Flash Friday Fiction: Walls Between (A Parable of Sorts)

                                                

“New crowns for old ones!” –Benjamin Disraeli presents Queen Victoria the crown of India. Punch, 1876, by cartoonist John Tenniel.

This week’s challenge? A 150 word story (+/- 10 words) springing forth from the photo prompt and containing some thing about arrogance. 

Walls Between
By: WEGoss2

Vickie Brown’s momma told her, “Wishful hearts build walls of dreams,” but six dollars and Delta Bus Lines had built solid walls.

Built walls between now and the odor of his comfort and tentative touches from tender calloused hands stolen in the back of the Church, as she was lost in the ecstasy of a song.

Built walls between now and the tiny gold ring he had bought. It was to be love’s crown worn forever.

Built walls between now and the tears cried when he found her.

Built walls between now and him and those words he protected himself with, “a haughty eyed Jezebel, thinking you too good for me.”

She stares down at rings crowned in jewels. The path her heart takes is built between these walls; and, sometimes, between the walls of her dreams, she wishes for that tiny ring.

Built between the walls in downtown Memphis is a billboard proclaiming, “Vickie Brown: Queen of Mississippi Soul.”

Pre-ordination Retreat Reflection - Piety - WEGoss2

Piety

Call it joy,brothers, call it joy

these gifts of  the Holy Spirit: 

wisdom, understanding,

knowledge, counsel, 

fortitude, fear of the Lord

and piety,

nothing more

than the profound relationship

with Him.  It gives

our true fit to God.

It makes us firm, gives meaning

to our life in communion

with him. It is spirituality

in the most religious of ways

total trust in God, Piety.

Truthful felt

prayers with love

and simplicity of heart

finds belonging;

gentleness with a smile

the Holy Spirit gives us joy.

Piety’s honest gifts

rejoicing with the rejoicing,

weeping with the weeping,

closeness  to the anguished lonely

consoling the afflicted,  

receiving those in need.

Christ – isms makes us gentle.

makes us calm, patient

gives us peace with God

found in an inner room. Joy

difficulties are a crucible

of a burning heart

burning intensely for God

to purify, strengthen, true

piety refining  gentleness.

Truth speaks a

joyful witnesses of God.

His love found,

Lord in Truth,

service to neighbor

joy stuck in your throat

because of the tears;

gentleness with a smile

the Holy Spirit gives us joy.

Call it joy, brothers, call it joy.

A bruised flower, incense consumed

rewards with its perfume.
An unshakeable gift

the God of love, gives

all for good.

  

Piety introduces a man

to himself, and the purpose
of sanctity
when we find strength

in poised gentleness of the Creator.

Happiness sweeps

a perfect path of endurance

gentleness with a smile

the Holy Spirit gives us joy.

Piety is not a sanitized boxed-lunch God

or posed saintliness

but a usurper of tables,

hands feet sides pierced, touchable

tongues of fire; found in

an eternal whispered mystery

and our Father's steady arms

never forsakes His child.
as Christ, in Christ, through Christ in us

to the world around us;

gentleness with a smile

the Holy Spirit gives us in joy.

Reflection from Diaconal Pre-ordination Retreat - Dignity and Sin

Psalms 51:3-4 Acts 6:8

Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love; in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions.  Thoroughly wash away my guilt; and from my sin cleanse me.

Now Stephen, filled with grace and power, was working great wonders and signs among the people.

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The following is a brief reflection based on Fr. Matthew Long’s reflection on ministry and the diaconate.

Today we learned about the true power of ministry. It was explained to us, that this power is what deacons and all ministers of Christ are given.  It is a power from God that we have in common with Jesus. It is also something every Christian has; the power to give a person dignity.

