Trust

"There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.   

He asked himself, 'What shall I do,

for I do not have space to store my harvest?'

And he said, 'This is what I shall do:

I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.

There I shall store all my grain and other goods

and I shall say to myself, "Now as for you,

you have so many good things stored up for many years,

rest, eat, drink, be merry!"'

But God said to him,

'You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;

and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?'

Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself

but is not rich in what matters to God."

I think that this is a good reminder for us at the start of another work week.  There is dignity in all labor and all of us are called to some form of it during the time we live on earth.  We work to provide for ourselves the things that we need to survive on this planet.   I think that it is a little bit more than what the guy on the commercial says we need; Food, Water, and Intenet.  But we do need to somehow get the basic things we need to live and for most of us, we have to exchange our labor to earn money for these things.  We are warned by Jesus in the parable to guard against all forms of greed.  The man, in this case, decides that he is going to gather all of his riches in one place and then he is going to sit back and enjoy it all.  We see that God has other plans for him.  So, is this man guilty of anything?  He sounds like a commercial for a retirement counselor.  All of us are looking to make it big enough so that we can stop working.  That is okay, there is nothing wrong in that.  We are just reminded to be aware that we can be called at any time and that the riches we have so carefully accumulated will belong to someone else when we die.  We are to keep things in perspective and to trust God more than trusting in our own abilities.

Our Father has prepared for us a place that we cannot begin to imagine.  This is where we will receive our true rest and out true happiness.  Trust in God and you will be forever glad. 

He's Gotta Be Kidding, Right?

Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight.

The vengeful will suffer the LORD's vengeance, for he remembers their sins in detail.

Forgive your neighbor's injustice;

then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.

Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the LORD?

Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself, can he seek pardon for his own sins?

If one who is but flesh cherishes wrath, who will forgive his sins?

remember your last days, set enmity aside;  remember death and decay, and cease from sin!   

Think of the commandments, hate not your neighbor; remember the Most High's covenant, and overlook faults.

                                                                                                                       

Oh My Goodness ! What I am to  make of this reading from the book of Sirach?  This spells out something that is quite hard for me to do and it spells it out in simple terms that even a two figure I.Q. person like me can understand!  God expects me to forgive and not to take vengeance against someone who hurt me!  There has to be a loophole somewhere.  I know, this is from the Old Testament, that's it! Forget about this, I am covered by the New Testament. What do you mean this subject is also covered in the New Testament?    

Peter approached Jesus and asked him,

"Lord, if my brother sins against me,

how often must I forgive?

As many as seven times?" 

Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. 

That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king

who decided to settle accounts with his servants. 

When he began the accounting,

a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. 

Since he had no way of paying it back,

his master ordered him to be sold,

along with his wife, his children, and all his property,

in payment of the debt. 

At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,

'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.'

Moved with compassion the master of that servant

let him go and forgave him the loan. 

When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants

who owed him a much smaller amount. 

He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,

'Pay back what you owe.'

Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,

'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'

But he refused. 

Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison

until he paid back the debt. 

Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,

they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master

and reported the whole affair. 

His master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! 

I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. 

Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,

as I had pity on you?'

Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers

until he should pay back the whole debt. 

So will my heavenly Father do to you,

unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart."

Oh My Goodness !  It looks like I am trapped!  I am charged with forgiving my fellow servants if I am to expect God to forgive me.  How can I do this?  Doesn't God understand just how deeply I was hurt and how grave the offense against me was?   

As I have gone through life, I have acquired hurts and scars and painful endings.  Outside the person that the world sees appears to be as strong as steel but inside the hurts have accumulated and have become very heavy on my back. These things have affected me and my thoughts in ways that would astound and frighten the child of God that lives inside of me. This child of God can turn into a mean spirited brat child seeking only the self satisfaction that payback for the hurts afflicted on him which will lead me away from God and into sin.  

