Prayers for Aunt Barbara

It was quite a shock to hear of Aunt Barbara's condition. As I said in a previous post, she has a special place in my heart. Not only for her unselfish help to Mom with her medical problems last year, but for being there to help me when I was in college--giving me a place to stay, sharing meals, and making me feel less apprehensive in a new environment after leaving LA just out of high school.

I have been praying and asking God for the right thing to say in this time of concern--something I can say (or do) for Barbara and her family. I even decided to search the internet to see if I could find a "special" prayer for her. You know what? All I can think of is saying the rosary! And the Divine Mercy!

Look at what I just wrote! I said "ALL I can think of is saying the rosary", as though it is a minor act of mercy! As soon as I wrote it, I thought "What is more POWERFUL than the rosary?"

Please help me

I was at a meeting with some General Managers yesterday. These are my friends (thank God!) and I can depend on them to say what they feel. They truly let their "yes mean yes" and their "no mean no" (Matthew 5:37). We were speaking about some topic or the other and my training methods came up. One of the GMs made an off-hand remark, saying "Steve is a good trainer, but he gets really grumpy and short with you when you don't learn fast enough." This got a laugh out of the group (and I joined in with them), but I put that little bit of information away, thinking I might speak with the individual later and find out exactly why she felt this way, as I didn't realize this is one of my faults. A little later, I was doing a "hands-on" demonstration of a procedure that I have to do in my position out in the field. Often I have to drill out tumblers from locks before I can auction goods that have been in storage and the customers have not paid. I have to have a witness when I do this. Usually it is a GM. Anyway, as I was demonstrating to the GMs this procedure, one of the guys who watches me drilling locks a lot, said, "Steve, that's not how you always do it. You have to use the "Catholic language". I looked quizzically at him and he said, "You know, when you swear at the MF'n customer for not paying his bill or for not putting the lock on the right way that will make it easier to drill, or you'll swear at the lock for being too difficult to open once you've drilled it." This again got a huge roar of laughter and a lot of nodding heads as the rest of the team agreed with his assessment of my demeanor when faced with frustration.
It also got me to take a deeper look at myself and the pride I take in being a Catholic. Is this the picture I want to paint for others as to how Catholics behave? I am ashamed. I am going to try (starting yesterday) to think before I speak and ask Jesus to send the Holy Spirit to help me remember that, just as I see Christ in others, others should be able to see Christ in me. How can you help? I would like any of you who witness me falling into this type of behavior (using swear words), please remind me that it is not how a good Catholic behaves.

The Triumph of the Cross

Today was the feast day of The Triumph of the Cross. For the first time in a long time I went to mass last night, the Saturday vigil. I don’t usually go on Saturdays because I have a personal problem recognizing it as the “Sabbath.” The “problem” arises because I usually work on Saturdays, and so, I haven’t “rested”. I went, because I was visiting Mom and she likes to go on Saturdays. However, she wasn’t feeling up to it, so I went by myself. Now, Sunday is a different kettle of fish, so to speak. I am in the habit of getting up early on Sunday and going to either the 8 AM or the 10 AM mass, depending on how fast I can get my act together. Then I spend the rest of the day either meditating on the mass, going to the forums on Catholic.com to learn more about my Church, or visiting Mom and the rest of my family. This is a fairly recent habit—ever since Lorenzo started doing the yard work I used to do on Sundays. But I digress. I don’t know if it’s because I went to confession and said my rosary before mass or just the Holy Spirit filling my mind for His own purposes, but during the mass I kept focusing on the crucifix and trying to understand how anyone who truly believes in Jesus Christ and calls himself a Christian isn’t moved by the sacrifice Christ made for us. I tried to pay more attention to the mass, but my eyes kept returning to the crucifix and the wounds Christ suffered for ME. I was getting choked up every time I thought of His wounds. Each time I looked at the cross, I tried to see the cross again for the first time, as though I was truly at Calvary (which is exactly where we are at every mass!). I looked at Jesus’ suffering, His cruel death, and His resurrection as something He did for ME (and does at every mass), something that brings me new life, no matter how bad the problems I may think I am facing at times.

