Blog Post 11/30/2022 - Advent Sojourn - Listen

Mary listened intently to Your Words while Martha served the food needed, help us to serve and listen to You joyfully with love and devotion.  Send Your Grace into our souls that we may please You by our actions.  

May Your Spirit guide our footsteps on our journey here on earth. May we live the faith we profess to give You glory and honor.

 

"Lord, may we praise You with our words, share You with our actions, and embrace You with our hearts & souls.  Give us the grace to look forward to Your return & be ready for it."  

May God Be Praised.

Blog Post 11/29/2022 – Advent Sojourn - Anger

 

Maybe this Advent we should work on the anger that lies in waiting to urge us to act in an unkind way toward someone.  St. Francis de Sales “… when you are conscious of an angry act, atone for the fault by … [an] act of meekness towards the person who excited your anger.  It is a good remedy for anger to make immediate amends by some opposite act of meekness.   There is an old saying, that fresh wounds are soonest closed.  Moreover, when there is nothing to stir your wrath, lay up a store of meekness and kindliness, speaking and acting in things great and small as gently as possible.”

You might ask how, then, can I deal with anger?

Anger lies beneath the surface before it urges us to act, one way to tame it is each time anger incites us to act take a deep breath and ask God for the grace of a gentle response.

 

May the Gentle Grace of God be with you today, allow it to guide your thoughts and actions.  de Sales offered us this advice, “True progress quietly and persistently moves along without notice.”

 

"Lord, may we praise You with our words, share You with our actions, and embrace You with our hearts & souls.  Give us the grace to look forward to Your return & be ready for it."  

May God Be Praised.

Blog Post 11/28/2022 - Advent Sojourn - Something to Consider

 

St. Jane Frances de Chantal offers us this suggestion, “All day and at each hour, at each moment, if possible, let us raise our hearts to God… During the whole course of our life, let us never depart in anything, so far as possible, from this holy exercise.”

 

Try it for a week and enjoy the peace and joy of living for and in God.

 

 

"Lord, may we praise You with our words, share You with our actions, and embrace You with our hearts & souls.  Give us the grace to look forward to Your return & be ready for it."  

 

May God Be Praised!

 

Blog Post 11/27/2022 - Advent & a 17th Century Mathematician Blaise Pascal

Advent began with Evening Prayer I, decide to enter into Advent with the goal of renewing your mind, heart & purpose.  2023 is the year of Grace, think about what Grace you will ask God for this Advent, this year.

Blaise Pascal said, “There are two kinds of people one can call reasonable, those who serve God with all their heart because they know him and those who seek him with all their heart because they do not know him”.

Pascal was a brilliant mathematician, but his writing on religion is enriching.  Blaise organized his reflections as “Pensées”, these were his non-mathematical ideas.

Many of us are both seekers and servers of God, and we will be until we enter the “land of the living”.

May our prayer this Advent be:  "Lord, may we praise You with our words, share You with our actions, and embrace You with our hearts & soul.  Give us the grace to look forward to Your return & be ready for it."  

 

May God Be Praised.

Blog Post 11/26/2022 "Lord, I long to see Your face.'

 

Lord, I long to see Your face.

The gift of my Catholic faith prepares my heart, my will and my soul for eternity.  Despite my flaws and my sins, despite the flaws and sins of all people, the Faith of our Fathers sustains us.  It sustains us through the Sacraments, especially The Eucharist [the Body & Blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ], nourishes us with God’s Word and guides us through the troubled waters of our time by the gift of the Apostolic Succession.

 

Reflect on Gollum's Riddle

In the Hobbit by JRR Tolkien, Bilbo Baggins has met Gollum for the first time. Bilbo is lost and needs to find his way out of Gollum's cave. Gollum will show him the way out if he can answer a riddle.

This thing all things devours,

Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;

Gnaws iron, bites steel;

Grinds hard stone to meal;

Slays king, ruins town,

And beats high mountain down.

Bilbo is stumped. He doesn't know the answer to the riddle and after being pressured by Gollum says, "Give me time." Gollum hears the word "time" and mistakenly takes it as Bilbo’s answer, which of course is right. Time devours all things, even massive Temples.  [Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com]

Time devours all things, but not one person, what we do with our time on earth is our gift to our Creator.  Time ceases in eternity and the Beatific Vision will sustain us forever after, love itself fills us.

 

May God Be Praised.

 

 

 

 

 

Blog Post 11/25/2022 - What are you seeking? Why are seeking that?

 

C.S. Lewis offers us this deep insight into human nature.  “Human history is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.”

God constantly calls to us, “I will create a new heart in you, and breathe into you a new spirit.”

 

 

Answer God’s call and show the Lord’s love to the world.

 

May God Be Praised.

11/24/2022 – Thanksgiving Day

 

In the United States Thanksgiving Day is a holiday with special religious significance. Originally celebrated by the Pilgrims and the Native Americans to thank God after the harvest of 1621.  In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday of November should be a national day of thanksgiving.

