Love and Kindness

One Tick at a Time

We have both analogue and digital watches and clocks. Some prefer one to the other.

But as we look at the analogue clock or watch, there is also something worth reflecting about the ticking of the second hand.

If we do some calculations, that second hand goes 60 ticks a minute, 3600 ticks an hour, 86,400 ticks a day, 604,800 ticks a week, and 31,449,600 ticks a year.

Now that is a lot of ticking. Yet that humble second-hand shows us something.

It takes one tick at a time.

We don't have to worry about how many ticks we have to accomplish in a year, or in a week, or in a day or even in a minute.

That is all taken care of by God.

What we need to do is to let love, joy, peace, patience, compassion, kindness, generosity start ticking in our lives.

That is what is meant by setting our hearts on the Kingdom of God and on His righteousness.

Love is a Great Thing

Love is a great thing, yea, a great and thorough good. By itself it makes that is heavy light; and it bears evenly all that is uneven.

It carries a burden which is no burden; it will not be kept back by anything low and mean; it desires to be free from all worldly affections, and not to be entangled by any outward prosperity, or by any adversity subdued.

Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of trouble, attempts what is above its strength, pleads no excuse of impossibility. It is therefore able to undertake all things, and it completes many things, and warrants them to take effect, where he who does not love would faint and lie down.

Though weary, it is not tired; though pressed it is not straitened; though alarmed, it is not confounded; but as a living flame it forces itself upwards and securely passes through all.

Love is active and sincere, courageous, patient, faithful, and prudent.

~ Thomas à Kempis

God and the Spider

During World War II, a US marine was separated from his unit on a Pacific island. The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and the crossfire he had lost touch with his comrades.

Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock. Quickly he crawled inside one of the caves. Although safe for the moment, he realized that once the enemy soldiers looking for him swept up the ridge, they would quickly search all the caves and he would be killed.

As he waited, he prayed, "Lord, if it be your will, please protect me. Whatever your will though, I love you and trust you. Amen."

After praying, he lay quietly listening to the enemy begin to draw close. He thought, “Well, I guess the Lord isn't going to help me out of this one.” Then he saw a spider begin to build a web over the front of his cave.

As he watched, listening to the enemy searching for him all the while, the spider layered strand after strand of web across the opening of the cave.

“Hah,” he thought, “What I need is a brick wall and what the Lord has sent me is a spider web. God does have a sense of humor.”

As the enemy drew closer he watched from the darkness of his hideout and could see them searching one cave after another. As they came to his, he got ready to make his last stand. To his amazement, however, after glancing in the direction of his cave, they moved on. Suddenly, he realized that with the spider web over the entrance, his cave looked as if no one had entered for quite a while.

“Lord, forgive me,” prayed the young man. “I had forgotten that in you a spider's web is stronger than a brick wall.”

We all face times of great trouble. When we do, it is so easy to forget the victories that God would work in our lives, sometimes in the most surprising ways. As the great leader, Nehemiah, reminded the people of Israel when they faced the task of rebuilding Jerusalem, “In God we will have success!”

[Nehemiah 2:20]

​

A Love Story

John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his Army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station. He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't, the girl with the rose. His interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a Florida library. Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book, but with the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind. In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner's name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort, he located her address. She lived in New York City. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond.

The next day he was shipped overseas for service in World War II. During the next year and one month, the two grew to know each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A romance was budding. Blanchard requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like. When the day finally came for him to return from Europe, they scheduled their first meeting - 7pm at the Grand Central Station in New York. "You'll recognize me," she wrote, "by the red rose I'll be wearing on my lapel."

At 7pm he was in the station looking for a girl whose heart he loved, but whose face he'd never seen. I'll let Mr. Blanchard tell you what happened: A young woman was coming toward me, her figure long and slim. Her blonde hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears; her eyes were blue as flowers. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in her pale green suit, she was like springtime come alive. I started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose. As I moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips. "Going my way, sailor?" she murmured. Almost uncontrollably I made one step closer to her, and then I saw Hollis Maynell. She was standing almost directly behind the girl. A woman well past 40, she had graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump, her thick-ankled feet thrust into low-heeled shoes. The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away. I felt as though I was split in two, so keen was my desire to follow her, and yet so deep was my longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned me and upheld my own.