From "The Word Among Us" today

He spent the night in prayer to God. (Luke 6:12)

This verse isn’t one most people remember, but it speaks volumes about Jesus. Before he made the crucial decision about whom he would choose as his apostles, he prayed. It shows how completely dependent Jesus was on his heavenly Father. He never made a move without asking which way he should go. And when the decision was important, he didn’t just offer a quick “Our Father”! As in this case, he went to a place with few distractions and spent long hours listening in prayer.
If we’re serious about doing what Jesus did, we have to pray too. Of course, if you’re new to prayer, you won’t begin by staying up all night on a mountaintop! Your starting point can be just knowing that God wants to speak to you personally and reccognizing that you want to hear his voice. It all begins when you trust in God’s promise: “When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).
The fact is, there is no magical secret to prayer. We simply have to turn to him, and God will answer us. So in part, it really is up to us. We have to take the time and effort to listen. We have to decide whether we will follow God’s plans or our own—and we have to discern how we’re going to implement them. We may even need the help of a trusted friend to help us along the way. But through it all, God will be right beside us!
If you haven’t done so before, why not start today to ask God about the decisions you are facing? You can begin by making small steps at listening and trying to put into practice what you hear. Tell the Lord about your schedule, and ask him to direct your steps. Read the Scriptures, and see if the Spirit gives you some sense about what you should do in a situation. Like anything else, prayer takes practice. And the better you get at hearing the Lord, the more confident you will become—and the more effective you will be at building his
kingdom!
“Lord, I ask for your guidance today. Help me to hear your voice and to know your will, even in the small decisions I’m facing. Speak, Lord, your servant is listening!”

A prayer for Aunt Barbara

My Aunt Barbara is special to me. She was a great help to me when I was a young man attending college and trying to grow up. She and her family have always been there for me and my family. She is not doing very well recently, and can use our prayers. I would like to offer the following prayer for her. I will post the prayer on Mom's blog, as well.

Holy Mary, we ask that you wrap Barbara in your loving embrace and help her through this trial. Keep her free from worry and pain.

Dear Jesus, Divine Physician and Healer, we turn to You on behalf of Your servant Barbara. O dearest comforter of the troubled, alleviate our worry and sorrow with Your gentle love, and grant us the grace and strength to accept this burden.

Dear God, we place our worries for Barbara in Your hands. We place Barbara and all our sick and troubled under Your care and humbly ask that You restore Your servant Barbara to health again. Above all, grant us the grace to acknowledge Your will and know that whatever You do, You do for the love of us. Amen.

Reverence

Today, it's two posts for the price of one! I've been meaning to post this thought for a while, but after my daily dose of Catholic.com, I posted the previous thought first. Oh, well I guess the mind wanders..........

I spend most of Mass with my eyes closed. Why? It's a fault of mine that I am (possibly) over-critical of how others are "worshipping", and it is a distraction to watch what I perceive as irreverence or disrespect for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and especially the Eucharist. Keeping my eyes closed is one tactic I've come up with to keep me from possibly misjudging others and (more likely) to keep from having to look at the 'plank in my own eye'. I've written before about the disrespect one shows when they enter God's house and neglect to genuflect or bow to the Altar and acknowledge His presence, then carry on with conversations as if He is not there. You know the people I am talking about...those who are at Mass because it's an obligation, not out of love for God, and the gifts He has given us. I think most of us at Mass are there to give thanks to Jesus for His sacrifice at Calvary (as if we could ever thank Him enough!) and worship Him and give Him due reverence. But there are always one or two who (forgive me, Jesus, if my assessment is wrong) have no idea why they are there. Then they present themselves to recieve our Lord in a manner as if the Sacrament were just a symbol, rather than the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ Himself, under the 'appearance' of bread and wine. Some will "take" the Host, rather than "recieve" Him, some will wait until they are back at the pew before consuming Him, some will talk in the procession line! I read somewhere a writing of an early church father about the reverence one should have when receiving the Eucharist. (Yes, in the early days of the church, the Sacrament was received in the hand--it's not new, since Vatican II). The father said when you present your hands for the reception of the Host, form a "throne" out of the left hand for the priest to place the King of the Universe upon, gaze upon the King, then, with reverence, and a prayer, consume Him. I think if more people thought of recieving with this sort of image in mind, I could open my eyes again during Mass. God forgive me for judging others without really knowing what is in their hearts, but it's my perception, and I hope I'm wrong.

