Christmas Past ...

Happy February ... its time to return to the opportunity of Grace

Coming Soon:  Morning meditations.

...beginning your day with the Word and a few thoughts coming from this author.

God bless

In today's 1st Scripture reading we read these words:

...for this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue,

virtue with knowledge,

knowledge with self-control,

self-control with endurance,

endurance with devotion,

devotion with mutual affection,

mutual affection with love..."          (2 Peter 1:2-7)

“Make sure that what you do elevates or encourages, and doesn’t tear down.”  Martha Williamson was given that advice by her father when she told him she wanted to become a TV producer and writer.  She took those words to heart when working on her shows Touched by an Angel and her new Hallmark Channel series Signed, Sealed, Delivered about postal workers who track down the recipients of long-lost mail. 

Williamson incorporates her father’s virtues into her stories whenever possible.  She notes that he was born in 1901, always remained a gentleman, and conveyed a lot of wisdom to her.  She thought of him when writing a recent storyline about a young postal worker who befriends a lonely, elderly woman at a retirement home.  The goal was to share a message about how we as a society treat our elders. 

Williamson said on Christopher Closeup, “Because my father was so much older, I not only spent time with him as an elderly person, but with his friends. The greatest mistake we can make is to discount the power of what those folks have to offer.”

Love, devotion, endurance, affection ... apply to our behaviors with everyone no matter who they are, no matter their age, no matter their walk in life, no matter our personal feelings about them.

In You alone, God, I place my trust -- from today's Responsorial Psalm

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"When will You comfort me, Lord."   ...   Psalm 119:82
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Members of a college basketball team from Wisconsin were so amazed at the heroism of a nine-year-old boy who lost his life in a fire in upstate New York that they undertook an eight-hour bus trip to attend his funeral—and moved the boy’s family to tears. Tyler Doohan, a fourth-grader, was asleep when fire broke out in his grandfather’s home near Rochester, New York.  After saving six people he went back into the blaze to attempt to rescue two others, and succumbed to the flames.
         The team at Silver Lake College in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, (sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity), inspired by Tyler’s heroism, attended the funeral with the family’s approval, and met the boy’s mother and father.
         “How did it make you feel to put a smile for a few minutes on the faces of a family going through the worst day of their lives?” asked Coach Phil Budervik on the ride back. “One of the players said, ‘It was the best feeling in the world to do that.’ That’s when I knew we had done the absolute right thing. We helped a family and paid our respects to a true hero.”

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"You, Lord, give light to my lamp..."   Psalm 18:29

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Psychiatrist and author Elisabeth Kübler-Ross was known for her book On Death and Dying and for developing the five stages of grief. But she also offered many insights about living, not just dying.  Here are just a few:

■ “The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”

■ “There is within each one of us a potential for goodness beyond our imagining; for giving which seeks no reward; for listening without judgment; for loving unconditionally.”

■ “People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.”

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Scripture verse for today:
     "Oh that I were in the months past   ...   and my children we        round about me."
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“Hurry!” Matt Archbold told his wife and five kids.  “We’ve got to get on the road so we can sit in traffic.” 

And sit in traffic they did during the family’s road trip to Boston.  To test Archbold’s patience even more, the kids spent most of the ride noisily arguing, laughing, and yelling at each other while playing a game called Robot Apocalypse.

After finally arriving in Boston, the family did some sightseeing and Archbold found himself engaged in conversation with an elderly man who saw his abundance of kids. “My wife and I had seven,” he told Archbold. “Enjoy them. Treasure every moment. It used to be I couldn’t wait until I had some quiet in the house. And now quiet’s all I got. I miss the noise.”

That observation left an impression on Archbold. He wrote, “The next day the kids, my wife, and I got back into the van to go home. We took our time, sang, giggled, and snorted the whole way…It was a great long trip. When I parked the van in our driveway, I sat a moment and thanked God for the noise.”

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Lord, help me to love my family.

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Monday:  January 11
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Scripture verse for today:
.... "In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus."       I Thessalonians  5:18
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During his high school years, comedian Tim Conway suffered a back injury during a football game that left him unable to talk or move.  When he couldn’t stand up, his team members carried him off the field.  A doctor took an X-ray, found nothing broken, and put him in a neck brace for a few weeks.

