Dancing, Blessed and “Happy”

In Ecclesiastes we read, “A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to Dance.”  Joanne and I are Blessed with five wonderful children, three wonderful daughters-in-law, one wonderful son-in-law, eight terrific grandchildren and 2 grandchildren on the way (April & May). 

In Kennesaw, GA we are celebrating Laurie’s continued recovery, thanking God as Brian and Laurie dance to “Happy” the same song they danced to on their wedding day [see the video below].  They dance to the TV room, to the car, to the bathroom, they dance everywhere to help her gain leg strength, which will eventually lead to her walking. 

Thank you for your prayers and your continued prayers, be assured miracles happen.  We are witnessing a miracle that continues to enfold, and Brian and Laurie are living one.  We often hear, "There go I, but for the grace of God”; Brian says, “There go I with the grace of God.”

May God bless you on the last day of 2019 and continue to bless you throughout the 2020 year.

May God Be Praised! 

Today we remember and celebrate the Word becoming Flesh and living among us, take a few minutes today to reflect on that awesome gift!

May your Christmas be blessed and you Holidays enriched by God and your loved ones.  Reflect on the song The Twelve Days of Christmas as you thank God for His Son and your Redeemer.

-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ. 

-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments. 

-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John. 

-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament. 

-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation. 

-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy. 

-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes. 

-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control. 

-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments. 

-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples. 

-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed. 

I will be in Atlanta for several days, so A Daily Dose of God will return on the feast of the Epiphany.  Blessings to you and your families today and every day.

I hope these comics bring a smile to you face and some laughter to your day.

May God Be Praised!

As we prepare to celebrate the Word Becoming Flesh to show us the Way, the Truth and the Life, it would be good to thank God for the gift of life and the gift of salvation.

My daughter-in-law is making miraculous progress in her recovery from a ruptured brain aneurysm on July 4, 2018, your prayers and support are greatly appreciated. 

Below is Laurie working hard in her recovery; thank you for your continued prayers and have a Blessed Christmas!

https://www.instagram.com/p/B6UAmdoJXZ0/?igshid=1fq20gf154ydy

May God Be Praised!

St. John’s objective is “… is to unveil, from the death and resurrection of Christ, the meaning of human history.”  (Zenit 08-23-2006, “The Wounded Lamb Conquers”)

The book of Revelation or Apocalypse gave our language the words: apocalyptic and apocalypse, which inappropriately evoke the idea of an impending catastrophe!  “… the great prophecy of this book [is] The Dragon does not conquer.” (Ibid.)

As our days grow darker it is important to remember that the light of Jesus conquers the darkness!  In Rev. 22:20 we find one of our central prayers, “Come, Lord Jesus!”  In Aramaic it is “Marantha!”  This prayer is, also, found in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (16:22).  “Come, Lod Jesus!” as does the entire Book of Revelation points to the definitive victory of the Lord.

When Angel Gabriel greeted Mary, he said, “Hail, Mary full of grace!  The Lord is with you.”  St. Luke tells us that Mary was “greatly troubled” by that greeting.

She pondered what sort of greeting this was!

Imagine receiving a mysterious greeting from God via an angel, and then an equally mysterious message about conceiving a son by the power of the Holy Spirit!  A message like would trouble any unmarried virgin, especially in Palestine at the time of Mary and Joseph!

Mary with her doubts & fears TRUSTED in God and Joseph with his doubts and fears TRUSTED in God.

As Advent draws to a close, we should look carefully and honestly at our response to God’s call, make sure our prayer and sacrifice match. 

Do we pray every day?  “May it be done to me according to your Word!”

May God Be Blessed!

Reflect on the O Antiphons as part of your final preparation for celebration the birth of our Lord and Savior.  The O Antiphons are prayed during Vespers from December 17 to December 23. Rooted in imagery from the Old Testament,each antiphon begins with the word “O,” followed by a title for the Messiah and a petition for him to come and save the people of God by fulfilling the Scriptures.

Each December 17, the Church begins to sing the O Antiphons during

Vespers. The precise origin of these antiphons is unknown, although

we are aware that they had entered the Roman liturgy by the eighth

century....  when viewed as a reverse acrostic, the titles for the

Messiah in these antiphons spell out in Latin E.R.O. C.R.A.S. or

“Tomorrow, I will come.”

December 17

O sacred Lord of ancient Israel,

who showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush,

who gave him the holy law on Sinai mountain:

come, stretch out your mighty hand to set us free.

December 18

O Flower of Jesse’s stem,

you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples;

kings stand silent in your presence;

the nations bow down in worship before you.

Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid.

December 19

O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel

controlling at your will the gate of heaven:

come, break down the prison walls of death

for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death;

and lead your captive people into freedom.

December 20

O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice:

come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the

shadow of death. 

December 21

O King of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart;

O Keystone of the mighty arch of man,

come and save the creature you fashioned from the dust.

December 22

O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver,

desire of the nations, Savior of all people,

come and set us free, Lord our God.

December 23

O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver,

desire of the nations, Savior of all people,

come and set us free, Lord our God.

We celebrate God’s revelation of a name, a name bestowed once in the burning bush in Exodus and now completed in the gift of the Child named Jesus.

[McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame]

May God Be Praised!

 

Fr. Henri Nouwen asked these three ?s:

1.   “How am I to let myself be found by him?”

2.   “How am I to let myself be known by God?”

3.   “How am I to let myself be loved by God?”

{The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming, by Henri Nouwen}

Fr. Gerhard Lohfink in his book, “Jesus of Nazareth: What He wanted, Who He Was” asserts the early Christian communities believed Jesus Christ was true man and true God, fully united with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

So take a little time today and during the remainder of Advent, to reflect on Jesus as true man and Jesus as true God.

How can I be found by Him, be known by Him and be loved by Him?

May God Be Praised!

Advent calls us to: WAIT, HOPE & TRUST!  St. Paul reminds us that “…we are called to belong to Jesus Christ … called to be holy.”

But as you know being holy is demanding work.  We have to live The Beatitudes, we have to Pray, we have to Praise God, we have to receive the Sacraments, we have to do Good works, and we must Conform our will to God’s will; and we must do what God wants us to do no matter the cost.

Look at what God asked Joseph to handle.  The angel told Joseph, “Do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.”  Joseph probably did a lot of soul searching before he chose to follow God’s will. 

 

Think for a moment about Joseph’s Yes and Mary’s Yes;

compare their Yes to Adam & Eve’s No!  Two followed God’s will; two did not.  God asked Joseph to take on a difficult job, sometimes God asks us to take on difficult jobs.

Let me share this story with you called, “Joseph in 10,000 places”.

He taught his young son how to follow the grain of a piece of olive wood,

how to plane it, how to square it and join it firmly to another piece of wood to build a table or chair …; he also taught him patience, kindness and justice, … the value of earning a fair day's wages for a fair day's work in order to put bread on the table.

Joseph, to paraphrase Gerard Manely Hopkins, "lives in 10,000 places":

the man who rises at 2 A.M. to plow deserted snow-clogged roads;

the nurse who works the night shift & then a day shift;

the (policeman) who keeps us safe;

the mother with the autistic daughter or paralyzed son;

the office worker biting his lip at some slight … subtly directed at him because he, too, has to put bread on his family's table.

Joseph lives in the sales rep with photos of his wife and kids hanging on the wall inside his cubicle, telling a customer that, as much as he'd like to sell him another car, the customer can still get another couple of years out of the one he's got.  Joseph lives in the teacher who gives hours of her/(his) time to help the struggling student.

Joseph lives in the clerk, … the secretary, the contractor, who approach the people they encounter with kindness & respect because they, too, share the God-like work of putting bread on their family's table.  The invisible, almost anonymous Joseph: chosen by God to provide for his Son,

to watch over him, to teach him, to shape him, to protect and love him and the boy's mother.

Matthew’s version of Jesus’ birth depends on Joseph and Mary saying Yes! And our road to God’s Kingdom in a similar fashion depends upon our Yes. (Connections, December 2010)

Saying - Yes and accepting the challenge of living a life based on the Gospel.  Our Advent preparation is about wonder, about life, about love and about being vulnerable to allowing God not only into our life, but be our life! 

For a few moments in silence think about what brings you to Bethlehem? 

Think about your Yes!

 May God Be Praised!

Some of St. Augustine’s thoughts on prayer from St. Augustine Answers 101 Questions on Prayer by Fr. Cliff Ermatinger.

“Prayer is the preparation for communion with God in eternal life.” [p.8]

“God does not hear as men hear.  Unless you cry out with a loud voice from the depths of your lungs and with your tongue, men will not hear you.  Unless you cry out to the Lord with your thought, the Lord does not hear you.  Your thought is your cry.” [p.9-10]

“Too late have I loved you, O Beauty of ancient days yet ever new.  Too late have I loved you.”  [p.14]

“Where should I look for God?”

