Search for God

Do not let anxiety

sabotage your search for God.

You know well

that when you search for something too anxiously

you can come upon it a hundred times

without ever seeing it.

Anxiety masquerades

as true spiritual energy,

even as it wearies our mind,

drains our enthusiasm,

and deadens our soul.

It pretends to stir up our souls,

but all it does is dampen our spirit.

It pushes us until

we stumble over our own feet.

We need to be on the watch for this impostor

that would have us believing

that our spiritual life

depends completely on our efforts,

so that the more panicked we are,

the more anxiously we search,

the more likely we are

to find God.

Let God do his part.

Be patient.

Not even our best efforts

can earn the blessings of God.

Our role is

to be ready

to receive God’s gifts

with an open heart -

carefully, humbly,

and serenely.

From: Set Your Heart Free – The Practical Spirituality of Francis de Sales​

An atheist was walking through the woods, admiring all the “accidents” that evolution had created. “What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!” he said to himself.

As he was walking alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. Turning to look, he saw a 7-foot grizzly bear charge towards him. He ran away as fast as he could up the path.

He looked over his shoulder and saw the grizzly was closing. Somehow he ran even faster, so scared that tears came to his eyes. He looked again, and the bear was even closer. His heart was pounding, and he tried to run faster. He tripped and fell to the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up, but the bear was right over him, reaching for him with its left paw and raising its right paw to strike him.

At that instant the atheist cried, “Oh my God!”

Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent. Even the river stopped moving.

As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky, “You deny my existence for all these years, teach others that I don't exist, and even credit creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?”

The atheist looked directly into the light and said, “I would feel like a hypocrite to become a Christian after all these years, but perhaps you could make the bear a Christian?”

“Very well,” said the voice.

The light went out. The river ran. The sounds of the forest resumed. Then the bear dropped his right paw, brought both paws together, bowed its head, and spoke: “Lord, for this food which I am about to receive, I am truly thankful.”

Brownie and Scotty

Brownie and Scotty were neighbor dogs who met every day to play together. Like pairs of dogs you can find in most any neighborhood, these two loved each other and played together so often that they had worn a path through the grass of the field between their respective houses. One evening, Brownie's family noticed that Brownie hadn't returned home. They went looking for him with no success. Brownie didn’t show up the next day, and, despite their efforts to find him, by the next week he was still missing.

Curiously, Scotty showed up at Brownie's house alone, barking, whining, and generally pestering Brownie's human family. Busy with their own lives, they just ignored the nervous little neighbor dog. Finally, one morning Scotty refused to take "no" for an answer. Ted, Brownie's owner, was steadily harassed by the furious, adamant little dog. Spotty followed Ted about, barking insistently, then darting back and forth to a nearby empty lot, as if to say, "Follow me! It's urgent!" Eventually, Ted followed the frantic Scotty across the empty lot, as Scotty paused to race back and bark encouragingly. The little dog led the man under a fence, past clumps of trees, to a desolate spot a half mile from the house.

There Ted found his beloved Brownie alive -- one of his hind legs crushed in a steel leg-hold trap. Horrified, Ted wished he'd taken Scotty's earlier appeals seriously.

Then Ted noticed something quite remarkable... Scotty had done more than simply lead Brownie's human to his trapped friend. In a circle around the injured dog, Ted found an array of dog food and table scraps, which were identified as the remains of every meal Scotty had been fed that week!

Scotty had been visiting Brownie regularly, in a single minded quest to keep his friend alive by sacrificing his own comfort! Scotty had stayed with Brownie to protect him from predators, snuggling with him at night to keep him warm and nuzzling him to keep his spirits up. Brownie's leg was treated by a veterinarian and he recovered. For many years thereafter, the two families watched the faithful friends frolicking and chasing each other down that well-worn path between their houses.

Do you have a friend bringing you these stories. Giving you "scraps" of God's word? Taking you to a meeting? Now you know, the rest of the story. They’re trying to lead you home. Just like Scotty. Their wish for you and your life is for you to find God so the two of you can play together... forever in Heaven. Feel trapped?​

Faith

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

After a cursory reading of the parable in today’s gospel, Luke 14:1,7-14, we might think that Jesus is giving the Pharisees a lecture on dinning etiquette. A closer reading reveals that Jesus is not competing with Emily Post or Miss Manners on proper etiquette in today’s society. This gospel is about our behavior at the Heavenly Banquet in the Kingdom of God where different rules apply. Jesus tells us that in the Kingdom of God “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Do any of us honestly believe that we can bulldoze our way to the head of God’s banquet table? Remember the story in Mark’s Gospel about James and John asking Jesus to “sit one at your right and the other at your left" (Mark 10:37). Jesus tells them that they don’t know what they are asking. To sit next to Jesus means to accept suffering and persecution. Jesus goes on to say “to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared" (Mark 10:40).