And there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible, her gray eyes had a warm and kindly twinkle. I did not hesitate. My fingers gripped the small worn blue leather copy of the book that was to identify me to her. This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even better than love, a friendship for which I had been and must ever be grateful.

I squared my shoulders and saluted and held out the book to the woman, even though while I spoke I felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment. "I'm Lieutenant John Blanchard, and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?" The woman's face broadened into a tolerant smile. "I don't know what this is about, son," she answered, "but the young lady in the green suit who just went by, she begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should go and tell you that she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!"

It's not difficult to understand and admire Miss Maynell's wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive. As someone once said: "Tell me whom you love and I will tell you who you are."

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In today’s Gospel from Mark 5:21-43 Jesus encounters two very different people, Jairus a powerful and influential man and an unnamed woman who is at the bottom of the heap. Both Jairus and the woman humbly approach Jesus in faith believing in his power; Jairus seeking healing for his daughter and the woman seeking healing for herself. Jesus responds to both of them with magnanimity and compassion. Usually when I preach about these two stories I focus on faith and healing and of course Jesus raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead. But this time as I read these verses from St Mark’s gospel something else struck me – that Jesus was the most egalitarian person ever on this earth. Social status or any kind of status meant nothing to him. In his eyes each human person was and is equal to every other person. No one is better than anyone else and everyone who petitions Jesus in faith and humility will have their needs met.

St Paul elaborates on the Christian meaning of equality in today’s second reading from 2 Cor 8:7,9,13-15. He frames the concept of equality as a “gracious act:” the gracious “act of our Lord Jesus Christ, [was]that though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” Our richness comes not from hording our resources “but … as a matter of equality your abundance at the present time should supply [others] needs, so that their abundance may also supply your needs, that there may be equality.”

The equality that St Paul presents here and the equality that Jesus modelled and lived are grounded in love. God loves us. So, of course, Jesus loves us. Jesus loves each and every one of us equally. In Jeremiah 31:3, God speaking through the prophet tells us “With age old-love I have loved you, so I have kept my mercy toward you.” Jesus gave his disciples and us a new commandment In John 14:31-35: “love one another. As I have loved you, so you should love one another.” By loving one another we carry forward the “gracious act” Jesus lived so fully.

Father of all that breathes and lives,

your Son Jesus Christ touched people

and they were healed and they lived.

May he take us by the hand

and raise us up from sin and discouragement.

May he touch us with his body and blood

and make us fresh and new again

to live his life and to go his way to you.

May he touch us with the warmth of his love

so that our love may revive others,

especially the poor and those who suffer.

All this we ask through Christ our Lord.

Amen

The Lake Isle of Innisfree

 

Quotes of St. Maximilian Kolbe

"God dwells in our midst, in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar."

"He remains among us until the end of the world. He dwells on so many altars, though so often offended and profaned."

"The culmination of the Mass is not the consecration, but Communion."

"You come to me and unite Yourself intimately to me under the form of nourishment. Your Blood now runs in mine, Your Soul, Incarnate God, compenetrates mine, giving courage and support. What miracles! Who would have ever imagined such!"

"If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion."

"The most deadly poison of our time is indifference. And this happens, although the praise of God should know no limits. Let us strive, therefore, to praise him to the greatest extent of our powers."

"No one in the world can change Truth. What we can do and and should do is to seek truth and to serve it when we have found it. The real conflict is the inner conflict. Beyond armies of occupation and the hetacombs of extermination camps, there are two irreconcilable enemies in the depth of every soul: good and evil, sin and love. And what use are the victories on the battlefield if we are ourselves are defeated in our innermost personal selves?"

~ St. Maximilian Kolbe

Regret

Holding onto regret is like dragging the weight of the past with us everywhere we go. It drains our energy, leaving less available for life in the present because we are constantly feeding an old issue. This attachment can cause illness the same way watering a dead plant creates decay. We know that something new and beautiful can grow in its place if we only prepare the soil and plant the right seeds. We also know that we create our lives from our thoughts, so dwelling on the past may actually recreate a situation in our lives where we are forced to make the choice again and again. We can choose to move on right now by applying what we have learned to the present and perhaps even sharing with others, transforming the energy into something that is constructive and creative for ourselves and others.

