Miracles Are All Around Us!

First reading	Acts 9:31-42 ©

The churches grew and were filled with the consolation of the Holy Spirit

The churches throughout Judaea, Galilee, and Samaria were now left in peace, building themselves up, living in the fear of the Lord, and filled with the consolation of the Holy Spirit.

  Peter visited one place after another and eventually came to the saints living down in Lydda. There he found a man called Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years. Peter said to him, ‘Aeneas, Jesus Christ cures you: get up and fold up your sleeping mat.’ Aeneas got up immediately; everybody who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they were all converted to the Lord.

  At Jaffa, there was a woman disciple called Tabitha, or Dorcas in Greek, who never tired of doing good or giving in charity. But the time came when she got ill and died, and they washed her and laid her out in a room upstairs. Lydda is not far from Jaffa, so when the disciples heard that Peter was there, they sent two men with an urgent message for him, ‘Come and visit us as soon as possible.’

  Peter went back with them straight away, and on his arrival they took him to the upstairs room, where all the widows stood around him in tears, showing him tunics and other clothes Dorcas had made when she was with them. Peter sent them all out of the room and knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to the dead woman and said, ‘Tabitha, stand up.’ She opened her eyes, looked at Peter and sat up. Peter helped her to her feet, then he called in the saints and widows and showed them she was alive. The whole of Jaffa heard about it and many believed in the Lord.

Whenever there is an abundance of something we tend to take it for granted.  For example, we want to go somewhere in our car.  We get in and see that the gas gauge shows almost empty so we go to the gas station and fill up with gas.  We don't think about it, we just go and get it.  Go back a few years now to when the Arabs were angry because the U.S. was supporting Israel and they slowed down the amount of oil that they were sending us which meant that we could not make as much gasoline and that caused lines at the gas pumps.  We realized at that moment that we were being held hostage by OPEC.  Gasoline was now rationed.  Depending on your license number you could buy gasoline on even or odd numbered days.  On Sunday, all stations, nationwide, were closed. On the days you could drive you were mandated to save gasoline on the highway, we were limited to 55 miles per hour maximum.  This limit, which was pretty much ignored, was supposed to save gasoline.  So, you see that an abundance led to indifference and a shortage led to concern and conservation. 

Every day we can, if we look, see miracles around us. The issue is not the lack of miracles which requires much study and interpretation to see one but rather recognizing them as abundant and as gifts from our Father in heaven.  The very fact that you are drawing breath and able to see things around you is a miracle.  Life itself in all of its forms is a miracle.  The food we eat, the water we drink all came from the hand of God to sustain us. 

Our ancestors understood that their world was filled with miracles and they watched for them and thanked God for them daily.  A miracle is usually described as something that happened that did not have an explanation in nature.  Do you realize that using this definition we can consider electricity a miracle?  Sure, we know how to generate it, to distribute it, and to use it but scientists have never been able to define just what it is.  Electricity is, therefore, a miracle.  That would mean that everything that we use electric for is a miracle too!  Our smartphone could not exist without the humble electron so perhaps the smartphone is a miracle too.  

I hope you see my point. God has provided us with a wonderful world, full of miracles to help us live our lives in a better and more comfortable fashion.  It follows that when we take advantage of the miracles we find in the world that we should use them not only to enrich our lives but we should make it point to be a miracle for those in less fortunate circumstances than we are. 

You and I are walking miracles.  Inside of us is a soul that will never ever die.  We, humans, have the capacity to feel the joys and sorrows of other people.  We can empathize, which means we can share in the feelings of others.  When we do this we can reach into our resources and be of help to others.  Other occupants of this planet such as animal life normally cannot do this.

So today, think of yourself as a miracle, as the beloved of God the Father who has been so very generous to you in so many ways.  Before you eat or drink, think and thank God for what you are about to do, it is a miracle.  Before you start your labor for the day, think and thank God for you are about to do is a miracle.  And today resolve that you, an ambulating, talking miracle will not keep the joy of God's love to yourself.  Distribute miracles as you walk through life, it is why you are here! 

Easter Tuesday - Piercing The Darkness

First reading	Acts 2:36-41 ©

You must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus

On the day of Pentecost, Peter spoke to the Jews: ‘The whole House of Israel can be certain that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.’

  Hearing this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the apostles, ‘What must we do, brothers?’ ‘You must repent,’ Peter answered ‘and every one of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise that was made is for you and your children, and for all those who are far away, for all those whom the Lord our God will call to himself.’ He spoke to them for a long time using many arguments, and he urged them, ‘Save yourselves from this perverse generation.’ They were convinced by his arguments, and they accepted what he said and were baptized. That very day about three thousand were added to their number.

