I myself will give you a wisdom in speaking.....(Luke 21:12-19)

No defense, no argument, no thoughtful colloquy that I could ever produce would ever be the equivalent of what Jesus has for us to say. He knows the right words; He knows what must be said to best effect God's ends.

The truth of that for me becomes apparent each time I sit down (which is less often these days!) to write one of these meditations. I read the passage and there are so many different things in each passage of Scripture.  I have no idea what to say. What words can I possibly write that can improve on the Gospel? What can be said that hasn't been said before? If I allowed these things to remain in my mind, not a word would ever get written.

However, when I free myself from myself and I ask Jesus what He wants to be said, when I spend even just a moment in thoughtful prayer—well, sometimes a flood of words comes that is impossible to control. It’s all I can do to type them out quickly enough. I will often finish a meditation and think, "Well, I ought to just throw that one away." It’s on these matters of seemingly little worth that I often learn how much they have helped.

I have shared with you a little of my own experience to make a point. Jesus provides the words. If we don't know what to say, then say nothing until the Holy Spirit empowers us at the right moment.

All that being said, this is the last chance I will have before the Thanksgiving holiday to share the grace I will be saying when I sit down to dinner on Thursday.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for this Thanksgiving Day.  Thank You for all the many, many blessings You bestow on us each and every day, especially the little things we overlook from day to day.  Lord, we pray that You feed those today that are less fortunate than we are.  Draw up real close to them and let them know how very precious You are and how precious they are to YOU.  Thank you for each one around this table Lord, and thank You Lord for the ones who prepared this meal.  We present this prayer to You through Jesus Christ.  Amen.

It's my birthday!

I’m 60 years old today.  Am I comfortable?   I think so.  Am I happy?  Most days.  What do I need right now?  Not much. What do I need tomorrow?  Probably more wisdom and the courage of the Holy Spirit to go deeper in faith.   I ask these questions today as our world urges me to put my happiness first.  McDonald’s and Snickers candy bar commercials tell us “we deserve a break” and that treating ourselves should be the priority.  Yes, it’s my birthday and I do love the attention I will be getting.  But what about others?  What about dying to my flesh and loving my brothers and sisters?  I have been doing a lot of reflection lately on the words—and more importantly—the actions of Pope Francis.

Love God and love others—that’s the gospel message.  One of the hardest battles we face is looking outside of ourselves for the benefit of others. That is the mission we are all called to. We are not just encouraged to follow it; we are commanded to follow it. We have to understand and accept that loving others is generally inconvenient.  It means we don’t get our way, we don’t get to be comfortable, and we have to fight our natural inclinations to judge people or to “get along” with people who aren’t like us.  This is what Pope Francis is showing us so well in his daily actions.

Today’s gospel message from Luke 17 reminds us “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it.”  If we live our lives trying to find happiness by meeting our own needs, we will come up short.  If, however, we follow Jesus’ example and live to meet the needs of others, we will find life.  We will experience true joy and happiness by loving people.

So, even though it’s MY birthday, I’d like to give my readers a present.  It’s the greatest gift I can give to others; LOVE.

 

If anyone wants to honor me with a gift, please don’t—I would rather you donate a little something or (at the very least) pray for the victims of the typhoon in the Philippines.  There are all sorts of websites out there soliciting money.  Just be sure it's a reputable organization. It’s all about Love.

Like a deer

My cousin Amy found an antler today at the bottom of a dry creek bed that inspired her to recite Psalm 42 (or at least parts of it as found in a liturgical songbook): “Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you my God Why are you cast down, my soul, why groan within me? Hope in God; I will praise him still, Persevere, he said yes, you may be broken But you are whole!”

Her inspiration led me to meditate on the Psalm just a bit further. Thanks, Amy! You never know whose life you're going to enrich on any given day, do you?

In this broken world, we can be so shaken by the events, the words, and hurt that we feel every single day. Some of it is directed towards us, some of it is directed from us.

Ever since Adam and Eve took a bite out of the forbidden fruit we, as a human race, have had to live with the fact that we will never be perfect, that we will never live in a perfect world. It's very easy to look at the darkness and see what is lacking, but here's an encouraging thought—God is bigger than all of this, and he NEVER forsakes us!

More importantly, God wants to remind us that it's going to be all right because He is the one who is ultimately in charge. Jesus did not die on the cross for the perfect world; He died for a broken one.

May today be a reminder that no matter what the world dictates, the truth is Christ himself and not even death or the devil can touch you because Jesus paid the ultimate price for you. May you continue to live the truth that God loves you so much.

After I wrote this, I realized that tomorrow, November 1st, is special to me in so many ways:  First of all, it's a Friday.  The day that Christ chose to redeem us.  It's also the first Friday of the month, which is special in itself in Catholic Tradition.  It's All Saints Day, a Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics and the day set aside by the Church to honor and remember those who have attained their Heavenly reward and who set an example for the rest of us.  And it's my brother Bob's birthday, who I pray with confidence is among those saints.