I am commanded by God to forgive those who have injured me. I am to release all of the negativity that we are carrying around in my soul.  God indeed knows how deep the hurts have penetrated my very soul.  He is also aware of the gravity of the offense committed against me and he still insists that I grant pardon to my fellow creatures.  If I do this He will not consider the gravity of the offenses I committed against Him.  He will forget the injuries I have heaped up against Him as I thoughtlessly have gone through life and He will cast memories of my sins so far away that they will be remembered no more.  

On the other hand, if I insist on my way, if I insist on attaining complete satisfaction from those who hurt me, then He will insist on in immediate payment in full when I stand before Him on my judgement day.  On that day I will stand before God naked and afraid and without the means to pay my debts to Him. He will deal with me as I dealt with my fellow humans on earth and hand me over to the torturers until I have paid the last penny of my debt. 

Friends, this is serious stuff. Your whole eternity hinges on how you love and how you forgive. Face the facts.  The sins committed against you pale compared to the sins you committed against God.  We must forgive in our hearts those that have done us wrong. 

  

THAT DOES NOT MEAN WE HAVE TO GO BACK TO THAT PERSON  FOR ANOTHER HELPING OF THE OFFENSE.  It is not expected, for example, for a wife who has been beaten by a husband to return to him to make forgiveness complete. We just need to be like God to those who offend us and forgive and forget and leave vengeance to God's care. Clear your heart of all hate and resentment. Grant pardon even to those who don't deserve it. If you can't do it yourself then give it all to the Lord to handle for you. He is the expert, He will help you do this, and He will heal you and welcome you to be with Him forever in heaven. 

THE POOR SOULS IN PURGATORY WOULD BE FOREVER GRATEFUL TO YOU IF YOU OFFERED A PRAYER FOR THEM THIS DAY. PLEASE PRAY FOR MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY THAT MAY BE THERE AND PLEASE PRAY FOR THE SOUL THAT HAS BEEN THERE THE LONGEST AND HAS NO ONE TO PRAY FOR HIM OR HER.

Importance Of Prayer

Jesus departed to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God.
When day came, he called his disciples to himself,
and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:


Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,
James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,
Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus,
Simon who was called a Zealot,
and Judas the son of James,
and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

If prayer wasn't important, then Jesus would not have done it.  But, if we look carefully in the Bible we can see that Jesus prays an awful lot. In this reading, He prays before calling the disciples from their everyday affairs and bringing them into the work of being fishers of men. 

Very often we are afraid of prayer because we believe that we do not do it well.  We look at people such as Thomas Merton, Saint Francis, monks, brothers, sisters, and nuns we have known and we know we cannot pray like they can pray.  We never have the words to say like they do.  Well, let me assure you of something, everyone on earth is an expert at prayer because prayer does not require expertise. 

God does not want flowery talk with a lot of "thee's and thous" sprinkled on top like doughnut toppings.  God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit want to hear from you, not from St. Francis, unless you are St. Francis!  Speak to God in your prayers as if He is in the chair across from you. He wants to know what you want to tell Him and He knows what you haven't said as well.  To grow in prayer is to grow in the trust of God.  The more you speak to Him as a friend, the more you will realize that God's friendship has no end and that the love he has for you is real and deep and infinite.  

We have, through Christ, an immediate audience with God. Do not be afraid, He is listening. 

Please pray for the poor souls in Purgatory.  The time for doing good is on this side of death's door. these souls cannot help themselves. An Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be take only a moment or two but it brings them such comfort.  Won't you take a moment now for them?

Waiting,Watching, Keeping Time and Eternity

"Therefore, stay awake,  
for you know neither the day nor the hour."

Eternity is a long time.  Just when you think you've been there for a long time, it dawns on you that you've only just begun.  This reality is the reality for all of us, Christian, non-Christian, Buddhist, Atheist, or whatever.  Each of us bears within us a never-ending supply of life.  This, even more than the speed of light, is the one law that will affect all of us.  In a week, or in a year, or maybe tomorrow we will cast off this temporary housing and find ourselves standing before the judgment seat of God and there we will see in His awesome beauty, Jesus Christ,  The Son of God.  We will render an account of our life to Him and the location we will choose where we will spend our eternity in, either heaven with God, or if we choose, hell, without Him.

