Remembering

"In the world, you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world."

Today is a day for remembering the people that have made your life what it is today. As I get older, my list of people that I have to remember becomes longer and longer.  I look at the tragic circumstances that took some of these people from me.  For example, there was a boyhood acquaintance, not a close friend, but a classmate, who was hit by speeding train. I remember to this very day his young body laying in that casket.  I remember going to the funeral of my father's "Uncle George."  He was found alone in his apartment laying on the floor.  And of course I remember with great sorrow the death of my mother who was a victim of the medical arts, a victim of a doctor who just did not care.  Then there was my father, a victim of R.J. Reynolds, who died gasping for breath after a lifetime of smoking. 

I am sure that you can remember the deaths of people in your family, or people that you knew.  Take your car and drive into the country and you will see evidence of tragedy everywhere as large plots of land have been set aside for the burial of ourselves, our relatives, and yes, even ourselves.  So what is this nonsense that Jesus said that he had conquered the world? 

Thank heavens, Jesus HAS conquered the world.  Part of this is, of course, that he has conquered sin and death. Before Christ, death and the devil laughed at the plight of the human race. After Christ, it is us that do the laughing because when death stung Jesus, death stung itself to death! 

On this memorial day, take a few moments and remember those that died before us.  They are now in heaven enjoying the Beatific Vision, being with God and the saints forever.  They are in a place where there is no pain, there is no suffering.  They know everyone and everyone knows them. 

Take a few moments as well to remember those who died so that you can be free to worship as you want to.  This year I will remember in my prayers in a special way a local man who gave his life for his country:

Army Spc. Wesley R. Wells 

Died September 20, 2004

Naka, Afghanistan 

Head in the Clouds

They said, "Men of Galilee,

why are you standing there looking at the sky?

This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven 

will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.

The apostles, now down to eleven because one of them betrayed the Lord and had committed suicide were once again confused, scared, and not sure what was going to happen next.  They had been instructed to return to Jerusalem and to wait.  They could not get back to that upper room fast enough. Their Lord and Savior had once again left them, they felt alone and afraid. 

They had seen Jesus ascend upwards towards heaven and they watched until they could see Him no more.  They stared into the sky and then He was gone.  They watched a bit longer and then two men dressed in snow-white garments appeared and told them to get a move on, that Jesus would return in the same way as they had seen Him leave.  

They were in the same room where not long ago, the Lord washed their feet and told them that to be a leader, one had to be willing to be a servant to all. He gave them a great example of His love that night. He took the form of a slave and washed their feet. Then He gave them for all-time His most Sacred Body, Blood,  Soul, and Divinity in the Eucharist.  He followed this up the very next day by completing the Passover feast by drinking the fourth cup of wine on the Cross, taking upon his soul the sins of all. 

Now, the apostles were doing what they did best, they were waiting and praying.  They did not know what was going to happen next but they followed instructions and were waiting in that upper room. 

We too sometimes find ourselves locked away in our rooms waiting. We pray and wait for the Lord to answer our prayer, to give us our marching orders. It is okay to wait and listen.  But we must be ready to throw open the door to our upper room and be ready to advance once those orders have been received.  We know what happened to the Apostles, Pentecost happened.  When the time came, with the help of the Holy Spirit they threw off the shackles of fear and boldly proclaimed the Word of God.

Next week is Pentecost Sunday.  Let us spend the seven days between now and then, praying and getting ready to give to the world what it needs, Jesus.  The two men in white were sent to stir up the apostles and set them on the path that the Lord wanted them to follow.   They speak to us today as well.  Prepare ye the way of the Lord! 

Watch Out What You Pray For

Jesus said to his disciples:"Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

