Monday, December 30, 2013
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Friday, December 20, 2013
Morning Connection: Friday
Today is Friday, December 20, 2013.
Good Morning.
A thought for
the day:
It is an incredible idea.
The Church’s
1reading for today: Isaiah chapter 7
verses 10-14
The LORD spoke to Ahaz:
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;
let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!
But Ahaz answered,
“I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!”
Then Isaiah said:
Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary men,
must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel.
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;
let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!
But Ahaz answered,
“I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!”
Then Isaiah said:
Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary men,
must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel.
***
Norman Vincent
Peale tells about two men who were standing on Fifth Avenue 57th Street New York City
The other man was more philosophical. Thoughtfully he countered, "You know, it’s astounding, the romance of it all. There was a baby born of peasant parents in a little out-of-the-way place halfway around the world from here. The parents had no money or social standing, yet two thousand years later that little baby creates a traffic jam onFifth Avenue
The other man was more philosophical. Thoughtfully he countered, "You know, it’s astounding, the romance of it all. There was a baby born of peasant parents in a little out-of-the-way place halfway around the world from here. The parents had no money or social standing, yet two thousand years later that little baby creates a traffic jam on
I agree. It
should fascinate us. A baby boy, born in an obscure village. His simple,
unassuming parents. And yet, around the world during this special season of the
year, millions of people are affected by his birth. Even non-believers are affected. The prophecy
of a man named Isaiah came true: the
virgin did conceive and she did bear a son and He is called Emmanuel (God with
us).
If you’re busy these days in December it’s because God has
kept His promise that a Messiah would be born for us. The celebration is all about Him (even IF
many forget that).
God bless,
Father Pat
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Morning Connection: Thursday
Today is Thursday,
December 19, 2013.
Good Morning.
A thought for the day:
We all long
for a savior.
The Church’s 1st reading for today: Judges chapter 13
verses 2-7, 24-25
There was a certain man from Zorah, of the clan
of the Danites,
whose name was Manoah.
His wife was barren and had borne no children.
An angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her,
“Though you are barren and have had no children,
yet you will conceive and bear a son.
Now, then, be careful to take no wine or strong drink
and to eat nothing unclean.
As for the son you will conceive and bear,
no razor shall touch his head,
for this boy is to be consecrated to God from the womb.
It is he who will begin the deliverance ofIsrael
from the power of the Philistines.”
The woman went and told her husband,
“A man of God came to me;
he had the appearance of an angel of God, terrible indeed.
I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name.
But he said to me,
‘You will be with child and will bear a son.
So take neither wine nor strong drink, and eat nothing unclean.
For the boy shall be consecrated to God from the womb,
until the day of his death.’”
The woman bore a son and named him Samson.
The boy grew up and the LORD blessed him;
the Spirit of the LORD stirred him.
whose name was Manoah.
His wife was barren and had borne no children.
An angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her,
“Though you are barren and have had no children,
yet you will conceive and bear a son.
Now, then, be careful to take no wine or strong drink
and to eat nothing unclean.
As for the son you will conceive and bear,
no razor shall touch his head,
for this boy is to be consecrated to God from the womb.
It is he who will begin the deliverance of
from the power of the Philistines.”
The woman went and told her husband,
“A man of God came to me;
he had the appearance of an angel of God, terrible indeed.
I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name.
But he said to me,
‘You will be with child and will bear a son.
So take neither wine nor strong drink, and eat nothing unclean.
For the boy shall be consecrated to God from the womb,
until the day of his death.’”
The woman bore a son and named him Samson.
The boy grew up and the LORD blessed him;
the Spirit of the LORD stirred him.
* * *
One of the
greatest icons of the 20th and 21st centuries is Superman. As youngsters, many
of us boys (and girls too, I’m sure) daydreamed about having super powers like
Superman. However, if you've followed any of the movies, cartoons, comics or TV
shows, you know that even with all his super powers, Superman and every other
Super Hero has personal problems. But that doesn't negate the fact that we can
learn some things from super heroes or the portrayal of super heroes such as
Superman.
I grew up reading comic books and
so did a lot of you. And we learned a lot about being a hero. While we may have
read a variety of other comics like The Hulk, Flash and Green Lantern, the holy
trinity of super heroes in my book was Superman, Batman and Spider-Man. And it
wasn't just the comics. Remember the 1950's TV series, The Adventures of
Superman, starring George Reeves. They had two different Lois Lanes but Jimmy
Olsen and Perry White, the editor, never changed.
"Faster
than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look! Up in the sky. It's a bird. It's a plane. It's
Superman!"
