A Daily Dose of God

How do you measure greatness?  Books have been written; research has been conducted on it.  Why do you think somebody, some team or something is great?

Superbowl Champs?

World Series Champs?

Richest person in the world?

Hollywood Stardom?

World Chess Champion?

Noble Prize Winner?

Jesus gives us the answer – the one who serves [a.k.a. the one who loves].  The prophet Isaiah said, “… through his suffering, my servant shall justify many.”

Then in the Letter to the Hebrews we are reminded to approach the throne of grace confidently searching for God’s mercy and grace.  Remember in the Gospel when James and John want the biggest and most prominent jobs in Jesus’ Kingdom!  Jesus tells them [and us] the big jobs, the most important jobs go those who serve.

Being a servant is hard work, demanding work and many times menial work, work that often receives no notice or reward.  St. Teresa of Calcutta, [Mother Teresa] became famous for caring for and loving the dying in Calcutta.

 

A less famous Saint who did menial work with great love, who prayed for people through the intercession of St. Joseph and is credited for hundreds of miracles – Brother Andre Bessette.   

He scrubbed floors and was the door-keeper [porter for nearly 40 years] at an Oratory in Montreal, know as the Doorman of Montreal or Montreal’s Miracle Worker.  

 

 

 

In 1937 over a million people attended his funeral [Google him to read more about his life here: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-andr-eacute-bessette/].

 

Robert Frost wrote, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.”  Being a Servant Disciple of Jesus can make all the difference!

Reflect on how you are serving Jesus, by loving others.

May God Be Praised!

A Daily Dose of God

 

Homily Cycle A [23^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, 9/06/2020] Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/090620.cfm

 

The comedian George Burns said, “the secret of a good sermon [homily] is to have a good beginning and a good ending; And have the two as close as possible.”  I will attempt to do that with this homily.

 

Jesus proclaims in the Gospel where 2 or 3 gather in His name, He is there with them.  Today’s scripture readings, also, remind us that we are responsible for each other.  Ezekiel is appointed watchman for his people; the question for us is, is God just calling Ezekiel or is God calling each one of us?

 

Many Christian thinkers believe that God’s appointment of Ezekiel is meant to apply to each one of us.  We are responsible to look out for God’s people, and one of the best ways to accomplish that is to live a life of service and love.  St. Paul synthesized Jesus’ teaching succinctly, “love your neighbor as yourself.”  That should be our rule of life, that is how we should measure our success.

 

Msgr. [Sacks] began our liturgy offering this prayer: “O God, by whom we are redeemed and receive adoption, look graciously upon your beloved sons & daughters ….” [Collect, 23^rd Sunday Ordinary Time]

 

You may have heard the expression, “Don’t sweat the Small Stuff It’s all Small Stuff.” [Robert Eliot, quoted by Richard Carlson] Jesus doesn’t want us anxious or afraid, He wants us to fulfill His law of love.  A Christian does All the Stuff, Big and Small for Jesus.

 

When we gather around the Eucharistic Table we come for nourishment, encouragement and strength so we can do God’s work each day of our life.  “The task that faces us in the world is awesome, & the obstacles are formidable.” 

[St. Louis University, Sunday Web Site, Gerald Darring, 9/06/2020]

 

Think about the problems that exists in our society: the COVID -19 Pandemic, racism, sexism, violence, unemployment and the many other injustices that confront us.  Maybe God sent Pope Francis as a watchman or a prophet.  On March 25, 2020 he said, “In these days of trial, as humanity trembles at the threat of

the [coronavirus] pandemic, I would propose that all Christians join their voices together to heaven.” 

 

We prayed in our Responsorial Psalm that our hearts not be hardened and that we would “… bow down in worship: kneel before the Lord….”  We can kneel before the Lord in many different ways.

 

This story may show us how we can kneel before the Lord.  “Inspiring couple radically change their wedding plans to serve others” Newlyweds donated their wedding reception food to a shelter.  Newlyweds Tyler and Melanie Tapajna from Cleveland, Ohio had planned to marry in August with 150 guests.  However, with the pandemic they chose a smaller wedding.  One big ? they faced was what to do with all the food they’d ordered for their reception.

 

They decided to donate the food to Laura’s Home, a woman & children’s shelter in Cleveland.  Then they went to the shelter in all their wedding clothes & served the food to the 135 woman and children living there.  While wearing hairnets & masks, the they happily dished out fried chicken, green beans, salad & mac and cheese to those at the shelter.  It was not their dream wedding, but it was a wonderful start to married life: being united in serving others.  [Adopted from Cerith Gardiner, Aleteia.org, Aug 28, 2020] 

 

Jesus wants us to work at our discipleship, He wants to find ways to love our neighbor.  For a few minutes, in silence, reflect on how you can live your discipleship more fully.

