And Now for the News of the Day - Saturday, October 8

Here are today’s News briefs from around the world. Here is some information to read, to reflect upon. Each of these events and issues require our prayers. Remember that God has a plan for each believer, each faithful follower. 

Always direct love and generosity toward God. Strive to be good tenants of the vineyard. Do not betray God. Fidelity with God is essential for our spiritual health, spiritual well-being.

Pope Benedict XVI's meeting with Indonesian Bishops in Rome is the lead story. 

“Christ’s message of salvation, forgiveness and love have been preached in your country for centuries,” Pope Benedict XVI told the Indonesian Bishops at a meeting in Rome. “Your country is composed of thousands of islands; so too the Church in Indonesia is made up of thousands of Christian communities, “islands of Christ’s presence.”

“I can only encourage you in your continuing efforts to promote and sustain inter-religious dialogue in your nation.” The 2010 census indicated that 85 percent of Indonesia’s 245 million citizens are Muslim, with Christians making up approximately 13 percent of the population. Only about a quarter of the Christians are Catholic. There are smaller but significant populations of Hindus, Buddhists, and Confucians.

“Your country, so rich in its cultural diversity and possessed of a large population, is home to significant numbers of followers of various religious traditions. Thus, the people of Indonesia are well-placed to make important contributions to the quest for peace and understanding among the peoples of the world. Your participation in this great enterprise is decisive, and so I urge you, dear brothers, to ensure that those whom you shepherd know that they, as Christians, are to be agents of peace, perseverance and charity.”

Violence against Christian churches has begun to occur in Indonesia. Muslim extremists have burned churches, orchestrated Mosque suicide bombings, and interrupted Easter religious services.

“I appreciate the intense efforts made by numerous individuals and agencies in the name of the Church to bring the tender compassion of God to many members of Indonesian society. This is the hallmark of every movement, action and expression of the Church, in all of her sacramental, charitable, educational and social endeavors, so that in everything her members may strive to make the Triune God known and loved through Jesus Christ. This will not only contribute to the spiritual vitality of the Church as she grows in confidence through humble yet courageous witness; it will also strengthen Indonesian society by promoting those values that your fellow citizens hold dear: tolerance, unity and justice for all citizens.”

Mumtaz Qadri, one of Punjab governor Salman Taseer's bodyguards, was convicted of murder after he shot the governor 27 times in Islamabad in January. There were chilling scenes of celebration after the killing, with many hailing Qadri as a "hero of Islam". Taseer wanted to reform Pakistan’s draconian blasphemy laws. Shahbaz Taseer, one of the governor’s sons was abducted 43 days ago by militants in North Wazristan. There has been no contact with his kidnappers.

Qadri has appealed against his sentence and the judge in the case was forced to take "indefinite leave" for his own safety.

Researchers have evidence that babies as young as 15 months can recognize when someone is being treated unfairly and respond by being generous toward them, scientists have learned. 47 babies were tested by showing a video in which food was unevenly distributed between two people. Another similar video in which food was shared equally was shown to the children.

When something surprises them babies pay greater attention.

On this day October 8, 1982 Solidarity and all of Poland's other labor unions were banned

The Making of an Evangelist

Msgr. Peter J. Vaghi speaks at the Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle.

Monsingnor Peter J. Vaghi, pastor at Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda MD, presented a theological reflection titled Encountering Jesus in His Word: The Making of an Evangelist  on Thursday, October 6  at the Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle.

This was the first of eight monthly reflections which are scheduled to occur on the First Thursday at the Cathedral immediately following the 5:30 P.M. Mass.

"Christian life is essentially marked by an encounter with God asking us to follow him."  explained Monsingnor Vaghi.

There is, within each encounter with God, a challenge for each Christian to be more faithful in his life, to make changes to be more obedient to God.

"Peter is a model for us to follow as we evangelize." stated Monsingnor Vaghi. "Peter is a model for what it means to be an evangelist."

Holy Scripture passage Luke 5:1-11 was read by Monsignor Vaghi.

"Listening to his word, the people encountered Jesus."  said Monsignor Vaghi as he briefly described the day to day ministry of Jesus and the crowds of people who were following him. There is a significance that Jesus chose Peter's boat to get into and to continue teaching the people. There were other boats which he could have used. But Jesus chose to be close to Peter.

Msgr. Peter J. Vaghi listens to a question about evangelization.

 After he had finished talking to the crowd Jesus asked Peter to take his boat out to deep water and lower his nets. Peter said "Master we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing but at your command I will lower the nets."  Peter's response could be interpreted as apostolic toil, working hard as an apostle. Within Peter's response exists a sense of weariness, lack of confidence, sense of defeatism.

