Seeing Red

Red is the color of the day and  if you are Italian, you would be celebrating the Feast Day of Saint Joseph. Following on the heels of Saint Patrick's Day it is observed by fewer people and not quite as well known but an important day never the less.


But why do Italians hold St Joseph in such high regard since he obviously was not Italian but rather Judean?  It all goes back to to the middle ages when there was a very severe drought in Sicily.  The people of Sicily, being very religious, turned to St Joseph as the father figure of Jesus and known as Joseph the Worker and asked him in prayer to end the drought.  The people promised that if he would do as they asked - they would have a giant feast in honor of him saving them from the drought.  St Joseph answered their prayers and the people of Sicily kept their word.  They prepared such a large feast that everyone was invited - rich and poor alike.  It is this kindness that continues to this day.  In many parishes food baskets are brought to the parish church for blessing before beginning the feast.  This is how March 19th became such a special day to the Italians. 

If you have ever visited Italy you would experience this generosity which continues to this day. When I had the opportunity to visit my aunts and cousins in Italy - we were treated like royalty. It was a great experience.  Italians are also known for being very passionate about life which may explain the custom of very animated conversation and hand gestures.  As the conversion rises to a peak you will notice many red faced people as each tries to speak their own piece.  


Would that all of us would become red faced as we share our love for Jesus and His Holy Church as we proclaim His message of reconciliation and forgiveness.  


Deacon Dale 

Born Again

There - I said it!  "Born Again" are two of the most feared words in the Christian vocabulary. What is it that causes so much concern in people when they hear those words?  Is it because they have encountered someone who has had a born again experience and have become much more zealous about their faith than most people?  Is it because they walk around with their Bibles tucked under their arms with a holier than thou attitude?  Or is it because you just don't understand what being born again is all about and others have warned you to avoid anyone who claims to be born again.

In today's' Gospel Jesus is talking with Nicodemus and he is the one who asked Jesus how a man could be born again.  He wondered if it was possible for a person to re-enter their mother's womb and be born over a second time.  Of course that is not what Jesus was talking about.  No - He was stating the fact that each of us must have a spiritual re-birth and Jesus has to be born into our hearts, minds and souls so that we can share eternal life with Him.  We are at the half-way mark in Lent and the goal for each of us should be seeking a newness of spiritual life - to have Christ born again in us - to experience Jesus in a new way that affirms and encourages us as we walk the Lenten path to Calvary and the Victory of Christ over sin and death.  All of us have been placed on this path - now we need to look and see - how far have we progressed?


Deacon Dale 

The Wearing O' the Green

Happy Saint Patrick Day!  What a blessing - in the midst of Lent we can pause - change our color from purple to green and celebrate one of the most famous saints!  You do not have to be Irish to celebrate this day, but it helps!  A few years back my wife and I visited Ireland and we had to look high and low and get out of the tourist area before we found a true Irishman who spoke with a legitimate Irish brogue.  He informed us that in Dublin they did not celebrate St. Patrick Day - no he said they celebrate an entire week!

    

                                                           

With that thought in mind we are reminded that whenever we do anything worth doing - we need to keep doing it over and over again until we have it perfected. Just as green reminds us of the evergreen and the fact that it is green all year round - we too need to be as constant as that in our prayer life. In Lent - celebrating a great saint - or just staying connected with God - the answer is constancy

Deacon Dale 

Do As I Say....

Do as I say - not do as I do.  Think about this - how are we living out our lives as modern disciples of Jesus if we do not practice what we preach?  Is it honest to proclaim one thing - to urge others to do that which we ourselves do not do?  Many years ago I had a physician who basically forced me to have a hernia operation that I did not want done. Honestly - I was fearful for a bad outcome. My doctor urged and urged me until I finally gave in and had the surgery.  Everything went fine and afterwards I was happy that I went ahead with the procedure.  However,  when I was discussing the operation with the physician who had urged me to have it fixed - he admitted that he also had a hernia that needed repair but had not had it done.  When I asked him what he was waiting for he declared that he was afraid of surgery.  I lost almost all respect for him upon hearing that - how could he have the gall to push me into having a surgical procedure done on my body when he was afraid to have it done on his body?  In retrospect I am happy that he pushed me into the procedure - but I still ask myself how can you tell people to do something that you would not do yourself?  

