Sunday, February 28, 2010

During Lent and Beyond

Lent reminds us that the Light is always on, that the Word is always waiting to be read. This liturgical season invites everyone to open our hearts, open our souls, open our minds. Lent is simply a time of hope and conversion.

Each Christian may dream new dreams as they try to see the world through God’s eyes. Each Christian may pray new prayers as new experiences may make the presence of the Lord more visible in our lives.

Lent is a time of renewal; we should answer the call of Lent with enthusiasm, youthfulness.

This is a time of penance. It is also a time for us to be creative, to learn new ways to become more faithful disciples of Christ. We must remember that this is the time to start finding ways to do the will of the one who sent us.

Look beyond the chocolate, soda, and other things given up for forty days. Look within your heart. Look at how you interact with others. Look at how you pray, when you pray, what you pray for. Look at your strengths, your weaknesses. Look at all of the things within your life that you freely choose to offer up to God. Look at the things that you do not offer to God.

How do you serve God? with enthusiasm, youthfulness? Every day our lives should be pleasing to God. Prayer should always be a part of each day. We must allow Christ to live through us. We have faith; we have hope; we have free will to surrender our hearts to God.

What we begin in Lent will hopefully continue beyond Lent, for the rest of your life.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Stewardship - Rough Draft

The selfishness, self-absorption of secular life benumbs me, it is so pervasive, so accepted that basic friendliness, basic courtesy seems to have disappeared. Everything appears to be for the good of the individual instead of the community. With a little patience and sense of humor these types are easily observed filled with as much anxiety and insecurity that the latest new thing can promote. Modern technology pretends to make our lives easier but often it just makes us anxious as we wait for phone calls and send text messages instead of concentrating on the people in front of us. Just now I am sitting here full of grave thoughts because this is the Lenten season and I am trying to plan my day. Although technology offers to connect human beings to facilitate communication, something is missing.

Technology does not encourage us to love each other, to be polite to each other. Technology just encourages us to spend more money to stay connected.

Stewardship offers each Christian the opportunity to connect with the world in a real way. Stewardship is simply love. We are asked by God to slowdown, look at our community, see the strengths, see the weaknesses, pray for and try to improve the deficiencies. We are asked to remember the example of Christ and try to follow in his footsteps.

Good-fellowship accompanies Stewardship. If we are able to accept the idea of Stewardship as an act of love, directed purely toward God, with no desire for any recognition, reward from anyone then we are ready to begin this journey. Stewardship is not easy; it requires different commitments, different sacrifices. But, the feelings of love and hope which arise in our hearts after doing a good deed are priceless.

The Church will always need volunteers to help with doing God’s work. Stewardship offers each of us our chance, our time to help. The more you volunteer, the more you offer to help the more you will be able to experience a finer solidarity with the Church community, a finer solidarity with all human beings, a finer solidarity with Christ. Stewardship can be a way to praise to God as we do our activities with love and hope for God, freely, humbly.

One of the advantages of Stewardship is that we can sample many different activities while searching for the ones that fit our interests. A brave Christian will allow his heart to approach Stewardship with innocence of a child, being willing to try new things, stuff envelopes, make soup, carry boxes. Stewardship allows each of us to feel useful, connected to our parish community. There is one certainty one given in parish life, volunteers are always needed. As members of the community we must allow ourselves a moment of silence to calm our minds, soothe our nerves.

Being a member of this parish is like being a member of a large family. How much we interact with each other is our personal choice. If we want a more profound experience that will require trust, faith, hope and involvement. The parish community does need your support; the parish community does need your love. Stewardship offers each of us an opportunity to volunteer, to work for God, to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.






Friday, February 26, 2010

Stewardship - Little Thoughts

Stewardship offers each Christian a new way to praise and serve the Lord. Stewardship shows us that there are infinite ways to serve and love God. Stewardship hopefully begins internally within each of our hearts with prayer and reflection; then Stewardship shows itself externally through some type of good works. Remember to enter into Stewardship humbly, lovingly with complete reverence for God.

As you complete your tasks allow God to occupy your mind, show you new things, tell you wondrous things. Allow yourself to worship God again and again.

Thus Stewardship naturally can connect itself to and enrich the religious experience of each Christian who participates freely and presents each moment to God as an offering; this way Stewardship does become a time of Divine worship. For such moments are beautiful when our thoughts revolve repeatedly around serving God, choosing to follow Christ.

Prayer and Stewardship are closely connected. Both will help each of us improve our community and improve our Church community. When done lovingly, humbly prayer and Stewardship can help to bind us more closely to God.

Remember to focus on God, pleasing God, serving God as each Stewardship activity is completed.

Stewardship can help with our continuing conversion as we learn more about God, goodness, holiness we will learn how to avoid being tempted. Remember that Stewardship can be a frequent binding and rebinding to God. It is always our choice. Stewardship is a way for each of us to profess our faith and love in God by our actions, by our service to him, for him.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Cold Walk Home

Tonight a walk in the wind, often against the winter wind. Innocent weather with only snow flurries.

A pleasant interlude to think of the goodness in life, the holiness in others. I am still a sinner, like everyone else, but my mind is wrestling with patience, obedience, charity, humility. I have had some pleasure in the cold blasts of air against my exposed skin, the invasion of arctic air freezing my face and eyes. My mind forgets the wind for a moment and wanders to old movies, old books. Walking against a winter wind is often a time of thought and sensibility. Words and themes can be pondered, impressions analyzed, morality and responsibility remembered.

And I was happy for all the parishioners, for all the moments that I have shared with them, all the examples of humility, charity, and obedience to God’s will that I have seen.

Fortitude, we each must develop it if we are to avoid sin and follow in the footsteps of Christ.

Penance

Lent allows each Christian to reflect upon their lives and all of the secular influences and then make decisions on how to be more Christ-like. Lent is a time of penance; reconciliation is a prominent component of Lent; each Christian asks God for forgiveness for their individual sins; and hopefully each Christian will be able to forgive others.

Lent is a time of preparation for Easter. These forty days allow time for purification of each Christian soul that obeys the Lord’s commandments. We simply have to believe and allow ourselves to be obedient, humble servants of the Lord.

How we approach each Lenten season can effect how much good we can take from each Lenten season.

Every day of our lives we sin; every day of our lives we face temptation; every day of our lives we move away from God. Each sin can become an obstacles to our relationship with God.

When we take time to consider our choices and the consequences of our actions, we are able to analyze and examine our behavior. If we allow ourselves to be silent, to be contemplative repentance will present itself if our hearts truly love God and want to be faithful to him.