Pray. Listen. Act.

The following is a post from Catholic Answers (catholic.com) in response to the question, "Do you think every feeling or thought you get about God, Mary or anything else spiritual is a prompt from God, or sent from God? Like God is giving you a nudge? Like, Oh, I think I’ll say the Rosary, or, Oh, I’ll go visit the church - is that always God giving us a hint?”

And here is the wonderful response to that question:

If I could boil down everything I’ve learned about spirituality. . .it would go something like this:

1) Pray always, in all times and circumstances.
2) “Tune-in” to the world around you . . . the people, events and circumstances of your immediate surroundings. This is where the Holy Spirit meets you and speaks to you . . . if we can learn to listen. And “seeing” what’s around you is the first step in listening. Combined with an habitual prayerful attitude (#1), this is how we are made receptive for His prompts and inspirations. Oh, how we tune out the world as we go about “our” business. So many missed opportunities in all our present moments.
3) Act upon any good impulse that pops into our mind as it occurs.
If we are diligent in #1 and #2 it will be amazing how many times #3 occurs in any given day. Just a few examples that come to mind . . .
* One moment we might feel drawn to give a word of encouragement to someone who is feeling down.
* The next moment we might bite our toungue when that particularly troublesome co-worker rags on you again.
* A moment latter, we praise God for a small act of virtue we see in this very same co-worker.
* Another moment, we stop our day dreaming to silently adore Him in our heart.
* The next moment, we “change the subject” of the train of thought going on in our mind when we recognize it has the potential to lead us to sin.
* The next moment we pick of that piece of trash in the parking lot instead of stepping over it.
* A moment latter we smile and nod at a person passing our way.
* The next moment we say a silent prayer because someone we haven’t thought of in a long while popped into our mind.
* On another moment we pitch in and give a helping hand.
* Another moment, we give up our recreation and down time to spend time with a family member.
We could go on and on forever about these types of prompts and inspirations that come to us in the present moment . . . for they are endless really.
Pray, listen, act.

Mt 25:14-30Jesus told his disciples this parable:“A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one– to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. Likewise, the one who received two made another two. But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the groundand buried his master’s money. After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person,harvesting where you did not plantand gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’ His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plantand gather where I did not scatter? Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside,where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’”

In the parable, the master entrusts his servants with a portion of his wealth, but no more than they can handle. My Master has entrusted me with His "wealth"--faith. My faith is not something I am supposed to keep to myself, buried in a hole, where it will not even earn interest. Rather it is to be shared, and thereby multiplied, through witness and example.
The proof of this in in the fact that every single time I have shared my faith with someone else, I can actually feel my own faith increasing exponentially. God knows how much I enjoy sharing His wealth, because He is constantly putting my faith to work for Him. He has recently put 4 people in my path who are looking for more spirituality in their lives. I am not an apologist, and I have very few answers to give them. But I do give them a share of my own faith by answering their simpler questions and inviting them to go to mass with me. At the very least, I want to be able to show my Master that I attempted to increase His wealth when He comes back and asks me to account for myself. I know this sounds as if I am sharing my faith to keep from being "thrown into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth", but the fact is that the more I share, the more I get, and the more I get the more I realize I am sharing my faith out of love for God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit and my desire to spend eternity with Him.

Here's a thought for today

"When something turns out not very well or even badly, do not be disturbed nor think it a real evil; but be humble before God and be confident that from it He will draw some good. "- St Anthony Mary Gianelli (1789-1846)

I could have used this quote yesterday!