Many years later, Conway visited a doctor due to back spasms.  As he writes in his memoir What’s So Funny, he was shocked when the doctor told him his “spasms were a residual effect stemming from a broken vertebra.”  Conway insisted he’d never broken a vertebra, then recalled the football incident. 

The doctor explained that he’d likely broken his vertebra, but when his teammates picked him up, his back got stretched out and the vertebra went back into place.  If Conway hadn’t been moved, he may have been permanently disabled. 

That was a watershed moment for Conway, spiritually speaking.  He writes, “Ever since that incident on the football field, which might have altered the course of my life, Jesus and I have stayed in constant touch.  I never stop saying thank you.”

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A thought for today, especially during this season prior to National Elections:
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Scripture reference:  Deuteronomy   chapter 1   verse 13
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... "Provide wise, discerning and reputable persons for each of your tribes ... "
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Thoughts:
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A letter from an 11-year-old girl may have inspired Abraham Lincoln to grow a beard as a help to his presidential campaign efforts.

Grace Bedell of Westfield, New York, wrote to candidate Lincoln suggesting that “all the ladies like whiskers and they would tease their husbands to vote for you and then you would be President.” She added, “You would look a great deal better for your face is so thin.”

Often, hidden motives can influence our choice for those we elect to lead us. The nation was fortunate in having chosen Lincoln to steer it through the dark years of the Civil War—however much his beard may have influenced the voting.

A better way to select a President or other candidates for public office is to weigh carefully their records, their stands on issues confronting the nation, and their plans to address those issues.

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Lord. be with me in my choices.
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Feast of Juan Diego:

Today is the feast of St. Juan Diego! Juan Diego was the humble witness to the Guadalupe apparition. His love for her and for his faith has made him a great example of holiness for all ages! The following comes from thecatholic.org site:

St. Juan Diego was born in 1474 in the calpulli or ward of Tlayacac in Cuauhtitlan, which was established in 1168 by Nahua tribesmen and conquered by the Aztec lord Axayacatl in 1467; and was located 20 kilometers (14 miles) north of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City).

On December 9, 1531, a native Mexican named Juan Diego rose before dawn to walk fifteen miles to daily Mass in what is nowMexico City. Juan lived a simple life as a weaver, farmer, and laborer. That morning, as Juan passed Tepeyac Hill, he heard music and saw a glowing cloud encircled by a rainbow. A woman's voice called him to the top of the hill. There he saw a beautiful youngwoman dressed like an Aztec princess. She said she was the VirginMary and asked Juan to tell the bishop to build a church on that site. She said, "I vividly desire that a church be built on this site, so that in it I can be present and give my love, compassion, help, and defense, for I am your most devoted mother . . . to hear your laments and to remedy all your miseries, pains, and sufferings." 

The bishop was kind but skeptical. He asked Juan to bring proof of the Lady's identity. Before Juan could go back to the Lady, he found out his uncle was dying. Hurrying to get a priest, Juan missed his meeting with the Lady. The Lady, however, met him on his path and told him that his uncle had been cured.

She then told Juan to climb to the top of the hill where they first met. Juan was shocked to find flowers growing in the frozen soil. He gathered them in his cloak and took them at once to the bishop.

Juan told the bishop what had happened and opened his cloak. The flowers that fell to the ground were Castilian roses (which were not grown in Mexico). But the bishop's eyes were on the glowing image of the Lady imprinted inside Juan's cloak. 

Soon after, a church was built on the site where our Lady appeared, and thousands converted to Christianity. Our Lady of Guadalupe was declared the patroness of the Americas. He died on May 30, 1548, at the age of 74. 

Wednesday, December 9

Gospel    + + + + +     MT 11:28-30

Jesus said to the crowds:
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

The word of the Lord.

Just a thought:

Imagine a wick that is placed in oil, and then lit. If the oil runs out, the wick burns. As long as there is oil, the wick doesn't burn. As long as we are living in dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit, we don't burn out. The question to ask: what's burning?
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So, are you weary? Are you carrying a heavy burden? Do you need rest? Jesus is inviting those who answer “Yes” to take on His yoke and become His yoke-mate.

It’s tempting for to take these words of Jesus and turn them into a 
promise that says, “No matter what your problems, come to Jesus and He will make you burden-free.” 

