Freedom isn't Free

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,

and then he stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform

So young, so tall, so proud,

With hair cut square and eyes alert,

He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought how many men like him

Had fallen through the years.

How many died on foreign soil?

How many mothers' tears?

How many pilots' planes shot down?

How many died at sea?

How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?

No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of TAPS one night,
When everything was still

I listened to the bugler play

And felt a sudden chill.

I wondered just how many times

That TAPS had meant "Amen,"

When a flag had draped a coffin

Of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children,

Of the mothers and the wives,

Of fathers, sons and husbands

With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard

At the bottom of the sea

Of unmarked graves in Arlington.

No, freedom isn't free.

- Kelly Strong

Memorial Day

We remember with gratitude this day all those who lost their lives in service for our country. We also remember those men and women who have served or who are serving our country in Military service. We, who enjoy our freedom, are grateful for you today and always.

Presence of the Trinity

“It seems to me that I have found my heaven on earth, because my heaven is you, my God, and you are in my soul. You in me, and I in you – may this be my motto. What a joyous mystery is your presence within me, in that intimate sanctuary of my soul where I can always find you, even when I do not feel your presence. Of what importance is feeling? Perhaps you are all the closer when I feel you less.”

~ Elizabeth of the Trinity​

We Walked Among the Crosses

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Every Sunday during Mass we recite the Nicene Creed. Most of us are so familiar with the creed that we can rattle it off without giving the words we are saying any thought. First written at the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325 the Nicene Creed was revised at the Council of Constantinople in 381 and again at the Council of Chalcedon in 450. This creed defines what we believe as Christians. It is the only Christian creed accepted by the Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and all the major Protestant Churches.

In the Nicene Creed the church fathers formalized the doctrine of the Trinity. Today as we celebrate the Solemnity of The Holy Trinity, we should give special consideration to the Creed and think about what we are affirming. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us “The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith and of Christian life. God alone can make it known to us by revealing himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit” CCC 261. Every time we recite the Creed we affirm our belief that we believe in one God. We affirm our belief that in this one God there are three totally distinct persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each of these persons is God and yet there is only one God.

Although the concept of the Trinity is almost impossible to explain, it is after all a mystery, we experience God as a loving parent who sacrificed his only Son for us and who will never abandon us. We experience God as Son, the human face of God, through the Eucharist, the body and blood of Jesus Christ and through the other sacraments. We experience God as the Holy Spirit through the gifts of wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel (or right judgment), fortitude (the courage all of us need), piety (mature and proper reverence), fear of the Lord (a sense of wonder and awe) and through our own church family.

As you go through this week, consider the Trinity, the core of our spiritual lives, and thank God for finding “delight in the human race"(Proverbs 8: 31).

Father all-powerful,

Christ Lord and Savior,

Spirit of Love.

You reveal yourself in the depths of our being,

drawing us to share in your life and your love.

One God, three Persons,

be near to the people formed in your image,

close to the world your love brings to life.

We ask you this, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

one God, true and living, forever and ever.

Amen

Grace

Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It strikes us when we walk through the empty valley of a meaningless and empty life. It strikes us when, year after year, the longed for perfection of life does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage.

Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks through our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying, “You are accepted. You are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you and the name of which you do not know.

Do not ask for the name now, perhaps you will know it later.

Do not try to do anything, perhaps later you will do much.

Do not seek for anything,

Do not perform anything,

Do not intend anything.

Simply accept the fact you are accepted.”

If that happens to us, we experience grace.

A Basket of Water

The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible. His grandson, who wanted to be just like him, tried to imitate him in any way he could.

One day the grandson asked, "Papa, I try to read the Bible just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do?" The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said, "Take this coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water." The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before he could get back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, "You will have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again.

This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was "impossible to carry water in a basket," and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You can do this. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got far at all. The boy scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, "See Papa, it's useless!"

"So you think it is useless?" the old man said. "Look at the basket." The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it was clean. "Son, that's what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it will change you from the inside out."

The Great Attraction

This is the great attraction today:
to reach the highest contemplation
while sharing in the life of every person,
being one among many.