We have just completed a forty-day journey through the desert as seen through the eyes of a simple man on a pilgrimage.  Our own walk may have been very different than his or perhaps we did not walk at all.  It is of no consequence because now we have a reason to be hopeful.  We have a reason to be joyful.  We have a reason to want to announce the good news that death has lost its sting, that sins have been forgiven.  We should be walking with a spring in our step for Jesus Christ has Risen Today!  Yes, we are two days away from the day which we memorialized the Resurrection with great ceremony and ritualistic celebration.  The Church asked us to reflect, fast, give alms, and repent for forty days. Today she bids us rejoice for fifty days -  From Easter to Pentecost -  and to be ready to tell everyone we meet why we are so happy.  The pagan world welcomes Easter as the time when the cold and gray of winter are banished.  They give a bunny the power to bring candy to children.  They play hide and seek with eggs.  This is all great fun, even politicians in Washington get into the act.  At the White House, there was an Easter Egg rolling contest.  Easter, for pagans, fades into nothingness when the sun rises on Easter Monday.  It was fun while it lasted, but now there is work to be done.  The childish things like bunnies and hard-boiled egg hunts are put back on the shelf and the serious business of business returns.  For a Catholic especially we realize that the festive season has just begun.  In the words of a song that is sung on Holy Saturday at the vigil Mass, "We will sing to my God who has delivered us from death, into life into freedom through the sea."  

Let me exhort you.  The death of Jesus on the cross was for you, personally.  The resurrection on Easter Morning was for you personally as well.  Jesus did not destroy death for the world, He did it for you.  How can you be silent about that?  These next weeks between now and Pentecost, give vent to the joy.  Let everyone you know how happy you are about the gift that Jesus gave you.  Your joyful face should cause people to wonder why you are so happy.  If they ask, tell them, tell them, tell them.  If they don't ask, tell them anyway by the way you live your life, with joy.  Be a little kinder, be more gentle, be helpful, let the love that is bursting through the walls of your soul escape into the wild.  The joy is the Spirit of God in you.  Don't hold it in, dispense it freely.  People will notice and more importantly, you will notice the difference in how people treat you. 

Brothers and sisters, the world is in darkness this day.  The pagans have not a clue that they are loved beyond measure by God who knows them better than their own mother and father. They see the grave and live their life in abundant poverty of spirit.  Give them the gift or at least make them wonder why you are so different than they are.    

CHRIST IS RISEN 

CHRIST IS TRULY RISEN 

Lent Day Thirty Six - Creeping Darkness

Gospel	John 11:45-56 ©

Jesus was to die to gather together the scattered children of God

Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and had seen what Jesus did believed in him, but some of them went to tell the Pharisees what Jesus had done. Then the chief priests and Pharisees called a meeting. ‘Here is this man working all these signs’ they said ‘and what action are we taking? If we let him go on in this way everybody will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy the Holy Place and our nation.’ One of them, Caiaphas, the high priest that year, said, ‘You do not seem to have grasped the situation at all; you fail to see that it is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.’ He did not speak in his own person, it was as high priest that he made this prophecy that Jesus was to die for the nation – and not for the nation only, but to gather together in unity the scattered children of God. From that day they were determined to kill him. So Jesus no longer went about openly among the Jews, but left the district for a town called Ephraim, in the country bordering on the desert, and stayed there with his disciples.

  The Jewish Passover drew near, and many of the country people who had gone up to Jerusalem to purify themselves looked out for Jesus, saying to one another as they stood about in the Temple, ‘What do you think? Will he come to the festival or not?’

We've crested the mountain and below us in a sweeping vista is the city of Jerusalem.  It is a site that fills me with awe, a site that fills me with wonder, and a trophy for this long, hot walk.  Uriah tells us that tomorrow, Sunday, we shall enter the great city. He has sent word ahead and we will be greeted as if we were conquering heroes!  The Master after admiring the view turned around and gathered us together.  His smile was warm as He faced us. He told us that after tomorrow He would no longer be with the group as he had urgent business in Jerusalem. He told us that each of us was beloved of God because we were true believers and had followed a hard road to get to this point.  He told us that our future was secure if we but believed in the Son and were His ambassadors and field hands.  We were to bring the Light of Christ to all we met who traveled the hot dusty roads through the valley of death.  He warned us to not depend on our own strength for if we did we would surely fail.  He bid us to talk to the Father and to cast all of our cares upon Him because He cares for us.  He told us that as we go through life day by day we should also pray for what we need and that what we need would always be provided.  He told us that in heaven we had many brothers and sisters who eagerly listen for our requests for help and they will always intercede for us with the Father if we but ask.  The saints live in the constant light of God and they behold Him as He is.  They see too,  the Son who watches the hands of the Father and is always ready to do the Father's will. And these same saints basque in the glow that the Father has for the Son and in in doing so they see the infinite love that is the Holy Spirit. He told us that upon our entry into Jerusalem we would look for Him but not find Him.  He will see them again on Thursday eve at a room that Uriah will show them.  With a single tear glistening in the sunlight as it flowed down His cheek.  He turned his back on us and looked forward, with apparent anguish, at the City of Jerusalem.  

Lent - Day Thirty - Making A Big Splash

John  Chapter 7 Verses 40 to 52 

The Law does not allow us to pass judgment on a man without hearing him

Several people, who had been listening to Jesus said, ‘Surely he must be the prophet’, and some said, ‘He is the Christ’, but others said, ‘Would the Christ be from Galilee? Does not scripture say that the Christ must be descended from David and come from the town of Bethlehem?’ So the people could not agree about him. Some would have liked to arrest him, but no one actually laid hands on him.

