Crash - the sound of one automobile colliding with another - the sound of dishes cascading off the serving cart onto the floor - the draperies falling to the floor as the cat climbs for higher ground - or no sound at all. A crash that makes no sound is one of the worst events one can experience - especially when it involves a computer hard drive. Yes - my friends - my computer crashed the other day - a day I will remember for some time. I do not keep critical information on my computer - in fact - I can hardly remember what was on the computer at all. E-mail addresses - miscellaneous files I was saving for a rainy day - bit and pieces of wisdom gathered from here and there - all gone. Oh yes - I made an occasional backup - but not often enough and not frequently enough.
Jesus did not have to cope with computer issues in His day. He faced the real issues - life and death - salvation and redemption - acceptance and rejection. His issues were major ones that involved not Him but those who He came to save. His were real concerns - His were those that had to do with the eternal life of each of us. Even today Jesus comes to us in our hours of need - no crashes as far as Jesus is concerned. He is always on line - always available. **One note - if Jesus did use a computer he would never be bothered by a computer crash - are you ready - because Jesus saves!
Deacon Dale
Festival of Lights originally referred to Hanukkah - a Jewish religious holy day. It has also been associated with Diwali - a religious festival associated with Hinduism, Sikhism and Jainism and with Tazaungdaing Festival - a Buddhist festival. There are also many secular festivals associated with the name "Festival of Lights". Today as you drive around various neighborhoods - in the process of decorating for Christmas - you will see many festivals of lights. It is a growing pattern of what many would call "super" decorations - houses and property flooded with an enormous amount of Christmas lights. On one level it is inspiring to see so many large Christmas displays - on another - many question the real value of these displays.
Jesus is the True Light - the Light that dispels darkness - reveals the truth - brings comfort. He alone is a reflection of God the Father. In Jesus you find a constant - never a flicker - never a bad bulb in the string. Jesus is - was - and always will be the One true - festival of light.
Deacon Dale
Training is a very important part in the process of education and preparation for many tasks. Through training an individual follows a prescribed routine to achieve their goal. In canine obedience training - the process is repeated over and over until the dog has the routine memorized. Usually the trainer is more likely to give up before the dog does. Command and treat gets the task done every time. Patience on the part of the trainer and endurance in the task is what finally yields good results. Musicians have to train - practice - constantly until the music and the technique become a part of their life. I have just begun the process of training for a special pilgrimage that I hope to make next September - walking El Camino de Santiago in northern Spain.. I not only have to get my walking skills up to speed - literally - but I have to do it carrying a backpack. Presently I can do a few miles with no major effort - the goal is to be able to walk about 18 miles a day for 30 days in a row. I am confident that I will be able to walk the 18 miles with out any problem - the hard part will be repeating this task daily until I have walked some 500 miles. With God's blessing it will be accomplished.
When an individual makes a commitment to Christ - to be an active follower and disciple - they have to train themselves so that they will be able to sustain their goal of spreading His message. It is not easy - many fall by the wayside - reverting to old habits - giving up early in the process. For those who stick it out - no matter how inconvenient it may be - the rewards are many. Through this process - serious people - are coached and encouraged by the words of Christ Himself and His early disciples. Prayer - Holy Scripture - attending Holy Mass - are some of the best tools for those attempting this task. With Jesus at your side - you will be well trained.
Deacon Dale
Music to my ears is a metaphor - a metaphor is a figure of speech that describes something by asserting that it is the same - in some small way - as a completely unrelated subject. One of the most common metaphors - according to Wikipedia - is "all the world's a stage". Metaphors make it easier for people to grasp different concepts and ideas which occur in normal conversation and in literature. It is also a comment made when we hear something pleasing - as in a beautiful poem - an inspiring speech - as in actual beautiful music. Everyone has their own personal preference for what is described as beautiful music - it may be the music itself - the words of a song - a combination of both. This coming Friday - November 30th at 7:00pm at St Patrick Parish - 406 Walnut Street - Yorkville, IL - we will have the opportunity to hear beautiful music - music to my ears. Tatiana is from Croatia - a former pop music star - who gave up fame and fortune and moved to America seeking a different way of life. In America she has found her niche and now - along with her husband - travels across the USA and internationally to bring the beautiful music - God's music to the people.