"Peter could have rejected the request of Jesus. Peter decided to obey the word of Jesus, the word of God." explained Monsignor Vaghi. "He obeyed the Word of God. He trusted the word of Jesus. He  allowed the movement of the spirit in his life. In the process he became a changed man."

Jesus provided a simple lesson for Peter on being obedient to God. Jesus showed Peter that obeying the word of God could lead to great success.

"We must take risks for Jesus. We are asked to challenge our friends, to challenge our family members to return to Church. We are to challenge their beliefs, to persuade them to believe that to live in such a way that one's life without God does not make sense."

On that fishing boat Peter came to terms with his weakness, with his unworthiness to be an evangelist. He was overwhelmed by his personal sinfulness.

Msgr. Peter J. Vaghi responds to a question about encountering Christ.

"We must pray to come to terms with our own sinfulness to be effective evangelists." said Monsignor Vaghi.

Prayer for the Day - October 7

O my dear Jesus, I am sinful please forgive my sins. May your mercy lead me to live in service for you doing your will. May your mercy guide me and my soul to heaven. May your mercy guide me to help other souls find their way to heaven. May your mercy protect me from the smoke and fog of temptation, from poisoned thorns of sin. Always keep me in your mercy, in your love. Amen.


My God, help me to share that I believe in you, in your glory; help me to show that I adore you, your majesty; help me to trust in your will and your love; help me to love you first and completely with my entire being. I beg for mercy and forgiveness and redemption for those blinded, those corrupted, those afraid to love and serve you. Amen.

Prayer for the Day

From Sacristy, Cathedral of St Matthew the Apostle

Thought for the Day - October 7

Keep your life simple. Seek to make your life pure.

Simplicity remains a very complicated ideal for many people. Simplicity requires focus, discipline. Simplicity asks for only the necessary, only the essential. Pray to create a life of simplicity in thought, speech, action. May your every action be directed toward God, directed toward salvation. May each thought, each action begin with charity, humility, and obedience to God. Simplicity asks us to decide who we love, to make God the center of our lives, to establish and promote God and the loving of God, and the serving of God, our using our individual free will to do God’s will as the most important and precious singular activity of our lives. The Christian life when the true focus is God becomes a life of true love, pure hope. The Christian life focuses on love, encourages love, nurtures love. The Christian life is one of giving, sharing. Simplicity asks us to simply love, to believe and accept that God loves us. Do not look for thanks, praise, or love to be shared automatically. Do not desire love in reciprocation for actions. Simplicity asks us to share love unconditionally, to share love universally. Simplicity involves letting go, trusting in goodness, holiness, kindness. Simplicity asks us, then reminds us to trust God, to love God, to have faith in God.

Simplicity leads us on a journey of focus on Jesus Christ and God, respect for the power and authority of God, reverence for the teachings of Jesus Christ, purity of intention creates a powerful connection between our souls and God when our prayers are true and honorable.

From Becoming A Devout Disciple

Thought for the Day - October 6

Those who believe in God are blessed.

Being Christian is to be visionary, is to focus on goodness, holiness, kindness. Being Christian is to look at the world lovingly. Being Christian is to be hopeful, creative, humble in our approach to life. Being Christian is simply cherishing simplicity, extolling simplicity. The genius of being Christian is the ability to love, is the ability to share compassion, is the ability to share mercy. The world needs those radical Christians who love God first, and then those who love their neighbors. The world needs those radical Christians who are amazing in their patience, devotion, and obedience to God, to God’s will. The world needs those radical Christians who seek goodness, holiness, kindness in all human beings. The world needs those radical Christians who are fortunate to share ideas on social justice, stewardship, faith with others. We are fortunate to be friends, to be acquainted with the Gospels, to be acquainted with the Beatitudes and Jesus Christ’s other the teachings of fairness and social justice. We are asked to always remember Jesus Christ. We are asked to always aspire to be like Jesus Christ. We are asked to use our short time on this life to inspire others to be like Jesus Christ. We share one spirit, one body each and every time we allow ourselves to join the Eucharist.

We have thoughts, we have memories, we have God’s love waiting to be shared.

Thoughts on Stewardship

You have been born anew, not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and abiding word of God  1 Peter 1:23

Stewardship is a privilege, an honor for those who are faithful followers, for those who are true believers of Jesus Christ. Within stewardship rests a call for charity, humility, obedience. Within stewardship rests a formula for being a good Catholic, a good Christian, a good human. Within stewardship rests a call to be merciful with your neighbors and yourself. Stewardship asks each one of to be gracious and merciful. Stewardship asks each one of us to be humble. Stewardship asks each one of us to share our love of God in our own unique way.