I would say more:
to merge oneself with the crowd
so as to allow the divine
to penetrate it,
like wine
penetrates a piece of bread.

I would even say more:
as sharers in God’s plans for humanity,
to place points of light within the crowd,
sharing shame, hunger, troubles,
and brief joys with our neighbour.

The attraction today,
as in all times,
is Jesus and Mary.

The highest conceivable expression
of the human and the divine.
The Word of God, a carpenter’s son;
the Seat of Wisdom, a mother at home.​

Chiara Lubich, Meditations, New City, London, 2005, p. 14-15

Paradoxes of Catholicism

Allow the Holy Spirit

Of course, the greatest victory that the Spirit can give us is victory over ourselves. If we could be changed within, if all those destructive thoughts and habits within could somehow be dispelled, then we could handle our circumstances. Then we would be powerful indeed.

Dwight L. Moody once demonstrated the principle like this: "Tell me," he said to his audience, "how can I get the air out of the tumbler I have in my hand?" One man said, "Suck it out with a pump." The evangelist replied, "That would create a vacuum and shatter it. Finally, after many futile suggestions, Moody picked up a pitcher and filled the glass with water. "There," he said, "all the air is now removed." He then explained that victory for the child of God does not come by working hard to eliminate destructive thoughts and habits, but rather by allowing the Holy Spirit to take full possession.

So what are you troubled about? The future? God has it under His control. The past? Our sins have been thrown into the deepest regions of the sea by the death of Christ on the cross never to be retrieved. The present? There is a power that is available to all who would call on His name.

Black and White

To live in the "Black and White" areas of life - following all the rules - is often easier than living with tension. Some people hide within the rules and “shoulds” of life. But the essence of life cannot always be found by coloring within the lines. Life is not always so cut and dry, not always so easy as just following the rules. God is more often than not encountered in the gray areas of life, where things are not so clear or shiny or new or clean. Often God is in the margins and shadows and murky areas of life and relationships - right where we live.

Solemnity Of Pentecost Sunday

Pentecost means 50th day. In the Old Testament it is an ancient Jewish festival celebrating the new grain of the harvest first mentioned in Exodus 23:14-17, Exodus 34:22 and Leviticus 23:15-21. For Christians Pentecost marks the birthday of the universal church. It was on Pentecost, fifty days after Passover and the resurrection of Jesus, that God fulfilled the promise to send the Holy Spirit to be our Advocate. Infused with the Holy Spirit all the people in the upper room changed from timid, frightened people into courageous men and women announcing the Good News about the mighty works of God.

The wonder of Pentecost is that it is not a single historic event. The Holy Spirit continues to be active in our world and in our Church and in our lives. At baptism we become members of the Body of Christ through purification from sin and new birth in the Holy Spirit. At confirmation the bishop anoints us with the Oil of Chrism to increase the gifts of the Holy Spirit. When we receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, we, like the apostles, acquire the courage we need to proclaim the good news, defend our faith and act as witnesses to Christ in our everyday lives.

The Holy Spirit is part of our everyday lives. St. John tells us in his gospel that the Holy Spirit gives us life (6:63); is our teacher (14:26) and is our guide to truth (16:3). St. Paul writes that the Holy Spirit makes us sons and daughters of God (Rm. 8:15); intercedes for us when we cannot pray (Rm. 8:26-27); makes us aware of the goodness of God (1 Co. 2:12) and gives us all unique gifts (1 Co. 12:4-11).

The Holy Spirit is alive and working in our world through us today. Jesus says in Matthew 7:16, “By their fruits you will know them.” The fruit of the Spirit, according to St. Paul is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23). Does the world recognize you as a child of the Holy Spirit?

The following is an Act of Consecration to the Holy Spirit written by Pope Leo XIII:

Divine Spirit of light and love, 

I consecrate my mind and heart and will 

to You for time and eternity. 

May my mind be open to Your divine inspirations 

and to the teachings of the Church, 

whose infallible guide you are. 

May my heart be filled with love of God and of my neighbor 

and my will conformed to the will of God. 

May my whole life be a faithful imitation of the life 

and virtues of Christ our Lord to Whom, 

with the Father and You, 

be honor and glory forever.

Amen.