Forgiveness is the soothing balm that can heal regret. In meditation, we can imagine discussing the issue with the self of our past and offering our forgiveness for the choice. In return, we can ask for our selves‚ forgiveness for keeping them locked in that space of judgment for so long. We may also want to ask forgiveness from anyone else who may have been affected and perhaps offer our forgiveness. By replaying the event in our minds, we can choose a new ending using all that we now know. Imagine that you have actually gone back into the past and made this change, and then say goodbye to it. Release your former self with a hug and bring the forgiveness and love back with you to the present. Since we are usually our harshest critics, it is amazing how powerfully healing it can be to offer ourselves love.

Keeping our minds and our energy fully in the present allows us to fuel our physical and emotional healing and well-being today. This action frees our energy to create the dreams we dream for the future. By taking responsibility and action in the present, we can release our hold on the past.

By Madisyn Taylor

Cup of Coffee

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. The conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain-looking, some expensive, and some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

After all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: “If you noticed, all the nice-looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

“Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases, it's just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups. And then began eyeing each other's cups.

“Now consider this: Life is the coffee; and the jobs, money, and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not define nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us.”

God brews the coffee, not the cups. Enjoy your coffee​!

Happy Father's Day!

A teenage boy lived alone with his father. The two of them had a very special relationship. Even though the son was always "warming the bench," his father was always in the stands cheering. He never missed a football game.

This young man was still the smallest of the class when he entered high school.

But his father continued to encourage him but also made it very clear that he did not have to play football if he didn't want to. But the young man loved football and decided to hang in there.

The son was determined to try his best at every practice, and perhaps he'd get to play when he became a senior.

All through high school he never missed a practice but still remained a bench warmer all four years. His faithful father always in the stands, always with words of encouragement for him.

When the young man went to college, he decided to try out for the football team as a "walk-on." Everyone was sure he could never make the cut, but he did. The coach admitted that he kept him on the roster because he always puts his heart and soul to every practice and, at the same time, provided the other members with the spirit and hustle they badly needed.

The news that he had survived the cut thrilled him so much that he rushed to the nearest phone and called his father. His father shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for all the college games.

This persistent young athlete never missed practice during his four years at college, but he never got to play in the game. It was the end of his senior football season, and as he trotted onto the practice field shortly before the big play-off game, the coach met him with a telegram.

The young man read the telegram and he became deathly silent. Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach, "My father died this morning. Is it all right if I miss practice today?" The coach put his arm gently around his shoulder and said, "Take the rest of the week off, son. And don't even plan to come back to the game on Saturday."

Saturday arrived, and the game was not going well. In the third quarter, when the team was ten points behind, a silent young man quietly slipped into the empty locker room and put on his football gear. As he ran onto the sidelines, the coach and his players were astounded to see their faithful teammate back so soon.

"Coach, please let me play. I've just got to play today," said the young man. The coach pretended not to hear him. There was no way he wanted his worst player in this close playoff game. But the young man persisted, and finally feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in.

"All right," he said, "you can go in." Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the stands could not believe their eyes. This little unknown, who had never played before was doing everything right.

The opposing team could not stop him. He ran, he passed, blocked and tackled like a star. His team began to triumph. The score was soon tied.

In the closing seconds of the game, this kid intercepted a pass and ran all the way for the winning touchdown!

The fans broke loose. His teammates hoisted him onto their shoulders. Such cheering you've never heard!

Finally, after the stands had emptied and the team had showered and left the locker room, the coach noticed that the young man was sitting quietly in the corner all alone. The coach came to him and said, "Kid, I can't believe it. You were fantastic! Tell me what got into you? How did you do it?"

He looked at the coach, with tears in his eyes, and said, "Well, you knew my dad died, but did you know that my dad was blind?"

The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile, "Dad came to all my games, but today was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to show him I could do it!"

A Week Without God

 

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In today’s gospel from Mark 4:35-41 we read that the disciples “were filled with great awe,” when the violent wind and turbulent sea obeyed Jesus’ command to be quiet and still. It was an impressive display of power and it left the disciples asking each other “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?” I imagine that many people followed Jesus just to see what miracles he would perform next. However, when the going got tough, most fell by the wayside. At the end of his earthly ministry, when Jesus was crucified, only the disciples and a few other faithful followers where there. It was not miracles and astounding acts that kept them nearby. Their deep and abiding love of Jesus, their belief in his teaching and their trust in his word kept them motivated.