I get it

Today started out as a real bummer. First, I overslept, so I missed Mass at 6:30. Then, at work, it was hot, we were short-handed, the customers seemed wierder than normal, and I missed my lunch hour--so naturally, I was short-tempered, rude and stressed. I didn't like myself much by 4pm, and I'm sure my employees felt the same way about me. I hadn't eaten, and only had about 16oz of water and a candy bar all day. I was mad at the world, and felt like the weight of the world was coming at me all at once. So, at 4pm, I decided to call it a day at work and maybe sit in front of the Blessed Sacrament and say a rosary before Mass started at 5:45pm to try and calm down. I drove over to St. Joseph's in Modesto and the doors were locked! There was another guy there who tried the doors with the same result I had. I told him, "Great, the way my day's been going, I NEED to get in there and talk to Jesus, and the door is locked!" Right next to the entrance to the church is the Adoration chapel, which has a combination lock on it (I didn't have the combination). I told the guy if I didn't get in to see Jesus soon, I was going to bust! And lo and behold, some lady comes up, opens the door to the chapel and goes in! It took me and my new acquaintence a couple of seconds to realize what had happened! We kind of gave each other that look of "Whoa! He must have heard me!" So my friend knocked on the door, the lady opened it, and we went in. There were about 6 people in there already. I took out my rosary and started praying for calm. 20 minutes later, I had forgotten what a rotten day it had been and felt I was in the proper state of mind to attend Mass and recieve Jesus in Holy Communion. And by now, the church doors were open. But did Jesus stop at merely calming me down? No, as He often does to those He heals, He also admonishes them to stop doing whatever it was that caused their lapses in faith in the first place, so to top it all off, the Gospel is Matthew 22:34-40,

When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them [a scholar of the law] tested him by asking,
"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"
He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."

OK, Jesus, I get it. I'm sure I'll fail to love my neighbor over and over again by being rude and short-tempered, but I get it. I also know that You'll be there to catch me every time, and by the grace of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit I can live up to these commandments.

Song To Be Sung by the Father of Infant Female Children

I was watching an OLD rerun of Bishop Fulton J Sheen. He was reading this poem. I thought it was pretty good—especially since I am the father of female children, and shortly will be the grandfather of a female child:

Song To Be Sung by the Father of Infant Female Children
by Ogden Nash

My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky;
Contrariwise, my blood runs cold
When little boys go by.
For little boys as little boys,
No special hate I carry,
But now and then they grow to men,
And when they do, they marry.
No matter how they tarry,
Eventually they marry.
And, swine among the pearls,
They marry little girls.
Oh, somewhere, somewhere, an infant plays,
With parents who feed and clothe him.
Their lips are sticky with pride and praise,
But I have begun to loathe him.
Yes, I loathe with loathing shameless
This child who to me is nameless.
This bachelor child in his carriage
Gives never a thought to marriage,
But a person can hardly say knife
Before he will hunt him a wife.
I never see an infant (male),
A-sleeping in the sun,
Without I turn a trifle pale
And think is he the one?
Oh, first he'll want to crop his curls,
And then he'll want a pony,
And then he'll think of pretty girls,
And holy matrimony.
A cat without a mouse
Is he without a spouse.
Oh, somewhere he bubbles bubbles of milk,
And quietly sucks his thumbs.
His cheeks are roses painted on silk,
And his teeth are tucked in his gums.
But alas the teeth will begin to grow,
And the bubbles will cease to bubble;
Given a score of years or so,
The roses will turn to stubble.
He'll sell a bond, or he'll write a book,
And his eyes will get that acquisitive look,
And raging and ravenous for the kill,
He'll boldly ask for the hand of Jill.
This infant whose middle
Is diapered still
Will want to marry
My daughter Jill.
Oh sweet be his slumber and moist his middle!
My dreams, I fear, are infanticiddle.
A fig for embryo Lohengrins!
I'll open all his safety pins,
I'll pepper his powder,
and salt his bottle,
And give him readings from Aristotle.
Sand for his spinach
I'll gladly bring,
And Tabasco sauce for his teething ring.
Then perhaps he'll struggle through fire and water
To marry somebody else's daughter.