No doubt many may consider the
Biblical Samson as a hero of his time: a
man or great physical strength, trying to right the wrongs when evil would
raise its dastardly head. Was his power
in his hair? Hmmm. We’ll save that issue for another time. Was he a hero?
This Advent season cautions us to
direct our spiritual energies in search of the One blessed by God, the One in
whom the spirit of the Lord resides.
God bless,
Father Pat
Morning Connection:
Today is Wednesday,
December 18, 2013.
Good Morning.
A thought for the day:
God has
placed in us a home-ing instinct.
The Church’s 1st reading for today: Jeremiah chapter 23
verses 5-8
Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David;
As king he shall reign and govern wisely,
he shall do what is just and right in the land.
In his daysJudah
shall be saved,
Israel
This is the name they give him:
“The LORD our justice.”
Therefore, the days will come, says the LORD,
when they shall no longer say, “As the LORD lives,
who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt”;
but rather, "As the LORD lives,
who brought the descendants of the house of Israel
up from the land of the north”–
and from all the lands to which I banished them;
they shall again live on their own land.
when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David;
As king he shall reign and govern wisely,
he shall do what is just and right in the land.
In his days
This is the name they give him:
“The LORD our justice.”
Therefore, the days will come, says the LORD,
when they shall no longer say, “As the LORD lives,
who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt”;
but rather, "As the LORD lives,
who brought the descendants of the house of Israel
up from the land of the north”–
and from all the lands to which I banished them;
they shall again live on their own land.
* * *
At
Thanksgiving, perhaps more than during any other holiday, our thoughts turn
toward home. More people travel during this four-day weekend than during any
other time of the year - and the destination for the majority of them is ...
home. Our homing instincts seem to come alive at this celebration of
thanksgiving - but each year, it seems there is more to remind us of just how
fragile homes are becoming today.
One of the
reasons the TV sitcom "Home Improvement" was so popular is that
besides all the goofiness and sight gags provided by comedian Tim Allen,
viewers appreciated its realistic yet loving portrayal of a family.
Every family
could, more than likely, use “improvements”.
As we leave
Thanksgiving behind and Christmas approaches … give time to a few prayerful
thoughts about your own family. Anything
you
could possibly consider that might add more warmth and faith and spirit
to your coming celebration of Christmas?
It’s not up to “them” – it’s up to you.
You wanna know
a great, the best, Christmas gift? Love
your family.
God bless,
Father Pat
.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Morning Connection:
Today is Tuesday,
December 17, 2013
Good Morning.
A thought for the day:
Change your
mind – if you must.
The Church’s 1st reading for today: Genesis chapter 49
verses 2, 8-10
Jacob called his sons and said to them:
“Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob,
listen toIsrael
“You, Judah, shall your brothers praise
–your hand on the neck of your enemies;
the sons of your father shall bow down to you.
Judah
you have grown up on prey, my son.
He crouches like a lion recumbent,
the king of beasts–who would dare rouse him?
The scepter shall never depart fromJudah
or the mace from between his legs,
While tribute is brought to him,
and he receives the people’s homage.”
“Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob,
listen to
“You, Judah, shall your brothers praise
–your hand on the neck of your enemies;
the sons of your father shall bow down to you.
you have grown up on prey, my son.
He crouches like a lion recumbent,
the king of beasts–who would dare rouse him?
The scepter shall never depart from
or the mace from between his legs,
While tribute is brought to him,
and he receives the people’s homage.”
* * *
Winston
Churchill once received an invitation to attend the opening performance of
George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion. Shaw wired him: "Am
reserving two tickets for you for my premiere. Come and bring a friend -- if
you have one." Churchill wired back: "Impossible to be present for
the first performance. Will attend the second -- if there is one."
There’s always
hope.
This seems to
be the very same theme coming through our Scripture passage for today: despite our selfish ways we are still
redeemable – there is hope. If we listen
to the words our God speaks to us – and we live them: there is hope.
We all know
families which have been severely fractured in their internal
relationships. Stubbornness, perhaps
pride, dims the possibility of the family coming together as one – again. The same happens within God’s family as
well. Some choose to go their own way,
pulling the weak along with them while others know that their relationship with
their Creator must endure through every difficulty – even at the cost of great
personal sacrifice.
Every time you
and I give thought to God: there is
hope.
Every time you
and I reach out to someone we have allowed to slip beyond us: there hope.
God bless,
Father Pat
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Daily Connection
Today is Monday, December 16, 2013.
The Third week of Advent.
Good Morning.
A thought for the day:
Star of wonder, star of night.