Jesus miracles of healing the sick, casting out demons, turning water to wine, and feeding thousands are just a few of the divine miracles.  However, Jesus also performed many great works with the humanly attainable acts of love and caring. Jesus forgave sins and made plain the effect of this forgiveness. Forgiveness brings the forgiven back into the community. In forgiveness, Jesus gave dignity to those who had become outcasts. Jesus did this with Zacchaeus, the tax collector of Jericho; Jesus did this with the adulterous woman; Jesus did this with the Samaritan woman. All of them were ostracized by those around them. 

In his reflection, Fr. Long said that people who fall into sinfulness are looking for love. We can see this looking for love in all three of these three people. They were just looking in the wrong place.

Since the beginning of time, human nature is the same in all people; we are all looking for a loving relationship with God. Everyone has a god, something they worship; it just may not be the true God. It was true for the people Jesus found; yet, Jesus gave them the love they were looking for and in it they found God. Jesus gave them dignity.

This is what the first deacons were chosen to do. They were to bring justice to the Christian community and restore dignity to those who felt they were outcasts. Justice is giving a person what is their due. This includes dignity. Stephen's justice, dignity, and forgiveness that brought people back to the community could the works of great wonder accomplished in the grace and power of God.

It is said that Adam’s sin was the loss of justice.  In social teachings we learn that the foundation of justice is human dignity. Human nature seeks dignity and this has not changed. Jesus’ message remains the same.  If justice is lost then so is dignity and sin cause us to loose both.  The true power of Christian ministry is the forgiveness that restores humanity to a place of justice and dignity. Our message like Stephen's is that Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins to restore justice and dignity; and, bring us to the Father.   

Prayer:

Christ Jesus, Forgive us our sins as our Lord and Savior who died for our sins, Christ Jesus have mercy on us. Lead us to your reconciliation.  In the grace and power that are gifts of the Father, allow us to do his work in the world. Amen

What is the Deacon's Ministry - From Pre-Ordination Retreat

Acts 6;3,6 (NABRE)

Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task; They presented these men to the apostles who prayed and laid hands on them.

A lot of the following is information came from our first night talk given by Fr. Matthew Long. It is paraphrased and not the entire talk, which was truly inspiring.  

The Church and God call the deacon to his ministry. God calls us to the heart.  The Church, the people of Christ, calls from their ranks those that they see as filled with the traits of wisdom, faith, and filled with the Holy Spirit to be their deacons. 

St. Stephen was the first deacon.  He was chosen from among the disciples along with seven other men to work with the apostles and work with believers.  He was also the first martyr.  Stephen was the first martyr because he did what he was chosen to do by the Church.  He served as minister to the people.  He became less so that Christ could become more as he preach the gospel and worked for Christ.  Even in his martyrs death, he was doing nothing more than being a Christian.  He kept his faith until the end, forgiving those who executed him. 

Stephen preaching at his trial was simple, it was the story that he knew.  The story that every one of the people there knew as good Jews was what Stephen told.   The only difference was he showed that it was continued in Jesus Christ. Even though he was martyr, his simple preaching touched someone.  Saul of Tarsus was one of the witnesses.  It changed him so much that he had a vision of the risen Christ.  He became Paul and was responsible for converting and bringing most of the Gentile world to Jesus.

Now, the diaconal candidates from the Diocese of Shreveport are here to become deacons.  Maybe, we will not end up as martyrs like Stephen, but we must still surrender our life to Christ.  In Holy Orders we are giving ourselves totally to God.  We are to be Christ’s ministers here on earth, to love like Christ, to be like Christ, to touch others like Christ in the name of Christ.

Each of us knows we are called, we feel it in our hearts.  But we will need prayers of those around us.  Let us pray for the sixteen diaconal candidates from the Diocese of Shreveport who will be at a pre-ordination retreat this week. This retreat is also a silent retreat.  We are here not to hear each other talk, but to listen for God’s voice.  We are to listen for God’s direction in the silence and listen for that small whisper to our hearts.

