Pray at All Times

 "With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit"

The Bible tells us we are to pray without ceasing, but for many believers this is not understood in a practical sense. Prayer for each individual must become a daily, constant, and consistent way of living. In any given moment we are only a thought and breath from communicating with God. In a day and age when we pride ourselves on having high-speed internet connections, we also have a high-speed instant access connection with the Heavenly Father.

In the book of Psalms we get some insight into the approach that David took in praying at all times. In Psalm 4 we are reminded that he prayed before ending the day. In Psalm 5 we see him start his day in prayer. In Psalm 6 we see how he prayed in the aftermath of his failures. In Psalm 7 we read how David prayed when the pressure was on and he was under attack. In Psalm 8 he prayed when he thought of the creative power of God. In Psalm 9 we see that he prayed in times of joy. In Psalm 10 he prayed when he felt isolated.

It is safe to say that David as a lifestyle prayed without ceasing and stressed how important it is to keep the lines of communication open to God.

One Tick at a Time

We have both analogue and digital watches and clocks. Some prefer one to the other.

But as we look at the analogue clock or watch, there is also something worth reflecting about the ticking of the second hand.

If we do some calculations, that second hand goes 60 ticks a minute, 3600 ticks an hour, 86,400 ticks a day, 604,800 ticks a week, and 31,449,600 ticks a year.

Now that is a lot of ticking. Yet that humble second-hand shows us something.

It takes one tick at a time.

We don't have to worry about how many ticks we have to accomplish in a year, or in a week, or in a day or even in a minute.

That is all taken care of by God.

What we need to do is to let love, joy, peace, patience, compassion, kindness, generosity start ticking in our lives.

That is what is meant by setting our hearts on the Kingdom of God and on His righteousness.

Keys to Success

Awareness - know yourself
Understand "stages of life" (expectations)
Seek support - don't journey alone
Be responsible - healthy self-care
Be human - allow for mistakes
Be honest - keep looking in the mirror and beyond
Understand needs and wants
Set long- and short-term goals
Think straight
Trust your feeling

Attitude - positive, optimistic, hopeful, grateful, committed

Self-care = self-esteem = mental, physical, emotional

Spiritual care - personal prayer, community prayer, spiritual direction, scripture, spiritual literature, awareness of and respect for all of life and Creation.

The Lake Isle of Innisfree

 

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

One of my favorite quotations from St Francis of Assisi is, “It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.” St Francis goes on to say that his desire is “to convert the world by obedience to the Holy Rule rather by example than by word.” What brought this quotation from St Francis to mind is today’s second reading from St Paul’s letter, 1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10. St. Paul reminded the Christians of Thessalonica that they were models “for all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia”. They were models because they tried to imitate the Lord and because “the word of the Lord has sounded forth not only in Macedonia and [in] Achaia, but in every place [their] faith in God has gone forth.” As I reflected on these two verses and the quotation from St Francis, I wondered if the Christians of Holy Trinity Catholic Church are considered models of faith for all the believers in Peachtree City, or Fayette County, or the State of Georgia or the nation. Does the word of the Lord sound forth from us? Are we good imitators of the Lord?

Throughout the New Testament we read that love is our Christian benchmark. Jesus confirms importance of love in today’s gospel from Matthew 22:34-40. Here the Pharisees challenged him again with the question, “"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" Jesus addressed the challenge by answering "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."

Both St John and St Paul continued the theme of love in their Epistles. In the First Letter of John 4:16 we read that “God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.” God loves us completely with a generosity that cannot be measured. St. Paul tells us in Romans 5: 5 that “the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us.” We, in turn, are expected to share that love with all the people we encounter. Our love of God is what enables us to love other people. And it is our love of other people that identifies us as exemplary Christians.

We don’t need to proselytize to sound forth the word of the Lord; we need to love. If we can demonstrate a fraction of the love God bestows on us, we can change the world.

God, you display your almighty power

in loving us without regret.

In the human heart of Jesus your Son

you have shown us the boundlessness of your love.

Give us a love that is forgiving,

generous and gentle like his,

that we may recognize and welcome him

in our brothers and sisters.

And may our hearts reach out first

to the poorest and the least lovable,

with the gratuitous love you have given us

in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Thank You, God, for Another Day

 

Whole

It’s no wonder that sometimes we feel fragmented and disjointed. The world looks like it's divided into billions of pieces, all separate and distinct. What is the force that unites all the parts and keeps everything from colliding in random motion? Is there a Whole? 

Emerson called it the Soul. Others call it the Life Force, Brahman, the movement of energy, Higher Power, God.

