28th Sunday Ordinary Time – Year B - 2009

Wisdom is the ability to understand our lives in the way that God would have us understand them.

When I was a young newly ordained priest I received a call from my Provincial.

When I answered the phone my heart skipped a beat because Provincials, just like bosses, never  or rarely call just to say hello.

It usually means that you messed something up or that they want a favor.

Fortunately it was the later and I was assigned to substitute for a hospital chaplain.

My third day there I was called to the emergency room to anoint a man who had a heart attack.

I was told that it was not critical and to come when I could.

When I arrived the nurse was walking down the hall and said he’s over there.

I entered the room I found a man in his late 50's sitting up right on an examination table.

When I greeted him he did not respond in fact he didn't seem to be breathing.

I quickly anointed him and then I found the nurse and begged her to check on him. She looked at me as if I was crazy and slowly walked into the room.

Suddenly people came running from all over the ER and through God's grace this man was given a second chance.

The next 2 weeks I had the privilege of visiting him everyday and all I did was listen.

He had 2 houses and a boat
His kids were demanding and distant
The workers of his company always wanting more
His wife was angry that he was never home
He worried constantly about finding new work for his company.
I have 18 workers and their families to worry about .. that is a lot of mouths to feed.

He was filled with anger and hurt and didn't feel appreciated and so he held on very tightly to his possessions... he thought they would give him comfort.

The young man in the gospel was a good person.
The Lord looked on him with Love.

His desire for virtue was not just a fad he was going through.

He had  tried to observe the God's law for years and was looking for the next step.

He did not come face to face with Jesus by chance but probably sought him out.

What do I need to do to inherit everlasting life he asked with a gleam in his eye? 

He was filled with hope and so sincere, yet like the man in the hospital he held on so very tightly to his possessions..

He was afraid to let go and when Jesus suggested he sell all he have and give to the poor he went away sad.

You see he trusted is riches, he trusted his possessions more than he trusted Jesus. 

A couple of years later a gentleman came up to me later in a shopping mall.

Do you remember me Father I'm your ER miracle.

In our conversation I came to find out that he had already had a second heart attack.

"I'm trying to let go Father it is just so hard."

Both the young man in the Gospel and the man in the hospital lacked wisdom.

They just couldn't seem to evaluate their choices in the light of what God wanted from them and what God wanted from them.

They had just stopped discerning and in a very real way became possessed by their possessions.

Did the Man own the houses and the business and the boat or did they own him?

Did the rich young man in the Gospel own his possession or did they own him?

Life just doesn't happen
Holiness just doesn't happen
Happiness just doesn't happen

All of us need the wisdom of God to make good life choices.

All of us need the courage to follow it.

Those of you who are still in college need wisdom to choose a major, that will use your God given talents, be fulfilling and contribute to the well being of others.

No small task indeed and that's why you drive the registrar crazy changing majors.

Those of you who are young need wisdom in choosing relationships, which bring out the best in you and enable you to experience the beauty of being in Love with someone.

Those of you who are about to graduate from college need the wisdom of God to know what you should be working for, what really is important.

Those of you who are parents need to examine yourselves continually adapting and changing your plans as your family changes and adapts. 

All us need to continually evaluate our goals, dreams and yes even our possessions so that we can know what we need to hold onto and what we can let go of.

What is holding us back
What keeps us from being happy
What is keeping us from growing closer to our family and close to God
Why haven't we made more progress spiritually?

As the book of wisdom says

"I prayed, I pleaded and the spirit of wisdom came to me.
And all good things together came to me in her company"

Lord grant us the gift of Wisdom as we journey home to you.

Amen

Sunday October 4th - The Feast of St. Francis

One day toward the end of his life Francis was huddled in a cave on Mt.  Alverna.

He was lost in contemplation, meditating on his own sins, the suffering of Christ and how much he was loved by God.

And slowly but surely a strange desire grew in his heart.
He longed to suffer in some small way like Christ suffered.
He longed in some small way to experience the wounds of Christ.
He longed in some small way to help Christ carry the cross.

He had finally fallen in love with God and this desire to suffer was motivated by his love.

Suddenly while lost in prayer Francis received an incredible gift a 6 winged angel appeared to him and in his hands and in his feet and in his side appeared the wounds of Christ.

They were not a figment of his imagination.
They could be seen and touched by others.
At times they hurt like the wounds of Christ and bled like the wounds of Christ.

Many believe that the stigmata was God’s final approbation of Francis, his life, his dreams and his brotherhood.

The stigmata was God’s final stamp of approval of the little man from Assisi  who had tried so hard to imitate Christ that many called him an “alter Christus” or like another Christ.

You know when I would explain this to the exhausted pilgrims who would come to the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi on their tours many would turn away or roll their eyes. Some would come right out and say… “That’s weird” or “Too weird for me.”

They could understand poverty and the importance of placing one’s trust in God.

They could understand the importance of not being owned by our possessions.

They could understand the importance of purifying their love through the virtue of chastity and the importance of trying to love without seeking anything in return.

They could understand obedience and how all of us are called to surrender our wills to God and to God’s plan for us.

But the Stigmata was just too much for them to take so I tried to  show them how much suffering love is already been a part of all of our lives.

How about our parents who would get up in the middle of the night when we were sick? (suffering love indeed)

You know I always had whatever I needed as a child not necessarily what I wanted but I always had whatever I needed often at great sacrifice to my parents. (Suffering Love)

Anyone in love,
anyone who loves,
anyone who has ever loved is willing to suffer.

Many years ago  a kid in my office who was being sent home.

I spent three days trying to convince him to call home.
When he did his father lost it and there was lots of screaming and yelling.

When the kid got home there was more yelling and fighting and they even shoved each other. It was horrible.

The next day the kid was sleeping
And all of a sudden the dad was standing there dressed in running clothes

This was not a very common site.
The kid could not remember the last time his Dad ran.

He said to his son get up we are going to run.
There was no explanation.
Rather than fight again the kid surrendered.

At first it was easy but then the kid noticed that his Dad was getting winded.

It started to bother the son when he looked over at his Dad and saw he “sucking air”.

After a while the young man began to worry about his father.

Not much farther the kid looked over and his Dad was covered in sweat
They ran on and ran on and ran on.

Finally when they came to the bottom of a huge hill the son just could not let his Dad run anymore.

He grabbed his father and said why are we doing this?
It took a minute for his Dad to speak.
When he caught his breath he said
“I was horrible to you last night, we were horrible to each other”

I couldn’t sleep last night.
I had to figure out a way that I could convince you that I loved you.

