Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Ruminations

There are times when I try to imagine life in Galilee. There are times when I try to imagine being in the Capernaum temple with Jesus on the sabbath. 

How wonderful it would be to hear Jesus Christ speak his words, to experience his syntax. Sitting in Mass I sometimes close my eyes briefly and try to create a scene hurriedly and vaguely. There is much artistic license and Hollywood spectacle but this can be helpful in unpacking the reading. Sometimes additional questions spring up and surprise me with a search for meaning, a search for deeper understanding. Each time I attend Mass there is an opportunity for further learning on how to be a better loving Christian, how to serve God with humility, charity, mercy, and compassion.

In between news about Hurricane Irene, hunting feral pigs from helicopters, searching for Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's remaining forces, there is always time to be surprised by God.

God’s love is inexhaustible.

The search for connection between Holy Scripture and our daily lives is very important. Finding resonance in the readings can encourage greater love for God. Our faith does ask us to be cerebral, to use our minds to serve God, to use our minds to serve God. Our faith asks each of us to use our ganglions to form gangs of hope and love in ourselves and our communities.

Ebb and flow is natural in life; there is always advance and retreat. In the life of all Christians there are times of solitude, times of solicitude. There are times of vague desire to do good, there are times of gradual acceptance of loving God. Each Christian is allowed to learn when to speak, when to shut up.

I seek faith in a faithful place. I seek God in a loving place.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Wonderful Wednesday

I seek the goodness and kindness each day. I believe that to live means to love God above all things. Living is loving God.

The Lord offers mercy and salvation. I am asked to have humility in my heart, humility in my way of being. I know that I can trust God. The Lord offers hope. Loving God allows me to approach the world in a different way, with different thoughts, different insights. I do not fear the world; I live to love God, to serve God.

I believe that to live means to love God above all things. Living is loving God. I seek the goodness and kindness each day.

I ask God for guidance. I ask God for a chance to enter his kingdom of heaven. Each day of my earthly existence I dedicate to God. Each day of my earthly existence is an opportunity for contemplation, reflection, discernment. Each day of my earthly existence is an opportunity to offer praise and thanks to the Lord. Each day of my earthly existence is an opportunity to pray to the Lord.

I live to love God. I seek the goodness, holiness, kindness each day. I believe that God offers each of us life and so much more.

I believe in the beauty of goodness, in the bounty of holiness. These are gifts for those who believe and live for the Lord. Nurture patience, nurture confidence as I wait to meet the Lord. I must grow courage, grow wisdom for I am asked to spread the Good News while I am waiting for the Lord.

I believe in God. I want to serve God.

Earthly life is a temporary event filled with all types of activities and emotions. I feel like a field editor as I live my life and observe others. This can be anthropological, psychological. The circumstances of life present sadness, loneliness, despair to me each day. The circumstances of life reinforce the need for prayer. Murder, madness, and mayhem remain features of entertainment for people moving in lockstep to chaos and emotional danger. There is no normal, there is no regular; there is only consumerism trying to seduce each person with offers of a great, relaxing holiday. Earthly life is filled with many empty holidays. It is time to remember holiness, to observe holy days.

These days offer sensationalism and luxurious misgivings with unabated pleasure. We exist within the cool confines of a computerized solitude and we exist with a detached solicitude wondering if anyone recognizes our work, remembers our name. It is important to remember the impulse to love God first. Keep life simple, keep life honest. Keep life filled with love. These will give you a life of worthiness.

A life of goodness, kindness, holiness blossoms with the right mixture of discernment and solitude. A Christian life is beautiful when it includes a natural solicitude for both God and mankind.



Notes on Existence

Concerning our existence, there will always be need for prayer, reflection, and patience. Concerning our journey toward God, there will always be questions, doubts, and fear. Many of the events in our lives occur with randomness, without a sense of overriding or guiding logic.

The human existence is an exercise in vulnerability. We exist at the mercy of the elements, at the mercy of God.

We are asked to love our brothers and sisters. We are asked to be prepared to serve God. We are reminded that we live to serve God.

There is nothing new in any of this. There is a great difficulty in remembering and applying this to our daily lives. How we treat each other, how we speak to each other, how we think about each other is important. The great lessons of Christianity are constant love, constant preparation. We are asked to love our neighbors as we love ourselves and we are asked to always be prepared and willing to serve the Lord.

Peace and security are temporary, they are goals; they are ideals. The secular world uses peace and security to provide false hope, false confidence. Both are familiar themes employed by politicians. Both are fragile, require an infrastructure of other ideals and ultimately can be empty ideals, empty words if God is not present. The only true peace and true security can only be found in God, in following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, and being willing to sacrifice everything in your life for God, in being able to honestly, lovingly serving God.

Without God’s mercy and charity, there is no escape from the sadness, despair, loneliness that have become hallmarks of modern societies of alienation, ignorance, fear. So many people forget to be prepared, forget to stand watch waiting for God to arrive. So many people allow themselves to forget that there might be a waiting thief in the night waiting to steal your hopes, your dreams.

As God’s adopted children we are all brothers and sisters. Please remember this. It is important to live and prosper in the day, in the light. It is important to remain alert, to remain sober at all times. As Christians we are asked to remember this fact as we pray for salvation for ourselves and our neighbors. As Christians is important to always be seeking to live with a state of Grace.

Concerning love and hope allow them to reside in your heart, soul, and mind. Allow love and hope to protect you, to direct you to Jesus Christ. Concerning love and hope may they both lead you to a better understanding and a closer relationship with God. Concerning love and hope may they always remind you that you are an adopted child of God with unique gifts, unique prayers.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

There Is Something You Must Hear

The major conversation topic this week was Tuesday’s earthquake. Everybody was an expert. Everybody wanted to know where you were, what you were doing, what you were thinking, what you were feeling. The opinions expressed here may not be my own. I just heard them.


