Do not be alarmed. I know that I never blog two days on a row. I'm just testing my ability to blog via my phone..
Paz
The textperimenter
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
....it's a family tradition!
Hello Darlin's!
"If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”
Every time I read this quote from today’s Gospel I get upset. I have to admit that I love my family and my life. And the words of Jesus tell me to hate them!?!?!? I can’t do that. My family, especially my Mom and Dad, were the ones who taught me my faith by their words, actions, and discipline. I get inspiration today from my sister and brother who stay faithful and strong despite the difficult circumstances that they face in their day to day lives. There’s nothing to hate about them. Not only do I love their faithfulness but they are both good people that I’m proud to know and call my brother and sister.
So what could Jesus mean by this statement? Surely Jesus wasn’t anti-family or marriage. He also repeated the Old Testament passage from Genesis affirming the permanence of marriage and how when two people marry they become an unbreakable one. He even came from THE Holy Family! I believe this was another parable from Jesus. He used parables to shock us into attention. Jesus said very bold things to turn our minds and hearts upside down, and so we could get a glimpse of the total commitment of love and forgiveness God has made to us and is asking from us.
My best example of this being lived out is actually from my Mom. Her relationship to God was always first in her life. On the day of my ordination she told me to only go to the Cathedral that morning IF I was going to be a good priest. (I’m still working on that.) But her point was that her pride to have a priest in the family was not as important to her as having a good priest to be dedicated to God and for the Church. I know my sister and brother have also been told and shown that Mom always loved them but also worried about some bad behaviors that could be leading them away from faithfulness to God. In other words, I think Jesus’ message was the same as Mom’s (who died five years ago on Labor Day, by the way). God, and living for God, comes before every possession and every other relationship that we have.
It would be hard to imagine a recovering alcoholic or addict maintaining sobriety while keeping a stash of booze or dope around their house. It is equally hard to think of someone who is truly trying to straighten up a very wayward life and maintaining the relationships he or she had with their very wayward friends. Commitment to Christ takes the same separation when necessary. God comes first always. Even when it means letting go of the ways, possessions, and folks that keep us from living God’s way.
The message is still tough to comprehend. But sometimes we need a good jolt.
paz,
Fr. Chuck
"If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”
Every time I read this quote from today’s Gospel I get upset. I have to admit that I love my family and my life. And the words of Jesus tell me to hate them!?!?!? I can’t do that. My family, especially my Mom and Dad, were the ones who taught me my faith by their words, actions, and discipline. I get inspiration today from my sister and brother who stay faithful and strong despite the difficult circumstances that they face in their day to day lives. There’s nothing to hate about them. Not only do I love their faithfulness but they are both good people that I’m proud to know and call my brother and sister.
So what could Jesus mean by this statement? Surely Jesus wasn’t anti-family or marriage. He also repeated the Old Testament passage from Genesis affirming the permanence of marriage and how when two people marry they become an unbreakable one. He even came from THE Holy Family! I believe this was another parable from Jesus. He used parables to shock us into attention. Jesus said very bold things to turn our minds and hearts upside down, and so we could get a glimpse of the total commitment of love and forgiveness God has made to us and is asking from us.
My best example of this being lived out is actually from my Mom. Her relationship to God was always first in her life. On the day of my ordination she told me to only go to the Cathedral that morning IF I was going to be a good priest. (I’m still working on that.) But her point was that her pride to have a priest in the family was not as important to her as having a good priest to be dedicated to God and for the Church. I know my sister and brother have also been told and shown that Mom always loved them but also worried about some bad behaviors that could be leading them away from faithfulness to God. In other words, I think Jesus’ message was the same as Mom’s (who died five years ago on Labor Day, by the way). God, and living for God, comes before every possession and every other relationship that we have.
It would be hard to imagine a recovering alcoholic or addict maintaining sobriety while keeping a stash of booze or dope around their house. It is equally hard to think of someone who is truly trying to straighten up a very wayward life and maintaining the relationships he or she had with their very wayward friends. Commitment to Christ takes the same separation when necessary. God comes first always. Even when it means letting go of the ways, possessions, and folks that keep us from living God’s way.
