell in my daily devotions.  Oh, I say my prayers alright, but I’ve felt like I’m just “going through the motions”.   I’m use to enjoying my private prayer moments, but they’ve been tedious for a couple of months now.  I know prayer is not about “me”—it’s about loving and praising my Creator and Savior yet I feel like I’m disappointing Him by not giving Him my full attention during prayer.

 

My dilemma has been how to get that motivation to pray back in full-swing.  I asked for God’s help, but I wasn’t seeing it because loving God that He is, my life is still blessed.   I have a great family, many good friends, and relatively good health for a guy who doesn’t eat well or exercise properly.  I had an offer for promotion yesterday that I turned down primarily because it would mean more work (for not that much more in salary) and less time to spend in prayer and with my family.

Then a couple of mornings ago a co-worker came to me for advice.  She said she just didn’t feel much like coming to work lately because it hasn’t been as fun as usual for her.  (Yes, I said fun.  What good is work if you can’t enjoy it?)  It had become routine and boring.  Some of the tasks she usually had “fun” doing seemed like “work”.   I told her that I hadn’t noticed because she was still maintaining her high level of productivity. Then I asked her how she was able to get the job done when she “didn’t feel like it”.  It boiled down to a very simple explanation.  She HAD to!  It is what she is SUPPOSED to do!  My advice to her was to continue to do the few tasks that HAD to be done, but then to find a new, fun project to work on that would help her get back in the swing of things.  I suggested we have a contest to create a little fun competition to increase productivity and morale that would require us to do those things she was finding mundane.  She thought that was a great idea.  By the afternoon, she was so excited about the contest that the friendly jousting between us (we had elected ourselves “team leaders”) had us both crying with laughter!

I had an epiphany!  I would start throwing words around like “epiphany” to get my mind back to religious matters!  Just kidding….  Actually, I did think of a plan to use something I find enjoyable to direct my thoughts into a more prayerful mood.  What better way than to re-design my blog page?

 

You’ll notice I cleaned up a lot of the clutter on the right side of the page.  I organized it as well by content—prayer, family, self, and nonsense.  I also got a little creative and designed a new “logo” for the header.  I hope you like it.  More importantly, I think I may be on my way out of my spiritual funk—While looking for new graphics and creating a few, I re-visited some of my favorite online meditative sources and found myself in a pretty deep contemplation through prayer tonight.

 

I guess Jesus was noticing the struggle I was having and sent His spirit to me in the guise of my co-worker and her dilemma to help me recognize a way out!  I won’t say I’m completely running on all cylinders prayer-wise, but—like the punch line of the old joke that asks “What do you call a group of 1000 lawyers tied together at the bottom of the ocean?”—It’s a “good start”.  (Sincere apologies to my attorney daughter). 

Crumbling walls, broken springs

After Jesus had risen from the dead, He appeared to His disciples.  They were horrified because they thought that they were seeing a ghost.  Jesus responded by asking them why they were troubled.  In my opinion, the disciples had every right to be freaked out.  In fact, it is only natural that we doubt and question. I’m almost positive I would have acted the same way the disciples did.  Scripture says that we are to love God with all of our hearts, souls, and minds.  I imagine that part of loving God with one’s entire mind involves doubt.  I’m not convinced that blind faith is really faith at all. 

I read somewhere that there are two kinds of faith.   The comparison was made in answer to the question, “What if Jesus’ bones were discovered by archeologists and it was proven that they were really Jesus’ bones? Would you still have faith?”  The first kind of faith is like a brick wall, and if one brick (especially the brick at the base of the wall) crumbles, the wall will fall.  The other kind of faith is like a trampoline.  If Jesus’ bones were found, one of the springs would break on the trampoline, but people would still be able to bounce on it. 

So I’m thinking that genuine faith leads to questions and doubts.  Genuine faith, a constant searching for answers, will bring more questions and more doubts.  What is important is that our faith does not rely on just one principle, but rather many things that we believe to be true about God.  When ‘questions arise in our hearts’ and we become troubled, our faith won’t crumble.  At most, we may have a few broken springs.