Jesus concludes his lesson on Heavenly manners by reminding the Pharisee who invited him to dinner that he should not seek repayment for his hospitality. Rather, he should invite people who cannot repay him because he “will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” If God is the host of a Heavenly Banquet to which we are all invited, how can we repay him? The answer is we can’t. We can never repay God for all the gifts we have been given. We can, however, support our parish with our time, talent and treasure, support local, national and international causes, care for our neighbors and live good honest lives that reflect the love God has for all of us.

Prayer for Humility

Lord Jesus Christ,

I pray that you may fortify me

with the grace of your Holy Spirit,

and give your peace to my soul,

that I may be free from all needless anxiety and worry.

Help me to desire always

that which is pleasing and acceptable to you,
 so that your will may be my will.

Grant that I may be free from unholy desires,

and that, for your love,

I may remain obscure and unknown in this world,

to be known only to you.

Do not permit me to attribute to myself

the good that you perform in me and through me,

but rather, referring all honor to you,

may I admit only to my infirmities,
 so that renouncing sincerely all vainglory

which comes from the world,

I may aspire to that true and lasting glory

that comes from you.

Amen.

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini

 

Teach me, God

Teach me, God, so that I might know
The way to change and the way to grow.
Give me the words to ask You how
To handle the here and live in the now.

Tempt me not with the valleys of death,
Give me freedom from fear in every breath.
And though mistakes I make in my daily life,
Deliver me from aiding strife.

Understand me, God, as I am now
And show me the furrows I need to plow.
To reach my goal as a ripening food,
So I might feed others all that is good.

Fill me with energy from your Mighty Power,
Until I come to rest at the midnight hour.

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

One of my favorite Flannery O'Connor short stories is Revelation. The story's main character, Ruby Turpin, is a smug, opinionated, self-righteous woman who appears to know exactly who she is and her place in the universe - above just about everyone else. After all, she owns a house and land and hogs. What more could a person want? For all that she has and for what she is, Ruby Turpin is grateful. She thanks Jesus "for making everything the way it is." She knows, with all her heart, mind and soul that she is one of the saved and her place in heaven is assured. However, after an unsettling incident in a doctor's waiting room, Ruby's confidence is broken. She goes home and has a serious conversation with God, asking, "Who do you think you are"? God answers by giving Ruby a vision of souls on their way to heaven. All the folks Ruby knew should be at the end of the line, the poor people, the sharecroppers and the household help were leaping and clapping at the front of the line while Ruby, her husband and all their "proper" friends were back in the rear with shocked looks on their faces. Poor Ruby discovered that she was no more special and no more saved than anyone else.

The person in today's gospel, Luke 13:22-30, who asked Jesus, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" is a bit like our Ruby Turpin. The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, believed that they were the chosen people. They had a special covenant with God, inheriting their right to stand at the head of the line into God's kingdom. So if the person asking Jesus the question was expecting a resounding yes, he or she must have been very disappointed. Jesus did not give a direct answer. Instead, he told two parables describing how difficult it is to get into the kingdom. Having the right DNA is not enough. Getting into the kingdom requires hard work. Many will not be strong enough to enter the narrow gate. Procrastination isn't a good idea either because those who malinger will be left out in the cold "wailing and grinding" their teeth. The people who "will recline at table in the kingdom of God" will be foreigners and Gentiles, the people who heard Jesus' good news message and responded.

God wants everyone to be saved. All we have to do is love God, keep the commandments and love our neighbors as ourselves. God has a place at his table for all of us, but don't be late.

God our Father,

you have given us Jesus, your Son,

as the door through which we enter

into your kingdom.

Help us to listen to his voice

and to follow him without reserve.

May our authentic Christian living

bring goodness and joy to this world

and lead us to you, our saving God,

by the power of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Body of Christ

“and stay alert in this, with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints"

Prayer should be a constant for the Christian. Our goal is for prayer to be as natural as breathing. If prayer can become the habit of our lives, then the way we look at the world and deal with others will change.

