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.

My Day

This was a long day. I am exhausted. I am sitting in an empty restaurant waiting for friends to arrive. My fingers keep slipping onto the wrong keys, typing the wrong characters. In the background there is a country and western song. Well, it sounds like it is a country and western song. This day kept me busy, kept my mind occupied. The singing is plaintive, sad, with elongated sounds that I associate with country and western songs. I want to eat but these sad songs make it hard for me to concentrate. I am in the mood for pizza. At least I think that I want pizza. Maybe I want french fries. I could be healthy and have a salad. But, now I am exhausted and waiting for my friends to arrive.

I have a few moments to be alone, to listen to the music. I have a few moments to be alone, to listen for God’s call. I have a few moments to be alone, to offer praise and thanks to God.

This day pleased me, exhausted me. I ran errands, made phone calls, skipped meals, got caught in the drizzle. I went to Mass. I updated a poster. The poster is now bilingual, four posters were printed and three posters were the placed on easels and one posted to a door this afternoon. The posters are bilingual, I am not.

I am alone. I am ready to sleep. I am ready to pray.

Preparing

The Kingdom of heaven somehow creates different images in my mind depending upon my mood. Sometimes it is purely high tech, gleaming, shiny cinematic science fiction science fantasy place of extreme cleanliness and order. Other times it is lush and tropical. Other times it is a majestic place of great statues, great temples, and people wearing robes.

The abundance of images is a product of a fertile imagination.

Blessed the poor in spirit creates an equal number of images, equal number of opportunities to praise and serve the Lord.

As Christians we are asked to trust in goodness, holiness, kindness.

Preparing our spirit is important, preparing our spirit to love, honor, and serve God is important.

As Christians we seek to be like the blessed poor in spirit. We seek God’s mercy, God’s compassion, God’s love.

We seek salvation, we seek eternal life.

We prepare. We pray.

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.

The Repetition of

On Thursday I came up with this great idea to create images which could simply tell a story, make a point with very limited words from me. I spent several hours creating the images. Technology is great. It presents many possibilities.

How we see the world is important. How we imagine the world is important. How we pray is important. How we prepare to pray is important.

Our prayers are influenced by what we see, by what we hear, by what we sense.



On Thursday I came up with this great idea to create images which could simply tell a story, make a point with very limited words from me. I spent several hours creating the images. Technology is great. It presents many possibilities.

How we see the world is important. How we imagine the world is important. How we pray is important. How we prepare to pray is important.

Our prayers are influenced by what we see, by what we hear, by what we sense.



On Friday I posted the images.

and he might send them forth

How did Jesus want to share the Good News with the people? Did he create a Facebook page? Did he create an Youtube channel? Did he create a blog? As Christians we must remember that we have been summoned by God. We each have a special purpose, some special task which God asks us to do. We each will struggle with our task from time to time. We all need to pray to God. We are reminded to praise and give thanks to God. We also are asked to look inside ourselves, to search for and then to share all of our goodness, holiness, kindness, and love. Our daily existence does have significance. Our daily actions, how we choose to live our lives can be a silent sermon of hope, social justice, love, fairness. When we live with truth, kindness, and mercy in our souls we can preach without saying a word for God can be seen in each movement, God can be felt, faith inspired. We must choose to live our lives with that special purpose of love, unconditional and universal. We must choose to think of pleasing God with all of our decisions. We must remember that we are all asked to do something in the name of God. We must listen for the request. We must have patience. We must pray. Prayer is essential for the spiritual growth of all Christians. The more we pray and listen to God, the closer our bond will be with God, the closer our relationship will become. By Baptism we are appointed. We must decide whether we are going to take the challenge and follow the footsteps of God. With patience, humility, and prayer we can achieve all types of good works in God's name. We all are asked to try. How did Jesus want to share the Good News with the people? Did he create a Facebook page? Did he create an Youtube channel? Did he create a blog? Jesus did it simply by living his life, obeying the Ten Commandments, and treating everyone with fairness, social justice, love, and understanding. The miracles may have motivated people to seek him out but the miracles were done with love. Christianity is not just reserved for the churches and cathedrals. Christianity must be nurtured, must be allowed and encouraged to grow in the coffee shops, subway platforms, street corners, gin joints. Christianity must be everywhere that each Christian goes.
The image of Jesus on the mountain suggests that he took time to reflect on what was happening and that he took time to pray. He gave himself time to breathe, time to organize his thoughts as he decided upon the Apostles and summoned each one of them to join his ministry.
How wonderful it would have been to hear Jesus speak, to hear him speak Aramaic. How wonderful it is to hear that he renamed Simon. How amusing it is to hear that he renamed James and John Boanerges which translates as sons of thunder. Even as the Apostles are being organized to preach and given the authority to drive out demons Jesus provided a glimpse of his humanity, of the humanity he hopes that each Christian will continue to share.

