Be at Peace

Never Too Late

Katherine Hepburn once said, "Life is hard. After all, it kills you." And it can kill you early if you don't figure out how to change. Let me explain.

The expression "turning over a new leaf" refers to turning pages of a book. Just as the plot of a novel changes from page to page, people, too, can change their lives. Indeed they have to if they are  to live well.

I enjoy reading about ancient cultures. And it occurs to me that most of the old civilizations are gone. Some have left little behind except ruins and rubble. What happened? Where are the people, their music and ideas? Why are they nothing more today than a collection of stones visited by tourists and curious historians?

The answer, of course, is not the same the world over. But Arnold Toynbee, in his work The Study of History  (1987), says that the great lesson of history is this: civilizations that changed when confronted with challenges thrived. Those that did not change died.  In other words, when life got hard, it killed off those who didn't make needed changes. The key to survival is often about "change."

And what about us? What about you and me? It's good to accept ourselves as we are, but when an unhealthy attitude or a destructive behavior gets in the way, when we wish we could change something about ourselves, we had better change. People who embrace change thrive; those who resist it die.

If you have been waiting for a sign to make that needed change, this may be it. I am convinced that it is never too late to be the person you might have been. It's never too late to be happy. It's never too late to do something different or to do something better. It's never too late to change a habit. It's never too late to live.

Begin making that necessary change today. Then tomorrow, and every tomorrow thereafter, can truly be different.

The Bad Parrot

A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. 

Every word out of the bird's mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity.

John tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to 'clean up' the bird's vocabulary.

Finally, John was fed up and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. John shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even more rude. John, in desperation, threw up his hand, grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed.

Then suddenly there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard for over a minute.

Fearing that he'd hurt the parrot, John quickly opened the door to the freezer... The parrot calmly stepped out onto John's outstretched arms and said "I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior."

John was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude.

As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird spoke-up, very softly,

"May I ask what the turkey did?"

Faith Should be Strong

In our spiritual life, we should be attuned to the seasons and strive to get the most out of every breath we take and every prayer we speak. Stopping to look back on the year, not to relive, but to learn, we have an opportunity to assess: how has my relationship with Jesus grown, how has my prayer life deepened and how have I allowed the Holy Spirit to help me to live the beatitudes?

In the Gospel of Luke 21:34-36, we are called to be wary that our hearts do not become drowsy, that we will be vigilant at all times. Jesus calls us to be watchful and to pray for the strength to be what we need to be for God and for all the people of God.

In other words, our faith should be strong and have a firm foundation in Jesus our Lord, and guided by that, all our actions should be oriented to follow Jesus as closely as we can.

Commandments for Contentment

1. Remember: I am the Lord thy God – and you’re not!

2. Thou shalt learn to trust.

3. Thou shalt learn to live in the here and now.

4. Thou shalt learn to honor and respect thy boundaries and the boundaries of others.

5. Thou shalt keep thy word.

6. Thou shalt not be in a hurry.

7. Thou shalt not take thyself too seriously.

8. Thou shalt not expect life to be fair.

9. Thou shalt not “should” on thyself.

10. Thou shalt learn to laugh.

11. Thou shalt help another each day.

12. Thou shalt be grateful.

Our God is a mighty God! Worthy to be praised!

From the Book of Daniel, that beautiful hymn of praise echoes all creation in praising His might and beauty:

"Dew and rain, bless the Lord . . .

Frost and chill, bless the Lord . . .

Ice and snow, bless the Lord . . .

Nights and days, bless the Lord . . .

Light and darkness, bless the Lord . . .

lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord . . .

Let the earth bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever. Give glory and eternal praise to Him!"

Psalm 145:10 echoes that sentiment: "Let all your works give you thanks, O Lord, and let your faithful ones bless you." 

No matter where you are today, give thanks and praise to God, our almighty Father, and His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the glory of the Holy Spirit, both now and forever! Amen.

I Am

I was regretting the past and fearing the future

Suddenly, God was speaking,

“My Name is I Am”

He paused. I waited. He Continued.

“When you live in the past, with all its mistakes and regrets
It is hard. I am not there.
My name is not I was”

“When you live in the future with all its problems and fears,
It is hard. I am not there.
My name is not I will be”

“When you live in this moment
It is not hard. I am here.

My Name is I Am.”