Uncle Willie was at a funeral for his former boss, Mr. Ralph Lawrence. Uncle Willie did not like Mr. Lawrence but went out of respect and to make sure that it was indeed Mr. Ralph Lawrence in the casket. Well, all the chemicals and the draining of blood did something to Mr. Lawrence who on his best day was very, very hard on everybody’s eyes. Uncle Willie always wore sunglasses or closed his eyes tightly when Mr. Lawrence was around. Well just as the casket was to be lowered into the ground that’s when the ground started shaking, the trees started shimmying, the flowers started swaying, some of the car alarms started making noise. Well, all the shaking woke up Mr. Lawrence who opened his casket and said “Hello.” Luckily the doctor was there and said that was just an involuntary muscle reflex as he closed the casket.

Uncle Peter felt his living room shake violently while he was watching something about the pre-season and then he automatically ran out of the house because his new wife Melanie Louise can not cook, she has blown up two stoves, one grill, one refrigerator, and his car.

Cousin Ethel was at work talking about the latest jobless figures. She has an interior office. She has high blood pressure. Well on Tuesday she ate all the wrong foods intentionally and at first she thought that she was having a bad case of indigestion, then a heart attack.

Jasper and Cordelia were having lunch in some downtown restaurant. Jasper was complaining about the waiter and the President. Cordelia was texting her daughter Miranda who was upset because her current boyfriend had not proposed yet. The plates started rattling, the walls started swaying. Jasper was unamused and thought that it was a trick to get more tip money. Cordelia didn’t know what to think and kept texting her daughter. All of the white people and Asian people scream and leave the restaurant. Jasper and Cordelia look around and with great dignity leave the restaurant. Jasper muttered something under his breath.

For Some Friends Who Remembered Ashford and Simpson

On Tuesday in between questions about the rebels in Libya, the Gaza strip airstrikes news of Nick Ashford’s death for a brief moment was important. I could not remember any of the Ashford and Songs. I thought that there was at least one Diana Ross song. But I was not sure. I decided to walk to the new Martin Luther King, Jr memorial. The original plan was to take a few pictures and then send them to a couple of friends.

Well, I walked to the Mall without having a clear idea where the new memorial was actually located. I had an idea. Luckily there was a map near the Jefferson Memorial which had the proposed location indicated. I looked at the TIdal Basin, I looked at the mid morning sky, a calm blue. There was no humidity on Tuesday. It was a great day to be outside, to be walking, to be searching for something without a map. I do like the Tidal Basin. There were many people walking around that morning.

There were airplanes taking off from National Airport. There were cars speeding by on the road. As I walked on the bridge I noticed spider webs. There were groups of four or five pedestrians crossing the bridge. Some were talking about the weather, some were talking about Martin Luther King, Jr., some were talking about politics.

Seeing the cherry trees all lush and green was pleasant. How great the morning was! How perfect this day was. I wondered along looking at the trees, taking pictures and looking around. My mind was filled with thoughts of my friends, thoughts of sharing the pictures.

Finally I happened upon the memorial. Of course there was barbed wire between me and the memorial. Of course I took a picture of the barbed wire. I looked at the towering white statue of Martin Luther King, Jr. I looked at the diverse crowd walking around. Naturally, I took a picture of the Washington Monument because I like how it reflects on the water and I took a picture of the Jefferson Memorial because I like photographing it and imaging that I am in ancient Greece or modern Las Vegas.

Seeing this memorial is probably best with friends. This memorial arrives with a soundtrack. As I am writing this I am thinking of Labelle Nightbirds and Marvin Gaye. I am also thinking of Moms Mabley and Richard Pryor and Bill Cosby. From the street I sensed somehting Egyptian, something like the Sphinx in style.

Of course I took a few photographs but only as a brief study. As composition notes.

There was something very Disney World, very clean, very discussed about the design of everything. Of course there were many things to capture my attention. Many sights and sounds to capture my imagination. There were park police and children and adults and teenagers. I kept hoping to see Redd Foxx. This Memorial needs humor, this Memorial needs hope.

There were many people talking about history, mentioning Selma, Birmingham, the Beatles, Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney, Lindsey Lohann, Britney Spears. People were talking about getting engaged, going to lunch, going for drinks. People were talking about civil rights, Baptist church fans with pictures of either John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, or Martin Luther King, Jr., choirs, civil disobedience.

Voices were remembering Michael Jackson, someone said something about Ashford and Simpson and Tammy Terrell and of course I confused Tammy Terrell with a member of the Supremes and then wondered if Tammy Terrell and Tammy Wynette ever met.

There are several famous Martin Luther King, Jr. quotes. The scale of this memorial is intimate, very personal. This could be in a field next to a church. There is something very quiet, very calm about this design. I could hear “What’s Going On?” the original and Cyndi Lauper’s version because earphones are not always noise canceling.

There is something quietly innocent, quietly disobedient here. The melody of this Memorial is upbeat like an Ashford and Simpson Motown love song for Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrell. It does not strain to be uplifting. Instead it is words and a statue, neither overwhelms.

It is a Memorial which reminds me of fried chicken, homemade mashed potatoes, greens, green beans, ham, fresh rolls, iced tea and lemonade with real sugar. It is a Memorial of voices remembered, of voices long departed. Here Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrell can perform any of there love songs and it would fit the character and design of this spot.

But there is a quiet sense of the statue not being quite finished as the struggle for civil rights is not over yet.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Martin Luther King, Jr Receives Memorial on Mall

Whenever I think of Martin Luther King, Jr., I immediately think about social justice. I think of fairness for all people. I think of hope. I think of doing the right thing in the face of all types of oppression. I think of making the ultimate sacrifice for the higher good.

As a Catholic I can use Martin Luther King as a model as I think about and work for change.

















As an American there is something uniquely special about Martin Luther King, Jr. His fight for civil rights was very personal, lasted many years, was a plea for justice for all. His concern for humanity was universal. His concern for life was unconditional. Justice was not only for the privileged few, it was for all. His words were inspirational.

















His life ended before his work was completed. The struggle for civil rights still continues today.
















There is a new memorial dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr. located on the Mall in Washington, DC.

Simple Thoughts About A Complicated World

Never research temptation without God’s help: pray about all things: embrace fast that which is filled with goodness, holiness, kindness.

Do not forget that others need patience and mercy. Their lives from a distance may not be the same as yours. Close-up there is similarity in feelings of hopelessness, despair, torment, pain.

Do learn how to forgive your neighbor. Do learn how to forgive yourself. Base your decisions on reverence and obedience, avoid impertinence.