The retreat attendees are: Chris Dominique, David Nagem, Mike Wise, Jack Lynch, Tom Deal, Robert Ransom, Mike Whitehead, Charles Thomas, Marc Vereen, Bill Kleinpeter, Orlando Batongbakal, Ricardo Rivera, Bill Goss, Scott Brandle, Danny Lemoine, Steve Lehr

Please pray for the retreat leaders: Father Matthew Long, Deacon Clary Nash, and Deacon Oscar Hannibal.  

Prayer: 

Let us be so in love with God that we breathe, think, speak of that alone. Amen

Father's Day and Holy Trinity Sunday

John 3:16

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

As fathers and parents, shouldn't we love our sons and daughters so much that we show them Christ and give them a life with God so they might have eternal life?  Isn't it a shame that we are too stubborn to do this? Moses spoke to God about those he lead our of Egypt, “This is indeed a stiff-necked people.” I  think it is of our own stiff necked attitude that our priest, Fr. Job speaks of during mass when he says; “It is time to be serious about God.” 

We are serious about so much in life.  We are serious about our job.  We are serious about our family.  We are serious about our stuff. Do we have that same attitude for the importance of God in our lives? 

The Israelites called God; the God of our Fathers. He was the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and of Jacob (Israel). I actually think in the modern world we have lost this to some extent. We all look for a personal relationship with Christ, but Christ is the one who shows us to the Father,  who is rich in kindness and fidelity. Maybe we've lost that idea. On Fathers Day, I  suggest that maybe this relationship with God is being lost because we do not show our children the God of their fathers.

In my little church, I look around and I see families. I see fathers, mothers, and children coming together to worship. So many more families come to mass, than even ten years ago. It makes me proud to see men being fathers and the religious head of their household. I see fathers showing their children the importance of a relationship with God. I see parents on their knees praying.  I see them partaking of the Eucharist. I see fathers being the family’s religious leader as they worship God.

However, at the same time, I still see children come to the parish school of religion without either parent.  I see mothers alone with children at mass, because the father did not come.  The mothers makes excuses: he is not Catholic, he works hard all week, and he plays golf or hunts or fishes. The father's excuse is "I love my family but I work hard all week so the weekend is the only time I have for myself." They work hard but forget the most important job.  The job that shows their families where to find the God of their fathers?

It is time to be serious about God! We worship a Triune God. We are to have a relationship to God through Christ in the Holy Spirit and worship with our families in this type of a relationship. Like Christ let let those important to you see a life built on prayer, worship, and love of god. Like Christ let those you love see you pray and teach them to pray. Like Christ let your family see you ask God for help. Live a life in God by showing your sons and daughter how to truly worship God. As fathers and parents shouldn't we love our sons and daughters so much that we show then Christ and give them a life with God so they might have eternal life?

Prayer –

Dear God, as a parent give me strength to show the love and unity of the Holy Trinity in me to my family.  Give me the unity to lead my family in worship of you God as members of your Church a unified people in the Holy Spirit through Christ Jesus. We pray that our families know you and we witness to them to all those around us by our lives.  Amen

PRAYER’S OF THE FAITHFUL, HOLY TRINITY SUNDAY JUNE 15, 2014 - FATHER’S DAY

For the Church may we joyfully proclaim Christ, who leads all to the Father in the Holy Spirit,

We Pray to the Lord,

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For Pope Francis, Bishop Duca, and all who proclaim the gospel, may their message of one God in three persons bring unity and harmony to the nations of the world 

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For fathers, grandfathers, dads, papaws, stepfathers, adoptive, foster, and those in the role of father to know the strength and love of God, the Father

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For the unity of love of the Trinity be reflected as a visible sign in the love between the spouses and between parents and the children. 

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For our families and community to live in peace with an abundance of love and care for our children, family, and friends and in generous acts of kindness and justice,   

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For the poor, the sick, and all who suffer to be filled with the life of the Trinity and experience the loving presence of God’s people,

For all who have died to share the life of the Trinity forever,

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For all the members of our family especially those struggling, those on our prayer list, and for our own intentions.