“Augustine points us to our interior, to our ‘hermitage within where no man can see,’ where we are alone with God.”  [p.19]

“Prayer produces a certain conversion of heart toward him who is always ready to give inasmuch as we are in condition to receive.” [p.45]

Two additional insights from St. Augustine, "There are two loves, the love of God and the love of the world. If the love of the world takes possession of you, there is no way for the love of God to enter into you. Let the love of the world take the second place, and let the love of God dwell in you. Let the better love take over."

“If we receive [the Eucharist] worthily we are what we receive.” 

  

May your Advent bring you closer to the Lord who seeks you day and night.

May God Be Praised!

 

As Advent moves steadily toward our celebration of the Incarnation of our Lord and Savior, let us ponder some insights on prayer from St. Augustine.

“Amongst other Augustine concepts that pervade our culture are:

         Understanding God as a deep inner presence.

         Grace as an interior help.

Free will as a faculty uninhibited by external coercion as an integral feature of our soul.

The claim that words and gestures are signs that express our souls and personalities….

The view that each one of us is an “I” in search of a relationship with God, the only “You” who can satiate the soul.”

[St. Augustine Answers 101 Questions on Prayer, p.4]

“… prayer can be compared to ‘the breath of the soul.  It is like incense, which rises to the holy altar.  There is no perfume more fragrant.  This life is for praying, (while) in heaven there will be no praying, only praising.’”  [Ibid., p.7]

 

“More than presenting God with a wish list of what we want from him, prayer is God’s means to prepare our souls for what he wants to give us.”  [Ibid., p.7]

Today spend a few minutes reflecting on your prayer life.

May God Be Praised!

St. Paul gives us a wake-up call, much like a coach at half time when his/her team is behind and not playing well.

As you know the Parousia is Jesus’ return and the end of the world as we know it; Jesus’ Second Coming.  We need to prepare for His return by living like His return is later today!   




We should live in Hope and with Hope because Jesus who loves us is watching over us.  With the holidays approaching anxiety is on the rise.  de Sales said, “With the single exception of sin, anxiety is the greatest evil that can happen to a soul.”

Let me share this story with you,  A businessman, who prides himself on efficiency, needs a few things at the grocery store.  He estimates that it will take him 30 minutes to complete his shopping. 

Once at the store, he flies through the aisles, picking up the items on his list.  He’s on cruise control – until he runs into an elderly couple looking at laundry detergent, their cart blocking the aisle. 

They fumble through coupons and debate the merits of TIDE vs. WISK.  They finally move one, completely oblivious to the man in a hurry.  UNBELIEVABLE!!  He encounters the couple again at the dairy case.  The businessman knows exactly what the wants but can’t get to the case until Mom and Pop make their selection. 

CLUELESS!!

At the checkout line, the man in a hurry heads to what looks like an open lane.  But there’s the elderly couple again, slowly unloading their cart, rechecking each item against their list.  The businessman scans the other lanes looking for a faster option.  No luck. 

The elderly woman notices the man’s basket, then whispers something to her husband.  In a gentle friendly voice, the elderly man said: “Hey, why don’t you go ahead of us?  You only have a few things.”

“That’s ok…I’m in no hurry,” the businessman says.  The elderly couple’s kindness has stopped his clock.  It dawns on him that their time is precious, too.  As it turns out, the man misses his 30-minute goal by 5 minutes.  But those 5 minutes were a small price to pay for discovering that only those who give of their time ever own it in the first place.  

Take time to appreciate the goodness and love in your lives; recognize that it is a gift from God.  Let’s try to use this Advent to “stay awake” to the glimpses of the Lord that are in our midst.

May God be Praised!

The Rolling Stones made a recording: “Time is on my side, oh yes it is!”  Advent is the season, the Time that the Church offers to us to THINK about how we use our TIME.  Time is a gift from God to allow us to develop a relationship, a friendship with God.  That friendship was so important to God that Jesus, the Son of God became incarnate to help us.

Our TIME here ends either with our death or the Lord’s Parousia (His return).

Isaiah shares a magnificent vision, “They shall beat their into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.” 

What a powerful vision and beautiful hope!  Peace will reign!

Isaiah is sometimes called “the prince of prophets” and his vision is a vision of peace.  Advent reminds us to still hope, work and pray for peace.

The people of the OLD TESTAMENT dreamed BIG DREAMS:

         the desert becoming fertile,

         the blind seeing,

         the deaf hearing,

         the lame walking,

         the blessings of everlasting   peace.

In psalm 57 we pray, “My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready.”

Advent is the TIME to prepare our hearts, the TIME to get our hearts ready to more fully and more faithfully do God’s work.

May God Be Praised!