The art of consumerism is the creation of angst, anxiety, apathy: these weaken and distract the mind, heart, and soul: consumerism leads to polytheism the corporation of idolatry.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Earthquake wakes DC

There was an earthquake in Washington, DC today. I was outside and I did not feel a thing. There was no Hollywood special effects, no swaying trees, no audio cues, no surround sound. I was walking along thinking about how Modern society has abandoned all discussion about morality in favor of celebrity trivia. Permissiveness rules modern society. And then a barefoot man with a dog on a lease asked me if I felt it. I asked him “Felt what?” He said “The Earthquake.” “No,” I replied. “It must have been a truck or something.” Both the dog and the man looked at me as if I had no nose, hands for feet and feet for hands. Then as if on cue, a distant voice screamed, “Earthquake. Earthquake. It’s an earthquake.” The barefoot man with the dog said that he was from San Francisco. There was a little more small talk.

There was an earthquake in Washington, DC today and I did not feel it.

I was outside thinking and walking.

There was an earthquake today!

Before/After


Of the invitation from Christ, and of compassion for the world and for all

Jesus Christ provides a path that will lead each Christian from darkness into the light. He invites everyone to follow him. Each Christian is encouraged to create a life of fairness, a life of social justice based upon Christ’s teaching. Each Christian is encouraged to seek goodness, holiness, kindness; each Christian heart is invited to turn away from stony barrenness of sin and to turn toward the gentle, loving illumination of God’s grace. There is much spiritual blindness in the world. Avarice, selfishness, lust are acceptable and encouraged by the society. The simple life and teachings of Christ remain radical. His life, his character, his sacrifice wait to fill a particular place of importance in the lives of each believer. As adopted children of God, each Christian is asked to adopt the ways of Christ, to adopt his worldview, to adopt his compassion.

His life is an example of supreme hope, supreme compassion. Christ was concerned about the wellbeing both physical and spiritual of all. There was never anyone too dirty, too weak, too rich for him. His Spirit was filled with humility, charity. His holiness surpassed the holiness of others because he asked for nothing for himself, because he prayed to God and encouraged others to pray, and because he was obedient to the will of God. The Gospel encourages us to listen and develop a mind like Christ. The Gospel encourages us to nurture a longing for Christ, a longing to experience his kindness, holiness, goodness; a longing to witness firsthand his humility, charity, compassion, and mercy. This feeling when nurtured with truth, obedience, patience, and hope can help each Christian to find honest wisdom and to understand and love the words of Christ. Lucky is the Christian who seeks to live his entire life based on the teachings from the mind of Christ.

There are many things to divert our thinking, to tempt us. There are deficit talks, nuclear weapons, abortion, welfare, child abuse, domestic abuse, slavery, energy crisis, housing shortages, food shortages, genocide. Each day these appear on television, on news shows, on the internet. Each day we hear of so many tragedies. Each day the Holy Trinity emerges as a reminder of something better, something lasting, something hopeful. Humility is missing in the world of hype and hyperbole. Humility is conveniently misunderstood for weakness. Penance and contrition are also seen as lacking virility, lacking strength. Everyone wants to live a good life filled with the latest technology products, the latest catalog products. This is a time of vanity, a time of consumer induced insanity. The love and grace of God is an afterthought. Buying the latest flatscreen television or gaming system defines many households, many Christians. We must remember the Holy Trinity; we are asked to make decisions pleasing to the Holy Trinity. With humility and obedience we are asked to love and serve God. It is a radical request. We approach it wearily. Some see it as a great risk. Leaving the tempestuous world with all of its neon lighted charms behind us and walking step by step forward to eternal life, to heaven, to salvation involves an evolving wisdom and love for God of a true faithful, loyal Christian.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Prayer, Reflection, Activity

Being Catholic is very important to me. Learning how to be a better Catholic is very important to me. Learning leads to being. Each day there is something new to learn. There are memorials, feast days, solemnities. There are saints. There are prayers. Catholicism provides its believers with a beautiful detailed tapestry of prayers, writings, and scripture to help form a God loving and God serving person. Discernment is at the center of the lives of many Catholics.

Each day I am happier than I was the previous day because I pray a little bit more, because I have compassion for more neighbor a little bit more. Each time I attend Mass I am open to learning, to experiencing a little bit more of the liturgy, to see what moves me, what makes me want to act. I am not perfect. I still sin. I have not completely embraced the idea of the confessional but I do encourage others to go and I plan to go.

I am in a state of discernment. My route involves prayer, reflection, activity. I am involved in my local parish. It is through helping others, listening to others that I am able to see a need, want to answer a call for a need.

Discernment is an ongoing process. It is not for those who want instant gratification. There are different levels of discernment. God loves us. Discernment asks us to seek a way to reflect God’s love for us in our daily lives. There are different ways to do this.

The best way begins with allowing and encouraging yourself to love God completely with your head, heart, and soul. I understand that this is harder to do than it is for me to type. It takes time. Once you allow yourself to give God priority treatment, hearing God’d voice might become a little easier. There will still be distractions and temptations. Discernment is a human activity of searching for the divine, incorporating divinity and spirituality within our lives. Hopefully discernment keeps your heart, mind, and soul active seeking fairness and social justice as taught by Christ. Hopefully discernment provides a moment for reflection of the shepherd searching for the lost sheep.

This a time of discussion. A time of reflection. In a very private way it is a time of evangelization, a time of learning and sharing the Good News. Discernment is a time of establishing a relationship with God. It is a time of prayer for each individual and their community.

There is nothing new or original in this piece. Others have written about prayer more eloquently than I have. The need for discernment, for prayer still exists. All Catholics hopefully will embrace it to form more loving, more lasting, more loyal relationships with God. Discernment is not just for vocations. I would suggest that all Catholics employ it as they plan their lives.

Humility and charity are good discernment companions. On the darkest days, in the lowest moments remember that someone is always praying for you; you will not be alone. In someone’s heart there is love and hope for your wellbeing.

A Weekend of Sacraments

On Saturday there were two baptisms, one wedding at the Cathedral. On Sunday there was one confirmation and one baptism in addition to the usual scheduled Masses. Each one of these events reminds all those in attendance of God’s grace and love and provides time for reflection and prayer.