The Church’s 1st reading for today: Numbers chapter 24 verses 2-7; 15-17
When Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel encamped, tribe by tribe,
the spirit of God came upon him,
and he gave voice to his oracle:
The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor,
the utterance of a man whose eye is true,
The utterance of one who hears what God says,
and knows what the Most High knows,
Of one who sees what the Almighty sees,
enraptured, and with eyes unveiled:
How goodly are your tents, O Jacob;
your encampments, O Israel!
They are like gardens beside a stream,
like the cedars planted by the LORD.
His wells shall yield free-flowing waters,
he shall have the sea within reach;
His king shall rise higher,
and his royalty shall be exalted.
Then Balaam gave voice to his oracle:
The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor,
the utterance of the man whose eye is true,
The utterance of one who hears what God says,
and knows what the Most High knows,
Of one who sees what the Almighty sees,
enraptured, and with eyes unveiled.
I see him, though not now;
I behold him, though not near:
A star shall advance from Jacob,
and a staff shall rise from Israel.
* * *
In 1977 teenagers all over America walked into movie theatres to watch a movie that was virtually unknown. The director was unknown, the characters were unknown, the soundtrack was unknown, the robots were unknown. The name of the movie was Star Wars. It was not expected to be the biggest grossing movie of all times (back then).
It's hard to believe that was 37 years ago. But even then some of us could read the handwriting on the wall. It was more grand than anything else we had ever seen. For the next two months in that year of '77, the word spread and we couldn't get enough.
Our Scripture this morning speaks of another star which will advance in the sky and point all of mankind in the direction of the Messiah. This is the Season of the year in which we celebrate the coming of the Messiah made known to us by that shining star. Each and every Christmas we celebrate the purpose of that star: to let us know that the Christ is born for us.
In our preparation for the visit of Santa may we leave some space in our lives to worship the One given to us by God Himself. Made known to us by a star.
God bless,
Father Pat
Saturday, December 14, 2013
You'll never, never guess!
Apparently there is a yearly calandar published in Rome, Italy. I think mostly for tourists (I have my doubts. haha). Anyway, this years calendar features three Italian priests, pictured. in what is now being called the "Roman Beefcake Calendar".
Get the stamps out:
HOW TO SEND A CHRISTMAS CARD TO POPE FRANCIS
BY
Yes, you can send a Christmas card to the Pope!
I know, it’s not exactly earth-shattering news, but most people (e.g. me, five minutes ago) have never considered the possibility that they can send personal mail directly to the successor of St. Peter.
And this time of year, what better way to exercise your newly discovered ability to mail something to the Pope than to send him a beautiful, personalized Christmas card?
Since I’m starting to sound like an advertisement, I’ll just cut to the chase.
Send your Christmas card to this address:
Pope FrancisDomus Sanctae Marthae00120 Vatican City State
And don’t forget the retired people this Christmas:
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVIMater Ecclesiae monastery00120 Vatican City State
Kudos to Father Flynn:
Florida Priest Named Head Of USCCB Divine Worship Secretariat
December 13, 2013
WASHINGTON—Father Michael J. Flynn, 57, a priest of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida, and associate professor of theology at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, has been named executive director of the Secretariat for Divine Worship of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).He succeeds Msgr. Richard Hilgartner, who joined the USCCB in September 2007, and is returning to the Archdiocese of Baltimore in June 2014. Father Flynn’s appointment becomes effective June 30.
Father Flynn holds a licentiate in theology from The Catholic University of America; a master of divinity degree from Notre Dame Seminary, New Orleans; and a bachelor’s degree in music from Florida State University. He also completed an intensive German language immersion program at Goethe-Institut, Murnau, Bavaria, Germany. He was ordained a priest in 1994.
Father Flynn also has served on the faculty of St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida. In the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee he was pastor at Resurrection Catholic Church in Miramar Beach, 2003-2007. He had previous assignments as parochial vicar in Pensacola and Tallahassee, where he also worked in campus ministry at Florida State University and the University of West Florida. He is a native of Birmingham, Alabama.
Msgr. Ronny Jenkins, USCCB general secretary, named Father Flynn to the position and thanked Bishop Gregory Parkes of Pensacola-Tallahassee for allowing Father Flynn to work at the USCCB. He also thanked Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans and Father James Wehner, president-rector of Notre Dame Seminary, for giving up a valued faculty member.
“The Divine Worship secretariat carries serious responsibility in assisting both the bishops’ conference and also ultimately the more than 17,000 parishes nationwide,” Msgr. Jenkins said. “The executive director of the office oversees liturgical celebrations of the bishops at national meetings, publication of liturgical books used in parishes all across the country, and statements addressed by the bishops on liturgical matters.”