There are no time limits, there are no restrictions. There are no rules. There is only a request that you share goodness, kindness, and holiness. 

Avoid feeling pressured to do something, to say something.

The best examples of stewardship are often spontaneous, unplanned, natural. How you greet a stranger, how you answer your spouse can all be signs of stewardship in your life. I am often walking somewhere, often in a hurry to get somewhere and at those times someone will ask a question like "How do I get to Union Station from here?" or "Is the Zoo close? Am I going the right direction?" or "What's the best way to get to Georgetown from here driving?" I have any number of choices starting with ignoring the person, suggesting that they buy a map, suggesting they ask either a policeman or bus driver, or I can take the time and try to explain how to reach their destination.

Human interaction, face to face communication is becoming more and more rare as technology keeps creating new ways for us to communicate that can also keep people apart. As Christians we are asked to be vigilant, to be aware. We are asked to be active participants of our faith, active participants within our faith community. We can be observers. We can be doers. We can wait to be asked. We can ask others to help.

Being Catholic starts with an interaction between God and the individual. Being Catholic is not a membership. Being Catholic involves answering the call to love and serve the Lord. Stewardship provides an avenue to love and serve the Lord in our day to day existence. 

Although the Church wants some of your stewardship activities directed toward strengthening, nurturing of the Church community, stewardship is an act is best when done out of love, compassion, and mercy. All acts of stewardship are welcome. All acts that show the power and glory of God are necessary and good. We should do as many good deeds as possible both inside and outside of our Church community. Our deeds and words can spread our belief in God, can share our love for God.

Stewardship is a way for us to share the Good News with others, to proclaim our love for God.

Accepting God

The rules of popular culture dictate that purchased goods and services will make us happy. This remains as a popularly accepted notion. For many Christians God remains the one breakout wonder, the greatest blockbuster, the hit of the season, the best show of the century. Believing in God is a wonderful experience. Many consider it to be the best part of their lives. God defies any specific designation, subject matter, target demographic. Faith sometimes feels like a push and pull game as it develops, as doubts are confronted and discounted. Believing in God, loving God, serving God requires a palpable spiritual development. There is no Hollywood type chemistry between God and his adopted children. The interaction is subtle. It does not happen how we want it to occur but it occurs how we need it to happen. I sometimes feel inadequate as I try to communicate with God, I sometimes feel a little shy. I sometimes feel inadequate wanting to be a servant of the Lord.

I wanted my Christian experience to reflect something that I understood, something that I had felt, something that I could always remember, something that would inspire me to always love, honor, and serve God. I wanted my Christian experience to provide something for me always to aspire to. I wanted my story to be universal, acceptable, entertaining. Believing in God starts with accepting something which is hard to explain, hard to visualize. Believing in God starts with accepting and proclaiming something very vague and yet something very tangible. God provokes reactions, God encourages prayers. I quickly understood the shortcomings of corporate media dominated life. Too much information and thought is premixed, pre-measured, and served to the population. Modern life is filled with anger, violence, frustration. The Christian experience, the stories about finding God presents a view of tenderness, mercy, forgiveness, hope which is lost in mainstream popular culture.

Being a witness for God somehow feels fresh, original. Being a witness for God somehow strengthens us as we explore questions of morality, intimacy, love as actions for the good of the community first instead of the good of the individual. God wants us to mature, wants us to seek wisdom, knowledge, patience, humility.

Accepting God, believing in Jesus Christ reflects the remnants of hope, truth, and integrity within our culture as morality and sexual attitudes are controlled and influence more by corporate bodies wanting to sell products than save souls, protect hearts.

Scientific thought often is easily manipulated to suggest that God is nonexistent or powerless or unsympathetic to man’s plight when there is a disaster natural or manmade. Educated and civilized popular culture becomes surprisingly primitive when bad things happen, blaming God, asking why did God allow this to happen. How easy it is to blame God than to blame man? How easy it is to blame God for earthquakes, droughts, tidal waves! How easy it is to forget the good weather, the sunshine, the long lazy summer days.

Being Christian is like being a film director at a film festival waiting for audience reactions, waiting for panel discussions while feeling happy with your film, confident in both your content and presentation, pleased to be at the festival, ready to leave, ready for solitude, silence, and prayer.

Seek The Lord

When Christianity is discussed many people accept and expect the fire and brimstone verbal lashings of some Fundamentalist Christians who are determined to present faith as sin and punishment or as sin and hypocrisy. Fundamentalist Christians appear ready to judge everyone as a guilty sinner, ready to chart the course to hell. That Jesus Christ was born and taught love and forgiveness barely registers, religion is not a love story, nor a hope story. There is something unhappy, something sad, something misleading in some fundamentalist teaching.