Turning "Pro"

I put the "PRO" in procrastination.  There--I said it.

"I don't want excuses. I want answers!” I really have a hard time differentiating between those choices. What is an “excuse” that is acceptable? I'll throw a couple of excuses out there to explain why I haven't posted in quite a while and let you decide whether to accept the excuse or not.

• I actually did write a couple of entries, but after proof-reading them I determined they weren't what I really wanted to say (at least not on a public website!).
  
  
• I was very sick for about 2 weeks and didn't do a darned thing in all that time.

• I've been extremely busy at work and I was just too tired in the evenings to attempt a meditation, much less a reflection.

• I've had other things on my mind—my brother's passing, my daughter's wedding, and how I was going to juggle my time around running a couple of centers at once. It used to be relatively easy, but as I get older, it's a bit tougher.

On this eve of Sarah's wedding, I was brought to tears listening to Tony speak at the rehearsal dinner. He's a very good man. I can tell he loves Sarah by the way he looks at her and more importantly, the way he treats her with respect.

He stood up and thanked all who were present—some, he said, who were long time friends, and those in the room (here he looked at Marilyn and I and his Mom) who have known them “from the beginning”. He got a good laugh at that one. He went on to say that he appreciated the love and support that we give him and Sarah through the ups and downs that define our lives. I was ready to bawl at that point of the speech, but I held back.

Then he looked a Sarah and she kind of nodded at him. He explained that he was going to attempt to put into words what Sarah had told him about her decision to finally say yes to his proposal. He went on to say that Sarah waited so long to get married because she wanted to find someone who could love her as much as her dad loves her mom. I blew it. No one else in the room saw it, but I was bawling my eyes out. What a terrific thing to say! Makes me think Marilyn and I did something right!

That's how I know this relationship will work. If Tony loves Sarah even half as much as I love my wife, they are in for a wonderful life for a long long time.

After all of the hullaballoo is over tomorrow, I want to get back to a regular posting regimen. I have a few things to talk about while October is still with us.

Hakuna Matata

So often, the cares and problems of daily life can get us down. There is always something to worry about, isn't there?

It may be a worry as mundane as a traffic tie-up to make us late. Or it may be something as serious as major surgery or financial problems that have come to a crisis point.

Whatever our worries may be, we must remember that this world is temporary - and all our worries are temporary too!  All these worries of ours will pass.  

 

After that, what will be constant is our place in eternity.  St. Paul expresses to the community of Christians at Thessalonica, “the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”  (1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, 9-11)  We definitely don’t know the day or the hour when a person will pass on to the Lord; there’s no predicting that event.  We all know with certainty that we will die; that death is the ultimate act of our lives.  It is certain, but yet it remains an unsolvable mystery: we don’t know the when or the “how” of our death; we only know that it will occur.

How do we deal with that mystery?  One clear way is by living each day fully as a gift of God.  St. Paul reminds his community to live their lives alertly and know that “God did not destine us for wrath,” but for living with one another and for the Lord.  Paul’s words here remind me of St. Irenaeus that the glory of God is the human person fully alive.  The challenge for us is to appreciate that even our ordinary, every-day actions are important in the eyes of God, especially in our interactions with others. 

Lord, help me to prepare for a happy death by focusing on the moments you give to me.  Let me be aware that my actions today are a foretaste of my life fully alive in you.  Keep me close to you and attentive to those you have blessed me with in my life.  Thank you for your constant invitation to grow as a person of faith, hope and love.

Do I measure up?

In Matthew, Jesus tells the parable of the bridegroom and the ten virgins.  Jesus warns, “Stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour”. (Matthew 25:1-13) This warning is hitting close to home these days as I pray for my brother who, from most reports, is close to that hour. 

Parables of judgment almost always seem to make me nervous.  I worry; am I measuring up?  How do parables of judgment fit with grace?

I have up times in my relationship with God.  And I have down times.  Times where I feel like God is distant and I can’t reach Him.  I sometimes wonder….  If Christ returns during one of my down times, what happens?  Will I be one of the virgins who didn’t bring any oil for their lamps?  Will my faith be sufficient?

It seems my faith (my oil) requires constant replenishing.  I worry, will I have enough?  Yet nowhere have I ever heard God say, I’m only going to give you this much faith, so you’d better hoard it.  It seems the supply of faith available to us is inexhaustible.  So why do I have the fear?  Faith is definitely a choice.  It is both incredibly powerful, but also fragile.  Worry tends often to squeeze the faith and hope out of my life.  Worry can rob us of our faith.  When we worry, we lose our joy and it affects our ability to serve God.  When we simply trust God and put God first in our lives, then we glorify Him and our joy can return.