There are those who present Jesus as the remover of every problem. They portray the Christian life as though faith lifts you up and out of the realm of life’s difficulties, sorrows, and disappointments. This, I believe, is a false portrait of discipleship and a mistaken use of Jesus’ words.
Jesus makes it clear that the rest He offers us is not burden-free. He speaks of the putting on His yoke, and yokes are for bearing burdens.
Yokes were common in Jesus’ day. Yokes were made for oxen so that the animals could work together as a team and not be hurt by the burden they carried.

Yoke-making was a skilled craft. Good yokes were made of strong wood that could be made smooth. Any area of roughness on the yoke would cause skin irritation and muscle damage to the oxen as they pulled their load. Yokes also had to be expertly sized of the team for which they were made. If the yoke put the two animals too close together they would jostle and hurt each other. If the yoke put them too far apart they would not be able to share the load as easily as they might if the yoke had had a better fit.  The yoke was made perfectly for the one who wore it, the yoke was not a burden, rather, the yoke made life bearable.

Jesus is telling us that He is an expert yoke-maker. 

Try Him on for size!

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Oh, I wish I had seen this during the summer of 2014 ....

“That feeling of discomfort you have after listening to a sermon is called a conscience”


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This story is making the rounds of social media: the reaction of a college student to a sermon that he said made him feel bad.
To which Dr. Everett Piper, president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, replied, in effect: “Tough.”
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His full response is reprinted below, from the university website:
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This past week, I actually had a student come forward after a university chapel service and complain because he felt “victimized” by a sermon on the topic of 1 Corinthians 13. It appears that this young scholar felt offended because a homily on love made him feel bad for not showing love. In his mind, the speaker was wrong for making him, and his peers, feel uncomfortable.
I’m not making this up. Our culture has actually taught our kids to be this self-absorbed and narcissistic. Any time their feelings are hurt, they are the victims. Anyone who dares challenge them and, thus, makes them “feel bad” about themselves, is a “hater,” a “bigot,” an “oppressor,” and a “victimizer.”
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I have a message for this young man and all others who care to listen. That feeling of discomfort you have after listening to a sermon is called a conscience. An altar call is supposed to make you feel bad. It is supposed to make you feel guilty. The goal of many a good sermon is to get you to confess your sins—not coddle you in your selfishness. The primary objective of the Church and the Christian faith is your confession, not your self-actualization.
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So here’s my advice:
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If you want the chaplain to tell you you’re a victim rather than tell you that you need virtue, this may not be the university you’re looking for. If you want to complain about a sermon that makes you feel less than loving for not showing love, this might be the wrong place.
If you’re more interested in playing the “hater” card than you are in confessing your own hate; if you want to arrogantly lecture, rather than humbly learn; if you don’t want to feel guilt in your soul when you are guilty of sin; if you want to be enabled rather than confronted, there are many universities across the land (in Missouri and elsewhere) that will give you exactly what you want, but Oklahoma Wesleyan isn’t one of them.
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At OKWU, we teach you to be selfless rather than self-centered. We are more interested in you practicing personal forgiveness than political revenge. We want you to model interpersonal reconciliation rather than foment personal conflict. We believe the content of your character is more important than the color of your skin. We don’t believe that you have been victimized every time you feel guilty and we don’t issue “trigger warnings” before altar calls.
Oklahoma Wesleyan is not a “safe place”, but rather, a place to learn: to learn that life isn’t about you, but about others; that the bad feeling you have while listening to a sermon is called guilt; that the way to address it is to repent of everything that’s wrong with you rather than blame others for everything that’s wrong with them. This is a place where you will quickly learn that you need to grow up.
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This is not a day care.
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This is a university!

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Tuesday, December 1

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He who runs from God in the morning will scarcely find Him the rest of the day.
John Bunyan

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Gospel . . . LK 10:21-24
Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,
“I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows who the Son is except the Father,
and who the Father is except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

Turning to the disciples in private he said,
“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you,
many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”
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The word of the Lord
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A friend of mine took his small son with him to town one day to run some errands. When lunch time arrived, the two of them went to a familiar diner for a sandwich. The father sat down on one of the stools at the counter and lifted the boy up to the seat beside him. They ordered lunch, and when the server brought the food, the dad said, "Son, we'll just have a silent prayer." Dad got through praying first and waited for the boy to finish his prayer, but he just sat with his head bowed for an unusually long time.