Weddings and baptisms are linked in my mind. They both usually involve white garments. There is participation by the parents in each ceremony. There are questions asked by the priest and answered by the bride and groom.

I had numerous instances to review my view of my life as a Christian this weekend as I went about my daily activities at the Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle.

There was a revelation that there is more work that needs to be done, volunteering more at the Church, praying more. Finding a way to use my life for goodness, holiness, kindness is becoming more important.

Raising a child, having a loving marriage require a lifetime of prayer, support, hope, and love. Fidelity to God, fidelity between husband and wife, fidelity between parent and child are necessary. Friends and family need to practice fairness and compassion always in their thoughts, words, and actions. Remember the local parish community and the universal parish community. Gain strength from them.

It is very important to remember Christ’s love, to remember that we are all adopted children of God, to remember we are all part of a loving prayerful community. We are never alone. There are always fresh footsteps on the ground in front of us. As a community we hopefully remember to pray for all the newly baptized children, newly married couples, newly confirmed individuals.

Christian life begins and ends with prayer. Weddings and baptisms provide a great opportunity for prayer, for the community to come together and welcome the new couple, the new Catholic into the community. Baptisms and weddings provide a moment to look back at the history of the Church, back at the history of our behavior as Christians. We can see our strengths, our weaknesses. We can renew our commitment to God, pray for the strength to change, the strength to become a better Christian.

Everything begins with prayer, everything needs prayer.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Always Be Ready

Like the Altar in church always be ready, always be prepared to be used by God



Remember God is Always There


A Flickering Thought about Baptism

Yesterday I was privileged to attend a baptism and to watch the preparation for an afternoon wedding. Both events were filled with anxious faces, with guests brimming with enthusiasm, smiles, whispering voices. How amazing it is that each baptism is really a very private moment, a moment of truth, a moment of faith, a moment of hope. In the Catholic church baptism requires active participation. Baptism is more than pouring water on an infant’s head. Baptism is a request to pray for the well-being and spiritual growth of both the child and the parents; a request to lead a life filled with love and reverence for God and love and compassion for neighbors. The baptism ceremony is very brief.

With a firm grasp on love and hope each baptism provides an opportunity for each person there to reaffirm their personal commitment to God.

As a Christian receiving and sharing God’s grace is very important. Sharing a child’s baptism, with only the family and the parish priest present allows for a very intimate portal to view God and his love for all of us.

There was a gentle loving benevolent informality, a kind inviting intimacy. God as best trusted friend was there. He was visible in all of the faces. There was love and hope and faith and goodness and kindness in all of the faces. There was a little anxiety. But, God was there offering patience.

Baptism is for both the infant and those present. It is equally important for both. Baptism is the beginning of a relationship for the infant with God and a pledge to continue the relationship for the other baptized people present. (I wrote this with the assumption that all the people present would be baptized and Catholic.)

Baptism is a beautiful time to remember the Lord, to remember the beauty and majesty of being a believer and follower of Jesus Christ.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Three Statements About the Catholic Church

It is very important to remember that the Roman Catholic Church does have a history and a tradition that extends over two thousand years. It is very important to acknowledge the Jewish roots of the Roman Catholic Church. It is very important to proclaim that the Roman Catholic Church is the original and first Christian church. These three statements help create a starting ground when looking at the church, when thinking about the church. These three sentences will hopefully inspire other thoughts about the majesty and beauty of being Catholic, of the Catholic experience.

Writing is difficult; being Catholic is difficult. Writing about the Catholic experience is often challenging. Thinking about being Catholic is easy. Talking about being Catholic is easy. Saying the right thing at the right time about Catholic life is difficult.

What is the strength of the Catholic Church? What does the Catholic Church do? The Catholic Church does one thing very well. It creates and maintains and encourages prayer. Prayer is the main currency of the church. There are prayers for all hours of the day, prepares before, during, and after Mass. All actions as Christians begin with prayer, simple prayer. All actions of Christians begin with simple attempts to praise God, to offer thanks to God, to request assistance from God. Learning to pray is learning to communicate with God.

Communicating with God is essential for each Christian. There is a need to listen for God’s call. There is a need to reach out to God with the good and bad, happiness and sorrow, love and indifference as it occurs in daily life. Being Catholic involves a continual invitation to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, to live a life based upon social justice that reflects the Beatitudes and the teachings of Jesus Christ. That continual invitation reminds the faithful to return to Mass each week, to serve on committees in their parishes. That continual invitation leads some of the faithful to a life of vocations. That continual invitation can lead each Catholic to a closer, deeper more personal relationship with God.

It is necessary to remember that each Christian is asked to be a loving servant of the Lord. This is often a difficult request. The Catholic Church provides many examples of how to become a loving servant of God both living and dead. It is very important that each Christian try to become a loving servant of God. The attempt is important for development as a Christian, for a richer understanding of God, of the individual’s relationship with God, of the individual’s relationship with their faith community. Learning how to love and how to forgive are two of the essential tenets of being Christian. To discover them require prayer and trial and error. Christian forgiveness and Christian love are difficult without God’s grace and guidance.

It is very important that each Christian develop a coherent starting point or point of reference for their Christian life. Prayer is essential. Christian forgiveness and Christian love are important.

The life of each Roman Catholic by nature of baptism allows and creates the opportunity for evangelization. Each word spoken, each action taken can be a vehicle for sharing the Good News, a vehicle for New Evangelization of family, friends, colleagues. Each day, each moment is the opportunity to present, to share the mercy, charity, and grace of God.

New Evangelization asks each Christian to remember the past, the love and sacrifices of God and to apply that to the present with our actions and thoughts. New Evangelization is alive and necessary for the faithful and the Church.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Just in case this was left unsaid during the last twelve months or so

There is a hint of diffidence, modern life presents many moments filled with insecurities and insufficiencies. There is a universally accepted reality that there are no more original ideas. There are all types of principles and theories to be considered. There are many aesthetic and artistic and spiritual ideas to approach in an individual non-original personal manner. This is a time to seek neither solutions nor conclusions. This is a time for preparation on a treatise to be skimmed not read on a subject hopefully filled with spiritual enlightenment and hope. And now there is a moment of compulsory silence as the first paragraph ends and the words of the second have not been typed yet.