It is No Secret

The chimes of time ring out the news,
Another day is through.
Someone slipped and fell.
Was that someone you?

You may have longed for added strength,
Your courage to renew.
Do not be disheartened,
For I have news for you.

It is no secret what God can do.
What He's done for others, He'll do for you.
With arms wide open, He'll pardon you.
It is no secret what God can do.

There is no night for in His light
You never walk alone.
Always feel at home,
Wherever you may go.

There is no power can conquer you
While God is on your side.
Take Him at His promise,
Don't run away and hide.

It is no secret what God can do.
What He's done for others, He'll do for you.
With arms wide open, He'll pardon you.
It is no secret what God can do.

Carl Stuart Hamblen 1950

A New Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the people I cannot change,
which is pretty much everyone,
since I’m clearly not you, God.
At least not the last time I checked.

And while you’re at it, God,
please give me the courage
to change what I need to change about myself,
which is frankly a lot, since, once again,
I’m not you, which means I’m not perfect.
It’s better for me to focus on changing myself
than to worry about changing other people,
who, as you’ll no doubt remember me saying,
I can’t change anyway.

Finally, give me the wisdom to just shut up
whenever I think that I’m clearly smarter
than everyone else in the room,
that no one knows what they’re talking about except me,
or that I alone have all the answers.

Basically, God,
grant me the wisdom
to remember that I’m
not you.

Amen

Measuring Generosity

Where Change Begins

An old mystic said this about himself: "I was a revolutionary when I was young, and my prayer to God was, 'Lord, give me the strength to change the world.' As I approached middle age and realized that my life was halfway gone without changing a single soul, I changed my prayer to, 'Lord, give me the grace to change all those who come into contact with me, especially my family and friends, and I shall be satisfied.' Now that I am an old man, and my days are numbered, I have begun to see how  foolish I have been. Now my one prayer is this, 'Lord, give me the grace to change myself.' If I had prayed that right from the start, I would not have wasted my life."

We can waste years trying to change other people. But we can only really change one person -- ourselves. In the end, that is  probably enough.

Caritas Omnia Sperat

What is impossible for humans is possible for God: 'Caritas omnia sperat' - 'Love hopes for everything'. God loves and can do anything. God respects the freedom God gave to humankind but God does not hold back when freely giving graces. God's grace can be such that it overturns all obstacles and brings the calm after the storm. Let us know how to obtain powerful graces from the one who said: 'Ask and you shall receive' and 'When two or more of you are gathered in prayer, I am among you.'

~ Charles de Foucauld

Give Me a Few Friends

Dear Lord,

Give me a few friends
who will love me for what I am,
and keep ever burning
before my vagrant steps
the kindly light of hope.

And though I come not within sight
of the castle of my dreams,
teach me to be thankful for life,
and for time's olden memories
that are good and sweet.
And may the evening's twilight
find me gentle still.

Ascension Sunday

It is astounding to me that even after the Resurrection of Jesus, and after forty days of seeing him, touching him, speaking with him and eating with him, the disciples still did not get what was going on. It is true that no one actually witnessed the Resurrection. But all the disciples experienced the physical reality of the Resurrected Jesus (called Christophanies) at one time or another over the days between the Resurrection and the Ascension. Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. St. Luke gives us the most graphic descriptions of the Ascension in his Gospel and in the Acts of the Apostles.

In Acts 1:1–11, which is our first reading today, we hear the disciples ask Jesus if he will “restore the kingdom to Israel” just moments before His Ascension. After spending three years with Jesus, they continued to think about the kingdom of God as a political solution to their problems. We know that this is not what Jesus was talking about. But we have the advantage of two thousand years of history to instruct us. The eminent scripture scholar William Barclay talks about this misunderstanding as Jesus’ “great disadvantage.” The kingdom Jesus envisaged was “a society upon earth where God’s will would be perfectly done as it is in heaven.” It is a “kingdom founded on love and not on power.”

