A Daily Dose of God

                                                Called to Obey Love

 

Kierkegaard has a fable of a king who fell in love with a maid. When asked, "How shall I declare my love?" his counselors answered, "Your majesty has only to appear in all the glory of your royal glory before the maid's humble dwelling and she will instantly fall at your feet and be yours."

 

But it was precisely that which troubled the king. He wanted her glorification, not his. In return for his love, he wanted hers, freely given. Finally, the king realized love's truth, that freedom for the beloved demanded equality with the beloved. So late one night, after all the counselors of the palace had retired, he slipped out a side door and appeared before the maid's cottage dressed as a servant.

 

Clearly, the fable is a Christmas story. We are called to obey not God's power, but God's love. God wants not submission to his power, but in return for his love, our own.

 

God moved in. He pitches his fleshly tent in silence on straw, in a stable, under a star. The cry from that infant's throat pierced the silence of centuries. God's voice could actually be heard coming from human vocal cords. That's the joy of it. God has come to be with us!  [James T. Garrett, God’s Gift, CSS Publishing Company]

 

 

Father Gerhard Lohfink in his book, Prayer Takes Us Home writes, “To whom are were you praying?”, Fr. Lohfink answers his own question, “… Christians … pray either to God the Father or to Jesus Christ or to the Holy Spirit, …  [while] they believe in one God.” [p.1]

 

St. Aloysius Gonzaga said, "It is better to be a child of God than king of the whole world!"  A child of one God, Who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 

Take some time today to pray to God the Father, to God the Son [Jesus Christ] and to God the Holy Spirit, you can do that by simply making the sign of the cross.

 

 

 

 

Saint Joseph, pray for us.

 

 

 

 

 

May God Be Praised!

 

 

 

 

A Daily Dose of God

 

A Little Christmas Humor & Some Beautiful Insights

 

 

You and I are called to instruct the people by our lives, this year let’s commit to “Live Jesus.” [St. Francis de Sales]

 

“Those who are learned will be as radiant as the sky in all its beauty; those who instruct the people in goodness will shine like the stars for all eternity.” [Antiphon for Morning Prayer 1/02/2021]

 

 

The darkness in our world needs the light of Christ and we can help shine His light by our daily lives.

 

 

 

 

 

Pope Francis, “Looking at the Nativity scene, we can become a little childlike and allow the wonder of the ‘marvellous’ way in which God wanted to come into the world to be reborn in us. This will revive tenderness in us; and today we are in great need of tenderness!”

 

 

                                                                 

 

 

 

St. Joseph, pray for us.

 

 

May God Be Praised!

A Daily Dose of God

 

 

 

Some Thoughts on Prayer

 

 

 

Pope Francis taught us, “Prayer is the breath of the soul.”  The more faithful we are to prayer in our daily lives, the more our soul will breathe, breath the breath of life.  

 

   

The Holy Father, also, said, “The prayer of thanksgiving begins by recognizing that we were thought of before we learned how to think; we were loved before we learned how to love.  If we view life like this, then “thank you” becomes the driving force of our day.”

 

Take a few minutes to ponder these two stories, “A father took his small son with him to town one day to run some errands. When lunchtime arrived, the two of them went to a familiar diner for a sandwich. The father sat down on one of the stools at the counter and lifted the boy up to the seat beside him.

 

They ordered lunch, and when the waiter brought the food, the father said, "Son, we'll just have a silent prayer."  Dad got through praying first and waited for the boy to finish his prayer, but he just sat with his head bowed for an unusually long time. When he finally looked up, his father asked him, "What in the world were you praying about all that time?" With the innocence and honesty of a child, he replied, "How do I know? It was a silent prayer.”     (Our Daily Bread, Adapted)

 

Reflection and Listening are key components in our ongoing renewal.  Think about the noise that constantly surrounds us, maybe this story about a monk who joined a very strict monastery can help us.

 

The monks were only allowed to say two words every 10 years: The Abbot met with the monk and said, you get two words, the monk replied, “Bed Hard”, 10 years later the Abbot said to the monk you get two words, the monk replied, “Food Bad”, after another 10 years the Abbot said to the monk you get two words and the monk replied, “I Quit.”  The Abbot replied, “Thank God you’ve done nothing but complain since you got here.”

 

 

We are not going to run into that situation, but time for silence, time for quiet, time for listening to God should be part of our daily To-Do List:

1.         pray

2.         be patient

3.         be present to my family

4.         spend time listening to God

5.         pray

 

 

This year 2021 put prayer, patience, being present to my family, listening to God and prayer on your To-Do List and follow it each day.