All writing begins with some type of skeleton, with different types of conformity and deformity sections imagined and included. Looking at life often requires dealing with competing ideologies, idiocies, and illusions simultaneously while waiting to receive a cup of yogurt.

Humanity can lead to happiness. Humanity is filled with instances of sacrifices and memorials. Humanity is filled with hope. Humanity likes community. Humanity can lead to all types of remembrances.

Gathering materials of modern life requires patience.

There is rarely a single life, humanity creates an entwined collaboration of varied people filled with hope, mercy, compassion, charity and humility. A few of these people will try and remember the exact date of someone’s birth but will somehow get the date confused because of someone else’s birthday, someone else’s anniversary, a recipe for pineapple upside down German Chocolate Cake. Getting birthdays confused is a great sign of humanity.

Remembering birthdays is a sign of friendship, love, hope.

Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday! Happy B’Day!

The reader of this can apply the above document as needed.




A wonderful light leads the faithful believers

“A wonderful light leads the faithful believers from the great darkness.”

This is a time when technology creates and encourages both a false anonymity and a false obscurity. This is a time of moral listlessness and moral nothingness. There are stories of slavery, addiction, murder, and all types of mayhem. As Christians we need little events to keep our focus on God, to keep our hearts and souls leading us toward goodness, kindness, holiness. A simple remembrance or a promise kept can lead to jubilation, to joy. There is a great confusion and darkness in the world. Any simple act, any shared moment of humility and charity can produce an eruption of love, an eruption of hope, an eruption of peace in the hearts and minds and souls of the believers. There is great confusion and darkness, each Christian can use Christ as a reference point, as a touchstone, as a signpost leading to the light, leading to God. Nihilism confronts each Christian each day as pop culture and the secular world move more and more away from God, away from universal moral instruction. The secular world likes the neon and shadow lands of lacerated anticipation, amputated desire, punctured hope as anxiety, insecurity, ignorance and apathy are encouraged from the covers of magazines, on reality television shows, in the lyrics of popular songs.

The unmistakable highlights of the present day is darkness; treat your neighbor with contempt, envy, distrust, indifference.

Each Christian seeks a personal theological epiphany. Each Christian seeks social justice, role reversal. Pagan thought and pagan worship appear to have returned to modern society as wealth and celebrity and notoriety and public displays of lewdness, rudeness gather the most attention and are used to entertain and to teach the new rules, the new order of the secular world. This is a time when yielding to each new temptation is expected and encouraged, consequences are quickly forgotten.

The beauty of being Christian is the reality that each time Mass is attended, the Gospel is heard, the Eucharist shared, there is a chance that a true jolt is received in either the mind, heart, or soul; a true jolt of God’s love, God’s grace reminding each Christian of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, reminding each Christian of their obligations to God. As God’s adopted children prayer allows each Christian to communicate with God; prayer can also protect each Christian from sin and vice.

Nurturing the growth of the true genuine experience of living with the social justice teachings of Jesus Christ can produce a Messianic moment of hope as different truths, different hopes are presented. Anxiety does not have to accompany fear; obedience does not have to suggest weakness. That is the secular world, popular culture way of influencing and controlling. Remember that spiritual anxiety and spiritual obedience can lead to holy happenings, can anticipate new holy actions. Remember that the light of Jesus Christ waits to destroy the darkness around us.

This is the time for humble obedience and abundant love to do God’s will.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Morning in the Cathedral


From Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle

Being Better

As Christians we have the obligation to create lives that are truly right and just. Our hearts are to be directed toward salvation, toward serving God. Each day we are asked to remember to give thanks at all times, in all places.

Attending Mass gives me an opportunity to review my life, some of my choices, current and past. There are times when I do not want to talk before Mass. All my sins sprawl across my brain, across my heart; I feel exhausted, lost. Prayers are remembered, old hopes are remembered. This is often a motionless moment. Doing inventory of misdeeds is necessary for me as I try to become a better person, a better Christian.

It is easy to blame the secular world for all of my mistakes. It is easy to discover a weakness, a place where we forget to put God first, a time when it is more convenient and easier to be selfish, rude. How easy it is to become uncharitable, inhospitable, unsympathetic. How easy it is to use profanity, to act like a tyrant, to forget that I have a heart and a soul. It is easy to find your life turned inside out, upside down. Disobeying God’s laws is easy, there are moments of rationalization.

I remember the need to be good. I remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. I remember the desire to fill my heart, mind, soul with goodness, holiness, kindness.

So I am still a little uneasy with the thought of confession. But, I can see the need for it; I have heard the benefits of it. There are many moments in my life when I need to take a break, take time to look at myself and ask myself a couple of questions. There are moments in my life when I am glad to be a Christian, glad to be Catholic.

Being good, following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ requires making a decision, making a sacrifice, making myself accountable for both my triumphs and mistakes, making myself learn from each experience. Being Christian means that I am willing to give God thanks and praise each and every day of my life.

I try to learn a little bit more each day about how to love and serve God.

Being a good Christian is an ongoing struggle which hopefully will become easier each day. The aim is to be pleasing in the eyes of God; to do God’s work willingly, freely; to be a humble, loyal servant to God. The aim is an honest piety filled with compassion and love.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

A Time for Salvation

Brothers and Sisters: I am worried about the events of the world. We are moving into dangerous waters where malice and avarice rule men’s hearts. There is much anxiety and name calling. Fear rules. It is easier to fear a stranger than to offer assistance. It is easier to be jealous than to be charitable. We are encouraged to be selfish, self-centered, self-absorbed by the secular world.

There is systemic rejection of the basic ideas of social justice within all countries of the world. There is a growing rejection of God. Social disobedience captivates and energizes the attention of the secular world. Is it cheap entertainment or cautionary tales of what is to happen next? The riots in the United Kingdom, Afghan suicide bombing, the sibling bank robbers, the debt ceiling stalemate, Alabama’s Immigration law all point to a rejection of basic beliefs in goodness, holiness, kindness.