I knew the only way I could prove it to you was to suffer for you.
So I was going to keep running until you stopped me or I fell over.

The Dad continued…
”We are going to come home.
We are going to get you evaluated to see if you have a drug problem.
You are going to get a job and pay the family back for the tuition you lost. “

And we are going to face all of this together.

I’m your Father, you are my son  and I should have never lost my temper.
I’m sorry.
I will never speak to you like that again.

When you hear the story like… it’s easy to understand how St. Francis love God and why St. Francis longed to suffer for Christ.

May all of us like St. Francis fall in love with God

May all of us spurred on by our love for God love each other more and more.

May the redemptive power of a love willing to suffer change our hearts.

May it change our families,
change our country
change our church
and may it change the world.

Happy Feast of St. Francis.

Amen

A Call On a Friday Night.

Last night I stopped over at A Simple House on T Street NW, There is a community there which includes three CUA Alumni. As the name implies it is a simple little community of good people trying to live the Gospel as best as they can. To be honest I’m kind of ashamed that it has taken me so long to get there.

Here is what I noticed….

As the name implies they live simply… They try to remove from their lives, or not invite into their lives, those things which get in the way of living the Gospel. Recently when one of the houses was broken into the perpetrators probably had a hard time finding something that they wanted to steal. I guess it’s one of the benefits of living simply.

They are normal people… I’ve known them since they were freshmen.. They are normal.. they are just like us. Sometimes we tend to excuse ourselves from the Gospel call to service and holiness by saying oh “those people are holy, they are different”  The residents of  A Simple House are like you and me and for a while God has called them to live their lives in community with each other and those in need and they said yes...

They genuinely love the people they serve. All over the house there are photos scotch taped to the walls, Pictures of families, of little kids of moments of community. Each photo shows a person they have had the privilege to know. The people of A Simple House’s community seem to be touched by the lives of the people they serve as much as much or more as they are of service to them. (Does that make sense?) In other words… as often is the case  with the Gospel, they seem to get as much or more as they give… in their service to the people in DC.

Sadly our culture always seems to put a treadmill of busyness and worries and challenges before us and says run.  Most of us do… I know I have run on that treadmill for years sometimes its so hard to get off. Then out of the blue God sends you an invitation to anOpen House at A Simple House and gently invites you to look again at what is important. That’s what happened to me last night.

Thanks Bianca Laura and Ryan… thanks for a great night… Proud of you … always have been.  Erin great meeting you and I’m proud of you too.

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PS. Click on their logo and it will take you to their website. They can explain their call and their dream a lot better than I can.

 

26 Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B - 2009

I’ve been walking a lot of lately and one day while I was walking from CUA to the National Cathedral along Porter Street I spied a group of children up ahead in a very lively discussion.

The discussion was heated and it seemed to be about some game they were playing certainly something important to them. It was a mixture with English and Spanish.

As I approached I thought I would just walk by but all of a sudden… one of the kids yelled “Mr. they aren’t being fair.” which led to a similar shout from the opposing side.

I didn’t know what to say and found myself in the middle of these kids fighting about something I didn’t understand.

The kids were clearly frustrated and their sentences all began with they…

They did this
They did that
They, they, they..

Thank God a woman with a baby came along and stepped in and the kids began to listen to her and ignore me because she obviously was a much more qualified arbiter.

She spoke in English and Spanish.

As I walked on I thought we are so quick to join groups and to label ourselves “us and them”

The kids were simply arguing about a game.. and probably when things were decided they went back to playing..

Thanks God kids don’t usually hold grudges, that little trick is somehow learned later on in life.

When adults label others
When adults begin sentences with “they”…

We often segregate ourselves from “them” or refuse to let “them” or “those people” be a part of our lives..

We refuse to recognize and good in “Them”

Once a person is labeled as part of Them it is really hard for many to open the door of their heart to “them” again.

When children begin every sentence with They….
it can be harmless when adults begin every sentence with they… it can be catastrophic.

Lumping people together with labels like
Lazy or
Illegal
or Ignorant
or worthless
or bad or whatever

Is one of the saddest things a human being can do.

Yet that’s exactly what the disciples did in today’s Gospel..

They saw people they didn’t know
They saw people who were not from their group
not a part of their circle of friends
expelling demons and they judged them or labeled them.

They didn’t consider that demons were indeed being expelled or good was being done

They didn’t see that “the others” were actually helping people.

Instead they judged that they were some how infringing on their turf.

They thought we are the disciples of Jesus, Only we are allowed to do good for others in his name..

Jesus … used it as another teaching moment in his final crash course on his way to Jerusalem.

He called on his disciples not to be scandalized by the good deeds of others but rather
to judge everyone not by the arbitrary groups we establish
but by the fruits of their lives.

In other words we should judge people by how they live and what they accomplish

And so the first message we need to take away from this Gospel is simply that.

We should rejoice in the good that others do rather than be jealous or envious because they are different than us.

In other words should not allow ourselves to be scandalized easily by the deeds of others.

The second message is in the same vein.

Jesus uses this occasion to teach the disciplies that It is of paramount importance that we do not scandalize others.

It is so important for us not to be a stumbling block which makes it harder for others believe in God and to live good lives.

The words of Jesus should not be taken lightly… and when I think about them seriously sometimes they frighten me.

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea.”

So how do you keep from scandalizing others ?

Jesus resorts to hyperbole to make his point when he says… If it caused you to sin cut it off or rip it out.

If the disciples took him literally it would have been really easy to tell his disciples from the non believers because every single one of them or us would have been missing some body part.

People would have been able to say… “Oh there’s a Christian and there’s another one…”
because all of us would have been bandaged up from head to toe.

What Jesus is saying is simply this..

We always have to strive to identify those things which things which hold us back and remove them from our lives.

And sometimes letting go of our pride
letting go of our anger or rage,
letting go resentfullness
letting go of our possessions or
letting go of our spiritual laziness or sloth
letting go of whatever
may seem as hard as cutting away a piece of ourselves, It may seem as hard as cutting off our hand or plucking out our eye.

Yet if we want to avoid ever giving scandal
and live good lives
live holy lives
Sometimes, actually almost always
its demands what might seem to be radical surgery or some kind of spiritual amputation.

And so….

Let us be slow to judge others or lump them in to groups… rather let us recognize their works and rejoice in their good deeds…

Let us examine our lives carefully, prayerfully, thoughtfully
and be quick to take from our lives those things which separate us from God and each other

Even if sometimes it seems that doing so will demand radical surgery on our personality and our lives

How we love your word oh lord.. help us understand how to put it into practice.

Amen

Someone Sent Me this… and who knows why I am posting it on my blog? For some reason it just seems useful.