What motivates you? What is the driving force in your life? St. Paul tells us in our second reading, 2 Corinthians 5:14-17, that “the love of Christ impels us.” The love of Christ certainly changed St. Paul’s life dramatically. Once Paul accepted that Jesus Christ “died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised,” he became “a new creation.” The focus of his whole life was Christ, “yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me … I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me (Galatians 2: 20). Christ sacrificed his life for all of us and for our salvation out of love. St. Paul sacrificed his life for his love of Christ.

Today we celebrate another form of sacrificial love, the love of our fathers. In children’s minds, fathers often represent God. We form our first ideas about God from our fathers. This is a heavy responsibility. However, every father should feel honored that God has confidence in you and secure that you are not totally on your own. God, your Father will provide you with all the wisdom, strength, courage and perseverance you need to succeed. Happy Father’s Day!

Pope John XXIII wrote the following prayer for fathers:

St. Joseph, guardian of Jesus

and chaste husband of Mary,

you passed your life in loving fulfillment of duty.

You supported the holy family of Nazareth

with the work of your hands.

Kindly protect those who trustingly come to you.

You know their aspirations,

their hardships, their hopes.

They look to you because they know

you will understand and protect them.

You too knew trial, labor and weariness.

But amid the worries of material life,

your soul was full of deep peace

and sang out in true joy

through intimacy with God's Son entrusted to you

and with Mary, his tender Mother.

Assure those you protect

that they do not labor alone.

Teach them to find Jesus near them

and to watch over him

faithfully as you have done.

Amen

Stop and Pray

As the day goes on, we can pause where situations must be met and decisions made, and renew the simple request: Thy will, not mine, be done.

Just saying it over and over will often enable us to clear a channel choked up with anger, fear, frustration, or misunderstanding, and permit us to return to the surest help of all – our search for God’s will, not our own, in the moment of stress.​

Keep Believing in Yourself!

There may be days when you get up in the morning and things aren’t the way you’d hoped they would be. That’s when you have to tell yourself that things will get better.

There are times when people disappoint you and let your down. But those are the times when you must remind yourself to trust your own judgments and opinions, to keep your life focused on believing in yourself.

There will be challenges to face and changes to make in your life, and it is up to you to accept them.

Constantly keep yourself headed in the right direction for you. It may not be easy at times, but in those times of struggle you will find a stronger sense of who you are.

So when the days come that are filled with frustration and unexpected responsibilities, remember to believe in yourself and all you want your life to be.

Because the challenges and changes will only help you find the goals that you know are meant to come true for you.

Keep believing in yourself!

Whole

It’s no wonder that sometimes we feel fragmented and disjointed. The world looks like it's divided into billions of pieces, all separate and distinct. What is the force that unites all the parts and keeps everything from colliding in random motion? Is there a Whole?

Emerson called it the Soul. Others call it the Life Force, Brahman, the movement of energy, Higher Power, God.

If we imagine the Whole is the Soul and we acknowledge that each of us also has a Soul, or is a Soul, then we have outlined the great paradox, the mystery of the universe: All that is out there, everything on earth and in the heavens, is also part of us. We reflect the majesty of all the pieces and all the pieces are a reflection of us. To know the Whole, the unifying thing itself, we must turn to our own Soul and get to know the God within.

My life is one piece, a Whole, just as the world is one piece, a Whole. Contained in my Soul is all the mystery and magic of the universe.

Why Don't We Pray?

The highest privilege ever afforded to humans is the power of prayer.

Then why don't we pray?

The right to talk to the highest power in all the universe.

Then why don't we pray?

The most powerful force accessible to people is the potential of prayer.

Then why don't we pray?

The greatest longing in the heart of God is to talk to His children.

Then why don't we pray?

Nothing is impossible to those who pray.

Then why don't we pray?

No one ever failed or faltered who gave himself to prayer.

Then why don't we pray?

Every sin is forgiven, every stain is washed clean, all guilt diminished to the one who prays.

Then why don't we pray?

Hell moves farther away, Satan flees from the one who prays.

Then why don't we pray?