Solemnity of Christ the King

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King.  When Pope Pius XI instituted this feast in his encyclical, Quas Primas on December 11, 1925 he said, "This kingdom is spiritual and is concerned with spiritual things.  It demands of its subjects a spirit of detachment from riches and earthly things, and a spirit of gentleness.  They must hunger and thirst after justice, and more than this, they must deny themselves and carry the cross" (Quas Primas, 15).  In today's gospel, John 18:33b-73, Jesus himself tells us that his "kingdom does not belong to this world" (vs. 36).

The spiritual kingdom over which Christ has "dominion, glory, and kingship" is enduring, as we heard in the prophetic first reading from Daniel 7:13-14, "His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away; his kingship shall not be destroyed."  It is enduring because it is built on truth.  In John 14:6 Jesus tells the disciples and us "I am the way and the truth and the life."  He also tells us that the truth he gives us will "set us free"(John 8:32).  So it is not surprising that in his confrontation with Pilate, Jesus says, "For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.  Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice" (John 18:37).

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are people of the truth.  And each of us is called as Jesus Christ himself was called to be a "faithful witness" to that truth.  This is our challenge.  If we are faithful witnesses "to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father" (Rev. 1:5-6) then we must reflect the truth established by Christ our King to the whole world.  Pope Pius XI gave us some good guiding principles for doing so.  "He must reign in our minds, which should assent with perfect submission and firm belief to revealed truths and to the doctrines of Christ.  He must reign in our wills, which should obey the laws and precepts of God.  He must reign in our hearts, which should spurn natural desires and love God above all things, and cleave to him alone.  He must reign in our bodies and in our members, which should serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls, or to use the words of the Apostle Paul, as instruments of justice unto God."  (Quas Primas, 33).

Lord God,
you have anointed Jesus as the Christ -
not to rule a kingdom won by violence
but to bear witness to the truth,
not to reign in arrogance
but to serve in humility,
not to mirror this world's powers
but to inherit a dominion that will not pass away.

Remove from us every desire for privilege and power,
that we may imitate the sacrificial love of Christ our King
and, as a royal and priestly people,
serve you humbly in our brothers and sisters.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.

Amen.

Hidden by the Leaves

As I look out the window I see the trees.  Their trunks, limbs, and branches are bare.  They look really beautiful against the clear sky, so different from when they are hidden by all the leaves.

At the end of November, we remember our dead, particularly those who died in the past year.  And I think that one day I will appear before the Lord with all my leaves gone, all those things that hide me from myself and from others.  Just the bare me.  I hope the Lord will see some beauty in me also.

This thought reminds me to repent and prepare for that meeting.

That's one of the things Advent is for.  The Holy Season of Advent is very near and Advent ends with our commemoration of the birth of our beloved Savior.  That's where my hope is, in His coming.  I trust that's where your hope is also.

Father, We Thank Thee

For flowers that bloom about our feet,

Father, we thank Thee.
For tender grass so fresh, so sweet,
Father, we thank Thee.
For the song of bird and hum of bee,
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee.
For blue of stream and blue of sky,
Father, we thank Thee.
For pleasant shade of branches high,
Father, we thank Thee.
For fragrant air and cooling breeze,
For beauty of the blooming trees,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee.
For this new morning with its light,
Father, we thank Thee.
For rest and shelter of the night,
Father, we thank Thee
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God ..."
(1 Thessalonians 5:18)

May God Bless You on This Thanksgiving Day!

Saying Thank You to the Communion of Saints

Remembering to say thank you to our guides and helpers is important for the completion of the assistance they have given.

We may have become accustomed to asking for help from the unseen world - whether from saints, angels, soul friends, guides, or ancestral spirits - but sometimes we may forget to close our connection afterwards with a thank you. When we connect to these energies for assistance, it is much like a phone connection. Forgetting to close the conversation with a proper “goodbye” is like not hanging up. While that line is still connected, others can have trouble getting through, while in the meantime, batteries are being drained. Saying “thank you” is a way of releasing our concerns into trusted hands and getting out of the way so that the universe‚s divine order can work on our behalf.

As spiritual beings, we may talk about “staying connected,” but our connection needs to be with our source. We can plug in and recharge, but we run on batteries in between, and every connection we make utilizes some of our personal power. Even being surrounded by people that energize us has its limits, and at some point we will feel ready to go off on our own to do what is ours to do. Instead of trying to be constantly connected, we can turn to these beings for help in a way that is more like placing an order. We contact them, ask for what we need, and then say thank you and goodbye.