Msgr. Jenkins thanked Msgr. Hilgartner for his competent service, especially in overseeing implementation of the recent translation of the Roman Missal. “Leading a nationwide educational and implementation effort on this sensitive, international matter called for skills in everything from negotiation across an ocean to instructional workshops nationwide. Msgr. Hilgartner accomplished the task with clarity, graciousness and humor,” he said.
Pope Francis' Christmas Message
( Latin ) ... The true light which enlightens everyone ... John 1:9
.
.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Morning Connection
Today is Friday, December 13, 2012.
The feast of St. Lucy
Good Morning.
A thought for the day:
The truth is, for many folks, obedience is an ugly word.
The Church’s 1st reading for today: Isaiah chapter 48 verses 17-19
Thus says the LORD, your redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel:
I, the LORD, your God,
teach you what is for your good,
and lead you on the way you should go.
If you would hearken to my commandments,
your prosperity would be like a river,
and your vindication like the waves of the sea;
Your descendants would be like the sand,
and those born of your stock like its grains,
Their name never cut off
or blotted out from my presence.
* * *
A man, bragging on his dog, said, "he's a fine dog. He's so smart, and obedient, too. Why, all I have to do is tell him what to do and he either does it, or he doesn't!" Whether God’s word succeeds or fails hinges on our acceptance or rejection of the word "obedience”. Obedience implies that we are not independent, that we are accountable to another, that we do have someone over us, that there is higher authority than ourselves.
In a world where we are taught that it is our "right" to do "our own thing", "be our own person", do it because it "feels good" - we find that God expects us to lay all that aside and obey Him! Just how radical can you be? But that’s exactly what the Prophet Isaiah calls us to do: “hearken to my commandments” he says to us as he speaks for God.
Naturally we all conform to others when we must. We won't speed too much above the limit posted lest we get caught and have to pay a fine; we won't lie, steal, and cheat unless we think we can get by with it. But give us a chance and we give ourselves permission to do as we please.
God expects more from us. And why shouldn’t He.
God bless,
Father Pat
The feast of St. Lucy
Good Morning.
A thought for the day:
The truth is, for many folks, obedience is an ugly word.
The Church’s 1st reading for today: Isaiah chapter 48 verses 17-19
Thus says the LORD, your redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel:
I, the LORD, your God,
teach you what is for your good,
and lead you on the way you should go.
If you would hearken to my commandments,
your prosperity would be like a river,
and your vindication like the waves of the sea;
Your descendants would be like the sand,
and those born of your stock like its grains,
Their name never cut off
or blotted out from my presence.
* * *
A man, bragging on his dog, said, "he's a fine dog. He's so smart, and obedient, too. Why, all I have to do is tell him what to do and he either does it, or he doesn't!" Whether God’s word succeeds or fails hinges on our acceptance or rejection of the word "obedience”. Obedience implies that we are not independent, that we are accountable to another, that we do have someone over us, that there is higher authority than ourselves.
In a world where we are taught that it is our "right" to do "our own thing", "be our own person", do it because it "feels good" - we find that God expects us to lay all that aside and obey Him! Just how radical can you be? But that’s exactly what the Prophet Isaiah calls us to do: “hearken to my commandments” he says to us as he speaks for God.
Naturally we all conform to others when we must. We won't speed too much above the limit posted lest we get caught and have to pay a fine; we won't lie, steal, and cheat unless we think we can get by with it. But give us a chance and we give ourselves permission to do as we please.
God expects more from us. And why shouldn’t He.
God bless,
Father Pat
Thursday, December 12, 2013
A Grand Woman:
The video below is about 25 yrs old and Sister Thea, who gave this talk while being treated for cancer, returned to her Heavenly Father long yrs ago. But her words give sparkle to Pope Francis' letter: Evangelii Gaudium....
.
.
Happy feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe: Patroness of the Americas.
I have had the honor of traveling to Guadalupe, celebrating Mass in their magnificent Cathedral, and viewing first hand the tilma on which the image of the Virgin Mary appears.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Morning Connection
Today is Thursday, December 12, 2013.
Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Good Morning.
A thought for the day:
Respect God ... but don't be afraid of Him … He loves you.
The Church’s 1st reading:
Isaiah chapter 41 verses 13-20:
For I am the LORD, your God, who grasp your right hand; It is I who say to you, Do not fear, I will help you. Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you maggot Israel;
I will help you—oracle of the LORD; the Holy One of Israel is your redeemer.*
I will make of you a threshing sledge, sharp, new, full of teeth, To thresh the mountains and crush them, to make the hills like chaff. When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them off, the storm shall scatter them.
