Humphry Davy

“Life is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties,

but of little things, in which smiles, and kindnesses,

and small obligations, given habitually,

are what win and preserve the heart

and secure comfort.”

~ Humphry Davy

Pope John XXIII

Consult not your fears but your hopes and dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but what is still possible for you to do. See everything; overlook a great deal; correct a little.

~ Pope John XXIII

St. Francis of Assisi

"And just as He appeared before the holy Apostles in true flesh, so now He has us see Him in the Sacred Bread. Looking at Him with the eyes of their flesh, they saw only His Flesh, but regarding Him with the eyes of the spirit, they believed that He was God. In like manner, as we see bread and wine with our bodily eyes, let us see and believe firmly that it is His Most Holy Body and Blood, True and Living."

For in this way our Lord is ever present among those who believe in him, according to what He said: "Behold, I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world." (Mt. 28, 20)

St. Basil

Do not measure your loss by itself; if you do, it will seem intolerable; but if you will take all human affairs into account you will find that some comfort is to be derived from them. Many a man curses the rain that falls upon his head, and knows not that it brings abundance to drive away the hunger. Not the power to remember, but its very opposite, the power to forget, is a necessary condition for our existence.

Pope Paul VI

 

Week Without God

Building Wisely

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer of his plans to leave the house-building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but they would get by. He needed to retire.

The contractor was sorry to hear his good worker was leaving and asked him to build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and he used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to leave such a dedicated career.

When the carpenter finished the work, the employer came to inspect the house. Then he handed the carpenter the key to the front door.

“This is your house,” said the employer, “It is my gift to you.”

The carpenter was shocked. If only he had known he was building his own house, he would have done it differently.

So it is with us. We build our lives one day at a time, often putting less than our best effort into the building. Then with a shock we realize that we have to live in the house we built. If we could do it over, we would do it much differently. But we can’t go back.

You are the carpenter. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board or erect a wall. “Life is a do it yourself project,” Someone once said. Your attitudes and choices you make today, build the “house” you live in tomorrow. Build wisely.

Proven Ways to Get Along with Others

1. Before you say anything to anyone, ask yourself 3 things:
     ♦ Is it true?
     ♦ Is it kind?
     ♦ Is it necessary?
2. Make promises sparingly and keep them faithfully.
3. Never miss the opportunity to compliment or say something encouraging to someone.
4. Refuse to talk negatively about others; don't gossip and don't listen to gossip.
5. Have a forgiving view of people. Believe that most people are doing the best they can.
6. Keep an open mind; discuss, but don't argue. (It is possible to disagree without being disagreeable.)
7. Forget about counting to 10. Count to 1,000 before doing or saying anything that could make matters worse.
8. Let your virtues speak for themselves.
9. If someone criticizes you, see if there is any truth to what he is saying. If so, make changes. If there is no truth to the criticism, ignore it and live so that no one will believe the negative remark.
10. Cultivate your sense of humor; laughter is the shortest distance between two people.
11. Do not seek so much to be consoled, as to console; do not seek so much to be understood, as to understand; do not seek so much to be loved as to love​.

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Today we celebrate The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. This feast is more than a celebration of dogma. The Doctrine of the Holy Trinity forms the core belief of our faith in which we proclaim the unity between God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Before the Trinity became doctrine, it was the experience of the Christian community. The Trinity is not just a puzzle for theologians. As Christians we experience God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We experience God as parent, as father/mother who created us, loved us and never abandoned us and as a parent who so loved the world that he gave his Son for us. We also experience God as Son, as Word made flesh, as one of us, Jesus Christ, the human face of God. Jesus spoke to us of the Father’s love and proved it by his obedience. He told us that he wouldn’t leave us orphans, but will send the Spirit to be with us always. We experience God as Holy Spirit dwelling with us, making a home with us, making us Church and giving us spiritual gifts. The Spirit allows us to cry out confidently, Abba, Father.