God offers love, hope, salvation. Believers offer God prayers, respect, loyalty, obedience, love.

The intensity of the religious experience, of the conversion experience is a story of diligence, hope, discernment. The importance of discovering and sharing the beginning of an awareness of God is good both for each individual and the faith community.

What is the predecessor to the moment of awareness? A Laurel and Hardy film? Star Wars? A Charlie Chaplin film? An Aretha Franklin song? A Gospel choir? For each person something connects the dots, creates an alignment of God, love, faith, belief, acceptance. Something allows, even encourages our Gminds to linger in moments of enlightenment, moments of reverie. We seek something which we sense is all around, very near and yet very far away, just beyond our physical touch.

We seek an emotional connection, a spiritual connection, a mystical revelation. We seek answers to unasked questions, unanswered prayers. We seek truth, love, hope.

Those who seek God need both confidence and courage. Those who seek God use their souls, minds, hearts. Seeking God requires, demands active participation. Seeking God turns into something more. Seeking God asks us to try love, to try forgiveness, to try fairness. Being Christian involves developing a philosophy based upon simplicity, based upon justice, based upon charity. Being Christian involves a daily exploration of personal humility, of personal humanity. Being Christian is an invitation to love everyone unconditionally. Being Christian is also about rethinking who you are, what is your purpose in life.

Christianity is a search for identity, a search for self-definition, a search for the desire for obedience to God. Christianity is a story of falling in love with God, with serving God, with helping our neighbors. Christianity offers a quiet, understated resonance of goodness, holiness, kindness as each believer, each follower finds their personal path and begins to follow the footsteps of Jesus Christ.

Those who hear and obey God’s voice accept and believe that God is always with them.

The Christian experience often is a very romantic experience of determination and humility.

To Serve God

We pass through each days observing yet not always seeing, loving yet not always touching. Each Christian contains prayers not prayed, questions not asked. We have opinions, dreams, desires, daydreams. Life engulfs us, splashes against us, taunts us, haunts us. We seek salvation, entrance to the Kingdom of heaven. Our actions often make us pause, our actions make us wonder if we are truly worthy.

 

We often create all types of signs, find all types of reasons to stop, to not seek that which God wants us to seek. If the purpose of all Christian lives is to serve God, then the decision is already made for us and all we have to do is allow ourselves to serve God with charity, humility, and obedience.


As Christians we are encouraged to behave as God's children, as God's flock of sheep. I often wondered why we are not ever encouraged to act like a flock of pigeons. Birds are not docile creatures. Birds are not always easily controlled. Birds have a winged individualism much like the human rugged individualism. Birds can be part of a group yet be concerned only for themselves.

Birds are very interesting to observe as they go about their lives searching for food and flying. Depending upon the moment birds are great metaphorical or great allegorical creatures.

 

Sooner or later we all make a mistake. Life is filled with grammatical and typographical errors. How we deal with our mistakes, with our sins is important. Is "repent" part of our vocabulary? Is "penance" an action, a chore, or simply avoided? Do we accept our mistakes or simply walk away hoping to forget, hoping others will forget.

We forget so many things. We misplace so many things. So many bits and pieces of our actions wait to be discovered by others, wait to be uncovered by others. Secrets only exist within our minds. In reality things are often lost, often left behind like keys on a park bench.

 

We are members of different communities. We are asked to become team players, to do things for the good of the team. This is not always easy. This can create stress, anxiety, bad Hollywood movies.

As Christians being a team player is an interesting proposition. We are asked to believe and to follow the footsteps of Jesus Christ. We are asked to join others both living and dead in serving the Lord. God wants us to be loyal, loving servants who have freely chosen to do his work, to sacrifice our lives. It is using our free will, using our minds to make choices, hopefully the good choices which will help ourselves and others become closer to God.

Being part of a team makes serving God a little easier, makes seeking goodness, holiness, and kindness a little easier.




It is always good to remember how God sees us, how we are encouraged to treat each other. God sees us as children, as his adopted children. That is very important, very instructive. Although we are created in the image of God we are not created as equals of God. We spend our entire lives learning about ourselves, about God.

Prayer is an essential element in developing a loving relationship with God.

As Christians we are asked to put our faith in God's hands, in the hands of other Christians, and in our hands. Depending on the moment, we are taking big steps or small toddler steps.

Hopefully as Christians our legs carry us toward God, toward salvation. Hopefully help and prayers are there when we need them.




Sometimes a picture of a squirrel on a fence is just a squirrel on a fence other times it is a metaphor for how we relate to our world, to God, to each other. Assigning meaning, making choices, accepting consequences these are things which we do every day. As Christians a purpose for our lives has been given to us. It is our responsibility to accept it.

