Be Prepared - the Boy Scout motto that every young scout must learn. Be prepared so that you are ready for any contingency that may arise - be prepared so you can help when called upon to volunteer - be prepared and life will rarely catch you off guard. Good advice for both young and not so young. How many times have you thought that you would have been better of if you had taken the time to properly prepare - how many occasions did you falter and stumble because you thought you had more time than you actually did? Learning to plan ahead and following through with those plans often make the difference between success and failure.
Jesus gave us the same kind of advice - in Matthew 3:2 - He warned "repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" and in Matthew 24:36 He said "no one knows the day or the hour when these things will happen...." He gave his disciples a warning that the time to make changes was now rather than later when it might be too late. Today He gives us the same message - make things right - make them sincere - be prepared.
Deacon Dale
"No foot - no horse" is an old saying that I heard quite often years ago when we had horses and ponies around our ranch. What it meant was that you were a sorry rancher if you did not take the time to properly care for your horses and other animals entrusted to your care. Just like brushing your dog's or cat's fur to remove whatever they might have gotten into - it was imperative that to have a healthy happy horse you had to spend the money and hire a farrier to properly trim and shoe your horse - if they wore shoes. A lame horse was useless - you could not ride them or work them. The same goes for people - no foot - no mom (or dad) or whomever. Foot health is very important to people so they may remain active and healthy. Most of us ignore our feet. Sure we wash them and dry between the toes - but that is where most people stop. Women in particular are guilty of squeezing their feet into shoes that are too small or narrow in the name of fashion. Some men also do this but for whatever reason it seems to be more of a female issue.
When going on a pilgrimage or any long walking trip it is imperative that you wear comfy shoes or sandals. Failing to do so means paying the price with hot blistered feet and being unable to enjoy the remaining walking part of the journey. We need our feet to get to important places. Jesus instructed his disciples to travel light - not taking extra tunics or sandals - but he did expect them to have one pair to wear - obviously walking through the desert without something on your feet would not be the smartest thing to do. Walking on sand is fine - but there are always little rocks hidden in the sand and that would hurt. Our journey through life is like walking in sand with those hidden rocks. All is fine until we stumble - we fall - we fail - we sin - but Jesus is always there - helping us get up and setting us back on the path. Today when you walk as a modern day disciple - wear comfy shoes.
Deacon Dale
PRN is an acronym that stands for "pro re nata" which is Latin and means "as needed". The most common use of this acronym is in medical use by doctors, nurses and pharmacists. When a doctor or nurse uses the term it is intended to signify that the treatment or order is to be used as the need arises. When a pharmacist sees this written on a prescription order it either means that the medication is to be taken or used as the need arises - or it may be written to indicate that the prescription order may be refilled as the need arises. Our lives are filled with acronyms and this is one lone example of the multitude of abbreviations in our lives.
Jesus had his own form of easy speak - otherwise know as parables. He used this literary device to make truths easier to comprehend. When Jesus spoke to his disciples - he was attempting to inform them so they would be prepared to carry on his mission after he was gone. His parables and words have been passed down to us so that we may do the same. Today - as then - Jesus asks us to teach - to share - to inform - PRN - as the need arises. Praying that the need does arise every day!
Deacon Dale
Do you know people who are constantly complaining and making mountains out of mole hills? It is usually one thing after another - their health - their job - their finances - their family - their love life - their golf game - whatever. It becomes a problem when everything they view is seen in the negative. A common response to their constant whining and complaining is "would you like a little cheese with that whine?" Personally I prefer the other kind of wine - the red liquid that you drink with dinner.
Saint Paul told Timothy to stop drinking only water and to drink red wine for his stomach (1 Timothy 5:23) - my cardiologist told me to drink red wine for my heart and cholesterol. Good advice on both parts - the wine has helped my numbers improve and my doctors are happy with the results. Jesus calls each of us to be "new wine" to be evangelists - to spread His message of love. Listen to Saint Paul and Jesus and be wine for others!
Deacon Dale
The Global Positioning System or GPS is a space based satellite navigation system. It provides location and time information in any kind of weather on or near Earth. The United States government maintains the system. Original development started in 1973 and became fully operational in 1994. Today many people - besides the government - use devices that rely on the GPS system. The most obvious are Garmin and TomTom navigation systems in automobiles. The next most common use is in cellular technology. If you use a cell phone then you are using GPS even if you did not know it. With this technology it is very easy for anyone to follow your every movement.
Just as those with GPS can track you so can God. Of course He does not need technology to let Him know where you are or what you are doing. God knows each of us so well that He has counted the hairs on our heads and can read things kept hidden in our hearts. Since He already knows us so well - it makes sense that we should know Him just as well. The best way is through prayer - the only to way ever really know anyone is by having open communication with them. As you know your friends better and better through constant communication - so can you know God. Why not start today - give God a call - He is waiting.