Know the Lord

What is the reason that we are all Christians? What are we trying to do? How are we trying to do it? As Christians we are all asked to love and serve the Lord. We are given the Ten Commandments and asked to obey them. We are given the Beatitudes. We are given one additional request to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. We are asked to praise and give thanks to God. We are encouraged to pray to God. What is the real purpose for all of this activity? What will happen to each of us if we do it with love in our hearts, kindness in our souls, honor and holiness in our minds? Our entire being as Christians is a preparation for our eternal life with God. Each moment of each day we are asked to work for our salvation. Each moment of each day we are asked to be compassionate, humble, merciful. Each moment of each day we are asked to work to please God. Our daily lives give us opportunities to serve God. We must work to establish, nurture, and protect a relationship with God. The most important relationship for a Christian is his/her relationship with God. Wanting salvation by itself is meaningless, completely worthless unless we want to know the Lord. Prayer is essential to this. We must learn how to pray. We must make time for prayer in our lives. Prayer filled with kindness, truth, goodness, love, holiness and hope can lead us to closer relationships to God. As Christians we must take time to listen for God's voice, God's gentle call. We are all living, breathing, articulating, gesticulating members of God's ministry. We must understand this with the entirety of our being and then use our lives to share the Good News with everyone with whom we interact. Our actions as Christians are often more important than our words. Each generation searches for something new, something improved. Each generation listens to the campaign promises. Christians have been given a better covenant with better promises. We simply have to believe. We simply have to remember our baptismal promises and try to live a better, more loving life of charity, humility, and obedience. Our purpose here is not to purchase the biggest house, wear the trendiest clothes. Our purpose is to love and serve God. Our purpose is to prepare ourselves for eternal life, to prepare ourselves for salvation.

has given us discernment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

he would withdraw to deserted places to pray

Listening to the Liturgy of the Word should be an active process, the entire mind should be engaged with each word that is spoken during this time. The Bible is filled with activity. People are always moving around, obeying God, disobeying God. The people in the Bible are always up to something. Although the Bible does not mention texting, email, smart phones, the people of the Bible knew how to communicate with one another without using a telephone or Facebook or Twitter or Youtube. The People of the Bible were good at getting the message.

Jesus was a very busy person. He was always on the go, moving from town to town. His ministry involved motion, involved going to the people, involved listening to the people, involved serving the people. Jesus did not limit his ministry to one neighborhood in one town. He was in Nazareth, Capernaum, Bethabara, Cana, Galilee.

Two Thousand years later there is something magical, something powerful in the names of these places and the connection to Jesus. His ministry moved from the countryside to the synagogue to the countryside. His ministry moved along country roads and city streets.

His message was simple love God and love each other. His message was radical then, and is still radical now.

Even with all the moving about from town to town Jesus always found time to pray.

Christianity asks each believer, each Christian to spread the Good News, to share their blessings and gifts with others, to praise and love God each day. Christianity asks each believer to join a journey of goodness, holiness, kindness, to join a journey of faithfulness and loyalty to God.

It is important to always be attentive, to always be listening for the voice of God. Being Christian often involves a period of discernment, of contemplating, praying reflecting on how to move closer to God, on how to serve God.

