Begin Again

There’d be times when you’d mess up big

times you’d fail

times you’d trip so hard

you’d get knocked down bad

Times like that you’d want to quit

but BEGIN AGAIN.

There’d be times when you’d say

“Enough is enough,

I’ve really had it now,

why bother trying?”

Yeah, there’d be times you’d get so tired

but still, BEGIN AGAIN.

There’d be times you’d think

you’ve just lost everything

times you’ve risked it all

and got back nothin’

Times like that you’d feel

everything you’ve worked so hard for

were in vain, but BEGIN AGAIN.

Begin again,

try again,

believe again,

love again.

There’d be a second wind,

there’d be another star,

there’d be another hand,

to help you rise again.

Don’t start quitting,

never stop dreaming.

A new tomorrow waits

for those who dare –

to BEGIN AGAIN.

 

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]

​

Conscious Contact

Conscious Contact! Coming into what is clearly a spiritual program, we may have been fearful that our own unworthiness would hold us back. We may have believed that a spiritual life and a “conscious contact” with God are reserved for a few people with saintly qualities.

What we must know is that the spiritual life is every person's right. It includes the human qualities that have brought our greatest progress. “The spirit of the thing” is an ordinary phrase, but it expresses the presence of a Higher Power in our lives.

What's most useful to know is that we can contact our Higher Power at any time, in any place. This can be extremely important when we are in very bad situations. We always have a Higher Power to pull us through and to set things right in our lives. That's our birthright as human beings.

I'll turn to my Higher Power frequently throughout the day, if only for a few moments each time. This will keep me on the right path.

~ From “Walk in Dry Places” by Mel B

Lent

Many think about Lent in terms of giving up something. Usually we think of something we would be better off without anyway – like sugar, nicotine, caffeine, etc. Kind of like a New Year’s Resolution – only for 40 days and not a whole year. (Maybe that should tell us something!) Fasting may be a good place to start. I don’t know if Lent is really about our taste buds, though. Sometimes instead of giving up something, we add more to our already busy schedule – more exercise, more cleaning, more letters written, etc. That might not be the best way to enter Lent either.

Redemption, in modern terms, is perhaps about wholeness and health of body, mind and spirit. Perhaps it would be good to focus on those during Lent. How are we caring for the body God gave us? Most of us need some improvement in that area – not just during Lent, but as part of a longer journey. Sometimes we invite and entertain irrational thoughts and expectations of ourselves and of others. So, what’s going on in our heads? Those attitudes and thinking habits can probably stand some work. Spiritually, perhaps it would help to just be still and listen for a while – focusing on God’s Love. God lives in our hearts. Perhaps it would be good to move from our heads (words and rituals) to our hearts during this time of community retreat.

Perhaps there is no better time than Lent to look at the gift of Our Lives and to see where we have come from and where we are going. How have we received the gift and grace of life? What are we doing, or not doing, to cherish this gift? How are we sharing the gift? What would strengthen us?

In the end, maybe the most important thing we can do for Lent is to just let God love us! For many of us, finding ways to let God love us would make this the best Lent we have ever experienced. “Be still and know….”

Life Without Spirituality

 

Prayer for Making Decisions

God,

It seems that life is always requiring decisions.

Sometimes everything in my life is stable and settled,

And then a new opportunity presents itself,

And I feel unsteady and unsure of which way to go.

At other times I become weary with stability

And decide I want a change in my life.

That’s when I look for other possibilities

That may allow me to move in a different direction.

In either case, I can feel unsettled about making a decision,

Especially when there is still some

Haziness in my heart about the course I should take.

I do not, after all, want to make the wrong decision.

I pray that you will guide my thoughts

When I am searching through options for my future.

Help me be patient when the process

Is unfolding more slowly than I would want.

Help me trust the spirit of intuition

That you have given me as an aid for

Interpreting the signs that help me move forward.

From: Understanding God Today

2nd Sunday of Lent

In Evangelii Gaudium (2013) Pope Frances says, “The Gospel, radiant with the glory of Christ’s cross, constantly invites us to rejoice” (5). The story of the transfiguration that we hear in today’s gospel, Mark 9:2-10, focuses our attention on that radiance the Holy Father speaks to us about. Peter, James and John accompany Jesus to a mountain where, “he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus.” While all this activity is going on, a cloud casts a shadow over them and from this cloud the voice of God says, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” No one knows exactly what Moses, Elijah and Jesus talked about. Although in Luke’s version of the transfiguration we are told, “And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem” (Luke 9: 30-31).

