Anger - as defined by Wikipedia - is an emotion related to one's psychological interpretation of having been offended, wronged or denied and a tendency to react through retaliation. The key word here is - emotion - which is a subjective and conscious experience - in which an individual is called to make a decision in how to process that emotion - and if and how to respond to it. Many people handle anger very well - processing their anger and working though it in a non violent manner. Others - unfortunately - have a lower capacity to process anger - thereby coping with their anger in violent and retaliatory ways. Many times those who respond poorly to anger end up hurting - not only those who become a target of their anger - but themselves as well. Those who go on a rampage and injure numerous individuals quite often end that rampage by injuring themselves. When it involves death - questions go unanswered - speculation remains. Everyone experiences many emotions throughout the average day - each emotional experience demands a response - quite often no action or reaction - is the best response. It is never proper to blame anyone but yourself for whatever your response is - positive - negative or otherwise. You are responsible and accountable for your reaction - it is your emotion - your decision - your reaction.
When Jesus became upset with the buyers and sellers in the temple area ( Mark 11:15 ) He drove them out and upset their tables - responding to His emotion that they were doing something unacceptable to Him and offensive to God. His reaction could be considered drastic by some - mild by others - but it was His decision and as such He was responsible for His action. It is noteworthy - although He scattered them and upset tables - He did not harm them personally. He did not make a judgement on what they were doing - rather - where they were doing it. It was His decision to make a statement about the sanctity of the Temple - how to reverently treat space reserved for Worship. Today Jesus reminds us that the entire world is sacred to God - that special places are designed for the buyers and sellers - as well as places for adoration and worship. Each of us is called to honor those special places - to respect them - invest our time in them. We are called as His disciples to cope and process our anger in nonviolent ways - to pray before we act - to seek His guidance in all we do.
Deacon Dale
Humor (or humour as some spell it) is defined by Wikipedia as the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. That term was derived from the ancient Greek practice of humoral medicine - in which it was believed that there was a balance of human body fluids which controlled health and emotion. Most people - all ages - races - cultures - respond to humor with varying degrees of response - from smiles and smirks to outright hearty laughter. The Greeks must have been onto something - as laughter is often said to be the best medicine for whatever ails one. Laughter - just as the other emotions of love and hate - anger and fear - is a basic part of human life.
Many Christians have the attitude that showing signs of humor is in bad taste - a sign of being frivolous - not serious about life. Some are so obsessed with this concept that they walk around with a constant frown on their face - projecting the idea that to be a Christian is a burden and a task. The task part is correct - all Christians are charged with the responsibility of sharing the Good News with all they meet - but the burden is a pleasant one - as serving God brings inner peace - joy - laughter. A well rounded Christian appreciates life and all that it holds - the good as well as the bad - the sad as well as the funny. Living as a Christian means experiencing all that life holds for each of us - even those things that we would rather not experience. In doing so - Christians experience the fullness of life - the fullness of Christ - the fullness of God. The next time you feel like laughing - enjoying a humourous moment - go ahead and laugh - it just might be God who is telling the joke!
Deacon Dale
A prank is a mischievous trick or joke especially in which something is done rather than said. It is a popular form of trickery - the key to the prank is the surprise to the victim when the prank is revealed. Most pranks are innocent - friendly teasing among friends and family. Some pranks - however - become very involved - and border on audacious or even mean spirited. These over-the-top pranks seem to be designed more to embarrass or ridicule someone. In these mean spirited pranks - the victim honestly feels like a victim - the only ones laughing are those who perpetrated the prank. Many pranks are done on the spur of the moment and not well thought out - causing the prank to fail or even backfire. In certain instances - those involved in designing the prank do not think it out enough to consider the consequences - if there will be any repercussion and to what extent and to who will be affected. Recently two Australian radio DJs pulled a prank on two nurses at King Edward VII's Hospital in London. Their intent was not mean spirited - they simply wanted to see if they could fool the hospital staff into letting them talk to Kate - The Duchess of Cambridge - who was experiencing morning sickness. They were surprised that although they did not speak with the Duchess - information was revealed about her condition. When the prank was revealed - the first nurse - who received the call initially - felt so bad that she had been duped and thus allowed the DJs to talk with another nurse who gave out the information - committed suicide. The public and the DJs were shocked that what they thought was an innocent and harmless prank led to the death of another person.
Very often we forget that our actions and reactions may have consequences far beyond anything that we might have conceived. Jesus knew what He was doing as He traveled through the Holy Land - proclaiming God's message of love and reconciliation. He knew - in His travels - at the Last Supper - hanging on The Cross - that His message would endure for all ages. We - on the other hand - need to realize that as His modern day disciples may have that same effect on the people we meet - the people who observe our actions - the people who hear about us through others. In our lives - what we say - what we do - how we react - speaks volumes about us - our faith - our God. Each of us needs to remember - that we may be the only Christ that some people will ever know.
Deacon Dale
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