Each day there are signs of the Holy Spirit in our lives, encouraging us to pray, encouraging us to help others, encouraging us to avoid temptations and distractions. Each day there are signs of the Holy Spirit directing us toward God, directing us to the path of Jesus. Each day there are signs of the Holy Spirit asking each of to be active Christians, loving and serving God, loving each other unconditionally.

Even with our busy lives of work, family, friends, volunteer activities, each Christian should find time to pray.

Each day I wonder what Nazareth, Capernaum, Bethabara, Cana, Galilee were like when Jesus was alive and moving from town to town. Each day I wonder if there is something more that I could be doing to love and serve God.

A sense of courage is needed. A sense of humor is required. Simplicity is needed. Love is required. Being Christian requires active listening, active participation. Being Christian requires gracious words, loving deeds.

Do not hip-hop into hardheartedness

A sense of courage is needed. A sense of humor is required. Simplicity is needed. Love is required.

Poetic license did inspire and encourage this poetic reflection on a homily given at the Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle.

Do not hip-hop into that harsh hardheartedness,
Truth shall burn and smoke and pry open thoughts moral
Pray, pray for the advance of gentle goodheartedness.

Wisdom’s shadows can create lightheartedness
With words hallowed, silence hesitant yet choral
Do not hip-hop into that harsh hardheartedness.

Find words good, find words wise, find your kindheartedness.
Against another’s little deeds neither complain nor quarrel.
Pray, pray for the advance of gentle goodheartedness.

Those who seek the moon and forget greatheartedness
And live in selfish warm seas, stony reefs coral
Do not hip-hop into that harsh hardheartedness.

Death approaches, fear encroaches. And with wholeheartedness
in thought and speech marshmallow white be aural,
Pray, pray for the advance of gentle goodheartedness.

And melodious, mathematical softheartedness
Bless, motivate each heart, mind, soul with hope’s laurel.
Do not hip-hop into that harsh hardheartedness.
Pray, pray for the advance of gentle goodheartedness.

Remembrance

A second chance to think of how to improve my life, to look for ways to create a regiment of goodness and holiness within my heart. Each time I attend Mass I have the joy of seeing the faithful pass in front of me. In their faces varied emotions are visible. In my heart prayers are offered for both familiar and unfamiliar faces. Prayers find my mind. Each time I attend Mass I find new reasons to pray, remember to pray for different people. There are valid reasons to guard my heart, mind, and soul from the secular world. Each day in private ways we are accompanied by charity, mercy, love. We should always be open to giving and receiving them. Our anxiety sometimes prevents the exchange. Sometimes we create a hundred excuses why we can’t be good, why we refuse to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. We often search for shortcuts, not wanting to walk a hundred yards. We are in such a hurry, that we forget to say hello, good-bye, or peace. Our secular world promotes uncertain feelings, uneasiness. The secular world cajoles and harasses and overwhelms the flesh, our fleeting momentary whims, ideas about happiness and comfort which can be achieved with a small fee. Our lives as Christians provide us with a second chance to meet Jesus, a second chance to be humble and obedient before God, a second chance to love as Christ Jesus taught us.

This is the gravest of hours; consumerism offers many wonderful things, but it often does not live up to its promises and often produces frightful results. Materialism will not die.

How beautiful the altar looks each day when the candles are lighted and there are bowed heads praying. Sometimes their are floral bouquets in front of the altar. Mass offers compassion and consolation to those faithful who are there together. Mass offers hope, love, mercy and remembrance.

Each time we attend Mass we are asked to remember and to respect one beautiful sacrifice above all sacrifices.

It is great that we have priests who live to rescue drowning souls. It is easy to overlook the reserve of heroism there is in being a priest. It is easy to overlook the fact that we all are called to live priestly lives.

In regard to our lives, I suggest that we all search for goodness and holiness within our lives and then share it. Sin will always be there to tempt each one of us but with practice and patience we can overcome and avoid sin.

