Play Ball

Opening Day at Mesa, Arizona - the first Chicago Cubs game of 2015 at Spring Training - the crowd of loyal Cubs fan was there - the two of us among them - excitement - fun - smiles - adults - kids - men - women - young - old - sporting blue Cub shirts - hats - cameras. A festive atmosphere - happy - enjoying the warm weather - sun - food - drink. The first game anywhere - always fun - always interesting - filled with hope - expectation - praying for a win. Today's score - tied - 2 to 2.

Jesus calls all of us to join His Father's team - to play ball with Him - to enjoy ourselves - each other - life. His plan - health - happiness - joy - comfort. All will celebrate - the good times - leave the bad times behind - looking forward to a future of endless joy. No try outs for God's team - no anxiety - no practice games - no cuts - no losers - no ties - everyone plays - everyone wins. Jesus invites everyone to join His team - this Lent - everyday - sign up is now - He stands - waiting - for you.

Deacon Dale 

Anger

Anger - defined by Wikipedia is an emotional response - related to one's psychosociological interpretation of having been threatened. There are many - various - forms of threat - physical - psychological - real - imagined. As a person interprets input from various sources - people - animals - weather - controllable - out of control - they have the ability to select a proper response. When threatened - the decision to act - react - up to the individual. An active response to defend - a passive response to ignore - within the control of the individual. When a person states - you made me angry - they are wrong - they should state - instead - I chose to become angry - in response to your - words - actions. Although admirable - anger is not the easiest thing to control - driven by emotions - sometimes low level - others highly driven. Call me stupid - easy to ignore - easy to avoid anger - insult my spouse - my child - my God - not as easy.

Jesus was the gentle prophet - walking through deserts - strange villages - through harsh terrain - to share God's story of love - acceptance. A simple message - delivered in love - with concern for others - to benefit others - not Himself. His message of living a good - moral life - angered many. They chose to react - not in love - with hate. He - attempting to spread peace - faced - unrest - scrutiny - fear. Even today He attempts to reach the lost - people on the fringe - the outcasts - meeting with anger - often. People fearing to allow Christ into their life - fearing conversion - angered that they are asked to change their life - for the benefit of themselves. Anger does not come from God - anger comes from fear - with Jesus - nothing to fear - with God - nothing to be afraid - except of your self. Giving up anger - the decision to be unhappy - yours. Waiting to help you cast your anger aside - to give you the inner peace you seek - Jesus - waiting - for you.

Deacon Dale 

Mission

One of the routine events held during Lent in many churches is the Parish Mission - a time of gathering outside of Holy Mass to discuss in greater detail some aspect of spirituality. The Mission may be presented by a priest - deacon - sister - brother - Catholic educator - evangelist. The format usually combines the weekend homily at all Masses with afternoon or evening sessions for an additional three or four days. The Mission typically ends with a period of reflection and confessions and a Mass of celebration. Through this time of intense study - prayer - reflection - meditation - renewed vigor for one's faith is attained.

Jesus' life was one long Mission - every day seeking the lost - confused - sick - alienated - on the fringe of society. His constant message - love - forgiveness - healing - redemption - salvation. He came for all - not all accepted - He preached to all -not everyone listened - He offered healing to all - not all were healed - refusing to accept the graces He offered - skeptical - not trusting - God. Today the message is the same - God works through His instruments of choosing - Holy men and women - speaking truth - love - exactly as Christ did. Today - through these people - Jesus offers everything to all - acceptance - not by all - waiting - for you.

Deacon Dale 

Search Light

A searchlight - spotlight - is an extremely powerful source of light used when looking for an object - person - place. Most often the search is for one - something - lost - at risk of danger. A lighthouse will operate very powerful searchlights to seek out boats in danger of running into hidden dangers in the water - helicopters utilize similar searchlights - seeking to locate the search object from the air - police - fire fighters - rescue teams - use those same handheld lights to assist them in their efforts to locate - save - rescue - apprehend - people. It is the size of the light beam - the luminescence generated by the power of the unit - which provide the light needed to see deeply - to seek what is lost. 