He Saw A Man Named Matthew

Change the sinners to the righteous

How crazy is the modern world! The commandments are not followed. No one wants to be labeled a sinner. Everything is either justified, rationalized, or somehow explained away. The truth, the reality of the human condition is often cloaked behind a veil of New Age mumbo jumbo or a wall of psychobabble posing as scientific thought.

The simple fact remains the same. People sin everyday. There is no way to whitewash this fact. Sin can not be concealed or hidden. Sin exists whether we like it or not. We often sin accidentally, I believe this to be true especially in conversation.

I try various things to avoid sin. I pray. I try not to talk too much. I am part of a long line of talkers with a little too much curiosity and and a little too much obliquity. I sometimes pray for a little more common sense to help keep my tongue still.

I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I try to avoid sin, I try to avoid temptation. I am human. I have strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes I feel bad after I sin. Sometimes not, especially if it occurred during a great conversation filled with lots of laughter and jokes and anecdotes. Sin is a natural part of life for each and every human being. We have to accept this inevitability, this reality. We are asked to learn how to avoid sin.

As Catholics the sacraments help to put things into perspective. Every time we attend Mass we are encouraged to examine our lives, our decisions.

The meaning of our lives as Christians begins and ends with love and forgiveness. We are imperfect creatures striving for a perfect relationship with God.

I am a sinner trying to learn how to be righteous with prayer, reflection, silence, good deeds.

I am a sinner filling my life with goodness, kindness, holiness.

I am a sinner seeking righteousness, seeking God’s forgiveness.

Sin remains an equal opportunity distraction, diversion, temptation for all men, for all religions.

I pray for each and everyone of us to develop the strength to avoid sin, to live a life of fairness, a life of love, a life of social justice, a life of compassion, a life of mercy. I pray that we each find the strength of character to be like Jesus Christ in our daily lives.

The Measure of Christ's Gift

How was your day? How is your life going? What are you doing with your life? Are you going in the correct direction? Are you moving?

These simple questions can amuse or annoy us. These simple words can urge us to look beyond our current state. We need to look beyond our present surroundings. Simplicity sometimes leads us toward a certain manner of living. We can discuss the obliquity of faith.

Each time we attend Mass we are asked to remember the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The death of Jesus Christ invites us to love each other, invites us to have faith in each other.

Beauty, goodness, and truth wait to be discovered, wait to be uncovered.

The measure of Christ’s gift remains constant, remains direct. Jesus Christ explicitly commanded each one us to love God, to love each other. This love is a gift. This love is a blessing.

Jesus Christ taught us how to forgive and suggested that we should forgive an infinite amount of times. Forgiveness is important in the lives of all Christians. Forgiveness keeps our lives moving.

We have motion, we have prayer, we have the knowledge of Jesus Christ’s life and death.

We have numerous signs leading us to salvation, numerous paths leading us to redemption.

We received the best gift, the gift of the holy spirit when we were baptized, when we were confirmed.

Choose God

The choices we make remain important. If you are lucky enough to hear and answer God’s call please remember how important your life is to God. The blessings in life begin with the little deeds we are able to complete, over time God may appear to us. Seek courage and confidence. Humility, gentleness, patience are important to each one of us. Remember the Holy Spirit. Remember and cherish each moment of your life. Believers are we. Being Christian puts us on a particular path toward righteousness, toward salvation. Christians are allowed, are encouraged to be independent, to teach and acceptance the Gospel teaching. With freedom, listen for God’s voice, listen for God’s call. Remember that each life contains goodness, kindness. Always be selective whether married or not, always cultivate a certain type of belief in goodness, holiness, kindness. We are asked to be selective as we begin to do do good work in the name of God, to glory the name of God. Goodness, holiness, kindness create a whole lot of gallery of loving, obedient, patient lives. We live in a multi dimensional world creating a mood of low light, creating a certain uniformity, a definite conformity. Be honest. Be loving. Remember the sensitive, intelligent, anguished young men. Being good goes beyond earthly actions. Life contains darkness. Life contains lightness. Remember to seek truth. Remember to live lightness, to encourage love, to inspire hope. The tendencies of charity, humility, obedience present a gallery of giving and receiving. We have magazines, stage plays, stage magazine. This is the time of graphic film. This is the time to want to discover the next blockbuster, to discover the majesty, splendor, and love of Jesus Christ.

I wonder if complete immersion in study of the people and events of both the New and Old Testament would help teach us how to interact with each other. Each day we live notebook worthy events that we are unable to write down.

Our choices can help us move closer to God. Please remember this fact.         