As for our state of mind, my suggestion will perhaps remind you of the responsibility that active Christianity presents to each faithful follower. Our continuing conversion is our duty. Realize that it is shameful to avoid goodness and holiness. Prepare your entire being for sacrifice. Train your feet to lead you on a path of compassion, obedience, love. Learn how to keep your conscience clean and pure. Pray earnestly, pray often.

What is In Your Heart

What is in your heart? How is your conversion progressing? Are you pleased with your spiritual life? Do you feel that God is pleased with your spiritual life? Each day I pray that we all are able to continue moving forward. Each day I pray for more holiness to find and guide us. I know there is not enough goodness in this world. Sometimes my heart is filled with hope and love.

We allow ourselves to be tortured by all types of sins and all types of temptations each day. We allow ourselves to swing on a pendulum between vice and virtue. One minute we’re filled with such virtue and hope, the next we are consumed by vice and debauchery. We often defend our vices with such elaborate erudition that the offense disappears; our minds might accept these rationalizations and justifications but our hearts don’t and God doesn’t. As Christians we must remember to make God the priority in our lives and in our hearts. We must accept our individual faults, failings, and weaknesses. We must continually offer them to God. With prayer and patience we will learn from them. As Catholics we go to Confession, receive God’s absolution, promise not to sin anymore, and yet there we go sinning again. Sinning is easy. The secular world has made it easy to sin; the secular world has made it acceptable to sin. We spend so much of our lives captured within an ever tightening pop culture filled with images and stories of decadence, debauchery, and devilishness. We are hypnotized by stories of marital deceit, sexual scandal. There is nothing new in these stories. They contain the same wreckage and pain; and yet, our pop culture uses these stories of heartache and betrayal to entertain us, to caution us about love.

We need someone to caution us about our pop culture. We need to be reminded about our journey on the path made by Christ. We need someone to remind us to check our progress each day to see where we are in living a life following the ten commandments and the Beatitudes. We need someone to ask us about loving our neighbors.

It is so easy to sin, to abandon God. We do it everyday. Sin is so attractive, seductive, sexy. We live in a society where everything is for sale. The true cost is not always monetary. As Christians we must always remember to guard and protect our souls. Pop culture gives sin the illusion of being powerful, desirable. We must always be willing to confront sin, to avoid it for ourselves and others. We must educate our minds and our hearts against the attacks and abuses of sin. We must not allow our hearts to be corrupted by sin. Each day we receive new models of sin, new examples of vice all pleasantly presented to us in the most fashionable and palatable terms. With prayer we must learn how to reject them.

God offers us mercy and love if we simply, loving obey him. We know what God’s expectations are.

We must avoid vice and sin; we must find goodness and holiness in our hearts and in our lives.

Truth asks us to find Meaning

through the righteousness that comes from faith. Romans 4:13


Being Catholic affords us many opportunities for a continuing education in the mercifulness and love of God. We have daily Masses, we have the Liturgy of the Word, the Liturgy of the Eucharist, we have the sacraments. The aim of the Church is to provide the tools necessary for us to live simply, lovingly as Christ lived and as Christ wants us to live with fairness and social justice. We have the opportunity and responsibility to encounter and learn how to become better Christians every day. Our education in being Christian is not finite; new things are being added every day. The teachings and dogma of the Church are constant, lasting for thousands of years in some cases. How we apply the teachings and ideas of the Church does change.

We live in a time of white lies, coverups, statements, and declarations. So many words bombard us constantly. Politicians misleading voters, celebrities being unfaithful to their spouses, athletes having controlled substance problems. We hear these things every day. We read about them in newspapers and magazine. We wait for the next person, the next story, the next white line, the next denial, the next press conference with a short apology and some statement of regret.

Saying that we are sinners is easy; our society teaches us to admit this when we are caught with our hands in the cookie jar without a plausible explanation. We live in a time when every sin can be downgraded. The concept of sin is difficult for some people to accept. There are choices, good and bad. Sin surrounds us. We are in a guerilla war with sin and many of us do not know it. Our society now desensitizes us to sin, encourages us to sin, to act immorally.