A lady got up very early one morning and went outside to pickup the Sunday paper, she noticed someone had prayed red paint all around the sides of the neighbors brand new beige truck. She went over and woke him up and gave him the bad news. He was, of course extremely upset.

And they stood there trying to figure out what could be done about the problem. They decided there wasn't much recourse but to wait until Monday, since nothing was open. Just then another neighbor came out of his house, surveyed the situation and immediately went to get hisWD-40 out and cleaned the red paint off with it. Guess What! It cleaned up that paint without harming the original paint on the truck! I'm impressed!!
W ater Displacement #40. The product began from a search for A rust preventative solvent and de greaser to protect Missile parts. WD-40 was created in 1953 by three Technicians at the San Diego Rocket Chemical Company. Its name comes from the project that was to find a'water displacement' compound. They were successful with the fortieth formulation, thus WD-40. The Corvair Company bought it in bulk to protect their atlas missile parts.
Ken East (one of the original founders) says there is nothing in WD-40 that would hurt you...' IT IS MADE FROM FISH OIL' . When you read the 'shower door' part, try it. It's the first thing that has ever cleaned that spotty shower door. If yours is plastic, it works just as well as glass. It is a miracle! Then try it on your stovetop.. It is now shinier than it has ever been before.
1) Protects silver from tarnishing.
2) Removes road tar and grime from cars.
3) Cleans and lubricates guitar strings.
4) Gives floors that `just-waxed` sheen without making it slippery.
5) Keeps flies off cows.
6) Restores and cleans chalkboards.
7) Removes lipstick stains.
8) Loosens stubborn zippers.
9) Untangles jewelry chains.
10) Removes stains from stainless steel sinks.
11) Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill.
12) Keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing.
13) Removes tomato stains from clothing.
14) Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots.
15) Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors.
16) Keeps scissors working smoothly.
17) Lubricates noisy door hinges on v ehicles and doors in homes
18) It removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor! Open some windows if you have a lot of marks.
19) Bug guts will eat away the finish on your car. Removed quickly, with WD-40!
20) Gives a children's play gym slide a shine for a super fast slide.
21) Lubricates gear shift on lawn mowers..
22) Rids kids rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises.
23) Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to open.
24) Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close.
25) Restores and cleans padded leather dashboards in vehicles, well as vinyl bumpers.
26) Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles.
27 ) Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans.
28) Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles for easy handling.
29) Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running smoothly.
30) Keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools.
31) Remove s splattered grease on stove.
32) Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging.
33) Lubricates prosthetic limbs.
34) Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell).
35) Removes all traces of duct tape.
36) Folks even spray it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve arthritis pain
37)  Florida  's favorite use 'Cleans and removes love bugs from grills and bumpers.'
38) Protects the Statue of  Liberty  from the elements. 
39) WD-40 attracts fish. Spray a LITTLE on live bait or lures and you will be catching the big one in no time.
40) Ant bites. It takes the sting away immediately and stops the itch.
41) WD-40 is great for removing crayon from walls. Spray on the mark and wipe with a clean rag.
42) If you've washed and dried a tube of lipstick with a load of laundry, saturate the lipstick spots with WD-40 and Presto! Lipstick is gone!
43) If you spray WD-40 on the distributor cap, it will displace the moisture and allow the car to start.
Keep a can of WD-40 in your kitchen cabinet. It is good for oven burns or any other type of burn. It takes the burned feeling away and heals with NO scarring.

Remember, the basic ingredient is FISH OIL

25th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year – B 2009

May the peace of Christ reign in our hearts

In today’s Gospel Jesus has left the north and has begun his journey towards Jerusalem.

He knows that with each step forward he is in greater danger and there is also something else very difficult in this passage.

In this his second warning about his death Jesus hints at betrayal “The Son of Man will be handed over…It would appear that Jesus understands the struggle going on in the heart of Judas..

By speaking clearly about it he seems to be trying to help Judas see the error of his way.

Notice that he no longer waits for crowds to form or gather around him in fact from this passage it almost seems that he does not want the crowds

One could venture to guess that Jesus knows that his main task he is to concentrate on the training of the apostles.

Jesus is fully aware that if the message, the good news is to last it has to be written on the hearts of his closest followers.

Increased danger…
Betrayal fortold 
A crash course is needed

Yes this passage paints a pretty intense picture.

The next paragraph helps us understand just how important  this crash course really is.

While they were walking Jesus heard them arguing among themselves on who would be the greatest…

He didn’t stop them he let them keep talking
He knew he could turn it into a teaching moment later

Their discussion on who would be the greatest teaches us so much about how much they understood the kingdom of God and time was short.

1. It teaches us that they are in denial about the sacrifices, suffering and death which Jesus and eventually all of them will face

2. It shows that they are still dreaming of worldly power and prestige maybe even wealth

3. It helps us understand that their primary motivation is still self-seeking

4. Finally their silence when confronted about their discussion shows that in their hearts of hearts they knew what was right and what was wrong.

Jesus took their visions of grandeur and self interest very seriously

He sat down… and he called them around him

This was a signal to all of them that Jesus considered what he was going to say very seriously

And he challenged them to move from a ambition to rule to an ambition to service and power.

And with the example of a little child reminds them that service to the weak, the poor, those without influence those who can do little for themselves is what their ambition should be directed toward.

So much to think about so much for us to ponder today..

Why are we here…?

Why are we in this beautiful Church?

Why do we give God space in our crowded lives?

Are we here so that we can pass that test we didn’t prepare for?

Are we here so that we seem holy to others?

Or because if we don’t come we fear that God will punish us ?

In other words is our motivation like that of the apostles in today’s Gospel

Is our presence here fundamentally self seeking and self interested here?

Are we in denial about what it takes to be an apostle of Christ?

Are we in denial like the apostles who just can’t accept that being a follower of Christ entails sacrifice and suffering?

Do we continue to delude ourselves into thinking that some way we can avoid our cross whatever it may be, even though Jesus himself did not avoid the cross but rather embrassed it.?

Finally do we accept the fact that being of service to others… is an essential component in our life of faith.?

Can you imagine what world would be like if we all took to heart the call to service in today’s Gospel ?

Let us realize that the gift of the Gospel has been given to us and it is up to us to share it.

Just like Jesus needed the apostles to carry on his message, God needs our generations to continue to move hearts bring the message to those in need

Let us remind ourselves that just like Jesus needed the time to give the apostles a crash course…

We need time to develop and deepen our faith so that we may answer the Gospel’s call to service

One hour a week at Mass is not enough

Let us continually search our minds our hearts our actions our desires so that our motives for following Christ may be pure and holy not self seeking or selfish in any way

Finally every night let’s exam our day and see how much we have placed ourselves at the service of others and the Gospel ?