Understanding the Holy Trinity also explains why we come together to pray and why we sacrifice ourselves for others. The lesson of the Holy Trinity is that we are always in relationships with each other, and we are to love and help each other. Scripture tells us that we are made in the image of God. If we believe this then by our very nature, we are active participants in Trinitarian life. How we demonstrate our Trinitarian nature is up to each of us individually. St Paul tells us clearly in the second reading today from Romans 5:1-5 (New Jerusalem Bible), when we are confident in our faith, “we are at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; it is through him by faith that we have been admitted into God’s favor in which we are living, and look forward exultantly to God’s glory.”

Of course, in our world today our faith is challenged all the time. Holding on to that peace with God is a daily struggle. St Paul assures us that if we face our challenges with the same confidence we have in our faith, then we develop endurance, proven character and hope. But the most tangible sign of a Trinitarian life is one in which we love as God loves, unconditionally without expecting love in return. Love like this requires the wisdom and power of the Father, the compassion of the Son and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And so, we pray:

Our One God,

you wanted to be a communion of three persons

so that you could share your one love;

you made yourself one of us in Jesus, your Son,

so that you could draw us into that love.

Give us the grace to respond to your goodness

through the Spirit poured out into our hearts.

Fill us with joy and wonder for you

and inspire us to love our brothers and sisters,

to share with them and to be one with them,

because you have loved us first

in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen

Will You be Ready?

Abraham Lincoln once said, "I will prepare, and some day my chance will come." When his chance came, he was ready.

During his seminary years, one priest-in-training sported a T-shirt that never failed to bring chuckles. Across the front was emblazoned: "Expectant Father." His chance came and he, too, was ready!

When your chance comes, will you be ready?

Hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky was always ready. He broke almost every record imaginable and is known as the greatest hockey player of all time.

Gretzky is not particularly big for his sport -- he stands at 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs in at 170 pounds. He never skated particularly fast, his shot was not high-powered, and he often placed dead last on regular strength tests administered to his team. So what made "The Great One" so great? He was ready.

Gretzky attributes his stardom to practice and preparation. He practiced stick handling in the off-season with a tennis ball, as the ball was harder to control than a puck. In practice he innovated. He practiced bouncing the puck off the sideboards to his teammates until that technique became a regular part of his play. Then he worked on bouncing the puck off the net! He became so accomplished at these maneuvers that he sometimes said, "People say there's only six men on the ice, but really, if you use the angle of deflection of the board, there's seven. If you count the net, that's eight. From the opening face-off, I always figure we have 'em eight-on-six."

What made "The Great One" so great? Gretzky was always the best prepared member of his team. He was ready.

It's been said, "If you want your ship to come in, you must build a dock." When your chance comes, will you be ready.

Houses

I walk in and out of many worlds. - Joy Harjo, Creek/Cherokee

In my mind are many dwellings. Each of the dwellings we create ourselves:

the house of anger,
the house of despair,
the house of self-pity,
the house of indifference,
the house of negative,
the house of positive,
the house of hope,
the house of joy,
the house of peace,
the house of enthusiasm,
the house of cooperation,
the house of giving.

Each of these houses we visit each day. We can stay in any house for as long as we want. We can leave these mental houses any time we wish. We create the dwelling, we stay in the dwelling, and we leave the dwelling whenever we wish. We can create new rooms, new houses. Whenever we enter these dwellings, this becomes our world until we leave for another. What world will we live in today?

Creator, no one can determine which dwelling I choose to enter. No one has the power to do so, only me. Let me choose wisely today.

Elder's Meditation of the Day

Crayons

David Wallechinsky in "The Complete Book Of The Olympics" (Penguin Books, 1984) gives us a story that is worth retelling.

It is 1936. American Jesse Owens seems sure to win the long-jump competition in the Olympic games. The previous year he had jumped 26 feet, 8 1/4 inches -- a record that will stand for 25 years.

As he walks to the long-jump pit, however, Owens sees a tall, blue-eyed, blond German taking practice jumps in the 26-foot range. Owens feels nervous. He is acutely aware of the Nazis’ desire to prove “Aryan superiority.” And as a black son of a sharecropper, he knows what it is like to be made to feel inferior.