None of the disciples understood what was happening. Jesus added to their confusion when he told them not to speak about what they saw until “the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” They descended from the mountain bewildered and wondering “what rising from the dead meant.” This was not a moment of rejoicing for Peter, James or John. In fact, Mark tells us they were terrified.

With almost two thousand years of hindsight, it could be easy for us to gloss over the transfiguration as some sort of Godly special effect. Some of us might forget that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem to be crucified when the event happened. We believe that his experience of transfiguration was God the Father’s affirmation of the path he had chosen. For Peter, James and John the mystery of the transfiguration became clear only after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The experience provided them with glimmers of hope in their darkest days. And then they could rejoice.

And this is what the transfiguration can be for us. We can rejoice in our moments of doubt and fear, sadness and despair because we know the end of the story. We know that glory follows the passion. We know that Jesus endured the passion out of love for us. And we trust the words of Jesus, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:40). St Paul gives us another assurance when he tells us that by removing the veil of unbelief and skepticism, “all of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Co 3:18). 

Loving Father,

for a fleeting moment

you glorified your Son on the mountain

to encourage him to carry out his mission

and to strengthen his disciples.

Let the presence of your Son in this Eucharist

and the words he speaks to us

transform us and give us light and strength

to take up our task in life

and to lighten the burden

of our brothers and sisters,

until you transform us with him.

Amen

A Reflection

When you see a sunset, do you say, “It’s too bright - not enough color, too much orange?”

Probably not. You just accept it and maybe thank God for the gift.

And when you walk through a forest, do you say, “The trees are too tall. The leaves on that one are the wrong shape. It has the wrong shade of green, too. Too many leaves on that one.

Probably not! You probably just accept it – and maybe say thanks for the gift of the forest.

We are God’s children. We are greater than any sunset, any forest. And we’re great because God made us and because God loves us. Maybe we should stop beating ourselves up and start saying thank you a few more times.

I have a hunch, by the way, that when we meet God, we will be asked, “How did you like those sunsets? What about the mountains and the streams and the sea-shores? What about balloons and roller coasters?

He probably won’t say, “Well you could have spent more time alone in the office!

Time is

 

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

I Know

I know God is the beginning, so why do I worry about the end?

I know God is the creator, so why do I wonder who will destroy?

I know God has forgiven me, so why can't I forgive myself?

I know God is a healer, so why do I speak of sickness?

I know God can do all things, so why do I say I can't?

I know God will protect me, so why do I fear?

I know God will supply all my needs, so why can't I wait?

I know God is my strength and my salvation, so why do I feel weak?

I know that everything and everyone has a season,

so why when someone's season is over do I weep instead of rejoicing?

I know God is the right way, so why do I go the wrong way?

I know God is the light, so why do I choose to walk in darkness?

I know that whatever I ask of GOD, GOD will give me, so why am I afraid to ask?

I know tomorrow is not promised, so why do I put off for tomorrow what I can do today?

I know that the truth shall make me free, so why do I continue to lie?

I know God gives us revelation, knowledge and understanding, so why do I lean on my own understanding?

I know I should live in the spirit as well as walk in the spirit, so why do I choose to live in the spirit but walk in the flesh?

I know that when praises go up, blessings come down, so why not praise God?

I know I am Loved, so why do I refuse the Word He has given me?

I know God has a plan for me, so why am I rushing it because I am eager to do His will, when it is His time not my time?

The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor.

The one who kneels to God can stand up to anything.

Pillars

You may have heard writer Elizabeth Foley's insightful words: "Friends in your life are like pillars on your porch. Sometimes they hold you up and sometimes they lean on you. Sometimes it's just enough to know they're standing by." It's true. The difficulties of life are easier to manage with friends.

In the book Shindler’s Legacy, authors Elinor J. Brecher and Jill Freedman interview some of the people saved by the Nazi Oscar Schindler. One survivor says this about the sufferings of her life: "I survived Auschwitz and all the atrocities of the war. But the most difficult thing I ever had to face was losing my 39-year-old daughter to cancer."