  The police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees who said to them, ‘Why haven’t you brought him?’ The police replied, ‘There has never been anybody who has spoken like him.’ ‘So’ the Pharisees answered ‘you have been led astray as well? Have any of the authorities believed in him? Any of the Pharisees? This rabble knows nothing about the Law – they are damned.’ One of them, Nicodemus – the same man who had come to Jesus earlier – said to them, ‘But surely the Law does not allow us to pass judgment on a man without giving him a hearing and discovering what he is about?’ To this, they answered, ‘Are you a Galilean too? Go into the matter, and see for yourself: prophets do not come out of Galilee.’

As I walked along today, the heat was just as hot as always but I did not seem to mind it so much.  Uriah says we are getting closer to our destination and the mountains are finally in what appears to be in walking distance.  He says before we can get to the mountains we have to go through territory that once was a large salt lake.  He says if you like sand, you will love salt.  He also cautions us to stay away from plants that appear to be succulent and ripe with water as they will lay you low if not kill you outright.  He says once we get through this purgatory the way will become easier and cooler.  There will be streams of cold water flowing and the heat of the desert will become a distant memory.  So, I spent the day thinking about my childhood.  I lived in the country and worked on the family farm.  But my Dad wanted me to have free time as well so he did not make me a slave of the land.  I helped out, of course, but he let me be a boy and I was able to hang out with my friends.  As the sun was poaching my noodle and the prospect of spending several days walking through salt, my mind wandered to the old swimming hole at St. Francis' Creek.  It was more than a creek, it was almost as wide and deep to be called a river.  We used to fish there and there were times when I was the one that provided the dinner for the household by bringing in a bunch of catfish.  Mom took care of all of the cleaning and cooking and I swear that when it was put before us along with cornbread and greens, it was a little bit of heaven!  But we guys used the creek for swimming.  You can imagine that our swimming attire was lacking but our birthday suits never went out of style during those carefree summer days so we didn't care.  I felt the breeze hit me as I swung out on the rope trying to get as close to the center of the creek as possible and then I let go of the rope and felt weightless for a second and then relished the feeling the of icy cold water pulling me down as I splashed down like a space capsule sending water high into the sky!  It was time that I will always remember with great fondness.   

When the Master spoke today He spoke on how Jesus made a big splash Himself when He was on earth.  He brought attention to Himself and the Pharisees and the Temple management was running scared.  Considering the procurator, Pilate, was not very fond of the Jews and in fact had killed some of them on the Temple grounds, well, they just did not need a messiah coming on the scene to stir things up.  So they sent temple militia to arrest him and haul him before the Sanhedrin.  Off they went, but then they heard Him speak and they were amazed as was the large crowd.  The prudence of a soldier was woven into the temple guards and they returned to the high priest and his cronies without the so-called messiah.  But it was not just the presence of all of the people that would have protested his arrest and have caused a riot which Pilate would be only too glad to quell.  No, it was what was said, the words were powerful and unlike other messiahs that cropped up from time to time, this Jesus did not advocate violence.  How they would get rid of the cursed Romans without bloodshed was beyond their way of thinking.  But He did not even advocate war against Rome of the emperor. So, the guards came back empty-handed.  In the council, Jesus had few friends.  But He had Nicodemus, the man who had visited Him in the night, you know when it was safe.  It was he who said that before a man could be condemned there had to be an opportunity for the man to state what his teachings and there must be witnesses to an infraction.  This annoyed the powers in the Temple who just wanted to rid themselves of this Jesus.  He was making a splash with the people and large gatherings were hearing His message.  He was making a big splash but the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes all wondered if the splash would come at the cost of Jewish blood.  They made note the sentiments and loyalties of Nicodemus, he would not be summoned when the time came for the Sanhedrin to deal with this charlatan.  They began to plot in earnest against Jesus and a gaggle of Pharisees followed Him wherever He went.  The sun began to set for the man called Jesus.  Once the temple management wanted you gone, it was only a matter of time before you were stoned (mercifully) or crucified (unmercifully).  The followers of Jesus would take note that the Pharisees had sent a team of their best goaders who would do their utmost to trip Jesus up.  They never failed, never.  But this Jesus would be the one to spoil their record and even when they were rejoicing at the sight of Jesus dying in public view on the cross, they would later come to understand that in spite of their wishes that the mission of Jesus, the Messiah foretold of old, had been accomplished in spite and not because of them.  One interesting thing, one of the Apostles, Judas Iscariot by name was more worldly than the others and he could see the writing on the wall.  Far be it from him to be on a losing team.  He began to ponder ways to profit from betraying The Christ. 

Lent - Day Twenty Six - A Deadly Cure

Gospel	John 5:1-3,5-16 ©

The healing at the pool of Bethesda

There was a Jewish festival, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now at the Sheep Pool in Jerusalem, there is a building, called Bethzatha in Hebrew, consisting of five porticos; and under these were crowds of sick people – blind, lame, paralyzed – waiting for the water to move. One man there had an illness which had lasted thirty-eight years, and when Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had been in this condition for a long time, he said, ‘Do you want to be well again?’ ‘Sir,’ replied the sick man ‘I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is disturbed; and while I am still on the way, someone else gets there before me.’ Jesus said, ‘Get up, pick up your sleeping-mat and walk.’ The man was cured at once, and he picked up his mat and walked away.