We Pray to the Lord, Lord Hear Our Prayer

Flash Friday Fiction: The Two Baskets (A Parable)

“Rose Biodo, Philadelphia, 10 years old. Working 3 summers, minds baby and carries berries, two pecks at a time.” Photo by Lewis Hine, National Archives public domain.

This week’s challenge? A 150 word story (+/- 10 words) springing forth from the photo prompt and containing some thing about friendship. 

The Two Baskets (A Parable)

 - WEGoss2

Feeling the warmth of the earth on her bare feet, Sophie collects the things that will be needed for gifts. She carries baskets from Father finding each item with innocent wisdom. 

She gathers two baskets. Her fingers become stained as she selects the human and divine; her tongue already stained by both.

The fall is sudden and the baskets spill, mixing the fruits of creation and exposing each ones gratuitous offerings. Blowing on stinging knees, Sophie sees in this chaotic mixture an intrinsic greatness.

The confusion of the spill is gathered, along with a little soil of mortal life, and placed back into the baskets. Bringing the two baskets to Father, she smiles at the promise of gifts in multitudinous interpretations.

He makes many gifts, some sweet-tart, with the texture of conflict and agitation. Others are sweet and smooth. Sophie is not to feed the babies she cares for too much; they are still young. Sophie then admires the Father’s ultimate gift, the friendship of the human and divine breathed upon the Rose.

Want to read the other marvelously inventive entries? Head on over to Flash Friday Fiction and check them out – or enter your own!

Build by Leaving Your Tools Behind

Colossians 2:6-7 (NABRE)

So, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him, rooted in him and built upon him and established in the faith as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving

There is a story about a war veteran who was having a very hard time in his life. He had went to battle a leader of men and returned as a hero that was looked up to by many. After his return from service, it became the story of a veteran suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD). In this suffering, he tried to remove his pain and self medicated with alcohol, only to developed dependency problems. He soon lost his wife to illness and his problems only became worse. His only son went to live with relatives and his drinking caused him to lose contact.  

Later in life as the veteran was seeking help for his addiction and PTSD, he unsuccessfully tried to contact his son. His son only remembering the heartbreak of his fathers drinking pushed him away. A close friend from his military service intervened trying to help his former commander. The friend spoke with the son, who still refused to meet with his father. 

The veteran thought it was too late to repair his relationship with his son. The injured warrior was ready to give up; afraid that his son would never accept him.  The friend told him that he was a good man and his son was a good man.  The friend told him you were built with good tools and whether you know it or not you passed those good tools down to your son. In the end, the son came to his father.

Today we celebrated the life of a dear lady who passed away. She was wife, a mother, a teacher and a faithful Catholic. When people remembered her, they spoke of how she always gave of herself.  Even though they did not phrase the same way, she was a builder who left her tools behind. She loved to learn and shared that love of learning with her students. She left part of her tools with so many students.  She was an advocate for abuse children, she left part of her self with these children. In all her works of charity, she left part of her tools behind. Even, her two son-in-laws spoke of the tools that she had passed on to her daughters to make them strong women.  

There is another story of passing on of the tools that build a person. It is found in the story of Jesus. It may be in a way that is not often considered.

Jesus, the son of God was also raised as the son of the earthly man, Joseph.  Joseph the carpenter, who raised him, provided for him, gave him a roof, brought him to temple, and taught him to be a carpenter.  Joseph taught Jesus how to be a good man.  He taught him all he knew about being a devout Jew. Joseph walked in the way of God in the Jewish faith and this is the faith that Joseph, the carpenter, taught Jesus.  A good father passed down the meager tools that he had as a man to the Son of God. 

Today churches are complaining about the world being post Christian.  Churches worry that their congregations are graying and shrinking.  This could be because to many of the people responsible for building up the faith did not build it as they were taught.  They do not teach a faith abounding in Thanksgiving.  They did not have the correct tools to pass on.  