The army of modern medicine could not save her daughter. This woman went through the war and concentration camp experience WITH people; she suffered alongside of them. But she fought this other terrible battle alone.

We are all survivors! In some way we have each encountered something potentially devastating, and we overcame. And the overcoming of it was easier with the companionship of others.

Isn't it true that very few burdens are heavy if everyone lifts? And for some reason they seem lighter when we just know that, though others may not be lifting, they are standing by. If you're trying to lift a burden alone, this may be a good time to reach out. Others may be waiting to help lift. Or, like porch pillars, they may at least be there to lean on.

All Work is Honorable

Like a lot of high school students, he needed a summer job. It wasn't easy finding one, but Colin did what he could. When there was an opening, he worked day jobs on soda trucks. And that's what he had. That was the opening. Just occasional day jobs helping out on trucks delivering soft drinks.

But because he was there, he heard about an opening at the Pepsi plant. It was a lousy job, one of cleaning up soda syrup. No one else even wanted the job. But Colin took it.

And get this; he did such a good job there, the plant manager asked him to come back the next summer. That summer, he moved over to a bottling machine. By the end of the summer, he was a deputy shift leader.

Colin was getting an important lesson in life. One success builds on another. "All work is honorable," he later wrote. "Always do your best, because someone is watching."

From job to job, success to success, Colin moved up in the world. We knew Colin - Colin Powell - as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Gulf War, and later, Secretary of State under President George W. Bush.

From job to job, assignment to assignment, Colin Powell modeled something for us. You can use past success as a building block for future success, even if the only past success you have is mopping up soda syrup really, really well.

1st Sunday of Lent

Today’s gospel for the First Sunday of Lent, Mark 1:12-15, is the same gospel we heard four weeks ago. The words Jesus proclaims in this gospel, the first recorded words of his public ministry, are so profound we should embrace them every day. After spending forty days of temptation in the desert, Jesus enters Galilee preaching, “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” The time is now, the kingdom of God is here now, turn your lives around now and believe, really BELIEVE, the Gospel (Good News) that God loves us right now.

Believing in the gospel message is not just an intellectual exercise; it is an exercise of the heart. Our Saviors’ call to repentance is a call for a radical change of heart (metanoia). The term metanoia comes from ancient Greek, meaning to change one's mind, i.e. to repent and have a spiritual conversion. Jesus invites us to repent so that we can experience fulfillment and enter into the Kingdom of God. This is what Lent is all about.

Beginning with Ash Wednesday and continuing until we celebrate the Great Easter Vigil, we are invited to turn away from all the things that separate us from the love of God. We are invited to unload all the things that drag us down. We are invited to open our hearts to God’s love. And when we achieve this, we are invited to renew our baptismal vows, to become that new person we promised to be and to assume our proper place in the kingdom of God. As St. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5: 17, “whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.”

“This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

God of mercy,

you give us the forty days of Lent

to help us become aware of the desert in our hearts.

Thank you for letting us come to you

with a life marked with the scars

of our own defeats and failures

and those caused by others.

Heal us, Lord, and forgive us,

make us whole and wholesome again.

Give us the strength of Jesus,

that we may be faithful to you

and live for one another.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen

Spring Planting

We are now beginning to prepare the soil for the spring planting. As we prepare to enter the Lenten season, we will also be preparing spiritually for the future. Here are some thoughts on planting and reaping:

If you plant honesty, You will reap trust.

If you plant goodness, You will reap friends.

If you plant humility, You will reap greatness.

If you plant perseverance, You will reap victory.

If you plant consideration, You will reap harmony.

If you plant hard work, You will reap success.

If you plant forgiveness, You will reap reconciliation.

If you plant openness, You will reap intimacy.

If you plant patience, You will reap improvements.

If you plant faith, You will reap miracles

But, if you plant dishonesty, You will reap distrust.

If you plant selfishness, You will reap loneliness

If you plant pride, You will reap destruction.

If you plant envy, You will reap trouble.

If you plant laziness, You will reap stagnation.

If you plant bitterness, You will reap isolation.

If you plant greed, You will reap loss.

If you plant gossip, You will reap enemies.

If you plant worries, You will reap wrinkles.

If you plant sin, You will reap guilt.

