“You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy.”—Psalm 16:11
Eleanor Roosevelt once said something that is very true: “Happiness is not something that we can directly acquire. It’s a by-product of something else. It seeps into our consciousness and emotions when we choose to do that right thing, the best thing.” We basically become happy when we do our best as parents or at work, or when we reach out to help someone, or fulfill our responsibilities, whether others notice it or not. Then suddenly, strangely, we are happy. Don’t go after happiness directly. It will elude you. Just try to be the best version of yourself. Do everything with peace and for the right reason and happiness will be there as a by-product.
Lord, teach me to live with love and happiness will follow. Amen.
“It [the mustard seed] is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs…”—Matthew 13:32
St. Francis de Sales wrote, “Even little actions are great when they are done well.” Anything we do for the right reason makes those small tasks great. Try always to have love for others, family, business, and a healthy love for oneself. Don’t sell short those small tasks that fill most of your days. Create a habit of looking for those simple things around the house, at work, or in the neighborhood that can be done simply, quietly, and with the power of great love. Don’t pass up the opportunities that are always there! Start with that small task in front of you now.
Lord, help me to see the value in small tasks. Amen.
Patience can be in short supply at this time of year, when everyone is too busy. Technology has speeded up our lives to the point that we notice when our internet connection is sluggish or the person in front of us in the grocery checkout has too many coupons. We don’t even know why we’re in such a hurry. We’ve begun to value speed for its own sake. And yet the things that really matter in life still take time and patience. We can’t speed up the growth of plants or animals or babies. We can’t speed up the time time it takes for healing, whether it’s our bodies or our spirits. And all these things are well worth the wait. Instead of hurrying, we need to find ways to nurture ourselves and one another during the waiting time. The refrain of Advent is “The Lord is near.” Sometimes it’s hard to believe this. We don’t get the answers we want when we pray, or at least we don’t get them immediately. This season can help us wrestle with the waiting time. While we wait for the perfection of the world in the second coming of Christ, we have the mystery of the Incarnation to guide us in making our world a little more ready. We can appreciate the small signs along the way to that perfect time and place. People of earlier generations were far more aware of the slow growth of nature. We can learn a valuable lesson in patience from observing the small signs of growth. Take a walk today and notice not the bare branches of the trees but the terminal buds that signal next spring’s leaves.
Slow me down, Lord. Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind. Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time. Give me, amid the confusion of the day, the calmness of the everlasting hills. Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of the singing streams that live in my memory. Help me to know the magical, restoring power of sleep. Teach me the art of taking minute vacations—of slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to pat a dog, to read a few lines from a good book.
Remind me each day of the fable of the hare and the tortoise, that I may know that the race is not always to the swift— that there is more to life than increasing its speed. Let me look upward into the branches of the towering oak and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well. Slow me down, Lord, and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life’s enduring values that I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny. Amen.
Why do we go to Mass every Sunday? Is it because of what we “get out of it”? Is it the way it makes us feel? Is it out of love for God? Or something even deeper and more profound?
Today, Fr. Mike explains the Church’s teaching on Sunday Mass obligation, and why this is the way that God has asked us to worship him.
2 Now John had heard in prison what Christ was doing and he sent his disciples to ask him, 3 ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to expect someone else?’ 4 Jesus answered, ‘Go back and tell John what you hear and see; 5 the blind see again, and the lame walk, those suffering from virulent skin-diseases are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life and the good news is proclaimed to the poor; 6 and blessed is anyone who does not find me a cause of falling.’ 7 As the men were leaving, Jesus began to talk to the people about John, ‘What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swaying in the breeze? No? 8 Then what did you go out to see? A man wearing fine clothes? Look, those who wear fine clothes are to be found in palaces. 9 Then what did you go out for? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet: 10 he is the one of whom scripture says: Look, I am going to send my messenger in front of you to prepare your way before you. 11 ‘In truth I tell you, of all the children born to women, there has never been anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.
Today is a wonderful day. Our Lord tells us, “I sent my messenger ahead of me.” Who is that messenger? That would be you and me by virtue of our baptism. We are called to proclaim the coming of Christ. Christ is coming soon as we know. We celebrate Him at Christmas during this time of Emmanuel (God is with us). How do we prepare the way for Him? First, we prepare ourselves. We cannot give what we do not have. I cannot do carpentry work. Why? I can’t use power tools…I’m terrible at it. I don’t have that gift. But we all have the gift to be holy. We clean our souls and fill them with Jesus, and we bring that to other people. How do we tell people? How can the deaf hear us and the blind see us? By seeing Christ in us. We bring the news of Christ by our actions or lack of actions and not by our words. Nobody says, “Please forgive me.” They say, “Yeah, I’m sorry; you know that.”
There is a famous Irish saying, “You do not have to go to every fight you are invited to.” You don’t have to do that. What is deadly to our soul? Sin. Leprosy was a deadly disease back then…a slow killer as is the unrepentant evil in us. Read the Catechism. When we sin, we ask for forgiveness. Do not apologize. It is not a sign of weakness as television tells us. An apology is for using the wrong fork at dinner. I have only one set of forks in my house, so I’m good. However, you don’t have to be like Patsy Cline, “I’m sorry, so sorry.” Shut-up! You hear this all the time, “I misspoke.” No, you lied. You didn’t misspeak. You lied. Name it. Say it. Claim it. You hear all these what I call “moral theology weasel words.” Every sin has a name…so name it. I did pass the Moral Theology course. You ask for forgiveness. “I have sinned,” be it culpably, knowingly, or by omission and just being an ignorant jerk. “I have sinned, and I am sorry. Please forgive me.” This is how we preach the Gospel. You’d be surprised at the look you get on people’s faces.
We preach the gospel; I get to do it here because I’m a priest. But my preaching means nothing if I don’t show it in my actions. That’s what people see. Many times, in the hospital, people have asked me, “Father, will you visit so-and-so? They are dying.” Are they Catholic? “No.” So, I visit the patient and say the Prayer for the Dying Soul. Sometimes nurses will page me and ask that I pray for a patient who is dying. The patients aren’t Catholic. The nurses aren’t Catholic. But because I showed up and visited them they will call me. The rules have changed at Atrium and nursing homes, but I had a couple of moles and spies who would tell me who was sick. Now they can’t do that, but I’m working on a new deal. It takes time to get new sources. People will see you by your actions. We pave the way for the Lord by preparing ourselves first. By preparing our souls first, we prepare the way of the Lord outside of ourselves.
Father’s Reflections:
My first blessing this morning was that I had mince meat pie and jello for breakfast. I’m living every man’s dream. Such is life without a wife. Yesterday we had the funeral for Cornelius Waxmuski, and I told the family that I never knew his first name. We called him “Waxi.” The funeral director informed me that there was a problem at the cemetery and that they needed 10 extra minutes. So, the vehicle procession to the cemetery was slowed down to 10 mph through the city. Nobody beeped their horns. It was fun. We don’t have to wear seat belts in a hearse. So, you get fringe benefits at a funeral. One of the good things about being in a small parish for a long time….you get to know the town and its people. And that is a true blessing. I feel for those priests who have big parishes and fight fires all the time. They go from one explosion to another in what we called in the military, “Quick Reaction Force.”
How will you apply this message to your life? _________________________________________
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