And if most of our efforts have been  directed towards our own  self interests let’s promise to do better.

We need to do better.

For paraphrasing…

Whoever receives the poor, the helpless, those who just don’t get it,

Whoever receives the socially awkward, those who can’t fend for themselves.

Whoever receives those who can’t possibly repay an act of kindness.

Those who are hopelessly entwined in self-interest.

If we receive these In the Name Jesus

We Receive him…

We have a lot of work to do

Amen

23 Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B

In the first reading from the prophet Isaiah the fullness of God’s love and God’s providence is prophesied.

“Be strong…. fear not
Here is your God…
he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared”

They brought him to Jesus
He was their friend maybe even their brother or relative.

Whatever the case, he was someone important to them.

They cared enough about him to help him.

So they brought him to Jesus
and that in itself is surprising because the cities in the area called the Decapolis were not Jewish territory.

The people who brought the mute and deaf man to Jesus might not have even been Jewish.

However, they were so desperate that they put their hope in an itinerant Jewish Rabbi.

It is obvious that there is something different about the way the man was healed.

Last week Jesus simply prayed and demons were expelled and people were healed.

All of this happened in a group setting…

This week Jesus healed the man privately.

Mark wants to make sure that we understand this completely so he mentions it three times

He took him off
by himself
away from the crowd

Jesus could have healed him without saying a word

Jesus could have said “be opened” in front of everyone in the crowd

Jesus could have chosen so many other ways to restore this man to health like he had done so many times before.

And yet
He took him off…
by himself…
away from the crowd.

Holy ones…
The man who could not hear and could not speak must have had a special need.

Maybe the years of isolation had taken their toll

Maybe he had come to doubt God’s mercy
and doubt God’s love.

Maybe he was approaching despair or had lost hope.

There was something different going on here because Jesus acted differently

This wounded man,
this soul,
this special soul
needed special attention and that is what he got.

We don’t really know what his special need was.

We do know that he was mute and deaf when he came and he returned singing shouting God’s praises.

Whatever his burden or burdens were they were gone.

Whatever had happened
Whatever was said between them… he was healed.

We know that
Jesus healed him in a special way
that he was healed with his touch and with his spittle.

Maybe he did so because the man could not have heard a prayer of healing.

That’s all we know about that encounter between God and man.

So great was their joy at seeing God’s love in their lives.

So great was their joy at seeing the hand of God in action that they all gave glory
and the more he begged them to be quiet
the more they shouted…

You know God didn’t just heal deaf and mute man…
he had touched the lives of everyone in that Crowd.

“Be strong…. fear not
Here is your God,
he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared”

-------

The deaf and mute man’s friends or relatives..
loved him.

It was their love and their hope and their faith that began the process.

If it were not for them he would have spent his life alone and isolated unable to communicate..

They loved him enough even to bring him to the Jewish Rabbi.

They refused to give up on him.

Who do we love?
Who do we care enough about to bring to God.

Who is not healed because we have not followed their example ?

So often we are reluctant to talk
about God
or about our faith
or about anything faith related with others.

We are uncomfortable and we don’t want to talk about it.
with the people we live with and work with.

So often we think “I don’t want to impose my religious views on anyone else.”

We think thoughts like,
”My faith is a private matter it for me. It is between me and God.”

How many people that we live and work with know that we are Catholic and that we go to Church on Sunday and that our faith is important to us ?

We are so quick to talk about people we love and show their pictures and share their stories… but we run and hide at the thought of sharing our relationship with God

We kind expect people find faith on their own,
or we expect other people who know nothing about God’s love or God’s mercy or God’s revelation to make the first move..

If they don’t they we let them stay where their are.

We might even talk about them behind their back.

Can you believe him
Can you believe her… what a mess ?

That’s a huge mistake…

If that man’s friends and relatives had not brought him he would have never been made whole.

This private personal understanding of our faith is so contrary to the Gospel mandate at the end of Matthew’s Gospel.

“Go and make disciple of all nations….”

If everyone thought that their faith were a personal private matter the story of God’s love and our hope for salvation would have died with the first generation of disciples.

The Gospel also teaches us that…

God’s love is not one size fits all…
Jesus demonstrates so poignantly today that God touches our lives
that God heals us
in the way each one of us needs them to be touched.

He relates to some one way and others in another way.

His special attention to the man in the Gospel show the reverence that God has for each one of us and our unique needs.

He loves us all differently
but he loves us all completely…

As St. Theresa once said…
our glasses are all different sizes and shapes but they are all filled to the brim with God’s love.

God goes the extra mile

The deaf man the mute man
needed something special
and that’s what he got…

So will we…
We will be loved by God in the way we need to be loved for as long as we need it.
Love can do nothing else.

As we go about our week let us pray for direction and guidance.

Let us ask God to help us learn how to be like the people in the Gospel who brought someone to Jesus.

Let us look around us at all the people that God will place in our lives and let us imitate God
by finding the way to love , in the unique manner they need to be loved and bring them to him

“Be strong…. fear not
Here is your God,
he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared”

Amen

Penetrating Words..

Someone sent me this on the occasion of my 26th Anniversary to Priesthood. While reading it I became painfully aware of just how far I fall from the ideal.. Please pray for your priests.We count on your prayers...

A Priest

To live in the midst of the world without wishing its pleasures;
to be a member of each family, yet belonging to none;
to share all sufferings;
to penetrate all secrets;
to heal all wounds;
to go from men to God and offer Him their prayers;
to return from God to men to bring pardon and hope;
to have a heart of fire for charity
and
a heart of bronze for chastity;
to teach
and
to pardon;
console and bless always.

My God, what a life!
And it is yours,
O Priest of Jesus Christ!

Jean Baptiste Henri Lacordaire, O.P.

A Prayer for our Graduates

Let us Pray..
On this day of new beginnings Lord
We place our class of 2009 in your hands
We know Lord that you love them
We know that you will always be close to them
We know that you will continue to inspire them to do great things.

They are ready Lord
They are ready to take the next step
They will teach, and heal, and inspire by their art,
They will counsel and invest and explore your wonders of nature.
They will design and engineer great structures.
They will work for the common good in politics and government service and all kinds of community service

All of them will love
Some will marry and have children
Some will serve your people as Priests and religious.

Their parting from CUA is bittersweet
But we all know it is time and they are ready.

Bless them
Bless their families
Bless their parents
May this day of celebration remain always in our hearts
And serve to remind us all of your loving divine providence.

