of erring heart

We have become partners of Christ if only we hold the beginning of the reality firm until the end, for it is said: "Oh, that today you would hear his voice: 'Harden not your hearts as at the rebellion.'" Hebrews 3:14-15

Faithful. Glory. Honor. Faithful in all his house. Take care. Encourage yourselves daily.

These words leap into my imagination as I think of the building a relationship with God. Jesus Christ asks for our love, our mercy, and our honor. Good Christians are people filled with the faith and grace of God. These people are filled with charity and hope which they freely share. Their existence is one of serving the Lord, asking others to serve the Lord. Their existence reflects the hope of God for all human beings and for the followers of Christ. Their existence begins with simplicity of faith, with spirituality organic and growing, with solidarity for all human beings especially those who are forgotten, marginalized. Their relationship with God is the most important relationship in their lives. These Christians live quiet lives of great humility and sacrifice.

Each day is an opportunity to praise and exalt God by their deeds of compassion and mercy. Each day provides one more instance of their obedience to the teachings of God. With faith and courage each one of us can learn how to serve the Lord, each one of us can learn how to listen for the Lord’s voice. With prayer and patience we can learn the will of God when we allow ourselves to be loving, unselfish, quiet.

Modern life creates anxiety. Each day we are encouraged to be selfish, gluttonous, avaricious by the secular world. The flesh is seen as more important than the spiritual. Sometimes modern life seems dirty, dangerous. The media likes presenting images of all types of sin and vice. There is always the possibility of a passive indoctrination, animosity and loathing is encouraged, often heralded. Being good, following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ is often presented as weakness, being boring.

There is an intense need for cleansing now. Our society is unclean. Our faith can help us. Our love and obedience to God can save us. We must remember prayer. We must remember God’s greatest gift to each one of us.

We all need compassion, charity, humility, mercy, hope, civility, love.

We must be willing to help our neighbors with deeds and prayers. We must be willing to praise God with deeds and prayers.

The world is filled with demons, with evil. With God’s help we can survive and flourish. We must ask for help, we must obey his commands.

has given us discernment

So this joy of mine has been made complete. John 3:29

Being Christian is a journey to warmheartedness. It is a journey to love, a journey of faith, a journey of loyalty, a journey of confidence. The destination is a close relationship with God. Being Christian is a journey of sacrifice.

Patience is a necessity which all Christians need to possess. Anxiety can cause doubt, can impair a person’s judgement.

Simplicity is a Christian’s best friend. Learn how to love unconditionally; learn how to love all mankind universally. The love that Jesus wanted us to share with each other is more broad, more powerful than romantic love and infatuation. Keep love simple, keep love humble.

Learn who is your beloved in Jesus Christ. Allow yourself to be silent, to look for goodness, kindness, holiness in yourself and in others. Remember that a Christian life is a journey. Remember to avoid complaining, remember to remain alert. As Christians we should always be ready to accept God’s request for us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, accept God‘s request that our lives be filled with charity, compassion, humility, and obedience, and accept Jesus Christ as the only begotten son of God who will lead us to eternal life.

Each Christian is asked to believe and embrace love universal, love unconditional. It is important that we learn how to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. It is important that we learn how to praise and petition God. It is important that each Christian learns how give thanks to God. Having a close relationship with God is the primary goal of Christianity. Love, universal and unconditional, is a vehicle for faith, hope, mercy to be shared. This form of love is difficult to master. It requires a selflessness, it is completely unselfish. This love is simple, youthful, fair; the basis for this love begins with the social justice teachings of Jesus Christ.

Universal and unconditional love prepares each Christian to remain in a state of welcoming to all people encountered, especially those in need. As Christians we must be prepared to welcome God into our lives.

Pureness in thought and deed will help us find righteousness, help us move closer to God. Christian morality starts with obeying the word of God. We must honor and praise God with our entire lives. Our hearts, minds, and souls must become incorruptible to sin.

If we observe anyone sinning or if we ourselves are on the verge of sinning always remember to pray. Prayer does help. Use prayer to walk on the right road, to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.

Learn the power and beauty of self-appraisal. Always seek to improve all your activities done for or all the activities in the name of the Lord. Examine yourself fairly, learn from your vulnerability, learn from your fear. Be fair, be just. Remember that you are human. Accept that you might fail, accept that you might sin. Learn to forgive both yourself and others.

This is a great expedition of faith and hope. Allow it to be your life’s great purpose and pilgrimage.