Thomas A' Kempis in the Imitation of Christ tells us that we should not put off doing a good deed until later because we do not know if we will even draw one more breath.  That is what the story of the virgins waiting for the bridegroom means. Be ready at any moment because we do not know the time that Jesus will call us.  This lesson, for me, is easier to understand now as I am older than it was when I was very young.  The youth feel the seed of immortality more keenly than the old because it is so close to the surface and it has not taken root as it has in the more mature.  The young in the spring of life interpret this feeling as being applicable to their lives here on earth and the door to eternity is so far away that it bears no consideration. 

Be watchful, young and old, men and women, for the chances to do good that come your way. Do the good not out of fear of losing heaven if you do not do them, for heaven is a free gift. Do the good deeds in celebration of the life that you have been given with the knowledge that what you do for others will please our Father in heaven. 

The poor souls in purgatory cannot pray themselves out of there and into heaven.  They depend on us to help them. I believe that praying for the poor souls is the ultimate good deed - remember to pray for them today and dedicate your weekly Mass to them.  You will be glad that you did. 

Clare and Francis

  What profit would there be for one to        

 gain the whole world and forfeit his life?

There was no woman on earth that St. Francis loved more than Clare.  Spiritually they were bound as one by the love of poverty and dependence upon God for all things. Clare, for her part, loved only God more than Francis.  She abandoned the world and Francis himself cut her hair and presented her with the habit that she would wear along with many women of like spirituality that would take the same habit and form the order known as The Poor Clares.  Clare would reign as leader of this group who went shoeless and slept on the floor for forty-two years. This manner of living in a convent was quite different than the norm at the time.  Convents admitted two types of nuns into their order at the time, basically those from the upper class who would bring with them huge amounts of money as a dowry and those that could bring very little.  The two classes were treated very differently indeed.  The well-off would spend their time doing womanly, refined things while those from the lower classes did the menial chores of the house.  In the Poor Clares, all were equal, all depended upon God for their very lives.  It came to pass that the Saracens, we would call them Muslims or Moslems, were laying waste to Europe at the time.  They approached the Poor Clare convent and instead of fleeing for their lives, the Poor Clares stayed put and in prayer.  Clare retrieved the Eucharist from the chapel and stood at the gate of the convent and prayed for God to deliver them. She heard a voice saying to her, "I will always protect you."  The Saracens approached but when they saw Clare in the doorway holding the Eucharist, they felt an overpowering sense of fear and dread and fled in terror. 

Clare and Francis were separate societies of women and men who spent their life depending on God for everything.  They lived a life of work and prayer and by their example they showed God's love for the poor.  Today, we flee from poverty, we flee from anything that makes us the least bit uncomfortable.  We work hard to gain the things of this world, a fancy home, and car, rich food, pleasures and good times, and we congratulate ourselves like the rich man whose life was required by God that very night. 

While we may not be ready to do what Clare and Francis did, we can certainly live more simply and not be dazzled by the wonders of this world so much that our vision of what is to come is blinded.  Maybe we should learn to depend on less ourselves and more on Our Father. 

What's behind the elevator's door is important

"A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own ouse."

 And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.

We take a lot for granted in this life.  For example, you have faith that when the elevator door opens for you to get in, that the elevator will actually be there and you will not be entering the shaft.  We have faith that the traffic signals are working as designed even though we can only see the ones pointed in our direction.  We have faith that our bank is not going to steal the money we have placed into our account and unless you were a customer of Wells Fargo, you were right to trust your bank.  We assume that things are as they are because they always had been that way before.  In other words, we believe in the evidence of our experience.  This works very well for us and makes life simpler.  Can you imagine what life would be like if you could not depend on these simple man made things?