Deacon Dale
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What a beautiful day to celebrate Mothers Day. Sunshine - warm weather - slight wind - great time to be outdoors - family gatherings - cookouts - games - fellowship - fun. All the ingredients for a very special day - a day to celebrate mothers and all they have done for us. Yes - we are blessed but not just in the day - but also in our mothers. We celebrate and thank God for these dedicated women who gave us birth - who nurtured us - educated us - loved us - and soothed all our ills. On this day we appreciate all those women who we often tend to take for granted. Thank you mom for all you have done for us!
On this second Sunday of May we also celebrate the annual May Crowning - when we took the time prior to Holy Mass to honor and crown Saint Mary - the role model for all mothers. On this day we paused to give special reverence to the mother of our Lord, Jesus - to Mary the mother of all. Like our own mother - Mary is the Lady to whom we can turn in times of need. We offer prayers to her - who in turn offers them to the Lord for us. On this day we honor the mother of our best friend - Jesus.
Deacon Dale
Competitive creatures aren't we - in almost everything we do we compete. When our sons were growing up the youngest always wanted to play with his older brother's friends. Since he was two and a half years younger - he had to exert extra effort to be accepted by the older youth and in striving for their acceptance - he became very competitive. Everything he wanted to do had to be done on a competitive level since he was younger and physically smaller. It didn't matter if it was school work or sports or just goofing off around the house - competition became a way of life for him. His efforts paid off and he was accepted by the older youth and in the process he also made himself a very good student and athlete. Today you can see all different levels of competition in almost anyplace you look. It is no longer limited to the playing field but also in the work arena and the market place. All of us strive to excel - all of us work at trying to be the greatest in every field imaginable - because that is what is expected of us.
In Saint Paul's letter to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:7) he wrote "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." He was referring to the fact that he was in chains and it looked like his life would soon end. Even as he had competed with the weakness of men and their lack of faith he was now fighting the race against time - the time he would have left to fulfill his desire to serve God. He knew he wasn't the greatest - he knew he had faults - in spite of his shortcomings he still exerted his energies not to preserving his life - but to proclaiming the message about the One - the One worth proclaiming - the One who was to come - the One who makes everything right - the One who is the Greatest One of all - Jesus.
Deacon Dale
Tonight we celebrated the sacrament of confirmation for eighty-four eight graders.The Mass went well with no glitches. The Bishop's homily was was right on target and everything went well. What effect all this had on those who were confirmed has yet to be seen. Those of us in ministry will have to wait and see how all this develops and develop it will.
Confirmation is awesome from the point that young adults finally - after all these years - get to make their own decision about committing themselves to a life of faith. Some will be very diligent for the rest of their lives - many will drift away since they see confirmation as a sort of graduation away from religious education. On the contrary - it is a point of transition where they - not their parents - become responsible for nurturing their spiritual life. With the help and patience of a loving God all will eventually work out - in the meantime - those of us who stand besides them are called to encourage them to stay with the task - the task of being a true Christian.
Deacon Dale
Today I heard a conversation on the radio about reading obituaries. It seems that there are a fair number of people who make it a habit of reading the daily obituaries. Aside from those who are checking to be sure a friend or relative has not died - there are others who read the obituaries out of curiosity - curiosity about ordinary people and the extra-ordinary events that were deemed important enough to be included in the death notice. The conversation continued as the radio personalities discussed how they were impressed with the number of people who lived apparently quiet ordinary lives - but - as recorded in the obituary - had done many out of the ordinary things in their lives. Feats long forgotten by others - in the armed services - unknown careers - unusual hobbies - and even just the sheer number of hobbies and interests that some people had done during their lifetime. It just goes to show you that unless you read the written word or story - the movie (or live) version never reveals all there is to know about a person.
The most famous obituary ever written is contained in four official books and numerous others that were not accepted as official documents. I refer to the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - and the obscure Gospel of Thomas. In all those books the life story of Jesus has been written - in differing but similar ways - to validate each other and to reveal slightly minor differences known only to each author. Like obituaries of ordinary people - Jesus' obituary is one amazing story after another - filled with miracles and life changing events that touched all. This obituary has stood the test of time and even today touches the hearts and minds of people - even though it is over two thousand years old! If you have not read the story of Jesus' life you need to do so today - and let it touch your heart.
Deacon Dale
What do you think of when you hear the phrase "The Real Thing"? I'll bet if you clicked the hot link you were not surprised to end up at the Coca-Cola web site. Perhaps better yet would have been a link to "the real thing" - as viewed in the review of the new Muppet movie. It just goes to prove that across the ages many various things have been promoted and touted as the real thing. You have to wonder what qualifies a product or subject as the real thing. In order to do this you have to establish ground rules - then narrow down to what sort of item or subject that you wish to determine is truly the real thing. As shown above - the real thing - can be anything and everything - depending on your personal view and taste.
When it comes to religion there is no question when we refer to "the real thing" - for Christians Jesus is the real thing - throughout all ages. He isn't just the real thing today - but has always been and will always be - the real thing. We can rely on the truths of His Gospel - we can trust that He has been and always will be there - waiting to help us - waiting to guide us - waiting to lead us - to the real thing - to salvation.
Deacon Dale