Always remember Jesus and the Apostles preaching and baptizing in Judea. Let your life proclaim that Jesus Christ is the true son of God and he is the true God.

Hear Them

Learn all you can about love; learn the meaning of love; learn the signs of love; learn all you can about Jesus Christ, his life, his times, his ministry, his death, his resurrection. Allow the knowledge about Jesus Christ guide you toward holy living. Learn how to lift up your soul and others. Seek and understand goodness and kindness. Fill your mind with the Good News and words from good books. Allow yourself to remain ignorant of about much of the secular world when it goes against the laws and wishes of God, when it blocks access to God with deceit, deception, distraction, diversion. Learn to confess your sins frequently as needed. Always strive to be humble. Always read and reflect on the Word of God. Search for ways to serve and to obey God. Remember that life begins with love.

Are you a member of God's flock? Are you one of the herd? Is this your weekly rendezvous? How do you consociate with God? It is time to be lionhearted for God, to display a bold dauntlessness defending the faith, to share a compassionate valiance in the name and glory od God.

Allow charity, humility, obedience to help create the hypotenuse of your relationship with God; explore the hypostasis of love, universal and unconditional; and seek the essence of goodness, kindness, and holiness within your soul.

Getting the Right Steps

Now is the time to think of the International Date Line! Now is the time to wish that there was an International Prayer Line. Each Christian must always remember that God is always close by, that God is always waiting patiently whether we are in the Black Forest or in the Loire Valley or Palestine.

Now is the time to renew the quest for goodness.

Now is not the time to talk about morals; it is the time to create and to protect them. Each second of our lives should be filled with the charity, humility, obedience, and love which Jesus Christ preached about.

Now is not the time to talk about high ideals; it is the time to fill each moment of our lives with love and service for God. It is time action. It is time for prayer. It is time for righteousness. Whether we are in Death Valley, or listening to an anecdote about a vacation in the Great Sandy Desert, or looking at a photograph of the Painted Desert allow your eyes to discover the beauty, the mystery within each minute of your life. Allow yourself to accept God's love, to welcome God's call, to embrace humility, charity, obedience.

God is present in Aberdeen and Bethlehem. God receives prayers from Bangkok and Buenos Aires. Canterbury provides God with tales and reconciliation. God is present in London and Thunder Bay. God receives prayers from Saint Andrews and Sarajevo. Tokyo provides God with tales and reconciliation. God is present in Uranium City and Zurich. Where is God in your life?

he saw and believed - December 27, 2010

Waking up can be a little difficult this time of year for many unknown reasons. This is also a time for remembrance and reverence for all holy people who have believed, lived, and taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This season asks each Christian to take a minute and count each blessing, each gift from God and to give thanks. The lessons within each reading point toward the universality of God's love. The message within each Mass presents the breadth of God's love for all of humanity. People on the right road will experience a little longing for Christ after hearing each Gospel reading. People on the right road will work to model their whole lives with a universal love, compassion, and sense of social justice. Each moment in their lives will bring more understanding, more wisdom. With effort each word of the Gospel can be understood. For the greatest gift of the season is developing the courage to be good, kind, and holy in the presence of both man and God.

Waking up can be a little difficult this time of year because everyone has something to complain about. This is not the time for heated discussions about God, the Eucharist, Jesus Christ, the Ten Commandments. This is a time for Love. This is a time for humility. This is a time to listen, not to be drawn into a paradox of excited opinion. This is a time for goodness, kindness, holiness. Each action of Christian, hopefully, will be pleasing to God. Rhetoric and grand speeches will not get a man or woman into heaven. Rhetoric and grand speeches will not make a man or woman holy. Rhetoric and grand speeches will fill the ears of the listeners with hollow sounds and unasked questions. There is always a need for penance, a need for Reconciliation with God. For some this time of year is a moment of extreme vanity when the spotlight shines on them, the parties they attend, the gifts they give, the gifts they receive. Although it might be difficult, please remember that this is a time to love and serve God. The true message of Christmas reminds each Christian of the necessity of patience and encourages each Christian to keep their gaze heavenward, to allow each step to lead them to the heavenly kingdom.

holy and beloved - December 26, 2010

It was a time to be warmhearted, to be time of tenderhearted; a time to believe in hope, in God. There were thick white candles with delicate orange flames reaching toward the ceiling, dancing toward heaven.