As Christians we must always remember God. We must always remember that our lives are not simply for us but for him; we have the responsibility to be humble loving servants for God.

It is not enough to admit that we are sinners; we must understand what it means to be a sinner. The words are meaningless without knowledge and understanding. We live in a time of over-stimulation and meaninglessness. So much information is available to us in all types of formats, amounts, places. We can not process it all. We can not understand it all.

Sometimes, it is easier to focus on one thing, to try and learn about that one thing. Let everything else fall to sides temporarily. The Beatitudes are great for this. The Lord’s Prayer is also great.

As an example the Lord’s Prayer provides a great place for us to focus briefly. The Lord’s prayer appears in two of the Gospels. It’s structure is similar to the Ten Commandments. The first part relates to God, the second relates to us. The Lord’s prayer presents Christ’s idea about community to us. Notice the complete absence of the word “I”. Notice the use of the word “our”.

As Christians we must remember to seek out goodness. Being good is not a weakness; it is a sign of strength. As goodness grows within us, our knowledge of God also grows.

Truth waits for us. God waits for us. Words are transient. God presents each us with many opportunities to observe goodness, to learn about holiness. We have the Holy Scriptures, the lives of the Saints, prayers, the Liturgy of the Word, the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the Sacraments, and we have each other. At some point in time when even we ourselves neither know or realize it we are by our actions teaching someone about our faith; about goodness, fairness, love; about God. It happens quietly, it provides hope to someone in need.

With patience and hope allow yourself time for a relaxed period of discernment, seek only Truth, listen only for God’s voice. Let your personal conceits and judgments fade into the background. Lead your thoughts toward the Light, do not worry or fret about dark, shadowy ideas. Concentrate on finding ways to be pleasing to God. Allow yourself to avoid any thoughts which would encourage you to neglect loving God. Simply believe and accept that being lovingly obedient and humble before God is necessary and profitable for our souls.Only direct our minds toward goodness, hope, forgiveness, mercy, love; the connection with God will grow. With patience, prayer and hope our eyes will see the Truth, our ears will hear the Truth.

Looking for a Definition

An impure thought is simply any thought that becomes an obstacle to out individual relationships with God; more basically, they are bad thoughts. They can flash in our minds for an instant when some does something that we do not like. When we hear profanity, they can flash in our minds. Some movies can create these thoughts. It is sometimes difficult to escape impure thoughts; the secular world use impure images to encourage us to buy products.

We live in an era dominated by impurity. It is in our television shows, movies, books, magazine covers, newspaper headlines. We can not escape it. There is so much impurity attacking our sensibilities that it is sometimes difficult to analyze what is impure.

My initial approach was too analytical; it searched for an internal movement. I wanted my impure thoughts to be active. I wanted to believe that an impure thought made me jealous. I was looking in the wrong place. I wanted a cause and reaction.

Impure thoughts had to be the band leader for all sin and vice.

Impure thoughts are simply there. They provoke responses. There is a little dollop of objective reasoning associated with impure thoughts. Our mind has to process the information and make a judgment.

Modern life provides us with many detours and diversions to living good Catholic lives. As a Catholic I am surprised at the number of contraception commercials on television. Within each message along with all of the potentially dangerous or harmful side effects is a subtle message to live in a manner that is not in keeping with Church teaching.

Sexual imagery is used to sell everything. It is so pervasive that is benignly accepted. With the Madison Avenue advertising world, everyone is secular, everyone has a price, everything needs to be replaced. Our consumerism creates a world of impurity; it permeates so many levels. This impurity is beyond simply bad; it constantly attacks our morals, attacks our goodness.

This impurity is rotting our society. Deciding between good and bad becomes more difficult each day because of the proliferation of impure images used to promote all types of concrete products and ideas within our society. We can turn off the television, avoid the movies; but the problem is still there.

How sad it is that there is no public morality anymore. Each day we exist within a conflicted, dirty society; everything is for sale in our society — including access to our souls. Constant exposure to these images, wears us down, confuses us.