If we imagine the Whole is the Soul and we acknowledge that each of us also has a Soul, or is a Soul, then we have outlined the great paradox, the mystery of the universe: All that is out there, everything on earth and in the heavens, is also part of us. We reflect the majesty of all the pieces and all the pieces are a reflection of us. To know the Whole, the unifying thing itself, we must turn to our own Soul and get to know the God within.

My life is one piece, a Whole, just as the world is one piece, a Whole. Contained in my Soul is all the mystery and magic of the universe.

Refresh Yourself at Mass

When the well threatens to run dry, it's time to rest and refill.

We can't always be doing and giving and producing. There comes a time when we run out of steam, and that's when we need to know how to replenish our supply of energy and enthusiasm.

Some of us get recharged by being with other people. Some of us need to be quiet and alone. All of us can profit from going to Mass. It can give us all an inspirational uplift. Mass can help us to become recharged. It can help us to savor the beauty of nature, and lead us to a period of quiet meditation with the God of Love.

Vacations can be wonderful, but we're not always able to take them when we need them. What we can do is learn how to create for ourselves islands of recreation re-creation -- which may be inserted into our busy, everyday schedule. We can learn to stop and refill the well before it runs dry, so we do not drive ourselves into the kind of exhaustion that threatens our spirituality.

I will build an island of re-creation into today's schedule by going to Mass.

Samuel Morse

Wakefield tells the story of the famous inventor Samuel Morse who was once asked if he ever encountered situations where he didn't know what to do. Morse responded, "More than once, and whenever I could not see my way clearly, I knelt down and prayed to God for light and understanding."

Morse received many honors from his invention of the telegraph but felt undeserving: "I have made a valuable application of electricity not because I was superior to other people but solely because God, who meant it for humanity, must reveal it to someone and He was pleased to reveal it to me."

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Back in 1726 Daniel DeFoe published The Political History of the Devil. In this book he made a statement that is still heard today, "Things as certain as death and taxes, can be more firmly believed." Benjamin Franklin made some adjustments to the phrase in 1789 saying, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." I have used this expression myself. Death is inevitable for all of us. Taxes can be a nuisance. For some of us, taxes are the bane of our existence. However, in most societies they are a necessity if we want to maintain a functional, civil society.

In today’s gospel, Matthew 22:15-21, the Pharisees attempted to trap Jesus by asking “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?" We all know how Jesus responded, “repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." We pay our various governments federal income taxes, state income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes and social security taxes. We pay taxes for our license tags, special taxes on gasoline for our cars and estate taxes when we die. We pay a lot of taxes.

We know what we are supposed to repay to our governments, but what belongs to God? As Christians we believe that everything belongs to God because everything comes from God. How can we possibly repay God for everything? There are many ways we can show our gratitude to God for all that we are given. We can tithe, sharing the treasure God gives us. We can give our talents sharing the unique gifts God gives us. And, we can give our time by reading scripture, praying, attending mass and participating in parish activities.

One of the clearest statements about what God expects of us is found in Micah 6:6-8. “With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow before God most high? Shall I come before him with holocausts, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with myriad streams of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my crime, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God."

God our Father,

Open our eyes to see your hand at work

In the splendor of creation,

In the beauty of human life.

Touched by your hand our world is holy.

Help us to cherish the gifts that surround us,

To share your blessings with our brothers and sisters,

And to experience the joy of life in your presence.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen

Pearl

The beauty of a single pearl, or a string of the precious stones, is unmistakable. Few jewels capture the eye quite like a perfect pearl. Know how the pearl came to be? In the beginning, it’s only a grain of sand. That tiny little irritant slips inside the tight seal of an oyster’s shell, and immediately causes discomfort. With no way to expel the grain of sand, with no way to ease the pain, the oyster coats the sand with a layer of the inner lining of its shell to make the sand smooth. This still does not ease the oyster's suffering. Again and again the oyster coats the sand, but all the attempts to get rid of the irritant have little effect. As far as an oyster is concerned, what we call a “pearl” is nothing more than great suffering. But one day the oyster is fished from the water and opened. The gem inside has amazing beauty and holds great value – all because the oyster had great suffering.

Maybe it’s no accident that the 12 gates of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:21) are made of pearls. It’s the suffering of our Savior that allows the gate to be there in the first place, and more than likely, all who enter those priceless gates will have also known the personal cost of great suffering.

Boats Floating Downstream

In Centering Prayer, a contemplative practice taught by Thomas Keating, we choose a “sacred word” to help us return to our intention of awareness to God’s presence. The word might be “Peace” or “Be” or “Love”—something simple. Don’t spend too much time analyzing the word. Hold it lightly and let it go when it is no longer needed, but come back to it any time your thoughts interrupt the stillness.