How easy it is to forget the behind the scene preparation for each Mass, to forget the ritual which precedes the rich, spiritual Rituals of the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Here reverence and respect have an uneasy alliance. There is much scurrying, much hurrying. Patens and cruets have to filled and placed in the proper places. The chalice has to be covered and placed in its proper place. The ribbons in the books must be on the correct pages. There are voices saying hello, voices saying good-bye. There is much activity. There are questions about Mass, questions about brunch or the football game. It is a spiritual time. It is a very human time. It is a time for reflection. It is a time to search for chalice veil or a cushion for a chair or to ask someone to pray for you. Always people are walking this way, walking that way. Here is a moment of quick, joyous welcome. Here is a moment to accept a quick handshake, humble smile.

There is a little anxiety as volunteers arrive and ask for instruction.

There is a pureness in the moments leading up to a Mass, a moment of incorruptible high ideals and righteous as these minutes are freely, lovingly given in service to God.

There is laughing, water sipping, hand-washing, book skimming, slouching, standing, wobbling, joking, listening, praying. Here is a community.

Here is an opportunity to follow Jesus Christ, to escape the darkness and dangers of the secular world. Here is a time to be earnest, humble, and loving. Here is a time to seek illumination from God. Here we discuss contemporary hope and the encyclicals of the Pope. We ask about the Cardinal's ring which glancing at the processional song which we will sing.

There is a moment of silence, a moment of prayer, a moment when time does appear to stop, and Jesus Christ does gently appear on each face, each loving, believing face.

ABUNDANT JOY AND GREAT REJOICING - December 25, 2010

training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age Titus 2:12

It was a time of warmheartedness, a time of tenderheartedness surrounded by hope. There were thick white candles with delicate orange flames reaching toward the ceiling, dancing toward heaven.

How easy it is to forget the journey, to allow the moment, this minute to dominate the mind, the imagination. Life does not stop. Each minute flows into the next. Minutes flow into hours; hours flow into days. The journey continues whether we are prepared or not, whether we are able to upgrade or not. There is always motion, always a need for patience.

And here is a moment of delicate welcome, the lingering embrace of remembrance and forgiveness which recalls yesterday's hope, yesterday's love.

This is a moment of familiar songs, familiar sayings. For this instance the thick white candles offer reassurance, offer hope, offer continuity and faith. Here in this instance each individual is fine and dandy, each individual cannot complain. Here is a moment when good is allowed to triumph!

This is a moment of red and white and green leaves. This is a moment of soft lighting. This is a time to remember to be moral, to remember the Church's moral code. How romantic and perfect this night appears with the white lights on the evergreen trees. What a great moment to reflect upon personal morals. Each Christian is asked to live a morally-sound life of goodness, kindness, holiness; of charity, humility, and service to God. Each day provides opportunities for moralistic evaluations and decisions. Each day provides opportunities for honor, good character. Remember that each candle has one purpose: to provide light. High ideals are great companions to have as we walk on the right road, following the footsteps of Jesus Christ.

Sharing love and hope freely, gently is always a boon. Each day we are given an opportunity to exalt the goodness, the mercy, the presence of God in our lives. We constantly make choices. We must remember to do what is productive for God, what is beneficial to God. As Christians, God must always be an active part of our individual decision making process.

The candles stand guard, patiently sacrifice their wax to provide light. Allow each Mass to be a pilgrimage, an expedition to holiness, to love universal and unconditional.

Spirit of holiness - December 19, 2010

When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. Matthew 1:24

Each year the true message of Christmas is submerged beneath more hype, more consumerism, more angst. Christmas is not about giving and receiving; finding the perfect present; getting the best deal. There is so much hype that the real Christmas story is hidden from view.

The birth of Jesus Christ is important but that occurs after two very important events which are not mentioned outside of Mass.

What are the two events? What type of implications do these two events have on contemporary life?

The Nativity scene is very beautiful, very powerful. The entire story about the manger is gentle, natural, believable. The world and the time of Jesus Christ is rendered in such organic boldness that everything always is fresh when the story is told.

The two events which are central to this story concern Mary and Joseph. For the birth of Jesus to occur, both had to say yes to God's request. They both had angel visitations. They both had reservations. They both put their faith in God, complied with God's wishes. Both Mary and Joseph obeyed God. They each had free will. They could have said no. They decided to say yes.

The true message of Christmas begins with two people doing as God requested. The true gift of the season is their obedience, their faith.

All Christians should remember the angel visitations and prepare their lives for the tasks which God may request to be done.