The secular world inundates us with a dissociation of both responsibility and sensibility. Our society promotes the idea that purchasing some product will instantly make us feel better. Our society downplays religion and challenges the authority of God. In a consumerist society all sin is innocuous, can be washed away, swept away with a pill, a broom, or earphones. Christians know that sin does not depart so easily and the ramifications and the consequences of sin can damage our relationships with our family, our friends and with God. We must acknowledge our sins and ask for forgiveness.

As Christians we must remember that each of our individual acts has an impact on our Christian community. Our sins are not simply isolated to ourselves. Our sins are communal, shared with all members of the community, with everyone we encounter. Lent is a time of communal penance.

Each prayer, each fast, each almsgiving is a chance for each of us to move closer to God.

Lent is a somber season which can be filled with joy and hope if our hearts remember why repentance is necessary, if our hearts are ready and willing to be purified by the grace of God, if our hearts desire to be closer to God.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Lent, Lent, Lent

I must not forget this Lenten season. I must remember the necessity of repentance.

Lent is not just about giving something up. It also is about the changes which are made to our lives, the changes which help us pray more, the changes which help us move closer to God. Repentance, true repentance is both the regret and remorse we feel about our sins and real attempt to get sin out of our lives. In away repentance is about the departure of sin. The conflict between good and evil will remain in our lives. Sin patiently does wait to tempt us. But, sin can be defeated when we believe in God, put our trust and faith in God. As Christians our duty is to serve God; he asks us to be humble, obedient, charitable; as we grow in our faith our ability to love each other should also grow. Being Christian means that the struggle will continue. The more goodness we have in our lives, the more we are able to be just in accordance with Christ’s teachings the more we will be tempted. But, remember that we always have hope and God for protection.

Nothing is hopeless when we remember to pray, and, above all, nothing can change God’s love for each one of us. We must remember that God simply asks us to believe in him, to follow in the footsteps of Christ. Our lives should always reflect this love in all our interactions.

Lent is about penance. Penance is not to be viewed as a bad thing. Penance can be good. When our minds and our hearts are open good lessons about life and love can be learned through penance. Our lives with God can be greatly improved by the spirit in which we approach our penance and our desire for change and growth in our relationship with the Lord.

Lent is a time to remember and pray for everyone who loves you, for everyone who does not love you, for everyone you have forgotten. Lent is a time for unconditional prayer. Prayer leads us to God. We might experience a little upheaval but hopefully our former life will end, will die. Hopefully we will find the courage to adapt our lives as Christians to an existence of humility, charity, obedience; hopefully we will obtain the grace to be different than we previously were. Our love, faith, and trust in God can provide us with strength.

As Christians goodness and holiness are not achieved without struggle.

Be very careful and prayerful in your entire life, learn how to avoid the temptations which will endanger your Christian life, avoid pride and envy; strive to keep a pure and clean mind and a clear conscience. God does not exist in a gray area.

Live with hope; prosper with love.



Stewardship Reflection





Short film. St. Matthew's Cathedral, Washington, DC. February 23, 2009. Quote by St. Teresa of Avila inspired this short film. "Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours. Yours are the eyes through which He is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which He is to bless people now."

Monday, February 22, 2010

Random Musings

I was fortunate to hear Archbishop Wuerl deliver two homilies this weekend and to have him personally greet me on both occasions. He is a confident, relaxed speaker who varies his inflection skillfully, strategically as he speaks to stress his points, to keep the attention of his listeners. As he was speaking on Saturday, I wanted to inconspicuously take notes. His homilies make me think, remind me of the necessity of placing God first in my mind. He does not skirt around any topic. Whenever he speaks there is a gentleness, a calmness in his oration. Each time he speaks I feel the call to holiness, the desire to live a life more pleasing to God. Happily this occurs with other priests too.

How can I describe the moments of quiet, of stillness when their is a tender voice asking for my help, asking for a decision to live a life filled with goodness and holiness! How magnificent one moment is! How beautiful it is to want to live your life to God, to want to offer your life, your heart, your soul to God!

Sometimes I am bombarded with frightful doubts. I am now learning how to react in such conditions, I simply must say a prayer, a decade of the rosary. Feeling insignificant is not popular but it is a position closer to God. I must always be humble, loving. I must avoid pride and envy. However, I must always protect the hope in my heart, I must always share the hope.

I learn how to be a better Christian from the examples of the members of the parish community. I learn how to be a better Christian from listening to the beautiful Eucharistic prayers. I learn how to be a better Christian by volunteering in the different ministries at the Cathedral. Each provides something just a little different. Each has its own awareness, own purpose. Observing others praying and meditating in front of the Blessed Sacrament gave me the confidence to do it.

Sin wounds us all; God offers to heal us, to give us salvation if we simply believe and follow his teachings. Our lives should lead ourselves and others to God. Each Christian should pray for himself/herself and all of their neighbors, all of their friends and foes.

I have learned that we must nurture, grow, and share our love without any conditions, without any restrictions. We must love each other as God loves each and every one of us. I have learned the necessity, the importance of moving closer to God each day through prayer, fasting, almsgiving. Each day I make mistakes of varying degrees, with varying consequences. Each day I try to strengthen and repair my relationship with God.

Attending Mass as often as I can is truly a blessing. I can see how to become a more loving, more obedient, more humble servant for God.

All that I have written is based upon my experiences at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. It is based on the gentle thoughts, the quiet prayers; how wonderful it is to be a part of this beautiful, loving Christian community; I am truly blessed to have been baptized there, to have been welcomed into full fellowship with God there, to have experienced this community of his faithful followers. So many beautiful thoughts and desires have been stirred within my heart. I am developing a love for humanity and a magnificent concern for social justice for all.

And this all began with a simple hello, a kind handshake. There is a simple honest connection between Christians, between followers of Christ. I must learn how to share this connection with everyone that I meet.





Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion. Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. February 21, 2010. Archbishop Wuerl was the principal Celebrant and Homolist. Archdiocese of Washington. St. Matthew's Cathedral Catechumens and Candidates were present.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Discernment Retreat

On February 20, 2010 I attended the Archdiocese of Washington Men’s Discernment Retreat.

This was a day about love, about the love of God. This was a day with one question being asked all day long. Am I in love with God? Am I living with God and obeying him? All the speakers were very much in love with God, very happy to share their experiences. A priest loves God and loves his neighbors.

I did not take copious notes. I for the most part sat quietly, listened, and reflected on what I heard and saw. It was a warm, friendly occasion. Men from different parishes gathered together to learn about God’s call for each of us, to learn how to hear it, to learn how to respond to it.