Beings of the light (Jesus) don’t require our gratitude; it is an energetic acknowledgement of trust and release that benefits us. When we bring ourselves to a sense of being grateful, we affirm that what we have asked is already done. Then we can move forward with confidence to do the things we are meant to do, while knowing that all will be well.

God's Holding Patterns

Many times God will allow a painful situation or a painful circumstance in our life to "swallow us up." This season in our spiritual growth is a holding pattern. We can't move to the left or the right. All we can do is sit, like Jonah sat in the belly of that great fish, so God can have our undivided attention and speak to us.

God put Jonah in a holding pattern because He needed to speak to his heart. Jonah was all alone. There were no friends to call, no colleagues to drop by, no books to read, no food to eat, no interference's, and no interruptions. He had plenty of time to sit, think, meditate, and pray. When we're deep down in the midst of a difficult situation, God can talk to us. When He has our undivided attention, He can show us things about ourselves that we might not otherwise have seen.

Few Of God's Holding Patterns:
1. When you are sick in your physical body and you have prayed, but God has not healed you yet, you are in a holding pattern.
2. When you are having problems with your children and you have put them on the altar, but God has not delivered them yet, you are in a holding pattern.
3. When you have been praying for a loved one and they have not responded yet, you are in a holding pattern.
4. When you are in a broken relationship and you have given it over to God, but it has not been restored yet, you are in a holding pattern.
5. When the doors slam shut before you can knock on them, you are in a holding pattern.
6. When the stack of bills are higher than the dollars to pay them and you don’t know where it’s coming from, you are in a holding pattern.
7. When you are praying for an answer and it’s just not coming as quickly as you like it to, you are in a holding pattern.

When we are deep in the belly of a difficult situation, there are no interruptions. God has our undivided attention. All we can do is sit, think, meditate, and pray. We cannot run from God because there are no mountains that are high enough, valleys that are low enough, rivers that are wide enough, rooms that are dark enough, or places that are hidden enough from Him.

We must remember to praise Him while we're waiting and remember three things:
1. The pattern has a purpose.
2. The pattern has a plan.
3. The pattern has a process.

So stop struggling and start listening, praying and trusting. He'll keep you right where you are until you can clearly hear Him say, "I love you." The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor. The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything. Be Blessed!

Prayer:
"Father, forgive my unbelief. I know you love me and will turn anything around to benefit me. You have planned nothing for me but victories and I am ready to receive them regardless of how difficult the path. Amen."

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.

Oneing

One of my favorite mystics is called Julian of Norwich. We don’t know her real name. She is simply named after the church in Norwich, England—St. Julian’s—where she had her little anchor-hold. One window of her small room looked into the sanctuary for mass and another opened to the street where the people would come by for her counsel and prayer. Julian experienced her “showings,” as she called them, on the night of May 8, 1373. Then she lived in the anchor-hold for twenty years, trying to process and communicate what she had experienced on that one night. Julian wrote about these showings in her book Revelations of Divine Love, the first book published in English by a woman.

Julian experienced and wrote of a compassionate, relational, and joyful God. She writes: “For before he made us, he loved us; and when we were made, we loved him. And this is our substantial goodness, the substantial goodness in us of the Holy Spirit. It is nothing we create; it is our substance. God revealed to me that there may and there will be nothing at all between God and the soul. And in this endless love, the human soul is kept whole as all the matter of creation is kept whole.”

Julian uses the Middle English word “oneing” to describe this whole-making work of God. God is always oneing everything: making twos and threes and fours and divisions and dichotomies and dualisms into one. As she explains, “God wants us to know that this beloved soul that we are is preciously knitted to him in its making by a knot so subtle and so mighty that it is oned with God. In this oneing it is made endlessly holy. Furthermore, he wants us to know that all the souls which are one day to be saved in heaven without end are knit in this same knot and united in this same union, and made holy in this one identical holiness.”

Richard Rohr, OFM Adapted from Intimacy: The Divine Ambush

Tools

“If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.” - Abraham Maslow

When we can take a long view of our problems, we can sometimes see that we're using inappropriate tools to try to solve them. What's necessary for us to do is to move away, to detach. That may show us a whole new context into which our problem fits, and in which it may not even be a problem.