 

May God Be Praised!

 

Hear my cry!  “Lord, listen to my prayer: turn your ear to my appeal.” [Psalm 143]  God, You are our refuge and our hope, I turn to you during this COVID 19 Pandemic and plead for Your intercession.  In Your mercy and Your compassion “… grant eternal rest to the dead, comfort to mourners, healing to the sick ….” [Collect from Mass Time in Pandemic]

 

Provide strength to the first responders, compassion to the medical personnel, and wisdom to government leaders.  End this coronavirus scourge.  Bring Your light to all who wander in the darkness of this pandemic and give us hope in Your eternal love today and every day.  Amen.  [Dcn. George Kelly]

 

 

 

A Daily Dose of God

Today we celebrate a beloved saint of the Church, St. Teresa of Calcutta, (Mother Teresa), reflect on some of her words and thoughts, but more importantly how God is calling you to emulate her.  This psalm prayer sums up Mother Teresa’s life, “Through your Son you taught us, Father, not to be fearful of tomorrow but to commit our lives to your care. Do not withhold your Spirit from us but help us find a life of peace after these days of trouble.”

In “Come Be My Life: The Private Writings of the ‘Saint of Calcutta’”- We read,

“… one of the great challenges of the darkness was this absence of a vivid sense of God’s presence in prayer; it was something she [Mother Teresa] still longed for.” [p.270] Throughout the ongoing COVID 19 Pandemic many people have experienced the “absence of God’s presence” in prayer and in life.

From her canonization Mass:

“For the honor of the Blessed Trinity, the exaltation of the Catholic faith and the increase of the Christian life, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and our own; after due deliberation and frequent prayer for divine assistance, and having sought the counsel of many of our brother Bishops: We declare and define Blessed Teresa of Calcutta to be a Saint
and we enroll her among the Saints, decreeing that she is to be venerated as such by the whole Church.  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer at her canonization Mass [Collect]

“God, who called Saint Teresa, virgin
to respond to the love of your Son thirsting on the cross with outstanding charity to the poorest of the poor, grant, we beseech you, by her intercession,
to minister to Christ in his suffering brothers.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.”  Amen.

May God Be Praised!

Hear my cry!  “Lord, listen to my prayer: turn your ear to my appeal.” [Psalm 143]   God, You are our refuge and our hope, I turn to you during this COVID 19 Pandemic and plead for Your intercession.  In Your mercy and Your compassion “… grant eternal rest to the dead, comfort to mourners, healing to the sick ….” [Collect from Mass Time in Pandemic]

Provide strength to the first responders, compassion to the medical personnel, and wisdom to government leaders.  End this coronavirus scourge.  Bring Your light to all who wander in the darkness of this pandemic and give us hope in Your eternal love today and every day.  Amen.  [Dcn. George Kelly]

A Daliy Dose of God

 

Some Questions & Some Thoughts on Prayer

What does prayer mean?

Why Pray?

When should we pray?

How should we pray?

Is Praying a joy or a burden?

Prayer is how we relate to God; it means building a relationship with God!

Prayer can be formal or informal, some formal prayers are: Hail Mary, Our Father, Angelus, Liturgy of the Hours, Exposition/Benediction, Stations of the Cross, The Eucharist (the source & summit).

Grace before & after meals can be formal or informal, shared prayer is usually informal as is quiet time with God.

Sometimes our prayers take a funny and/or embarrassing turn, “A woman invited some people to dinner.  When it was time for dinner, she asked her daughter to say grace.

“I wouldn’t know what to say!” 

“Just Say what you hear Mommy say!” 

“Dear Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?”

It is a prayer from the heart, the heart of the little girl and the heart of her Mom.

Take some prayer time today and think about how you give glory to God.

 

May God Be Praised!

Hear my cry!  “Lord, listen to my prayer: turn your ear to my appeal.” [Psalm 143]   God, You are our refuge and our hope, I turn to you during this COVID 19 Pandemic and plead for Your intercession.  In Your mercy and Your compassion “… grant eternal rest to the dead, comfort to mourners, healing to the sick ….” [Collect from Mass Time in Pandemic]

Provide strength to the first responders, compassion to the medical personnel, and wisdom to government leaders.  End this coronavirus scourge.  Bring Your light to all who wander in the darkness of this pandemic and give us hope in Your eternal love today and every day.  Amen.  [Dcn. George Kelly]

A Daily Dose of God

In the Book of Revelation, we are given four important insights. 