 

A Simple Prayer Method From A Simple Pontiff

http://t.co/gpW11tkJzy

Not everyone celebrates Easter on Easter

 

The story of Peter and John approaching the gate and seeing the beggar is a great one. (Acts 3:1-10) How many times do we walk by the “beggars” in our lives?  Sometimes we do stop and give them a dollar or two but Peter and John gave so much more, not just the healing but the gift of our Lord.  The man entered the temple, “walking and jumping and praising God.”  How often do I forget the gifts that are mine because of Him?  How much of my life do I spend walking and jumping and praising God?  I saw a beautiful sunrise this morning, I walk, I talk, I am blessed with the most wonderful wife, children, and grandchild  – certainly enough to cause someone to jump and praise God  . . .   Do I show my gratitude enough – I do try – it is not lost on me that I am incredibly blessed.  That doesn’t mean everything goes my way – I’ve had my tragedies and disappointments.   I am always aware that no matter what, I am not alone.  I know that what I have is in the name of Jesus and is possible because of Him.

I love the story of the disciples’ meeting Christ on the road to Emmaus, obviously.  I was, after all, inspired to name my blog based on the event. (Luke 24:13-35) The symbolism is so layered to me.  The idea of meeting Jesus and not having “open eyes” is so telling of our everyday lives.  How often have we met “Jesus” and we just didn’t know it?  There are numerous stories in today’s media filled world circulating about such situations and only later when their “eyes are open” do the characters in the story realize they have indeed encountered Jesus. We are bombarded with so many things in our lives; it is so easy to walk with “unopened eyes,” to not see what is the most important around us.  We must learn to recognize when “our hearts burn within us.”  When the Holy Spirit makes His presence known to us through that burn it is essential that we embrace it and jump and praise God  . . . the best is yet to be!

Not everyone celebrates “Easter” on Easter. This is an important point of the gospel that often goes unnoticed, in my opinion.  We need to move deeper into the understanding of Easter. It is not merely the day where we celebrate the belief that today Jesus rose from the dead, but rather a more expansive celebration where we celebrate hope and the continuation of life. Easter is a season, a series of days where we continue acknowledging constantly the joys and pains of what it means to exist in this world and continue the hope that it is all worthwhile.

Most of us are probably like the two men walking down the road with an unrecognized Jesus. Life and Resurrection are right there beside us, but we still don’t realize we should celebrate. To some, the stress of Easter is more of a hassle than celebration. To others, they might be living in physical and social conditions that make it nearly impossible to believe in resurrection. They are still living the passion. And there are those who feel like they tried to participate in Easter, but didn’t really celebrate. They may not feel the boldness and life that comes from the Resurrection. That’s OK. There’s still time. Not everyone celebrates Easter on Easter Sunday. It took the two men on the road a bit of time actually physically staring at Jesus before they realized what was happening and took the time to celebrate. Why should we be any different?

So for any of us still struggling to live Easter, let’s hope we can be like Peter and John in their encounter with the beggar and help each other. Let’s pray for each other. Let’s physically help each other. And through all this, let’s find a space where we might be able to celebrate the hope and life that is the Resurrection. Alleluia.

The Easter Challenge

As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, we are challenged to expand our Easter joy to more than just hope in eternal life.  The resurrection is the pouring forth of the promise of the Holy Spirit here and now.  It is the assurance of the presence of God at this very moment, not just about what we can expect when we leave this earth, but while we are still here.  The bigger picture of the Easter story is that we have not been abandoned to hopelessness, ever.

 

But tell that to the poor.  Tell that to the beaten and abused, the tortured and the unjustly imprisoned.  Tell that to the terminally ill, and tell that to the lonely.  Tell that to the hungry and the homeless who wander the scourged lands of the earth.  Tell that to the people of this earth who feel in very real ways that they have been abandoned to hopelessness.

 While our faith in the resurrection is certainly about God keeping us safe and the assurance of abiding in hope for our own lives, we pray in Psalm 16 that God will also show us the path to life, and fullness of joys in the presence of God.  So if the death and resurrection of Jesus was about our liberation from the hopelessness of our own deaths, why do we have to follow a path to life?  Hasn’t it all been done for us already?  Yes, it has.  But life is not living unless it is experienced in joy, the joy of the presence of God.  So there is something we can do in response to our joy to make it fuller.

To more fully experience the presence of God, we will tell the poor, the beaten, the abused, the imprisoned, the sick, the hungry, the homeless and the lonely that they too have not been abandoned to hopelessness.  Christ is not just our hope, but the hope of the world.  The resurrection of Jesus is the redemption of all of humanity.  And it isn’t just about whether we believe it or not, it is about whether we feel confident enough to act on it

As I reflect on these lessons, I think about the reason why the first words Jesus said to those who saw Him after the resurrection were “Do not be afraid.”  I don’t think it was because He thought they might be afraid of ghosts.  I think He says this to us today, just as He did then, because His resurrection means that He is the fulfillment of the promises of God.  It’s not our fear of death; it’s our fear of life that we need to think about now.  If Jesus really is alive, then God really meant it when He said He loved us and we, meaning all of humanity, are worth saving.  That means nobody has been abandoned to hopelessness.  Believing in the resurrection means believing in the entire promise of God’s enduring presence with humanity.