  Now that day happened to be the Sabbath, so the Jews said to the man who had been cured, ‘It is the Sabbath; you are not allowed to carry your sleeping-mat.’ He replied, ‘But the man who cured me told me, “Pick up your mat and walk.”’ They asked, ‘Who is the man who said to you, “Pick up your mat and walk”?’ The man had no idea who it was since Jesus had disappeared into the crowd that filled the place. After a while, Jesus met him in the Temple and said, ‘Now you are well again, be sure not to sin any more, or something worse may happen to you.’ The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had cured him. It was because he did things like this on the sabbath that the Jews began to persecute Jesus.

We have spent Sunday and Monday at this oasis and the Master does not seem to want to leave today either.  I for one am glad we are getting a few days of rest. Jerusalem grows ever closer and the Master's feet seem to be dragging. 

 I have spent a lot of time in the pool of water here in the oasis where the chill of the spring seems to be taking the pains of my aging body away.  Of course, the effect is temporary. But even temporary relief is good.  I remember in my youth, it seems so long ago now, then I would go into the drugstore and coming out with a shopping bag that contained a large bottle of Bacardi light rum, some Okeydoke popcorn and some Coca Cola.   My buddy and I would order pizza and do what we could do to empty the bottle of rum!  By contrast, today, I go into the drugstore and come out with, capsules, nostrums, and remedies designed to keep this ancient body moving.  So, I could sympathize with the poor guy at the pool of Bethesda. He was there but had no one to shove him into the water once it was disturbed and ready to dispense its healing powers. So, he would always be the bridesmaid and never be the bride as he saw one of his fellow patients collect the cure from the pool.  I felt sorry for the man.  

The Master filled us in on the background of the story.  It seems that when Jesus entered the enclosure where the pool was that He had left the Jewish world and entered the world of the Greeks.  All over the Greek world were pools that were said to have curative properties.  The Greeks believed that the pools were inhabited by spirits that once in a while, when the mood struck them, that they would churn the water up and the first person into the pool would be cured of whatever ailed them.  So, when Jesus entered the area of the pool he was leaving Jewish thought behind and entering the world of Greek superstition.  In doing so and by affecting the cure Jesus was showing that He was the living water and not some spirit that lived in a pool.  It was a challenge to the Greeks and then to top it all off he told the patient to pick up his mat and go home.  When the man did so, the Pharisees caught sight of this man "doing work" on the Sabbath by carrying his mat and they confronted him.  He told them that the person who had healed him had told him to pick up the mat and go home.  They asked him who was the one that cured on the Sabbath?  The former patient did not know because Jesus had slipped away before the man could thank him.  As he was walking, I guess still carrying his mat, he happened upon Jesus and he took a moment to thank Him and asked Him His name.  He then returned to the Pharisees and told them that a man named Jesus of Nazareth had cured them and they began to take notice of this Jesus and the stirrings of a plot against Him began.   

The Master said that when you challenge the culture you are living in just as Jesus challenged the Greek traditions of spirits in the pools you are bound to make enemies.  He pointed out how the  Pro-Life people who prefer life over death and protest the murder of innocent children in the womb are held in special contempt by the people who fight to make it law that the blood of babies can be shed with impunity. These people with the blood of the innocent on their hands are sponsored by the devil who is the author of death and lies.  

Master pointed out that the guilt of the Pro Murder people in the state of New York was greater because of the law that was recently passed that now allows innocent blood to be spilled up until the very moment of birth. Even Hitler and his cronies would not do this. He mentioned how the Catholic governor of the state who was giddy with joy as he signed this bill into law.  

The Master said that He would imagine that the patience of the Father was growing thinner by the day. He said that America was once the crucible of what was good and proper and good has fallen on hard times where the love of truth has been exchanged for New Age practices and thought is good only because that tickles the ears of the people. Justice was becoming something for the rich and the powerful who have lost sight of just who they are and have begun assuming the power of God, taking control of life and death into their hands even though they cannot restore life nor do they understand death and what the shedding of innocent blood is doing to their souls. The fate of these people, unless they repent, will be horrible on the last day.  

He told us no matter what, always side with the right even though it appears that evil has the might. The right will eventually win out over evil because God is righteous and His victory is assured.  Besides, it only took one man, who was sent and empowered by God to Ninevah and by the call of Jonah the great city put on sackcloth and drenched itself in ashes and withered themselves with fasting so that the hand of God would be stayed and the righteous punishment so richly deserved would not come crashing down upon them.   

One voice joined to another and another will eventually be heard. Link hands and form a living bridge against the raging waters of the advocates of death and destruction.  Raise your voice against their plans and  Be not afraid of what you are to say, because what He did for the Prophet Jonah the Spirit will do for you.  You will be given what to say and so the Holy Spirit will speak for you and your voice will be heard. 

Lent - Day Twenty Four - The Proud and The Humble

Gospel	Luke 18:9-14 ©

The tax collector, not the Pharisee, went home justified.

Jesus spoke the following parable to some people who prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else: ‘Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, “I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like the rest of mankind, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get.” The tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but he beat his breast and said, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” This man, I tell you, went home again at rights with God; the other did not. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted.’