Time to vent!

There are a few things that bother me lately when I go to Sunday Mass. The first is the talking. People chat away before Mass, during Mass (even during the consecration!), and after Mass. You'd think they could wait until they were outside to visit. I personally like to get to the church early and try to prepare myself for the miracle that is going to occur. It's hard to concentrate on prayer when you are forced to hear the latest gossip (complete with laughing!) from the parishoners around you. Kids (teenagers) are the worst offenders. What are the parents teaching them? Where is the reverence for our Lord? I think it's actually getting a little better, but not fast enough for me.

And what's with the clapping at the end of Mass? Christ doesn't need our applause! We have just been to Calvary! We should be somber. Oh, wait! The organist and soloist have PERFORMED for us! We should applaud! NOT! The Mass is not entertainment. It is worship. Let's treat it as such!

Those that go to daily Mass are a lot more reverent, in my opinion. At least I'm not as distracted at those Masses. I think the reason they go daily is that they realize exactly WHO they are there to see and worship.
Ok, I'm off my soapbox.

Prayers of thanksgiving are as important as prayers of petition

When I was listening to a program on EWTN radio this morning before mass, the hostess asked the following question.

When God answers your prayers, do you spend as much time thanking Him in your thanksgiving as you did in petition? It really is a good question. Some of us can spend years in prayer waiting for a petition to be answered, and when the answer to our petition is YES, do we spend years in giving thanks? Even if God's answer is a clear NO, do we thank Him for His answer anyway? And with the same fervor?

Early in January, a very faithful little girl decided she wanted a pony for Christmas (don't they all?) So she prayed every day, all day, almost a full year, right up until Christmas morning knowing that God would answer her prayers. She got a lot of great gifts for Christmas that morning, but no pony. When she was asked to say the grace at Christmas dinner, she thanked God for answering all of her prayers. Her uncle was taken aback. "You didn't get your pony! Why are you thanking God for answering your prayer?" he asked her. She replied "I guess the answer was NO!"

Today's Reading is Scary! (Until you know the rest of the story)

Ez 9:1-7; 10:18-22The LORD cried loud for me to hear: Come, you scourges of the city! With that I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate which faces the north, each with a destroying weapon in his hand. In their midst was a man dressed in linen, with a writer’s case at his waist. They entered and stood beside the bronze altar. Then he called to the man dressed in linen with the writer’s case at his waist, saying to him: Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and mark a “Thau” on the foreheads of those who moan and groanover all the abominations that are practiced within it. To the others I heard the LORD say: Pass through the city after him and strike! Do not look on them with pity nor show any mercy! Old men, youths and maidens, women and children–wipe them out! But do not touch any marked with the “Thau”; begin at my sanctuary. So they began with the men, the elders, who were in front of the temple. Defile the temple, he said to them, and fill the courts with the slain; then go out and strike in the city.Then the glory of the LORD left the threshold of the temple and rested upon the cherubim. These lifted their wings, and I saw them rise from the earth, the wheels rising along with them. They stood at the entrance of the eastern gate of the LORD’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was up above them. Then the cherubim lifted their wings, and the wheels went along with them, while up above them was the glory of the God of Israel.

Wow! This is one of those Old Testament readings that scare young children and those of little faith. But that's only because they don't understand the whole story. I must admit I didn't much care for it until I heard Father Pacwa's sermon on EWTN today. Then it seemed to make sense. It is another of those visions that foresee the mercy of the Lord towards all who believe in Him. The people who were saved were those who did not worship the false idols and disobey the laws. These were marked with the "Thau". Father Pacwa said the "Thau" was in the shape of a cross, made with two branches of the olive tree. So those who believed in the God of Israel and followed His commandments were "blessed" with the "sign of the cross" and thereby saved through their faith and their prayers to Him imploring Him to stop the idolatry.