Christmas can be a time of spiritual renewal if time is left for reflection, discernment. The presents should not be the focal point of this season. The focal point should be finding ways to serve God. The focal point should be saying yes to God. All Christians should be attentive, patient, and listening for God's call. All Christian's are asked to serve, are asked to have lives with foundation of charity, humility, and obedience.

Christmas reminds each one of us of the importance of listening and obeying God.

The true Christmas story is about the spirituality of two individuals, the simplicity and beauty of both their faith in God and their unwavering obedience to God. Their acceptance of God's requests fulfilled prophecy and suggested the foundation of a mystical union with God. Mary and Joseph together present a purity of heart, purity of obedience, purity of compassion and love, purity of conformity to the will of God.

The true value of the Christmas story rests in the lessons of preparation, renewal, and acceptance that the season offers when the spiritual needs are nurtured. Christmas is a time to open up each heart, open up each soul, open up each mind for God and for God's work.

Christmas reminds each Christian of the importance of saying thank you to God, of praising God.

The perfect gift for God is our obedience to his will.

My love shall never leave you - December 16, 2010

What did you go out to the desert to see--a reed swayed by the wind? Luke 7:24

On each day we discuss vacations and vocations. We discuss the Seine, discuss Original Sin. We talk about the Beatitudes and walking on water. Being Baptized in the River Jordan is appealing. There is talk of penance, sacrifice, sacraments. There are questions about Saint Paul’s writings. There are tender emotions leading us toward God, leading us upward. Happily the lightness of faith brightens the room with a magnificent glow.

Popular Culture bombards us with wicked, violent images of all types of sin and vice? I try to say little prayers during such situations. However, we must hope.

The wicked images tempt us, encourage us to make mistakes, encourage us to forget the consequences. We learn how to repair our mistakes, how to ask for forgiveness.

Mass offers strength and truth. We have charity, humility, and obedience to God.

Well, this journey will not have been the mere summer afternoon convertible ride, top down, easy, comforting. A journey will stir thoughts of all humanity, will direct our heart, mind, and soul toward heaven. True magnificence occurs when we are not selfish, when we are quiet, when we are discerning. It is natural to seek a deeper connection with Jesus Christ.

Who shall take refuge in the name of the LORD - December 14

Which of the two did his father's will? Matthew 21:31

Is there any part of your life that you think would make a great parable for someone else to hear? Have you done something wonderful for someone? Has someone done something wonderful for you? Have you had a prodigal moment? Have you had a “cast the first stone” moment?

Throughout our lives we have each made many, many decisions. We have obeyed the rules and broken the rules. We try to be saints but we are always sinners.

Being a sinner is natural, is organic for all human beings. No one is immune from sin.

The goal of our Christian lives involves both learning and applying the principles and precepts of goodness, holiness, and kindness. We must learn how to be God like in our thoughts and actions.

How illustrious and how illuminating a Christian life can be.

It is good to study and follow the customs and traditions of a religion. There is diligence, diversity within the parishioners. There is honor and happiness within each Mass. There is glory! There is love. There is admiration, adoration. There is congratulation. There is commiseration.

Each day of a faithful Christian’s life is an attempt to be God-like, to follow in the foot steps of Jesus Christ.

your redeemer is the Holy One - December 9, 2010

Whoever has ears ought to hear. Matthew 11:15

Different generations have had different people that they have listened to, followed, imitated, and been entertained by. Each of us have both the responsibility and the ability to share the Good News with others, to use our lives to evangelize. This does not mean fire and brimstone oration on street corners or in parks on Saturday afternoons. Each choice we make, each word we speak is important when it is done for the Lord. Each of our little decisions when done with charity, humility, and obedience to God’s rules can lead others to follow us, to deepen their relationship with God.

Our goal is to nurture and grow the grace of Lord in our daily lives. We must always remember to proceed with faith and love in Jesus Christ.

Our goal is to trust in Jesus Christ and to allow ourselves and our faith to be strengthened by the grace that flows from Jesus Christ.

As we search for salvation we must also want our neighbors to find and experience salvation. Our prayers are always inclusive, our hearts are always open, our souls are always filled with hope, love, compassion.

When you attend Mass listen attentively, actively with all your senses, participate actively with all your senses. Allow yourself to be vulnerable, allow yourself to listen and feel the words of the Good News. Allow yourself to be God’s “Beloved.” Understand and accept the responsibility of being God’s servant.

The Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist feed and nurture our minds, our souls.

