Positive

Who will You be Tomorrow?

One man sat at a stop light. The woman in front of him was going through papers on the seat of her car, and when the light changed to green she didn't go. A green light is not a suggestion, you know, it is more of a commandment. But she didn't notice.

When the light turned red again, she still had not moved. The man in the car behind her now started screaming epithets and beating on his steering wheel.

A policeman tapped on his windshield. "You can't arrest me for hollering in my car," the man said. The cop asked for his license and registration, returned to his car, talked on the radio for awhile, and finally handed the papers back. The driver protested, "I knew you couldn't cite me for yelling in my own car!"

The officer replied, "I didn't want to cite you for shouting in your car. But I was directly behind you at the light. I saw you screaming and beating your steering wheel, and I said to myself, 'That man is out of control. He's going to hurt someone!' Then I noticed the cross hanging from your rear view mirror, the bright yellow 'Love Is a Choice' license tag, the 'Give Peace a Chance' and 'Prayer Changes Things' bumper stickers, and I was sure you must have stolen the car."

His behavior did not reflect his bumper stickers. But let's not be too critical. Are we always the people we want to be?

We make changes by stretching. Personal transformation can happen when the person we presently are does not yet resemble the person we hope to be. Better to set high ideals and occasionally fall short than to settle for mediocrity and succeed.

The important question is not, "Who are you today?" It is better to ask, "Who will you be tomorrow?"

Remember: if nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies.

No Room in the Bank

Is your life full and busy? If you're like me, maybe it is TOO busy.

Sometimes I fill my life so full doing things I think I SHOULD do, I don't have time for the things I WANT to do, even if some of those things are important. It seems that I have a thousand deadlines to meet, and too often I can't find enough time to write, I skip my exercise routine, or I neglect uninterrupted time spent solitude and meditation.

But it helps to remember a story about a young girl and her bank. The little girl's father had just given her a silver dollar to put into her bank. She excitedly ran off to her room to "deposit" the coin. However, within a few minutes she returned and handed the silver coin back to her father.

"Daddy," she said sadly, "here's your dollar back. I can't get it into my bank."

"Why not?" her concerned father asked.

"It's too full," she said, obviously disappointed.

Her father accompanied her back to her room and, sure enough, her bank was too full to accept even one more coin. It was stuffed with pennies.

If your life ever like that bank? So full of errands, obligations and activities of no lasting value, that there simply is no room left for what is truly important - the silver dollars?

Author Grenville Kleiser once said, "To live at this time is an inestimable privilege, and a sacred obligation devolves upon you to make right use of your opportunities. Today is the day in which to attempt and achieve something worthwhile."

Have you made room for a few large coins in your bank; for something you believe to be worthwhile? If not, you may have to take out a few pennies, but I suspect you will never know they are gon​e.

~ Steve Goodier

There is More in You than You Know

Not many people realize that President Calvin Coolidge did not always live in the White House. As Vice-President, he became President upon the death of Warren G. Harding. Mrs. Harding continued to live in the White House for a time, so the Coolidges remained where they had been living - in the third-floor suite of the nearby Willard Hotel.

Once in the middle of the night, the new President awoke to see an intruder going through his clothes. He watched as the thief first removed a wallet, then unhooked a watch chain. Coolidge calmly spoke up from the darkness: "About that watch, I wish you wouldn't take that."

The startled man, gaining his voice, asked, "Why?"

Coolidge answered, "I don't mean the watch and chain, only the charm. I'm very fond of that charm. It means a great deal to me. Take it near the window and read what is engraved on the back of it."

The burglar read: "Presented to Calvin Coolidge, Speaker of the House, by the Massachusetts General Court." And now he was more surprised!

"Are you President Coolidge?" he asked. He evidently did not think he'd find the President sleeping in a hotel!

"Yes, I am, and I don't want you to take that charm," he said. Then he asked, "Why, Son, are you doing this?"

The young man explained that he and a friend traveled to Washington during their college break. They spent all of their money and had no money to pay the hotel bill or pay for train passage back to school. "If you don't mind," he said, "I'll just take the wallet."