Keating uses the imagery of a river in Centering Prayer to help compartmentalize our “thinking” mind. He says our ordinary thoughts are like boats on a river so closely packed together that we cannot experience the river that flows underneath them. The river is the Presence of God holding us up. When we find ourselves getting distracted or hooked by a thought or feeling, we are to return ever so gently to our sacred word, letting the boat (thought or feeling) float on downstream. Gradually, the mind is quieted, with fewer thoughts/feelings and more space between “boats.”

Be patient with this practice. We all have ingrained patterns. Sometimes the same thought or feeling will circle by again and again, saying “Think me! Think me! Feel me! Feel me!” as it tries harder to be noticed. Just keep returning to the sacred word and letting the boats float downstream.

No One Can

 

Work and Family

To the world you are just a person. To a company you are just an employee.

The day you resign, your work cubicle will be replaced. Your absence missed for a day then the company forgets you. They went on to make their money for they need to, and they have no time to grieve because of the expectations they have to fulfill. Occasionally they make mistakes and it may come with a price, you have to pay.

This is why, my friends, do not mix work with family. Do not take your work home, cast your family aside and forget about giving time to your children. Because in their hearts you are never replaced, because when you are gone, every day you will be missed. If anything happen to you, it will be your family and friends crying like crazy for you. Because to them, even though you are just one person, you are their world.

So reset your priorities. Be a good worker but be a better father / mother / friend / daughter / son / sister / brother / husband / wife.

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

One of Mark Twain’s more famous quotations is: “Clothes make the man.” A superficial reading of this Sunday’s gospel from Matthew 22:1-14, could draw us to the conclusion that Jesus agrees with Mr. Twain’s assessment about the importance of looking great when we arrive in the Kingdom of Heaven. Unfortunately for the fashionistas, Jesus is not making a fashion statement here. What Jesus is talking about in this parable, according to William Barclay, is “the spirit in which we go to God’s house.” Scripture reminds us in both the Old and New Testaments that we must approach God with reverence and awe.

This is a very straight forward parable and is similar to the parable of the bad tenants we heard last week. The king sent out invitations to his subjects for the marriage feast of his son. But the invitation was rejected. He then sent his servants out with a second invitation but the servants were mistreated and killed. The king responded with vengeance killing the ungrateful subjects and destroying their town. Then the king sent his servants out to invite “whomever you find.” They did as they were instructed and invited good people and bad people who accepted the invitation and attended the wedding feast. One person attended in inappropriate attire. The king was enraged and had that person thrown out, saying, “Many are invited, but few are chosen."

Like the parable of the bad tenants, this parable was directed to the chief priests and elders. Jesus was sending them a clear message, if you reject the invitation to the banquet of the Lord that is described in our first reading from Isaiah 25:6–10a, then others will be called to take your place. For those who accepted the invitation, there was an expectation that they would attend, casting off their dirty clothing and put on wedding garments which symbolize our baptismal promises. And as St Paul reminds us over and over again, when we are baptized we put on Christ.

What does this mean? St Paul gives us an explanation in Colossians 3:12–15: “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body.”

O good and gracious God,

you have invited all the peoples of the world

 to the wedding feast of your Son

 And offer them a feast beyond compare.

Open our community to all who seek you 

the poor and the rich, the weak and the strong.

May we lead others to the banquet of eternal life

where all will be welcome. 

 We ask 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

Making a Mess

Six-year-old Brandon decided one Saturday morning to fix his parents pancakes. He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair to the counter, opened the cupboard and pulled out the heavy flour canister, spilling it on the floor. He scooped some of the flour into the bowl with his hands, mixed in most of a cup of milk and added some sugar, leaving a floury trail on the floor which by now had a few tracks left by his kitten. Brandon was covered with flour and getting frustrated. He wanted this to be something very good for Mom and Dad, but it was getting very bad.

He didn't know what to do next, whether to put it all into the oven or on the stove and he didn't know how the stove worked!. Suddenly he saw his kitten licking from the bowl of mix and reached to push her away, knocking the egg carton to the floor. Frantically he tried to clean up this monumental mess but slipped on the eggs, getting his pajamas white and sticky.

And just then he saw Dad standing at the door. Big crocodile tears welled up in Brandon's eyes. All he'd wanted to do was something good, but he'd made a terrible mess. He was sure a scolding was coming, maybe even a spanking. But his father just watched him. Then, walking through the mess, he picked up his crying son, hugged him and loved him, getting his own pajamas white and sticky in the process.

That's how God deals with us. We try to do something good in life, but it turns into a mess. Our vocation gets all sticky or we insult a friend, or we can't stand our situation, or our health goes sour.

Sometimes we just stand there in tears because we can't think of anything else to do. That's when God picks us up and loves us and forgives us, even though some of our mess gets all over Him. But just because we might mess up, we can't stop trying to "make pancakes" for God or for others. Sooner or later we'll get it right, and then they'll be glad we tried.

