Don't you love it when people celebrate anniversaries - special times of the year when all sorts of things are celebrated and remembered. Your first job - the birth of a child - your birthday - wedding - buying your house. We celebrate those things that are very important to us. These are markers in our lives - they say a little about who we are - where we are going - what type of individual we are -what is important to us - they are a piece of each of us. When you have a special day to remember - I say celebrate in style! On this day - I pause and say to my best friend - my wife - Happy 43rd Wedding Anniversary! I love you more today than I ever have.
When we attend daily Holy Mass - we remember that day that Jesus gave His life for us. Each Mass we participate in is a special celebration and an anniversary of that awesome act of giving His life - for our salvation. We do not give Jesus cards or gifts - we offer to Him our love - our appreciation - our devotion. Today celebrate that gift as if it were the only anniversary you could ever celebrate!
Deacon Dale
Fear is a negative emotion induced by a perceived threat that causes animals to move quickly away from the location of the perceived threat and sometimes hide. (Wikipedia) Fear is also a defense mechanism that is utilized by humans as well as other animals. When we fear something - we tend to avoid it - we shy away - walk around it - turn our backs and go in an opposite direction. Then - of course - there are those who face their fears head on - to prove to themselves and others that the fear was not justified. That was the concept for the television show - Fear Factor - in which people attempted various stunts to prove that they did not fear whatever the task was. Some stunts had a danger factor attached to it - others were more of a repulsive factor - such as eating very strange foods and insects. In the end fear is a valuable emotion to be utilized.
In Holy Scripture we often read words similar to Proverbs 1:7 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." The word fear used in this manner does not imply that anyone should be afraid of God - most often fear is used to imply respect. When you insert the word respect in place of fear the scripture makes more sense. In early times respecting and fearing were understood as being the same thing. In our days the words have evolved to mean different actions. Fire fighters have learned over the years that fire is not to be feared - but respected. In order to respect something you have to know it - you have to learn how it acts - what it wants - its characteristics. Only when you have learned that - are you able to extinguish fires that are not wanted - that are running wild. Learning about God - who He is - what He wants - brings us closer to Him - brings us away from fear - to respect. Once you respect God you begin to love - love Him - love His Son - love His Holy Spirit. To fear the Lord is to love the Lord.
Deacon Dale
Very early this morning I was awaken by some very serious gusts of wind and rain - it was so powerful that it sounded like somebody was outside with a fire hose spaying water directly on the side of the house. I knew that there had been predictions of rain overnight - but I had not been warned about the high winds. Since I was awake - I decided to look out the windows to see if we had lost any trees or large branches that would require my immediate attention. Seeing none - I managed to get back in bed and fall back to sleep. When I woke up later - I went outside to check out the rest of the property. To my surprise - and dismay - I saw my flag pole laying on its side across a bunch of bushes. As I inspected it to see what happened - it became obvious that one of those giant gusts of wind had created so much torque on the flag - that the flag had acted as a sail and the multi-part pole had been separated - thus allowing the remainder three-quarters to fall to the side. With a little bit of handiwork I was able to correct the problem and the flag once more is proudly flying.
As a mature Christian - when we come to an adult decision to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior - we experience many different things. Some emotional - some spiritual. On the spiritual side many report that they experience a "baptism in the spirit" in which - for perhaps the first time in their life - they know that God has and is filling them with a new outpouring of His Holy Spirit - a giant gust of new Spirit - filling their soul. This is the "born again" experience that so many people speak about. Nicodemus asked Jesus about this very concept - "was it possible to be born over again'? Jesus replied that unless that happens one cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven. (John 3:4-8) For those of us who have experienced that gust of God's Holy wind - we can testify to that truth - to those who have yet to share that experience - simply pray in earnest to God - come Holy Spirit come - fill my life with your heavenly gust of holy wind - that I too may enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Deacon Dale
Three Days - the magic number before we leave with our group of thirty-six pilgrims to visit the Holy Land in Israel. As we go through our final countdown and double check that we have everything ready for departure to experience the Land that Jesus walked - we pause and take time to reflect on what we are about to do. Who are we that we dare think that we are worthy to walk in the footsteps of Our Lord - and yet - that is exactly what we will be doing. Visiting His royal birthplace - the home of His mother - the Fortress where He was questioned - the hill where He was crucified. None of us is worthy - and still - we will walk in His footsteps. Through the country side.- wading in the Jordan River - in the desert where He was tempted - on Calvary where He breathed His last breath. All this and more is what we will experience.
Walking the Via Dolorosa - Holy Mass daily in special places - time for silence - meditations on the Sea of Galilee - eating the same foods that He would have eaten. Yes - we will dare to follow in His footsteps. We will dare to imagine what it was like - we will dare to become more like His first disciples. We will - through the Grace of God - we will!
Deacon Dale
I enjoy hot weather - anytime it is over seventy degrees I feel very comfortable. Normally I would say the hotter the better - as long as it is not high humidity - when your skin feels sticky and tacky. Even these past few weeks with the higher temperature - there is something that I like about the sun beating down on my body. Maybe I am part plant - I feel that the bright hot sunshine is actually good for me. Mentally I come alive - I spread my arms out and soak up as much of the hot rays of the sun as I can. There have been a few occasions in the past two weeks when I was working outside that I did get slightly uncomfortable. When you begin to perspire and the water is shedding off your forehead and face like a water faucet - then maybe it is a bit too hot - even then the feeling that your pores are been washed out and your body is eliminating toxins is still a good feeling.