Reflection - Attending Mass - September 20

Attending Mass is important for the spiritual development of each Catholic. How we participate in the Mass is very important. Going to Mass involves more than simply going to Mass. Listening to the Word of God involves more than simply listening to the Word of God. We are asked to participate in the Mass. We are asked to capture and share the Word of God with others. Attending Mass is a community activity. Remember we are all brothers and sisters. We are all seeking spiritual development, seeking signs from God, seeking salvation.

We are encouraged to share our Christian experience. We are reminded to seek the invisible, the unseen. Appearances are sometimes simply appearances.

Attending Mass, hearing the Gospels each week prepares each one of us for public displays of evangelization. The world, our world, our friends, our families need to be reminded of God’s affection for us.

Mass introduces us to many collaborators for God. Remember that each time you attend Mass, you are being radical, you are making a statement about love, forgiveness, mercy, and love. The celebration of the Mass remains a thousand year old communal existence of hope, love, and sacrifice that mirrors the mystical state of faith. Not all questions have to be spoken, not all questions have to be answered. We can pray. We have prayer.

The Mass is a celebration of the Eucharist.

The Mass is a prayer.

Attending Mass presents the sacramental essence of the experience of being Catholic Christian each time we enter a church. The decision to participate, to reach out for God, reach for the garment of Jesus Christ remains a personal, individual choice.

Rebuild and Renew

Christian existence contains a sense of being incomplete, being unfinished. Christian existence contains an explicit charge to renew your faith and love in God, to rebuild your strength, to avoid temptation and sin, to rebuild and renew your love for your neighbor.

Prayer renews us when we allow ourselves time for patience and reflection.

Prayer rebuilds us by finding and developing the potential for goodness, holiness, kindness within us. We each possess the ability for love universal, love unconditional. We simply are asked to answer God’s call and to release our love, release our hope, release our mercy with no desire for reciprocation.

Prayer reminds us of how small we are but how big true charity, true humility, true obedience are when they are used for the glory and praise of God. Prayer builds both our individual and community spiritual life. We are encouraged to share our prayers, to share our hopes. Remember our prayers are all answered, not as we may want them to be answered but in a way that is suitable to God, suitable to the nurturing and nourishing of our hearts, minds, and souls. Prayer prepares us to be loving, loyal, honest servants of the Lord.

My existence as a Christian begins with prayer. Some days, when I remember and think of to do it, I offer all of my activities as a living prayer of hope and love.

My belief in God helps me believe in myself, believe that there is good inside of me, helps me believe and seek the good in others. For me being Christian, being Catholic involves living a creative life of beauty, goodness, and truth. My decisions, my thoughts often reflect a desire to follow in the footsteps of Christ.

I often recommend silence, prayer, reflection to my friends when they are having a crisis, being annoyed by someone, or just a little rattled. The most important recommendation I can make is asking someone to return to God, asking someone to seek the Lord.

God can help us getaway from sin. Prayer can be our getaway car. We simply have to believe. We simply have to pray.

Prayer can help rebuild our damaged souls, minds, hearts, and lives. Prayer can renew our faith, hope, love.

Evangelization begins with prayer, with a decision subtle or overt, with a decision important to live your life for God, to create a life which reflects the goodness, the glory, the mercy, the compassion, and the love that is God.

We are all pulp. We all have potential to serve and honor God. We simply need prayer to guide us in both our individual and community development as believers of God, believers of Jesus Christ, as followers of Jesus Christ.

God waits for our decisions. God listens to our prayers.

Simply take time to pray.

Remember to pray.

Create time for prayer each day.

According to the Command of God

How we view ourselves, how we view our lives, how we view God is always important as we navigate each day avoiding sin and temptation while trying to serve the Lord.

There are days when my life feels like a goofy sixties sex farce, a hyper-earnest free-will morality tale, a gentle feel good family picture complete with a tail wagging dog, apple pie baking grandmother, tree climbing children, and a bloody high tech espionage thriller. Reality shifts each day, my perception changes, my perspective and point of view constantly realigns itself. An eagerness directs me, moves me forward toward God each day. I try to keep busy doing little things in God’s name. I try to keep busy serving God. My ambition is to be a loving, loyal, obedient servant of the God. I seek humility, charity, obedience, compassion, mercy each day. I stretch to obtain goodness, holiness, kindness in both my thoughts and my actions. Living involves action, motion. Living involves prayer, reflection. Living involves God. This I believe. This is how I live. This is my humanity. This is my philosophy. This guides me each day. Subjects for each day’s prayers appear in my mind. I feel that God helps pilot me around certain obstacles, certain temptations when I have the courage, the virtue to listen.