In our reading today, Jesus is in His hometown and the people who were most familiar with Him and His family could not understand where He got the powers He had from.  They watched Him grow up and they knew His mom and dad and his relatives.  He was no one special when He lived among them. Their everyday experience of Jesus made them unable to have faith in Him and without faith, Jesus was unable to work many miracles among them.  Lack of faith will make us immune to much of what God wants to do for us. If we lack faith it follows that we lack trust and if we do not trust God, we trust ourselves more.  We have to abandon trust in ourselves and embrace trust in God.  If we open ourselves to God, there is no limit to what He can do to and for us.  

Be aware that it is not that God is unable to break through, it is because he is polite enough to allow us to have our way and is patient enough to wait until we are ready to the display the faith that comes from deep within our souls. 

DO YOU WANT TO MAKE A FOREVER FRIEND?  PRAY FOR THE POOR SOUL IN PURGATORY WHO HAS BEEN THERE THE LONGEST AND HAS NO ONE TO PRAY FOR HIM OR HER...YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID. 

Lent - Broken Hearts Mended Here

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;

and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.

There is no pain greater than a broken heart. When something touches us so deeply, to our innermost core, the pain can be more debilitating than a physical injury.  Break a leg, and in a matter of weeks, it is healed.  Break a heart, and the injury can last for the rest of your life! 

The hardest part about dealing with a broken heart, at least for me, is the feeling that no one understands the pain you are going through. Even your best friend may tell you to "toughen up and work through it."  The advice is well-meaning but hard to implement. 

We all have suffered a broken heart at one time or another in our lives. Each of us has felt that pain that turns into an ache that does not want to go away.  Some of us embark on a regimen of self-treatment. We look for answers in drugs or alcohol.  Some of us try to heal ourselves by trying to forget by keeping permanently busy in mind and body so we do not have to think about it. This works right up until the time we stop for a moment to rest. It is then that all of the bad feelings come flooding back in.  To deal with a broken heart by doing nothing at all is perhaps the most dangerous thing you can do.  A broken heart never mends through inaction.  

There is a sure cure for a broken heart. To cure a broken heart in the quickest amount of time possible you have to lay the burden down and ask someone stronger to pick it up for you.  There is only one person that can do this astounding feat.  This person is, of course, the Lord.  He is no stranger to a broken heart.  He knows what it is to be disappointed in those he loves.  He knows what it feels like to give His all, only to be rejected by us as we walk away.  I believe that the physical pain of the cross was not as bad as the thoughts that must of went through the mind of Jesus as he hung there. In the Garden, the previous night he sweated blood. So, if you ever need a friend who knows what a broken heart feels like, turn to Jesus, turn to God.  In Him, you will find a friend forever.  In Him, you will find healing for the hurts of life, especially the hurts that break your heart. It will take time but after all, it is better to walk the road of pain with a willing companion.  That willing companion is Jesus who will heal your broken heart. 

Third Sunday of Lent - Heart Attack!

When I graduated from High School, part of the program, actually, the administration's last attempt at controlling our class, was to sing "The Age of Aquarius"  which was made popular by the Mammas and the Pappas, if my mind serves me right.  If you are not familiar with the tune, it is a tune that glorifies astrology.  The age of Aquarius is supposed to usher in a time of peace and tranquility.  Well, I graduated in 1970 so we see how well that worked out, peace and tranquility indeed!  But Aquarius is the water bearer. Today's first reading tells of the Hebrews who have a lack of water and they were concerned about this. Moses is at his wit's end.  Here were a people who had seen the Red Sea open up allowing them to pass over dry land with water like a wall on the left and on the right.  This was a people who had been eating free food, manna in the morning and quail at night. Now, they were thirsty.  They begin grumbling and forgetting what God had already done and had the unmitigated gall to ask Moses if he had dragged them out to the desert just to see them perish from thirst.  Moses went to God and told his tale of woe about the stiff-necked people. God provided water when Moses struck the rock. The issue here was one of trust.  The people, who had been given abundance and plenty still failed to trust in God when the going got tough. The people needed water.  This was not an optional thing as they would die without it. God was well aware of their needs and would have met them without all of the grumblings. 