 

I feel great joy at Easter, but the fullness of joy that I seek in the presence of God is not just about the relief that the fear of death has been lifted.  The joyful Easter Sunday celebration encourages me to identify with the suffering of others who don’t feel that hope.   Alleluia!  I pray today that I will not be afraid to stay on that path and share that Easter story by bringing hope and joy in very concrete ways to those who do feel abandoned.      

A "Guest Post"

Today’s post is courtesy of my nephew, Tim.  He is the son of my brother Bob, who was also a very faithful Catholic. This is his Good Friday reflection.  He has given me permission to use more of his Spirit-filled gems in the future—with cite, of course.

Thanks, Tim.  Not only for your excellent meditation here, but for the example you set for others in the defense of our faith.

What is Truth?

What an insightful question asked of Jesus by Pilate. Do we have a way to define truth today? Jesus told Pilate, "For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice" (John 18:37). Lately it seems that we are not allowed to speak or share a truth of faith. We are pressured to accept truth because we don't want to be seen as narrow-minded...our pride gets in our way. This was true of Pilate..."Pilate tried to release [Jesus], but the Jews cried out, 'If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar'" (John 19:12).

Truth today becomes that of the majority who has decided a "feel good" truth for themselves rather than on any moral precedent or standard. These aren't wicked people to be shunned or to withhold love, mercy and forgiveness, but their passions are disordered to themselves and their desires. For them, this is the meaning of freedom...the right to do what I want, when I want, and however I want. Morally speaking, this isn't a guaranteed right is it?—At least not a right that doesn't also have consequences. For instance, I suppose you are free to murder someone or steal someone's property, but you also face the potential consequence of going to prison. Even if you don't get caught, there would be this looming feeling wondering if one day you will be caught...that kind of over-the-shoulder lookout isn't freedom.

Those examples may be extreme to some people because they may tell themselves "hey, my choices aren't injuring anyone." This is the comment I would expect from someone who does not recognize the God who created him or her...the God that knows, loves, and cares about every one of us even if we want nothing to do with Him. Choosing not to believe in Him doesn't mean He ceases to exist or isn't hurt by our actions. Man is the only creature with the ability to reason beyond just what he needs...even monkeys can think of a way to use a stick to dig out ants for food. Man's reasoning allows him to think beyond survival...to think of the future...to think existentially. Man's reason allows him to know God...not necessarily what God is thinking and doing, but to know Him as the Father who desires relationship with His creation made in His image.

Yet this idea of not hurting anyone is the façade that is used to pressure people into taking on that Rodney King can't-we-all-get-along compassion they mistake as Christ's message to "love one another". We ARE called to love one another...that is the TRUTH, but there were also standards used to measure truth...standards that Christ Himself told us were true. We were not called to love and at the same time deny truth.

This week I heard debates about what defines marriage, and Facebook was filled with pretty little equal signs. One message I got was that people are free to have a same sex relationship to share a mutual and consenting love, and if I don't agree with that view then I am a bigot or have an archaic religious view not in touch with today's world. The other message I have heard, and sadly from "practicing Christians", is that marriage between same sex partners should be allowed so they can give decision-making and property rights to their partner the same as a married spouse might do. I hear the rhetoric and I understand the concern, but don't we already have living wills that allow us to give those rights to someone of our choosing? If not, why can't government be persuaded to revise these rules of decision making and property? Some have argued that hospitals will not allow a person to visit another in the hospital if they are not family...does this seriously need to be a reason to re-define marriage? Why can't hospitals adapt their rules?

I am a Catholic Christian and my beliefs come from what God has revealed to me about Himself through His son and His teaching...a real, historical figure whose testimony has been recorded. Through my God-given reasoning, I have greatly awakened my faith and developed a deeper relationship with Jesus. I don't want to use the Genesis arguments stated by so many Christians...I'm sure we've heard them. My reflection is on Christ's words of truth to all of us. Jesus stated, "I am the way and the truth and the life" (John 14:6). Jesus DID NOT come with a message of "God created the world and saw it was good, so since all is good, everything your heart desires is therefore good for you". He spoke of many things that were contemptuous before God, and same-sex relations was one of those things. He spoke of this sin in relation to the behavior that caused the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Matthew 10:15 & 11:24, Luke 10:12, and 2Peter 2:6). Now if Jesus Christ told me these are intolerable sins, and Jesus is the Lord of my life, why on earth should I feel pressure to accept this new paradigm of marriage from others in society?