Detachment is hard to achieve when we're deeply hooked into a situation. When we send ourselves drastic messages like "now or never!" we're pressing our noses right up against the problem - a position in which it's difficult to maintain a balanced view. To stop and say, "If not now, then perhaps some other time," unhooks us and lets us remember that life is richer and more varied than we thought when we were hooked.

Crisis thinking can be like a hammer - it flattens everything. This can be our way of trying to control the outcome of our individual struggle. But when we remember that we make up only small parts of one grand and beautiful design. We can surrender our problems to it.

To be a competent worker, we need to seek out the tools that are best suited to the task.

"Ask and you shall receive" John 16:24

Somewhere in our past life, we may have picked up the idea that it's not all right to ask for help, that asking for help would be a sign of weakness. Spirituality calls for some basic changes in our thinking, when we feel vulnerable that is the best time to reach out and ask for help from the God of Love, from our Church community, and from our friends. It may be hard for us, at first. We may be afraid of rejection, or of being laughed at for not knowing all the answers. But once we've taken the risk and openly asked for help, we realize our fears are a part of the past, and we can leave them behind us.

In asking for help, we acknowledge that we can't do it all by ourselves. We surrender once again to powerlessness. And we give others the joy and satisfaction of helping us. Today if we feel we are on a solo-fight, let us ask God to help us to reach out and find support. “God will put his angels in charge of you to protect you wherever you go.” Psalm 91:11

Sometimes we just need to be reminded!

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by: holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this. He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air. Well, he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air. My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make or the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who love you.

The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE and WHOSE WE ARE. As Isaiah 43:1; tells us: “But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, Jacob, and formed you, Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine.”

How much do we notice as we go through a day?

Lisa Beamer on Good Morning America - If you remember, she's the wife of Todd Beamer who said 'Let's Roll!' and helped take down the plane over Pennsylvania that was heading for Washington, DC back on 9/11. She said it's the little things that she misses most about Todd, such as hearing the garage door open as he came home, and her children running to meet him.

Lisa recalled this story: "I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago whose husband died suddenly of a heart attack. About a week after his death, she shared some of her insight with a classroom of students. As the late afternoon sunlight came streaming in through the classroom windows and the class was nearly over, she moved a few things aside on the edge of her desk and sat down there. With a gentle look of reflection on her face, she paused and said, 'Class is over, I would like to share with all of you, a thought that is unrelated to class, but which I feel is very important. Each of us is put here on earth to learn, share, love, appreciate and give of ourselves. None of us knows when this fantastic experience will end. It can be taken away at any moment. Perhaps this is God's way of telling us that we must make the most out of every single day.

Her eyes, beginning to water, she went on, 'So I would like you all to make me a promise. From now on, on your way to school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to notice. It doesn't have to be something you see, it could be a scent, perhaps of freshly baked bread wafting out of someone's house, or it could be the sound of the breeze slightly rustling the leaves in the trees, or the way the morning light catches one autumn leaf as it falls gently to the ground. Please look for these things, and cherish them. For, although it may sound trite to some, these things are the "stuff" of life. The little things we are put here on earth to enjoy. The things we often take for granted.

The class was completely quiet. We all picked up our books and filed out of the room silently. That afternoon, I noticed more things on my way home from school than I had that whole semester. Every once in a while, I think of that teacher and remember what an impression she made on all of us, and I appreciate all of those things that sometimes we all overlook.

Take notice of something special you see today. Go barefoot. Or walk on the beach at sunset. Stop off on the way home tonight to get a double dip ice cream cone. For as we get older, it is not the things we did that we often regret, but the things we didn't do. Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

HAVE A GREAT DAY! GOD Bless you every day of your life. The nicest place to be is in someone's thoughts. The safest place to be is in someone's prayers, And the very best place to be is....In the hands of God.