But you shall rejoice in the LORD; in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.
The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain, their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open up rivers on the bare heights and fountains in the broad valleys; I will turn the wilderness into a marshland, and the dry ground into springs of water. In the wilderness I will plant the cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive; in the wasteland I will set the cypress, together with the plane tree and the pine, that all may see and know, observe and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.
* * *
So I told big bully Billy Button that I was not afraid of him when he cornered me on the playground at school. But I was. Afraid of him, that is. But either I hid it well, or he had bigger fish to fry that day ... meaning that I escaped a beating by my bluffing (something that has served me well on any number of occasions, since). "Don't let them see or smell your fear," they told me ... with reference to both animals and enemies. So I didn't. Still don't.
But I have them. Fears, that is. As do you. They may change with the years. Even lessen with the years. But none of us lives fear-free. Monsters under the bed become monsters in the bed ... whether it be the marital bed, the hospital bed, the death bed, or the bed your mother told you about when she said: "You made it; you go lie in it
Fear comes naturally to us all.
Fear (in and of itself) blocks intimacy. If we are afraid of something (or someone), we don't get close to it (or them). Instead, we withdraw. Start simple. Start with stoves. When we are little, we are told to avoid them. Why? Because they're hot, that's why. They could burn us, blister us, ruin our tender little skin. Then one day we touch the stove at the wrong time, in the wrong place (like the burner), and we learn a lesson. Leading us to shun stoves, for safety's sake. But if we dwell in that fear forever, we will never cook. And maybe never eat. We will never learn the art of baking a wonderful bread or stirring a wonderful sauce. Instead, we will live (eternally) in a land of cold cuts and Hostess Twinkies. Either that, or we will spend a fortune eating out.
Obviously, we have to learn that the stove is our friend. And how do we do that? By converting fear to respect, that's how. We take a painful lesson and let it teach us. Don't touch here. Don't touch now. Don't touch without the protection of a potholder. But do touch. Because nobody ever cooked a wonderful meal on the stove by keeping at arm's length from the stove.
Fear ... no. Respect ... yes. It's the difference between being a gourmet and a Twinkie junkie.
God bless,
Father Pat
Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Good Morning.
A thought for the day:
Respect God ... but don't be afraid of Him … He loves you.
The Church’s 1st reading:
Isaiah chapter 41 verses 13-20:
For I am the LORD, your God, who grasp your right hand; It is I who say to you, Do not fear, I will help you. Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you maggot Israel;
I will help you—oracle of the LORD; the Holy One of Israel is your redeemer.*
I will make of you a threshing sledge, sharp, new, full of teeth, To thresh the mountains and crush them, to make the hills like chaff. When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them off, the storm shall scatter them.
But you shall rejoice in the LORD; in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.
The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain, their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open up rivers on the bare heights and fountains in the broad valleys; I will turn the wilderness into a marshland, and the dry ground into springs of water. In the wilderness I will plant the cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive; in the wasteland I will set the cypress, together with the plane tree and the pine, that all may see and know, observe and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.
* * *
So I told big bully Billy Button that I was not afraid of him when he cornered me on the playground at school. But I was. Afraid of him, that is. But either I hid it well, or he had bigger fish to fry that day ... meaning that I escaped a beating by my bluffing (something that has served me well on any number of occasions, since). "Don't let them see or smell your fear," they told me ... with reference to both animals and enemies. So I didn't. Still don't.
But I have them. Fears, that is. As do you. They may change with the years. Even lessen with the years. But none of us lives fear-free. Monsters under the bed become monsters in the bed ... whether it be the marital bed, the hospital bed, the death bed, or the bed your mother told you about when she said: "You made it; you go lie in it
Fear comes naturally to us all.
Fear (in and of itself) blocks intimacy. If we are afraid of something (or someone), we don't get close to it (or them). Instead, we withdraw. Start simple. Start with stoves. When we are little, we are told to avoid them. Why? Because they're hot, that's why. They could burn us, blister us, ruin our tender little skin. Then one day we touch the stove at the wrong time, in the wrong place (like the burner), and we learn a lesson. Leading us to shun stoves, for safety's sake. But if we dwell in that fear forever, we will never cook. And maybe never eat. We will never learn the art of baking a wonderful bread or stirring a wonderful sauce. Instead, we will live (eternally) in a land of cold cuts and Hostess Twinkies. Either that, or we will spend a fortune eating out.
Obviously, we have to learn that the stove is our friend. And how do we do that? By converting fear to respect, that's how. We take a painful lesson and let it teach us. Don't touch here. Don't touch now. Don't touch without the protection of a potholder. But do touch. Because nobody ever cooked a wonderful meal on the stove by keeping at arm's length from the stove.