It is only when the disciples and other followers of Jesus receive the Holy Spirit that they comprehend the message. Then they were equipped to “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). But this is next week’s story. Today we hear how the disciples witnessed Jesus’ ascent into heaven and we consider what it means for us. In a general audience on the Feast of the Ascension 2013 our Holy Father, Pope Francis said, “Dear Brothers and Sisters, the Ascension does not indicate Jesus’ absence, but it tells us that He is alive and in our midst in a new way. He is no longer in a specific place of the world as he was before the Ascension, now He is in the dominion of God, present in all space and time, close to each one of us. We are never alone in our life.”

With this knowledge we can contemplate the mystery of the Ascension and we can “bear joyful witness to the Lord’s resurrection, his loving presence in our midst and the triumph of His kingdom of life, holiness and love.” And so we can pray:

God our Father,

we have never seen you

but your Son Jesus has made you known to us.

He lives now in your glory.

May we not feel abandoned

but strengthened in the conviction

that Jesus stays with us until the end of time

in our brothers and sisters.

Let his Spirit guide and strengthen us

to bear witness that he is alive

in our communities of faith and love

and to proclaim his Good News to the entire world.

Grant us this through Christ our Lord.

Amen

An Old Woman of the Roads

O, To have a little house!
To own the hearth and stool and all!
The heaped up sods upon the fire,
The pile of turf against the wall!

To have a clock with weights and chains
And pendulum swinging up and down!
A dresser filled with shining delph,
Speckled and white and blue and brown!

I could be busy all the day
Clearing and sweeping hearth and floor,
And fixing on their shelf again
My white and blue and speckled store!

I could be quiet there at night
Beside the fire and by myself,
Sure of a bed and loth to leave
The ticking clock and the shining delph!

Och! but I'm weary of mist and dark,
And roads where there's never a house nor bush,
And tired I am of bog and road,
And the crying wind and the lonesome hush!

And I am praying to God on high,
And I am praying Him night and day,
For a little house—a house of my own—
Out of the wind's and the rain's way.

Padraic Colum

Biscuits

A priest was attending a men’s breakfast. He asked one of the older farmers in attendance to say the prayer that morning. The farmer began, “Lord, I hate buttermilk.”

The priest opened one eye and wondered to himself where this was going.

Then the farmer said, “Lord, I hate lard.” Now the priest was worried.

But the farmer prayed on, “And Lord, you know I don’t care much for raw flour. ”

As the priest was about to stop everything, the farmer continued, “But Lord, when you mix ‘em all together and bakes ‘em up, I do love me those fresh biscuits.

So Lord, when things come up we don’t like, when life gets hard, when we just don’t understand what you are saying to us, we just need to relax and wait ‘til You are done fixin’ and probably it will be something even better than biscuits.”

Amen.​

Be

 

Another Beatitude

Blessed are they who understand.
My faltering step and shaking hand,

Blessed, who know my ears today
Must strain to catch the things they say,

Blessed are they who seem to know
My eyes are dim and my mind is slow,

Blessed are they who looked away,
I spilled my tea on the cloth that day!

Blessed are they who, with cheery smile,
Stopped to chat for a little while,

Blessed are they who know the way
To bring back memories of yesterday,

Blessed are they who never say,
"You've told that story twice today!"

Blessed are they who make it known
That I'm loved, respected and not alone,

And blessed are they who will ease the days
Of my journey home, in loving ways.

By Elizabeth Clark

A Mother's Love

 

12 Steps to Self Care

 

6th Sunday of Easter

Today we celebrate the 6th Sunday of Easter and Mother’s Day.  On this day we celebrate our mothers. We thank them for giving us life.  We honor the women who raised us, nurtured us and love us unconditionally.

Most of us know deep in our hearts that our mothers love us.  There is nothing stronger than the emotional bond between a mother and her child.   Yet scripture tells us that the love God has for us surpasses even the enduring bond between mother and child.  God loves us.  God tells us in Jeremiah 31:3 “With age-old love I have loved you.”  God loved us before time began and will continue to love us until time ends and even beyond that.  In Romans 8:38-39 St. Paul writes that God’s love for us is so vast that “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

In today’s second reading 1 John 4:7-10, St John tells us that love comes from God. Therefore, a mother’s capacity to love is a gift from God. St John says, “…love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.” God revealed this love by sending his son, Jesus Christ, to us “so that we might have life through him.” The directive Jesus gives us in today’s gospel, John 15:9-17, is to share God’s love. “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.” The love we show to each other should be a reflection of God’s love for us. Our challenge is to recognize, acknowledge, accept and honor God’s love for us and then extend this gift of love to everyone we encounter.