This is not intended to be a critique. This is merely a reflection written more to keep the retreat alive in my mind. As a Convert, being Catholic still retains a newness, creates an enthusiasm within me. I am still learning, still forming opinions. I am searching for signs of goodness and holiness in myself and others.

I attended the retreat without either a camera or my laptop. My ability to record the Retreat would be limited to sensations and observations. I would have to immerse myself, become a complete participant. Once upon a time I had wanted to be a journalist, so I took classes, read books and learned how to be a journalist, how to be objective, how to encourage others to talk, how to encourage others to say something quotable, how to direct a conversation. But, the best skill that I learned was how to listen, how to retain bits and pieces of conversations without writing notes.

I was very glad that the Retreat began with a Mass with Archbishop Wuerl. I have heard the Archbishop speak several times and I have always enjoyed his homilies. There were three points which I promised myself that I would remember which in the intervening hours have been submerged with hopefully will return to the surface later with prayer and reflection. But, what I remember now and what resonates in my heart as I write this is: And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. And sitting in the chapel there was a wonderful moment of hope that swept over me. I knew that this was not a day when I had to capture each word; I did not have to be concerned with grammar; I had only to look within my heart, allow my soul to listen and feel the love and support in the room.

Although I was not able to speak with him, I was glad to see Father William Byrne. I had briefly met him a few months ago. I had received a letter from him a month ago announcing my appointment to a committee. So I listened keenly to what he had to say. He spoke about purity and manliness. He asked this question, “Am I willing to lay down my life for Jesus and his word?” Father Byrne is a vivid, colorful speaker. He animated the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he made it immediate, accessible.

There was a panel discussion of four priests from around the Archdiocese followed by small group discussions. The priests were engaging, filled with love for God. They all seemed illuminated with the same beautiful fire from within, inspiring each other, inspiring the seminarians, inspiring the retreatants. The three priests spoke honestly, directly. They shared their beliefs, their hope, their love.

One of the highlights was hearing and observing two lay witnesses describe their relationship with Father Panke and other Catholic priests. So often it is easy to imagine a priest only at the altar, only in the rectory, only in meetings with the Parish Council. The life of a priest extends beyond that. Hearing those stories illuminated the beauty and complexity of the life of a diocesan priest.

Cardinal McCarrick is a very disarming, sincere speaker with the ability to make you believe that he is speaking directly to you. He speaks naturally, gently like a good neighbor, trusted friend. His life is inspirational. His candor is inspirational. His mentioned Do not be afraid several times. He spoke quietly, with great conviction. His love of the priesthood, the Church, and God was clearly evident. Put out into deep water and lower your nets was stated by him as he made one of his points.

All the participants, the priests, the seminarians, the lay witnesses, and the retreatants together created a communal love of God. It was a day of information, a day of fellowship, a day of wisdom, a day of love.

Since it was condensed, there was something more immediate, more connected to the world.

As I continue my discernment I must remember that one of my personal goals is to increase my personal goodness, to live a life of holiness as a humble and obedient servant lovingly doing God’s will.

Friday, February 19, 2010

I believe the forty days

I am happy to be able to tell you that I believe that the forty days of Lent provides each of us with an opportunity for daily conversion. The secular world overwhelms us in its presentations of artificial, superficial lifestyles completely out of context, without a hint of reality or substance. The secular world confronts us with depictions of moral morbidity, moral mendacity, moral mediocrity.

Lent provides us with a path away from all this junk; it is not necessary to employ any violent measures; our free will can guide us toward our beloved. Our lives should be filled only with activities that are acceptable to God, encouraging love and praise for God, grace-filled moments of prayer, reflection, silence. Our actions must show that we believe in the Gospel and are willing and ready to repent.

If we rely upon prayer and patience, the ultimate restoration of hope and love, will blossom within each of us and help us discipline ourselves for being obedient humble servants.

The call to conversion requires each Christian to approach it with extraordinary discipline, extraordinary patience, and extraordinary seriousness. We must carefully, prayerful examine our lives and then denounce the artificial, the superficial. As Christians we must place God in the center of our lives and allow everything to flow from him. That is most satisfactory for him; and our spiritual life will sooth and protect us.

Penance gives us a means of changing the course of our lives. The change should be a true personal adjustment; the change can be a complete personal reversal. The secular world can make us invalids of all types of sins and unwarranted fears. When too much is artificial and superficial, our spiritual lives can be overpowered by all types evil, unwilling prisoners of war held captive by moral morbidity, moral mendacity, moral mediocrity. The secular world constantly rewrites its notions and ideas of what is moral, what is not moral.

Christians know what is moral; the Bible has many lessons on moral living. The Ten Commandments also provide a wonderful guide. Lent encourages each Christian to reconnect with the Word, to read and reflect upon the Holy Scriptures.

Lent is a time of repentance.

Each Christian should always aim to become the most humble, obedient, loving devout follower of Jesus Christ. We must place all of our trust in Jesus Christ. We must pray privately and in community, offer some penance for forty days. We must listen for God’s call.

Our repentance will help us hear God’s call, help us find Jesus Christ in the daily experience of our lives. He is there to guide us, to illuminate the path of redemption and salvation. Jesus will provide strength when we ask for it.

Our repentance will help us change, help us discover and avoid sin. Repentance offers us so much when we are willing to hope, we are positioned to be prepared and ready to hope: though we must always remember that prayer, reflection, silence help our minds find clarity and solace. Alms giving, prayer, and fasting help our spirits find love and peace.

Lent reminds us of the necessity of basing our lives on good moral decisions. As we accept and grow with and into our conversion the entirety of our lives will become a beautiful moment of choice, a beautiful moment of free will. Our conversion presents us will the living, loving, real person of Jesus Christ. His humanity inspires our humanity,


Thursday, February 18, 2010

Forty Days, Forty Opportunities

Lent offers each Christian the opportunity to improve our communion with God. Each Christian must pray, examine his/her conscience, test our faith, our resolve to follow in Christ’s footsteps and create lives based upon humility, charity, obedience. Lent is a time for each Christian to remember Christ in the desert and to test ourselves. Doing the simple things we say that we are going to do during this time is a test. Will we be able to fulfill our penance.

Penance is not about giving up, penance is for moving forward, learning something about yourself, your relationship with God, learning how to strengthen and improve that relationship.

The forty days of Lent provides each Christian with a glimpse of God beautiful loving design for our lives if we allow ourselves to trust in his magnificent, omnipotent love.