So be careful what you plant now, It will determine what you will reap tomorrow. The seeds you now scatter will make life worse or better your life or the ones who will come after. Yes, someday, you will enjoy the fruits, or you will pay for the choices you plant today.

St. Valentine

On this Ash Wednesday let us remember the story of St. Valentine.

Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II (268-270 AD), Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular military campaigns. Claudius was having a difficult time getting soldiers to go to the army. He believed the reason was that Roman men did not want to leave their loves or their families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. But Valentine was a priest who would secretly marry any couples who came to him. For this he was taken captive and brought before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th February, in either 269 or 270.

Return to Dust

Reason, Season, Lifetime

People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. When you figure out which one it is, you will know what to do for each person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are! They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part, or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.

Sometimes they die.

Sometimes they walk away.

Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.

What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered. And now it is time to move on.

When people come into your life for a SEASON, it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They bring you an experience of peace, or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

Author Unknown

Success

Not Home Yet

An old missionary couple had been working in Africa for years and were returning to New York to retire. They had no pension; their health was broken; they were defeated, discouraged, and afraid. They discovered they were booked on the same ship as President Teddy Roosevelt, who was returning from one of his big-game hunting expeditions.

No one paid any attention to them. They watched the fanfare that accompanied the President's entourage, with passengers trying to catch a glimpse of the great man. As the ship moved across the ocean, the old missionary said to his wife, "Something is wrong."

"Why should we have given our lives in faithful service for God in Africa all these many years and have no one care a thing about us? Here this man comes back from a hunting trip and everybody makes much over him, but nobody gives two hoots about us."

"Dear, you shouldn't feel that way", his wife said. He replied "I can't help it; it doesn't seem right."

When the ship docked in New York, a band was waiting to greet the President. The mayor and other dignitaries were there. The papers were full of the President's arrival. No one noticed this missionary couple. They slipped off the ship and found a cheap flat on the East Side, hoping the next day to see what they could do to make a living in the city.

That night the man's spirit broke. He said to his wife, "I can't take this; God is not treating us fairly". His wife replied, "Why don't you go in the bedroom and tell that to the Lord?" A short time later he came out from the bedroom, but now his face was completely different. His wife asked, "Dear, what happened?"

"The Lord settled it with me", he said. "I told Him how bitter I was that the President should receive this tremendous homecoming, when no one met us as we returned home. And when I finished, it seemed as though the Lord put His hand on my shoulder and simply said;

"But you're not home yet."

Author Unknown

Who's at Risk?

This is a very simplistic story, but a powerful message.

A mouse looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package; what food might it contain? He was aghast to discover that it was a mouse trap!

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning, "There is a mouse trap in the house, there is a mouse trap in the house." The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell you this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me; I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mouse trap in the house." "I am so very sorry Mr. Mouse," sympathized the pig, "but there is nothing I can do about it but pray; be assured that you are in my prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow, who replied, "Like wow, Mr. Mouse, a mouse trap; am I in grave danger, Duh?" So the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected to face the farmer's mouse trap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a mouse trap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught.

The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital. She returned home with a fever.

Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. His wife's sickness continued so that friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock.

To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well, in fact, she died, and so many people came for her funeral the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide meat for all of them to eat.

So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you, remember that when the least of us is threatened, we are all at risk.

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

On Sunday, February 11, 2024 we celebrate World Marriage Day and on Wednesday, February 14, 2024 we celebrate St Valentine’s Day. World Marriage Day, sponsored by Worldwide Marriage Encounter, “honors the lifelong commitment of husband and wife as head of the family, the basic unit of society. It salutes the beauty of couple's fidelity, sacrifice, and joy in daily married life.” This year’s theme for World Marriage Day is “’Love Beyond Words,’ emphasizing that the permanent, faithful and fruitful love in a sacramental marriage is truly beyond words.” For Catholics Saint Valentine’s Day commemorates the martyrdom of three saints; two near Rome in the 3rd Century and one in Africa. From my limited research, none of them had anything to do with romantic love. Facts aside, Saint Valentine’s Day has been associated with love since the Middle Ages.