When I discuss prayer with people - quite often they tell me how hard it is to find time to pray or how difficult it is to go to a quiet place and talk with God.  I can only tell them that I can relate one-hundred percent with them - because even though I am ordained - I too, have a hard time, on occasion, to find the time that I need to devote to prayer.  We are all very similar - we have busy lives and although we have the best intentions - we are not always able to accomplish even a simple thing like talking to God in prayer.  My best advice is just stick with it.  If you miss morning prayer - you can always try again in the afternoon or evening.  The point is to not quit - but to hang in there - after all when Jesus was dying on the cross He could have quit - but because of His love for us - He hung in there.


Deacon Dale 

Are You A Prophet?

Have you ever considered yourself a prophet?  No?  Yes?  It might seem a bit audacious for anyone to actually consider that they could be considered a prophet.  After all - you have to be an extremely holy person to make such a claim don't you?  Or maybe not.  If we think about the prophets in the Bible the majority of them did not want to be a prophet - a mouth piece for the Lord.  Many argued with God when He told them that He had selected  them for this special task.

The duty of a prophet is to give audible voice to God's words.  In the Bible a prophet often warned people of a future action of God or remanded them for something they were not doing properly. It is sort of like your mother warning you that if you don't complete a task that your father has instructed you to do, that you would suffer the consequences when he came back home.  Better do it or you will pay the price. 


Each of us has heard the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus - each of us had been instructed in its meaning - each of us has been well versed in our obligation.as a Christian.  Like John the Baptist the scripture does pertain to us - "You my child shall be called the prophet of the Most High for you will go before the Lord to prepare His way.." Luke 1:76.  


Are you a prophet - you better be!


Deacon Dale 

Lent Suggestions

Lent is a very rewarding time during the Church year.  In Lent we are asked - to our benefit - to pause and look at where we are in our journey with Jesus.  We are challenged to fast - pray and give alms.  Quite often I am asked just how does one accomplish all that? 

As simple as it may seem - it does pose a challenge for some - particularly if you have children whom you are trying to get involved.  Rather than write out a list here - I prefer to refer you to a web site http://www.catholicmom.com/lent.htm that has already answered that question.  Thank God for moms who are serious about their faith and particularly those who have invested time in preparing such an assortment of Lenten ideas.

Isn't God just awesome in His disciples!

Deacon Dale 

Prayer Closet

Quite often when talking about improving a person's prayer life the term "prayer closet" is used. Do you understand what that means?  Figuratively it means finding a place to pray where you can focus on prayer and not be disturbed by anyone or anything. When we pray we need to be able to quiet ourselves - to calm down those busy thoughts that occupy our mind about all the little things that happen in the course of an average day - the laundry - taking the kids to school - our exercise class - meetings - and so on.  As we try to quiet ourselves we realize how busy our minds are with all these other thoughts. Getting to a place of quiet is very difficult for some and quite easy for others. 

Years ago I knew a couple who found that to be able to focus on their prayer life they had to physically go into their prayer closet which was an actual closet!  It seems that the apartment they lived in had an unusual closet that was triangular in shape. Their clothes hung on a rod at the front of the closet which left a sizable space in the back part of the triangle - enough room for an adult to slip in there with a flashlight.  This became their prayer closet and in that space they would meditate - journal - and pray.  It worked very well for them as their apartment was small and there was no other way to get away by themselves for some quiet prayer time.