First, we have the “East”, which represents the source of light and the place of par

adise.  Second, the “Seal”, which represents God’s protection.  Third, the white robes and palm branches represent the final joy and victory.  Fourth, the Time of Great distress points to the fierce persecution at the hands of the Romans. 

Today, we don't face overt persecution in the United States [early Christians did], but we live in the midst of the subtle and gradual destruction of the moral fiber of our society by the increasingly immoral culture, in which we live.

To defeat this covert attack on our moral fiber we must accept the call to become saints, and to let God guide our lives.  We can do God’s will by following His teachings. 

St. John tells us that we are God's children, and as God’s children we must listen attentively to His message and live His message --- because that is the path to sainthood.  In the Gospel of St. Matthew, Matthew uses the word “blessed” to introduce the beatitudes; it comes from the Greek word makarios, which means peace-filled, serene, a god-like joy.  If we live these “Be-Attitudes” --- if they become our attitudes, then no matter how troubled our culture or our world becomes, we will be peace-filled, serene, and joy-filled.  Jesus calls us to dedicate our lives -- everything we do -- to Him.  St. Francis de Sales put it this way, “Saints are people who do ordinary things extraordinarily well.”

Do everything you do for Jesus, the ordinary things at work, at home or at play. The ordinary things like talking to people, food shopping or helping someone in need.  The ordinary things like being a parent, an employee or a student --because the ordinary when done with love for Jesus become extraordinary.  I pray we will do the ordinary things in our lives for God, because that will be extraordinary.

May God Be Praised!

Because Jesus rose from the dead, we have Hope that someday we will join Him in heaven.  Pope John Paul II said many times: “Do not be afraid! There is Hope because of God.”  God’s Hope came to us in a special way through Jesus’ resurrection.

St. John taught us: “In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that He loved us…” It’s awesome to think that God loves each and every one of us.  He loves us totally.  We didn’t earn His love; we receive it as a gift. 

Jesus told His disciples and us.  “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy might be complete.  This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.”  That sounds simple and straightforward, “…love one another as I love you” but loving as Jesus did is hard work.  St. Francis de Sales wrote: “Our Lord did not say, ‘Love those who are virtuous,” [He] said: Love one another as I have loved you,” without excluding anyone.

Loving others as Jesus did, takes perseverance, discipline and determination.  The Lord will give us the grace to fill our lives.  But how do we love one another?  St. Paul said: “Love is patient, love is kind.  It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.  It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things … So, faith, hope and love remain these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Our culture emphasizes, really idealizes, “Self,” “self-fulfillment;” but our call is to put others ahead of self.  For the rest of this week do not seek your own interests but put others first each day; if you do, you will experience the joy of God’s love in a profound yet simple way.

May God Be Blessed!  

Hear my cry!  “Lord, listen to my prayer: turn your ear to my appeal.” [Psalm 143]   God, You are our refuge and our hope, I turn to you during this COVID 19 Pandemic and plead for Your intercession.  In Your mercy and Your compassion “… grant eternal rest to the dead, comfort to mourners, healing to the sick ….” [Collect from Mass Time in Pandemic]

Provide strength to the first responders, compassion to the medical personnel, and wisdom to government leaders.  End this coronavirus scourge.  Bring Your light to all who wander in the darkness of this pandemic and give us hope in Your eternal love today and every day.  Amen.  [Dcn. George Kelly]

Yesterday, August 31, 2020 in the Liturgy of the Hours [Morning Prayer & the Office of Readings, Pss II] we prayed from Jeremiah and from Proverbs: “When I found your words, I devoured them; they became my joy and the happiness of my heart, Because I bore your name,

O Lord, God of hosts.”  [Jeremiah 15:16]

“… surrender your heart to me

and keep your eyes on my footsteps.

– Then I will place a crown of grace on your head.

… open your heart to my wisdom; listen to what I say.

– Then I will place a crown of grace on your head.”  [Proverbs 23:26; 1:9; 5:1; 4:20]

Today take a few minutes to read from the Sacred Scriptures and allow God to speak to your heart, your soul, your entire being.

May God Be Praised!

Hear my cry!  “Lord, listen to my prayer: turn your ear to my appeal.” [Psalm 143]   God, You are our refuge and our hope, I turn to you during this COVID 19 Pandemic and plead for Your intercession.  In Your mercy and Your compassion “… grant eternal rest to the dead, comfort to mourners, healing to the sick ….” [Collect from Mass Time in Pandemic]

Provide strength to the first responders, compassion to the medical personnel, and wisdom to government leaders.  End this coronavirus scourge.  Bring Your light to all who wander in the darkness of this pandemic and give us hope in Your eternal love today and every day.  Amen.  [Dcn. George Kelly]