The message is still tough to comprehend. But sometimes we need a good jolt.
paz,
Fr. Chuck
Monday, August 23, 2010
I, me, my, mine
Hi folks,
Anytime that I write or talk about humility, I feel like I’m living out that old Mac Davis song that brags, “Lord, it’s hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in every way.” But the gospel today is about Gospel humility so I have to admit again that I am not a humble man, although I do strive to be.
There was a fellow I knew, from a previous parish, who used to come to Mass every time the doors were open; Sundays, Holy Days, holidays, and weekdays. He’d also come to the funeral home, or visit the hospital and nursing home every time a parishioner was in one of those places. He was retired and met with a bunch of other “old goats” at the local Dairy Queen for coffee and gossip (oops, I forgot that men don’t gossip). He would also want to bend my ear about all of the activities “for God” that he was doing. In fact, all he did with anyone at church, the funeral home, the hospital, the nursing home, and at Dairy Queen was talk about himself and all of the things he was doing. I got comments from parishioners fresh out of the hospital, or in the nursing home, or he had met him in the funeral home or in Dairy Queen. They usually complained or joked about his visits. Sometimes he would get so busy talking about himself at the funeral home, hospital, or nursing home that he wouldn’t even ask the parishioner how their loved one died, or why they were sick or in rehab. He would come in telling a big tale about himself or passing on this funny story that he had just heard, and in the mean time he would “forget” to pay any attention to the others he was with. He kept me informed about parishioners and their families that I probably needed to visit. He was sometimes entertaining to be around. He could make anyone laugh, no matter their situation. But he seemed to promote himself to everyone.
Jesus tells us today that, “the one who exalts himself will be humbled; and the one who humbles himself for the sake of the kingdom will be exalted.” Let us practice what we hear from the mouth of Christ today. Let us each and all attempt to do one unselfish act per day this week for the good of someone else. Whether it is saying a prayer for a family member, a neighbor, or someone clear across the world give it a try. Even more unselfishly try to give your time and total attention to someone who might need your time and attention this week. Imitating Christ’s unselfish humility begins by our attempting small acts. Hopefully they will lead to larger sacrifices that will bring us the grace of humility.
paz,
Fr. Chuck
Anytime that I write or talk about humility, I feel like I’m living out that old Mac Davis song that brags, “Lord, it’s hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in every way.” But the gospel today is about Gospel humility so I have to admit again that I am not a humble man, although I do strive to be.
There was a fellow I knew, from a previous parish, who used to come to Mass every time the doors were open; Sundays, Holy Days, holidays, and weekdays. He’d also come to the funeral home, or visit the hospital and nursing home every time a parishioner was in one of those places. He was retired and met with a bunch of other “old goats” at the local Dairy Queen for coffee and gossip (oops, I forgot that men don’t gossip). He would also want to bend my ear about all of the activities “for God” that he was doing. In fact, all he did with anyone at church, the funeral home, the hospital, the nursing home, and at Dairy Queen was talk about himself and all of the things he was doing. I got comments from parishioners fresh out of the hospital, or in the nursing home, or he had met him in the funeral home or in Dairy Queen. They usually complained or joked about his visits. Sometimes he would get so busy talking about himself at the funeral home, hospital, or nursing home that he wouldn’t even ask the parishioner how their loved one died, or why they were sick or in rehab. He would come in telling a big tale about himself or passing on this funny story that he had just heard, and in the mean time he would “forget” to pay any attention to the others he was with. He kept me informed about parishioners and their families that I probably needed to visit. He was sometimes entertaining to be around. He could make anyone laugh, no matter their situation. But he seemed to promote himself to everyone.