The reading for today got me thinking. In case you missed it, here it is, along with my insights. I hope they're not too far off the mark!
Ez 2:8—3:4The Lord GOD said to me:As for you, son of man, obey me when I speak to you:be not rebellious like this house of rebellion,but open your mouth and eat what I shall give you.It was then I saw a hand stretched out to me,in which was a written scroll which he unrolled before me.It was covered with writing front and back, (Sounds like the Word of God to me!)and written on it was: Lamentation and wailing and woe!(This sounds like Christ's passion!)He said to me: Son of man, eat what is before you;(The Eucharist?)eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel.(After receiving the Word, share it with the world!)So I opened my mouth and he gave me the scroll to eat.Son of man, he then said to me,feed your belly and fill your stomachwith this scroll I am giving you.I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth(Again, the Eucharist?).He said: Son of man, go now to the house of Israel,and speak my words to them.

Sometimes the stories of the prophets are, well, prophetic. Here we have God telling Ezekiel to eat the Word. Of course we all know that the Word was with God and the Word IS God, (or Jesus). Ezekiel describes the Word as lamentation and wailing and woe. This speaks to me of the passion of Christ. Then Ezekiel is told to go to the house of Israel and speak the words to them. After we recieve the Word of God and His Son (the very Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ) in the Eucharist, we are sent to evangelize through our faith and works. This plays right into what Christ said: That He came into the world not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. There are so many of these parallels between the Old Testament and New Testament that I think my next step should be a bible study. But I just don't have the time! Does anybody know of a good online bible study?

The urgency of prayer

Father Hayes' sermon tonight was short, but to the point. He said while he was in the hospital recently for an extended period of time, they had him so drugged that he didn't have the right attitude for prayer. He said he would start to pray, but before the first prayer was over, he would fall asleep, and when he awakened the rosary would be bunched up under him and leave little bead marks on that part of his body. It got to the point that he didn't care whether he prayed or not. It made him realize how important prayer is when you are properly disposed and in right mind. We all like to think that if we were just laying in bed all day, we would be glad to just pray, pray, pray. But the fact of the matter is that because we are human, we have only so much patience. Why wait until you are faced with a life or death situation before you think of prayer? Why not just one Our Father right now?

Who do YOU say that I am?

As promised, here is a nutshell version of last night's homily.

The human heart, a person’s deepest self, is where God has written his covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34; CCC #s 1764-1765). How else do we know, instinctively, that there is a God? And why do we turn to our Creator in times of distress or sadness? It's because God has written his names (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) on our hearts since before we were born. It's like a newborn baby. He (or she) is not "taught" to look for his mother's breast when he's hungry. He just knows that is the source of his nourishment. Or how does he know which woman is his mother in a crowd of mothers? By the special "scent" that is a bond between mother and child. If you think about these things, you KNOW they are true. It is the same with knowing that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He is truly present in each of us. Even atheist have to make a choice to ignore this instinctive knowledge. When Jesus was with the Apostles and asked them, "Who do people say that I am?", they replied that some thought he was John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others thought he was one of the other prophets. But when he asked his friends, who knew him best, "Who do YOU say that I am?", Peter blurted out "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!" This was revealed to Peter by God, according to Jesus. (Luke 9, 18-24) And it was. But it has also been revealed to each of us through Scripture and Tradition. Even without Scripture and Tradition, if you really search your heart you know this to be true. Gaze upon a crucifix. Imagine that Christ is looking at you with the same loving look He gave his friends that day and He is asking YOU, "Who do YOU say that I am?" When I did this during Mass last night, I almost blurted out Peter's answer myself--it's the reason I try to attend Mass daily, when possible--to give thanks to Our God and His Son for the daily gifts of the Holy Spirit upon my life. I caught myself--it would have been inappropriate, but my heart was almost bursting with love for Christ! I know that He is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world!

When you find YOUR answer to the question, then ask yourself why He would put Himself through the pain and suffering of the crucifixion. It's for ALL OF US, that we may finally be with HIM as was intended from the beginning. Then try to understand that we could never suffer as much as HE did, and He is STILL willing to accept even more pain and suffering (the pain and suffering we offer up to Him) for the greater glory of the Father.