In praying for others we are more likely to remember that we are all in this thing called life together. We are far too guilty of praying exclusively for ourselves. If we can find the right balance we will open our eyes to the needs of others as we pray for them. We will realize that we are all part of the body of Christ. This gives us a new sense of purpose and a renewed sense of hope as we remember that we are connected with the body of Christ.​

Divine Energy

Which of these qualities flow from the Divine Energy, Holy Spirit, inside of you?

Compassion … calm … listening … caring … innate harmony ... unconditional love … sense of the sacred in life … Being truly in the moment with another … non-judgmental attitude towards others … Joyful … peaceful … gentle … serene … humble … giving … Genuine … honest … focused … sensitive ,,, radiant … understanding … trusting … supportive … empathic … nurturing … empowering … wholeness … courage … strength … heart centered … warmth … tenderness​

Prayer for Our Earth

Shortcomings

Search out shortcomings and correct them. ~Anonymous

One of the hardest things to do is to look at our own shortcomings when we are angry at someone. It seems impossible to believe at such times that something may be wrong with us. This is the reason we are so often instructed to count to ten. When we find ourselves so out of sorts, so internally disrupted, there is usually something wrong with us.

It is our first obligation to take care of ourselves. It is out of love for ourselves that we withdraw and take a spot check inventory. The spot check inventory does not demean or humiliate us. On the contrary, the purpose is to speak with God briefly, check our vital signs, and clean out our connections.

I always need my connection with God. Nothing works without a clear, clean, strong, conscious contact with my Savior.

​

God Bless You!

It was said that during the plague of AD 590, Pope Gregory ordered unceasing prayer for divine intercession.

Part of his command was that anyone sneezing be blessed immediately, God bless you, since sneezing was often the first sign that someone was falling ill with the plague.

By AD 750, it became customary to say God bless you as a response to one sneezing.

And may God Bless you this day.

Amen.

Never Grow Weary

In the Second Letter to the Thessalonians, Paul ends a long, challenging admonition by stating: You must never grow weary of doing what is right.

All of us experience tension in our lives: tension in our families, tension in our friendships, tension in our places of work, tension in our churches, tension in our communities, and tension within our conversations around other people, politics, and current events. And, being good-hearted people, we carry that tension with patience, respect, graciousness, and forbearance – for a while!

Then, at a certain point we feel ourselves stretched to the limit, grow weary of doing what is right, feel something snap inside of us, and hear some inner-voice say: Enough! I’ve put up with this too long! I won’t tolerate this anymore!

And we let go. We let go of patience, respect, graciousness, and forbearance, either by venting and giving back in kind or simply by fleeing the situation with an attitude of good riddance. Either way, we refuse to carry the tension any longer.

Mature parents put up with a lot of tension in raising their children. Mature teachers put up with a lot of tension in trying to open the minds and hearts of their students. Mature friends absorb a lot of tension in remaining faithful to each other.

Men and women are noble of character precisely when they can walk with patience, respect, graciousness, and forbearance amid crushing and unfair tensions, when they never grow weary of doing what is right.

But all of this will not be easy. It’s the way of long loneliness, with many temptations to let go and slip away. But, if we persevere and never grown weary of doing what is right, at our funeral, those who knew us will be blessed and grateful that we continued to believe in them even when for a time they had stopped believing in themselve​s.

Mahatma Gandhi

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel, Luke 12:49-53, were shocking and disturbing to the people who heard them and they are shocking and disturbing to us. Why is this man we call the Prince of Peace talking about setting the earth on fire, division among families and discord? This does not sound like the Kingdom of Heaven Jesus proclaims in the rest of the Gospel.

Sadly, not everyone accepts the Gospel message. We all have free will. Some people choose to follow Jesus, others do not. For those of us who choose to follow Jesus, the path is not always easy. Standing up for our faith can lead to rejection, ridicule, persecution and sometimes death.

Throughout scripture we find that fidelity to God’s word is costly. Jeremiah suffered immense hardship for following his prophetic vocation. In our first reading today from Jeremiah 38:4-6,8-10, his enemies throw him in a cistern believing he will starve to death. During his lifetime, Jeremiah was tried for blasphemy, put in the stocks, flogged and imprisoned simply for speaking the word of God to his people. He wanted to quit but his faith in Yahweh kept him going despite the obstacles.