We ask all of these things through Christ our Lord

Amen

Blessings and inspiration.... here is a day in the life of a priest...

Today was a beautiful day.

8:30 I went to buy donuts for the kids who were coming to work.

The morning and afternoon was spent cataloging books for Tanzania and moving them to the storage container. Here's some pics. It got so hot I ordered Rita's Ice for the volunteers. In the afternoon when the books were all cataloged and placed in the container we started packing and moving the computers. The computer volunteers finished all of the updates and we switched all the power supplies to 230 volts (what they use in Kigoma).. It is amazing how this project is coming together. We have collected cataloged and boxed 5641 books and I am so pleased with the quality of the donations. Here is the online catalog of what we are sending. Library thing is a really great website check it out. You type in the ISBN number and it pull the complete record for book with all of the subject headings.

Around two I went to see the group of students who were going to the Invisible Children Rally by the National Mall. The purpose of this event was to bring attention to the plight of the thousands of children in Dafur who are forced to join militias. We sent a really good group of students both in quality and quantity.

Around 3:00 I took what was left of the Rita's Ice Buckets to the South Side Showdown. There were lots of kids their and lots of water fun. Someone dumped a whole bucket of ice water on me. I have to admit it felt good.

This evening I went to the Annual Red line Invitational which is a benefit concert by area acapella (how do you spell that) groups to benefit the missions where our students will volunteer this year. (Sorry no pictures.












While we were working on the container another group of students took all of my garden stuff to the roof. It's that time again. Here are some pictures from last year...


Our students are generous, committed, passionate and very willing to put in a good day's work for a worthy cause. It is a privilege for me to be a part of their lives... even though I can't remember their names to save my life... somethings never change.

Coming up...

The Luau will be this Friday May 1st, from 5 to 10 Rain or Shine...

The final shipment day for the container to Kigoma will be on May 4th.. we will only have two hours to transfer everything to the new container... Yicks... HELP and PRAYERS NEEDED.

I'm still tired and inspired.

Protect us Lord as we stay awake
Watch over us as we sleep
That awake we may keep watch with Christ
And asleep rest in his peace.

Amen

Third Sunday of Easter Year – B 2009

From today’s Gospel.

We learn that God doesn’t give up easy…
When Jesus appears to his apostles
He appears to a broken, disillusioned, and even frightened group of men.

Even when they see him they are incredulous,
they can’t believe what they see.

He has to repeatedly engage them, calm them, and coax them to belief.

“Look at my hands and my feet,
Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones
as you can see I have."
And as he said this,
he showed them his hands and his feet.”

It took the disciples a while to come to believe and Jesus was persistent he didn’t give up.

Once they dared to believe,

“Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”

The Cross was part of God’s plan it was not something he was forced to do.

He helped them understand that being willing to suffer, is part of love.

Jesus, the Messiah willingly suffered and died to bring us to redemption because he loved us.

Finally with the last line of the Gospel Jesus gave the apostles their mission.

“You are witnesses of these things”.

A witness is only a witness if he speaks, if he testifes.
A witness who says nothing is no witness at all.

And so you see holy one…

Today’s world like the Apostles gathered in that room is broken, disillusioned, and frightened.

Today’s Gospel should inspire us to have patience the same patience that Jesus showed to the Apostles.

Remember after all the time he spent with them he he still had to coax them to belief.

We must be patient

Patient with our friends
Patient with our families
Patient even with those who refuse to believe who remain incredulous.

I know its hard not to get fed up or give up when someone just won’t change
but that’s what the Gospel calls us to do.

Today’s Gospel should inspire, challenge us to sacrificial love, it should challenge us not only to face the cross but to willingly embrace it..

Only when we are willing to look beyond our own needs
only when we are willing to suffer, for someone else
can we dare to say that we are capable of loving.

To chose to love is also to be willing to suffer

Finally our one of our greatest failures is to accept our mission to be witnesses.

The message of the Gospel is meant for everyone
but
because.. we fail to live it credibly
Because we fail to speak
Because we fail to testify

Quite often we are very poor witnesses indeed.

If all of us on this campus who attend Mass lived our faith credibly what a different campus and a different world it would be indeed.

Amen

Good Friday Year B 2009

Good Friday is not like any other day of the year.
It is not necessarily a day of comfort.
It is a somber day.
It is a day which should cause us to stop and reflect.

Good Friday is a day which often leaves us with a strange feeling as we walk out of church,
a feeling that something is not yet finished,
a feeling that something is not complete.

I feel always feel an emptiness on Good Friday when I see the door of the tabernacle left open and the tabernacle light out.
The empty tabernacle reminds, us all of the power of the real presence which we so often take for granted.

And all of these feelings do not happen by chance.
The church goes to great lengths to set mood and create these feelings.

The altar is stripped
Many times the statues are covered or removed
The holy water fonts are dry
Here at catholic we always take things a little farther, the sacristans even roll up the carpets in the sanctuary.
You see my dear friends the rituals and traditions of Good Friday
are meant to teach us a lot about ourselves,
and they also teach us a lot about God.

Good Friday puts before our eyes the reality of our sin.
It reminds us that all of us are sinners,
all of us are broken.

It reminds us that sin is a part of our lives,
it reminds us that our sins cause pain and cause hurt,
Not only in our own lives but in the lives of everyone we meet.

Good Friday teaches us that our sins are so serious
That, God Himself has to intervene..

Good Friday teaches that God is just not willing to give up on us.
It shows us just how far God is willing to go for us.
On Good Friday we see the ultimate proof of God’s love.

And from the tree of life, from the cross,
we learn how we can and how should respond to the sin in our own life
and the sin in lives of those around us.

When creation strayed from God,
God did not break off His relationship with us
he doesn’t give up on us.

When we sin God does not move farther away,
instead he came closer.

In fact He came very close.
He sent his Son

So often in our lives when people hurt us when we feel the effects of our sins and the sins of others,
our first inclination is to run and hide,
to get away  to distance ourselves.

When things get messy, when things go bad,
God does not run and hide,

A second thing we learn on Good Friday is that God did not pretend that our sin was not present
he didn’t look the other way rather he acknowledged our sin.
He faced it and he calls us to do the same.

So often when we come in contact with sin or when we sin ourselves we pretend that it really doesn’t  matter.

We say things like,
I’m not hurt, or I haven’t hurt anyone,
as if we somehow we have the ability to wish power of sin away.

On the cross Jesus teaches us that sin is real and it matters and it can’t be taken lightly.
On the cross Jesus teaches us that sin demands a radical response from God and a radical response from us.