An image that keeps running through my mind as I write this is one of Lily when she was learning to walk.  I’m sure every parent and grandparent has done the same thing.  Mom or Dad will sit on the floor and “aim” the kid toward the other parent.  The kid stumbles across the floor and launches herself into her mom or dad’s arms.  If they were not there to catch her, she would definitely land face first on the floor.  And yet she plays the “game” again and again and every time she will look back at the “launching” parent and grin with such pride and joy at her accomplishment.  There isn’t any thought in her head about, “what if they didn’t catch me?”  She simply trusts completely.

How I wish I had that kind of faith and trust.  It is so easy to fall into the worry trap and lose our joy.

My prayer today is for those of us who stumble with our faith and trust.  Instead of expecting the worst, we should be preparing for the best.

Recognizing God's Work in Our Own Work

The Old Testament story of Gideon is one (Judges 6:11-24a) all of us can probably relate to. I love the words of the angel of the Lord to Gideon while he was hard at work grinding wheat one day.  “The Lord is with you, O champion!”  My response would be similar to Gideon’s response.  “What do you mean, “Champion?”  I’m just stuck here at work that never really makes a difference….except to keep me and my family fed.  There must be more to life if I am supposed to be a champion.”  The Lord has done wonderful things for me, surely, but now what?  I’m just not one of the movers and shakers in the world.  But the Lord has an answer to my doubts just as with Gideon’s doubts.  The Lord says, “Go with the strength you have and do what needs to be done, because I am sending you.”  And I like Gideon say, “I don’t have much strength, I’m really pretty insignificant.”  And the Lord says, “I’ll be with you.”  And I say, again like Gideon, “OK, but give me a sign.”  And the Lord does.

There are signs that the Lord is with us.  We will see them if we trust in God.  What is important here is that God is with us, not that we get stronger.  It is about God’s strength and not ours.  We don’t get very far if we ask for strength to go it alone to do what we want to do.  We all know that.  But we are champions if we go with God where God needs us to go.  When we hear what God wants us to do, we read in the Psalms (Psalm 85:9, 11-12, 13-14) that miracles will happen.  We will see the signs.  We will be champions!  Accompanying our faithfulness and hopefulness will be truth and justice, springing out of the earth and down from heaven.  Wow!  It is all there if we look for it.

We can inherit eternal life.  But we can’t do that by ourselves either.  Jesus reminds us that it is impossible on our own; only with God.  Still, I can’t help but think that trusting in God to deliver is only half of the human story.  It is what we want God to deliver that is the problem.  Most of us want something other than what God promises to provide us.  We want earthly riches, power, and recognition of it all more than we want peace and justice and eternal life.  We really think we can enjoy wealth and power more than we can peace and justice.  Jesus understood that.

The other half of the human story is about our desiring to follow Jesus.  But that too is not all up to us….Jesus reminds us that it is impossible for our desires to be made perfect without God. (Matthew 19:23-30). For the sake of the name of Jesus we do our best, but we must rely on God to be with us to stay on track.  So today, and every day, we can stop to pray at work in gratitude for the Lord’s presence.  Just listen for the angel saying, “The Lord is with you, O champion!”  Then we can get our priorities straight and get back to work….God’s work.

A Heaven Sent Comment

Just when I thought my blog wasn’t being as effective as I hope to make it, I got a comment from an old friend and co-worker today:  “I haven’t been here in a while but I remember our talks and still have the Rosary that you gave me.” He signed it “Anonymous”, but I know exactly who it is and I am grateful for the timing of his comment.  He may not realize it, but this simple comment provoked me to a deeper meditation on the Gospel than I’ve had in quite a few weeks with the hope that he will read today’s entry and use that rosary I gave him.  It’s such a powerful prayer!  And it was given to us by our Blessed Mother herself to bring us closer to Jesus Christ through meditations and reflections on His life, death and resurrection.  I'm quite sure the Holy Spirit used this comment (and by extension, my friend) to help me realize I've been getting lazy in my meditations. 

Normally, I would be praying the Joyful mysteries on a Monday night.  But since tomorrow’s gospel is Luke’s account of the Transfiguration (Luke 9: 28b-36), I thought that tonight I’d meditate on the Luminous mysteries….at least on a particular part of the account:

"Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up a mountain to pray.  While He was praying His face changed in appearance and His clothing became dazzling white."

I can imagine the dazzling white garment.  I can picture Jesus' face transfigured so brilliantly that only a divine power could transform it.  But these aren’t the point of the gospel.   Jesus didn't go up the mountain to put on a show.   Rather, Jesus "went up a mountain to pray."  And furthermore, this fantastic transformation occurred "While he was praying."  Prayer, then, was the matrix for the Transfiguration.  Prayer was the "takeoff" point of this supernatural event.