Penance allows us to draw direct parallels with Christ’s life; Christ did not take the easy path; Christ made all types of sacrifices; Christ suffered. As Christians penance reminds us that goodness requires effort and is difficult to achieve; as Christians we must be prepared to offer sacrifices and to suffer. As Christians we must always remember all the things that Christ did to save us, all the things that Christ did to show us how to be like him.

The gift of salvation waits for those who are able to demonstrate their free will to live like Jesus, to follow in his footsteps. Lent is a journey; penance is the map guiding us through life’s mendacity, mediocrity, morbidity, temptations. Lent is not a time for solitude; each Christian must remember to invite and to include Jesus in their Lenten journey.

Lent offers each Christian the choice of following Christ on the road of humility. Lent offers each Christian a moment to examine each action, to make the right choice, to be victorious over sin with Christ.

The itinerary of the Lenten journey was hopefully decided before the penitential sign of the ashes was placed on a forehead. Lent is a period of hope and good will. For penance to be successful, some effort and prayer must be connected to it. It is not enough to simply give up chocolate or coffee for Lent without adding something, some moment of prayer or reflection, some way to move closer to God.

Ash Wednesday reminds each Christian that we are made of earth and someday we will return to earth. Lent reminds us that we are created in the image of God and that if we are humble, obedient servants we will live in heaven with God.

We must remember that God loves us. We must teach ourselves to recognize and respond to God’s call. We must understand free will means choosing to obey God.

Secular life downplays the beauty of the mystical and spiritual life for the clamorous diseases leading people away from God, into all types of sinful, bad behavior. The secular world pollutes and infects each of our lives with disturbing, imprudent, impious images and ideas attacking basic decency and morality. Human beings should live in harmony with each other and the world; secular interests encourage lust, envy, gluttony, pride.

Lent offers a time and a manner to turn away from the secular world, a time and a manner to turn toward God.

Lent offers us a time to reflect upon our own unfair behavior and hopefully will provide us with the desire and ability to permanently make changes which will make us better people, better Christians. Lent reminds us of the necessity of social justice and then encourages us to add alms giving, prayer, and fasting to our lives. These should not be directed toward other men, but directed toward God’s gaze.

As we journey through each day of Lent remember human dignity. Remember that we all need to pray for and have hope in social justice. Life’s disappointments and tragedies should direct us toward God. Lent is a time of spiritual renewal. Each of us is responsible for both our personal and community conversion. Our lives must not only reflect the teachings of Christ, our lives must project the teachings of Christ and his love for each of us.

Ash Wednesday symbolizes our humanity and the continuing struggles of our daily experiences, of our daily conversion.




Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Slogans for Lent

Lent. Thoughts about Lent. A couple of slogans for Lent.

Lovely day for a penance.

The best penance in town.

Ash Wednesday, Premium Penance.

My sinfulness/My Penance

When tempted remember to reach for penance instead

This morning a walk along Rhode Island Avenue. Charming cold stillness waiting for a little snow.

A quiet prelude leading toward an examination of conscience. All human beings have troubles, all human beings have occasions when they sin. We are still able to pray, to petition God for mercy, forgiveness. Patience is always needed. Earthly and fleshly pleasures are temporal, provide only fleeting happiness. An examination of conscience allows each Christian to learn how to understand and to navigate their individual spiritual landscape. Sin is an invasion of chaos, confusion. Many humans are unable to withstand this invasion of temptation and stimulation. Morals develop to help human beings find goodness. Penance helps human beings find holiness. Secular societies downplay the damage of sin upon the individual, upon the community if no legal crime has occurred. Christians endure with humility, charity, fortitude.

Tree limbs were sawed and tossed into a motorized chopper being pulled by a pick-up truck.

This afternoon a walk along Rhode Island Avenue. Disarming colorless sky with snow flurries.

A pleasant postlude to consider life’s troubles and consequences. Prayer and reflection remain positive alternatives. Silence and patience are always necessary if a person is to truly take stock of his life. Beneath all the superlatives, hyperbole is a society rotting from being too preoccupied with leisure and with pleasure. Individuals receive mixed signals and expectations from the media and get lost within the dreamscape, the eternal battle of good and bad, love and hate. There is too much noise, too many distractions, diversions. Goodness, social justice, fairness are not always seen as the best qualities to possess by a society concerned with physical appearances, physical pleasures. Immediacy is often praised and encouraged. Christians must always remember the impressions that sin can have on the hearts, their souls and on the hearts and souls of their families, friends.

People move on the sidewalk avoiding the ice, anxiously waiting to cross the street before the traffic light changes.


Little things

It is always best to remember the little things first.

Lent provides forty days for a spiritual journey in which the earthly and fleshly pleasures are moved aside; a little discomfort is necessary and desired during Lent. The great problem that all Christians confront each day is sin, and the solution is not always easy but prayer helps guide the faithful in the right directions. There are forty reasons why we should not sin, forty prayers for goodness, holiness, patience.

Sin can make us unhappy refugees waiting in an airport for a delayed or canceled flight. Remember the wounds to the soul, to the heart, to the spirit when we turn away from God. Sin is all spectacle but no substance.

Ash Wednesday reminds us of our frailties, that we are human beings, able to hurt, able to be hurt. We can be happy; we can be distraught. We always need prayer. We always need God’s mercy and love.

Ash Wednesday offers splendid weather for forty days of hope.

Ash Wednesday

Gather the people, notify the congregation, assemble the elders.

And Lent begins today.

And I reminded some of my friends to attend Mass. And I made myself go to bed early on Tuesday night. Wednesday morning, I woke up earlier than usual and was able to say a silent prayer and begin my day.

I did not have my usual breakfast. I did have some juice with an aspirin and then I walked into the cold February morning trying to examine my conscience but I had to decide whether to walk or take the 42 bus down Connecticut Avenue. I decided to take the bus. The bus was crowded with faces curious, faces half asleep, faces pouting. I wondered how many of the other passengers knew that it was Ash Wednesday. I wondered if any of them cared that Lent had begun. I wondered if I would get a seat, if the bus would stop or continue through the red light.

And I thought about all of the prayers I keep telling myself to pray. Echoes of previous prayers returned to me. This morning as I thought of things to give up, things to do, things not to do, I realized that my success was dependent upon my self-discipline.

As a Christian, I do understand the necessity and the beauty of penance. Penance is away for each of us to evaluate our lives and find a new path, a new direction which will direct us to God, on a path of righteousness.