But with Christ Jesus, it is never too late.  Rooted in him and built in him, the tools have been left in us. Take those tools and go work with others. You will always leave a little bit of those behind. Even the smallest tool can begin the building a new life.

Prayer –

Lord let your wisdom lead us to use the tools of faith you gave us.  Let us be generous in serving you so that the tools you gave us may be used in our service through our life, our thoughts, and our actions.  May we leave a faith with those we touch, so that they may walk in the newness of life found in you. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Friends, Prayers, and Ministry

Acts 9:27 Acts 11:25,26

Then Barnabas took charge of him (Saul) and brought him to the apostles, and reported to them how on the way he had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus.

Then he (Barnabas) went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch.  For a whole year they met with the church and taught a large number of people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christian.

*****

At my church there is a quiet little ministry that speaks boldly in the name of Jesus. A ministry that comes together to knit and pray. It is the Prayer Shawl Ministry. With each click of the knitting needle, prayers are said for the healing and intentions of those who suffer. Prayers are given for healing in those who have requested prayers.  Each prayer is given in love by the members of the ministry for those they may have never met.

The knitted prayer shawls are made to comfort and go over a sick person's shoulders. The completed shawl is packaged with a prayer printed on a piece of paper and a miraculous medal. The shawls are then blessed.  When someone in our community, a church member, a family member, a friend, or just someone in need is suffering, the prayer shawl team is there praying for them as they knit. This ministry is made in faith with the click of needles and the sound of prayers.

The prayer shawls are available when there is a need.  When someone contacts the church, about an illness and a ministers visit, the shawl is brought during this personal visit. The minster will ask for permission to place the shawl on the person and pray.  The shawl represents all the prayers of the ministry team and the community.  

The prayer shawl is also an important part of our healing masses.  On the last Tuesday of the month, a small group of believers gather for a special healing mass. Those present announce their intentions and who needs prayers.  At the end of mass, the prayer shawls are made available to those who need one. If the person in need of healing is at mass, the priest and people will gather around, lay hands on the person and pray.  

The prayer shawls are used in our ministry at the local war veteran's home. They are made available to the elderly veterans and their families. These shawls are a remembrance, prayers, and appreciation for what they gave to protect so many. 

It is a quiet and powerful ministry of this small group of friends. Christian friends coming together in ministry. Prayer and asking God for his help to those in need. It is kind of what Barnabas and Saul did coming together in ministry. It is a nice coincident that this ministry is lead by a lady named Christian.

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Prayer:

Lord Jesus, In our Christian friends we find support and encouragement.  Give us a strong community to grow in your love.  Help all believers to serve,  witness and preach to the world united in Christian friendship.  Amen

Sharing God's Breath in a Prayer

Psalm 104:29-30

When you hide your face, they panic.  Take away their breath, they perish and return to the dust.  Send forth your spirit, they are created and you renew the face of the earth.

Being the fact that I almost died from pneumonia in 2007, I can totally relate to the symbolism of breath representing the Holy Spirit, God's presence to us in this world. These two verses truly represent my experience. I know that in God's breath is life.

One night I woke up and I could not catch my breath. I had went to the doctor earlier that day and explained that I felt bad, run down, and just could not take a deep breath.  I also had a pain in my shoulder area and my upper back. I thought I was maybe having heart problems. He said that I was fat and out of shape.  He gave me a muscle relaxer for the pain in my shoulder.

That night I woke up and could not breath. My wife rushed me to the emergency room.  My right lung had collapsed. The other lung was full  of fluid. It was not a good prognosis. I never panicked, I was actually calm.