Every time Jesus prayed, something "ignited."  Not always so dramatically, but always His communication with His Father was powerful, like touching a lit match to gasoline.

When we pray, we too can "ignite" supernatural communication with God.  It needn't be dramatic.  It may not even be verbal, or visible.  It can be as quiet as a thought, as unnoticeable as the blink of an eye.  But does God see us?  Yes!  Does God hear us?  Definitely!  Does God understand our hearts, as well as our words?  Absolutely!  And is it worth it?  Totally!

Whenever I get in a “prayer slump” all I need to do is ask Jesus to help me.  ‘Lord, help me to pray, right now, even if only for a moment.  Lord, You have taught us how to pray in so many ways, with the help of the Holy Spirit, with the words of the "Our Father" with our hearts and our hands, just to name a few.’

We may not "go up a mountain" to pray.  We may not have our clothing turn dazzling white.  We may not even have our facial expressions change.  But prayer always, ALWAYS changes things.

Prayer changes US.  It changes our hearts.  It can change our circumstances, or the way we look at things.  So, Anonymous, don’t just remember that I gave you a rosary.  Pick it up once in a while and remember me in your prayers, won’t you?

The Pope and a heat wave trigger some fond memories

I’m having one of those weeks that we all experience from time to time.  Nothing is wrong, but everything seems askew, right?  Almost like the feeling you get when you’re trying to remember a person’s name, and you KNOW it as well as your own but can’t quite get it.  Or when you know you put something somewhere familiar but you can’t find it.  Or when you’re looking for something for so long you forget what you were looking for. Or knowing a date is important, but you can’t remember why.  It happens to all of us.  For me, it’s been happening all week.  In fact, it usually happens twice a year for me and when I finally figure it out, it’s like finding the Holy Grail!

What two weeks are those, you might ask?  The week just before Christmas is one of them—December 20^th to be exact.  The other week is the last week of July.  July 27^th is a day I don’t think I’ll ever forget.  And yet I do.  Sometimes.  Like this week.  Until today.  What triggered my sudden realization?  The heat. I’m working in Ridgecrest California this week where the temperatures have not been less than 105 degrees . 

 

And the news about Pope Francis during World Youth Day.

 

So what did I forget and how did the heat remind me?  I forgot the anniversary of my dad’s death (or as I like to think of it—his “feast day”).   It was on July 27, 1970 that he passed away on a pretty hot day in Northridge California.  He and Mom had spent the day at my brother Bob’s house visiting and—to  hear my brother tell it—laughing and chiding him while he mowed his lawn in the heat! 

Heat also reminded me of Dad this week when I was trying to cool down and couldn’t, no matter what I drank or how I dressed or what kind of air conditioning was present.  I thought to myself, “Dad would have a hot cup of coffee right now!” 

I remember asking him one time during a heat spell how he could drink hot coffee when it was so hot outside.  He replied “I get the temperature inside my body to match the outside of my body and I don’t notice the heat so much.”  I laughed at him then, and I still laugh when I think about it.  You know what?  His reasoning was a bit off, but his advice was scientifically correct!  But that was my dad.

The other reminder I had was thinking about what Pope Francis means to me.  He reminds me a lot of Dad.  His gentleness, his kindness, his humility, his simplicity.   Always there to help someone in need without asking for recompense.  He lived the Gospels.  As Pope Francis asked us all to do last week in his speech to the youth of the world, Dad “put on Christ.”   He was certainly an example of  loving one’s neighbor as self.  I can only strive to be as good a man as he was.

By the way, the other date that really triggers my memories of Dad?  His birthday, December 20^th.  I mention this because I may need someone then to hit me upside the head again.  Maybe the Pope will say something. 

Belated Happy Feast Day, Dad.

Who said "tweets" are bad for you?

I love Pope Francis!  He has so much wisdom in his humility, and he shares it with us every day in his homilies and in his "tweets."  I would love to dissect and discuss every single one of the tweets, but I just don't have the time!  But three recent tweets all shared the same theme which, in my opinion, tie in nicely with our Independence Day celebrations this past week.  I hope you enjoy. 

 

“We cannot live as Christians separate from the rock who is Christ.  He gives us strength and stability, but also joy and serenity.” (Pope Francis, July 2.)

Whenever there has been or is a rebellion for independence, whether that be a nation or a teenager, there follows a necessary search for identity. When the first thirteen rebellious colonies broke from England they then had to spend years figuring out and fighting among themselves about who they then would be. We can spend our lives making personal declarations of independence and thereby we think we are free. I remember a commercial from years ago about a brand of bread. The little boy told his mother he was running away from home. She asked him if he would like her to make a sandwich or two for the trip. He softly said that would be okay. Then he asked his mother if she would drive him.