The Cathedral was filled with faces anxious, faces humble, faces obedient waiting for the Mass to begin, waiting for the ashes to be gently placed upon each forehead.

There is something beautiful about Ash Wednesday. Faith and hope are visible in the faces and expressions of so many people. Lent helps us to prepare our hearts and souls for the Easter Resurrection. Lent encourages us to fast, to pray, to give alms.

As a child I think I always liked Ash Wednesday because of the ashes placed on the forehead. Those ashes were protected, my mother would not make me wash them off before dinner. These ashes protect me now, remind me of the Gospels, lead me toward salvation. These ashes are a sign of penance; these ashes on my forehead signal the start of Lent, signal my hope for reconciliation with God.

And so I must find a way to move closer to God during the next forty days which hopefully will extend beyond the forty days.

Friday, February 12, 2010

All Christians Need Discernment Time

If I have told you earthly things, and you believe not, how shall you believe if I tell you of heavenly things? John 3:12

Throughout each moment of a Christian’s life, something is always being studied and discerned. Each day the perception and appreciation should change, as the bond with God becomes stronger. True faith and true love are not stagnant. There is always movement, pushing loving, humble Christians closer to God. At different intervals each Christian will have serious choices to make, serious issues to discern. Silence, prayer, reflection are necessary. At this time it might be beneficial to remember God’s glory and power. There are so many distractions and diversions that sometimes there is desire for instant solutions, easy answers. Discernment can be a difficult process; self-knowledge is sometimes an elusive target filled with all types of twists and turns. If a Christian learns how to honestly, sincerely praise God, then they can see the glory and beauty in all things visible to the eye, audible to ear; a Christian needs to be able to perceive God’s love and mercy. God’s wisdom, God’s power deserve praise and respect. In all aspects of life God is present and waits to be discovered in order to help improve the lives of everyone; man’s creation was not an accident; mankind has a purpose; Christians have a purpose to lead as many humans as possible to God; this desire animates many Christians; this call takes many shapes and forms and can last for an entire lifetime; each Christian must allow time for silence to listen for and listen to God’s call; Christians must lovingly, humbly, honestly discern their vocation to God and discover their individual purpose in leading others to him. Christians must always remember that their faith is not just about themselves, but about saving as many souls as possible. Sin is often an unwelcome guest in our hearts and souls, reminding each Christian of their mortality. Modern life is about immediacy, accumulating things, seeing, hearing, and reading about events as they happen. There is little time to process information. World event often cause anxiety, apathy, anger. Agitated souls are easy to manipulate. Turn to God for peace. Worry for a couple of seconds about whether to petition God or to praise God. Reflect on who can call God, when they can call God. Remember that our actions, thoughts, and prayers help us move closer to God. Knowledge of God helps create and form prayers, encourages goodness and love to grow within hearts and souls, encourages humility, charity, obedience, forgiveness, mercy. Searching for a vocation, discernment really is simply seeking the Lord, calling on the Lord, responding to his call to us. A Christian life should always be concerned with vocation, serving God, asking how can that be accomplished each day. A Christian life must have this simple belief in loving and serving God as a foundation; believing in, loving, serving God is simple, natural. Listen to the voice within your heart, calling, inspiring you to love, pray for, and care for your neighbor. Remember that this always goes beyond the earthly day to day existence. Remember that we should try and save as many souls as possible, we should lead as many souls to God as possible.

Christians believe that God made each one of us to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in Heaven.

Therefore a Christian life involves recognizing God’s presence, listening to God’s words, listening for God’s call. Each discernment is an opportunity for each Christian to make a reconciliation with God and offer to become a more humble, loving servant. Each discernment is an opportunity for each Christian to experience God’s gentleness and sweetness. Each discernment is an opportunity for more harmonious relationship with God and the world. Each discernment is an opportunity for each Christian to have a revelation like Paul and to change the direction of their life to better serve and praise God.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

The Likeness With God

Each day life presents obstacles and distractions. Sometimes wrong decisions are made and God’s commandments are ignored. Other times God’s laws are remembered. To improve both the daily existence and the individual relationship with God each Christian should allow time for an examination of conscience. This is the best way for an individual to learn about himself/herself. It is not easy. It requires time, patience, diligence, prayer. The aim is to help each Christian remember the necessity and beauty of living life according to God’s design, loving each other, loving and respecting God. Expressing kindness and respect with sincerity and humility equally to everyone is an example of wisdom. Always be humble, never think that you’re better or worse than anyone else. Remember that God loves all of his children. Remember that everyone makes mistakes, everyone sins.

Remember that the likeness or similarity that we share God primarily resides in the soul. Each Christian soul resembles God because it is a spirit with eternal life, and has understanding and free will. Each Christian spirit exists but remains invisible to the eyes. Each Christian soul will never die. It is immortal. Each Christian soul has the ability to reflect upon all his actions and determine why certain decisions were made. Each Christian soul contains free will which allows each person to choose to obey or not obey God.

Christians should always remember their souls, remember the beauty within their souls. God has a reason, a design for each living person. Discovering God’s plan requires us to remember each way our spirits makes us similar to God. The four similarities suggest patience, diligence, fortitude, humility. But each Christian must interpret them according to their own individual preferences and create a life in loving, humble service to God. Each Christian must frequently exam their conscience, take a moment to learn about their strengths and weaknesses and then ask for God’s assistance to be a better Christian.


Sacrifice and Knowledge

The LORD, therefore, became angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice


Each Christian should live with one leading goal which is to honor God by living a life of virtue and goodness. God is to be respected, honored. Our religion offers justice and salvation to believers who are asked to show reverence to God, to be his humble servants, to be in awe of the God’s power. Christians must understand and accept the implicit requirement of sacrifice; every choice that it is made to do God’s work, every moment spent in prayer, every time kindness is done by a Christian with earnestly, lovingly then each act can be described as a sacrifice.

Christians must accept that their neighbors will have different ideas and opinions about religion and God. Christians may listen to a spoken treatise upon religion; listen patiently, listen respectfully, listen simply; do not be deceived by any rhetorical or elocution tricks; focus only on the central theme and how the speaker feels about the theme. It is not always necessary to respond to these monologues. If the speaker is sincere and truly interested in learning about God and God’s glory and mercy, then respond politely with great discipline of thought. If the speaker is not interested in learning about God, then avoid saying too much for the purpose of the discourse is to ridicule God.

Christians should surround yourselves with virtuous people interested in goodness and social justice according to the teaching’s of Christ. Remember always the Ten Commandments, apply them to your daily decision making process. Remember them as your conscience is examined.