Did Jesus tell me to love people? Certainly He did. However, He did not tell me to condone what He Himself considered sin--Hate the sin and love the sinner. Jesus even tells the faithful not to so much as condone sin (i.e., vote for or protest for) because we too then are guilty of that sin. There is much talk of the hypocrisy of so-called Christians who say they believe one thing, yet act contrary to those beliefs. As a result, they are not attracted to Christianity...an evangelization moment is lost. By asking me to go against my faith for the sake of keeping up with what the world has deemed no big deal, these protestors are asking me to become the type of Christian people aren't attracted to in the first place. I'm sickened by politicians debating FOR issues of abortion and same sex marriage and purposely throw out the fact that they are Catholic, like it's some sort of Church endorsement. Jesus spoke very forcefully about those whose faith becomes weakened by sin and acts in support of sin saying, "Whoever is not with me is against me" (Luke 11:23). This should be a strong warning for all of us, myself included, that we need to seek TRUTH so we can decide to be on the side of truth and not against it.

As a sinner, I pray daily for God's strength, intervention, and forgiveness, so I am by no means saying the walk is an easy one, but the discipline in the journey is true freedom. Jesus said, "Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they occur....Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him" (Luke 17: 1-3). Do not be angry or frustrated at those of us who speak out in the truth of our faith against same sex marriage or think us bigoted...if you don't like what we have been told to share about the message, take it up with the boss, our LORD...I'm sure He's been waiting to hear from you. :)

Who cares? (I do!)

I thought the following (true) story was pretty fitting for this Holy Week of meditations.  I’ll let it speak for itself.

A retired priest sat enjoying the afternoon sun. He looked up to see the newly ordained bishop of the diocese walking towards him. "Father, may I sit with you a while?" the bishop asked.

The old priest, delighted, struggled to get up to welcome his distinguished visitor.

"Father, I'd like to tell you a story. Some years ago, a group of college students who had spent the afternoon drinking were walking past a little church. Confessions were being heard inside. One of them came up with the idea to make a list of the worst sins they could think of and confess them. It would be a riot, they thought, to see how the old priest reacts.

"But one of the guys said, 'Seeing it's your idea, put up or shut up. I bet you $20 you haven't the guts to do it'.

"Well, the first guy took up the challenge. A list of wild sins was drawn up and he went inside the confessional. He came out a few minutes later brandishing a piece of paper. 'Pay me!' he said. 'Here's proof that I've been to confession.'

His friends asked what the paper was. 'It's my penance.' 'Didn't the priest say anything?' "'Nothing, he just handed me the paper.' "'Well, have you done the penance?' "'Don't be silly. I'm not going to do any penance.' "'Oh, no, we don't pay until you do the penance.'

"So he went into the church and read the note: kneel before the crucifix at the altar and repeat 10 times: 'All this you did for me and I don't give a damn.' No problem, the guy thought, and knelt before the altar. But he couldn't do it. He saw the nailed hands and the infinite sadness in the Crucified's eyes.

"A half hour later, his friends wondered what had happened to him and went inside. "They found him crying like a baby at the altar rail."

The bishop then said to the old priest: "I wanted to tell you that story because I was that young guy and you were that priest. Thank you."

(A story told by Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger)

Papal Charisms

When I saw this meme today first on “Twitter” then on Facebook I immediately thought of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.  

“If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.  If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.  It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.  For we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things.  At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.

So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
Corinthians 13: 1-13

  

Wisdom allows us to see the beautiful face of Christ!

Pope Francis to the Cardinals:

“Dear brother Cardinals, take courage! Half of us are advanced in age. Old age is – as I like to say – the seat of life’s wisdom. The old have acquired the wisdom that comes from having journeyed through life, like the old man Simeon, the old prophetess Anna in the Temple. And that wisdom enabled them to recognize Jesus. Let us pass on this wisdom to the young: like good wine that improves with age, let us give life’s wisdom to the young. I am reminded of a German poet who said of old age: Es is ruhig, das Alter, und fromm: it is a time of tranquillity and prayer. And also a time to pass on this wisdom to the young. You will now return to your respective sees to continue your ministry, enriched by the experience of these days, so full of faith and ecclesial communion. This unique and incomparable experience has enabled us to grasp deeply all the beauty of the Church, which is a glimpse of the radiance of the risen Christ: one day we will gaze upon that beautiful face of the risen Christ!”