Jesus proclaimed God's love for all people - in the words he spoke - in the actions he made. It was a simple message - spoken in love - in kindness - in charity. He spoke of forgiveness - reconciliation - acceptance. Now 2000 years later - those words are spoken by His ministers and special ones - who continue to proclaim His message of love. They are true words - honest words - loving words - Music to our ears.
Deacon Dale
Resolution refers to the act of coming to a definite decision about something. It also means to reduce or break into small parts as in disintegrating in order to convert or transform one object into another. When a group of people come together to discuss an issue in which a decision must be made - we say that they come to a resolution - or final decision about that issue. When a complex chemical is processed in order to break down into smaller less complex parts it is said to have been resolved - a final product which is now clearer and more refined. In photography resolution refers to how many pixels are involved in the photograph and how clear the resulting image will be. Poor resolution - low pixel count results in a blurry or grainy picture - good resolution - high pixel count and a sharp and clear image results.
When we come to faith - we seek truth - we seek knowledge - we seek information. For many people this is a long and difficult process. Too often the mind tries to resolve faith issues with logic - very often there is no logic to making faith decisions. An individual either believes or does not believe based on what feels correct to them. This is the point of faith - making a resolution to believe that which logic defies. Once a person takes that step into the arena of faith - interesting things begin to happen. Resolving to commit your life to God - to serve Him - to serve His people - to love - to share - is a very good resolution.
Deacon Dale
Thanksgiving is a very special time of year for most people. It is a national holiday primarily celebrated in North America and Canada. In North America its origin was based in a religious celebration of blessing which has evolved into a more secular tradition. In the early formation days of North America - some Puritans - the radical reformers of their day - wished to completely eliminate all Church holidays - which had become almost excessive in the English tradition (some 95 Church holidays plus 52 Sundays) - including Christmas and Easter. In place of those holidays they proposed days of fasting and thanksgiving. Obviously that is not what happened. In 1621 a poorly documented day of Thanksgiving was celebrated in present day Massachusetts when pilgrims celebrated a good harvest. Today that day is observed on the fourth Thursday of November - on December 26, 1941 President Franklin D Roosevelt signed a resolution permanently fixing that date. Thanksgivings around the world are typically held in observance of special blessings. In Canada - Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October. The Canadian holiday is traced back to 1578 and an explorer - Martin Frobisher - in thanks for surviving the long journey from England through the dangers of storms and icebergs. Other countries that celebrate a day of thanksgiving are Germany, Grenada, Korea, Japan, Liberia, The Netherlands and Norfolk Islands. People everywhere pause to celebrate blessings in one form or another.
Most celebrations of thanksgiving were first conducted by the spiritual leaders of the community - then as the idea of thanksgiving grew it was absorbed into the daily lives of all peoples. As people of God - each of us thanks God for the many blessings He gives us daily - especially for the blessings that we fail to recognize in the hustle and rush of daily living. On this special day we make it a point to change our routine - to pause - to reflect - to give thanks in special ways. Thank God that He never tires of blessing us - we should be so mindful to thank Him always!
Deacon Dale
Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Evidence is used to prove or disprove innocence in court and legal matters. It is also used to document decisions in many other matters - drug trials - purchase decisions - anything in which important decisions are based. All of us use evidence in one form or another to help us make decisions about many things in our daily lives. We check the temperature and weather report before deciding if we need an umbrella or raincoat - we read food labels to determine the fat and sugar content before we buy - we listen to explanations from our children in conflict situations before we determine what action to take. In almost everything involving a decision we use evidence.
Jesus professed to be the Son of God - He healed people - He made people walk - He made people hear - He raised them from the dead - the evidence is recorded in Holy Scripture - this is fact. Jesus also loves you and cares for you - that is also in Holy Scripture - many people believe this - many do not. If you need more evidence - stop looking and start praying - He will reveal Himself to you - no evidence required.