Each morning the newspaper contains many stories about mayhem, about pain, about greed. There is much angst and anxiety on the front page. The human condition is always in flux, always on the verge of war, always seeking answers to why certain bad events occurred. The lessons of human existence present the idea that people will always do bad things to each other. Human beings contain both good and bad impulses and inclinations. As Christians our lives hopefully are governed and guided by goodness, kindness, and holiness. As Christians our lives are overflowing with hope and love to be shared with others. As Christians we are asked to remember both the spiritual life nourished in the sanctuary and the material life attacked on the streets in our prayers each and every day.

Social justice begins with each and every one of us. We are asked to remember to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. We are asked to live our lives based upon the Beatitudes. We are asked to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We are asked to love God above all things.

Bad things will happen in this world. Allow your faith to give you confidence and courage.

Mercy and prayerful vigilance are needed. For this is a time for salvation, a time for us to remember both God’s call, and God’s forgiveness. May we be able to share and teach our neighbors forgiveness.

In Your Prayers

Although some of the faces may not be familiar, remember that all believers become adopted children through baptism. There are no foreigners in a house of God, we are all members of the same family.

As we journey toward the Lord, learn to control anxious imaginations. Let our eyes seek what is good, what is fair. Let our actions and deeds be honorable and charitable. Live each day seeking salvation, wanting salvation. God is always with us. He is always making his presence known. Seek goodness, share mercy and charity and God’s justice will arrive.

Love and revere the name of the Lord. Encourage your neighbors to join in praising his name. Allow time to minister for the Lord, to praise God, to give thanks to the Lord. Become a servant of the Lord filled with goodness, kindness, holiness.

Have reverence for the sabbath; have reverence for the Lord. Remember that the sabbath is an important day. Remember that it is a day of rest, a day for the Lord. Do God homage, remember to offer thanks and praise. This day is both a memorial and sacrificial celebration. Bring all of the emotions in your heart and offer them to God with humility. Enjoy each visit to God’s house, each visit to God’s house of prayer.

Share this joyful moment with all your neighbors. Remember that all who believe are welcome at the altar. Remember that all prayers and sacrifices are both welcomed acceptable when done with charity, humility, obedience, and love. The house of God is open all. It is a shelter from the anxieties and fears of the world; it is a place of love; it is a place of learning and guiding.

Return to this house of prayer as much as you can and always keep it in your prayers.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Ash Wednesday in August

The beauty of the Catholic Mass begins and ends with the beauty and majesty of the Eucharist. We might come into the Cathedral for many reasons, some might come only at Christmas, Ash Wednesday, and Easter. The lucky and confident and courageous come every Sunday and receive lessons on hope, forgiveness, humility. The more I go to Mass the deeper, the more meaningful the experience becomes.

A Moment of Silence

How we approach our lives as Catholics is very important! How we deal with the secular world impacts how we deal with God. Is there enough time for goodness, holiness, and kindness in our lives? How much time do we spend following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ? Being Catholic in 2011 is very difficult. There are so many temptations, so many diversions, distractions, and interruptions that finding God and remembering the route is very difficult. God is always present in our lives, we just have to remember how and where to find him.

A Moment

Although we have appointment books and all types of scheduling software, So much in life is not really planned, but occurs because events create participants and witnesses. With camera in hand this generation is off searching for something to see, something to preserve. Some city blocks and some modern ideas are guarded and ruled by Milton’s Satan, leaving one mind and trying to annex another with rhetoric, ignorance, fear. Cameras can only capture what the lens sees.

Modern life rewrites the rules, creates new victims.

This is a time when prayer, reflection are needed.

We hear about riots in London. We see the images of buildings burning, of broken glass. We hear and see images of shops being looted. I wonder why did this happen. What is happening within the secular world which would encourage such behavior to occur.

Each day things happen. People do good things. People do bad things. How we interact with them is important. Do we try to imitate the good or the bad behavior that we witness? Do we encourage others to do good, to be charitable and understanding? Is it easier to make pithy rude comments instead of showing real honest compassion and mercy?

Technology might be the detour on our road to God. Too much unfiltered information is being presented to us. Too little Christian thought, too little Catholic ideas are being shared. Technology performs many of the tasks that a neighbor or a friend used to do. Humans need to learn how to interact with each other, how to interact with God.

As Christians we are reminded again and again about kindness, how we all need to share it, to feel it. Sometimes sharing kindness is almost impossible because of circumstances, because of what and how we allow ourselves to feel. Did the debt ceiling uncertainty make you feel angst, angry? How do you act when the Redskins lose? What do you do when another cuts you off?

We must always be alert, always be looking for God, always be looking to be a servant for God.




Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Prepare before Mass



To proclaim the Good News involves both reading and understanding what you are listening. Holy Scripture is more than a narrative. The words are  beautiful yet immensely public, inspiring sentences and speeches to be shared with others.

The River



Last night again I started to pray. I described all that I had seen yesterday and all that I had wanted to see yesterday.  There was something venerable in my words and vulnerable in my silence. There are portions of my life which feel alien to me. That is why I go to church and pray.

Seek the Truth in Jesus

One of the best things that I have learned since my conversion is to seek the truth in Jesus. This is hard to do. It requires using the conscience, allowing a little time to pass before speaking or acting, allowing time for prayer and reflection. By nature I am often an act first think later type of person. Being Christian involves so much thought, so much analyzation as I try to apply the Beatitudes to my daily routine, as I try to love my neighbor as I love myself, as I try and follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.

The world presents great, unending sorrow, turbulent anxiety, tempestuous anguish to direct our gaze away from Jesus Christ. The secular world encourages a life based upon uneasiness and fear, self-centered and selfish. Everything is temporal. Everything is needed now.

As Catholics we are the adopted children of God. We share covenants with God. Each day of our lives hopefully presents a moment to give God praise and glory. It is not always easy to follow the law, but having God’s law and striving to be obedient to it, to follow it does give me comfort, does lead me toward salvation, does make me think more.

Each day provides an opportunity to become closer to God, to learn more about God, to learn how to nurture and strengthen my spiritual life.

Seek the truth in Jesus. Allow yourself time to see all of the beauty and goodness around you. Allow yourself time to relax and enjoy the presence of God in your life. This might take a little while. There are so many distractions and diversions in our lives. We sometimes need to have a moment of actual silence and solitude away from everything, everyone, every gadget, every bit of technological wizardry which connects us to distant computer servers. We need to tune our ears so that we can reap the benefits of spiritual silence, so we can hear and answer God whenever he calls.