Coolidge did mind. He knew he had about $80 in his wallet. So he said, "How much will it take to pay your hotel bill and get you and your friend back to the campus? Sit down and let's talk this over."

Coolidge added up the room rate and two rail tickets. It came to $32. That may not sound like much now, but it was a considerable sum then. "I'll give you the $32 as a loan," the President said, "and I expect you to pay me back."

The youth thanked him. Coolidge then advised him to leave by the same window he used to enter the room, as secret service agents were sure to be patrolling the hallway. As the young man climbed out, Coolidge left him with this admonition: "Son, you're a nice boy. You are better than you are acting. You are starting down the wrong road. Just remember who you are."

It wasn't until after the death of Mrs. Coolidge in 1957 that this story was allowed to come out. It was first published in the "Los Angeles Times." And most interesting of all is that the President's notes show that the young man was indeed better than he was acting. He repaid the $32 loan in full.

Kurt Hahn, the founder of Outward Bound, said this: "There is more in us than we know. If we can be made to see it, perhaps, for the rest of our lives, we will be unwilling to settle for less."

The Road

Sometimes when life seems so unfair,

I feel I don't belong...
I even doubt few strengths I have,
And wonder what is wrong.

I must accept there is no way,
For me to change all things...
So I seek the quiet of a special place
The peace it always brings.

Just a country road that serves me well,
Where I leave my hurt and pain…
Replace it with the strength I need,
A faith to help sustain.

There's a gentle breeze that reaches out,
Dries tears upon my face…
I thin that God walks here himself,
To share his love and grace.

Time and trials go hand in hand/
No use to run away …
Each sunset is a chapter closed,
Each dawn, a brand new day.

~Loree (Mason) O'Neil

Millions

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sometimes I wonder what the people who put together our lectionary were thinking when they made their selections. This thought came to me while I was reflecting on today’s second reading from Romans 5:12-15. That is because they left out what I consider to be the punchline in verse 18. The gift St Paul tells us about in this reading is Jesus sacrificing his human life to ensure our eternal life. Basically, what this reading says is that Adam’s sin brought mankind death. However, Jesus’s sacrificial death in obedience to his Father’s will secured for us the gift of life. St Paul explains the gift beautifully in 1 Cor. 15:21-22: “For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came also through a human being. For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life….”

Our life in the Kingdom is not always easy. Both Jerimiah and Jesus testify to the hardships people of faith can endure. What gets us through the trials and tribulations of life is trust in God the Father who, as Jerimiah tells us in the first reading, is with us, “like a mighty champion.” It requires trust in God’s infinite and overwhelming love, a love so fervent that God the Father knows how many hairs each of us has on our head. In the First Letter of John 4:18-19 we read that “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. We love because [God] first loved us.”

God’s transforming and empowering love is a gift; it is a gift revealed through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ who died for our sins. In Romans 5:8 St. Paul said, “It is proof of God’s own love for us that Christ died for us.” With such irrefutable proof, there is no room for fear. And so, we all should have the courage to live our lives of faith openly, to acknowledge our faith in God and in Jesus Christ his son, and to proclaim the Gospel message from our housetops, in our schools, in our workplaces and in our community.

Lord God, our Father,

we have experienced much grace and love

and forgiving mercy from you

and your Son Jesus has brought us

an unforgettable message of joy.

Do not allow us ever to forget this

and make us bold enough to share with others

what we have received from you as a free gift.

May our very lives bear witness

that Jesus walks by our side

and that we should never be afraid

of proclaiming with our very lives

our hope and trusting faith in you.

Grant this through Christ our Lord.

Amen

prayer: Copyright © 2016 Bibleclaret. All Rights Reserved

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

Dear God, I Believe!

Dear God, 

I know that the first step in all spiritual healing is to believe. I believe! I open my mind and heart believing in your infinite power and possibility. I believe that healing is a dynamic and reachable experience, a reality that can be experienced right now. I maintain a patient and loving attitude, for I believe that your healing activity is now at work in my mind and body. I look forward, with joyful expectation, to the perfect wholeness that you are now bringing into manifestation through me. I believe in your constant expression of perfect good in and through me. I rest in the certainty of your healing power. I know that with you all things are possible.