It is hard for me to put into words just how hot the desert can be.  The sun is unrelenting in its attention to you. You do not really sweat because as soon as your body forms the sweat it evaporates without effect. The sand gets into everything.  If you have the slightest hole in a sack at the end of the day besides what you yourself placed in the sack you will find sand.  We use the sand to clean our dishes - it does that very well.  It is a little known fact that Saudi Arabia imports camels and sand from Australia.  I know, its like the Eskimos importing ice cubes.  But it is true. Don't tell Benjamin, my camel but camel meat is a staple in Saudi Arabia and the world's largest herd of wild camels happens to be in Australia.  As far as importing sand, the sand from down under possesses special qualities that the Saharan sand does not have and it is used for sandblasting.  Again I have to see if you want beachfront property but do not like the noise of the ocean, this horrible but beautiful desert is the place to come.  Here you find your place in the scheme of things. Spending hours in the hot sun with your only view being the ass of the camel in front of you gives you time to reflect on who you are. The Master said it best.  First, he read the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple. Then he went on and said:

"So, brothers, we have two men in the temple.  Being in the temple is a good thing, a laudable thing.  It is an action that pleases the Father.  But in our case, one of the men is filled with pride and tells the Father just how much he does for Him and how he cannot be compared to the miserable sinner behind him.  The Pharisee made a good beginning in coming to the temple but the lost it when he spoke with such pride of all the things he had quote, done for God unquote."

"What made him think that God had any need of his fasting or tithing or refraining from unseemly conduct?  Fasting and other works of self-mortification are not for God.  He takes no pleasure in the suffering of His people, but He does commend them for their efforts to subjugate their bodies and minds to God's will.  The actions of the Pharisee were useless because of the pride he took in completing it.  He thought that the mere actions made him better than others while that was far from the truth.  Mind you, the Father still loved the Pharisee but the Pharisee loved himself and admired himself more than he loved and admired the Father."

"The tax collector, now what can we say about him? He had a more humble view of himself and knew his life needed many changes to become a whole man, that is to say, "Holy."  He entered the temple for some reason.  Tax collectors did not spend a whole lot of time in the temple.  They spent their time collecting money and going to parties. So, our man, for some reason, felt compelled to come to the temple.  Perhaps he had a change of heart and was wanting to repent. We don't know what inspired him to come on this day but when he came he knew his place. He remained far off, in the back of the temple and he would not even raise his eyes.  He poured out his soul to the Father with the simple words, "God be merciful to me a sinner.""

"Every person has dignity.  Every person from the Queen of England to an untouchable privy cleaner in New Delhi is dignified by the fact that the Father loves him with an unquenchable love that cannot be described with human language. But the one truth that all of us have to learn is that the sum total of a man is what God sees him as, nothing more or nothing less. God's vision of you is true and He sees all down to the depths of the farthest reaches of your soul. So, remember that God can say "I AM" and only He has the right to say "You are."

Lent Day Twenty-One - The Necessity Of Death

Gospel	Matthew 5:17-19 ©

I have not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to complete them

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved. Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.’

Once again, my journaling fell by the wayside yesterday but the way was long and hot.  The camels were moody and we made little progress towards our goal of Jerusalem.  The Master was not too perturbed about our lack of progress, as a matter of fact, he seemed to welcome it.  

Disaster struck us today and I am still upset by it.  Jack was an older member of our team and he was a retired policeman.  He had always wanted to go up to Jerusalem and over the objections of wife and kids, he joined us knowing full well what he was getting into.  He was a slim man, very bright, he had been promoted to a detective during his stint as a cop, and for a man of his age and what he had been through, he looked like he was pretty fit.  He never complained and I learned that he had beaten cancer three times!  He did his share of the work and was assigned one of the smaller camels to tend whose name was Sandy.  Uriah stormed into our tent well before the sun had even thought of rising and kindly and gently asked us to get up.  Actually, he spoke to the camels with more love, but we were used to it and took it all with good humor.  Everyone was up and doing the needful except John.  He was still abed and Uriah, an evil gleam in his eye approached the supine figure bent down and was going to yell in his ear when he noticed something and told Matthew to get the satellite phone and call for an air ambulance.  John was alive but it appeared that some cataclysm had claimed him during the night and he needed help.  We all stopped while Uriah made the patient comfortable.  Matthew came by about twenty minutes later and reported that the Life Flight helicopter was about thirty minutes out and he had activated the distress beacon that Uriah carried to guide the pilot.  John was a pasty white and there was a tinge of blue about his lips.  He was not responsive and Uriah said while there was a pulse, it was hard to find and it was kind of weak.   Water was brought and Uriah tenderly mopped the brow of the stricken pilgrim with water to keep him cool.  The Master came by and was concerned about John.  He knelt next to the man, place His hand on John's forehead and John's body seemed to relax.  He was no longer quivering.  He was still unresponsive but his pulse was stronger.  A tear appeared on the Master's face and he walked slowly away from John.  The helicopter eventually arrived and the paramedics took John away,  Later that day we were informed by radio that John had passed away.  It shook us a bit because this could have been any one of us. 

The Master addressed us after dinner. 

"Brothers, one of our number has left us because the Father has called him home. Be of good cheer in spite of our loss for our loss is John's gain.  We will no longer be able to see him or talk with him and in the years that follow we may even forget what he looked like or forget his sense of duty or humor.  This is as it is for the human being looks after self before others.  John, when he departed, did so in peace.  I believe that dozens upon dozens of the people that John helped came to escort him to heaven.  With so many friends pleading his case how can the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit keep him out of heaven?   But it is more than that.  You will find in your last hour that you are called upon to trust God and to let go.  Your love for God will make this easy.  On the other hand, if you despise God, hate the thought of being with Him forever, then you will go into eternity kicking and screaming, but you will go at a time and place of the Father's choosing.  As for John, you can be assured that this day because of his selfless life, his giving attitude, his humor, his thoughtfulness and the fact that he never held a grudge, that he beholds the Father, not through a glass but face to face!"