On his first jump, Owens inadvertently leaps from several inches beyond the takeoff board. Rattled, he fouls on his second attempt, too. One more foul and he will be eliminated.

At this point, the tall German introduces himself as Luz Long. “You should be able to qualify with your eyes closed!” he says to Owens, referring to his upcoming two jumps.

For the next few moments, the African American and the white Nazi chat together. Then Long makes a suggestion. Since the qualifying distance is only 23 feet, 5 1/2 inches, why not make a mark several inches before the takeoff board and jump from there, just to play it safe? Owens does and qualifies easily.

In the finals, Owens sets an Olympic record and earns the second of four gold medals. But who is the first person to congratulate him? Luz Long - in full view of Adolf Hitler.

Owens never again sees Long, who is later killed in World War II. “You could melt down all the medals and cups I have,” Owens later writes, “and they wouldn't be a plating on the 24-carat friendship I felt for Luz Long.”

Perhaps unknowingly, Luz Long taught the world a valuable lesson.

Someone else put it like this: “We can learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors. But they all have to learn to live in the same box.”

Feast of Pentecost

Today is the Feast of Pentecost, the birthday of the church. It was on the first Pentecost that the infant church was launched on its course and took on its missionary role. Scripture tells us that while the apostles were at prayer with Mary in the upper room, suddenly there was a roaring wind and the Holy Spirit descended on them in the form of tongues of fire and gave these timid and frightened people the courage to rush into the street and fearlessly preach the word of God to friend and foe alike. The Spirit of the Lord which was poured out and transformed the apostles from a fearful group to courageous people announcing the Good News about the mighty acts of God, was not a one off happening which only took place at the beginning of the church. From that time on the Holy Spirit has been a permanent presence and a tower of strength in guiding, guarding and directing the church’s course and our individual spiritual courses as well.

The action of the Spirit continues in our time and is first evident in our lives at baptism. When we are baptized, the seed of eternity is planted within our beings bringing us into a loving relationship with God, who invites us to become his adopted sons and daughters. Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit is Jesus announcing that God has breathed his life into us giving us an opportunity to share in his eternal life. Heaven has been placed within our reach but entrance into the kingdom does not happen unless we are prepared to make room for the Spirit of the living God to dwell within us.

One starting point for accepting the gift of the Holy Spirit is to increase our prayer life, which helps put us into a loving relationship with God – the Spirit came upon the apostles while they were at prayer. Without an attitude of prayerfulness, it is difficult for us to discover our own special talents and the particular role we are called to play in building the kingdom of God. Once we discover our own particular gifts there is an obligation on us to use them in building up the Body of Christ.

Come, Holy Spirit, 

 fill the Hearts of Your faithful 

 and kindle in us the Fire of Your love.

Send forth Your Spirit 

 and we shall be recreated 

 and You will renew the face of the earth.

O God, 

Who did instruct the hearts of Your faithful people 

 by the Light of Your Holy Spirit, 

 grant that by the same Spirit we may be truly wise 

 and ever rejoice in His consolation. 

 We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

 Amen.

It Goes On

“In three words, I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on.” 

~Robert Frost

If we've ever dug in a garden and unearthed an ants' nest, we can recall their first reaction to our unintended destruction: they do everything possible to save their lives and supplies. The ants scurry around, moving the larvae to an underground room. Exposed contents are then relocated to unseen passages. In a matter of minutes, the ants are again safely underground and ready to resume their daily routines.

How do we react when some catastrophe or unplanned event occurs?  Do we want to crawl under a rock or are we as resilient as the ants?  Instead of moaning over postponed plans or the loss of something in our lives, we can try to be like the ants and learn how to best work with circumstances that come our way.

Life doesn't stop for us to lick wounds or add fuel to grievances. Hours pass, we grow older, nature continues. Every event is part of life's cycle. We can't run away from anything. We must meet life head-on

and adjust to its ebb and flow.

I can look at an unplanned event in my life as part of life's cycle. I need to trust that life will go on.

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