In Your Holy Name, 

Amen

Train of Life

At birth we boarded the train and met our parents, and believed they would always travel at our side. However, at some station our parents will step down from the train, leaving us on this journey alone. 

As time goes by, other people will board the train; and they will be significant i.e. Our siblings, friends, Children, and even the love of our life. 

Many will step down and leave a permanent vacuum. Others will go so unnoticed that we don't realize that they vacated their seats!  This train ride will be full of joy, sorrow, fantasy, expectations, hellos, good-byes, and farewells.

A Successful journey consists of having a good relationship with all passengers requiring that we give the best of ourselves. The mystery to everyone is: We do not know at which station we ourselves will step down. So, we must live in the best way - love, forgive, and offer the best of who we are.

It is important to do this because when the time comes for us to step down and leave our seat empty - we should leave behind beautiful memories for those who will continue to travel on the train of life.

~ Jean d'Ormesson

Be Aware of Giving ....

Be aware of giving from a desire to feel good about ourselves, rather than from a place of connection to all people.

When we see a person in need, we may want to give them something as a way of helping them, but if we give without taking the time to see who they really are, honoring that most of all, our gift is nowhere near as powerful as it could be. We may want to give a homeless person a sandwich, for example, but if we give it without also taking a moment to look the person in the eye, making authentic contact, we rob them of the experience of being human.

Being in a position of need leaves a lot of people feeling vulnerable and full of self-doubt. The greatest gift we can give is to meet people in need without judgment and with the awareness that we are not superior to them simply because we are not currently in their position. If we take the long view, we can see that we all began life in need of a lot of care and attention, and many of us end life in the same way. Giving and receiving are companion energies that take turns throughout our lives, and we all get a chance to be on both sides of the exchange from time to time.

It's important to be aware of our own tendency to give from a desire to feel good about ourselves, rather than from an acknowledgement of our connection to all people. Letting go of our self-importance allows us to see that, regardless of appearances, we are all givers and receivers. When we are in the position of the giver, we honor those we are helping when we remember the many people who have helped us. Then we can look the person we are helping in the eye, aware that we are making contact with a human being who is our equal.

A little girl was sitting on the lap of her grandfather. For the first time, the child was really giving her grandfather the once-over. She examined his wrinkled skin, and his gray hair. "Grandfather," she asked him, "did God make you?" "Sure, sweetheart." Then she looked at herself. Smooth skin. Blonde hair. "Grandfather, did God make me?" "Absolutely!" he answered." There was a moment of silence while she thought about the differences between the two of them. "Grandfather," she asked, "don't you think God's doing a better job than He used to?"

Five Fingers

A mother put her son to bed on the eve of his fifth birthday. She was trying to communicate that birthday idea to him. "Kevin," she said, "this is the last night of your fourth night. Do you understand that?" Kevin was ready to communicate with his hands. For a full year, he had shown people four fingers for his four years, and now he was ready to add a thumb. Seeing his four fingers, his mother nodded, and said: "When you go to sleep tonight, you'll still be 4-years-old. But do you know how old you'll be in the morning, when you wake up?" Kevin nodded enthusiastically, added his thumb to his four little fingers and said, "Tomorrow, I'll be a handful!

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time & Father's Day

There is a lot going on in today’s gospel, Matthew 9: 36 – 10:8. Jesus sees a crowd of ordinary people who are “troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.” Recognizing that he cannot reach out to all these people himself, Jesus sends out his twelve, “hand-picked” disciples” to carry on his ministry. He commissions them to proclaim “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,” and to “cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons.”

The disciples were ordinary people just like the people in the crowd. He called them not for what they were but for what he knew they could become. Jesus calls all of us as well. At our baptism we are anointed to become “a kingdom of priests, a holy nation,” just like the children of Israel. Jesus knows that none of us is perfect. That is the point of our second reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans 5: 6-11, “while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” And he expects us to make sure that his message of love, his message about the Kingdom of Heaven is present in the world.

Today is Father’s Day. It is a day set aside for us to honor and remember our fathers if they have died and to honor and thank our father’s if they are still with us. The very first place we learn about God’s love for us is in our homes. The very first people who demonstrate God’s compassionate love for us are our parents. Fathers have a special responsibility to make God’s love present to their families, their communities and to our world. And so, on this day we say a special prayer for all fathers.