 

 

Joy, Laughter, and Hope

Yay!  I’m back in Fresno and I have my internet connection!    No more blogging with my thumbs!   I’m also able to catch up on the blogs I regularly read that I missed the last two days.  Normally, that takes about an hour or so.  But for some reason, it took 3 hours tonight!  What the heck happened yesterday?--must have been something newsworthy.  Lol. 

The immensity of yesterday’s events caused me to do something I rarely do—forget a birthday!  Not mine, but my brother Tom’s.  He would have been 57 on Wednesday.  I feel a little down that I forgot.  I’ll say a rosary for him tonight….for both of us.

Reflecting on the last couple of days that I was “out of town while ‘out of town’” [note: I work out of an office that is 150 miles from home.  For the last two days I’ve been working 180 miles away from my office]:  I have said since Ash Wednesday that I am having an “unplanned” Lent.  I am at the mercy of the Holy Spirit (pun intended) regarding my Lenten sacrifices.  It’s been one thing after another.  Or, I may just be listening extra carefully (scrupulously?) to the Holy Spirit this Lent.  I wanted so much to see all of the pageantry, rituals and liturgies involved in Pope Francis’ election and his first Mass, etc.  But because I was out of town and my laptop was not able to ‘stream’ the Catholic news media I am accustomed to, all I was able to see was what the “secular” media wanted to show—which wasn’t much.  And what they did show, they always followed up with some pundit reminding the world that the Catholic Church is still just a scandal-ridden, out-of-touch behemoth that should go away. 

Forgive me, Lord, but I’d like so much to stand toe-to-toe with those pompous, uninformed “former Catholics” and show them my “son of thunder” imitation!

 

If they would just open their hearts and minds to Christ, they would find there is still a lot of joy, laughter, and hope in being a Catholic.   

Joy 1:  I was able to spend an hour in Adoration of our Lord last night to thank Him for His gift of Pope Francis.  It’s been tough recently finding time to just be in His immediate Presence outside of the Eucharist.

Joy 2:  When I finally got into an area that I could listen to the radio, I tuned in to the first Papal Mass as the boys choir was singing the Responsorial Psalm.  The soloist’s voice was so beautiful, I cried!  It was all I was able to listen to before getting back to the office.  Note to self:  find the Mass on EWTN stream tonight.

Laughter:  This is a picture that is making its rounds on the internet.  Good, clean humor is never out of style.

 

Hope:  Lastly, I just finished reading Fr. Jim Chern’s blog.  He’s on a pilgrimage in Rome that was planned months before Pope (emeritus) Benedict announced his resignation.  What timing, huh?  Not on Father Jim’s part, but on the Holy Spirit’s.  Father Jim was supposed to be in Rome this week.  Not (necessarily) so he could witness the election of Pope Francis, but so that he could experience this.  One of Father Jim’s previous blog entries detailed a crisis in his priesthood early in his vocation when he took a sabbatical away from his duties while he discerned whether or not he made the right choice.

What a loving Savior we have!

I'm all thumbs on this day of "firsts"

It's a day of exciting "firsts" for me. We'll see how this goes! I am writing this blog while sitting in an air-conditioned U-Haul truck outside of my motel room in Ridgecrest,located in the "high desert" of California. Why? Because it's the only place I can get Internet access- I don't know why my laptop won't connect! I just got back from Eucharistic Adoration at Saint Ann church here in thanksgiving for our new Pope, Francis! It is one of the churches I have not visited yet as part of my (now) 4 year pilgrimage to visit every church in the Stockton and Fresno dioceses! The main church was locked up tighter than a drum, but the Eucharistic Chapel is beautiful! Pope Francis! I prayed most of the night last night that we would have a new Pope today and that he would choose one of several names: Gregory, Matthew, Pius, or something else that was either unique or one that hadn't been used in a while! I am not disappointed! In fact, the very selection of Francis seems to me to be Divinely inspired! Think of it! The simple obedience of Francis of Asissi to our Lord's request to "Rebuild My Church", the zeal of Francis Xavier to evangelize to the whole world, and the humility of St. Francis de Sales in serving the poor! How perfect is that choice by the Holy Spirit (using the Holy Father as His instrument)? Sorry, but because I'm using my iPhone to write this post, no graphics tonight. I think it may be the last time I try this, too, because my thumbs are worn out! Lol

Making things new again

As we enter the week that the College of Cardinals will enter the Conclave to elect a new Pope, I am inspired by the words in the readings for Monday.