Fear ... no. Respect ... yes. It's the difference between being a gourmet and a Twinkie junkie.
God bless,
Father Pat
Wednesday Morning Connection
Today is Wednesday, December 11, 2013.
Good Morning.
A thought for the day:
God comes to us and bears our pain.
The Church’s 1st reading for today:
Isaiah chapter 40 verses 25-31
To whom can you liken me as an equal?
says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high
and see who has created these things:
He leads out their army and numbers them,
calling them all by name.
By his great might and the strength of his power
not one of them is missing!
Why, O Jacob, do you say,
and declare, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
Do you not know
or have you not heard?
The LORD is the eternal God,
creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint nor grow weary,
and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny.
He gives strength to the fainting;
for the weak he makes vigor abound.
Though young men faint and grow weary,
and youths stagger and fall,
They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength,
they will soar as with eagles’ wings;
They will run and not grow weary,
walk and not grow faint.
* * *
When Alexander McClaren was fifteen years old, he was sent to work in order to earn his way to college and to find resources for his family.
His father walked him to work the first day and they went by a ravine in which people said that there were evil spirits lurking there, and anyone who walked through the ravine would be invested with those evil spirits. When Alexander McClaren got to his job, he realized that at the end of the day he would have to go back through that ravine on his way home.
It worried him throughout the day, distracting his thoughts.. He got to the edge of the ravine and he could not do it! Then suddenly he heard a voice, and the voice said, "Alex, it's your Dad. I've come to walk through the ravine with you!"
And that is what God says to each of us as we face an uncertain future, as we face problems in our home, family struggles, uncertainties with our health, as we face sickness and even death: "I've come to walk through the ravine with you!"
Our God does not grow weary as the Scripture this morning says. Our God is always with us even when we might not feel His presence.
God bless,
Father Pat
Good Morning.
A thought for the day:
God comes to us and bears our pain.
The Church’s 1st reading for today:
Isaiah chapter 40 verses 25-31
To whom can you liken me as an equal?
says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high
and see who has created these things:
He leads out their army and numbers them,
calling them all by name.
By his great might and the strength of his power
not one of them is missing!
Why, O Jacob, do you say,
and declare, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
Do you not know
or have you not heard?
The LORD is the eternal God,
creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint nor grow weary,
and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny.
He gives strength to the fainting;
for the weak he makes vigor abound.
Though young men faint and grow weary,
and youths stagger and fall,
They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength,
they will soar as with eagles’ wings;
They will run and not grow weary,
walk and not grow faint.
* * *
When Alexander McClaren was fifteen years old, he was sent to work in order to earn his way to college and to find resources for his family.
His father walked him to work the first day and they went by a ravine in which people said that there were evil spirits lurking there, and anyone who walked through the ravine would be invested with those evil spirits. When Alexander McClaren got to his job, he realized that at the end of the day he would have to go back through that ravine on his way home.
It worried him throughout the day, distracting his thoughts.. He got to the edge of the ravine and he could not do it! Then suddenly he heard a voice, and the voice said, "Alex, it's your Dad. I've come to walk through the ravine with you!"
And that is what God says to each of us as we face an uncertain future, as we face problems in our home, family struggles, uncertainties with our health, as we face sickness and even death: "I've come to walk through the ravine with you!"
Our God does not grow weary as the Scripture this morning says. Our God is always with us even when we might not feel His presence.
God bless,
Father Pat
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Father Louis, ocso
45 years ago today, Trappist monk, Thomas Merton died in a tragic accident. In the 60's I had the privilege of meeting him at his Abbey in Gethsemane, KY
.
.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Morning Connection:
Today is Tuesday, December 10, 2013.
Good Morning.
A thought for the day:
The glory of God will be revealed for all to see.
The Church’s 1st reading:
Isaiah chapter 40 verses 1-11
Comfort, give comfort to my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
that her service is at an end,
her guilt is expiated;
Indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD
double for all her sins.
A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill shall be made low;
The rugged land shall be made a plain,
the rough country, a broad valley.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
A voice says, “Cry out!”
I answer, “What shall I cry out?”
“All flesh is grass,
and all their glory like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower wilts,
when the breath of the LORD blows upon it.
So then, the people is the grass.
Though the grass withers and the flower wilts,
the word of our God stands forever.”
Go up onto a high mountain,
Zion, herald of glad tidings;
Cry out at the top of your voice,
Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Fear not to cry out
and say to the cities of Judah:
Here is your God!