 

 

                                                        Saint Joseph, pray for us.

 

May God Be Praised!

 

A Blessing for The Epiphany 1/03/2021

 

A Blessing for Epiphany

 

If you could see the journey whole, you might never undertake it, might never dare the first step that propels you from the place you have known toward the place you know not.  Call it one of the mercies of the road: that we see it only by stages as it open before us, as it comes into our keeping, step by single step. 

There is nothing for it but to go, and by our going take the vows the pilgrim takes: to be faithful to the next step; to rely on more than the map; to heed the signposts of intuition and dream; to follow the star that only you will recognize; to keep an open eye for the wonders that attend the path; to press on beyond distractions, beyond fatigue, beyond what would tempt you from the way.

There are vows that only you will know: the secret promises for your particular path and the new ones you will need to make when the road is revealed by turns you could not have foreseen.

Keep them, break them, make them again; each promise becomes part of the path, each choice creates the road that will take you to the place where at last you will kneel to offer the gift most needed— the gift that only you can give—before turning to go home by another way.  [Jan Richardson from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons]

May God Be Praised and you be Blessed this year!

A Daily Dose of God

 

 

Homily Cycle B 1/03/2021 – The Feast of The Epiphany

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/010321.cfm

 

 

Our Responsorial Psalm highlights the cosmic and eternal dimensions of today’s feast.  Jesus is the fulfillment to the ancient longing for a Messiah, a Savior, a King of cosmic proportions: “Every nation on earth will adore you Lord, every nation on earth will adore you Lord!’ 

In 1960 the musical “Camelot” was produced, it was based on a 1958 novel, “The Once and Future King.”  One of the songs in the musical was “Camelot”, the final stanza is: “… there’s simply not A more congenial spot, For happily-ever-aftering, Than here in Camelot.”  That song tries to answer our deepest longings, to be loved and to live happily forever.

 

  

The Epiphany is the real answer to our deepest longings and desires.  As Jesus’ lay in the manager there were 3 different reactions to His birth?

 

1.    Hatred/hostility – Herod

2.    Complete indifference – Scribes/Chief Priests

3.    Adoring worship –Mary/Joseph, Shepherds, Magi.

 

Today, we celebrate the Manifestation of the Lord, The Epiphany of the Lord.  “The three gifts of the magi are a Gospel unto themselves: gold, the precious basis of the world’s economies; frankincense, the fragrant resin burned in the temple as an offering of prayer; myrrh, the expensive plant extract used as medicine and for the embalming of royalty.”  [Connections, 1/03/2021] 

 

 

 

The Magi were seeking the Way, the Truth and the Life and they find the answer in Jesus, the baby in a manger, in Bethlehem.  They represent the journey, the journey that each of us takes.  The Magi sought and found the answer to life’s most fundamental question, Why am I here?  The Magi, well educated, sophisticated and highly cultured YET, they prostrated/humbled themselves before the baby.  They submitted their egos, their wills and desires to God’s Will!

 

The GOOD is not relative to our personal ideas/tastes, BUT it is woven into the fabric of life by God, by God Who is the GOOD.  Jesus the Way, the Truth and the Life gave us the Beatitudes so we could find the Good.  Herod, the Chief Priests and the Scribes wanted to decide what was good.

 

The Magi, the Shepherds, Mary and Joseph followed what God said was good; “… Christ did not arrive to erase our troubles but to join us in them, to be a quiet light in our darkness….” [Sunday Website, John Foley, SJ 1/03/2021]

 

Christ is our LIGHT in the darkness of: COVID, violence, economic problems, moral decline, death and all of life’s crosses.  Christ is our LIGHT in the bright spots of our lives: a new life, a job, a vaccine, a recovery, a helping hand, all of life’s joys.

There are many stars in our world, what star do you want to emulate? 

What star are you following?

Herod, the Scribes/Chief Priests, the Shepherds, the Magi, Mary and Joseph made their decision about WHO they would adore, it is now our turn to decide?  Saint Teresa of Calcutta asked, “Will you collaborate with God so He can use you to do His work here on earth.”

Dr. Howard Thurman wrote these beautiful and powerful words,

“When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flocks,

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,

To heal the broken hearted,

To feed the hungry,

To release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nations,

To bring peace among brothers

(and sisters),

To make music in the heart.
(Sick, and You cared for Me, Homilies & reflections for Cycle B)

Join me in singing our Responsorial Psalm Refrain [we will repeat the refrain twice], and when we do sing it out and let the heavens hear us: “Every nation on earth will adore you Lord, every nation on earth will adore you Lord!”