On Good Friday we see how God responds to our sin
Compelled by love for each one of us
God responds to our sin by taking it upon himself.
By paying the price of our sin Himself on the cross
He allows Himself to feel it’s pain.

We too must be willing to take on the pain of the cross.
We too must be willing to carry the cross.

By lovingly taking our sins upon his shoulders God transforms the
When he forgives them He redeems them.

God shows us how we can change evil into good.
He shows us that love even has the power to redeem sin

So often we respond to sin, and pain, with sin and pain
So often we allow the evil we experience to take root in our hearts
To distort us.

It is so easy for us to allow evil to breed evil
And pain to cause pain.

It is so easy for us to allow anger and resentment to make us angry and resentful

When that happens evil and anger and sin wins…

Jesus did not allow our sins to make him become angry or bitter.
Rather he heals them with this love.

The world would be so different if we like God could respond to sin with love.

This is such an important lesson for all us to learn.

Finally, despite our transgressions,
despite our sin, from the pulpit of the cross,
Jesus he prayed for us.

He took our sin upon himself and he offered up his suffering for us
the very people who had sinned against him.
Forgive them Father they know not what they are doing.

How often do we pray for those who hurt us?
How often do we offer up our pain and hurt for the very people who cause them?

Yes Good Friday teaches us so much.
We learn so much from powerful witness of the cross.

Let us not run from sin
let us not fear evil.
Let us look sin in the eye
let us face it and acknowledge is.
Let us willingly carry our cross.
When someone sins against us let us not respond in kind
Let us not allow evil to take root in our hearts.
Instead of letting sin change us let us change it.
Let us love the sinner and redeem the sin.

In a few moments when kneel before the cross
When we venerate it.

Let us all pray God that we learn its lessons well.

We adore you or Christ and we praise you
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world
Amen

Palm Sunday Year B – 2009

They had been with Him for years.

They had seen Him transfigured on a mountain top with Moses and Elijah.

They had seen Him walk on water and calm the winds and waves of a storm.

They had watched Him compassionately heal the sick sometimes even at great personal risk to Himself.

We don’t even know about all of the private  little personal conversations that he shared with each one of the apostles as they walked down the dusty roads or warmed themselves by the fire at night,

Jesus listening to them,
talking with them,
laughing with them,
and even crying with them.

And yet after they had experienced all of these incredibly powerful things…
they could not even stay awake with Him for an hour in the garden of Gethsemane.
they betrayed him,
they ran away and abandoned Him,
they denied Him,

Yet don’t be fooled  the story of the passion of Jesus Christ,
is not about betrayal,
it is not about abandonment,
It is not about denial…

It is rather is about being loyal,
about being loyal even unto death.

The passion teaches us just how far God will go..
The passion teaches us how strong God’s love is for each and everyone of us…
…no matter what our sins are,
no matter how cold our hearts have become.

Holy ones sadly we are not much different than the apostles.

All of our lives are filled with incredible moments of grace.

Our families
Our friends
Our talents our gifts
The chance to be here and study and learn.
The chance to prepare ourselves well to make a difference in a world so much in need of love and healing.

We have all received
grace after grace after grace after grace after grace,
sadly sometimes we just don’t seem them.

We like the apostles run and hide.
We like the apostles fail to be loyal to our friends,
and we like the apostles often only stick around when things are going well.

We like the apostles live  as though we are not loved or that God does not care for us…

As we meditate on the Passion of our Lord Jesus

Let strive to imitate God’s faithfulness,

Let us try to follow the example of Jesus who loved us all with reckless abandon ,a loving reckless abandon which led him to His death on the cross the price of His love.

Remember when he died on the cross the veil in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

That which had separated the holy of Holies That which had separated God from us and His creation was gone.

Nothing now separates us
Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.

We adore you O Christ and we praise you
Because by your holy Cross you have Redeemed the World.

  

 

5th Sunday of Lent Year B 2009

Reading 1
Responsorial Psalm
Reading 2
Gospel

In the first reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah it becomes so clear that God longs to be a part of our lives.

God is not just some powerful force to be reckoned with.

He is not some vengeful God waiting for us to screw up,
rather He longs for a relationship with us.

And in this relationship…
He doesn’t want us to do the right thing just because we are afraid of being punished.

He doesn’t want us to do the right thing just because it’s the rule or the law.

In this beautiful passage we learn that God wants us to do the right thing because we love Him.

He longs for us write his name on our hearts … just like to two young lovers carve their initials in a tree.

As Jeremiah said so beautifully

I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts;
I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

When a person is in love… they are never satisfied with giving the bare minimum, rather they willingly and happily pour out their lives for the other.

People in love often pour out their lives until there is nothing left to give.

Love, real love allows us to do heroic things.

Look at loving parents who make sacrifice after sacrifice for their children.

Look at saints whose heroic lives could only be motivated by love not fear.

Look at the martyrs who heroic deaths clearly testify to the incredible power of love. No one gives their life away just because of a law.

The Catechism says that this new covenant…this new relationship that God longs to have with us
begins on Calvary.

It begins on Calvary with the death of Jesus God’s Son.

With this cross God shows us just how far he is willing to go.

With the cross he shows how much he is willing to give.

With the cross he proves how much he is willing to pay for the price of each and everyone of our souls.

With the cross God teaches us how we should love.

“Unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains a simple grain”

When we hear that all of us should ask ourselves am I willing to fall to the ground and die ?

Do I love anyone enough to fall to the ground and die for them?

St. Thomas More Parish – Boynton Beach FL

They were always late for Church they usually made it in the front pew for the handicapped around the opening prayer.

He would hold her with his hand around her waist and guide her into the front pew…

Her shuffle and her absent gaze spoke volumes.

When communion time came he would guide her up the communion line and he would always say the same thing to the priest..

Please Father just give her a little piece just a little piece.

Then he would beg her
Come on honey… open your mouth open your mouth sweetheart and I would place a tiny piece of the Body of Christ on her tongue.

Then from somewhere he would produce a sippy cup with water and he would place it at her lips and she would almost instinctively drink from it.

Then he would guide her back to the pew.

One day after Mass everyone was standing outside talking …

It was too early for the early bird specials in the local restaurants that all the senior citizens loved.

The man and his wife were there… a woman came up to the man began to talk…

After a while she said to the man

You are a “young” man and you still have your health
you should put your wife in a home and enjoy life.

There was an audible gasp from the people standing around her.

We were all trying to figure out how someone could say something so inappropriate.

The man looked angry for a second and then he responded to her very gently.