Happiness Within

Even before Christ, there existed wonderful philosophy in Greece and Rome. The ancient Romans were practical people. They did not ask themselves theoretical questions. They asked how they, as people, could become happy. They concluded that they must keep the source of happiness within themselves. They were the Stoic Philosophers. The writers included Epictetus and the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. They were wise and wonderful.

The Stoics believed that they could not depend on the "outside" for happiness. The "outside is beyond my control. I must keep some control over my happiness or I will always be a victim. Example: I would be happy if my wife (or husband) were cheerful in the morning. I will be happy when I win the lottery. This is not the road to happiness. Happiness is securely found only from within.

The Stoics said that we could not let our desires go unrestrained. If I let my desires go wild, I can convince myself that I need a yacht to be happy. I do not need a yacht, or a DVR or a Porsche, or a widescreen TV. We can decide what we need; we can be content with what we have. In this regard, there are two ways to get rich. I define a rich person as one who earns more than s/he wants to spend. You could earn a fortune, more than you could ever want to spend. Or you could limit your desire to spend. J.P. Morgan chose the first way. Francis of Assisi chose the second. They were both rich.

The Stoics were a secular philosophy. They did not bring God into the picture. When we take the Stoic wisdom and add our spirituality, then we really have a plan of life. Look inside yourself for happiness. Inside you find the God who loves you. This God is the only sure source of happiness. Now we find that Francis of Assisi just might have been the happiest individual whoever lived.

Twin Brothers

The family had two twin boys whose only resemblance to each other were their looks. If one felt it was too hot, the other thought it was too cold. If one said the TV was too loud, the other claimed the volume was too low. Opposite in every way, one was an eternal optimist, the other a doom and gloom pessimist.

Just to see what would happen, on the twins’ birthday, the father loaded the pessimist’s room with every imaginable toy and game. The optimist’s room he loaded with horse manure.

That night, the father passed by the pessimist’s room and found him sitting amid his new gifts crying bitterly. “Why are you crying?” the father asked. “Because my friends will be jealous, I’ll have to read all these instructions before I can do anything with this stuff, I’ll constantly need batteries and my toys will eventually get broken,” answered the pessimist twin.

Passing the optimist twin’s room, the father found him dancing for joy in the pile of manure. “What are you so happy about?” he asked. To which his optimist twin replied, “With all this manure, there’s got to be a pony in here somewhere.”

Which are you??

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time *A*

Today’s readings present us with two contrasting stories about vineyards. Vineyards have played a prominent role in our readings for three consecutive Sundays. Two weeks ago, we heard the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, last week we heard the Parable of the Two Disappointing Sons who were asked by their father to work in his vineyard and today we hear Isaiah’s Vineyard Song and the Parable of the Wicked Tenants working in the vineyard.

The vineyard in Isaiah’s song is tenderly cared for, nurtured, “and planted [with] the choicest vines.” The planter’s expectations for the vineyard are so high that he builds a winepress. He is ready for a fruitful harvest. However, he is in for a big disappointment. The vineyard does not produce juicy grapes; rather it produces wild, sour grapes that are not good for anything. So, he destroys the vineyard. Isaiah tells us that the planter is “The Lord of hosts,” the vineyard “is the House of Israel” and “the people of Judah are his cherished plant.”

In St. Matthew’s gospel, the Parable of the Wicked Tenants working in the vineyard is similar to the story in Isaiah’s song but it has a very different ending. In this parable, the vineyard is the Kingdom of God, the tenants are the religious leaders (chief priests and elders), the servants are the prophets, the Son is Jesus and the landowner is God the Father. God entrusted his vineyard to the tenants. He provided them with everything they needed to produce a fruitful harvest. However, when he comes back to reap the fruits of the harvest, the tenants beat, kill and stone his faithful servants. They also kill his son. They are selfish and greedy. However, in this parable God does not destroy the vineyard or the tenants. He evicts the tenants and replaces them with people who will tend his vineyard with loving care and produce a fruitful harvest.

All three parables we have heard over the past three weeks are about our stewardship in the Kingdom of God. God gives us everything we need to build the Kingdom and produce good fruit. He trusts us to do the work. He gives us second and third opportunities to succeed. And, as St. Paul reminds us in today’s second reading from Philippians 4:6-9, God expects us to perform our tasks with an attitude that is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, excellent and worthy of praise. If we can accomplish all of this, then we can be assured that “the God of peace will be with” us forever and ever.

Father, 

 Your love for us 

Surpasses all our hopes and desires. 

 Forgive our failings, 

 Keep us in your peace 

 And lead us to the way of salvation. 

 We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 

 Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit 

God, forever and ever.

Amen