Today our nation needs to return to God for guidance and then follow it.  Religion and morality should inform our way of life, including our politics.  We should keep the classical concept of the common good foremost in our decisions. 

Today thank God for His many blessings and pray that we are open to those blessings, and share with those less fortunate.

Pray this Thanksgiving Blessing

“God most provident, we join all creation in raising to you a hymn of thanksgiving  through Jesus Christ, your Son.  For generation upon generation peoples of this land have sung of your bounty; we too offer you praise for the rich harvest we have received at your hands.

Bless us and this food which we share with grateful hearts.  Continue to make our land fruitful and let our love for you be seen in our pursuit of peace and justice and in our generous response to those in need.

Praise and glory to you, Lord God, now and forever.”  Amen.

 

May God Be Praised.

 

Blog Post 11/23/2022 – Finding God

St. Anthony of Padua offers us this advice, "The Lord manifests Himself to those who stop for some time in peace and humility of heart. If you look in murky and turbulent waters, you cannot see the reflection of your face.

If you want to see the face of Christ, stop and collect your thoughts in silence, and close the door of your soul to the noise of external things."

 

                    Reflect on The Fire of Life.

 

She watched the silversmith, hold a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up.  He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.  The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: “He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.” [Malachi 3:3]

She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.  The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.  

 

The woman was silent for a moment.  Then she asked the silversmith, ‘How do you know when the silver is fully refined?’ He smiled at her and answered, ‘Oh, that’s easy — when I see my image in it.’

 

The process of making silver as an example of what it is like for God to refine us.  God uses the heat of life to purify us until we see in the sliver vessel God in ourselves, the one is Whose image and likeness we have been made.

 

May God Be Praised.

 

 

 

 

Blog Post 11/22/2022 – The Bible is our Guide Book to a Heavenly Life

 

  

“In the scroll of the book it stands written that I should do your will.  My God, I delight in your law in the depth of my heart.”   [Psalm 40]

Read the Bible or listen to a Podcast of the Bible to enrich & deepen your spiritual life.

May God Be Praised.

Blog Post 11/21/2022 – Wedding Anniversary # 52

 

Our First Dance as Wife and Husband was to the Beetles song:Here, There, Everywhere
 

 

In Proverbs we read, “When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls.  Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize.  She brings him good, and not evil, all the days of her life.  She obtains wool and flax and works with loving hands.  She puts her hands to the distaff, and her fingers ply the spindle.  She reaches out her hands to the poor and extends her arms to the needy.  Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.  Give her a reward for her labors, and let her works praise her at the city gates.”

Today my wife and I celebrate our 52nd Wedding Anniversary, and I am grateful to God for sending her into my life and for her yes, to marrying me.  She is wonderful in so many ways.  She is my wife, my best friend, a wonderful mother to our children, a terrific grandmother, sings like an angel, a beautiful person; she reflects God’s love.

 

“Marriage is not a ritual or an end.  It is a long, intricate, intimate dance together and nothing matters more than your own sense of balance and your choice of partner.”  I have been blessed with a wonderful partner.

St. Paul tells us that Love is, “patient, kind, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails.”  In marriage love is stretched and stretched again, but with the grace of God it increases and perdures.

We have remained in God's love and in love with each other, a beautiful gift.  Victor Hugo wrote, “To love another is to see the face of God.”  St. Francis de Sales said, “The measure of love is to love without measure.”  We have tried to live that in our marriage, may we continue each day that God grants us.

  

Today I thank God for my wife, my best friend and the wonderful mother of our children, who is, also, a terrific mother-in-law, grandmother [“G”, Grammy, etc.] and friend.

 

May God Be Praised!

 

 

 

Homily 11/20/2022 Cycle C - Offered at OLPH

 

To be Catholic is to be a person of hope and of vision, a person who sees meaning in life in this world and promise beyond.”  [Fr. Michael Hayes]  You may or may not be aware that today is the last Sunday in our  Liturgical Year [Cycle C] readings from St. Luke’s Gospel.

 

Today we proclaim Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.  Take some time to reflect on the ultimate question about what place Christ has in your life.  Have you ever thought about letting yourself be governed by the King of the Jews, the King of Kings?

Do you and I truly recognize Jesus as King?  Is Jesus first & foremost in your heart and your action.  Think about Christ our King on His Cross because He loves us.  Jesus on the Cross leads us to His to our Salvation, the cross is His throne.  Let’s look at the Scripture readings from the viewpoint of the two criminals, the two men hanging next to Jesus.

One criminal did not take responsibility for his actions.  The other looked at the face of Jesus - saw God and prayed, “Remember me”, he encounters in the dying Jesus the way for his redemption.  One criminal said I’m sorry, forgive me; the other said I don’t fear God, save yourself and us!

Fr. Marty offered this [Collect] prayer as we began Mass: “Almighty ever-living God, whose will is to restore all things in your beloved Son, the King of the universe, grant we pray that the whole creation … may render your majesty service and ceaselessly proclaim your praise.”