This is my wife and I love her
I love her when she is sick and I love her when she is healthy
and as long as I can manage, as long as it is good for he,. she is going to live with me in her home.

Then he looked the woman right in the eye and he said.
Even now as sick as she is she is God’s greatest gift to me.

That man’s heroic care for his wife was not motivated by any law or rule.

Rather it was motivate by a covenant of love.
His witness was so powerful to everyone present.

Holy Ones…

God longs for us to love Him

And he wants our actions and lives to be motivated by love.

St. Augustine understood that he said..
Love God and do whatever you want.

On the Cross God teaches us what love is
and He shows us how much He loves us.

How much do we love each other?
How much do we love God?

Unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies….

Amen

4th Sunday of Lent Year B 2009

Ours is a God who just won’t who just can’t give up on us.
He can’t give up because love never gives up.

In the first reading the Book Chronicles recounts an incredibly sad story.

Because they abandoned the rightful practice of their faith… because they were unfaithful to the covenant…
because they refused to listen to the numerous prophets the God sent them and kept sending them over and over again to call them back to fidelity….

…in desperation God allowed them to be defeated by the Persians.

He allowed His temple to be destroyed and His people to be taken into exile.

It must have seemed like the end of the world them
as the temple was torn down and Jerusalem set afire.

It must have seemed like all was lost as they were led away in exile.

And I am sure that God wept with them as they walked down the road to Persia victims of their own lack of faith.

He wept because he loved them.
He wept because they had abandoned their friendship with Him.
He wept because they had become so stuck in their sin that there was no other way to win back their hearts.

Only after 70 years of exile and slavery would they be allowed to return to Jerusalem and re-establish the covenant.

In the Gospel we hear a similar story.

Nicodemus  a holy man comes to Jesus in the dark of night.
He came in the night because he is afraid to be seen. 

He was afraid to be seen as a follower of Jesus or
as someone who believed in His word or His works..

Yet he was drawn to Jesus and it was
almost impossible for him to stay away.

As and Jesus tried to explain to him how God longs for all men and women to be saved Nicodemus’ heart must have been moved.

But when Jesus said that the Messiah would have to be lifted up on the cross of the Romans this was too much for Nicodemus to take.

This was so contrary to the type of Messiah the Jews expected that Nicodemus refused to believe refused to surrender.

And he walked back out into the darkness, confused and unwilling to become His follower.

Yet one day it would be this same Nicodemus who would boldly walk up to Pilate in full light of day and request  the body of Jesus.

The Jews were unfaithful
They suffered the consequences of their sins
And they were redeemed

Nicodemus
Was intrigued by the powerful witness of Jesus
But he was afraid.
Afraid of what discipleship would cost him

And so he walked back out into the darkness of confusion and cowardness only later would he be able to experience the saving power of Christ lifted high on the cross.

Failure 
suffering
Redemption

Failure 
suffering
Redemption

Failure 
suffering
Redemption

It is the story of the people of Israel.
It is the story of Nicodemus.
It is my story and your story.
It is the story of all of Humanity.

Until we embrace the will of God completely and whole heartedly… until we accept the love and mercy of God completely.
We are condemned, better yet we condemn ourselves to repeat this pattern over and over and over again.

Think about
How much of our suffering …
How much of our pain…
How much of our hurt our confusion…
How much of our unhealthy relationships, our addictions, our lack of peace..

has its roots in our sins
In our pride
And in our selfishness

Only Jesus Christ
Can reach in to the confusion of our lives…
Only Jesus Christ can reach into the darkness of our doubts our fears…
Only Jesus Christ can save us from our self imposed exile.

For God so loved the world that he sent his only Son that all who believe in him might not perish but have eternal life.

Ours is a God who just won’t
who just can’t give up on us.
He can’t give up because love never gives up.

Amen

Third Sunday of Lent 2009 (RCIA) Year A

Readings for this Sunday

He was tired and hot and hungry
He had traveled a long way
All he wanted to do was sit down and rest a moment

But there she was confidently carrying her bucket to the well.
He knew her.
He knew her story.
He knew her fears.
He knew that her confidence was a façade to cover and protect her.
He knew everything about her and he loved her
He loved her because he was God
Tired or not
Samaritan or not
Woman or not
Stranger or not
He reached out to her
He is God…

But he knew that if he approached her too quickly it would be another wound another hurt.
He knew that if he approached her too quickly she would run and hide that was her normal “modus operandi” when she was afraid
find someone else.
He knew that if he held up the mirror and showed her clearly who she had become it would be too painful

So even though he was tired and thirsty and just wanted to sit
He approached her
He took the first step
He broke all the rules…
don’t talk to samaritains
don’t talk to women.
Don’t take water from someone who is unclean

He approached her humbly asking a favor
He began to establish a simple relationship with her
He bantered with her
And she began to trust him

She began to trust him so much that she
even challenged him.

“How are you going to give me water you don’t even have a bucket”
She said with a little swagger
She has let her guard down

And when the moment was right
with a few simple words he showed her who she had become

There was no anger or self righteousness
There was no tone of disappointment in his voice
He didn’t say “Look how you let me down”
He simply listed her sins

He showed her all of the desperate compromises she had made
And she did not run away

She began to hope
Maybe she could start anew
Maybe she could be forgiven
Maybe she could offer sacrifice
That’s probably why she wanted a clarification.
Where should she go to make amends to offer sacrifice
in Jerusalem or on Mount Horeb?

She asks him what her next step should be
He doesn’t get pulled into the polemic between the Jews and the Samaritians

His answer is simple

“Believe me, woman, the hour is coming
when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
But the hour is coming, and is now here,
when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth;
and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.”

You can find God where ever you want
He tells her
Where you are there God is.

The conversation continues and she tells him that she hopes for the Messiah
She longs to understand “He will tell us everything”
And now after all of that preparation
He reveals himself to her
“I am he the one who is speaking to you”

Jesus gently shows her who she has become and reveals himself to her.

When the disciples returned they begged him to eat something
And he responded I have food about which you do not know
What was this food
When did he eat..
His food was loving that woman at the well
His food was building up a relationship with her
His food was restoring her to hope

So moved by his compassion and his interest in her
she does not just go back to her daily life or keep thinking of her own needs

She goes back to her village, her people and she brings them to him
How did she get them there to walk out to the well ?
She must have begged them
She must have pleaded with them
She must have cajoled them,
Somehow she shook them out of their daily routine

Like he had done for her
They all came

And after a few days they also believed
No longer because of what she had said but
Because they too had met him.