When he finally looked up, his father asked him, "What in the world were you praying about all that time?" With the innocence and honesty of a child, he replied, "How do I know? It was a silent prayer."

I’m not so sure the young boy’s intention with the prayer but I think that it could well be good practice to get lost in our prayer from time to time, to allow prayer to meander wherever it might like to go, providing, of course, that we keep the prayer focused on God.

Have you prayed already today? It’s certainly not too late. You ever ask God, in your prayer, where God might like you to go in prayer? Try it sometime.
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Monday: November 30

Monday of the First Week of Advent
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The Feast of the Apostle St. Andrew.
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Gospel + + + + + MT 4:18-22
As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,
Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,
casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.
He said to them,
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
At once they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along from there and saw two other brothers,
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.
He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father
and followed him.
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“How ready we all are with our praises when a cake is to be divided - provided
the cake is not ours.” Walter Savage Landor

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In his book, An Anthropologist on Mars, neurologist Oliver Sacks tells about Virgil, a man who had been blind from early childhood. When he was 50, Virgil underwent surgery and was given the gift of sight. But as he and Dr. Sacks found out, having the physical capacity for sight is not the same as seeing.
Virgil's first experiences with sight were confusing. He was able to make out colors and movements, but arranging them into a coherent picture was more difficult. Over time he learned to identify various objects, but his habits--his behaviors--were still those of a blind man.
Dr. Sacks asserts, "One must die as a blind person to be born again as a seeing person. It is the interim, the limbo . . . that is so terrible."
Faith in Christ is a gift which God alone gives. Many may not have this gift because they do not know who to ask or even why they should ask. Faith is not a matter of here it is and there it goes. Faith is a way of life. It’s how we live and love and think and work. Faith is how we choose our friends and how we let go of obstacles to a healthy life. For us to live in faith we also have to die to self. There is often a clash between the love we have for this world and attempting to live a life in Christ. Most of the time, something has to give.

Faith in Christ is who I am.
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Friday, November 27

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It's. Beautiful day

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God bless you and yours

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Wednesday, November 25

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By perseverance the snail reached the Ark.

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Gospel + + + LK 21:12-19
Jesus said to the crowd:
“They will seize and persecute you,
they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,
and they will have you led before kings and governors
because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
You will even be handed over by parents,
brothers, relatives, and friends,
and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”

The word of the Lord
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When she was young, Florence Chadwick wanted desperately to be a great speed swimmer. At the age of six she persuaded her parents to enter her in a 50-yard race. She came in last, so she practiced every day for the new year. Again she entered and lost. When she was an 11-year old, Florence won attention and praise for completing the San Diego Bay endurance swim -- 6 miles in all. But she still wanted to be a speed swimmer. At 14 she tried for the national backstroke championship but came in second to the great Eleanor Holm. At 18 she tried out for Olympic speed swimming and came in fourth -- only three made the team. Frustrated, she gave it up, married, and moved on to other interests. As she matured, however, Florence began to wonder if she might not have done better if she had specialized in endurance swimming, something that came more naturally. So, with the help of her father, she began swimming distances again. Twelve years after she had failed to make the Olympic team, Florence Chadwick swam the English Channel, breaking Gertrude Ederle's 24-year-old record. It took a little time, but eventually she found out what she could do best and did it.

Failure, twelve years of separation – didn’t break her spirit. This is the perseverance story we all need to be reminded of from time to time. “Giving up” – shouldn’t even be a part of our vocabulary (unless, of course, we are referring to sin).

Sometimes we do rely only upon ourselves. Not good.

Is that pride? What?

Develop our God given talent – who knows where He may lead us.
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Tuesday ... November 24

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"Death is the debt we all must pay" ... Greek Proverb
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Gospel …………. LK 21:5-11
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While some people were speaking about
how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings,
Jesus said, “All that you see here–
the days will come when there will not be left
a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”

Then they asked him,
“Teacher, when will this happen?
And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?”
He answered,
“See that you not be deceived,
for many will come in my name, saying,
‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’
Do not follow them!
When you hear of wars and insurrections,
do not be terrified; for such things must happen first,
but it will not immediately be the end.”
Then he said to them,
“Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues
from place to place;
and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.”