Christians should live their lives in accordance with how God wants his children to live. Since the society compromises many faiths and those without faith, a Christian should be respectful first, ask questions later. Always acknowledge and accept the reality that you are a sinner and fallible. Do not accept the label of hypocrite if your life is progressing from being sinful to being virtuous. Remember that our neighbors can not see the beauty, the love, the devotion that is within our hearts and souls. Remember our neighbors often only want to see what they have decided to see. A Christian’s reality depends upon each sacrifice, each prayer, every moment lovingly, humbly, earnestly spent doing God’s work. These may not always be noticed by neighbors. Always remember to honor God in all your activities, allow that to give you confidence.

Each day life provides additional knowledge for us; always use it wisely to do service for the Lord. Strive for goodness and holiness. Avoid thinking that knowledge provides superiority. Always remind yourself that there is always something new to be learned, something new in Scripture to be reflected upon. Each life experience should provide the confidence to love your neighbor and God more easily and more completely.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Supplication Leads to Holy Fellowship

Supplication. What a wonderful word! Each Christian should both learn about and then seek supplication in their lives and their relationships with God. In creating a solid, lasting relationship with God each Christian must remember to supplicate before God. The desire for honest, loving supplication before the Lord is often the best foundation for a prayerful life filled with goodness. Christians must remember to always be earnest and humble in their prayers. Christians should beware of the danger of wanting, desiring or expecting too much information. This is the age of instant access. This is the age of endless insistent stimulation. Hidden within this information sometimes is either the deception or diversion that sin is made of. Beware of anyone who wants to appear educated and wise. Listen with your heart for some sign of an understanding and appreciation of goodness, holiness, social justice. Listen with your heart for some sign of humility and charity. Listen with your heart for a brief moment of time and then go and pray to God about what you have just heard. Wisdom requires patience, both to be spoken and to be heard, understood, and applied. Wisdom asks the soul to participate, freely, humbly. Wisdom seeks to improve the soul’s health or disposition. The soul will not be satisfied by catchy phrases, well constructed melodious sentences. Goodness in action and thought will create a good life which will please and calm the mind. Standing before God humbly as an obedient servant with a pure conscience will provide all Christians with the confidence and love to follow in the footsteps of Christ.


True sacrifice is every work undertaken in order that we may be joined to God in holy fellowship. Saint Augustine


The beauty of a life as a Christian is often found in the details, in the minutes of silence, in time spent in devotion or in prayer. As each Christian learns how to love his neighbor, then each Christian learns to extend their individual prayers and petitions to include his neighbor. When the an individual earnestly and humbly asks God for assistance for another person that is the beginning of wisdom. Although prayers may be said in private, prayer is often a community act. Remember that every hour of the day somewhere in the world someone is praying to God, in seminaries, monasteries, parishes, in private residences. Prayer helps us to join in fellowship. Prayer requires effort, discipline. Prayer should not be restricted to just one simple act but to an entire life dedication to loving and serving God. Throughout each day of a Christian’s life, there will always be something to praise God about, something to ask God for assistance about.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Let's Be Humble

Organically and naturally, something within each person produces a desire to know God. Some approach God with a sense of intense diplomatic negotiations instead of love. Others approach with all types of syllogisms and theorems instead of praise. And still others approach God with all types disrespect and deception instead of fear. How an individual approaches God provides an indication of how the individual views himself/herself. To have a fruitful relationship with God, each person must have a healthy, honest self knowledge. A healthy, honest self perception allows for a deep, self examination and meaningful contrition. Each person may desire a relationship with God; but prayer, praise, respect are necessary ingredients; with God each person must always remember to be the humble servant. The earthly, fleshly world overwhelms many people, suggests that we, not God, are our masters, confuses people with an over abundance of conflicting statements; the desires of a society are often not the desires of God. The earthly world talks favorably about humility, charity, and obedience; all are viewed good in small doses, for certain goals; often they are associated with weakness. American culture desires fame, wealth, and power. God only asks that we love and respect each other. Each Christian must guard himself against the many spiritual deceptions in the world encouraging movement away from God. Each Christian must learn and practice humility before God and then each other. Let the goodness of each Christian inspire goodness in other people. A Christian does not judge, a Christian simply lives a life with the simplicity, the honesty, the humility of Jesus Christ; each Christian each must remember the call “Follow me” and then use the means of their life to do it.

Each day each Christian must remember to pray and give thanks to God. It probably would be better if each parish continued the old practice of ringing its bells to remind the faithful to pray the Angelus morning, noon, and evening. Prayer needs to be integrated into the life of every Christian; no Christian can pray too much, be too penitent. Each Christian must live lives which reflect and honor Our Lord’s Incarnation, death, and resurrection. Each Christian must learn to control both actions and thoughts which do not move them closer to God.

Humility remains very necessary for each Christian. Earthly life encourages pride and selfishness which are dangerous obstacles to a loving relationship with God. Humility stands in opposition to both pride and selfishness. For many people being proud and selfish are the default settings of their characters. Humility initially requires more effort to do but ultimately is better for the person, better for the mind, heart, and soul.

Living according to God’s design means living with humility.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Snowflakes

Saturday morning listening to footsteps on the marble foyer in the lobby, listening to a loud telephone conversation of an anonymous man through a closed locked door I sit alone. There is the familiar sound of running water, dishes being placed into and moved around in a sink. Two children and their father drift from the elevators, patiently stare out the glass doors at the snow and the children outside. The children have great enthusiasm and expectation.

As I watch the snowflakes fall outside and watch people walk by, some with parka hoods up, others beneath open umbrellas I am reminded of the beauty and fragility of life. At this moment the snow blankets the building stoop, lawn, sidewalk, street with a mysterious whiteness. There is a swirling purity and playfulness in falling snow. We are told that all snowflakes are unique. Watching their descent I can almost see imaginary lines and triangles. I search for isosceles triangles. Watching the snowflakes I remember the Pythagorean theory. How beautiful and gentle they appear! How delightful the snowflakes look. There are a few pedestrians walking by, some alone, some in small groups. They remind me of survivors in a science fiction movie lost on a desolate planet, moving, searching being attacked by the snowflakes and the wind. There is something peaceful in this snowfall, something comforting and yet—

The world outside the window is cottony and inviting. The leafless tree limbs are puffy, inflated with a white brightness. There is mystery in the snow. There is hope in the snow. The snow is a wonderful canvas for my imagination. Do I see Macbeth wandering by? Do I see three Wise Men? Is that a camel? And there are voices talking about blizzards, work, shoveling, parking, laundry. And there are children playing with shovels, leaning into the moist mountains of snow, trying to build castles, trying to build igloos. And there is laughter. And someone is trying to make a snow angel.