Lord, make me an instrument of your Serenity

Lord, make me an instrument of your Serenity

Where there is addiction, let me bring Recovery

Where there is shame, let me bring Healing

Where there is hatred, let me bring Love 

Where there is hurt, let me bring Forgiveness 

Where there is prejudice, let me bring acceptance

Where there is denial, let me bring Honesty 

Where there is fear, let me bring Courage

Where there is doubt, let me bring Faith 

Where there is despair, let me bring Hope 

Where there is darkness, let me bring Light 

Where there is sadness, let me bring Joy

Lord, grant that I may seek

Not so much to be comforted, but to Comfort others

Not so much to be understood, as to Understand others

Not so much to be loved, as to Love others

For it is in Giving that we receive

For it is by Forgiving, that we are Released from resentments

For it is by Living in God’s love, that we are granted a Daily Reprieve

And it is by Dying to our old life, that we Awaken to a New Life of Spirituality. Amen

A Military Heart

A military heart is unique, it must be true,

The blood that pulses deep within is red, white, and blue
Its love is like a fire that grows when it is shared,
For complete and total strangers, they have truly cared.
All heroes past and present, at war and at peace,
My admiration for you all will never ever cease.
Veterans who went by choice or those who had been drafted,
I feel that God took extra care with certain hearts He crafted.
He had to make them strong and brave, but tender all the same,
He knit them in their mother’s womb and knew them each by name.
It would take a special heart to leave loved ones behind,
To kiss and hug good-bye with Old Glory on their mind.
The countless sacrifice they made for freedoms we enjoy,
For every man, every woman, every girl, and every boy.
For those who have such passion for our great U.S. of A,
Who’ll stand for life and liberty, so we can speak and pray.
If you see a warrior, please give them all our love,
For the heart that beats within them is a gift from God above.
We’re thankful, oh so thankful, for that heart we have admired,
For giving so unselfishly, although it may be tired.
We’d never know of its fatigue - it’s hidden way inside,
For that heart is full of love, as deep as it is wide.
On Veterans Day and all the days that come before and after,
We thank you for allowing us a life of hope and laughter.
To wake each day knowing what you must have seen and heard,
It’s hard to find the thoughts to share - there isn’t just one word.
What can we say? What should we say?
A debt we just cannot repay.
I think I’ll just say thank you from the bottom of my heart,
I’ll pray for you - thank God for you. That’s certainly a start.
I’ll do my best to wake each day full of gratitude,
I’ll make a daily effort with a thankful attitude.
I’ll live to nurture peace – I’ll try to do my part,
And I’ll thank the Lord everyday…for your military heart.

Heather Spears Kallus

God Speaks

There are two ways, and both are hard to travel.

There is the way of the river, but there is also the way of the bridge that I have built to cross that river.

How strange it is that so many still prefer to walk through the water,
even though I have built a bridge for them, a bridge that offers delight,
where all that is bitter becomes sweet, and every burden light.

Those who cross the waters of life by taking the way of the bridge
see light even though they are still in the darkness of their body.
Though mortal, they taste immortality,
Though weary, they receive the refreshment they need
when they need it, in my name.

There are no words adequate to describe
the delight experienced by those who choose the way of the bridge.
While still in this life they taste and participate
in that good which has been prepared for them in the next.

You would be a fool, indeed, to reject such a great good
and choose instead to walk by the lower road
with its great toil, and without refreshment or advantage.

From: Set Aside Every Fear – love and trust in the
Spirituality of Catherine of Siena.
By John Kirvan

The Temple of Stones is a Symbol of the Living Church

Today the liturgy celebrates the dedication of the Lateran Basilica, called “mother and head of all the churches of the city and the world.” In fact, this basilica was the first to be built after Emperor Constantine’s edict, in 313, granted Christians freedom to practice their religion.

The emperor himself gave Pope Miltiades the ancient palace of the Laterani family, and the basilica, the baptistery, and the patriarchate, that is, the Bishop of Rome’s residence — where the Popes lived until the Avignon period — were all built there. The basilica’s dedication was celebrated by Pope Sylvester around 324 and was named Most Holy Savior; only after the 6th century were the names of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist added, and now is typically denominated by these latter.

Initially the observance of this feast was confined to the city of Rome; then, beginning in 1565, it was extended to all the Churches of the Roman rite. The honoring of this sacred edifice was a way of expressing love and veneration for the Roman Church, which, as St. Ignatius of Antioch says, “presides in charity” over the whole Catholic communion (Letter to the Romans, 1:1).

On this solemnity the Word of God recalls an essential truth: the temple of stones is a symbol of the living Church, the Christian community, which in their letters the Apostles Peter and Paul already understood as a “spiritual edifice,” built by God with “living stones,” namely, Christians themselves, upon the one foundation of Jesus Christ, who is called the “cornerstone” (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17; 1 Peter 2:4-8; Ephesians 2:20-22). “Brothers, you are God’s building,” St. Paul wrote, and added: “holy is God’s temple, which you are” (1 Corinthians 3:9c, 17).

