Can I love God to much?
St. Bernard of
Clairvaux said, "The true measure of loving God is to love Him without
measure."
May God Be Praised.
Friday, March 31, 2023
Blog Post 3/31/2023 – Can I love God to much
Thursday, March 30, 2023
Blog Post 3/30/2023 - The Name JESUS [in Greek I-e-s-o-u-s]
When the name – Jesus – enters our thoughts, our prayers or we hear it uttered, let our hearts bend low in adoration and reference and awe.
May God Be Praised.
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Blog Post 3/29/2023 - Lent Moves toward Good Friday
Lent Moves toward Good Friday
Fr. Jacques Philippe wrote, “The fact that we can’t save ourselves is something we acknowledge in words, but in fact we find it very hard to accept. We’d all like to be saved by our own efforts…to shine in other people’s eyes, even on the spiritual level.
Worldly people want to be highly regarded because they have luxurious cars, expensive watches, designer clothes, professional prestige, and go around with beautiful people.
As good Christians, we may want to stand out for our virtues, charisms, experience, and sound judgement. Then we consider that we are on the right path. But in fact we’re in danger of ending up with exactly the same mindset as the worldly people described above.
Very often, without realizing it, we have a worldly outlook on the spiritual life: self-fulfillment, self-affirmation, expansion of the ego, etc. And spiritual pride, we must be aware, is sometimes more destructive than social, worldly pride.”
As we continue our Lenten Pilgrimage let’s take a few minutes to acknowledge that Jesus Christ saved us; we can allow His salvific love to guide and inform our actions, while offering our gift of love to Pure Love.
May God Be Praised.
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
Blog Post 3/28/2023 – You are God’s Beloved
You are God’s Beloved
“You have seen how I bore you up on eagle wings and brought you to myself.
Therefore, if you harken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my
special possession dearer to me than all the other peoples though all the earth
is mine.”
[Exodus 19:4, 5]
Take some time today to thank God for creating & loving you.
May God Be Praised!
Monday, March 27, 2023
Blog Post 3/27/2023 “You did it for me.”
“You did it for me.”
Fr. Paul Murray, the Irish Dominican spiritual writer and sometime advisor to Mother Teresa, shared this story. One day in deep conversation with Mother, searching out the sources of her spirituality and mission.
This Lent start doing everything you do for the Lord; “You did it for me.”
May God Be Praised.
Sunday, March 26, 2023
Blog Post 3/26/2023 – The Lighter Side of Lent
The Lighter Side of Lent
“Great Truths About Life That Little Children Have Learned.”
1. “When your mom is mad at your dad, don’t let her brush your hair.”
2. “Never ask your 3-year-old brother to hold a tomato… or an egg.”
3. “You can’t trust dogs to watch your food for you.”
4. “You can’t hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.” [Adopted from Sermons.com]
Take a few minutes and laugh at some of the funny moments you
have experienced, in particular during Lent.
May God Be Praised.
Saturday, March 25, 2023
Blog Post 3/25/2023 - Hope
Hope
We cannot live without HOPE! We need something to live for; we need a purpose.
Isaiah reminds us that the Lord is our father; God forms us as a potter forms the clay, but we unlike the pot must remain pliable!
In the Gospel of St. Mark, we are reminded to be WATCHFUL and ALERT we are called to be holy while we await the 2nd Coming of Christ. A great message during Lent is to prepare for Christ’s return.
de Sales teaches us that we are each called to HOLINESS & praying is fundamental to waiting in HOPE, “… first be little & humble, second be hope-filled, & third keep our minds fixed on Jesus Christ.” [Everyday with deSales]
May God Be Praised.
Friday, March 24, 2023
Blog Post 3/24/2023 - Homily: Martin the Clobber
Homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031723.cfm
This evening we are going to Reflect on the Scripture readings for 3/24/2023 with the short story Martin the Cobbler written by Leo Tolstoy in 1885.
Martin was a fine cobbler who did his work well and never promised to do anything that he could not do. His wife died, their children had died in their infancy except a three-year-old son; he thought about sending him off to live with his sister he decided to care for the child himself. Martin’s son died a few years later with a fever.
In grief, he denied God, wondering how God could allow such a thing to happen to him. One day a missionary visited Martin and Martin told him of his hardships. This missionary told Martin that he should live his life for God and that God's will is the ultimate, and we cannot question the why of God’s Will.
The missionary's words sank deep into Martin’s heart and every day after work Martin sat down and read the Bible, after that his life became filled with peace and joy.
One night Martin read the passage about a Pharisee who invited Jesus into his house, where a woman anointed and washed Jesus' feet with her tears.
