A Time for Salvation

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

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

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

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

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

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

In Your Prayers

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ash Wednesday in August

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

A Moment of Silence

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

A Moment

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

Modern life rewrites the rules, creates new victims.

This is a time when prayer, reflection are needed.

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

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

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

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

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

Prepare before Mass

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

The River

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