A doctor, who I had never met before came in before anesthesia and surgery to explained what was going to take place. Then he asked me if I knew Jesus Christ. He asked if he could pray with me. Not pray for me, pray with me. He asked God to protect me, heal me, and be with him as he treated me. That experience was one of the most powerful witness for Christ I have ever had given to me. Through a doctor's witness, God was breathing his spirit on me. I never saw the doctor again.  Still,  I was not afraid

I did tell the surgery team to make sure that they had all the XXL tools.  They said no problem. However, when they were operating they found out that none of the tubes and surgery supplies were long enough. So they had to send for additional supplies while I was on the table. It made the surgery quite a bit longer than it should have been. This I may have been concerned about, if I knew about it.

I woke up on a ventilator. My mind rested. I was able to be quite and listened for God's voice. I saw how God had been with me throughout my life.  No matter how bad I thought things were, God never hid from me. On that ventilator, I did not panic because I truly saw how God was in my life and had been there throughout my life.

God's breath is his spirit. God's breath allows and sends forth his Word. The Word is Jesus Christ.  In our witness of Christ we bring the breath of God to the world. Something as simple as praying with a stranger can be the greatest witness of God's breath in the world that we can share.

Payer:

Lord God, Do not hide your face from us, send the Holy Spirit to renew us and the entire world.  Amen.

This Little Light of Mine, I'm going to Let it Shine

John 5:16

Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.

"This Little Light of Mine, I'm Going to let it Shine." "This Little Light of Mine" is a great children's song written by Harry Dixon Loes. It is a lesson we teach to children in a song but sometimes as adults maybe we fail to let our light shine. 

What is this little light? Jesus tells us by his life and also in the beatitudes. 

This verse from the Gospel of John comes after Jesus had just taught the crowd and his disciples the beatitudes.  The beatitudes are interpreted many different ways, but before anything remember that Jesus was teaching about the Father and about the kingdom of Heaven. This is a message of the beatitudes.

The beatitudes are promises.  If you are completely dependent on God, do not morn because God is sending you comfort (Jesus) and the land (kingdom of heaven). If you depend on God and look for the kingdom of heaven, you will be harassed, insulted, and persecuted; but, we are to remain constant in our faith.  We are not be the instigators of conflict; but, ambassadors of Christ's love. In all of this, if you hunger and live for righteousness (the way God intended all to live) then be happy because you will be rewarded in heaven.

In this passage Jesus tells us that living these beatitudes should not be a life hidden. The beatitudes should not be a life lived without enthusiasm. The beatitudes should be a life that you witness everyday by letting the light that is Christ show forth from you.

It is not easy to let this light shine. When I was younger, I was asked to name two of the beatitudes. I couldn't give an answer. True, I was caught off guard and in a stressful situation. At that time, maybe, I did not necessarily live my life by the beatitudes. I let what others think and what the world expected block the light of Christ in me. It was not that I was ashamed, but sometimes "I thought" living the beatitudes got in the way of being a success. As I have lived my life, I have learned that what is the world is not the most important. Glorifying God is what is important and God has been good to me.  

I truly think that what we truly are will rise to the surface as we live our life.  It is through the entirety of our lives that we let the light shine or we keep it hidden.  We are not perfect, I'm not perfect. The light of Christ should never be obstacle in this world.  We should let shine in us and let everyone know the source of that light, Jesus Christ.

Prayer:  

Lord Jesus, in you we find the file that make our lights shine.  You are where the source of love that enables our good deeds.  Let us offer all that we do in the name of Jesus Christ to glorify the Father, through the Holy Spirit, one God forever. Amen

How We Learn To Be Good

Romans 14:7 (Jerusalem Bible 1966)

“The life and death of each of us has its influence on others”

This verse is the definition of being a good parent.  A good parent gives all to provide for their children. A good parent strives to teach their children the difference between right from wrong. A good parent wants what is best for their children when they are young and when they are grown.

The African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child” holds the truth of this verse, especially in today’s world. The parent’s home is where we learn our first and most important lessons.  In a virtuous home, we are born to what is good and just. Sadly for some, goodness must be learned outside the home. This is why it takes a village. Learning to be good, when we are not born to it, is taught by the village.