Here comes with power
the Lord GOD,
who rules by his strong arm;
Here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
Carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care.
* * *
"Comfort! Give comfort to my people, says your God." How wonderful those words sound to us. How many times we feel the need for comfort. How often we need an assuring and tender word to ease the hurt we feel. Every year about this time we hear those wonderful prophetic words sung in Handel's Messiah, or read in our churches.
They were written for a people for whom things had gone terribly wrong.
We all remember that time when hostages were being held somewhere in Lebanon. Some of them had been there for several years. Occasional pictures would be sent out by their captors to let the world know they were still alive and to keep the hurt festering. How our hearts ached for those men and for their families who longed to have them home again. We remember the feeling. How we and they needed the comfort that could only come by their release and return.
Comfort, in an old and largely obsolete definition, means "to make one strong". That certainly has more meaning here than the ease and relaxation that we might better describe as "comfy."
To be strong to bear one's burdens doesn't sound like much of a miracle. Comfort doesn't mean the situation will become easy. The alcoholic will still have to take it one day at a time. Living the rest of our lives without a loved one who has died will not be easy. Coping with a disability, bearing pain, loving someone who is hard to love are all difficult to do. They require strength often beyond our limits. But there is reassurance - tender reassurance.
Here we are in the season of Advent preparing for Christmas. We can just decorate the exterior and cover up what is underneath, or we can make some substantive changes that will smooth the way for the God-presence to come into our lives in a special way this year. We can take a venture of faith and discover the inner strength that is true comfort in the midst of whatever distress or turmoil we may find ourselves. And we may find to our surprise that the God who chose to become known in the Child of Bethlehem will choose to be born anew in our hearts and minds.
God bless,
Father Pat
.
Good Morning.
A thought for the day:
The glory of God will be revealed for all to see.
The Church’s 1st reading:
Isaiah chapter 40 verses 1-11
Comfort, give comfort to my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
that her service is at an end,
her guilt is expiated;
Indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD
double for all her sins.
A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill shall be made low;
The rugged land shall be made a plain,
the rough country, a broad valley.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
A voice says, “Cry out!”
I answer, “What shall I cry out?”
“All flesh is grass,
and all their glory like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower wilts,
when the breath of the LORD blows upon it.
So then, the people is the grass.
Though the grass withers and the flower wilts,
the word of our God stands forever.”
Go up onto a high mountain,
Zion, herald of glad tidings;
Cry out at the top of your voice,
Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Fear not to cry out
and say to the cities of Judah:
Here is your God!
Here comes with power
the Lord GOD,
who rules by his strong arm;
Here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
Carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care.
* * *
"Comfort! Give comfort to my people, says your God." How wonderful those words sound to us. How many times we feel the need for comfort. How often we need an assuring and tender word to ease the hurt we feel. Every year about this time we hear those wonderful prophetic words sung in Handel's Messiah, or read in our churches.
They were written for a people for whom things had gone terribly wrong.
We all remember that time when hostages were being held somewhere in Lebanon. Some of them had been there for several years. Occasional pictures would be sent out by their captors to let the world know they were still alive and to keep the hurt festering. How our hearts ached for those men and for their families who longed to have them home again. We remember the feeling. How we and they needed the comfort that could only come by their release and return.
Comfort, in an old and largely obsolete definition, means "to make one strong". That certainly has more meaning here than the ease and relaxation that we might better describe as "comfy."
To be strong to bear one's burdens doesn't sound like much of a miracle. Comfort doesn't mean the situation will become easy. The alcoholic will still have to take it one day at a time. Living the rest of our lives without a loved one who has died will not be easy. Coping with a disability, bearing pain, loving someone who is hard to love are all difficult to do. They require strength often beyond our limits. But there is reassurance - tender reassurance.
Here we are in the season of Advent preparing for Christmas. We can just decorate the exterior and cover up what is underneath, or we can make some substantive changes that will smooth the way for the God-presence to come into our lives in a special way this year. We can take a venture of faith and discover the inner strength that is true comfort in the midst of whatever distress or turmoil we may find ourselves. And we may find to our surprise that the God who chose to become known in the Child of Bethlehem will choose to be born anew in our hearts and minds.
God bless,
Father Pat
.
Special remembrance today at Mass:
.
This is the patronal feast of the United States. In other countries such feasts are often holidays, causes of national celebration, processionse- and yet, this feast of our nation goes virtually unnoticed by most Catholics. It is not mentioned in our pocket calendars.