As much as we love and fight for freedom personally and nationally, spiritually we have to fight to retain our sense of relational dependence upon God. While everything around us invites or urges us to shake off anything that hinders our freedom, that kind of rebellion leaves us alone with just what we wanted, our selves. While self- reliance sounds psychologically healthy, religiously and spiritually it is a phrase of foolishness. We can celebrate “self-made” persons for their independent works, but they really were not self -made at all.

We are given life, nourished by the loving motherly sandwiches of life. We breathe the sustaining air, receive the nurturing sun and rain and then, we can rebelliously stamp our foot and shout, “I am who I choose I am!”  In the very midst of our declarations, Jesus sends elders, apostles, advancers to tap God’s foot towards us, around us and announces that the “kingdom of God is at hand for you.”

“The world tells us to seek success, power and money; God tells us to seek humility, service and love.” (Pope Francis, Jun 2.)

“How many kinds of moral and material poverty we face today as a result of denying God and putting so many idols in his place!” (Pope Francis, Jun 12)

We are similar to the “First Thirteen” colonies then who know from whence we came, but rebel at that kind of dependent identity.  Who we are is a bit tangential to who we will be through our own achievements.  It does seem in the history of God’s relationship with humanity that God expects this resistance as part of God’s relational pattern with us.  It seems that we struggle for our own identities by resisting and shaking off so that we can create our own kingdoms which are at our hands and for ourselves.  It seems that God says, “Well, you won’t know who I really am until you try to find out who you are by your own self-identifying efforts.  Good luck and I will not be waiting for your return, but laboring for your emptiness to free you to look up and smile.”

Hot enough for ya? Ha Ha

Man, was it hot today!  Thank God it's supposed to cool down (at least out of the 100-degree range anyway) for the end of the week.  Marilyn just called me to ask if I want to go to the cabin on Saturday.  My feeling on the matter is if that is where my family will be, there will I be also.  And, it's generally 10-15 degrees cooler up there.  It's a win-win.
========================================================================
Today's July 4th post is courtesy of Father Leo Patalinghug:  Just click here.

I'm going to go sit under the air conditioning vent for a while.  Enjoy Father's post.

Papal Profundity

@Pontifex: We cannot live as Christians separate from the rock who is Christ. 

He gives us strength and stability, but also joy and serenity.

Profundity

I just realized I spent about 2 hours writing the previous entry.  Because my busy season has now begun, I can't really afford the time more than once a week to write one.  But I think a fun idea will be to share the quotes I get daily inspiration from with you.  Usually they are from Pope Francis' "Twitter" feed, but occasionally from other sources as well. 

One of the Holy Father's recent quotes has actually effected changes in the way I order food in restaurants, as trivial as that sounds.  I have never really been concerned when I haven't finished everything on my plate.  After all, I paid for it.  Who cares if I decide I don't want it all?  Guess what?  After Francis' recent comment, I do.

Here's the quote:

"Consumerism has accustomed us to waste. But throwing food away is like stealing it from the poor and hungry."

YOUR will, not mine, LORD

I’ve been trying for several weeks to get to the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation (Confession) but work kept getting in the way.  And it seems the longer I stay away from this necessary sacrament of confession, the easier it is to cave in to temptations.  I finally told myself “enough is enough!” and decided I couldn’t wait any longer.  So I checked the diocesan website and found a church that offered the Sacrament on Thursday evenings at 7pm.  At first, I was hesitant because that’s relatively late and would not allow me time for dinner.  I determined that mind-set was the devil trying to keep me away from the healing I desperately needed. 

My workday on Thursday seemed to drag on and on.  I guess I was anxious to bare my soul to Christ in the confessional.  It didn’t escape my notice that the church is the same church I was baptized in nearly 60 years ago.  That really added to my anticipation. I made plans to get to the church at 6:30 to say a rosary and examine my conscience. 

When I first walked into the church, there was about 20 people already there.  My thoughts went into overdrive.  I decided to keep it positive. “Oh well, not a problem-I’ll just be patient and make a good confession.”   It was extremely hot weather and the air conditioning was not on.  “OK, Lord, I get it.  I’m still going to do this.  You did so much more for me, after all!”  Then a group of musicians showed up with their instruments.  “You’re kidding, Lord!  Are you telling me I misread the time for penance?”  I was getting ready to leave when another man shows up and starts addressing the crowd (about 50 or so now) in Spanish.  I had already recited my rosary and examined my conscience.  I was sure this was going to be the most comprehensive confession I’ve ever made, and here I was standing up ready to leave.  The man took notice of me and in a thick Spanish accent started repeating in English what he had just told the others.  I know it was for me specifically, because he was looking right at me as he spoke.  He said he was sorry he was running late, but he would be staying as long as it took to hear everyone’s confession.  Since he wasn’t wearing his collar, I had no idea he was the priest!  He went to the Sacristy and brought the monstrance out.  We had an adoration service and recited the rosary (my second) in Spanish.  Then as the musicians played and sang Mexican spiritual songs in front of the Blessed Sacrament, the priest began hearing confessions.  After he heard my confession I was so in awe of all that had transpired it didn’t occur to me that it was after 9PM until my stomach said “FEED ME!”  at the same time my soul was prompting me to say “I will follow You wherever You go, Lord.” I am so weak in my faith.  But….. 