Pope Francis wrote extensively about the different dimensions of love in his 2016 Encyclical Letter, Amoris Laetitia, The Joy of Love. In regards to marriage, the Holy Father said: “The sacrament of marriage is not a social tradition, an empty ritual or merely the outward sign of a commitment. The sacrament is a gift given for the sanctification and salvation of the spouses, since ‘their mutual belonging is a real representation through the sacramental sign, of the same relationship between Christ and the Church’.” (72) The Holy Father continued saying that: “Christian marriage is a sign of how much Christ loved his Church in the covenant sealed on the cross, yet it also makes that love present in the communion of the spouses.” (73)

St Valentine’s Day is a special day to celebrate love. Marriage is the lifelong commitment of two people to grow in mutual love, spirituality, gratitude, sacrifice and faithfulness. And so, this week we celebrate love and commitment.

Prayer for World Marriage Day

Father, we thank you for your tremendous gift 

of the Sacrament of Marriage. 

 Help us to witness to its glory 

by a life of growing intimacy. 

 Teach us the beauty of forgiveness 

 so, we may become more and more 

One in Heart, Mind and Body. 

Strengthen our dialogue and help us 

become living signs of your love. 

 Make us grow more in love with the Church

 so we may renew the Body of Christ. 

 Make us a sign of unity in the name of 

Jesus, our Lord and Brother.

Amen

Father Bill Dilgen, S. M. M.

Hold On

Little by Little

'Little by Little,’ an acorn said,

As it slowly sank in its mossy bed,

‘I am improving every day,

Hidden deep in the earth away.

Little by little each day it grew,

Little by little it sipped the dew,

Downward it sent a thread-like-root,

Up in the air sprang a tiny shoot.

Day after day, and year after year,

Little by little the leaves appear,

And the slender branches spread far and wide,

‘Til the mighty oak in the forest’s pride.

‘Little by little,’ said a thoughtful boy,

‘Each precious moment I will employ

And always this rule in my mind shall dwell.

Whatever I do, I’ll do it well.

‘Little by little, I’ll learn to know

The treasured wisdom of long ago,

And sometime, perhaps, the world will be

Happier and better because of me.’

Anonymous

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!

Life

 

Life

Margaret Mead

 

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Most of us at some time in our lives probably have felt like Job as he bewails his life situation in our first reading today, Job 7:1-4,6-7. When sickness or tragedy strikes us, we lament our situation. We might ask “why is this happening to me”? Or, “why is God punishing me”? In his misery, Job declares “life on earth a drudgery” (Job 7:1). He feels he is living a life of “restlessness” and “futility.” Poor Job! Poor us! Life is a dangerous venture, fragile and full of uncertainty. What distinguishes us from Job is our knowledge that Jesus Christ came into the world to save us from the uncertainties of life. He came declaring “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

Our fulfillment does not come from self-pity or self-obsession; it comes from living out the Good News of Jesus Christ. This is what we hear today in our second reading from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians and in today’s Gospel from St. Mark. After an astounding day of preaching and healing people, Jesus goes to Simon’s house probably for a meal. However, when he gets there with a small group of disciples, they find that Simon’s mother-in-law is sick with a fever. Jesus goes to her, grasps her hand and heals her. She immediately gets up and gets to work, serving Jesus. Simon’s mother-in-law is a very human example of someone living out the good news. She demonstrated her gratitude through service.

After his miraculous conversion, St. Paul became a driven man. He tells us that the love of Christ impelled him (2 Cor. 5:14). He threw himself into ministry not for riches or glory or even by his own initiative. He had an obligation to preach the gospel and to “become all things to all” so that he could “save at least some” (1 Cor. 9:22). Christian life was not an easy path for St. Paul. He was imprisoned, beaten, reviled and ultimately martyred. But despite the difficulties he encountered, he continued to announce the good news. St. Paul had an abiding faith and was “convinced that “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

As baptized Christians we too should share St. Paul’s certainty. In the uncertainty of our very human lives, we share the certainty of God’s love for each of us. Because of this all-encompassing love, we can, like St. Paul declare, “all this I do for the sake of the gospel, so that I too may have a share in it” (1 Cor. 9:23).

Compassionate God,

when we cry out to you

in our weariness, our sorrow and illness,

remember how your Son too

called on you in his suffering unto death.

Keep us from shutting ourselves up in self-pity

and strengthen us in the conviction

that you are to be found in our pain

as well as in our joys,

and that you always care for us

through him who showed us how much you loved us,

Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

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!