This was a lot to digest and most of us went to our beds early and spent time in prayer and remembering John and praying to build up all of the qualities that will make the transition from earth to heaven easy.  My last thought was, "Imagine, inhaling on earth with your eyes closed and exhaling in heaven in the sight of Jesus and the Saints."

May the souls of the faithfully departed, through the Mercy of God, Rest in Peace.  Amen. 

This post is dedicated to the Memory of Jack Needham

Lent - Day Fourteen - Lost and Found

Alternative Gospel	Luke 2:41-51a ©

Mary stored up all these things in her heart

Every year the parents of Jesus used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up for the feast as usual. When they were on their way home after the feast, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it. They assumed he was with the caravan, and it was only after a day’s journey that they went to look for him among their relations and acquaintances. When they failed to find him they went back to Jerusalem looking for him everywhere.

  Three days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the doctors, listening to them, and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies. They were overcome when they saw him, and his mother said to him, ‘My child, why have, you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.’

  ‘Why were you looking for me?’ he replied. ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?’ But they did not understand what he meant.

  He then went down with them and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority.

Lost

It was one of those days where the work seemed lighter than usual. It was the same thing that we had been doing for the last couple of weeks, that is walking in the desert dragging stinking ornery camels behind us only to end up in a place that looked like the place we were in twelve hours ago.  But today the sun, although brutally hot seemed to step back a bit and did not weigh so heavily on our backs and the camels, except for Goliath, seemed cheerful in their own way.  Goliath, of course, was not happy with his load and I had to help my brother adjust it to Goliath's liking before the spit would stop flying.  Our walk was easier and the brothers were all in a good mood.  We stopped for the night in yet another nameless, featureless place where we set up camp and the cook got busy preparing the daily dinner.  It was about this time that I found that I had a problem.  It pulled my canteen out of its place in my belt and found that the cap, which had been held on by a stout chain, was nowhere to be seen.  A canteen without a cap is useless and in a race would be beaten by useless by less than half a step.  I could not imagine what had happened to it.  Perhaps it was a manufacturing defect coupled with a bit of carelessness on my part that has placed me in a dilemma.  If I had lost it outside, well, there would be no hope because the desert is a vast place with no point of reference to guide one to follow his path back.  Besides, the sand eventually swallowed everything and it would not have remained uncovered long.  I was beside myself.  I did not have a spare canteen so while I could fill it in the morning, walking would cause it to empty by our noon break.  I went to my space and tore through my belongings without luck.  I went mournfully to my cushion and sat down.  I jumped right back up because I sat down upon something and in the desert that something would deliver a powerful and potentially deadly sting.  I jumped up ready to stomp on the desert creature that dared to invade my bed.  What I saw was the dark black cap to my canteen sans the chain which somehow had fallen off.  I was relieved that I had found it. 

The Master told the story about the Boy Jesus who when twelve years old, went up to the Temple with His parents.  They all worshipped in accordance with The Law and as was custom the caravan reformed with the men in one group and women and children in another and they began the journey back to their home.  Joseph thought Jesus was with Mary and Mary thought Jesus was with Joseph.  They discovered he was not with either and not among their friends and acquaintances.  The two of them broke camp and spent the next three days searching for Jesus.  They finally decided to go to the Temple and pray to God for the return of their son.   They entered the courtyard and what did they see?  A group of elders engaged in lively discussion with their boy.  This should have been a proud moment for the Holy Family but they had just spent three days searching for Him and they fretted over the penalties that they would merit had the lost the very Messiah over whom they had been placed in charge. Mary asked the Boy why He had done this.  Jesus gave what sounds like a "smart" reply to His parents and said that didn't they realize that He had work to do for His Father?  Then without further delay, he left the elders and went with Joseph and Mary and lived under their authority.

It is good to live under authority.  People who live by themselves and have no one to answer to can develop squirrelly tendencies.  They have to answer to nobody except themselves so that they develop a misguided sense of importance.  That is why it is not good for man to live alone.  We all benefit when we place ourselves under authority of some kind.  We are meant to be a social animal and without the hints that being among our kind provides we lose our way. Sometimes it is not possible for a person to live with others and be comfortable.  It is rare, but it happens.  These people are the most vulnerable to become dislodged from the corporate behavior pattern.  This too, is why it is important for us to come together to worship so that we can see our fellow Christians and talk with them, be with them and refresh our spirits by engaging in social congress with them.  It is why the Eucharist binds us together into one local church that extends ever outward until we are united to all Christians who receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ in the Eucharist.   This unity brings us strength and reminds us that as good at is to have an "It's just Jesus and me relationship" that such a relationship is only one part of the Christian experience. 

So as the campfire dwindles and sleep invades my eyes I thank God for helping me find what I had lost and I thank Him too for restoring the cap to my canteen. 

It Is God's Will

MARK 1: 40-45
A leper came to him and kneeling down begged  him and said,  "If you wish, you can make me clean."

Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him, 
"I do will it. Be made clean."
Leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
Then he said to him, "See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them."
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.

