Seeking

We are told that St. Francis used to spend whole nights praying the same prayer: “Who are you, God? And who am I?” Evelyn Underhill claims it’s almost the perfect prayer. The abyss of your own soul and the abyss of the nature of God have opened up, and you are falling into both of them simultaneously. Now you are in a new realm of Mystery and grace, where everything good happens!

Notice how the prayer of Francis is not stating anything but just asking open-ended questions. It is the humble, seeking, endless horizon prayer of the mystic that is offered out of complete trust. You know that such a prayer will be answered, because there has already been a previous answering, a previous epiphany, a previous moment where the ground opened up and you knew you were in touch with infinite mystery and you knew you were yourself infinite mystery. You only ask such grace-filled questions, or any question for that matter, when they have already begun to be answered!

Start Your Day Right

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

This is the beginning of a new day.

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

I can waste it or use it for good.

What I do today is important as I am

exchanging a day of my life for it.

When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever.

Leaving something in its place I have traded for it.

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

good, not evil;

success, not failure;

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

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

To Let Go

To let go doesn't mean to stop caring;

It means I can't do it for someone else.

To let go is not to cut myself off.
It's the realization that I can't control another.

To let go is not to enable,
but to allow learning from natural consequences.

To let go is to admit powerlessness,
which means the outcome is not in my hands.

To let go is not to try and change or blame another,
I can only change myself.

To let go is not to care for, 

but to care about.

To let go is not to fix, 

but to be supportive.

Modern Proverbs

 

1. The best way to get even is to forget.
2. Feed your faith and your doubts will starve to death.
3. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.
4. Some folks wear their halos much too tight.
5. Some marriages are made in Heaven; but they all have to be maintained on Earth.
6. Unless you can create the whole universe in five days, then perhaps giving advice to God isn't such a good idea.
7. Sorrow looks back, worry looks around, and faith looks up.
8. Standing in the middle of the road is dangerous. You will be knocked down by the traffic from both ways.
9. Words are windows to the heart.
10. A skeptic is a person who when he sees the handwriting on the wall, claims it's a forgery.
11. It isn't difficult to make a mountain out of a molehill, just add a little dirt.
12. A successful marriage isn't finding the right person; it's being the right person.
13. The mighty oak tree was once a little nut that held it's ground.
14. Too many people offer God prayers with claw marks all over them.
15. The tongue must be heavy indeed; because so few people can hold it.
16. To forgive is to set the prisoner free, and then discover the prisoner was you.
17. You have to wonder about humans; they think God is dead and Elvis is alive.
18. It's alright to sit on your pity pot every now and again; just be sure to flush when you are done.
19. You'll notice that a turtle only makes progress when it sticks out it's neck.
20. If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, you can bet the water bill is higher.​

Prayer of Surrender to God

Prayer of Surrender to God

Lord, You know what is best; let this be done or that be done as You please. Give what You will, as much as You will, when You will. Do with me as You know best, as will most please You, and will be for Your greater honor. Place me where You will and deal with me freely in all things. I am in Your hand; turn me about whichever way You will. Behold, I am Your servant, ready to obey in all things. Not for myself do I desire to live, but for You - would that I could do this worthily and perfectly!

by Thomas à Kempis

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

If you read your Sunday Missal you will see that the themes for today’s readings are “call, reluctance and repentance.” All the readings from Jonah, St Paul’s first Epistle to the Corinthians and St Mark’s Gospel have elements of these themes. However, I think that there is an overarching theme and that is God’s overwhelming spirit of mercy and love that draws all people to repent and seek forgiveness.

Jonah is a model of God’s mercy because he experienced it himself. Jonah was called by God to go to Nineveh and preach. But he didn’t want to go and headed in the opposite direction. We all know the story about how Jonah ended up in the belly of a whale who spit him out on the shore. After this experience when God called Jonah again, he followed directions. He went to Nineveh and preached a hell, fire and brimstone message, "Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed." Much to Jonah’s shock and dismay, the people of Nineveh believed God’s message. They repented and God responded to their repentance with mercy. Jonah wanted hell, fire and brimstone but he didn’t get it. Which leads to another story about God giving Jonah a lesson about mercy.

St Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthian has a similar theme. Exasperated with the Corinthian’s shocking behavior, St Paul sends them a letter warning them that “time is running out.” The difference between St Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians and Jonah’s message is that St Paul wrote his letter in a spirit of mercy and love. St Paul founded the Christian community of Corinth and his reproach was delivered as a caring founder. He ended the Letter with an exhortation, “Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. Your every act should be done with love” (1 COR 16:13-14).

Today’s gospel from Mark 1:14-20 recounts the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. His message was, "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." For the people who lived in Galilee at that time the word gospel meant “good news.” Jesus came to proclaim the good news of God’s love. Our job is to turn our lives around and believe the good news that God loves each and every one of us. Believing in the gospel message is not just an intellectual exercise it is an exercise of the heart. Jesus’ call to repentance is a call for a radical change of heart (metanoia). Jesus invites us to repent so that we can experience a “time of fulfillment” and enter into the Kingdom of God. Simon, Andrew, James and John did not need to be coerced to follow Jesus. They heard his message and followed willingly. The message of mercy and love was compelling enough for them. It may have taken some time for them to understand what Jesus’ message meant but ultimately, they did. We are here today because they heard, followed and believed.

Almighty and ever-present Father,

Your watchful care reaches from end to end

And orders all things in such power

That even the tensions and tragedies of sin

Cannot frustrate your loving plans.

Help us to embrace your will,

Give us the strength to follow your call,

So that your truth may live in our hearts

And reflect peace to those who believe in your love.

We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

Amen

Three Important Things in Life

You've heard it said, “Be nice to your kids. They'll choose your nursing home.” Well, there may be other and more important reasons for being careful how we treat one another.

I think that U.S. industrialist Charles M. Schwab may have gotten it right. At age 72, Schwab was sued for a large sum of money. Many high-profile persons would have settled out of court, but Schwab went through with it and eventually won the suit.

Before he left the witness stand, he asked permission of the court to make a statement of a personal nature.

This is what he said: "I am an old man, and I want to say that ninety percent of my troubles have been due to my being good to other people. If you younger folk want to avoid trouble, be hard-boiled and say no to everybody. You will then walk through life unmolested, but…” and here a broad smile lit up his face, “you will have to do without friends, and you won't have much fun.”

Maybe that's why Henry James said, “Three things in human life are important: The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.” It's a vital part of a whole and happy life.