You and I are called by our Baptism, strengthened by our Confirmation, renewed by Reconciliation, and nourished by the Eucharist to prepare the Kingdom of God.  I want to share two stories of Christians who lived their commitment to Christ as they helped prepare the Kingdom of God.

During WW II the Nazis ordered all Danish Jews to wear armbands with the Star of David – King Christian of Denmark wore one.  Almost all Danes followed his example, which helped save thousands of Jews.  [William Bausch, Once Upon a Gospel, p. 316]  Second a young and loyal private in the German Army in WW II was sent on a patrol with other German soldiers in Yugoslavia shortly after the Germans invaded.  They marched over a hill where eight Yugoslavians [5 men and 3 women] were standing.

The German soldiers lined up, their sergeant ordered, “Ready”, they lifted their rifles and then Private Schultz dropped his rifle and joined the eight Yugoslavians.  He joined hands with them, & then the German soldiers fired & all nine were shot.  [William Bausch, The Word in and out of Season, p.120]

Both people acted of love and loyalty to the only King who really matters – the King of Kings – Jesus Christ!  Jesus is the King who serves, suffers, dies for others and is ridiculed & mocked to teach us how to love.  In Christ the King there is no envy, no greed, no desire or power.  He desires that we live the Gospel Message so we can be the best that we can be and join Him in His eternal Kingdom.

Jesus’ rule began in a stable, was proclaimed to the world on a Cross and continues in the Resurrected Christ who broke the bonds of sin and death.

For a few minutes think about how you are living your commitment to follow Christ our King?

May God Be Praised.

 

 

Blog Post 11/19/2022 – “I have been changed for good.”

 

 

 

 

In Matthew’s Gospel we read, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. 

Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least of my brothers or sisters, you did for me.”

 

That is the challenge we face.

Have you heard of the musical play “Wicked”?  The Play WICKED has a song, For Good it offers us a powerful and important message; “But because I know you, I have been changed for good.” 

We are changed for the good because in our Baptism we were sealed to the heart of Jesus, and we are called to share His Gospel message with each person we meet.

My hope and prayer for each of us is that the people who meet us are changed for the good.

 

That is how disciples of Jesus Christ lives.

May God Be Praised.

 

Blog Post 11/18/2022 - Homily 11/17/2022 - Country Meadows Communion Service - “Trust the Slow Work of God”

 

Teilhard de Chardin, S.J. offered us this insight, “Above all, trust in the slow work of God.”  Today reflect on patience.  Ask God to be patient with you, Ask God to be patient with each one of us.  We need to be patient with God.  We have sickness, [the COVID Pandemic], war, bitter political partisanship, more and more electronic intrusion into our lives, the climate change and the list of problems goes on and on.

We are nearing the end of our Liturgical year and our Scripture readings remind us of the end times [Heaven, Hell, Death and Judgement].

In today’s Gospel Jesus cries, Jesus wept.  Jesus weeps with us when we weep bearing our hardships and carrying our crosses.  He showed us how to deal with them.

About 500 years before Christ was born a Rabbi was teaching 4 or 5 of his students just outside their village.  As they looked down on their village, they saw foreign troops invading the village.

They heard the screaming, the yelling and saw the fires.  Finally, the rabbi looked up to heaven and screamed, “If only I were God!”  One of his students asked him, “What would you do differently if you were God.”  The rabbi answered, “I would do nothing differently, but I would understand!”

We don’t understand why there is pain and suffering in the world, but Jesus taught us what to do with our pain and suffering.  Offer it up to God, the Father and ask Him to bless it and have good come from it.

Believe that God’s hand is leading us, and the Lord will lead us to our eternal home where every sorrowful tear will be wiped away.  Hope and Trust in the Lord.

Our Hope emanates from God’s Word.  Our Trust comes from living Christ’s message today.  Don’t worry about yesterday, it is gone.  Don’t worry about tomorrow, it isn’t here.

Do the best you can today to be the  best disciple of Jesus.  When tomorrow gets here it will be today.

Do the best you can each day to live your call as a disciple of Jesus.  For a few minutes, in silence, think about being patient with God.

May God Be Praised! 

 

 

 

Blog Post 11/17/2022 – Little Virtues that can make a Bog Difference

The spiritual life is not complicated, but it is difficult.  One way to help us focus on the ordinary of life is to live the Seven Salesian Virtues, they seem simple, but there are surprisingly hard to live each day, however, if you live them your life will be filled with glimpses of eternal joy and it will make a big difference.

 

Seven Salesian Virtues to make the ordinary, extraordinary
 1. Endure Patiently
 2. See the Bright Side
 3. Show Good Humor
 4. Stay Cheerfully Excusing
 5. Put on a Good Face
 6. Be Appreciative
 7. Speak Gently and Show Courtesy

May God Be Praised!

 

Blog Post 11/16/2022 - Prayer of Saint Francis

 

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

Grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console;

To be understood, as to understand;

To be loved, as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive,

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life

 

Take a few minutes to pray this familiar and powerful prayer, remembering that we are on this earth for a short time preparing for Eternal Life.

 

May God Be Praised.