Okay, I will admit it.  I have a hard time understanding this bit of scripture.  I, myself, have prayed in the name of Jesus and have not received what I prayed for.  To prove to you how long standing this problem is let me tell you what happened to me in the fourth grade.  We had learned in third grade that the Blessed Mother, Mary, had been assumed into heaven, body, and soul and was with Jesus, in heaven in the flesh.  In the fourth grade, I had the bad luck of being assigned to the classroom of Mrs. R. Reid, one of three lay teachers that taught in the hallowed halls of Saint Joseph and Saint Ann School in the Brighton Park neighborhood, southwest side of Chicago, in the 60's.  I think that Mr. Moreset, the janitor, had more teaching ability in his thumb than Mrs. R. Reid had in her whole body.  For some reason, we did not get along.  She failed to understand that I had no interest in jumping through hoops for her and providing homework for her to grade, especially homework that involved that devil's curse, "The New Math." I was constantly on her "S" list because of her complete lack of understanding.  One time, when she received the news that the math homework assigned the previous day, alas, was not going to make an appearance in her inbox, she smiled a devilish smile at me, and after stationing a snitch to write the name of people who talked while she was gone, she left the classroom.  Whilst she was gone I earnestly prayed for her to be assumed into heaven, just like the Blessed Virgin Mary. I figured it was a double win. She would get to experience the happiness of heaven without having to die and I would be rid of her once and for all and without me having to pray that she be killed by a lightning strike.   I figured if this assumption business worked once, Jesus could do it again and spare me a lot of trouble. Alas, it wasn't to be and to make a long story short, I was the subject of an impromptu parent - teacher conference attended that very morning by my mother, Mrs. Reid, and the beloved principal of our school Sister Victoria.  My prayer had fallen on deaf ears. It was not answered.  Well, I know now that it was actually answered but the answer was, "No."  

Asking things of God is a good thing to do.  We are encouraged to approach God and ask for what we need.  Our wisdom does not approach that of God's wisdom.  God will grant our every request, of that we are guaranteed!  But if this is so, why didn't Mrs. Reid float up to heaven on that lovely winter day so very long ago?  It is because God knew that removing that particular obstacle for me, while it would cure a current craving, it would do no good in the long run. Thus, Mrs. R. Reid stayed with her feet on the ground and bit by agonizing bit Michael learned the joys, as best as he could, of the New Math. My prayer to God, like all prayer, is asking our Father if He loves us.  His answer is always a big, "Yes" even if we interpret the answer received as a big, "No."

We must be alert to watch for the answer to our every prayer. In life, we most likely have received answers to our prayers that we did not recognize as answers to our prayer.  We have to keep in mind that God WILL do for us what is in our best interest. 

On this memorial day weekend, please spend a moment or two thanking God for those who have served in our military, putting themselves in harms way so that we might enjoy the freedoms that we have.   

Tears Are Flowing Like A River

http://www.poetrybyloree.com/393.html

I am not a bad writer.  True I am no Hemingway or even Poe and right now I am doing the kind of writing that I do not do very well.  Yesterday, at a concert in Manchester England an angry lone terrorist took it upon himself to end the lives of at least twenty-two people. We will probably find out that this murder was done in the name of God. I  cannot fathom why people find it necessary to kill in the name of God.  Is God so weak that He cannot fight for Himself?  I know my Church teaches that the Muslim worships the same God as I do, the God of Abraham, the God of Jacob. I do not believe that these terrorists that find fulfillment in cutting off the lives of innocent men, women, and especially children know a thing about God. A person that professes to love God cannot be a lover of violence. So, I do not know who the radical Islamic terrorists pray to, I know it is not the God who went to the Cross for us. I know it is not the God who loves us with an unspeakable love that will draw us to Him in eternity if we want it and show that we want it by being faithful to the commands of His Son.  To hate is to defy God for God is love and hate is abhorrent to Him.   God does not even hate those that hate Him. He waits, He watches, He whispers, hoping that the example of Love that was shown to all by His Son will break through the cobwebs of hate that block salvation to those who insist on having their own way. If God could cry, his tears would flow like a river for He sees what we do to each other in His name and he realizes that we do not have the slightest idea of how much He loves and wants to draw us to Him.  Today we mourn for the twenty-plus people whose lives were ended and for those who were injured whose lives will never be the sam again. The grayness of cloudy morning where I am sitting writing this seems apt and proper.  Let us pray.

My God and Father, once again Cain has raised his hand against Able and the soil of your garden accepts the blood of your children. My Father, for those who have died in this latest atrocity, please be merciful in your judgment. To those who were injured in body, Lord, speed their healing and restore to them robust good health. And for those whose spirits have been injured, quash the thirst for revenge in their hearts, dear Lord, for the sword raised in anger will remain until it finds another sword with which to clash.   I pray that you move your hand and help end the violence. Let us regain the knowledge our ancestors had about how sacred life is. Let this rampage of the evil one end and rescue your children Lord for we know not what we do.   Amen.  

Please Explain Yourself !

Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.