The snowfall continues; the wind blows the snowflakes this way, that way; the children discard their shovels and jump into the snow, pick up little handfuls.

A few vehicles creep by. Then there is a brief burst of a siren and a long red fire truck drives by. It seems longer than usual with a special ladder designed to reach higher into the sky, higher than the falling snowflakes.

The brief life of a snowflake is beautiful and somehow figuratively tragic; for from it the conception in the clouds there is an impending end. A moment when it will melt, when it will no longer be a dazzling falling snowflake.

There is something beautiful and mesmerizing in this snowfall. In the wind there is a faint sound, a faint chanting that sounds like “at the hour of our death.”

Friday, February 5, 2010

Earthly Desires

Be mindful of the fact that the world is filled with earthly things. What is visible to the eyes, audible to the ears is not always satisfying. The senses provide both information and stimulation. Wisdom teaches mankind to live in harmony with their environment and to learn how to use the environment efficiently and intelligently to provide a renewable resource for food, clothing, shelter. Beware of the temptation to love any possession. Purity of heart and soul is the ultimate goal of all Christians who are striving for holiness. This generation is encouraged to pursue their lusts; society and the government allow adults the freedom to do all types of behaviors which God asks all Christians to avoid. Fleshly lusts when followed lead men away from God. Each Christian must live a life which protects and strengthens the relationship with God; all those things which bond a Christian to God—prayer, penance, fairness, faith, hope, love—must be employed to avoid temptation; the conscience must be developed to seek love, purity and cleanliness of spirit, goodness, and holiness. All Christians know that sin exists; each day there is a possibility that each living person will sin; Christians must allow both themselves and their consciences to learn from each sinful impulse in order to avoid sinning in the future. Each sin is a disgrace; each sin moves us away from God and God’s grace. All Christians must live lives moving toward God, being of service to God.

Both immediacy and anxiety present this current generation with endless earthly choices and fleshly possibilities. Neither the immediacy nor the anxiety are natural; both are artificial and designed by men to provoke both responses and desires. Technology provides a sense of immediacy, instant contact, instantaneous relaying of information which bombards the mind and conscience with a steady repetition of information without providing or encouraging time for contemplation. Technology provides noise; this noise can sometimes drown out God’s messages to us. Information creates anxiety. People often want to know more than they know; people often make assumptions; people often worry. In the context of daily life with cellular phones, computers, television there is so much immediacy, so much anxiety that it might be difficult to discern God’s will. Christians must allow themselves a moment of silence. Christians must avoid getting lost within the current technology, current need for instant connection, instant solutions which are suggested by immediacy.

A Christian’s conscience does not desire instant gratification, instant solutions; a Christian desires to be a humble serving of God. Goodness and holiness involve patience, silence, respect.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Concerning Salvation

Is The Young Man Absalom Safe?

Christians are concerned with matters temporal and spiritual. Christians seek salvation. Christian thought leads the believers on the path to goodness and holiness. If love is the basic commandment of Christianity, how is that love expressed? Is it just for those who are familiar and in close proximity or for everyone universal? That Jesus Christ by example is to be accepted as the superior teacher of how to love gently, spiritually without anticipation, without expectation—simply accepting the strengths and weaknesses of each individual, treating each individual fairly, and understanding and affirming that this choice might be difficult and contain both sacrifice and suffering. Christ presented the best example of virtuous love. It must be remembered that the essence of Christianity involves suffering and sacrifice; there is a rejection of all pleasures, a rejection of wealth, a rejection of desires of the flesh, a rejection of all vanity. The sympathy and interest of the Christian should be the welfare and security of their neighbors. All activities of each Christian’s life should encourage others to convert and become believers and followers of the Lord. The essence of each Christian’s life should involve being virtuous and being a humble servant of God. Virtuous thought is not selfish. Virtuous thought is not vengeful. Virtuous thought is not malicious. Goodness and holiness are intimately connected; how a man acts, how a woman speaks presents external signs of the love and respect for God within their souls. There should be something invisible to the eye, inaudible to the ear which exists purely and entirely in the soul which can lead men to all types of hope and goodness, allow the expansion of wisdom. With wisdom follows a deeper love and connection to God. As the bonds to God grow stronger so does the compassion and concern for all of God’s children. And this love and awe of God suggests that it is better to love universal, love without anticipation, love without expectation, love with mercy, love with forgiveness. This type of love asks for a understanding and acceptance of God’s mysticism; this is the love of the invisible, the inaudible; this is the love for all souls and for their salvation.

It is easy for each person to say “I love you. I love all of my neighbors.” However, it is more difficult to apply the gentleness, the hopefulness of love uniformly through the entirety of their existence. Spiritual concerns will always return to social justice, fairness, love, and hope.

Christ reminds us to offer both our faith and love to God; to be humble, obedient servants; to respect and trust God.

The life of a Christian extends beyond an individual quest for goodness and holiness; Christians by example should live in a humble, prayerful manner which draws other to the faith; Christians are not just concerned with their salvation; Christians desire the spiritual conversion and salvation for all of mankind. Hopefully how Christians live will reflect this!

And the Christian has Prayer and Contemplation.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Concerning Conversion

When, then, we ask why a crime was done, we believe it not, unless it appear that there might have been some desire of obtaining some of those which we called lower goods, or a fear of losing them. - St. Augustine


Each day each living person breaks one of God’s commandments thereby sinning and moving away from God. Sometimes these sins are small, sometimes they are great. But, all sins can be described as crimes against God. Sin must be mentioned during any discussion concerning conversion, redemption, and salvation. The Holy Trinity exists and provides lessons and examples of holiness for us to imitate. True understanding of the Holy Trinity requires loving humility and a loving desire to respect and serve God; pleasure in life is not found in earthly delights but in the glory and power of the Lord. All Christians learn that both goodness and holiness are created by both actions and statements; goodness and holiness create a good life when sincerity and humility are present. The Holy Trinity reminds faithful Christians of God’s place in their hearts, minds, and souls. The Holy Trinity reminds loving Christians of God’s power and glory. The Holy Trinity reminds upright Christians of God’s forgiveness and mercy. Contrition is necessary for all Christians; repentance before God for all sins against his laws is required and necessary for good spiritual development.

The ultimate goal for all Christians is to love and serve only God. When that occurs, the highest wisdom becomes available to us, the earthly world loses it charms, and we move forward, closer to the gates of Heaven.