Are we any different than the Hebrews at Meribah? On the day of Massah when our fathers tempted God although they had seen His works?  In our lifetime have there been times when we have had needs and have forgotten the times when God has been there? Do we grumble as the Hebrews did in the desert?

It is more than a matter of trust. It is a matter of giving up control.  We want control of our lives, every day and every minute.  As one who has had a heart attack, I can tell you that each of us will come to a point when all control is lost. Here is my story. 

If you ever want to beat the crowd in the emergency room simply follow these instructions. Step one, Be a past middle-aged man who is overweight. Step two, go up to the counter and say just two words, "Chest Pain."  The doors swing wide open and the medical community descends on you in force and in little more than two minutes you are in a bed with a central line in and hooked up to a monitor and munching on an aspirin.  All control was wrested from me. I sunk into a moment of self-pity, which was my version of what the Hebrews did at the rock, Then, recovering my senses I turned my plight over to God. I have to tell you it was hard to give up the illusion of having complete control as just one hour before I was seemingly in charge of my life, then, suddenly, I was not in charge or control of anything. Strangers all dressed in white were coming in, checking this and that, injecting medicine all without asking my permission. I prayed and turned it over to God. Things improved for me from that moment on.  By this I mean my mind stopped racing and I knew that no matter what happened from this point on, good or bad, I would be okay. For a few moments, I was just like the Hebrews. When I sunk into self-pity I forgot all of the things God had done for me in my life to that moment.  Long story short, four stents later I was sent home after a couple of days in the hospital.  The doctor said that there had been no damage to my heart.  He likened it to getting a scratch on a new car.  The car still worked, it just had this scratch. 

Water, a simple thing. Our bodies are about sixty percent water. Water refreshes the body when we drink it.  It cleanses the body when we wash with it. It cleanses the soul at Baptism.  Water is just another example of God's love and care for His children. Don't be surprised if when something happens in your life and you lose control. Your first reaction may well be to grumble and say "why me?"  Later, when you come to your senses and you realize that God is in control, you will surrender to Him, secure in the knowledge that he will not disappoint you. 

Storm Clouds Gather - A Modern Christian Writes a Psalm of Lament

STORM CLOUDS GATHERING

Today is the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time and the Church presents us with readings that tell us of storm clouds gathering in the life of Christ.  The first reading form Wisdom  tells us that there are those that will be plotting against God's Holy One to the point where they will put Him to death in a shameful way.  The second reading is from James and reminds us that discord and disharmony come from our propensity to covet what we cannot have and from our unbridled passions. In the Gospel, Jesus reminds us that He will suffer and die and after three days rise again,  Here is my "Psalm" of lament to My God. 

Hear us oh Lord for our fears are many. 

We are simple human beings my Jesus,

How can we be unmoved and unconcerned as we watch 

Daily the violent deaths that are inflicted on God's children,

By Isis And the Army of Satan 
And the followers of the False Prophet?

They sow death and destruction .

The people and land cry out. 

Their malevolent eyes and hands spoil the land. 

They kill, rape, maim, and martyr Your holy ones. 

They cannibalize their own followers as well.  

These followers of Satan take joy in murder. 

Day and night they water the soil with blood of the innocent.

Young and old, men and women, girls and boys and babies at the breast fall to their swords.

We look on in horror and ask; "What can we do?" 

The answer comes on the wind, 

The answer is audible to all of your servants, 

You call us to trust in you Lord..

Lord, fill my heart with trust in You.  

For You know the day of your triumph. 

On that day all things in the cosmos, in Heaven, on the Earth and under the earth will call You Lord. 

Let me trust again Lord in the Rainbow. 

Let my heart be lightened by the Star of Bethlehem.  

Let me trust that you will move your mighty arm when the time is right and bring all things under your subjection. 

Lord, let me work for the establishment of your Kingdom on earth. Let me be a brother to my brothers and to my sisters as well 
For we have but one Father.  
Let my example be one of patience and joy 
For I will wait in prayerful hope for your victory to be manifest. 
Let me last just one minute longer than your enemies 
Lord, for in that minute your strength and love will be forever written in the sky. 