Each of us needs to locate our own prayer closet whether it is an actual room or simply a place at home or in church or at a park - where we can be quiet and spend quality time talking and listening to God.  Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God" - challenges us - in our prayer closet and in our hearts.


Deacon Dale 

Outreach

It is only natural that we who are in ministry reach out to others.  There are many ways we do this - our friendly nature - our smiles - our accepting words.  Whenever we have the opportunity to preach or teach, we always make a concerned effort to include everyone into our focus.  In our efforts to reach as many people as possible we even invest our time into such things as blogs, such as the one I write.  I find it interesting that when I take the time to review the statistics of this blog and who is reading it - there is always a good number of people from Russia and Poland who have visited this blog. Now I do have friends in Poland but none in Russia and to my knowledge none of them even know about my blog - so I wonder - who is reading this blog and what do they think.  I would be interested in getting comments from these readers just to share with everyone who read this blog - why or how they found this blog and their thoughts.

For all of us as we continue our own walks during Lent - each and everyone can stop and ask themselves - who is watching me and "reading" my actions.  Am I living a good Christian lifestyle and do I reflect that in my actions and thoughts and words.  What silent "homily" am I preaching by how I act and react to life's challenges.  Am I truly living a lifestyle worthy of a modern day disciple or do I only give lip service to the Christ that I worship.  Do I do what I have been asked to do - do I live and breathe the Gospel message of Jesus - what is my focus and do I make a serious effort to touch others - to reach out and share the gift of peace that Jesus offers to all - am I honestly living a good Lent?


Deacon Dale 

Human Nature

What does it mean when we refer to "human nature"?  Is that a reference to some biological function - or a quirk - or oddball mannerism - or does it have to do with how we humans act in general?   From the NAB we read in John 2: 24-25 "But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all, and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood it well."   That scripture makes it sound like Jesus was less than impressed with how humans acted in general.  Like many of us - He must have experienced a lot of disappointing moments with humans.  I know all of us can attest to experiencing bad human nature - not everyone falls into this category - but enough do for a person to learn over time to lose faith in other people.


Losing faith in other people is one thing - losing faith in yourself is another.  As we begin our third week of Lent many of us want to beat ourselves up because we have either not started our observance of Lent or have fallen short in what we wanted to accomplish. The good news is that we can adapt and make changes now to insure achieving our goals. That is one great feature of human nature - our ability to adapt and comprise - to change what we have been doing or not doing and do something different to make it better. With God all things are possible.


Deacon Dale 

1001 Ways To Die

Death is never convenient and rarely welcomed.  Whether it is a new born or a very elderly person - death touches all who knew them.  It never seems right that anyone should die - not even the sick or injured.  As Americans - we value life very highly.  To us the gift of life means that there is a reason for our life and that in some way we add value to the people around us.  A baby creates joy and laughter and brings families closer as they celebrate the newness of a small life. Older members of a family - filled with wisdom and a wacky sense of humor - reaffirm that living a long life is important to everyone whom they have touched in their many years.


We celebrate life - we celebrate family - we celebrate births - we celebrate each other. When life ends - at an all too early age or at what we perceive as a normal life span - we mourn the loss of that particular life.  We grieve and in that grieving process we reflect on the value of life in general and the life of our deceased one in particular. We ask and question - we try to understand death and the whys of death.  In the end it is impossible - no one can give us the answer as to why or when or how.  Death never makes sense to us who appreciate life so much.  


It is comforting to us as Christians that we believe at the beginning of life - as we are born into this world - that God is holding our hand and guiding us towards a life filled with His presence and all the wonders that we will experience during our lifetime.  And in death we also believe that God is still there - still present in our life - guiding us through the dying process and re-birth into eternal life - filled with all the wonders that we have yet to experience as we go through this rite of passage - just as we are born into this world and then at the end of this mortal life - born into the eternal.  


There are many ways to look at life and death - the one way is to die in Christ.  To hold His hand as He leads you into eternity - to be One with Him.


Deacon Dale