Christian life involves opportunities to share. Christian life provides love to give and receive. Christian life presents messages to be proclaimed. We are all asked to evangelize, to use our lives, our talents to spread the Good News, to encourage and inspire others to believe and to serve the Lord.

Before my conversion I came to church just to feel the presence of God, just to see the presence of God in the faces of strangers.

Being Catholic allows a subtle growth in the Holy Spirit, a subtle nurturing by the Holy Spirit. My humanity is shaped by Catholic Christian teachings of social justice, fairness, the Beatitudes and the Gospels reading. I struggle with loving my neighbor on some days. I struggle with how to help those less fortunate than I am. I am nervous sometime when I am approached for money by beggars on the street. Sometimes I buy food, sometimes I simply speak in gentle tones and offer quiet silent prayers for assistance for the person, for salvation for the person.

There is a comic element to my life, to how I try to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. I am often a loner, sometimes visibly nervous. Religion contains nuances of solemn moments, nuances of situational humor. Being Christian remains a serious, solemn practice in an increasing flippant, irreverent, crazy world.

Christian Dreams

I sometimes exist within a state of dreaming, then a state of praying. I want to be a Christian completist known for my devotion, known for my good deeds done for the Lord. Sometimes the life of a Christian is filled with laughter, with rejoicing. Happiness, patience, knowledge help us to see the wonderful marvels that God achieves each day, the wonderful marvels God has done.

The choice to be or not to a workhorse for God remains a personal decision. Each Christian sets his/her standards of how to love and serve the Lord. Suggestions are presented. We choose to believe, we choose to follow. God loves us constantly, continually. Depending upon our moods we model goodness, holiness, kindness each day. We pick-up this, return that trying to find something that works for us, trying to find something that fits our personal ideas of how to love and serve the Lord.

Each day and each time we go to church, the Mass presents the great things that God has done. The celebration of the Mass reminds each Catholic about the greatest thing God has done for us.

God’s love can provide an anchor for us. God’s love can allow us to enter into a sleek giving and receiving reverie of love, forgiveness, mercy, and compassion.

Being Catholic is often challenging. There is much to learn, much to consider. The work of a Christian never ends. Our lives start and end with prayer. Our faith helps us avoid temptation, sin. We are prepared for suffering, prepared for weeping.

We are asked to sacrifice ourselves to serve the Lord. We are allowed to choose to sacrifice or not to sacrifice. We are allowed to rejoice in the goodness and love of God or not rejoice in the goodness and love of God.

I believe that a connection between sacrifice and rejoice exists. I believe that this connection between the words can create a strong bond with God. I believe that this connection begins with praying.

Rejoicing and sacrificing are the stuff Christian dreams are made of.

Fistful of Holiness

At some point in our lives, we all want to be the hero, we all want to save the day. From start to finish this is a very ordinary wish. How easy it is to create an unnamed villain just a little more powerful, a little more dangerous. Man does not live on facts. Faith is needed.

As Christians are lives are different, as God’s adopted children, we are part of a distinguished group of faithful believers and followers. We often seek compassion, seek company.

Being the hero is great for movies when there is a script and stereophonic sound.

Sometimes the most important thing is overlooked, temporarily forgotten.

The life of a Catholic often involves the continued search for the God. We want to hear God’s voice, we want to see God if only for a moment. There exists the tendency to approach God, to follow Jesus Christ with a sterile, unsmiling, unidentified coolness, a stiff distance. Remember that God exudes love, God exudes tenderness, God exudes mercy. In order to meet God, in order to hear God we are asked to be like God. We are asked to be ready to share a fistful of kindness, goodness, and holiness. We are asked to be recognizable as loving followers of Jesus Christ. Humility, charity, obedience lead us to God. We, God’s loving, loyal servants share God’s grace, God’s love, God mercy. Compassion, patience becomes our guide. Remember always and believe that we are God’s adopted children. God wants each one of to be his protagonist, he wants us to go out into the world and share his love.

Freewill presents both a challenge and an opportunity for each Catholic Christian as we live each day. We decide what we are going to do. We decide to follow or not follow Jesus Christ. We decide to believe or not believe in God. We decide to sin or not sin. Our decisions, our actions have consequences. We decide to love or not love.

God is consistent, God always loves us. To be consistent in our love for our neighbors, in our love for God, in our love for ourselves can help us achieve salvation, can help us enter the Kingdom of God.

Aim of Each Christian

Let the aim of each Christian be easy to hear, easy to accept. Let each Christian accept the challenge to use his or her life to magnify the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Let each Christian have the virtue, the confidence, the courage to live and walk the path of fairness, love, obedience, mercy, and social justice that Jesus Christ did.

Let our goodness, holiness, kindness turn heads, touch hearts. Let our deeds be of loving service to others.