Writing to a group of persecuted Christians, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews tells them and us in today’s second reading (Heb 12:1-4) that although Jesus suffered the shame of the cross, he now sits “at the right of the throne of God.” As Christians we must keep “our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith.” Keeping our eyes on Jesus gives us the strength and courage we need to confront whatever adversity comes our way.

Tomorrow, August 15, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Feast of the Assumption is one of the most important Marian celebrations in the liturgical year. What we are celebrating is the death of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the assumption of her body and soul into heaven. Unlike Jesus who ascended into heaven by his own power, God took the Blessed Mother up to Heaven. It is the Blessed Mother’s Heavenly Birthday.

A Prayer for the Way to Peace

Father of love, hear my prayer.

Help me to know Your Will

and to do it with courage and faith.

Accept my offering of myself,

all my thoughts, words, deeds, and sufferings.

May my life be spent giving You glory.

Give me the strength to follow Your call,

so that Your Truth may live in my heart

and bring peace to me and to those I meet,

for I believe in Your Love.

Amen

(From Catholic Online)

It's Okay

Some of us have been through an awful lot. We have endured pain and hopelessness. Now we have some choices to make. We can allow our pasts to make us feel badly about ourselves or we can sing after the storm. We can feel proud that we are not giving up, we are not willing to be destroyed.

The past won't change, and the bad things won't magically go away. But we can learn to move forward.

We can put the past where it belongs, close enough so we'll never forget, and far enough away so we don't give it all of our attention. The sun doesn't just make rainbows for other people; they're for us too.

Today let me tell myself that it's okay to feel good about myself.​

Religion

Six Short Stories

{1} Once all villagers decided to pray for rain, on the day of prayer all the people gathered, but only one boy came with an umbrella.

That's FAITH

{2} When you throw a baby in the air, she laughs because she knows you will catch her.

That's TRUST

{3} Every night we go to bed, without any assurance of being alive the next morning but still we set the alarms to wake up.

That's HOPE

{4} We plan big things for tomorrow in spite of zero knowledge of the future.

That's CONFIDENCE

{5} We see the world suffering, but still we get married and have children.

That's LOVE

{6} On an old man's shirt was written a sentence “I am not 91 years old ... I am sweet 16 with 75 years’ experience.”

That's ATTITUDE

Have a great day and may you live your life like the six short stories! May our Lord watch over you and may you always have love to share, health to spare & friends who care!​

Native American Prayer

 

You can't be all things to all people.

You can't be all things to all people.
You can't do all things at once.
You can't do all things equally well.
You can't do all things better than everyone else.
Your humanity is showing just like everyone else's.

SO ...
You have to find out who you are, and be that.
You have to decide what comes first, and do that.
You have to discover your strengths, and use them.
You have to learn not to compete with others,
Because no one else is in the contest of "being you."

THEN ...
You will have learned to accept your own uniqueness.
You will have learned to set priorities and make decisions.
You will have learned to live with your limitations.
You will have learned to give yourself the respect that is due,
And you'll be a most vital mortal.

DARE TO BELIEVE ...
That you are a wonderful, unique person.
That you are a once-in-all-history event.
That it's more than a right, it's your duty, to be who you are.
That life is not a problem to solve, but a gift to cherish.
And you'll be able to stay one up on what used to get you down​.

Grace

A story is told about Fiorello LaGuardia, who, when he was mayor of New York City during the worst days of the Depression and all of World War 2, was called by adoring New Yorkers, "the Little Flower" because he was only five foot four and always wore a carnation in his lapel. He was a colorful character who used to ride the NY City fire trucks, raid speakeasies with the police department, take entire orphanages to baseball games, and whenever the NY newspapers were on strike, he would go on the radio and read the Sunday funnies to the kids.

One bitterly cold night in January of 1935, the mayor turned up at a night court that served the poorest ward of the city. LaGuardia dismissed the judge for the evening and took over the bench himself. Within a few minutes, a tattered old woman was brought before him, charged with stealing a loaf of bread. She told LaGuardia that her daughter's husband had deserted her, her daughter was sick, and her two grandchildren were starving. But the shopkeeper from whom the bread was stolen, refused to drop the charges. "It's a bad neighborhood, your Honor," the man told the mayor. "She's got to be punished to teach other people around here a lesson."