The beauty and harmony of the churches, destined to give praise to God, also draws us human beings, limited and sinful, to convert to form a “cosmos,” a well-ordered structure, in intimate communion with Jesus, who is the true Saint of saints. This happens in a culminating way in the Eucharistic liturgy, in which the “ecclesia,” that is, the community of the baptized, come together in a unified way to listen to the Word of God and nourish themselves with the Body and Blood of Christ. From these two tables the Church of living stones is built up in truth and charity and is internally formed by the Holy Spirit transforming herself into what she receives, conforming herself more and more to the Lord Jesus Christ. She herself, if she lives in sincere and fraternal unity, in this way becomes the spiritual sacrifice pleasing to God.

Dear friends, today’s feast celebrates a mystery that is always relevant: God’s desire to build a spiritual temple in the world, a community that worships him in spirit and truth (cf. John 4:23-24). But this observance also reminds us of the importance of the material buildings in which the community gathers to celebrate the praises of God. Every community therefore has the duty to take special care of its own sacred buildings, which are a precious religious and historical patrimony. For this we call upon the intercession of Mary Most Holy, that she help us to become, like her, the “house of God,” living temple of his love.

— Benedict XVI, Angelus Address, November 9, 2008

Heaven and Hell

A very old man knew that he was going to die very soon. Before he died, he wanted to know what heaven and hell were like, so he visited the wise man in his village.

“Can you please tell me what heaven and hell are like?” he asked the wise man.

“Come with me and I will show you,” the wise man replied.

The two men walked down a long path until they came to a large house. The wise man took the old man inside, and there they found a large dining room with an enormous table covered with every kind of food imaginable. Around the table were many people all thin and hungry, who were holding 12-foot chopsticks. Every time they tried to feed themselves, the food fell off the chopsticks.

The old man said to the wise man, “Surely this must be hell. Will you now show me heaven?” The wise man said, “Yes, come with me.”

The two men left the house and walked further down the path until they reached another large house. Again they found a large dining room and in it a table filled with all kinds of delicious foods. The people there were happy and appeared well fed, but they also held 12-foot chopsticks.”

“How can this be? Said the old man. “These people have 12-foot chopsticks and yet they are happy and well fed.”

The wise man replied, “In heaven the people feed each other.”

Morris and His New Car

The story is told of Morris, a Russian man, who saved his rubles for twenty years to buy a new car. After choosing the model and options he wants, he's not the least bit surprised or even concerned to learn that it will take two years for the new car to be delivered. He thanks the salesman and starts to leave, but as he reaches the door he pauses and turns back to the salesman. "Do you know which week two years from now the new car will arrive?"

The salesman checks his notes and tells the man that it will be two years to the exact week. The man thanks the salesman and starts out again, but upon reaching the door, he turns back again.

"Could you possibly tell me what day of the week two years from now the car will arrive?"

The salesman, mildly annoyed, checks his notes again and says that it will be exactly two years from this week, on Thursday.

Morris thanks the salesman and once again starts to leave. Halfway through the door, he hesitates, turns back, and walks up to the salesman.

"I'm sorry to be so much trouble, but do you know if that will be two years from now on Thursday in the morning, or in the afternoon?"

Visibly irritated, the salesman flips through his papers yet another time and says sharply that it will be in the afternoon, two years from now on Thursday.

"That's a relief!" says Morris. "The plumber is coming that morning!"

We often have to make plans far in advance so as to avoid any conflicts. Before making any commitments -- you know the routine -- we have to pull out the date book (or the iPhone). "The kids have got a soccer game that night at 7:00, but the next night is free." Planning ahead isn't wrong; in fact, it's a scriptural principle. What makes it wrong, though, is planning ahead without any thought of God.

"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit'; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.' " (James 4:13-15)

Go ahead! Make your plans! Fill in that date book!

Just make sure that God hasn't been left out.

Thank God

There's this guy who had been lost and walking in the desert for about 2 weeks. One hot day, he sees the home of a missionary. Tired and weak, he crawls up to the house and collapses on the doorstep. The missionary finds him and nurses him back to health. Feeling better, the man asks the missionary for directions to the nearest town. On his way out the backdoor, he sees this horse. He goes back into the house and asks the missionary, "Could I borrow your horse and give it back when I reach the town?"