The word of the Lord.

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That great twentieth century prophet of Yankee Stadium, Yogi Berra, said it well when describing the uncertainty of any athletic contest: "It ain't over 'til it's over." Until that last fly ball is caught or strike is called or ground ball is thrown to first base and the last out is made, the game is not over. Anything can happen. And more often than not it has. Everyone has a story about dramatic comebacks in the bottom half of the ninth inning. I suppose that is why Red Auerbach, the former great coach of the Boston Celtics, used to irritate so many of his opponents when he would lean back and light up that huge cigar. It was Red's way of announcing his confidence. Even though there would be time left on the clock, he was sure that the game was as good as over and his Celtics would win. As he leaned back puffing on his cigar even while the players still raced up and down the court, he knew it was over. Such arrogance piqued his opponents and delighted his fans.

I think it originated in some eastern ballpark a generation or so ago. I'm not sure of its exact origins. You still see fans expressing the sentiment today on large banners and posters which they love to flash for the television cameras. It expresses the eternal optimism of sports fans who are unwilling to give up until the last out is made or the clock has finally run out: "It's not over until the fat lady sings." And the fat lady hasn't sung. Therefore there is still hope. Their team can still pull it out. Of course, the same phrase is reversed by the team whose fans are confident that victory is theirs and want to rub it in to the opposition: "The fat lady has started to sing."

Our Scripture reading for today may be read as hinting about the END. The moment the “Song” is about to be sung! Yet we see that Jesus says… yes, it’s coming but you have time right now! It’s not to scare us or intimidate us. Simply to remind us that one day THAT day will come.

He is trying to love us into being ready.

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Monday, November 23

Think about it:
“He is not poor who has little but he who desires much.” English proverb

The Church’s Gospel text for today: Luke chapter 21 verses 1-4

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When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people
putting their offerings into the treasury
and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins.
He said, “I tell you truly,
this poor widow put in more than all the rest;
for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.”

The word of the Lord
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A few thoughts on today's Gospel
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Strange, isn't it, how a little and seemingly insignificant event in the daily round of life will suddenly bring into focus what has been churning under the surface of our consciousness for a long time.

It happens for example with people. You try to figure people out, what makes them tick and then a simple act or expression reveals who they are. You begin to see what truly motivates them, drives them or what confuses them.

It happens with ourselves. We try to understand ourselves by great introspection. We are often unsure of the conflicting mixture of values and purposes. Then in some crisis or opportunity, we act or react and it reveals what is really going on inside.

It happens with situations. We gather into our feelings and thoughts, what's happening, not really clear what we should do about a given situation. Then without expecting it, something happens and we see the whole thing very clearly, as never before.

In our Gospel reading today we see a similar picture.

Jesus has been through a grueling day and all of a sudden, what seemingly appears as an insignificant event: a widow contributing her mite, brings it all into focus. Jesus found a quiet place, a place in the courts of the temple. He sat across from the large metal boxes, which collected the contributions for the upkeep and sacrifices.

I am quite sure He sat down in the midst of the storm of that day, to think and to pray, musing at all that had happened to Him. He was probably barely aware of the stream of people that passed by, flinging their tithes, their offerings and their temple taxes into the contribution boxes.

These boxes where called trumpets, because of their trumpet like shape. People would throw their contributions in with force, in order to make a loud noise and attract the attention of those around them. The larger the coin - the bigger, the better the sound.

In the middle of all these people, of all the questions and all the racket, a frail little old widow unpretentiously approached one of the trumpets and quietly slipped in her contribution. The coin that she contributed was called a lepton, which literally means "the thin one".

The little tinkle of her coin sliding down the throat of the trumpet caught Jesus' attention immediately.

He had a way of hearing what was insignificant to others. It was always true in the milling crowds; He could hear the frail cry of people in need. It was in the crowd, He heard and felt the need of a woman with a hemorrhage of blood, you remember? It was in a crowd that He heard the cry of Bartamaeus for sight and hope.

Now He hears the sound of the widow’s coin. Let me just ask this: How could you not believe that He hears you when you call out to Him?
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Enjoy your week,
Father Pat