Being Christian is often difficult. It is easy to forget kindness and peace. It is easy to toss wisecracks, ignore the suffering of others, stir of trouble with a smile and downcast eyes. Being Catholic presents an opportunity for renewal, for peace; the Eucharist gives our lives a special and unique majesty. Each Mass is both a memorial and sacrificial celebration. Each Mass reminds me that I am human, that I am a sinner and then encourages me to do better, to turn away from sin.

Turning away from sin is difficult unless you seek the truth in Jesus.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Being the Best Christians

Discernment and vocation are connected. Discernment is not limited to becoming a priest, becoming a nun, getting more.

Discernment is the process where each individual Christian strives to become a better Christian, a better person. Discernment does not stop at ordination or when vows are said. It continues.

Discernment continues each day of our lives as we learn how to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

All Catholics are encouraged to try and be the best Christians who follow God's commandments and who create lives based upon the social justice teachings of Jesus Christ.


Saturday, August 6, 2011

Simple Text


Being a Christian is a state of loving and praying and remembering and

Seeing God

Starting a project is often a time of diffidence, a time to have all thoughts of insufficiency, inadequacy, inability revived.

Although each Christian is asked to love and obey God, there are many different ways to accomplish this. Each person has the responsibility of finding the correct way, the way which God wants them to do his will. Each person creates many varied definitions and descriptions of God based upon modern Hollywood cinematic imaginations, classical literature, paintings and sculpture. All contain both art and beauty. All present creatively inclusive hypotheses relating to God. Science and commerce encourage the thought, the desire for solid, tangible items. It is always necessary to remember that not everything is seen, not everything is understand. Human beings exist as much by luck as by science. God's existence is not an aesthetic problem to be solved, it is a reality to provide strength, confidence, courage as needed which and to constantly, continually teach us to love. To understand the mystery of God is to understand the mystery of love.

There is a tendency to aestheticize the image of God while forgetting the work of God, forgetting that obedience and sacrifice are part of being children of God.

Discernment is often a time of diffidence as many questions are asked and many answers and solutions are suggested. The life of a Christian affords the opportunity for continual discernment, continual striving to serve God, continual attempts to become closer to God, continual desire to serve God.

Discernment helps each Christian plan a part of the journey to God but continual discernment is necessary to receive eternal salvation. Each Christian is asked to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, to create a life based on Christ's social justice teachings.

There might be both difficulty and uncertainty attached to discernment. Learning to serve the Lord asks for patience, sacrifice. This is a time of mystery and exploration as we search to hear God's voice, search to see God's face.

This search can and will last a lifetime.


Friday, August 5, 2011

Summer of Mercy 2.0 - Rosary Procession


The remarkable love of virtue and life and the zeal for following in the footsteps inspired parishioners from the Archdiocese of Washington to attend a special Mass on August 3 at the Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle. This Mass was Summer of Mercy 2.0 event. It was an illustrious moment of prayer and reflection and diligence. 




Approximately one hundred people joined the procession and said prayers while walking on the narrow rush hour sidewalks. What a great moment of catechesis! One hundred people moving through the streets of Washington reverently praying and reflecting.




Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Understanding

Discernment requires both theological and philosophical truth and understanding to find the vocation path of humility, loyalty, obedience, and truth. This endeavor has no clearcut timeline, no average time to completion. It is a time of civility and charity; it is the business of hope. Each discernment is acknowledged and encouraged by God. The practice of each vocation search is varied. There is not just one way to discern how to serve the Lord, how to decide upon a heaven bound path. The business of faith is the business of vocation, the journey toward God, the journey toward salvation. Each search for vocation is a search for honor, charity, mercy leading to a higher ground of service and adoration of God. Discernment is a period when we downplay and forget wanting silver and gold. Discernment asks for truth, discernment requires a strong love, unconditional, universal. Here is the time to develop the confidence to believe in God, to develop the courage to declare and affirm the belief, to develop the ability to bring the belief alive with personal sacrifice. Discernment can be a course, winding and crooked, dark and shadowy; it is a mixture of both truth and untruth, dream and nightmare. All that is within the heart, mind, and soul will be represented during discernment. Allow love and honor to govern your heart, mind, and soul. Remember to be humble. This is a time for theological inquiry and reason. This is a time to reflect upon walking in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. This is a time of holiness and grace. Discernment is the search for faith signatures in our lives; vocation is how we want to share, how we allow ourselves share our faith.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Daily Discernment - All Love

Being Christian asks us to be better, to do more. Our intentions are as important as our actions in the sight of God. How we live, how we love is important. Being Christian does not imply being perfect. Being Christian is not synonymous with being sinless. Both the exterior and interior views are important to God. We are called to be good, to love our neighbor. Modern society likes to create false gods, false temples to lead us toward pagan thoughts which will lead us away from love, away from God.

Debt Ceiling

Social justice is needed as much now as in any time in history. The past month there have been so much posturing and posing about the issue of the federal government's debt ceiling.

How the debt ceiling was discussed, the programs which were offered up, sacrificed to gain support within the US Congress were both frightening and amusing. There was a heartlessness, a contempt for fairness, for social justice.

The art of American politics is the creation and organization of superficial, temporary idolatry.

The debt ceiling mess revealed the aristocracy of idols the democracy of idolaters and the fears of the common man.

The populace cannot understand the debt ceiling: the politicians avoid speaking honestly about the debt ceiling: the politicians want the voters to remain confused and angry.

Debt ceiling rhetoric exposes the darkness, the despair that is now the heart and core of our political systems. Our politicians are now proud to be boorish, unsympathetic characters.

An inertia of faith and trust will be the true aftermath of this round of debt ceiling decisions. Both the common good and the common man were offered as sacrificial pawns. Now both the politicians and the nation itself have questions of character and credibility. We are now behaving like tourists searching for a plastic idol made cheaply in China.

And now the Senate will debate and vote on this plastic idol which cheaply assaults the character, the integrity of all Americans especially the poor, the elderly, those who need government help the most.

Hopefully, American politicians will learn to love their neighbors and not just their lobbyists and special interest groups.