As Christians we can choose to live a life that encourages others to seek God, encourages others to filled their lives with humility, charity, compassion, obedience, mercy. Warm summer mornings, warm summer twilights are wonderful times to seek God, to remember the Beatitudes.

It is my aim to live my life quietly, to behave appropriately, to live according to and with reverence for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I hope that this is your goal too.

Appreciating God

The winding trail to a hilltop with an expansive view of nature’s beauty remains a great metaphor for life. My thoughts sometimes soar above the treetops. Life contains people who need our concern, our prayers. Some are hyperemotional. Some are apathetic. Some are depressed. Some are just out looking for a good time.

The path presents leaves and rocks and sticks as beautiful, as majestic as created by God. The view inspires us to think of God, to seek solitude, to seek escape from the chaos and confusion of modern life, to seek solace and comfort with the Lord. Climbing up the hillside is not easy, wanting to see God is not cheesy. The desire to see God often accompanies a desire to serve God.

God doesn’t get recognized that much, reverence for God appears to be limited to churches. The secular world does not consider goodness, holiness, kindness interesting, educational, or entertaining. Presenting an invisible God to a world filled with doubt, conspiracy theories about their neighbors is not that appealing to the media, to the popular culture promoters. No one knows where God hangs out.

Christians are encouraged to seek the Lord. We can use prayer, reflection, silence. The search may or may not be successful. Calling God is important. Obedience, patience, humility, mercy are important and necessary ingredients to create a true relationship with God. We are asked to offer praise, thanks, loyalty, and loving service.

Appreciation is a great word. Appreciating is easier said than done. Appreciating God requires a sense of selflessness, a sense of unconditional love, a sense of mercy, and a sense of compassion. Appreciating God involves simultaneous observations of the world and our reactions to it; how our hearts, minds, and souls react during certain situations is important; who receives our spontaneous prayers provides insight.

Goodness, kindness, holiness often arrive with a surreal surreal disorientation. The world is filled with scoundrels sharing their wicked schemes and thoughts. This is the current reality glamorized, exaggerated, captured, preserved and beamed from communication satellites into living room televisions. Goodness, kindness, holiness do occur, but they are a rarity, not the normal encounter. Rudeness, selfishness are the norm, are accepted. Talking about God, talking about being good, talking about sin has a weird effect on some people. Saying that they believe in God is easier than actually believing.

Popular culture encourages us to live in a world of make believe where we are not doctors but we pretend to be when it is convenient, while the camera is pointed toward, while we have an audience.

The experience of recognizing God begins with recognizing the truth within each one of us, recognizing the hope within each one of us, recognizing the love within us. The experience of recognizing God in our lives is initially intensely introspective but grows and grows into a desire to share God’s love, mercy, and grace with everyone. There is an intimacy with God that can last a minute, a hour, a day. This intimacy is rare. With prayers, praise, reflection, good deeds many Christians seek that deep awareness, deep intimacy with God all of their lives.

God Is Needed

I was very distressed today to hear about campus life at two Maryland universities in the metropolitan area. At the first a student was murdered after an escalating argument because of an iPod. At the second I think three female students reported that they woke up and discovered a strange man cuddling with them. Both stories left me wondering about the world that I live in, the world that is always in my prayers.

Strange and weird things happen each day. Senseless crimes happen each day. There is no explanation, no justification for uncontrolled anger. Logic teaches us for every action there is a reaction. Morality warns us for every action there is a consequence.

It is a strange violent world fueled by anger, rage, profanity. Where is reverence? Where is respect? Where is love? How many dreams were destroyed with the death of this Freshmen female student? How many lives were shattered?

As I think of this tragedy, this murder feels unreal, foreign, as if it was part of a heavy metal or gangsta rap music video. I can imagine the anger, I can imagine the rage. It is too often part of movies and television shows. Two lives ruined, two families in turmoil.

Young people making bold, brash decisions, young people rushing to be adults, young people behaving childishly, foolishly, callously now must face the consequences of their actions.

Where is religion in their lives? Where is love in their lives? Where is God in their lives?

God is missing from many lives. Morality is missing from many lives. The frontier mentality is encouraged, the rugged individual is glorified, the rebel outsider is canonized. Violence is glamorized. Cinematic death is beautiful, cinematic death is ambivalent, ambiguous. Cinematic murder is rationalized. In real life murder is messy. Lives are changed, devastated by murder.

Murder surprises many people when it occurs in their neighborhood, when it occurs on their campus. Murder surprises parents when their children are involved. Murder makes me yearn for God’s protection.

The only true security that we can ever have is the security that God provides. Man can neither protect us or offer true security. Only God can do that.

God is needed in this world.