Martin thought of himself as the Pharisee in that story because he was only living for himself, as he slept that night, he heard the voice of God telling him that He would visit him the next day.
Martin was skeptically, but nonetheless he waited for God. While he was searching for God, he saw Stepanitch shoveling away snow. Martin invited him in for a warm drink and they talked for a while. Martin told Stepanitch about Jesus' and the Pharisee; Stepanitch was moved to tears, he thanked Martin for the food, both for the soul and body.
Later Martin saw a young woman outside with a baby shivering in the cold. He invited her in for some food and gave her warmer clothes for the baby and some money. Martin told her about Jesus, she thanked him and left.
Then he saw a young boy stealing from an older lady, and went outside, settled their argument, extending love and compassion towards the both of them.
That night Martin wondered why God hadn’t visited him, and the people he had showed hospitality to that day appeared in his dream. They said that when he helped them, he was helping God. Martin then realized that God had indeed visited him.
Spend some time during the rest of Lent [and beyond] reading and resting in the with Jesus and His Word as He speaks to you in the depth of your being.
May God Be Praised.
Thursday, March 23, 2023
Blog Post 3/23/2023 - Reflecting on our material wealth!
Reflecting on our material wealth!
"We must distinguish between ownership and the use of property." We have a natural right to ownership, through our hard work or the gift of an inheritance.
The use of our material wealth should focus on the common good and not our own.” St. Thomas Aquinas]
Pope Francis, “The insatiable desire for possessions often feeds on itself, … with people wanting more and more for themselves and so becoming a slave …” of things.
Today reflect on how you are using your material wealth, because one day God will ask you what did you do with all I gave you?
May God Be Praised.
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Blog Post 3/22/2023 - Why are we here? Who Am I? Where Am I Going?
Why are we here? Who Am I? Where Am I Going?
St. Augustine said, "We are Christians, and strangers on earth. Let none of us be frightened; our native land is not in this world."
God sent us to earth for a specific purpose and we may not find out that purpose until we get to “the land of the living”, so the best thing we can do is be the best disciple of Jesus, then we will fulfill our purpose here and, in the hereafter, discover our purpose on earth.
May God Be Praised.
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Blog Post 3/21/2023 - Our Lenten Pilgrimage Continues
Our Lenten Pilgrimage Continues
“There is no place or thing in this world in which God is not truly present. Just as wherever birds fly they always encounter the air, so also wherever we go or wherever we are God is truly present.” St. Francis de Sales
Yesterday we practiced the “presence of God”, let’s continue
each day to walk with the Lord.
May God Be Praised!
Monday, March 20, 2023
Blog Post – 3/20/2023
Choosing the Better Way
“There is nothing in the world as delightful as a continual walk with God. Only those who have experienced it can comprehend it. And yet I do not recommend that you seek it solely because it is so enjoyable. Do it because of love, and because it is what God wants.
If I were a preacher, the one thing that I would preach about more than anything else is the practice of the presence of God.” [Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of God]
Today spend your entire day, “practicing the presence of God.”
May God Be Praised.
Sunday, March 19, 2023
Homily – Cycle A 03/19/2023
Mickey Gallagher, from County Cork, read the Morning Paper and saw his name in the Obituary Column, so he called his best friend Shamus O’ Casey and said, “Did you read the Morning Paper, they said I died!” “Yes, I saw it!” replied Shamus, “Where are you calling from?”
In the Book of Genesis, we can find the familiar pattern of sin in the world.
1. Temptation, in this case not resisted.
2. Sin/ Adam & Eve fall – we fall.
3. They made excuses – we make excuses.
4. The blame game starts.
In 1 Samuel 16 we heard that the Lord judges our motives the heart. St. Paul urges us to “… live as children of light ….” & to “Awake, O sleeper … Christ will give you light.” Lent calls us reflect on what we believe & how we live those believes. Are they one in the same? Do they run on parallel tracks? Do they intersect occasionally? How are they connected at all?
Soren Kierkegaard a 19th century Danish Philosopher/theologian said, “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what is not true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” [Catherine Upchurch, Loose- Leaf Lectionary 3/19/2023]
Today’s Gospel shows both ways and it shows us one man’s healing & his discovery of Jesus as Lord. Where are our BLIND spots, what sins are keeping us from loving God more fully. What do we do with our grievances, when something goes wrong, when something breaks, when something is missing.
We demand accountability, who’s responsible for this? We insist on satisfaction. Most of the time that’s a reasonable position. Our grievances we can cloud our vision and our hearts when life goes awry, when dreams crash, we look for someone to blame. Blame immigrants, blame people of color, blame those smart and competent women breaking “the glass ceiling,” blame the “old boys’ network. The world’s a mess. So, we want to Blame someone. More often than we realize, we look for someone to take responsibility so we can take ourselves off the hook. [Adopted from Connections, March 2023]
In our Gospel, today, the religious powers want to Blame Jesus. To the question of who was to blame for the tragedy of the man born blind, Jesus replies nobody. Jesus teaches us not to solve our problems through assigning blame. Jesus challenges us to discern the light of God in the midst of whatever darkness we experience.