As the Son of God - Jesus is like the sun - constantly sending His warm rays of love upon each of us. As we rejoice in God's presence in our lives - we ask Him to send the power of His Holy Spirit down upon us - like rain from the heavens. As we sense the rays of His Son coming upon us and flooding our bodies with His warmth and presence - we know without a doubt that we have found favor with God. The next time you go outside and feel the warm rays of the sun upon your body - stop and ask yourself if it is the sun in the sky or the Son of Man who is making you feel warm and loved.
Deacon Dale
Buddies - everyone has at least one good friend that they would call their buddy. Buddies are special people - they are always there to bring a smile to your face - to help get you out of unhappy moods - to hang out with and help you relax and enjoy life. Today many parents call their little children - both boys and girls - buddy. Constantly you hear them telling these little people "good job buddy". My grandson tells me all about his buddies from school - his soccer teammate buddies - neighborhood buddies. Not everyone qualifies as a buddy - he tells me that some are only friends - at six years old it is interesting that he discerns between buddies and friends. He obviously realizes that buddies are very special friends.
In Jesus we have a very special friend. Although I don't think we can properly call Jesus a buddy - we should be able to call Him a friend - a very special friend - not a buddy - but so much more! Like a buddy - He is there to get you out of unhappy moods - to put a smile on your face - to hang with you so that you can truly enjoy life and live it to the fullest. If you need a special friend - if you are looking for someone who will listen to you for hours on end - who will not judge you - but accept you for who you are - that is Jesus - better than a buddy - the best friend you could ever hope for!
Deacon Dale
WOW! is a word that expresses wonder - amazement - surprise. Almost anything may have that WOW! factor. A special dress for that once in a lifetime occasion - a shinny new car loaded with options - A spectacular accomplishment - a hole-in-one - a home run - a surprise ending to an outstanding movie - an outstanding gourmet dinner. It is not that frequent that we are able to experience things or events that have a WOW! factor. When we do - we know that something very special happened. When these special occasions do occur - we are very pleased - with life - with ourselves. We rejoice and look forward to more of those times.
God revealed himself to Moses in the Burning Bush - an unexpected and awesome event. If Moses had spoken English - he might have said WOW!. If we were to encounter God in a burning bush - we would definitely say WOW! As it is - our encounters tend to be more on the everyday or mundane side. We attend church - we pray - we follow our devotions - day in - day out. We seek comfort - peace - joy. Jesus offers us His promise - that He will always be there for us - always ready to help - always faithful to us - even when we are not faithful - that alone should make us shout - WOW!
Deacon Dale
There are many times and places that we use a count-down clock or calendar. Getting ready to leave on vacation - preparing for an exciting event - marking off the days and hours to our wedding or ordination - counting the minutes until a special birthday. As the time becomes shorter and shorter - our excitement grows - until finally the final hour - the last minutes. It is time! Let's go! Start the party! Celebrate! Counting down the time helps us to make important and significant events in our lives - memorable.
When we were children - studying our catechism - we anticipated that day when we would be able to receive Holy Eucharist - to be Confirmed - to celebrate our first Confession. All those events were significant - and for most - very memorable. As an adult - learning about your faith - your relationship to God - to Jesus - to Mary - all became significant memories - when you finally grasped that which eluded you as a child. Thank God for memories and the special moments in our lives - praise Him for being patient with us - glorify Him for His awesome love - thank Him for not counting us out.
Deacon Dale
Decisions rule our lives - every day we have to make decisions - when to wake up - what to wear - where to go - who to call - how to do - one decision after another. The problem with making decisions - is that sometimes they are wrong. We judge poorly - we speak wrongly - we act hastily - we rush our decisions. In the end - we have to accept that we will make wrong or bad decisions - having discovered our error we move on - we make new decisions. That is one of the beautiful things about making decisions - we can always change them! Very few decisions are cast in stone - most decisions can be altered and changed. What a gift to be able to correct a poor decision.
When we were first introduced to religion and the worship of God - our decision on how and when to worship - for the most part - was made for us by our parents. We automatically followed what they did - questioning nothing and accepting everything. Then we matured - grew up and became adults ourselves - and started questioning. We wanted answers to questions previously unasked - hearing the answers we decided to accept or reject. For many of us - rejecting the faith of our parents was a given - we were better informed - more enlightened - or so we thought. Drifting in an ocean of confusing theology only made the decision process more difficult - so we continued drifting until the Island that is God - was so far away - that many gave up - drowned in that ocean of confusion. Thankfully for us - although we left God behind - He never abandoned us. All our lives Jesus has been there - walking with us - patiently waiting for us to make our decisions - holding His breath when we chose poorly - clapping with joy when we chose well. Today Jesus is still there - waiting for you - waiting for your next decision - waiting for you to walk His way.
Deacon Dale
Real-time is a modern designation of time in which the event or action taking place is happening at the same instant that you are reading or participating in that event. Attending a baseball game - sitting in the stands - watching the action as it evolves - is real time. Watching a video or pictures of that same event at a later time - a few hours - days - weeks - is past time. With today's technology we are able to participate in numerous real-time activities that were not available in the past. Many services that previously had to be delayed - waiting prior approval - are able to be done almost instantly because of the availability of real-time computer processing. Real-time has made life easier for those of us who both use and work with those systems.
Jesus has and always will be available to us in real-time. We do not have to make a request through a prayer of petition and wait hours or days for that request to be submitted. The second it leaves our hearts - our minds - our lips - it is received by Him. He is available to us 24 hours a day - 7 days a week - 365 days a year. Getting an answer to our prayers - is not always as simple - although He receives our requests in real-time - He answers in His time. Sometimes His answer is No - Maybe - Not Now - Later. What ever His answer - it is His answer - not ours - and how He answers may not be what we expected - but it is always for the best. In His time - according to His will - not ours - in His way. Jesus waits for you.
Deacon Dale