Always be ready to give an explanation

to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope,

but do it with gentleness and reverence,

keeping your conscience clear,

so that, when you are maligned,

those who defame your good conduct in Christ

may themselves be put to shame.

For it is better to suffer for doing good,

if that be the will of God than for doing evil.

Yesterday, I wrote about the world and how if the Church is doing a good job the world will hate us. Today, we are asked to always be ready to explain why we are a Christian.  We are told to do so gently and reverently.  So, what do you say if someone asks you why you are a Catholic Christian?   How do you respond? 

First, how would someone determine if you were a Christian? Could they tell just by looking at you?  Could they tell by a close examination of your conduct that you were different than someone who does not profess to be a friend of Jesus?  If we go back to our roots in the first century we can see that Christians of that era were known because they loved each other so much. Do we exude the aura of love in what we do and say?  Or, are we just another regular Joe (or Jane) that works nine to five and collects a paycheck to pay the bills and maybe, just maybe, have a little bit of transient joy by engaging in the things of this world.  If we could not be convicted in a court of law of being a Catholic Christian than it is unlikely anyone would bother asking why we seem different because we aren't.  If we practice our religion on Sunday and that carefully pack it away for the rest of the week, then it makes no difference in our lives.  We in effect become an undercover Catholic.  We keep our pious lives safe and secure and  no one is the wiser. 

But, if you get asked, what do you respond?  Do you break out your Bible and thump it and scream that they had better accept Jesus as their savior or suffer the pains of hell forever more?  There is nothing like going for the jugular vein.  The direct approach wastes no one's time and unfortunately discourages the person because the yelling and screaming gets lost in the noise generated by the world itself.  There will be nodding and agreement and once you walk self-righteously away, everything you have said will be filed away in the same place that the person files the information attained in late night infomercials.  

It is important to have a reason for your belief that is both honest and true.  And this reason should be self-evident in the way you conduct yourself and your words should simply confirm that what you have shown them on the outside is matched by what comes from inside. What could the reason be?  Can you put it into words?  I think our hope comes from the fact that in the Church we are united by one Bread and one Body.  I think that we are united in a spirit of love and honest and responsible conduct and gentle treatment of all we meet. We are that way because we know and believe that we are special.  We are not just ordinary Joes or Janes.  We are adopted children of the Father who loves us with a love that is impossible for us to fully understand.  It is this love, that we have in our hearts that we just have to share with those around us.  This sharing of love, this kindness in a world where a smile might be met with a fist, is what we have that the world does not have and what it longs for. 

Words can be powerful things.  Writers are skilled at arranging words to make a point.  Orators are skilled at swaying emotions through the use of vocabulary, inflection, and gesture.  But what if you are a person who cannot write and you are too shy to stand before a group of people and to try to sway them with pearls of wisdom dropping from your vocal chords?  It is very simple.  You live your life giving love and patience to all, accepting the good and the bad with equal joy and people will notice that there is something different about you.  This will attract them to you and eventually they will see that you are you because of Christ within you.  Our Church is not built on great orators or writers, both of which are needed. Our Church is built by those that use their life to make a difference to each person that they meet. 

Finally, do not be too concerned if your good attitude and mode of living brings to you rejection.  It will come.  Do not be concerned if you are the victim of persecution for that goes hand in hand with being a Christian from the beginning.  Your hope and your strength are not centered in this world, they are centered in heaven.  Your victory has already been won and that is why you can hope while the world dwells in hopelessness.  Let the brightness of your soul shine forth with the radiance of a thousand billion suns and let the world come and see why you shine so brightly.

The Church vs The World and how it affects you.

If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own;

but because you do not belong to the world,

and I have chosen you out of the world,

the world hates you."

When Jesus spoke these words, he could have been speaking about the world we live in today. We know, some of us from experience, that it is not easy to be a Christian in the second millennium, but then, it wasn't easy in the first or even during the time of the Apostles.  

What makes us different than the animals is that we have a soul that is immortal and we have a mind that knows this and is self-aware of its existence. Our mind cannot fathom a world that does not include it.  I've said before that my one problem with dying is the knowledge that while I am busy shutting down, my former neighbor will be getting ready to go to EPCOT center. My friends and family will probably after they hear of my death, wonder what the church will feed them after the funeral service. In Washington D.C. our legislators will spend more time doing nothing useful.  In other words, life on this planet will continue and more than likely, thrive without the presence of Michael The Lesser on it, whose main contribution is filling up an internet blog with prattle! 