Anointing will come, mountains will be moved, valleys made smooth, rivers made crossable, the inaccessible made accessible, the impossible made possible, dreams come true to the one who prays.

Then why don't we pray?

Jesus said that men ought always to pray.

Then why don't we pray?

Paul encouraged prayer without ceasing.

Then why don't we pray?

The riches of heaven are open to those who pray in His name.

Then why don't we pray?

Everyone can pray, the young, the old, the rich, the poor, the strong, the weak, the child, the aged, the sinner, the prisoner, in any nation, in any language, all people can pray.

Then why don't we pray?

The Tiger and the Fox

A fox who lived in the deep forest of long ago had lost its front legs. No one knew how: perhaps escaping from a trap. A man who lived on the edge of the forest, seeing the fox from time to time, wondered how in the world it managed to get its food. One day when the fox was not far from him he had to hide himself quickly because a tiger was approaching. The tiger had fresh game in its claws. Lying down on the ground, it ate its fill, leaving the rest for the fox.

Again the next day the great Provider of this world sent provisions to the fox by this same tiger. The man began to think: "If this fox is taken care of in this mysterious way, its food sent by some unseen Higher Power, why don't I just rest in a corner and have my daily meal provided for me?"

Because he had a lot of faith, he let the days pass, waiting for food. Nothing happened. He just went on losing weight and strength until he was nearly a skeleton. Close to losing consciousness, he heard a Voice which said: "O you, who have mistaken the way, see now the Truth! You should have followed the example of that tiger instead of imitating the disabled fox."

Anthony De Mello, SJ

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

As I was reflecting on the Parable of the Mustard Seed in today’s gospel from Mark 4:26-34, two lines from a poem popped into my head. The poem by William Blake called Auguries of Innocence.  The opening lines are: “To see a world in a grain of sand, and heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour.” Blake presents us with a paradox, which is exactly what Jesus does in his parables.

In 2013 Adam Frank, an astrophysicist, presented a commentary on the NPR program Cosmos and Culture where he discussed “How to see the world in a grain of sand,” using the Blake poem. He asked, “Can we really see the Universe in a grain of sand, even as we slog through traffic? Can we really hold infinity in our hands, even as we drop off the kids to violin practice?” His answer is a resounding “YES.” Frank observed that “the connection between the everyday reality we experience and boundless landscapes of cosmic beauty, inspiration and joy is actually so close, so present for us. It's there in the dust on your car, the mess on your desk and the swirling water in your sink.” All we have to do is “practice noticing.” Frank ends his brief essay saying, “We walk past a thousand, thousand natural miracles every day, from the sun climbing in the sky to the arc of birds seen out our windows. Those miracles are there waiting for us to see them, to notice them and, most importantly, to find our delight in theirs.”

This brings us back to the Parable of the Mustard Seed. Jesus used every day phenomena to explain the Kingdom of God. In today’s Gospel he compared the kingdom to sprouting seeds that require little or no attention from the planter to grow and the tiny mustard seed that grew into a plant so huge that birds could “dwell in its shade.” What Jesus, William Blake and Adam Frank are telling us is that the kingdom is here. It is right in front of us. And from the smallest most insignificant things, a mustard seed or a grain of sand miracles can occur. All we have to do is stop and notice them.

With a love that is both powerful and patient, O God,

you sustain the growth of the good seed your Son has planted.

Let your word, like a mustard seed,

bear rich fruit within us,

That we may dare to hope

that a new humanity will blossom and grow

to shine like the sun in your kingdom

when the Lord of the harvest returns

at the end of the age.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God for ever and ever.

AMEN.

 

Refresh Yourself at Mass

When the well threatens to run dry, it's time to rest and refill.

We can't always be doing and giving and producing. There comes a time when we run out of steam, and that's when we need to know how to replenish our supply of energy and enthusiasm.

Some of us get recharged by being with other people. Some of us need to be quiet and alone. All of us can profit from going to Mass. It can give us all an inspirational uplift. Mass can help us to become recharged. It can help us to savor the beauty of nature, and lead us to a period of quiet meditation with the God of Love.

Vacations can be wonderful, but we're not always able to take them when we need them. What we can do is learn how to create for ourselves islands of recreation re-creation -- which may be inserted into our busy, everyday schedule. We can learn to stop and refill the well before it runs dry, so we do not drive ourselves into the kind of exhaustion that threatens our spirituality.