As Christians we are encouraged to find our individual way to examine the beauty of living life following in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is so many things happening within our lives, so many opportunities to evangelize, so many questions to discern.

We each can and must create our own snapshot of our life with Christ.

Send Them - December 1, 2010

"My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way." Matthew 15:32

How we interact with each other is very important. Each person's interactions can have either a negative or positive impact upon other people. Whether one person acknowledges another, listens attentively, opens a door can affect the actions and statements of others. Human beings exist within a hazy blur of hyperbole, creating crazy hypothetical questions about life, using hypotenuse triangles to explain this and that while trying to find each other's hypostasis. It is the search for the essence of the individual which sometimes leads men to God. The key ingredient of this search is whether we can see and/or sense evidence of goodness, kindness, holiness in each other. The essential element which we are all looking for is a sign of love. For unconditional love is the meat and potatoes of charity, humility, obedience to God. The key component is the ability of the individual to act in a way that is tender and non-selfish, a way that expresses honest concern and shows honest compassion. When this occurs, there is a moment of bliss, a moment of peace, a moment of hope when everything else is forgotten. This is a moment which should be cherished. The lessons of goodness, kindness, holiness are difficult to hear, process, accept, and imitate because they are often in direct conflict with how the popular culture dominated society behavior patterns where nothing needs to be respected, where being irreverent is considered the norm. Popular culture does not respect the soul of the individual, the souls of all human being. The essence of the individual is courageous in goodness, kindness; faithful in compassion, obedience; caring in words, actions.

Christians are asked to be gutsy, to have moxie, to develop and display dauntlessness, to be lionhearted, to have valor, to be valiant in the name of Jesus Christ, in both their thoughts and their deeds. Christians, simply, are asked to love and fear God and to love their neighbors. When a person is able to love, unconditionally, without compromise then finding the inner peace and the inner strength to be courageous.

Learning to commiserate with other people is a beautiful skill to have. This skill requires a level of courage. Being truly, honestly empathetic can provide understanding, hope. Being empathetic is active, asks each person to participate, to use their senses to explore and share the experience in a way pleasing to God, in a way that leads toward God, in a way that reinforces the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Christians are part of a group. How each individual describes and interacts with the group is very important. Attending Sunday Mass is important, but there is an underlying desire for each Christian to do more than that, to incorporate the lessons of love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ into their daily lives. Christians are often described as a flock of followers, a herd of believers, the assembled, the gathered. Christians consociate. Each Sunday Christians rendezvous and experience the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

Each Christian has the responsibility of sharing his experience, the responsibility of asking others to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. The experience of being Christian can provide hope, love, courage. Being Christian is a beautiful consociation. Being Christian asks us to find the essence of goodness, kindness, and holiness within ourselves.

Each Voice - November 30, 2010

"Their voice has gone forth to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world." Romans 10:18

Each time I speak or write a word, a choice has been made. One word, one choice, one voice. Being Christian means lowering your gaze, lowering your voice, kneeling down. Being Christian is an inward journey, listening for sounds from God within prayers, announcements, conversations; listening for comments from God within the wilderness of neon lights; listening for the music of God within crowded bars filled pints of beer and floating television screens. Being Christian means searching and striving for goodness, kindness, holiness. Being Christian will often be difficult. Each word, each choice, each voice can be important for our individual salvation and for the salvation of our neighbors. Being Christian means following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ and asking others to do it also. Within each Christian there is a voice haunting, a voice heavenly, a voice comforting. Within each of us is God's love and we are encouraged to share this news and to rejoice.

Each day presents many of us a battle of choices, ideas, actions. Do we make time for prayer? Do we take time to praise and thank God? Do we simply have another cup of coffee, another cigarette, another two minutes of office chitchat. Each prayer is worth a million jokes. Prayer illustrates our faith, our hope. Prayer illuminates our charity, our humility, our obedience when it is done honestly, lovingly, kindly with reverence. Prayer asks only for our truth, in emotion, in spirit. Prayer offers patience, kindness, wisdom. We can choose to live each day filled with prayer. Prayer is both harmony and melody. Prayer is passionate. Prayer is creative. Prayer offers tranquility. All's prayer that loves prayer.

As Christians each day that we are alive is a day for discernment, a day for giving thanks and praise to God. Our search for goodness, holiness, kindness never ends. Our journey to charity, humility, obedience never ends.