Lucky are those who believe in God and who understand the danger of impure images used within a consumerist free economy. Lucky are those who are able to live with limited access to these image. Lucky are those who pray to God and ask for strength.

We Pray at Twilight

We live in a era that emphasizes leisure. We are sinners. Sibylline talking heads reinterpret the Bill of Rights. Byzantine parrots joke about how complicated our lives become as each new technological advance allows us to stay connected with each other. We murmur communication to ourselves in barely audible tones. We are trying to improve our lives.

Our lives still contain mistakes, failure, sin; modern society has removed public morality from the public’s conscience. Every behavior is accepted, every behavior is expected. Many people live moments of great compromise and confusion behind faded brocade curtains of sin and vice.

We live within great metropolises with malignant friends leading us into subterranean antechambers, crumbling and dark; our subways offer a glimpse of purgatory, a noisy chaotic moment when we must depend upon prayer, our own and our neighbors. Flattering acquaintances present florid complements to the bad weather, our bad natures revolving in the revolving doors, revolving with jealousy, revolving with avarice, revolving and revolving.

There were prayers to say on Sunday, hymns to sing on Sunday, and ideas and ideals to reflect upon, to incorporate into our lives. We listened on those poetic Sunday mornings to lessons about goodness, about morals; and we decided which restaurant we would be best for our brunch party.

Urban life beckons us with unending choices and sweet popular possibilities preserved within television commercials and glossy magazine advertisements present unending promises of happiness, fulfillment. Ironically we live with an era of typographical and grammatical errors.

The secular color of the moment remains an aggrieved gray, mourning, weeping like a discarded courtesan demanding the attention and courtesies from a younger yesterday. The sound of this discontent does not disturb us as it tries to attack our hearts and souls.

There are prayers before and after Communion for us to listen to, for us to think about. Being Christian is sometimes like being a travelling salesman moving from room to room, searching for leads, laying foundations for future sales. Being Christian is always examining ourselves, always trying to apply the Gospel teachings to our lives.

Sibylline coffee cups with enticing whipped cream wait to protest social justice, wait to lead you astray with words of discouragement, words of discontent.

But the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist are beautiful yet ancient; they both offer and gently encourage love. We are asked to look within the unopened rooms within our hearts to find and release all of our love. Sharing our love will improve our lives.

There is always talk of murder and mayhem. Euthanasia, contraception, abortion have become accepted as natural modern living rights with slogans, supporters, and advertising campaigns confusing and/or losing the issue of the value of each life.

The hateful, profanity covered lyrics from some popular songs attack the pedestrians with machine gun like intensity from behind tinted glass. The faces on the street are lost, disillusioned, desperate and so much denim and so many people simply moving between eutectic points, freezing or melting, sinning and regretting. . . . We pray at twilight.

Lent, Lent, Lent

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

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

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

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

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

As Christians goodness and holiness are not achieved without struggle.

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

Live with hope; prosper with love.

Forty Days, Forty Opportunities

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Antidote

--Pray when you wake-up. Live your life based upon fairness, social justice and love. Make time to both read and reflect upon each book of the Bible. Let the teachings of Jesus Christ inspire you to revolt against all evil and injustice. Live your life with joyous expectation. Have hunger only for God’s love and mercy. Open your soul up to the idea of and responsibility for your own discernment to listen for and to answer God’s call. Seek the style and beauty of goodness and holiness. Allow yourself to be conscious of each impression of gentleness, softness, of hopefulness, of prayers, of reflection, caressing, encouraging—an emphasis, calm yet confident, contemplative and passionate, with serenity and loving humility. Sense the greatness of God’s love; allow all your labors to be an opportunity to praise and give thanks to God. Do not be obstinate and seek only definitions and answers; instead be mindful of your anxiety and nourish your questions; allow them to grow, to expand, to contract over time; let your questions change and mature with time, with prayer, with reflection. Seek silence. Seek forgiveness. Be compassion. Be Love. Pray, pray, pray and pray again.