It takes a lot of courage for those in the village to be a positive influence to others. In today’s world, the village is expected to let people live in their own interpretation of life, morality, and virtue. It is through example that the village teaches. Our goodness and love of our faith is an example to the world. This is where we teach the most important lessons.

So I would like to introduce a word that most of us probably don’t use everyday - edification. Edification is the lives of the saints. It means to instruct a person morally or intellectually. Christians are called to be a village. We are called to edify others as parents and as the village.

Prayer:

Almighty God, 
Give us the grace to be examples through our daily acts and our lives. Let all we do be an example of Christ’s love in the world. 

We ask this through Jesus Christ, your Son, who with you and the Holy Spirit are One God, eternal. Amen

Let the children come to Me

I'm not the Conqueror of the World

1 John 5:5 - "Who, then, is conqueror of the world? The one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."

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John wrote this at a time when being a Christian required courage.  The Christians were being prosecuted for their faith.  John was promising them that by believing in Jesus they would be able to conquer the world. They may not conquer the world in this life but in believing in Jesus Christ they would conquer this world.

What am I supposed to conquer? To be honest with you, I don’t think that I am supposed to conquer the world. I don’t think that I am supposed to conquer my neighborhood. Being married, I know that I am not going to conquer my house. So what am I supposed to conquer?

I think today, the world we are to conquer is fear.  As Christians today, it is in fear that we are defeated. I will state that again, fear defeats us. Fear has crippled us as Christians. In fear we say “I would like to do more for people but I just can’t do anything,” or “I would like to be more involved in church, but I have no talent.” It’s not that you can’t. It’s not that you don’t have talent.  It’s because you fear.  It’s a fear of failure or fear of what other people think

The thing each of us must remember is that we all fear something. Our encounters with fear throughout our lives affect us and our response to that fear can leave us weak. We are called to conquer not just the fear, but our response when we face that fear. We conquer fear in our faith.

We are all afraid of failure. God says “Fear not for I am with you.” If God asks you to do something, you will be able to do it. If God calls you to his service, God gives you the talent for that service. God says, “I am with you.” God is with us and that means that God can use what we fear the most and make it our greatest gift.

When I was eleven years old, I was asked to ride with my aunt to my grandmother’s house. It was a 50 mile one way trip on a two lane rural highway. She was going after she got off work at 10:00 p.m. and my aunt did not want to be on the road alone, so I was sent along.

As we drove, there was no moon and the road was deserted.  We were actually lucky the road was empty.  At about the half-way point was a railroad viaduct. On this bridge, my aunt had an epileptic seizure. I reached over stomped on the brake and guided the car to the opposite side of the road. I was scared. 

This was before cell phones and there were no houses within sight.  I didn’t know how to drive. My aunt wouldn’t let me drive. She kept saying, “Billy, don’t tell your momma, please don’t tell your momma.”  It took us about 2 hours to drive the last 25 miles.

As I grew older, my greatest fear would be that I would date someone who had seizures. In high school and college, I had friends who dated girls with epilepsy. I had this unrealistic idea that only girls and women had seizures.  And I did not want to be in a relationship with a person who suffered from this for the rest of my life. 

I met a girl, fell in love, dated and then she became my wife. Eight months after we got married, she had her first epileptic seizure. We have been married for 29 years and I still see the pretty little eighteen year old girl I married. 

God uses our fears for his greatness. I believe that I had always felt some call to ministry but I never thought it would be as a Catholic Deacon. Because of my wife, I became Catholic. Because of her epilepsy, I prayed a lot and have had to put all my trust in God. I heard his call clearer than ever.

Through God’s grace and my belief in Jesus Christ, I have conquered one of the fears in my world. I have other fears. I think I am going to be finding these fears in my ministry as a deacon. God has called me to go and do his work. I'm not the conqueror of the world, my neighborhood, or my home. Christ called me to work in his battle for the world, in what I feared the most.