I will build an island of re-creation into today's schedule by going to Mass.

The Pan

Two men went fishing. One was an experienced fisherman, the other wasn't. Every time the experienced fisherman caught a big fish, he put it in his ice chest to keep it fresh. Whenever the inexperienced fisherman caught a big fish, he threw it back.

The experienced fisherman watched this go on all day and finally got tired of seeing the man waste good fish. "Why do you keep throwing back all the big fish you catch?" he asked. The inexperienced fisherman replied, "I only have a small frying pan."

Sometimes, like that fisherman, we throw back the big plans, big dreams, big jobs, big opportunities that God gives us. Our faith is too small.

We laugh at that fisherman who didn't figure out that all he needed was a bigger frying pan, yet how ready are we to increase the size of our faith?

Whether it's a problem or a possibility, God will never give you anything bigger than you can handle. That means we can confidently walk into anything God brings our way.

You can do all things through Christ – Philippians 4:13

Who's Your Daddy?

A seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. One morning, they were eating breakfast at a little restaurant, hoping to enjoy a quiet, family meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, “I hope he doesn't come over here.” But sure enough, the man did come over to their table.

“Where are you folks from?” he asked in a friendly voice.

“Oklahoma,” they answered.

“Great to have you here in Tennessee,” the stranger said “What do you do for a living?”

“I teach at a seminary,” he replied.

“Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I've got a really great story for you.” And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the couple.

The professor groaned and thought to himself, “Great. Just what I need. Another preacher story!”

The man started, “See that mountain over there? (Pointing out the restaurant window). Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same question, 'Hey boy, who's your daddy?' Whether he was at school, in the grocery store, or drug store, people would ask the same question, 'Who's your daddy?' He would hide at recess and lunch time from other students. He would avoid going in to stores because that question hurt him so bad.

When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, ‘Who's your daddy?’

But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast that he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, 'Son, who's your daddy?'

The whole church got deathly quiet.

He could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, ‘Who's your daddy?’

This new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following to that scared little boy: 'Wait a minute! I know who you are! I see the family resemblance now, You are a child of God.'

With that he patted the boy on his shoulder and said, 'Boy, you've got a Great inheritance. Go and claim it.'

With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him, ‘Who's your daddy?’ he'd just tell them, 'I'm a Child of God.' ”

The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said, “Isn't that a great story?”

The professor responded that it really was a great story!

As the man turned to leave, he said, “You know, if that new preacher hadn't told me that I was one of God's children, I probably never would have amounted to anything!” And he walked away.

The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over and asked her, “Do you know who that man was - the one who just left that was sitting at our table?”

The waitress grinned and said, “Of course. Everybody here knows him. That's Ben Hooper. He's the governor of Tennessee!”

Someone in your life today needs a reminder that they're one of God's Children!

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of God stands forever. - Isaiah

YOU'RE ONE OF GOD'S CHILDREN!!!

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

Late Have I Loved You

Absent from our Lives. St. Augustine, in a famous prayer after his conversion, expresses this well: "Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved! You were within me, but I was outside and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you." (Confessions, Book 7).

''You were within me, but I was outside." Few phrases more accurately describe how we relate to God, life, love, and community than does that line from Augustine. We can have so rich a life and yet be so deeply restless; it's why we all generally look everywhere else rather than to our own actual lives for love and delight; and it's why we are perennially so deeply restless.

This restlessness cannot be stilled by a journey outward. It's inward that we need to go. Inside of our own actual lives, beyond our restless yearnings and fantasies, God, love, community, meaning, timeless significance and everything else that we search for, are already there.

Do Unto Others

When we honor others by following the golden rule, we honor ourselves too.

All over the world, there exists a simple precept that, when followed, has the power to end conflict and banish strife. It is the Golden Rule, a key concept in many philosophies and spiritualties that admonishes us to “do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Its meaning is clear: treat others only in ways that you would want to be treated. However, the golden rule is not always easy to follow. It can be a challenge to honor others as we wish to be honored. Yet, when we do so, we bestow a gift of loving kindness on our fellow human beings. And, in honoring others, we honor ourselves.