--Pray the Rosary at least once a week. Find good faith inspiring books for reading and reflection. Create a life of humility, obedience, and charity. Concentrate only on improving the best qualities of your life; the love within your heart, the hope within your soul should be your guide. Be conscious of the presence of God within your life. Always show respect to God. Always show reverence for God. Keep good company. Pray, pray, pray. Remember the virtues.

Let the impression of your life be filled with the humility, obedience, charity of God’s loving humble servant.

Do not fear austerity; simplicity allows us to find and share our love for God. Let love be the emphasis of your life with him. Be conscious of every impression of charity, obedience, humility. Examine your philosophy, your ideas of self and community. Where do you position serving God?

A Long Afternoon Walk

Fresh and delicious thoughts and daydreams. A long afternoon walk. Thinking of dogwood and magnolia trees in the spring. A moment of reflection as I walk on the sidewalk away from my house. The sky is vague
preparing for night. My mind silently says little prayers; my mind is fringed with hope. There is something dazzling about Mass before dinner. Spiritual hunger can lead us to exquisite insights into love, charity, obedience; questions about virtue and goodness can lead to delicate revelations about how to be a humble servant of the Lord’s. Honest, simple prayer is necessary. Morality is necessary; decency is necessary. How wonderful some of the lawns with their hedges do appear. How wonderful it is to have the leisure to offer prayer to the Lord! How peaceful prayer can make us feel once we learn how to pray, how to meditate, how to be patient. Learn to avoid anxiety. Learn to pray with the simplicity and enthusiasm of faithful children. Contentment may follow such prayers when both the mind and soul are open and when both are clean and pure. God’s love for each one of us is boundless. Because of our own private individual sins we must simply confront our unworthiness and beg for forgiveness; no matter how good or holy we may believe we are, there is always some little stray thought or comment which keeps us human, keeps sin alive in all of us. We must pray for the wisdom to discover and understand this subtle obstacle to loving ourselves, our neighbors and our God. My mind remembers fields stretching for miles in each, fields on gently rolling hills, fields with wooden fences, fields alive and green. Sometimes our lives contain a hidden softness. And we can share delightful anecdotes about warm donuts, cold orange juice, missing buttons on wool coats. And we can always find time to pray to God. There is always work to be done; always volunteer work to be done. God’s love for us is boundless. In our hearts there is a desire to please God, to find our true vocation, to be a humble servant for God. All humans need a moment of silence, to reflect and to pray. How peaceful the moment is. The weather cold and crisp pleases me. And are you willing to proclaim your love for God. This January morning my mind allows me to see verdant meadows and blossoming orchards; to rest my eyes on the Gospels written on the clouds in the blue sky; to have Jesus Christ with me; to listen to his preaching, his parables; to be filled with a calm goodness. How wonderful the grass and trees are! How much gratitude and love I do feel, I do have. The days of trouble and uncertainty are too frequent but prayer teaches how to calmly accept each moment of chaos and difficulty. Prayer sometimes provides a second of blissful presentiment when we imagine the world to be peaceful, loving and fair. We must remember that it is our actions, our thoughts, our words which can create our happiness and peace. There is much goodness and innocence in the world to enchant and inspire our humility and charity. There is much grief in the world that needs our compassion, love, and prayers. We must not hide the miserable or ignoble things which life does present to us. We must accept them and offer them to God.

Reasons

How wonderful yesterday was,—I went to Mass and listened to the Archbishop’s homily, full of hope, but both goodness and holiness are to be cherished, protected, and encouraged. We all are born with them but we must not allow our hearts, minds, and souls to become fatigued by either carnal or secular thoughts and desires which can cloud or confuse our judgement.

I am in a state of returning inspiration because of the desire to write and photograph. I feel the need to be of service to God, to help. I am happiest when I am in the Cathedral, silently praying to God. I like the moments when I am silent and my mind is directed toward God, and my destiny is his destiny, his desire for me. I want to make myself available to him without questions, without hesitation, without doubt.

I want to live a life that is completely obedient to God.

What I have is hope; there are always reasons to pray to God.