God is the giver of all life, human and divine.

May he bless all fathers.

With their wives 

they are the first teachers of their children in the ways of faith.

May they be also the best of teachers,

Bearing witness to the faith by what they say and do,

In Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen

Measuring Generosity

 

The End is Near

A priest and a deacon are standing by the side of a road holding up a sign that reads “The end is near! Turn around now before it’s too late!”

A passing driver yells, “You guys are nuts!” and speeds past them. From around the curve, they hear screeching tires—then a big splash.

The priest turns to the deacon and says, “Do you think we should just put up a sign that says ‘Bridge Out’ instead?​

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.

Retreat Lights

Several priests of various orders were celebrating a liturgy during a retreat. They were Franciscans, Benedictines, Dominicans, Carmelites, and Jesuits.

Suddenly the lights of the retreat house dimmed and went out. The Franciscans burst into a song praising God for the darkness. The Benedictines continued the prayers from memory, without missing a beat. The Dominicans began to discuss light as a signification of the transmission of divine knowledge. The Carmelites fell into silence and started to practice slow, steady breathing. The Jesuits sent one of their guys into the basement to replace the fuse.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when He was betrayed took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, "This is My body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Prayer for Guidance

 

Trivia

Here's a trivia question. What was the second name Saul had in Scripture?

"Paul?" Wrong. Paul is the third name Saul had in Scripture.

Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord - Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here - has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." (Acts 9:17)

You probably spotted it. The second name Saul had was Brother Saul.

It may not seem like a big deal to us, but you can bet Saul never forgot the day a man called him Brother for the first time. Imagine sitting in darkness for three days without food, drink, or encouragement and suddenly receiving a kind word. What a gift!

A faithful friend says not simply kind words, but the right words at the right time. Ananias shared the truth with Saul in a very gentle way and baptized him. The first person whom Saul saw after he heard the truth of the Holy Spirit was a God-sent friend.

Ananias showered Saul with some of the most precious gifts you can give another human being. He was there for Saul, he touched him like a friend who cared, and he spoke kindly to him, with the right words at the right time.

Over the next several days, he taught Saul, he encouraged him, and he introduced him to more people who had that same touch, that same kindness, that same love born of the Holy Spirit. What wonderful power Saul discovered in Damascus! The first form of that power he discovered was the power of faithful friends.

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

The Sundial

The story is told of a missionary who had grown old. He decided that it was now time to return home to his own country. As a token of love and respect for the people with whom he had worked, he bought them a large beautiful sundial.

The missionary taught the village how to use the sundial and tell time. The villagers were overjoyed and grew to love their sundial.

The people grew to love their sundial so much so that they built a special hut to protect it from the elements.

In many ways, you and I are like the people of the village. We love God so much that we protect our faith by sheltering it from others. We hide and protecting our own feeble ways, protect it from the elements of those who don't believe, instead of sharing it with those who need to see our faith the most.

Perhaps it's time for you to take down your hut. Share the beauty of your faith with everyone.

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​

Holy Trinity Prayer

God for us, we call you “Father.”

God alongside us, we call you “Jesus.”

God within us, we call you “Holy Spirit.”

Together, you are the Eternal Mystery

That enables, enfolds, and enlivens all things,

Even us and even me.

Every name falls short of your goodness and greatness.

We can only see who you are in what is.

We ask for such perfect seeing—

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be.

Amen.

~ Richard Rohr, OFM

Mule and the Well

A Louisiana farmer's favorite mule fell into a well. After studying the situation, the farmer came to the conclusion that he couldn't pull the mule out, so he might as well bury him. It would be the humane thing to do. So he got a truckload of dirt, backed up to the well, and dumped the dirt on top of the mule at the bottom of the well. But when the dirt hit the mule, it started snorting and tramping. As it tramped, it began to work itself up on top of the dirt. So the farmer continued to pour dirt in the well until the mule snorted and tramped its way to the top. It then walked away, a dirtier - but wiser - mule. What was intended to bury it turned out to be its salvation.