Jesus tells us today that, “the one who exalts himself will be humbled; and the one who humbles himself for the sake of the kingdom will be exalted.” Let us practice what we hear from the mouth of Christ today. Let us each and all attempt to do one unselfish act per day this week for the good of someone else. Whether it is saying a prayer for a family member, a neighbor, or someone clear across the world give it a try. Even more unselfishly try to give your time and total attention to someone who might need your time and attention this week. Imitating Christ’s unselfish humility begins by our attempting small acts. Hopefully they will lead to larger sacrifices that will bring us the grace of humility.
paz,
Fr. Chuck
Monday, August 9, 2010
It's a bird! It's a plane! Nope! It's Mary!!!!!
Hi Folks!
This past weekend I got be with my family at the lake. We had Mass on Sunday morning together and I asked them to reflect on how they had seen God in the surprises that they experienced this past year. My five nieces, my sister and brother, my sister in law and brother in law, and I had no problem at all relating to one another where we had been surprised in the last twelve months, and how God was part of the surprise. My niece Stephanie, who will be a freshman in high school soon, talked about how had found out this year that she was a better and stronger person, since she had gotten away from some “good time only” friends. For a thirteen or fourteen year old to come to that realization, and not succumb to the group mentality is huge. Only God could have called her to strike out on her own like that. She also recognized God in her self and in the relationships that matter.
On this Feast of the Assumption we hear Mary tell her cousin Elizabeth, “God has done great things in me…” In her Magnificat Mary witnesses to us that God is always with us in our changes and surprises. We can barely imagine what an ordeal Mary had to go through just to give birth to Jesus. The surprise of Gabriel’s visit was just the first of Mary’s shocks. Family, friends, neighbors, synagogue friends and foes, and even Joseph had to treat her like an outcast (at the very least). Being single, young, and pregnant in her day and culture was reason for either expulsion from the community and a life of prostitution usually, IF you weren’t stoned to death by your family when the news first broke. Yet Mary says, “God has done great things in me…”
Her life of Godly surprises culminated in being rewarded by being assumed into Heaven by God after Mary’s death. That is what we celebrate here this weekend. God surprised her again after her life on Earth with bodily assumption into Heaven.
This weekend and for the rest of this week, let’s pray about the surprise that God has given to us in our life. Can we see God in those surprises? Are we open to the changes God has yet in mind for us?
paz,
Fr. Chuck
This past weekend I got be with my family at the lake. We had Mass on Sunday morning together and I asked them to reflect on how they had seen God in the surprises that they experienced this past year. My five nieces, my sister and brother, my sister in law and brother in law, and I had no problem at all relating to one another where we had been surprised in the last twelve months, and how God was part of the surprise. My niece Stephanie, who will be a freshman in high school soon, talked about how had found out this year that she was a better and stronger person, since she had gotten away from some “good time only” friends. For a thirteen or fourteen year old to come to that realization, and not succumb to the group mentality is huge. Only God could have called her to strike out on her own like that. She also recognized God in her self and in the relationships that matter.
On this Feast of the Assumption we hear Mary tell her cousin Elizabeth, “God has done great things in me…” In her Magnificat Mary witnesses to us that God is always with us in our changes and surprises. We can barely imagine what an ordeal Mary had to go through just to give birth to Jesus. The surprise of Gabriel’s visit was just the first of Mary’s shocks. Family, friends, neighbors, synagogue friends and foes, and even Joseph had to treat her like an outcast (at the very least). Being single, young, and pregnant in her day and culture was reason for either expulsion from the community and a life of prostitution usually, IF you weren’t stoned to death by your family when the news first broke. Yet Mary says, “God has done great things in me…”
Her life of Godly surprises culminated in being rewarded by being assumed into Heaven by God after Mary’s death. That is what we celebrate here this weekend. God surprised her again after her life on Earth with bodily assumption into Heaven.
This weekend and for the rest of this week, let’s pray about the surprise that God has given to us in our life. Can we see God in those surprises? Are we open to the changes God has yet in mind for us?
paz,
Fr. Chuck
Monday, August 2, 2010
We are richly blessed
Hi Friends,
"Much will be required of the one entrusted with much..."