Each day we are given opportunities to improve our lives and the lives of our friends, families, neighbors. This is a wacky culture of conflicting moral messages. This is a time when goodness, kindness, holiness are often seen as the voice of dissent, the voice of the minority. Here is a world, pernicious and licentious, starving for attention, acceptance, love. Here is a world of pill-popping, make-believe, instant solutions with many dangerous side effects written in extra fine small print. Every day this world, our culture attacks us, tempts us, tries to seduce us, tries to lead us away from goodness, holiness, kindness. Every day our culture tries to lead us away from God for a second, an hour, a day.

Every day we must use each word, each choice, each voice to remain steadfast with charity, humility, and obedience within our hearts, minds, and souls.



How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!

Hanging on Words

"It is written, 'My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.'" Luke 19:46

Many people have their own personal ideas about prayer. Many people have their own personal ideas about attending Mass. When we go Mass we understand that there is both a Liturgy of the Word and a Liturgy of the Eucharist. The Mass is a celebration. These things we know. But, what happens when we attend Mass?

Are we engaged and listening to each prayer and reading that we hear? When we recite the prayers and the creed, is our voice passionate, are we speaking with love and hope? When we receive the Eucharist, what is in our hearts, our minds, our souls?

As Catholics we are asked to be active participants. It is not enough to simply recite our lines. We must remember the life of Jesus Christ. We must remember the death of Jesus Christ. This is essential. As Catholics we must open our minds, be ready to learn about goodness.

Attending Mass should be a time of renewal, a time of peace. We should look forward to attending Mass. When we attend Mass, we should always remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and remember to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Attending Mass should be a way to show and share your love.

We must allow ourselves to hang on every syllable, every word that we hear during the Mass. There is a purpose for each word. As Catholics we must teach ourselves how to listen and reflect on each Mass. As the believers we must always hang on to every word and be prepared to encourage others to do the same. Our actions should inspire others to follow us and to believe in God.

Prayer is very important to us as Christians. How many prayers do we hear during each Mass? Are the prayers important to you? Do the prayers move you, make you think, help you to understand and remember the passion of Jesus Christ.

Doubt

Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “O man of little faith, why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:31

Our faith journey often resembles a quest. We search for patience, humility, charity, compassion, mercy both internally and externally. The search for goodness often resembles a dream of youth, when innocence, honor, kindness are valued seriously, objectively as part of the foundation for life’s vocation. We travel into foreign parts of our minds and souls when we allow ourselves to share kindness. We are able to glimpse God through our own acts of goodness and kindness.

As Christians we should expect that there will be moments of doubt in our lives. We will question are believes. We will question our actions, reactions, lack of action. We will question our prayers, when we pray, how we pray. This is natural. This should not hamper us. We must use our doubt as a tool which can help deepen our faith. Instead of allowing doubt to make you anxious or angst ridden, simply allow doubt to teach you about your faith. Doubt can restore Faith to our Faith with a combination of patience, prayer, reflection, and humility.

Always remember to be humble. Always look for goodness and kindness in yourself and others. The more you look for them the more you will find them.

Modern life used to use the metaphor rat race to describe the craziness, unpredictability, ruthlessness of our society as we, the people, worked to make a killing to afford big houses with two car garages with four cars, a golf cart, swimming pool, two ponies, six bicycles, a swing and two hammocks. Our material possessions became a short hand description, presentation of our lives and values. Our material lives provided a glimpse at our presumed live and values. Our private lives were hidden beneath the public expectations created by dressing this way, talking that way. Appearances became more important than reality. Knowledge is secondary to perception. The rat race does not want you to value anything. The rat race simply wants you to purchase this and that. The rat race wants you to meet the right people at the right places at the right time. The rat race wants you only to acknowledge those who can help you tomorrow not those who helped you yesterday. The rat race is built upon doubt, fear, denial. As Catholics we must always remember social justice. Both our prayers and our actions must reflect our understanding and love for all our neighbors, from anonymous, forgotten beggars bundled up with discarded, flattened cardboard boxes and sleeping bags to smiling, waving politicians in tuxedos and shiny leather shoes talking about global warming.

Doubt shall always be with us. Some days it will be stronger, others it will be weaker. Remember that doubt is natural, like sleep, hunger. The knowledge, that doubt exists within all humans should give you comfort. Do not fear doubt. Simply recall the image of Jesus on the water extending his hand to save Peter. Let that image raise your thoughts, your actions. We are all called to help our neighbors, to live lives that reflect, and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.

The enormous populations of the world need our prayers, the beggars, celebrities, politicians they all need our prayers. Let there be no doubt about that.