You know it seems like a simple story at first glance
It seems like normal moment in a normal day
A thirsty tired man asks for some water
Yet it is so much more

God is always looking for a way in.
Every single soul is precious in his sight
He is never scandalized by our wrongs
He really does long for us to have life, life to the full in Him

The characters in this Gospel are simple
God who loves
Broken humanity who dares to hope in that love again
And once healed brings others to it

All of us go to the well
All of us go through life doing the things we have to do
Some are tedious and monotonous like drawing water
Study
Laundry
Cleaning your room (Some of you don’t do that too offen)
Going to class

At different times in our lives
All of need to be forgiven
Actually almost all of us need to be forgiven constantly

Do we ever look at who we have become
Or What compromises we have made

Hope needs restored
No matter what our sins might be.
Will we, do we, dare to hope again
Do we dare to believe in God love

When God revealed himself to the woman
She was so much in awe that she brought others to him

Who have we brought to God
Who have we helped accept the mercy and forgiveness that God so longs to give

Where should we pray on this mountain or in Jerusalem

“You can find God anywhere”
Where you are there he is….

Most of the time He finds you..
ask the woman at the well

2nd Sunday of Lent Year B - 2009

At first glance the first reading doesn’t make sense.
God commands Abraham to sacrifice his son, his beloved son.

God obviously knew how the story would end so the test was not for His benefit.

That means that the test had to be for Abraham’s benefit. Abraham had to understand that you could not go wrong trusting and obeying God.

Abraham had come a long way… there were moments his his past where he had doubted God and God’s will.

Now God was asking him for the ultimate test.
God was asking him for radical abandonment.
God was asking him to sacrifice his son.

In the second reading from the Letter to the Romans.
Paul reminds us that God is for us and that nothing else or no one else can be against us.

And the proof of this incredible truth can be found in the fact that God did not spare His Son.

God who is all good all loving all just… did not rewrite the rules for Himself.

Humanity owed a debt to justice a debt to goodness.

And since we couldn’t pay it because He loved us God, paid it for us

He paid our debt with the blood of his Son on the cross.

radical abandonment.

In the Gospel Jesus had just told his disciples that he will be rejected by the elders, suffer terribly and be killed.

This was exactly the opposite of what the Disciples hoped would happened.

They had hoped that Jesus would become the leader of the people.

The had hoped that he would be respected by all and help rid Israel of the Romans.

It was very difficult for them to let go of their dreams… like it was difficult for Abraham to consider sacrificing his son.

Like it was difficult for God to pay the price of our sins with the blood of his Son.

The disciples hearts were so hardened.
It was so hard was it for them to let go of their preconceived dreams that Jesus had to take desperate measures.

He had to take them up on a mountain top and reveal His glory to them so that they would not loose hope.

Only with a lot of effort and time were they finally able to embrace the way that God intended to save humanity…. with sacrificial love of His Son.

Radical abandonment Abraham tied up his son and was about to kill him.

Radical abandonment God did not spare his Son

Radical abandonment Jesus would have to suffer and give his life for our salvation.

Radical abandonment the disciples would have to let go of their dreams of grandeur and also embrace the road to the cross.

Abraham finally was able to trust God enough… to Love God enough… to sacrifice is Son.

Perfect love, God’s love enabled God to surrender even the life of His Son for our salvation

Jesus loved us so much he was able to die for us. It wasn’t easy don’t for get the garden of Gethsemane.

The disciples loved Jesus enough that they would eventually also surrender their lives rather than renounce their faith in him.

The readings today all point to one common theme.

Love is all about surrendering.
Radical abandonment

When I say I love you I am also saying I surrender myself I abandon myself to you… even my desires, my dreams, my hope, my plans… and even my life if you need it.

A long time ago a Dad whose Son was in big trouble said to me… “I’m not happy now but I love him so much still I would step in front of a train for him and thank him for the privilege of doing it “

I have repeated that over and over again.

Love is not a sentiment.
Love is not just a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Love means letting go and it means letting our lives to drop from our hands.

Love means radical abandonment..

If radical abandonment had to be a part of Abraham’s Life and if God had to abandon his Son for our salvation.

And if Jesus had to radically abandon his life

And if the Disciples would eventually had to abandon their hopes and their dreams and their lives

And if all the Saints had to abandon their lives to God in faithful loving obedience to God’s will.

And if the martyrs had to surrender their lives.

Why or how do we somehow convince ourselves that radical abandonment does not have to be a part of our lives.

What keeps us from loving?
What do we have to let go of?
What do we have to surrender?

Love is not easy if we think it is we are not loving

Love is Radical abandonment that’s at least one of the many messages the Word of God calls us to reflect on today.

Amen

Photo found with google images Author: Azlin Ahmad

Pray as you go ....

I don't know if anyone is more hyper that me. I find it hard to just sit. I often say I only have two speeds fast forward and sleep... I enjoyed this little prayer time this morning maybe you will too.

I found this a long time ago then lost it... it found it's way back into my live via the website of the Diocese of Juneau Alaska... long story. Every morning the Irish Jesuits podcast a simple meditation on the Gospel of the day with music. It takes about 4 minutes... here is the link for today's meditation.. I found it most helpful in my spiritual life maybe you will. The main site's link is http://www.pray-as-you-go.org/

God Bless you all...

Ubuntu ?

Last year when we visited Kigoma Tanzania on a service trip. Bro. Stan a Brother of Charity spoke frankly about their need. He spoke about the need for books lots of them especially in areas like social work and nursing and education. He spoke about the need for computers and information systems that could connect Kigoma to Libraries and give the people there access to good professional journals.

He requested that we send them a shipping container filled with these essentials. I have to admit the project seems stalled. There is a committee and interest but we just can't seem to get beyond stage one. It is frustrating for me I am sure it is also frustrating for Bro. Stan.

I have to say though that we made just a little progress this weekend. CUA buys new computers every year. The hardware requirements of Windows just keep growing and sometimes a hard drive or a mother board or something goes bad. The university has give us access to all of the used computers some are in really good shape, and we have been trying to figure out how we could use them. We don't have the money to provide Microsoft liscenses for all of these machines but we have explored open source operating systems. These are programs that people work on together and provide free of charge. These last two days I have been "playing" perhaps "fighting" is a better word with Ubuntu it is a free linux based operating system with which runs Open Office a Microsoft Office clone. It is really stable and did I mention it is free and viruses are not really a big issue for linux based machines. This is huge because it brings us a small step closer to reconditioningthe best of those used computers and sending them to places that could really use them.

Right now I am typing this on a Intrepid Ibex machine (that the name for version (8.10 of Ubuntu)

We shall see.... If anyone one knows anything about Ubuntu and wants to help let me know.

Peace...