This is part of the last line of the Gospel we hear this weekend. I think it is aimed right at us disciples in our time and place. We are very greatly gifted. We have resources in our personal lives, our families, our Church, and our country that most people in the rest of the world can't even imagine. That point was driven home to me last weekend. It was my honor to be able to have the P.I.M.E. Missionary Fr. Vijay Marneni stay with me at St. Ambrose. In our conversations in the luxury of my car and in my rectory, Fr. Vijay told Peter Bucalo and I of his life and ministry. Besides the issues of no transportation except his own two feet, no clean water, no electricity, and other comforts that we enjoy, he has to fear for his life and for the lives of his parishioners daily. In the missionary parts of the Philippines where he ministered for three years priests were kidnapped and killed over money for guns for rebels. In the mountainous and remote areas of Mexico where he is pastoring now, the tribal feuds and drug cartels are so violent that the police where hoods over their faces so that they will not be recognized, and their families be slaughtered as the repercussion. He has murders happen as parishioners leave Sunday Mass.
We need to be thankful for our lives, what we have, and where we live. But we have a larger responsibility to be good stewards of what we've given for the the sakes of those close to us and for sisters and brothers around the world that we
never meet.
"Much will be required.." means many different things to each of us since each of us have been entrusted different gifts. It takes prayer and the discerning help of the Holy Spirit to determine where and how each of us must let go of what we have been entrusted with. But a great place to begin is working on our trust.
Trust is a gift that comes from prayer and practise. Trust is also a rare commodity in our society. We are trained to question authority, to fear the stranger, to be independent. The Gospel calls us to follow the example of Jesus Christ and trust God in all things, letting go of everything else. By prayer and practise we learn that trust is what got Jesus through his trials, persecutions, and death on the cross. He prayed for it and practised trust. He is every disciple's role model for learning and practising trust.
This week let us pray and ask the Holy Spirit for the courage to begin trusting as Jesus requires.
Paz,
Fr. Chuck
"Much will be required of the one entrusted with much..."
This is part of the last line of the Gospel we hear this weekend. I think it is aimed right at us disciples in our time and place. We are very greatly gifted. We have resources in our personal lives, our families, our Church, and our country that most people in the rest of the world can't even imagine. That point was driven home to me last weekend. It was my honor to be able to have the P.I.M.E. Missionary Fr. Vijay Marneni stay with me at St. Ambrose. In our conversations in the luxury of my car and in my rectory, Fr. Vijay told Peter Bucalo and I of his life and ministry. Besides the issues of no transportation except his own two feet, no clean water, no electricity, and other comforts that we enjoy, he has to fear for his life and for the lives of his parishioners daily. In the missionary parts of the Philippines where he ministered for three years priests were kidnapped and killed over money for guns for rebels. In the mountainous and remote areas of Mexico where he is pastoring now, the tribal feuds and drug cartels are so violent that the police where hoods over their faces so that they will not be recognized, and their families be slaughtered as the repercussion. He has murders happen as parishioners leave Sunday Mass.
We need to be thankful for our lives, what we have, and where we live. But we have a larger responsibility to be good stewards of what we've given for the the sakes of those close to us and for sisters and brothers around the world that we
never meet.
"Much will be required.." means many different things to each of us since each of us have been entrusted different gifts. It takes prayer and the discerning help of the Holy Spirit to determine where and how each of us must let go of what we have been entrusted with. But a great place to begin is working on our trust.
Trust is a gift that comes from prayer and practise. Trust is also a rare commodity in our society. We are trained to question authority, to fear the stranger, to be independent. The Gospel calls us to follow the example of Jesus Christ and trust God in all things, letting go of everything else. By prayer and practise we learn that trust is what got Jesus through his trials, persecutions, and death on the cross. He prayed for it and practised trust. He is every disciple's role model for learning and practising trust.
This week let us pray and ask the Holy Spirit for the courage to begin trusting as Jesus requires.
Paz,
Fr. Chuck
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