The book of Isaiah speaks about things being made new – the Lord is going to create new heavens and a new earth. (Isaiah 65:17-21)  We can read this in a literal sense in that the world and the condition of creation is literally going to be thrown away and something completely new and different put in its place.  We can also read it in the sense that the world that we live in right now is going to be made new, or perhaps renewed or rejuvenated. 

In either case, I think the key question is whether or not we really believe it.  Do we really believe that God can make our lives and our world new again?  I ask this question because, if we really take an honest look, there are plenty of things all around us that can make us feel hopeless, cynical, and despondent. 

Our world is facing threats from climate uncertainty, unequal wealth distribution, and the political unrest that comes with overabundance and overuse at one end of the social spectrum and fearful scarcity and lack of access at the other.

Our country is deeply divided on many issues, from same sex marriage to abortion and contraception; from the national deficit to Medicare and Social Security.  Oftentimes, we can’t even find a way to talk to each other about these important issues.

Our own lives each contain dark places, whether it’s personal habits that are bad for our health and well-being, or attitudes that are harmful to our relationships and families.

Yet John’s Gospel reminds us of the importance of having faith, faith that things can indeed be made new.  Jesus rebukes the royal official in this story for asking that his son be healed.  We get the impression that Jesus thinks this man is asking for his son to be healed in order that he might believe.  I think the opposite might be true here, though.  He didn’t demand that his son be healed so that he might have faith.  He approached Jesus because he had faith.  The cure was not the cause of his faith, but the consequence.  (John 4:43-54)

Similarly, we must not wait for the problems and challenges that confront us in today’s world to disappear before we truly believe that things can be made new.  Instead, we are invited to move through our Lenten journey with faith, knowing that there is new life at the end of the tunnel.  Faith is the precondition that allows us to embrace the challenges in our lives and in our world, the truly Lenten struggles that we experience each and every day.  In fact, approaching the world with the hope and the belief that things can indeed be made new just might be a prerequisite to living a Christian life in our world.  This is God’s promise to us and the consequence of believing it makes all the difference in how we view the world and the possibility that things can be made new and that God works through us to do just that.

Stupid questions

I was giving a presentation the other day and finished up by asking if there were any questions.  As happens every time, someone raised their hand and said “This is kind of a stupid question, but…..”  It always reminds me of the old adage “The only stupid question is the one that wasn’t asked.”  But I did find some contenders for “Stupidest Question of All-Time”.    The nominees are:

10-Why is Grape Nuts cereal called that, when it contains neither grapes, nor nuts?

 

 

 

9-If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a song about him?

8-If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

7-If an orange is orange, why isn't a lime called a green or a lemon called a yellow?

 

6-If a cat always lands on its feet, and buttered bread always lands butter side down, what would happen if you tied buttered bread on top of a cat?

5-What color would a smurf turn if you choked it?

4-If a kid refuses to sleep during nap time, are they guilty of resisting a rest?

3-If laughter is the best medicine, who's the idiot who said they 'died laughing'?

2-If the #2 pencil is the most popular, why's it still #2?

 

 

 

 

 

1-If pro and con are opposites, wouldn't the opposite of progress be congress?  (See #8 above--these categories are related)

 

Remain faithful, and He will be our God

We are not alone.

There are many moments in life when we go through instances of ups and downs.  We are not alone going through tough times.  Today’s reading emphasizes the gravity of the decision to turn ones’ back on God.  It is important to listen to the world around us.  God comes to us in many shapes and forms.  He could be speaking through a close friend that is trying to help through a certain circumstance or He could be the voice of reason in our head all along.  Allow the light of the Lord into your life and understand that He is always there in the good times and more importantly in the bad times.

The road of life proposes multiple challenges.  Our faith is challenged, our views are altered, and our life changes one way or another.  Choose to remain faithful because when faith disappears it can be easy to get wrapped up in the wrong things.  Choose to remember that you are not alone.  God is with you as well as your family and friends.  “Thus says the LORD: This is what I commanded my people: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people.”  There is never something that we can’t handle together.

Old Faithful

"Walk in all the ways that I command you, so that you may prosper.” Jeremiah 7:23-28