The Lord is kind and merciful.  God redeems our life from destruction.  However, this life free from destruction may look very different than the life we would imagine.  As Jesus tells us time and time again, a life following Him will not follow general conventions about “the good life.”  As Jesus teaches over and over again, we must give up our focus on building our own lives to fit our own desires in order to enter the abundant life that He wants us to enjoy with Him.  The challenge each day is to be willing to give up the place to lay our head and the burying of the dead that distracts us from the greater purposes to which He is calling us.  Yet we still do have day-to-day tasks that are part of our calling and our life of love.  I know in my own life it’s easy to allow my days to become destructive for myself and for those around me when I focus on the anxieties of tasks that seem overwhelming and the need to have everything under control.  I need to pray, today and every day, for help in redeeming my life from this destruction – to help me to focus on love and service rather than accomplishment and control.  I want to follow Jesus with abandon – whatever that means today.

How many times have we prayed the words “I will follow You wherever You go, Lord.” (Matthew 8:19) in all sincerity from our hearts?  Perhaps it was after a retreat, during a period of crisis when we are praying for help, or the many times we have felt the presence of Jesus close within us just as I felt after my confession last week.  Then what happens?  We get busy; life's responsibilities pull us in a multitude of directions.  We step out into the world and the culture of the times is often counter to the teachings of Christ.  It’s easier to just "go with the flow" and then retreat back to our safe haven at home.  It’s almost like living two lives!

The hard reality is to recall that, as Christians, we are meant to bear Christ wherever we go.  There is never a vacation from being a Christian once we have said that we will follow Christ.  We have the responsibility to serve by our own examples, by our actions and words.  We cannot remain silent when we see injustices and misinformation.  It means staying informed about our faith-beliefs and what is happening in our local and national spheres.  It is a big responsibility, but also a privilege.  We don’t go alone, as God is always with us.

Looking at two sides of the same coin

In the course of my job, I often have to choose between what is good for the company or “right” for the customer.  Yesterday was a good example.  

I was assigned the simple task of paying for, then recovering a trailer that was impounded by the police when the driver of the car pulling our trailer was arrested for some reason or the other. Long story short, I had the option of taking possession of the goods in the trailer and taking them to a safe self-storage facility or allowing the customer’s wife to unload the goods before I took the trailer.  Since she was a three-hour drive away and I was in the high desert in temperatures well over 100º, I was really leaning towards just getting my trailer and heading for cooler temperatures in the 90’s.  But when she related some hard luck stories to me that she has been experiencing recently, I wanted to make her life just a little more pleasant and hopefully show her a Christian attitude.  So I told her I would wait.  Three hours turned into four and I was feeling a bit hot under the collar (and not due to the weather).  When she finally did show up, she had the audacity to ask me if I would deliver the goods to a nearby city that the trailer was headed for when her husband was arrested!  

There were two reasons why I agreed to help her out:  I had to go through the city to get back home anyway, and she had brought along as company her elderly mother!  When I saw the old lady struggling to walk and stay positive in the oppressive heat of the afternoon and circumstances, I can’t call what came over me anything except a feeling of compassion.  I was going to help her to help her daughter cope with the situation in any way that was in my discretion.  So I basically wasted a day of the company’s time, but somehow I think the outcome was worth it.  By the way, so did my boss when I related the story to him this morning.  After all, the two of us have been trying to get our teams to understand that in today’s business world, we have to be advocates for the customer!  Other colleagues in our company thought I went too far.  I don’t think so.  

Would I do it again?  I probably would, if I was put in the same circumstance.  Would I handle it differently?  Yes.  I wasn’t as charitable in my thoughts as I was in my deeds.  In fact that phrase in the Confiteor that we recite near the beginning of most Masses went through my mind as I reflected on the experience: “I confess to Almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned—in what I have done and in what I have failed to do…..”

  

We often seek clear and straightforward guidelines that help us to know what is important and to decide what to do. At the same time we are also aware that such guidelines don’t exist, because of the complexity of the human experience and of diverse Christian beliefs and values that address the human experience. We know that simple guidelines are usually just that—simplistic—and can do more harm than good. Throughout human history and the history of Christian communities, individuals and groups, who took certain beliefs and values very seriously, caused immense human suffering because they did not consider the wider context of these beliefs and values as well as of their actions.