The challenge for us as disciples of Jesus is not to seek someone or something to blame but to move beyond our anger and brokenness to transform our Good Friday experiences unto Easter re-creation. Christ not only suffered and died for us, He, also, ROSE from the dead for us so that our faith and our hope in His promises would be secure!
Decide to accept your crosses and burdens with Faith and Trust because Jesus walks with you. Jesus will forgive us from our sins and strengthen us to carry our crosses with Grace and Dignity. Commit to use the rest of Lent with God’s Grace to be Transformed, to allow God’s Love to purify you and God’s Mercy to fashion you.
Commit to allow the Light of Jesus to guide you today and every day. Don’t be blinded by the secularism that pervades our culture, choose to follow Jesus and be the best Catholic you can be.
May God Be Praised.
Saturday, March 18, 2023
Blog Post 3/18/2023 - Homily from OLPH School Mass 3/17/2023
Homily from OLPH School Mass 3/17/2023
Yesterday [3/16/2023] marked the halfway point in Lent [20 days to go]. If we were going to Orlando, halfway would be 524 miles or 8 hours, halfway to Los Angeles 1371 miles or 24.5 hours., and since it is St. Patrick’s Day halfway to Dublin 1663 miles or 3 hours.
Think back to Ash Wednesday, you received ashes in the form of a cross on your far head and heard “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” Our first reading [I Peter 4] reminds us to pray. Today we should take some time to prayerfully reflect on how our Lenten is going. To review what we are doing, why we are doing it and how we are doing? Maybe this story can help us.
Rachel Naomi Remen share a story about her grandfather. When she was four, he gave her a paper cup filled with dirt and told her to put water in this cup every day, something may happen.” One morning three weeks later, there were two little green leaves. Rachel could not wait to tell her grandfather. She said, “And all it needs is water, Grandpa?” He responded, “No, dear Rachel. All it needs is your faithfulness.” [“A seed is planted” - Connections]
My wife and I were blessed by our children and friends for our 25th Wedding Anniversary w/ a trip to Ireland. We visited a little town Sligo [SLY-goh] located in Northwest part of Ireland. Our tour guide took us to a small park that during the Penal Laws or Times [1691 to 1782] - the Irish would walk 5 or 10 miles for Mass; it had a stone altar that was hidden away because the British at the time outlawed Catholicism. Anyone caught as Mass risked imprisonment or worse; but they were faithful. You can feel the holiness when you walk on those sacred grounds.
Our Church is also sacred ground and Lent reminds us of how fortunate we are to have our school, our parish, our teachers, parents and our priests. Their faithfulness enable us to have Mass and learn about the Faith. Our Gospel remind us to “not be afraid”, the Lord is with us.
Think about what you promised to do for Lent and recommit to be faithful over these next 19 days; being faithful is a great gift.
Today we celebrate St. Patrick, who was kidnapped as a 16 year old by Irish raiders and enslaved in Ireland. He later escaped, studied became a priest, then a bishop and returned to Evangelize Ireland. There is a legend that St. Patrick used a Shamrock to teach the Irish about the Trinity. St. Patrick was faithful and Ireland became Catholic. Your faithfulness can be your Gift to God today, for the rest of Lent and for the rest of your life.
May God Be Praised.
Friday, March 17, 2023
Blog Post 3/17/2023 - St. Patrick's Day
Spend a few minutes reflecting on these words from Saint Patrick's Breastplate [Lorica]
“Christ be with me
Christ before me
Christ behind me
Christ in me
Christ beneath me
Christ above me
Christ on my right
Christ on my left
Christ where I lie
Christ where I sit
Christ where I arise
Christ in the heart of every man
Christ in the mouth of every man
who speaks of me
Christ in every eye that sees me
Christ in every ear that hears me
Salvation is of the Lord.”
May God Be Praised and your day be Blessed.
Today I offer this Irish Blessing upon you:
Go mbeannaí Dia tú
féin agus do mhuintir. [May God Bless you and your people]
Síocháin oraibh. [Peace be upon
you.]
May God Be Praised.
Thursday, March 16, 2023
Blog Post 3/16/2023 – Day 20 of Lent
Day 20 of Lent
Reflect on Ash Wednesday, “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” “Repent and believe in the Gospel.”
We are halfway through Lent, take some time to reflect on how your Lenten is going.
"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.