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Prayer: God, you give us strength to conquer our fears in this world, you give to us the ability to do your will.  Allow us to see this in ourselves, restore our lives without fear and give us strength found in Jesus, the Son of God; Lord, anoint your people. Amen.

Getting Past Being Told We Are Naked

Genesis 3:9-11 (NABRE) The LORD God then called to the man and asked him: Where are you? He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid.” Then God asked: Who told you that you were naked?

Acts 2:39 (NABRE) "For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.”

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Living in the promise of Jesus seems simple. It is a promise made to the entire world. A promise evidenced in love that is eternal and brought again to the world in Jesus. "Living in" the promise is easy.  But, it is in God's call to us where we are "living out" that promise.

Listening to God's call is the hard part. Like Adam, we tend to hide from God, ashamed of our naked sinfulness. God knows our thoughts, our deeds, and all we will do. God knows the scarcity of love in the world.  God still calls; to hear his call, stop listening to the one who told us we were naked.

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Prayer:

Lord Jesus, Send your saving power to the world. Holy Spirit help us to answer God’s call. Let us answer in simple ways by serving our neighbor, doing good, and building a community of love. Amen

I Sit and Think of God.

I sit and think of God. I think as I count my breaths and see in these God’s greatness and generosity. I find it in every breath that God gives me. This same greatness and generosity was given to the first man. In creation, God breathed his breathe into humanity. 

God gives me, his breath. God’s breath exists in the air that I breathe. The air a miracle of different gas molecules mixed in the right ratio so that when it enters my lungs, my body takes from this miraculous mixture what it needs. It is God’s breath that keeps me alive, makes by brain function, keeps my body warm, and allows me to share in the magnificence of God.

How does this share in the magnificence of God?  Think about it, if I were a person who did not believe in God, it would be easy to say "all of this the air, my breath, my thoughts are just the result of acts of randomness." In randomness, I evolved from choice stock that was best adapted to meet the demands of the environment. 

But if this is so, then how come man has become man, and why did only man became man?  How come dolphins that live in the oceans do not have the need for doctors or lawyers or inventors? How come horses do not have great wars with other horses? How come lions or tigers or bears don’t rule the world? These beast are the strongest.

It is said that it was man’s cunning and his intellect has made him master of the earth.  If that is so, then why do we have such a vast difference in people?  If it is cunning, then why do we have athletes and warriors?  If it is brawn that makes us superior then why do we have intellectuals? If one makes us strong would it not make sense that evolution would evolve the other out of existence? If we are truly so smart that we deny and try to prove that there is no God, then why is there still suffering, pain, wars, and evil? If we do not need God, then why is there such a thing as ethics and morals?  If man is his own master then why is there immorality and lack of ethics? 

It is the magnificence of God that made things in the order that it is. God made the air so that we could breath and then shared his breath with us.

I look at the beauty of the world and I enjoy it and it touches my heart. I breath in the air, my lungs are full and I taste his glory.  In the coolness of the water, I am refreshed my his forgiveness. In all the necessities that God gives us, God also gave us Jesus Christ. God gave us his word which exists through his breath. In Christ, God is the source of all forgiveness and grace, the fresh air of our lives. In Christ we see how important we are to God, like our breath is important to us.  In Christ, we appreciate the water of baptism, the breath of the Holy Spirit, and the nourishment that is communion with Christ, being one with the son and the father.

I sit and think of God. Maybe my thoughts are incoherent. Maybe my thoughts are rambling. But to truly express the magnificence of God in words is impossible. Maybe I can express the magnificent of God in the air, water, and nourishment that gives us life.  In all of these we have gifts from God. In all of these is God’s creation. In all of these we find life. In God we find the eternity that exist in the moment we experience all of these things.

It is God’s magnificence that made these things in the order that it is. God gave us creation to keep and protect, but we disobeyed. God asks us to love him, but we deny that God exists. Even in humanity’s disobeying and denying all that God gave, God does not take back his breath.