We have no idea what it meant to be a leper in the time of Jesus. First of all, many different skin conditions could be considered leprosy some of which were not.  The people of the time thought that leprosy was very contagious and so a person with a suspected case was cut off from his community. He was fated to live a life outside the family that loved him and he was forbidden to even come close to the temple or synagogue and that for an observant Jew was the worst thing about the condition, he was cut off from Yahweh's people.  Worse than that, the common belief was that he was being punished for some sin that he or one of his ancestors committed so he was not the target for any sympathy from the populace.  

The leper in our story had heard of Jesus and how he had been able to cure some people. It was hard for him but he presented himself to Jesus and prostrated himself and said that if Jesus would will him to be clean, he would be clean.  Jesus was moved with great pity and noted the man's humility and faith and told him that it was His will that he be cured. The man was immediately cured and Jesus asked him not to make a big deal about it and told him just to make the required thank offering at the temple as Moses had commanded but the man spread news of his cure far and wide. 

There is a terrible disease that is affecting a lot of people today.  It is not a pretty disease and it ravages those that have like no other plague ever seen by man on this earth. It is a killer disease and is one-hundred percent fatal to those who refuse treatment for it, and many do refuse because they think that they are healthy.  The disease is self-righteousness which is afflicting many of us.  We have lost the sense of sin in our lives.  Some of us delude ourselves in thinking that our life is one in which we have defeated sin and we are blameless before God and man.  This spiritual myopia is a quite curable if we want it to be cured.  All we need to do is to take the medicine that has been offered by Jesus. For us Catholics, we need to sit back and examine our conscience after asking the Holy Spirit to reveal our sins.  An honest review is the first step. Our leper friend knew he was a leper when he approached Jesus, we must know and acknowledge that we are sinners as we approach Him.  Then what?  Do we pray to Jesus asking for forgiveness?  Sure, why not?  But we must not stop at this point.  We must, with all humility, face our sins, face to face with Jesus and His Church in the sacrament of reconciliation.  It is here that we receive the forgiveness of Jesus for sure and forever. Here too we receive the wisdom on how to avoid committing sins again, and it is here that we prayerfully express our sorrow and receive the forgiveness of Christ and His Church.  Why do we need the forgiveness of His Church? This is because no sin is committed that does not affect the Body of Christ in some way, shape, or form.  We sin in community and the community forgives us and we heal the brokenness of our relationship with Christ and His community. 

Confession? Is this really necessary?  Verbalizing our faults will make us own them and let us see we are not as perfect as we had thought ourselves to be.  We will begin to see us as God sees us and because we have humbly expressed our sorrow and asked to be made clean, just like the leper, we will be welcomed back into the community and we will take our place as a follower of Christ. 

Sin can be forgiven in the confessional and that restores the relationship between us and God. What remains is the effect of sin on our soul.  The poor souls in Purgatory are saved by Christ's death on the cross and will attain heaven. What they are doing in Purgatory is removing the attachments to sin that may be left on the soul. They need our prayers.  Please pray for them today. So many are there who have no one to pray for them.  Say this prayer for them today:

According to tradition, St. Gertrude the Great was told by Our Lord that the following prayer, each time she piously recited it, would release 1,000 souls (or a vast number) from their suffering in purgatory:

“Eternal Father,
I offer You the most precious blood
of thy Divine Son, Jesus,
in union with the Masses said
throughout the world today,
for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory,
for sinners everywhere,
for sinners in the universal Church,
for those in my own home,
and in my family. Amen.”

Abba, Father

GAL 4:4-7

Brothers and sisters:                                                                   
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son,
born of a woman, born under the law, 
to ransom those under the law, 
so that we might receive adoption as sons.
As proof that you are sons, 
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, 
crying out, "Abba, Father!"
So you are no longer a slave but a son, 
and if a son then also an heir, through God.

Happy 2018!   It has to be the greatest feeling in the world to know that YOU are loved.  I don't mean that God loves all of  His children, although He does. No, I mean he loves you, just as you are right now today on this first day of the New Year. He stands ready to be your father, no strike that, just like Paul says, he is your Abba, which is your daddie.  It is a term of endearment that children used.  It means the person who personally loves and protects them and who knows each of them just as he knows himself. 

Start 2018 with this in mind.  Your father is there ready to go with you every step of the way this year.  There will be no issue so great that you and He cannot work out together.   You may be close to Him now, but just you wait, by the end of this year you will be even closer, you will understand Him better and your vision of His plan for you will become even clearer tor you.  He will strengthen you when you need to be strengthened. He will wipe your tears when you need to cry and tell Him how you have failed.  He will raise your spirit up and assure you that your failure is part of His plan and you just have to wait to see the seeds you planted take root and grow.

There will be many challenges ahead of us in this year of 2018 and much room for personal growth in our love of the God and man.  Our Abba, our daddy will see us through all of it and we will help make His kingdom come.  