Looking for Signs


Moving To God

This is an age of insensitivity and inertia. There is information and stimulation directed at our minds twenty-four hours a day. There is a building desire to respond to all of this information and stimulation instantly. There is a great severity called loneliness which although technology electronically and digitally connects us leaves us all a little more vulnerable, a little more cynical. Meditation and reflection are in direct opposition to the world of email, online updates, texting, voicemail. Discernment requires quiet, requires solitude. Discernment requires free access to the imagination. Each Christian is asked to love his neighbor. How we go about that task will for many of us require some deliberation, some discernment. We need to look inside of ourselves to form lasting changes in a daily routines. How we serve God and when we serve God requires prayer, reflection, discussion, more prayer, more reflection. Discernment is truly interactive. There is an unwritten statement requiring interaction with others, communication with others. This will be a time of sinking and rising, exploring and settling. It is a time for remembrance of past hopes, remembrance of past joys, remembrance of past hurts. Review everything, learn from everything. Illuminate both the good and bad in your life; everything has value, everything can lead to God. Remember that you have unique gifts. Remember that you have an unique vocation. Remember that living a Christian life is a sacrament. Discovering a vocation is a time of joy, time of beauty, time of serenity. Anxiety might be present; learn how to control it. As you discern, moderate and mute your anxiety, for anxiety can lead you to the shadows of confusion, angst, and apathy. Finding a vocation requires more than judgments; it asks for true affection and true experience. The search for vocation, for our calling is an inquiry o the most supreme order, it is an inquiry of faith, an inquiry of love, an inquiry of service. It is the love-making of eternal hope, eternal life. What we do and what we say in the name of God and in the service of God is important. Our vocation should reflect our belief in and love for God. Discernment is a time to examine our personal humanity and then to strenghten those areas which need extra attention. We are children of God. We are asked to be servants of God. Each day presents an opportunity to learn something new about ourselves and our God. We are all called to share our faith, the share the Good News. We each have something beautiful and unique to say about our individual life with God. Seek only the best of human nature within yourself. Seek the path of gentle illumination of God’s Spirit in your daily actions. Loving and serving God is an adventure. Allow your soul to beautify all which leads to salvation for our vocation must direct and prepare us for salvation. Vocation is neither a means or an end. Vocation is simply a call, an inner need, interior desire to do the work of the Lord. Resist the temptation to limit or restrict your thoughts on how to serve the Lord. Open your heart, soul, and mind to God. Allow God to be an active participant in this conversation. Allow yourself to be an active part of this conversation. Avoid saying or thinking phrases like “I can’t because” or “I’m not good enough”. God always needs help, always needs volunteers. The work of God is never done. Our individual vocation is a call for charity and mercy for ourselves, for our neighbors. We are called to search for and to share the sovereign good of humanity, the love of God for his children. We are asked to do this guided and encouraged by our free will. God’s call is a call to action. Finding the right vocation requires patience, diligence, persistence, and a sense of humor. Remember always that God loves you. Do not rush to find a vocation. Breathe, pray, reflect, breathe, pray giggle. Allow yourself time to find that space where you can hear God’s voice clearly, calmly. Discernment is a time of wandering, a time of shadows, a time of mists, a time of anxiety, a time of errors, a time of hope, a time of illumination, and a time of love. Mostly it is a time of love, an expression of love and hope for ourselves and for God.

Monday, August 1, 2011

What is Discernment

WHAT is discernment? What is vocation? There is often both subtle support and jesting when discernment and vocation are mentioned into contemporary conversations between sporting news, political extremism, and celebrity scandal. This is a time where we are competing to play the role of Pilate, competing to find one solution, one answer which will alter our course, direct us on the road to salvation, the road to truth, loyalty, and service to God. Certainly there will be, that delight which creating questions and sharing these questions with unsuspecting friends and family members with the a dollop of giddiness and a dollop of hope before stepping into the beautiful yet still pool of despair where each unanswered question leads to suffering and pain, where each unasked question leads to rejection and ridicule. Such is the bondage of the imagination as it weighs this and that, imagines mathematical, emotional, grammatical, and typographical errors. There is only our belief in God to provide strength. Discernment and free will complement each other, affect each other. Discernment is not just thinking, not just reading a book, not just talking to a member of clergy, it is actions, it is movement, steps toward holiness, steps toward love universal, love unconditional. Discernment is a process of learning to be Christ-like, a process of wanting to be more Christ-like. The world is filled with philosophers and pundits of every kind presenting certain discourses on religion, on God, on economics; the world is filled with all types of diversions and wits. Discernment is a time to avoid much conversation and activity and to focus thoughts and hopes on God. Discernment is a time to deepen your faith, deepen your relationship with God. It is a time to allow yourself to relate to the ancient forerunners, both the saints and the sinners, and to learn from both of them. Remember goodness does not exist in a vacuum alone. Goodness is where ever you can uncover it. Discernment is a process of uncovering a personal truth, a personal desire to serve God obediently, lovingly, loyally. There might be difficulty, there might be uncertainty, there might be anxiety. Accept them all graciously, calmly. Avoid imposing deadlines. Discernment can be a time of beauty and grace and humility and mercy. Open your heart, open your soul, open your mind. Listen for God’s voice. Wait for God’s touch. Pray to God for guidance. The secular world will create distractions, things to worry about, things to corrupt your thoughts. Do yourself a favor, remember to put yourself into God’s hands, live on God’s Standard Time. Do not worry or obsess about your discernment. You may meditate on it. Allow your discernment to be a time of spiritual enlightenment and pleasure. Pray for prayer’s sake. Love for love’s sake. Believe in God. But each discernment is different, some are stately, some are playful. They all are often called journeys. And a journey discernment is; a journey of hope, of faith. Here is a time to examine private thoughts and desires, to make a private stand on morality which will lead to a public stand. Be like the ancient painters and poets ever prepared to capture and preserve the moment, the mood. Examine all of your loves, all of your dislikes, examine your Fridays and your Sundays. Examine your truth and your deceptions. But remember to always pray. And then pray some more. This is a time of ebb and flowing difficulty and labor. Do not despair. Remember that there will always be more questions than answers.


Discernment is a time of love; it is a time for communication and for a relationship with God to deepen, to flourish.