If we all realize that our fate is a common one, no matter if there is a God or not, why don't we play nice with each other?  A Christian person should be leading the way by giving a good example, by being kind, and being forgiving to others.  

Look at the benefits of being a Christian.  First, living a Christian life will make the time on earth that we have much more pleasant.  Next and the most important thing is we receive eternal life at the end of our time on this little blue marble that floats in the Orion arm of the Milky Way Galaxy.  When you join, let's say an auto club, you usually get some sort of premium, a map case, a dog whistle, a brillo pad, it doesn't matter, it is a free premium because you are paying to become a member.  A Christian gets what a Christian gets absolutely free because we cannot buy our way into heaven. The news, nay, nay I say, The good news is that heaven and eternal life with God is a free gift given to us by the Father because He loves us so very much.  Okay, the last sentence was over the top, but still it was true! 

It is kind of ironic that as the indication that the Church is doing a good job is that the world hates it more and more. So, where does this leave us on May 20, 2017?  We need to step up our game. We need to be more Christ-like in our lives.  We must be willing to accept the retribution, without anger, actually with joy,  and we must continue to try to live out the Word as best as we can.  We must love more, help more, work more, and especially pray more.  WE must always remember the command of Jesus to love one another as He loved us.   The hatred of the world can be overcome if we put our hearts and souls into the effort. 

God bless you today, please, take a moment right now, and pray for someone that you know that needs it.  Pray and thank God that you are on of his adopted children.  Do it now.  Schedule a five-minute prayer break for yourself every day, put it in your phone's calendar like you put the  other ordinary  things that you just have to do. Make prayer a required time in your day.  Saint Francis, who worked his whole life trying to imitate Jesus said at the end of his life,  "Let us begin today brothers, for until now we have done nothing."   Let us begin, the time is right and the time is NOW!

I Want You !

They strengthened the spirits of the disciples

and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying,  

"It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships

to enter the Kingdom of God."

The 21st Century has brought to the Church more martyrs for the faith than were created in the early years of Christianity.  What is it about the name of Jesus that fills the pagans with such fear?  Is it that they know, instinctively that the victory of Jesus against His enemies is a done deal and they want to try and change that?  Is it that the power of Love that Jesus represents is too powerful for them to overcome so that they have to resort to violence?

On July 26, 2016, Father Jacques was peacefully saying Mass for his congregation when two Muslim men entered the church and murdered him by slitting his throat. Jacques was reported to have said, "Satan go" when he was confronted by his killers. Both of these Muslims pledged allegiance to the so-called Islamic state. 

Jacques is but one of many modern martyrs that have been killed by followers of a perverted version of Islam. What distinguishes a Christian martyr from an ordinary believer?  Well, of course, there is the fact that the martyr is dead. But it is before death that the martyr distinguishes him or herself. This type of person has given their all to Christ and they have held nothing back.  Their life is one of service and of love. Well, many good Christians live that way and are they any less holy than a martyr?  No, because holiness does not come to us because of our actions, it comes to us because of the attitudes we hold inside.  To be holy, one does not have to stand on the street corner shouting scripture but one must hold that scripture in their heart and act on it.  A martyr goes one step further in that they will act on scripture even in the face of death.  Their commitment to Christ and His Church is total.  Their whole life is a testimony to the love of God and their loyalties are forever united with the precepts of Christ.  They are in effect, whole people, or holy. Of course, you can be holy without being a martyr, or can you? 

Each of us has a decision to make. Do we follow the world or do we follow Christ?  Do we acknowledge Jesus as Lord of All, including Lord of us?  If we do, then the stuff of martyrs is within is. A blood martyr has given their all and sacrificed life for Jesus and has given us an example of total commitment.  On the other hand, there are modern day people that give their all in an unbloody way by caring for the poor, the homeless.  There are those who sacrifice comfort and safety to help those that cannot help themselves. These people are the bloodless martyrs and they, like those who sacrificed their physical life, are shining examples of what we should be like. 

In America, it is becoming more and more likely that we may see our fellow Christians, Catholics, and Protestants alike may be called to the ultimate sacrifice for Jesus.  The craziness of radical Islam is not unknown in America.  Each of us has to be ready to step forward when our name is called.  We must be proud and loud and ready to serve our Master.