Lord, I trust in You to be my Hiding Place, my Rock and my fortress. 

I hand to my enemies my body.
With my body my Jesus, with that they can do as they will 

But my soul, my soul, my soul Oh Jesus, that I give to you! 

I am your possession, 

I am your slave, 

I accept Your will for me and thank you for your great mercy.

All praise and glory and honor be to the Name of Jesus, a name of the Son of God our Father   

Amen

How To Be Like Jesus

The Cost of iscipleship

There is one way and one way only that we can become like Jesus and that is specified in the Gospel of Luke:

Then he said to all. "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me."

If you have been a Christian for any length of time this is a familiar passage to you.  Luke 9: 23 is a challenge for each of us and is another call for the Christian to be counter-culture.  But what exactly does it mean to take up a cross daily?  It can mean many different things.  

Just being a Christian in this world of ours can be a major cross to be carried.  I think of our brothers and sisters in the East.  The soil of those far away lands have been enriched with the blood of people, Catholics and Protestants, who refused to deny Christ.  The modern martyrs show what the ultimate cost of being a Christian is. If our Lord and Master was killed, can we expect anything less? 

In the United States we do not as yet face the death sentence for being Christian but we do face ridicule for not going along with the beliefs of the majority. This is how we take up our cross and follow along with Jesus.  We must cast away selfishness and replace it with selflessness. Jesus came and even though he is a King and can command us, he chose to come to earth as a slave and to serve us. 

So to serve the Lord is to reject the wisdom of this world in favor of True Wisdom, Wisdom which comes from God.  So to become more like Christ requires us to deny our very selves and carry our cross daily with Him.   But what are these crosses? 

Mother Theresa tells us what these crosses are and that is to do small things with great love.  So I believe we are called to watch for the opportunity to offer comfort to a small child who has fallen. Or to give bread to the hungry or clothes to the naked, or visiting the sick or those in prison.   As Scripture teaches us, what we do for the least we do for Him. 

Remember, I will answer any questions you might have about the Catholic Church or Christianity in general.  Hate mail will not receive a response.   God bless you and keep you and may Christ light the path for you on this day. 

Calming The Storm - Trusting

The sky was gray and flashes of lightning lit up the sky and thunder rolled and made its bold proclamation. A small band of men were half way between where they were coming from and where they were going.  Waves lashed their small boat and the rolling thunder seemingly laughed at their puny efforts to control nature. Real fear welled up inside them and they cried out to their true captain for help. He stood and raising his hands he calmed the storm. They were amazed at what he could do. 

We have all had storms in our life. Sickness, disputes between family members, loss of a job, restlessness, feeling guilty for something you did or failed to do, and other things of the same ilk. 

I know for certain that until that day I arrive in heaven that storms are inevitable. It is not a question of "if" but rather "when."*  We have to be ready for the storms and we have to learn to trust in the Captain of our very Soul. 

In Matthew 8:23-27 we read;

He got into a boat and his disciples followed him.

24 Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so

that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep. 25 They came and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" 26 He said to them, "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?"  Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea,

and there was great calm. 27 The men were amazed and said, "What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?"   (Matt 8: 23-27)

I think it is telling that the disciples found the Master sleeping.  A person who is worried does not sleep. The disciples could not understand how He could be sleeping when all around them the world was in chaos.  They woke Him up and He asked them why they had such little faith.  When I put myself in the place that the apostles found themselves in I can certainly sympathize with them.  It appeared that they were going to perish.  In reality Jesus had everything under control even though they could not see that with their mortal eyes. 

I too have that tendency to panic when a storm hits my life. I don't think I am unique in this.  What I have to tell myself is that the storm is a passing thing and that Jesus, the Captain of my Soul has everything under control.  

*Quote from Matthew Kelly
Visit Matthew Kelly's Website - you will glad you did!


Support the music of Jim Cole by clicking on this link.