 

 

We should Adore Our Creator!

We should Love our Creator!

We should Follow our Creator!

 

For a few minutes think about who you adore, love and follow.

 

Saint Joseph, pray for us.

 

May God Be Praised!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Daily Dose of God

 

 

 

The Gift of the Eucharist

Thomas à Kempis wrote, "Love is an excellent thing, a great good indeed, which alone maketh light all that is burdensome and equally bears all that is unequal.

For it carries a burden without being burdened and makes all that which is bitter sweet and savory. The love of Jesus is noble and generous; it spurs us on to do great things and excites us to desire always that which is most perfect."  [Imitation of Christ, p.87]

 

The Christmas Season reminds us that the Eternal Kingdom is a gift from our Creator, we are to seek by following the Way, the Truth and the Life – Jesus Christ.  Reflect on God’s great love in the manger, food for the salvation of the world.

 

“The Holy Eucharist is the perfect Communion of Saints, for it is the food common to angels, and sainted souls in Paradise, and ourselves; it is the true bread of which all Christians participate.”   [Insights from St. Francis de Sales, Catholic Controversies 324)

“Such is infinite happiness and it has not only been promised to us but we have a pledge of it in the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist, the perpetual feast of divine grace.”  [Treatise]

 

When you receive the Holy Eucharist look at your hands as the Lord’s manger, the Savior of the world in your hands, waiting to find a home in your heart. 

 

 

Remember what St. Teresa of Avila, "In this life our lot is not to enjoy God, but to do his holy will."

 

 

  

Spend a few minutes today reflecting on, “The love of Jesus [being] noble and generous….”

 

 

 

 

Saint Joseph, pray for us.

 

May God Be Praised!

A Daily Dose of God

 

 

 

The Gift of God in Word and in Eucharist

 

 

 

 

 

 

These three stories may give us a deeper appreciation and an increase of gratitude for the Eucharist and for the Word of God.

 

1.    Fr. Brennan Manning tells the story of an Irish priest who, on a walking tour of a rural parish, sees an old peasant kneeling by the side of the road, praying.  Impressed, the priest says to the man, "You must be very close to God."  The peasant looks up from his prayers, thinks a moment, and then smiles, "Yes, he's very fond of me." Sermon Resources for May, Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com Adapted from Phillip Yancey, What's So Amazing about Grace? [pp. 68-69]

 

God is very fond of you.

 

 

2.    6-year-old Mortakai refuse to go the school, when his Mom took him, he ran home; when his Dad took him, he ran home.  His parents tried everything from gifts to threats, nothing worked.  In desperation they went to their Rabbi, he said if the boy won’t listen bring him to me.

The Rabbi did not say a word; he held the boy to his heart for a long time and then put him down.  This silent embrace accomplished what words could not.  The young boy went on to become a great scholar & Rabbi.  (The Sunday Website of St. Louis University, “In Exile”, Ron Rolheiser OMI, 6-7-15)

 

That parable expresses how the EUCHARIST and the WORD of God work - God embraces us!

 

3.    Here is another powerful yet simple story, in the “A Little Book on the Human Shadow, Robert Bly writes about George Docsi who grew up in pre-W.W. II Hungary and as a boy growing, he loved dinner… big plates, the maids serving soup, he loved going into the dining room. 

 

One evening he went downstairs and the dining room was in an uproar.  Another pogrom [purge] was taking place in Russia, and his grandfather went to the railway station and brought home some Jews.  Men were in skullcaps in the living room, mothers nursing babies in the dining room; he threw a fit and yelled, “I want my supper! I want my supper!  One of the maids saw this and gave him a piece of bread.  He threw it on the floor and screamed, “I want my supper!”

 

His Grandfather entered the dining room at that moment - bent down, picked up the bread, kissed it and gave it to George.”  He ate it.  George said, “… I think there’s a little of my grandfather in me now.”  (Robert Bly in, The Little Book on the Human Shadow)

 

Jesus kisses the bread and wine in the Eucharistic Prayer each time it is offered.  That eternal kiss transforms the bread and wine into His body and blood – the Holy Eucharist!

 

Jesus kisses the Word each time you read the Scriptures and reminds you of His deep, abiding love for you.

 

Take some time today the first day of the calendar year to thank God for the gift of the Eucharist and the gift of His Word, what a beautiful way to start 2021.

 

Saint Joseph, pray for us.

 

May God Be Praised!