The missionary says, "Sure but there is a special thing about this horse. You have to say 'Thank God' to make it go and 'Amen' to make it stop."

Not paying much attention, the man says, "Sure, ok."

So he gets on the horse and says, "Thank God" and the horse starts walking. Then he says, "Thank God, thank God," and the horse starts trotting. Feeling really brave, the man says, "Thank God, thank God, thank God, thank God, thank God" and the horse just takes off. Pretty soon he sees this cliff coming up and he's doing everything he can to make the horse stop.

"Whoa, stop, hold on!!!!"

Finally he remembers, "Amen!!"

The horse stops 4 inches from the cliff. Then the man leans back in the saddle and says, "Thank God."

Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil

Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil, the priest who was kidnapped in 2016 and held captive for 18 months by terrorists in Yemen, said that his ability to persevere “was thanks to the prayers of everyone” who interceded for him.

“Prayer is the best thing that God has given us and can obtain everything,” he told ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish language sister agency. “Surrendered to the Lord's will, during my captivity I prayed to the Lord that they would release me soon, but I also asked him to give me the grace to complete the mission that he had planned for me.”

A Salesian missionary, Uzhunnalil first garnered the world's attention when he was kidnapped March 4, 2016, during an attack on a Missionaries of Charity home in Aden, Yemen, that left 16 people dead, including four Sisters.

His international profile grew when rumors spread that he was to be crucified on Good Friday, which were later discredited. After that, numerous photos and videos were released depicting Uzhunnalil, thin and with an overgrown beard, pleading for help and for his release, saying that his health was deteriorating and he was in need of hospitalization.

The government of Oman and the Holy See had worked for the priest’s release. He was freed Sept. 12, 2017.

In an interview with ACI Prensa the priest recalled the experience he went through in Yemen.

“The churches in Yemen had been attacked and vandalized, but in the days prior to my kidnapping the situation had stabilized somewhat,” he said.

However, on the morning of March 4, 2016, when he was praying in the chapel of the Missionaries of Charity, he heard gunshots outside. He saw jihadists killing four of the sisters.

“I prayed for God's mercy on the sisters who had died and also for those who had killed them,” he said. “They then told me to come outside and asked me if I were a Muslim. I told them no, that I was a Christian. And they put me in the back seat of the car.”

“A little later they opened the door again and threw in something metallic wrapped in some cloth. I knew that it was the tabernacle that the sisters had in the chapel,” he explained.

While Uzhunnalil said his captors did not physically harm him, he did suffer psychological torture.  “They took everything away from me, although they gave me a little water and food,” he recalled.  During that time, they changed his location five or six times, and he said that he never knew the exact location where he was being held.

In the 18 months he was held captive, Uzhunnalil relied upon prayer for perseverance.

“It was thanks to the prayers of everyone who prayed for me that I was able to endure what I was going through. It wasn't because of my personal fortitude but because of the prayers of my brothers and sisters in the faith,” he said.

Uzhunnalil also relied on personal prayer during his captivity.

“Every day, I prayed the Angelus; three or four Rosaries; an Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be for the sisters who died; the Chaplet of Divine Mercy; I meditated on the Way of the Cross; and I celebrated Holy Mass spiritually - I didn't have any bread or wine but I said the prayers from memory,” he said.

“I prayed for my captors and I thanked God for the seed of goodness they could have in their hearts. Thanks be to God, I don't hold any rancor or hatred for them,” he added.

“God knew everything that was happening, because they should have killed me in the beginning, but they didn't. They kept me alive even though I said I was a Christian. Here I am now, free, to bear witness that God is alive, that he has heard our prayers and has answered us. I have witnessed the power of prayer,” he told ACI Prensa.

After his release on September 12, 2017, he met with Pope Francis, a moment that was “tremendously emotional.” 

“During the meeting with Pope Francis, I cried and I thanked him for the prayers he had prayed for me that he had asked to be prayed for me.”

Uzhunnalil encouraged all Christians who are suffering persecution today to be steadfast in prayer and in faith in God.

The priest currently lives in Bangalore, India, since Yemen is still at war. However, he assures that he is ready to go back to the country “if that's God's will.”

This article was originally published ACI Prensa. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.