Further, it is easy to cull from the Gospels the salient points of Christ’s teachings on fairness, social justice and to present them in an easy to understand format. But still some of the lessons lose their force because of the current morality thought which downplays sins while raising up the scientific belief of natural behavior. Individual responsibility and free will are lost within latinate words and pompous sentences. All men are human beings. All human beings are sinners. No latinate or psychological constructions can change that basic truth. All sinners are responsible for their sins. All Christians should read the Bible and reflect upon what they have read; Christians should form their own opinions on the Word of God; this requires patience and fortitude. It is currently fashionable to question the validity of Christ, the validity of God because of the notion of the “self-made man.”

But, remember that this religion, Christianity is a religion. Remember to always keep reverence and love for this religion in your hearts. Allow it to change your ideas, teach you how to hope, love, pray. This religion asks for the passion and obedience of its believers. This religion asks for the diligence and witness of its believers. This religion asks for the humility and charity of its believers. This religion offers forgiveness, redemption, salvation. All Catholics should listen to and then learn and then affirm the Eucharist prayers. Within those words are honest yearning to be God’s humble servant while acknowledging the unworthiness of the desire because of simple fact that each person is human and all humans are sinners who need forgiveness and understanding. All Catholics have the free will and the responsibility to choose when to go to confession, when to accept Holy Communion, when to attend Mass, when to pray.

All Catholics have to navigate around all types of sin and vice in their daily lives. Modern life is often chaotic. The secular world presents many options, many temptations to distract and/or divert our affection and attention from God. This is to be expected; the Bible provides lessons on how to fortify the loving and humble heart and soul.

Patience and prayer can lead to wisdom.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Respect & Protect

A Superior Teacher

The end of learning is to know God, and out of that knowledge to love Him, and to imitate Him, by possessing our souls of true virtue.—Milton.



Jesus Christ is a superior teacher of goodness and holiness. His entire life is an inspiration to all who desire to be holy. His life is filled with great obedience, great patience. His Spirit of fairness and humility remains protected within the context of his teaching, as holy subtext, holy metadata. Believers develop and nurture affection and longing for his lessons as they try to model their lives on his. Often there is a question about what is in a believers heart, guiding him or her? Is Christ really in your heart? Is your Christian religion in your heart? What is the progress of your conversion?

Baptism washes away original sin and purifies hearts and minds, prepares them to love and serve God. Conversion from sin and vice continues each day until death. Each day in a Christian’s life there should always be expanding holiness, advancing closer to God. The direction of the journey should be from vice to virtue; however, sadly, the journey consistently is vice to virtue to vice to virtue in a melancholy perpetual consistency of being pleasant and loving to God, of being unpleasant and unloving to God. A Christian’s actions may change. God’s love does not.

The message and method of Jesus Christ suggests that the road to salvation must be travelled with a beautiful rigidity of purpose which is often in opposition to current scientific and social trends and norms and which creates paradoxes for the faithful believers. Every Christian seeks consolation in God at one time or another. Every Christian seeks salvation. Some may move mountains if their faith directs them to do so; some may compose essays and articles; others may simply attend service and keep their minds and hearts open to the Lord’s call. How wonderful that the Catholic Church is filled with erudite men who centuries ago possessed with the wisdom to understand and use Aristotle’s Ethics as a foundation for the religion of God and the vision to be patient and prayerful in their reflections on the faith as they uncovered the mysteries and created the dogma and doctrine which would survive centuries. How wonderful for each Christian that there are prayers and syllogisms! Being Christian presents a connection with some of the best thinking, best literature produced by man. This literature is for the conversion and education of hearts and souls in preparation to the journey to the Kingdom of God. This religion presents facts, philosophy, and mysticism to the faithful believers to help each Christian understand and respect the power of God and to use their lives in humble service to God.

Being Christian recognizes the beautiful potential and paradox of human genius and tries to direct the use of human genius and creativity in ways pleasing to God. Being Christian is a process, an endless conversion of hearts, minds, and souls. Each day faithful Christians must allow themselves to be open to learn more about their faith, about themselves, about how to respect and serve God. Christians strive to educate and protect their souls.

Monday, February 1, 2010

This Generation

Although there are all types of electric light, the hearts and souls of many human beings remain in complete darkness or are very dimly lighted. Neon signs and other artificial illumination confuse many. It is easy to make typographical and grammatical errors; detecting them is sometimes easy, sometimes difficult; it is easy to make mistakes and to sin; discovering sin is sometimes easy, sometimes difficult. Sin prefers the darkness, tries to cover each willing heart with a balmy blindness, momentarily calming and pleasant but then leaves us agitated and anxious.

The current generation enjoys the repentance of their neighbors; the media has turned this into a spectacle, a cheap entertainment where the mistakes and failings are illuminated not for education or erudition but to satisfy a moribund curiosity. This is the time when false principles and all types of fallacies rule; opinion dominates fact; instant deductions are preferable to intense contemplation. The scientific method is applied to everything.

The current generation has been taught to view confession lightly, for titillation. For newspapers and television talk shows frequently have people confessing some moment of weakness, despair, interpersonal destructiveness. There is sometimes talk of regret, sadness; however, there often is a question of true contrition. Sometimes after the confession there is forgiveness. But, then there is a commercial break and life continues.

Jesus Christ needs to be inserted into the consciousness of this modern generation. His life and ministry should be studied by all human beings. His character and obedience should be models for all.

This modern generation worships wealth and celebrity; all things science are revered; religion is relegated to the periphery and often viciously attacked because of its simplicity, rituals, and mysteries. Today science is often used as an ally against religion.

At no time since the days of Jesus Christ has the need for his presence and instruction been needed more than now. The scientific method lacks something, offers only questions and possibilities and endless side effects. Everywhere there is need for a renewal of doctrine of charity, humility, obedience, which could help each human being learn how to love their individual selves, their neighbors, and God. Human beings need expressions of affection and love to flourish. There are many human beings deprived of love, searching for it in dangerous places, forgetting that God provides love for everyone. Somehow this starvation of the heart and soul is acceptable according to the scientific method.

What each human being must always remember the simple fact of salvation: believe in God, live as his humble servants, and be loving obedient.

As Christians there is an explicit expectation and responsibility to create lives which illuminate the goodness and holiness of the faithful, the love and respect for God; this illumination will guide the lost to God and protect others from becoming lost.

True simple prayer remains as the best way to illuminate both hearts and souls with the natural light of God’s love.