LaGuardia sighed. He turned to the woman and said, "I've got to punish you. The law makes no exceptions--ten dollars or ten days in jail." But even as he pronounced sentence, the mayor was already reaching into his pocket. He extracted a bill and tossed it into his famous sombrero saying: "Here is the ten dollar fine which I now remit; and furthermore I am going to fine everyone in this courtroom fifty cents for living in a town where a person has to steal bread so that her grandchildren can eat. Mr. Bailiff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant."

So the following day the NY City newspapers reported that $47.50 was turned over to a bewildered old lady who had stolen a loaf of bread to feed her starving grandchildren, fifty cents of that amount being contributed by the red-faced grocery store owner, while some seventy petty criminals, people with traffic violations, and NY City policemen, each of whom had just paid fifty cents for the privilege of doing so, gave the mayor a standing ovation.

What an extraordinary moment of grace for anyone present in that courtroom!​

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

When Robert Baden-Powell founded the Scout Movement in 1907, he selected "Be Prepared" as the Scout motto. He said, "BE PREPARED ... means you are always in a state of readiness in mind and body to do your DUTY." In today's gospel, Luke 12:32-48, Jesus advises the disciples and us that we are to prepare ourselves for life in the kingdom. Like Baden-Powell's ideal scout, Jesus expects us to be in a "state of readiness in mind and body" so we can enter the kingdom whenever the call comes.

Preparing ourselves for the kingdom does not include building fine homes, amassing wealth for financial security or gathering material possessions. In fact, Jesus expects the opposite. He tells us to give it all away. Because, by detaching ourselves from our earthly possessions, we are free to seek the kingdom. Then we can work on building "an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy"(Luke 12:33).

After all this, we watch and we wait. However, we do not wait in idleness. We all have jobs to do and God expects us to do our jobs to the best of our abilities. We must be vigilant, obedient and faithful. Finally, we must be ready to give an account of ourselves to God at all times because "at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come” (Luke 12:40).

Lord God, unseen and yet the ground

of all reality, of all that counts,

we seek security and certainty,

something we can see and hold on to.

Truly be our God in whom we trust:

Help us to serve you faithfully in the present

and to be ready to follow you in the future.

Keep us alert for the coming of the Son of Man

on a day we cannot know

and at an hour we do not expect.

We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Feast of St. John Vianney

St. John Vianney pray for us!

In July 2016 in France, a priest was murdered by Islamic terrorists during Mass. Fr. Jacques Hamel was 86 years old; a thin, small man with white, wispy hair, hollow cheeks and hooded eyes. It is thought-provoking to compare this French priest’s appearance to another French priest who lived and died nearly 160 years ago; one who also had a diminutive frame, shrunken face, deep-set eyes, silvery hair—and a holy death. Four years after the passing of this parish priest as he celebrated Mass, the Church celebrates the passing of the patron saint of parish priests, Jean Baptiste Marie Vianney. St. Jean Vianney knew the storms of evil that beset man, and combatted them valiantly and victoriously despite their terrors. Considering present times and present terrors, the Curé of Ars stands out as a saint whose patronage is as needed today all over the world as it was in his own day in his little village of Ars to show the way to heaven​.

Humility is Freedom

Humility has nothing to do with depreciating ourselves and our gifts in ways we know to be untrue. Even humble attitudes can be masks for pride.

Humility is that freedom from our self which enables us to be in positions in which we have neither recognition nor importance, neither power nor validity, and even experience deprivation and yet have joy and delight.

It is the freedom of knowing that we are not at the center of our universe, not even in the center of our own private universe.

God's Watching You

We’ve all heard the ominous warning, “God’s watching you.”

Maybe that’s true, but not in the way you were taught. God really can’t take His eyes off of you – He loves you that much. You’re that precious.

God never loves you less – no matter what.

God doesn’t love you as you should be, could be, ought to be.

God just loves you as you are.

It’s easier to focus on rules, to focus on “earning” God’s love.

Everything we do is in response to God’s love – not to earn it.

God sees in you a reflection of His own Love. A reflection that’s different than anyone else who’s ever lived.

When we look at our reflection, we see the blemishes – 

All the things we aren’t.

That’s not what God sees!

He can see the blemishes, too, But that’s not what He looks at. 

He sees his beautiful child that He loves.

We don’t want to be a lot of things we’ve become, but we are.

We need Compassion – for owning our own humanness and loving others who are human too.

Four Things