He's still there!

I had to go to Reedley to pick up a truck today. I figured I would go to Mass at St. Anthony Claret at 5:30 as I drove through Fresno back home to Stockton. As I was approaching Fresno, I thought "St. Anthony's mass in in Spanish. Do I really want to try and understand what the Gospel and sermon are all about? or should I just go home and read the Gospel and meditations on line?" But my hunger for the Eucharist and the peace I feel at Mass (even in Spanish) overrode these thoughts and I went to Mass. When I got there, a little old lady who is always at that mass greeted me with "buenos tardes, Senor". I responded in kind. Then there was a bustle of activity around the altar--chairs being moved around, and a stool being placed behind the altar! I thought "uh oh, what's going on here?" Then everyone stands and the priest comes out veeerrrry slooowwwwly on crutches and a cast on his foot! He immediately proceeded to sit on a chair that was next to the lecturn and blessed us, said the opening prayer, then the reading and responsorial psalm were recited. "Lord, what did I get myself into tonight?" It was hard to concentrate on the Spanish and wonder how this priest was going to say mass in his condition. I was shocked when he said the opening prayers before the Gospel, then allowed a lay person to read it! He continued to sit. After the Gospel, he rose with great difficulty, then sat on the stool behind the altar. I thought he was going to dispense with a sermon, as it was obvious that he was in great pain. But he starts the sermon while sitting on the stool--IN ENGLISH! He had a different lay person stand next to him and interpret the sermon for the old Spanish ladies. And what a powerful and insightful sermon it was! I thank the Holy Spirit for guiding me to this sermon tonight. It was just what I needed. I will write about the sermon tomorrow. I want to let it soak in tonight, and it's late. I don't want to ruin it because I'm tired. I may forget something. How's that for a tease?

Be not afraid--revised

Ok, so I fell prey to an "urban legend". On May 5th, I blogged that Be not afraid appeared 365 times in the bible. I posed the question to the forums at Catholic.com to see if it was true, and got a couple of responses--all of them charitably chiding me for being gullible. One of the posters (a non-catholic Christian) said he found the following in the King James Version:
The phrase "fear not" appears 63 times (48 times in the Old Testament)
The phrase "(do) not be afraid" appears 13 times (12 times in the OT)
The phrase "be not afraid" appears 28 times (19 times in the OT)
That's a total of 104 times, 261 short of 365
On a side note, the word "fear" by itself appears 400 times in the bible (316 times in the OT) , the word "afraid" appears 193 times (158 times in the OT)

Oh, well at least I got a couple of people to STUDY the bible for a little bit.

Getting back to the original thought, though. What is a "God-fearing" Christian? I think most people think that God is to feared, so they walk on egg-shells, thinking that He is just looking for an excuse to "send me to hell". They make God out to be a vindictive being, rather than the loving Father He truly is. This, in my opinion, is exactly the wrong attitude to have. We certainly should follow the precepts and laws He has set down for us from the beginning. But we should do it out of RESPECT and THANKS for the gift of life He has given us. The only fear that we should have is the fear of disappointing our loving Father in Heaven and causing Him sadness. I am going to try in the next couple of weeks to explain what I know to be gifts from God and how I can best thank Him for these blessings.

I've found the pearl

Mt 13:44-46
Jesus said to his disciples:“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.”
I have found the pearl. Now I have to sell all that I have to buy it. Are we talking money here? No, obviously not. What I think Jesus is talking about is our attachments to this world. There can be nothing that takes priority over our commitment to He Who Created All Things. We have to "sell" our pride, our hubris, our very souls and give ourselves to Him, completely.

How do we "sell" these things?

By following Jesus' teaching in Matthew 22:37-40, "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."

What did Jesus mean when He said "The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments?" These commandments are the basis for the Ten that Our Lord gave to Moses. All ten of the commandments given to Moses can be followed by simply following Jesus' Two.

Can you imagine a world that followed the Greatest Commandments unconditionally? No wars, no abortions, no pain, no suffering---Wait!!! We're talking Heaven here, right?