In the Gospel (MK 12:28-34) a scribe who asked Jesus, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” wanted a simple answer. Jesus responded saying that there are actually two answers to this question. First, you should love God.  Second, you should love your neighbor. We have to recognize that a neighbor is anyone in need, who is in our reach, and who can be supported by us. No commandment is greater than these two. And these two commandments are inseparable, like two sides of the same coin. 

You cannot truly love God if you do not love your neighbor and you cannot truly love your neighbor if you do not love God. These inseparable commandments also mean that you love your neighbor through God and God through your neighbor. Ultimately, the core commandment of our faith is to love. Saint Augustine of Hippo summarized it saying “love, and then do what you will.” When love is the starting point of all what we do, we will know every moment of our life!

A reading from the book of Tobit, presents us with an example of what this means. (TB 6:10-11; 7:1BCDE, 9-17; 8:4-9A)  Tobit sent his son Tobiah to a distant relative, accompanied by the angel Raphael. When Raphael and Tobiah arrived, Tobiah met Sarah, the daughter of his relative, who was struck by extreme misfortune, was depressed and wished to die. She had been married seven times but all her husbands died soon after the wedding. Tobiah realized that marrying Sarah was the right thing to do, and they got married. He recognized Sarah as his neighbor and showed her the appropriate support and love. His action was embedded in his love of God. Sarah and Tobiah trusted God, prayed and death did not harm Tobiah after the marriage. This story illustrates how God cares for those who love Him and who love others. It is a story of victory over hardship and deliverance from suffering through loving God and loving our neighbor.

We need to listen to our hearts, inspired by the Gospel, to discover what we should do each day as we strive to love God and love our neighbor completely and without reservation. 

It helps to have a Spiritual Director in the family, even if he doesn't know it!

Here is an absolutely inspired post on Facebook by my nephew Tim.  I think he'd make someone a fantastic spiritual director!  I'm thinking of asking him to take over where his father left off in my life! 

The Holy Spirit answers some questions for me through His divinely inspired Scriptures

I really have to start going to daily Mass more often.  I feel so much more capable and confident in my abilities to defend the Faith after Mass.  The Holy Spirit spoke loud and clear to me through the readings this morning at Mass.   At one point He humbled me by pointing out an error I made in a discussion with my sister-in-law Marilyn recently.  The topic of our “ranking” in creation was brought up and I said I thought one of Paul’s epistles said we were higher than the angels.  Oops!  Psalm 8 states our hierarchy pretty succinctly.  Here is how our “ranking” in creation is explained at Catholic Online:

 When the first man was being created:

"Let us make man in our image. after our likeness ... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him: male and female created he them." (Genesis 1:26-27)

This does not mean that the first of the human race had exactly the same physical nature as the angels, for the angels were made to live forever. Adam and Eve were not made never-dying: they did sin, and they suffered death as the punishment for it. That is why the whole human race has been dying ever since.

Psalm 8 is a Psalm in which the creation of the earth is extolled. Here we are told that man's position is lower than the angels:

"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? ... For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour." (Psalm 8:4,5)

The New Testament quotes this passage, and tells us that mankind - including the Lord Jesus himself - was made a little lower than the angels, "for the suffering of death" (Hebrews 2:9). Angels do not die, but men and women do. Even Jesus, the Son of God, was a mortal man, but has now received the glory and honour which was his due when, as he said after his resurrection, "all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth" (Matthew 28:18).

During that same discussion with Marilyn, she said she was sad that a lot of people just don’t understand what Catholicism has to offer.  She feels a lot of people are turned off by our acceptance of pain and suffering as God’s Will in our lives.  It should be noted that even very "good" Catholics forget this concept sometimes. They will say “How can a loving God inflict or even allow pain and suffering to continue?  Didn’t Jesus’ death and resurrection atone for the sins of Adam and Eve?” 

Paul answers these questions forcefully, I think, in his letter to the Romans (Rom 5:1-5):

Brothers and sisters:

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God.

Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.  

Ever since my chat with Marilyn last week, I was feeling inadequate in my responses to her.  Being the prideful man that I am, I would not have admitted it to her face, though.  I have been praying that I can find the strength that comes with humility to admit I didn’t really know the answers to the questions she was asking, and along comes the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity with 2 readings that explain some of the topics that were brought up!  Way to go, Holy Spirit—and thank You!  In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

A friend indeed

Thanks to all of you who prayed for my mother’s successful surgical procedure a couple of days ago.  She came through like a trooper, although she is still understandably sore and can use your continued prayers for her recovery.

 

As I waited in the “family room” of the hospital with my sister-in-law,  we idly chatted about this and that and the other.  One of the topics that came up was after I checked my Facebook and Twitter accounts on my cell phone.  I joined the social media sites to help me keep up with my extended family members and their lives.  I remarked that there were 2 especially prolific “friends” of mine who I could count on for daily updates.