It is as uncomplicated a tenet as one could wish for. When we live by it, harming another person becomes nearly impossible. The Golden Rule is rooted in pure empathy and does not compel us to perform any specific act. Rather, it gently guides us to never let our actions toward others be out of harmony with our own desires. The Golden Rule asks us to be aware of the effect our words and actions may have on another person and to imagine ourselves in their place. It calls on us to ask ourselves how we would feel if what we were about to do were directed toward us. And yet this rule invites us to do more than not harm others. It suggests that we look for opportunities to behave toward others in the same ways that we would want others to act toward us. Showing compassion, being considerate of others, caring for the less fortunate, and giving generously are what can result when you follow the Golden Rule.

Adhering to the Golden Rule whenever possible can have a positive effect on the world around you because kindness begets kindness. In doing so, you generate a flow of positive energy that enfolds everyone you encounter in peace, goodwill, and harmony​.

Blesses are those ...

 Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves:

they will have no end of fun.

Blessed are those who can tell a mountain from a molehill:
they will be saved a lot of bother.

Blessed are those who know how to relax without looking for excuses:
they are on the way to becoming wise.

Blessed are those who know when to be quiet and listen:
they will lean a lot of new things.

Blessed are those who think before acting and pray before thinking:
they will avoid many blunders.

Happy are you when you can take small things seriously and face serious things calmly:
you will go far in life.

Happy are you if you can appreciate a smile and forget a frown:
you will walk on the sunny side of the street.

Happy are you if you can be kind in understanding the attitudes of others, 

even when the signs are unfavorable:
you may be taken for a fool, but this is the price of charity.

Happy are you if you know how to hold your tongue and smile, 

even when the people interrupt and contradict you or tread on your toes:
the gospel has begun to seep into your heart.

Above all...

Blessed are you when you recognize the Lord in all whom you meet: 

the light of truth shines in your life and you have found true wisdom.

Corpus Christi Sunday

Today we commemorate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ in honor of the Real Presence of the body (corpus) of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

During Lent our readings focused on the various covenants God made with the people of Israel and with us. Beginning with Noah, then with Abraham, Moses and the prophets God reminds us over and over again that He loves us and that we are to love and respect God and each other.

With Jesus, God enters into a different covenant with the world. St. Paul tells us in the second reading today from Hebrews 9: 11-15, that Jesus “is mediator of a new covenant: since a death has taken place for deliverance from transgressions under the first covenant, those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.” Through His cross and resurrection Jesus frees us from sin and gives us the promise of eternal salvation.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1331) teaches that every time we participate in mass and receive Holy Communion “we unite ourselves to Christ, who makes us sharers in his Body and Blood to form a single body.” When we participate in and receive Eucharist, we are united with Jesus and with the whole Church throughout the world. The Eucharist we receive is the same Eucharist received by the Holy Father, all the bishops, all the priests and the whole church. In 1 Corinthians 10: 16 -17, St Paul teaches, “the cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.”

The word Eucharist means giving thanks.
As you receive Eucharist today
remember to give thanks for the remarkable gift
given to us by Jesus.

Living God of the covenant,
you have chosen us to make us for ever blood relatives
of you and brothers and sisters of one another
through the blood of Jesus, your Son.

Let us encounter you and bind us closely to you

through him who is our food of unity and our drink of joy,

Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord,

who lives with you and the Holy Spirit,

God, now and for ever.

Amen.

Start Your Day Right

The legendary football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant had a note he carried in his pocket. Every morning he had taken it out of his pocket, unfold it, read it and returned it to his pocket. When he died this note was found in the back pocket of pants. I plan to share it with as many people as possible in hopes that they, too will make it a ritual by reading this poem every day.

This is the beginning of a new day.

God has given me this day to use as I will.

I can waste it or use it for good.

What I do today is important as I am

exchanging a day of my life for it.

When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever.

Leaving something in its place I have traded for it.

I want it to be a gain, not a loss;

good, not evil;

success, not failure;

in order that I shall not forget the price I paid for it.

Paul William "Bear" Bryant (1913 - 1983) was the longtime head coach of the University of Alabama football team. During his 25-year tenure as Alabama's head coach, he amassed six national championships and thirteen conference championships. Upon his retirement in 1982, he held the record for most wins as head coach in collegiate football history with 323 wins.

I Am Your Friend