💔 Please join my new prayer ministry for the Poor Souls in Purgatory.  There is no paperwork to fill out, you don't even have to tell me that you joined, just promise to pray at least once a day for the Poor Souls in Purgatory and once a month say the prayer of St. Gertrude the Great and offer up one communion for the soul who has been in Purgatory the longest and has no one else to pray for them.  I promise, it will take only a minute or two out of your busy day but it will mean so much for our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, friends, and relatives who just might be there.  You loved them in life, pray them into eternal life!  Here is the prayer of St. Gertrude the Great:  

According to tradition, St. Gertrude the Great was told by Our Lord that the following prayer, each time she piously recited it, would release 1,000 souls (or a vast number) from their suffering in purgatory:

“Eternal Father,
I offer You the most precious blood
of thy Divine Son, Jesus,
in union with the Masses said
throughout the world today,
for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory,
for sinners everywhere,
for sinners in the universal Church,
for those in my own home,
and in my family. Amen.”

God, Donald Trump, and the I Phone

Do not love the world or the things of the world. 
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 
For all that is in the world,
sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life,
is not from the Father but is from the world. 
Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. 
But whoever does the will of God remains forever.

We live in a world that has very different values than we have. Just really watch some of the commercials on television.  Light years away from earth I wonder what the little green men think of the people from earth as they intercept our television signals.  I know that they must think that all of us have failing digestive systems because you cannot go five minutes without learning about some new laxative or antacid product. It is kind of funny actually, did you know that there was quite a controversy in the early days of TV when a company wanted to advertise their deodorant?  The censors thought it was too personal to mention in polite company.  Today, there is no limit, they even allow ads for condoms, personal lubricants, and whiskey to run at times when children may still be watching.  But, this entry is not about TV or advertising, the ads that run are just a symptom of the malady that afflicts us in the twenty-first century.

The world has become a more complicated and deadly place. News from countries far away breaks mere minutes after the incident occurs.  As a whole, we think more of ourselves and our own comfort than we do about others.  We tend to get entangled in the world and lose sight of what should be the most important thing in life, our eternal destiny.  What good will our thousand-dollar Apple phone do us when we stand before God?  What about that beautiful car or our 401K plan? Will God ask what kind of retirement you had or if you liked driving that Lexus?  We spoil our health grasping for the things of this world and when we have what we want, we realize that we want more.  Forgive me for saying this, I think that God gave the United States Donald Trump and the chaos he brings to the job as our leader to be a wake-up call.  But even if He didn't, it is time to arise from our slumber and take stock of where we are and where we are going. In our reading, John is reminding us that the things of this world are passing away.  Holding on to them is like tying yourself to a large rock when the ship you are on begins to sink.  Technically you are prepared for the sinking but you made the wrong preparations and you will sink faster than the ship. 

Look, we all need things to live. We need food and shelter, work to do for example. But we must try to be prudent and try to give more than we take.  This is what love is all about, giving as opposed to taking.  Imagine a world where we fell all over ourselves in looking after our brothers and sisters.  It would be a world without want, a utopia.  Set yourself realistic Christian based goals and remember everything on this planet stays here when you leave. 

In this season of joy, can we take a few minutes to pray for the poor souls in purgatory?  Try this experiment.  Open your newspaper obituary page or go to a funeral home's web page.  Select at random one of the poor souls listed there and just for today, pray for that person's soul. What should you pray? An Our Father, A Hail Mary and a Glory Be is all that is needed to start your ministry to our brothers and sister in Purgatory. It does not matter if the person is Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, or Muslim.  God loves all of His children.  Or you could do this.  Pray for a deceased relative.  Yes, I know they were a good person and maybe they really did go straight to heaven, but what if they didn't?  A prayer for them today won't be wasted.  If they do not need it, it will be applied to someone who does.  Please always remember:  As they are, you may someday be. 

Knowing

1 JN 2:3-11

Beloved:
The way we may be sure that we know Jesus is to keep his commandments. 
Whoever says, "I know him," but does not keep his commandments
is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
But whoever keeps his word,
the love of God is truly perfected in him. 
This is the way we may know that we are in union with him:
whoever claims to abide in him ought to walk just as he walked.

Beloved, I am writing no new commandment to you
but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. 
The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 
And yet I do write a new commandment to you,
which holds true in him and among you,
for the darkness is passing away,
and the true light is already shining. 
Whoever says he is in the light,
yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness. 
Whoever loves his brother remains in the light,
and there is nothing in him to cause a fall. 
Whoever hates his brother is in darkness;
he walks in darkness
and does not know where he is going
because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

I am a person that knows a lot of stuff.  That does not make me special, it means that I have had some education and the knowledge that has been discovered by those that came before me has in part been instilled in me.  It is safe to say that if I were to be sent back to the 1700's and ended up in Salem Massachusetts that I would have been arrested and tried and hung for being a warlock because I have knowledge of things that they could not even dream about.  Can you imagine if I told them about a light that used no fire?  Or what if I told them about a power source, such as radium, that had the potential of powering the light that used no fire forever.  Oh, they would hang me alright because they could never understand things that they had no inkling about. If you were to send me back to Europe, in the time of DiVinci, he would understand some of what I was speaking about and he would consider me a genius.  Yes, I have a lot of knowledge but so what? 

I know a lot about Jesus and his life and his Church and how to live a good Christian life but again if I do not do it, then what good does all of this knowledge do for me?  It not only does me no good because if I know it, I am responsible for it and should incorporate it into my life.  This is what John is telling us on the chilly December morning.  It is not enough to know about Jesus, you must know Jesus and follow Him by carrying your cross too. 

The poor souls need your help.  Please pray for them today.