Deacon Dale
Obsession is defined by the Free Dictionary as the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea - image - desire - feeling. Obsessions may be either healthy or unhealthy. A person who becomes crippled by an obsession - such as a fear of going out in public - would find themselves never leaving their home - as in agoraphobia. On the other hand - an obsession involving exercising every day would be seen as healthy - as long as that individual was able to function normally - merely including their exercise routine as a part of daily life. In this case the action might not truly be considered obsessive - since exercising daily would not occupy every minute in a day. If it did come to the point that exercising was all a person did or think about - then it would be unhealthy. A routine that is followed day in and day out - but does not occupy every moment of one's life would actually be considered religious. To be religious means that a person is faithfully devoted to an ideal or action. It does not specifically have to do with the practice of or following a religion. A person who stops by Starbucks every morning for a morning coffee could be considered as being religious about their morning routine which involves coffee and Starbucks.
Attending Holy Mass every morning to start your day would be considered religious since your mind would be involved with other things during the day - it would dot your day and give you an excellent start to your day - but not mean that you were unable to do or think about anything else - if it did - it would stop being religious and instead become an obsession. Since learning about the Camino de Santiago de Compostela I have joked about it being an obsession of mine - however - it is not- as I do not dwell or spend every minute of my day thinking about walking "The Way". I am very interested in the pilgrimage aspect of The Camino and find it intriguing and has become a goal to accomplish at some time in the future. At times obsession and being religious become intertwined - it is important for each of us that we keep our thoughts and actions in focus and in perspective so we do not confuse the two. God calls us to be focused about life - to live it actively and fully - to experience His presence in every waking moment of our lives - to be religious - not obsessive.
Deacon Dale
According to the Free Dictionary - "in concert" means "with a common plan - as to act in concert - together." When we hear "in concert" our first thought is usually a musical production of some sort. My granddaughter appears in concert at her college where she participates in various musical productions. On November 30th - at St Patrick - in Yorkville, IL - Tatiana will be in concert. There are other times when people come together - not for musical reasons - to gather to work on community projects. Last night I attended the local Knights of Columbus meeting where 42 Knights gathered together to work on one of many of their annual Christmas projects - in concert. In fact everything the Knights do - is in concert. Their projects are never the result of one person - always the result of many volunteers - working together - in concert.
Jesus recruited His disciples because He knew that He would be more effective working with other men to spread the Good News. In concert - He and His followers went to the public - ministering to all they met. Today you and I also work - in concert - to continue the works started by Jesus. Even when I pray the Breviary - alone by myself - I am - in concert - with other deacons and priests - also alone - but in concert - with each other as we say our prayers for our Holy Church. Ordained or lay - all of us are called to unite our prayers and works with each other - that Jesus may be brought to those who need Him the most - we act - in concert.
Deacon Dale
Literally spoken - a watchdog is a dog that has been trained or is bred to be a lookout for people and animals approaching a specified area. Our dog 'Bene" is a Keeshond - one breed that naturally guards its owners property. Originally keeshond were used by Dutch barge owners because they liked water and would bark when anybody approached the barge - warning the owner that a possible thief was lurking nearby. Our dog does not warn us about thieves - rather he barks at anyone and anything that approaches our property. Bene is a great watchdog. People train themselves to be watchdogs - observing and looking for activities that they do not approve of. Many neighborhoods have watchdog programs - looking out for each other's property and well being.
Mom & Dad with "Bene"
In today's world there are many people who have become spiritual watchdogs - looking out for the spiritual well being of others. Some people appreciate this - not knowing where to look for guidance - others resent those who offer unsolicited advice. Those who disapprove do so because they assume that those offering advice are making a negative statement that their spiritual lives are not developed enough - the truth is that they do so - because they know that they have a good spiritual life - and they only want to help make it better. Many times different people will ask me if I am aware of certain programs that they feel I would like to know about. - not because I am not a good enough deacon - but because they know I am always on the lookout for opportunities that I can suggest to others to help them grow in their relationship with God. For each of us - as disciples of Christ - we are the new evangelists - we are the spiritual watchdogs - seeking to help others - watching for Jesus - wherever He appears.
Deacon Dale