 

One is a cousin who—although I love her dearly—drives me crazy with her political views that I can only guess at, since her “LIKES” appear to come from all over the political spectrum.  One day she’s posting links to extremely left-leaning sites and the next day the sites are all leaning far-right!  I “unfriended” her once because she was driving me nuts, but when I saw her at a family gathering shortly thereafter she asked if I had seen her post about something (I forgot what it was), I had to lie through my teeth saying, “No, I don’t know why but I can’t see your posts lately.”  We determined it was Facebook’s fault with all of the recent updates that had occurred.  OK, I can live with that.  I told her to submit her name again as a friend and I would accept it and see if that fixed the “problem.”  It did.  Oh boy, did it!  I rarely read them because no matter which side of an issue she is on, I seem to be on the other.  I think I would be more apt to read her “updates” if she backed her opinions up with some commentary of her own, but she simply posts links to others’ opinions.  I really can’t take them seriously.

The other “friend” I can depend on for a daily post is my nephew Tim.   He is a very faithful Catholic who, in my opinion, knows who he is and where he stands on every issue and always backs up his opinions with a well-formed conscience and moral compass.  I think it helps that he also has a very personal relationship with Jesus—a relationship I am envious of.  He wears his faith on his sleeve.  His updates always uplift my spirits.

These two Facebook “friends” came immediately to my mind when reading the Scripture for today’s Mass.  Sirach writes, “Let your acquaintances be many, but one in a thousand your confidant.” (Sirach 6:5-17)  In our human world, the word “friend” is used liberally to refer to the many acquaintances we keep in our day-to-day living; people with whom we talk and share with, at least superficially, on a wide range of topics and experiences.  As social media applications become more and more integrated into everyday interactions, we now live in a world where “social networks” and quantifiable lists of “Friends,” “Contacts,” and/or “Followers” simultaneously measure the vastness of our social linkages and promulgate our triumphs and tribulations, wisdom and whines, whether banal or vital.  While these networks and personal connections have value and enrich our human experience, Sirach cautions us of the all too often self-invested purposes of these friendships, and addresses the characteristics of a “faithful friend.” 

Sirach goes on to write, “A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure.”  So, while counting a multitude of friends seems essential, we learn that some people will not be our faithful friends.

Even so, we find sturdy shelter in our few confidants.  As I reflect on the more intimate (and diverse) group of people who hold this confidant role in my life, I cannot help but to think about Sirach’s final thoughts on faithful friends:

“A faithful friend is a live-saving remedy, such as he who fears God finds; for he who fears God behaves accordingly and his friends will be life himself.”

In my life my faithful friends have been those people who have brought me closer towards God—knowingly or unknowingly--, those who have been a means for God to work through to offer guidance, hope, and love in times of both consolation and desolation.  In times of distress and joy my true companions bring me closer to God.  In this way, my faithful friends (like Tim) allow me to grow in my friendship with God.

Thanks, Tim

A special place in God's Heart

Procrastinator that I am, I have to write this in the ½ hour before Mass begins.  That’s not to say I haven’t been meditating on it all week, but that I just couldn’t (or wouldn’t) find the time to put it all down in a timely manner.

Happy Mother’s Day, MOM!

 

As I meditated on motherhood in general and what you mean to me, I can’t help but start meditating on our Blessed Mother as well!  What a great honor our Lord holds towards motherhood!

 

He honors it so much He made sure His own mother was present at the three most significant periods in the history of salvation—His birth, His Passion, death and resurrection, and at Pentecost, when He sent His Holy Spirit upon the Apostles.

 

God the Father honored motherhood so greatly that He became Incarnate through an earthly mother!  God trusted Mary since before her conception to teach her son in his humanity to know, love and trust in Him and to set the example for all other mothers who followed.

There are lots of mothers in the world who aren’t appreciated for who they are or their importance to God’s eternal plan.  I just wanted you to know that all of your children (especially me—since I’m your favorite [lol]) do appreciate and love you for the gift of life you helped God to create.

 

Sorry for the brevity, but you have to know how much I love you.  As Mary taught her Child in His humanity how to love and serve the Lord, so you have taught me, which gives you a special place in God's heart.

 

May the Almighty God bless you especially today, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen

Ain't it the Truth!

Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. (John 16:20)

Do you ever feel out of step with the world and maybe even at times try to "get with it," but to no avail?

While everyone seems to be rushing headlong toward the next exciting thing, you on the other hand seem to find nothing much to be excited about, or so it seems. It may even make others think that you might be a little depressed.

What may be going on instead is not, as they say, "further from the truth," but rather it is THE TRUTH. There is more than what the goods and pleasures of the world can supply, not rendering you any less joyful, but more hopeful, more loving.

I pray it is so, Lord.