A Quick Thought

Beloved: Please remember that as Christians we are part of the living, growing, hoping, loving visible Church; let this give peace; please remember that the foundation was made by Our Lord Jesus Christ with his supreme sacrifice; may this provide guidance and comfort. The death of Our Lord Jesus Christ gives each of us eternal life. We believe that we are members of the apostolic Church; allow this to give you hope. We believe the Sacraments connect us with God, are both opportunity and obligation for service to God; allow this to teach you how to love.

Words Will Lead

We live in a time when the secular world encourages us to have dilettante spirituality, limited to only those hours when we are physically within a church. The secular world does not like religion, tolerates religion only in small dozes, blames all of the worlds problems on religion instead of the men who practice and abuse their faith. It is easier for the secular world to accept the notion of Christians, as merely mystical and spiritual dabblers on Sundays before the football games.

Our challenge as Catholics is to integrate our lives, to follow in the footsteps of Christ. Our lives should encourage others to follow us. As Catholics, each choice we make should reflect our faith, our belief in God. We must find ways to fill our lives with humility, charity, mercy.

Our baptism gives us a direct obligation to God. Our lives have a purpose which we must discover and share. Goodness, kindness, and love can lead us to God. Our faith needs to be nurtured. We must limit our exposure to the secular world, we must learn more about our faith, more about the Saints.

How easy it is for the words to be written and read! How hard it is for the words to be put into practice! Being Catholic is often difficult. Following in Jesus Christ’s footsteps is difficult. There are times when we are going to want to stop. There are times when we are going to be upset by some church doctrine. There will be times when we will be too tired, too frustrated to continue.

But let nothing get in your way. Let nothing interfere with your relationship with God. Remember to pray as much as you can. Learn about your faith, share your ideas about your faith. Share your ideas about hope, love, mercy, compassion. Enjoy your life as a Catholic, always remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Allow that one act of love be your guide as you live your life each day.

The Return

This November day I am happy to be alive. I am constantly seeking new things which will inspire me to act with goodness and kindness. I am learning the importance of humility. I am learning the importance of serving God. All things in our lives are connected. Serving God should be important to each Christian. Serving God extends beyond attending Mass. It is a way of life, a way of being. Our lives should be directed toward moving toward God. Our individual movements should inspire others to follow and move toward God. Kindness and goodness should not be treated as simple afterthoughts. Each day provides valuable lessons about compassion, mercy, and love. Our goal should be to grow in love of God each day. Each day we must allow time for prayer and reflection. Each day we make decisions about clothing, food, email, seeing friends. Each day we should remember to make a decision to offer a small bit of our lives to God, and then to slowly, increase this offering. Although each day we might repeat our actions, remember that each day is new and different. Each day is an opportunity to do good, to love our neighbor, to follow the path of Jesus Christ.

We live in a restless time of conflicting impulses. The secular world encourages each one of us to treat life as an open field or a gymnasium floor, running, jumping, careening around all types of temptation and sin; romping, playing, laughing while allowing the secular world influence our understanding of venial and mortal sin. We must acknowledge that we are sinners. Each one of us. We are sinners who hopefully are trying to avoid sin with each new decision, each new thought. Yes, there will be times when we might fail, when we will sin again. All we can do is acknowledge our failure, ask for God’s forgiveness, and try to avoid sinning. This war never ends.

We live in a restless time of secular confusion. Always remember God’s love. Always remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

In November do you look back toward the summer days or are you looking for the December holidays? What governs your mind? What governs your heart? Where do you find God? How do you share God? Create a simple plan for goodness, kindness, humility, and charity each day.
Live a simple life of love and service to God.

As adults do not forget the lessons and ideals of childhood; being an adult means being open to growing in mind and spirit, being open to exploring the Mysteries of faith, being opening to sharing hope. We do not need to have every question answered. We need only to keep our lives and spirits balanced. We must place God at the center of our lives. We must strive to grow physically, mentally, spiritually each day and to encourage others to do so. Allow yourself time of reflection and prayer each day. Allow yourself to marvel at the living things, to marvel at the sky, the trees, the flowers, the animals. Allow yourself to enjoy the out of doors without rushing from point to point.

Remember that each decision provides us with an opportunity to move onward, to grow inward, to experience life outward, to hope and pray upward, to journey Godward.