And yet, this feast seems singularly appropriate for our country, which is the home of a "whatever" indifference to the beauty of innocence. Of course, that is only a veneer indifference. We as a nation are haunted by the "virgin wilderness" many of our ancestors discovered on this continent. We have been torn to pieces because of issues surrounding violation of the sexual innocence of children. And yet, we live in a world which is also cynically convinced that no such thing really exists, and we are preyed upon by those who profit from the destruction of innocence in the media.
Our "Pilgrim Fathers" rejoiced that a fresh start could be had on this continent, the "New Jerusalem." And yet there is only one New Jerusalem, and her name is Mary. There is only one fresh start given humanity, and that is the fresh start prepared by the Trinity before time began, that which was triggered when Mary said "yes" to God's will for her. Only she, untainted by any stain of sin, could give that wholehearted "yes" which incarnate in her Son won our salvation. Mary is the only true "wilderness area." Let us revere the awesome beauty of this holy, innocent, sinless - spotless - virgin yet most fruitful territory, and rejoice in the hope she offers us in God's fathomless generosity and mercy toward us fallen creatures.
Raymond Gawronski, S.J.
Monday Morning Connection:
Today is Monday, December 9, 2013
This is also the (moved) feast of the Immaculate Conception of The Virgin Mary.
Good Morning.
A thought for the day:
“Evil gets at us by appealing to legitimate drives within us .”
The Church’s 1st reading for today: Genesis chapter 3 verses 9-15
After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree,
the LORD God called to the man and asked him, “Where are you?”
He answered, “I heard you in the garden;
but I was afraid, because I was naked,
so I hid myself.”
Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked?
You have eaten, then,
from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!”
The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me
she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.”
The LORD God then asked the woman,
“Why did you do such a thing?”
The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”
Then the LORD God said to the serpent:
“Because you have done this, you shall be banned
from all the animals
and from all the wild creatures;
on your belly shall you crawl,
and dirt shall you eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike at your head,
while you strike at his heel.”
The man called his wife Eve,
because she became the mother of all the living.
* * * *
As Adam and his sons, Cain and Abel, were walking one day, they passed the beautiful Garden of Eden. Just to pass by was an experience. Adam knew what was inside those beautiful gates -- the lush fruit, the gorgeous flowers -- it was a place of endless delight.
An angel with a flaming sword was guarding the gate. Adam said, "Boys, take a good look. That's where we lived before your mother and I ate us out of house and home."
In the words of Paul Harvey, "that's the rest of the story."
Adam and Eve’s behavior had repercussions not just for themselves but for their sons as well. You and I, our behaviors affect others too. As we journey toward Christmas, let us examine our lives, our actions, yes, our thoughts and words as well, that we might celebrate Christ with endless delight.
God bless,
Father Pat
ps… because of the problems with my internet service, for the time being I will be posting my morning connection also on my blog: www.fatherpatspage.blogspot.com
This is also the (moved) feast of the Immaculate Conception of The Virgin Mary.
Good Morning.
A thought for the day:
“Evil gets at us by appealing to legitimate drives within us .”
The Church’s 1st reading for today: Genesis chapter 3 verses 9-15
After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree,
the LORD God called to the man and asked him, “Where are you?”
He answered, “I heard you in the garden;
but I was afraid, because I was naked,
so I hid myself.”
Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked?
You have eaten, then,
from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!”
The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me
she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.”
The LORD God then asked the woman,
“Why did you do such a thing?”
The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”
Then the LORD God said to the serpent:
“Because you have done this, you shall be banned
from all the animals
and from all the wild creatures;
on your belly shall you crawl,
and dirt shall you eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike at your head,
while you strike at his heel.”
The man called his wife Eve,
because she became the mother of all the living.
* * * *
As Adam and his sons, Cain and Abel, were walking one day, they passed the beautiful Garden of Eden. Just to pass by was an experience. Adam knew what was inside those beautiful gates -- the lush fruit, the gorgeous flowers -- it was a place of endless delight.
An angel with a flaming sword was guarding the gate. Adam said, "Boys, take a good look. That's where we lived before your mother and I ate us out of house and home."
In the words of Paul Harvey, "that's the rest of the story."
Adam and Eve’s behavior had repercussions not just for themselves but for their sons as well. You and I, our behaviors affect others too. As we journey toward Christmas, let us examine our lives, our actions, yes, our thoughts and words as well, that we might celebrate Christ with endless delight.
God bless,
Father Pat
ps… because of the problems with my internet service, for the time being I will be posting my morning connection also on my blog: www.fatherpatspage.blogspot.com
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Advent morning of prayer for some of our permanent Deacons and their wives:
Bishop Gregory Parkes leads the men and women on this special morning of prayer:
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Sunday, December 1, 2013
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