And so, on this Sixth Sunday of Easter we give thanks to God who loved us so much that he sent his son Jesus into our world to teach us how to love and we give thanks for our mothers who made our lives possible and who provided us with our first experience of love.

Gracious God,

We thank you for adopting us into your family through the miracle of

your grace, and for calling us to be brothers and sisters to each other.

Today, loving God, we pray for our mothers:

Who cared for us when we were helpless,

Who comforted us when we were hurt,

Whose love and care we often took for granted.

Today we pray for:

Those who are grieving the loss of their mother,

Those who never knew their biological mother, and now yearn for her

Those who have experienced the wonder of an adopted mother's love

The families separated by war or conflict.

Lord, give them special blessings.

Keep us united with you and with each other, so that we can be and become all that we are meant to be.

Amen.

Three Trees

There were three young trees growing together in the forest, each one healthy and ambitious. As they compared their dreams, one wanted to be built into a castle or a palace, and so play a part in the lives of the high and mighty of society. The second wanted to become the mast in one of the tall ships, sailing around the world with a great sense of adventure. The third hoped to end up as part of some public monument, where the public would stop, admire, and take photographs.

Years passed by, and all three were cut down. The first was chopped up, and parts of it were put together to form a manger for a stable in Bethlehem. The second was cut down, and the trunk was scooped out to form a boat, which was launched on the Sea of Galilee. The third was cut into sections, two of them nailed together to form a cross on Calvary. Each had a unique and special part to play in the one great story of redemption.

Where Do You Start?

A tourist once visited a cathedral where an artisan was working on a huge mosaic. A vast empty wall was before the artist, and the tourist asked, "Aren't you worried about all that space that you need to fill up and how you will ever finish it?

The artist replied simply that he knew what he could do in each day. Each morning, he marked off the area he would complete, and he didn't allow himself to worry about what lay outside that space. He just took one day at a time, and one day the mosaic would be finished.

Many of the great obstacles that stall our momentum are very much like that great wall. We can worry about the bigger picture we have to create. Or we can simply start to fill them with wonderful, unique images - the imprint of our lives - by doing the very best we can with each day we are given.

Where do you start? The best place to start is wherever you are today.

Iroquois Prayer of Thanksgiving

We return thanks to our mother, the earth, which sustains us.

We return thanks to the rivers and streams, which supply us with waters.

We return thanks to all herbs, which furnish medicine for the cure of our diseases.

We return thanks to the corn, and to her sisters, the beans and the squashes, which give us life.

We return thanks to the wind, which moving the air has banished diseases.

We return thanks to the moon and the stars, which have given us their light when the sun was gone.

We return thanks to the sun, that he has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye.

Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit, in whom is embodied all goodness, and who directs all things for the good of his children.

I Found the Answer in My Room

When I woke up this morning, I asked myself, "What is life about?" 

I found the answer in my room...

The fan said, "Be cool."

The roof said, "Aim high."

The window said, "See the world!"

The clock said, "Every minute is precious."

The mirror said, "Reflect before you act."

The calendar said, "Be up to date."

The door said, "Push hard for your goals."

The floor said, "Kneel down and pray."

Never Forget

During the 19th century, Ireland was stricken by a potato famine. During this time, many of the Irish people emigrated to America. A young Irish boy stowed away on an America-bound ship. At seas, the ship struck an iceberg and began to sink. As people scrambled frantically for the lifeboats, the captain supervised the activity and was the last to leave the sinking vessel.

When he looked back at the ship, he saw the young stowaway coming out of hiding. The brave captain ordered his lifeboat back to the sinking ship. He climbed aboard and rescued the boy, putting him in the seat the captain had vacated - the only available place in the lifeboat. As the lifeboat slowly pulled away from the sinking ship, the captain yelled out to the boy, "Son, never forget what has been done for you today!"

And don’t forget what Jesus did for us: Matthew 27:45-54

Thank You, Dear God