My Conversion

I sometimes think of my conversion and wonder how I would ever explain it to another human being. Would I stress love or would I talk of my soul. My conversion is incomplete. The journey continues. The itinerary changes each day, the destination remains the same. There is great charm in my conversion, endlessly reminding me of the need to be good, to be devout, to love others and myself. My baptism was remarkable. Over a period of a few weeks I learned the grace, delicacy, and confidence of faith, of believing in the Mystery of God. There are endless books on the philosophy and metaphysics of religion. I heard many conversations on those subjects and others. But, the most important idea which I learned and which I retained is that I am not insignificant in the eyes of God. I am loved by God. I have to respect God every second of my life. I have to be humble before God. I have to be obedient to God’s will. My conversion is more expansive than history or philosophy, in many ways is a movement orchestrated and influenced by God. There is always a desire to be like Christ. There is always a desire to love, to show mercy to all, to experience a grand universal love filled with an infinite awareness of the details of goodness and holiness. It is the experience of this love which teaches me how to be Christian, which keeps my mind aware of my strengths and weaknesses. Loving and serving God is an acquired taste, an acquired desire to be loyal, obedient, reverent, and loving. The psychology of a life with Jesus Christ begins in the sphere of love and continues to sphere of social justice; a life with Christ revolves around ideas of simplicity, sacrifice, and fairness. Oh, true hope, true faith are delicacies waiting to guide each one of us. A life with Christ is filled with many subtleties of emotion and awareness; I learned to close my eyes and to feel the presence of Christ Jesus in my life. My conversion is often in direct conflict with my personal affectations, my personal preoccupations. My conversion is a renewal of my social and educational interests, directed outward, searching for ways to serve God. My imagination finds new ways to serve him, new desires for goodness and holiness within my life. My conversion is the search for a pure and clean ingenuity and sagacity, created with a foundation of compassion, obedience, and love. Serving God faithfully with my entire heart, soul, and mind is my goal. There is something very exquisite in the Liturgy of the Eucharist. How fine the prayers are, how they tug at my heart, encourage me to desire to live a priestly life of love, obedience, and sacrifice. Each word teases my ears, plunders my imagination, leads me closer and closer to God. There is a gentleness, something very soothing, very renewing in the Liturgy of the Eucharist. And there is a bold rush, a zephyr pushing me toward goodness, holiness, serenity, pushing anxiety and thoughts of the secular world aside.

There is great beauty in my conversion. It is hopeful and peaceful. There is admiration, tenderness, gratitude.

My character now feels like that of a child filled with wonder and possibility.

Oh, I am dreamy at times. I am learning to pray.

When I Opened My Eyes

And so as my eyes opened this morning, my mind drifted between thoughts of goodness, holiness, and vocation. The wonderful thing about being Catholic is the sense of continual discernment. Our minds should always be directed toward finding ways to serve the Lord, finding new ways to follow the footsteps of Christ, finding new ways to challenge ourselves to love each other.

We each have the opportunity to do good, to live righteous lives if we allow ourselves to make the right choices, to move on the correct paths. Goodness often contains many difficult choices. Goodness involves evaluating each action that we make and asking simple questions like “Would God approve this?” or “Would Christ do this?” or “What would Jesus do?” Goodness puts us on the hot seat; goodness asks us to be accountable for our actions and our thoughts.

Learning about how to apply or to add more goodness to our daily lives naturally leads us to thoughts of holiness. Being holy is being a living part of the mystery of God, striving to please God, striving to inspire and encourage others to believe in and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. Holiness is the search for the divine, the search for the beautiful, the search for God. Holiness is not easy; it requires an active mind constantly on guard to protect our minds, our hearts, and our souls from the secular world.

Holiness is difficult to describe; harder to achieve. There is a vagueness in the definition. Christians have an idea of what holiness is. We accept God’s mystery. Each Sunday during Mass we listen to Holy Scripture. We are encouraged to read the Bible. We are encouraged to make time for prayer in our lives. We are encouraged to allow our minds to be silent, to listen to the will of God. We are encouraged to create and to maintain our own individual private relationship with God. Each step in our lives should be governed by Holiness, filled with an earnestness and love for God. Our goal should always be serving God, pleasing God.

As Catholics each day of our lives should include prayer and discernment. Each day we should evaluate our progress and ask ourselves what more can I do in service of the Lord. Our lives provide us with the opportunity, with the responsibility to discover our own individual vocation, our own individual way to serve God, our own individual way to share the Good News with others.

There is a simplicity and serenity in life when it is centered on God, when it is centered on the life, teachings, and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.