Jesus may be considered the original searchlight - seeking the lost - lonely - sick - forsaken - confused. As the source of all love - the light of His heart - more powerful than any man made searchlight. Strong enough to pierce into the heart - the very soul of people. Jesus came to seek - to search - for those who had lost their way - confused by worldly wisdom - unsure of God's plan - for their life. He began His search over two thousand years ago - seeking disciples - followers. His search has never stopped - still seeking - still calling - still lighting the way - to His Heavenly Father. Even now He calls - waiting - for you - to step into His light.

Deacon Dale 

Kindle

When most people hear the word kindle - they immediately think of the e-reader sold by Amazon - originally designed as a convenient way to read and to promote sales of books in an electronic format - today a full fledged tablet with functionality similar to Apple's iPad and other tablet devices. The official definition of kindle means to ignite or set on fire - arouse - inspire - awaken - to bring one to awareness of new and awesome possibilities. As we celebrate the second Sunday of Lent - Holy Mother Church seeks to kindle a renewed love of God - Jesus - the Holy Spirit - within each of us. As the catechumens and candidates in the RCIA process experience today - at Holy Mass - the first of a series of scrutinies - deeper observations of them - their intent - their desire to become Catholic - each of us in the pews - serving at the altar - needs to also look at our intent - desire - to deepen our personal relationship with God. Through prayer - through inspiring homilies - through gestures and responses - through each other - we pray that we are inspired to become the people God intended us to be.

When Jesus said that He came to light a fire on this Earth - He meant a fire in our hearts - minds - souls. He wanted each of us to be completely inspired by Him - the teacher - the healer - the preacher - so that we could attain all that God had promised His people throughout the ages. Many have said yes - been inspired - many - wait - unable to make a decision - a commitment. Over the span of two thousand years - that fire - kindled by Jesus - still burns brightly - still arouses - still inspires. Jesus stands waiting to kindle that fire in your heart - waiting - for you.

Deacon Dale 

Broken Promises

Ask anyone and they will say one of the worst things anyone can do is to break a promise - not do as intended - commitment not honored. There are many reasons why this happens - sudden change in plans - unexpected illness - something critical came up - character flaw. For those who habitually break their promises - do not keep their word - fail to honor a commitment - a serious character flaw. The average person rarely breaks a promise - then only for a very good reason - a few others - cannot trust them any further than you can throw them. During Lent - biggest promise broken - failing to make an effort to make a commitment for spiritual growth and failing to honor that commitment. The good news - there is still plenty of time left to work on your relationship with God. What is important is the intent and the effort. God does not care how lofty a goal you set - nor does He care how many days you commit to. To put it very simply - just do it - do it well.

Jesus told us that He didn't promise us a rose garden - He never said following Him would be easy. He did promise a great reward - not here - in Heaven - not immediately - at the end of time. If you hesitate to make a Lenten commitment - don't - your promise to yourself - assures His promise to you. Before any more days of Lent pass - do it now - Jesus is waiting - for you.

Deacon Dale 

Thirsting

When walking through any desert - whether actual - symbolic - thirst is a major concern. Before setting out for any journey one of the most important items to pack - water. Your hiking shoes may be the newest on the market - your backpack the largest made - your trekking poles lightweight aluminum - your clothing quick drying fabric - none as important as your provisions for water. You can hike barefoot - you can carry nothing but your poles and very little clothing - you cannot walk without water. Not only must you start with water - you must know where you can get additional as you travel your selected path. If more will not be available - then an adequate amount must be carried from the start. When walking a spiritual journey the same applies - whatever it is that you will need - your Bible - Rosary - prayer book - must be in hand before you start the journey. To get half way into your trek and have no water - no spiritual guide - dangerous - in a desert - life threatening - on a spiritual trek - risk of a bad experience.

In life the only constant that we may rely on is Jesus - He is always there - has always been there - since the beginning - with the Father - with the Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God is what nourishes us - feeds us - quenches our thirst. When entering any prayer experience - the Holy Spirit - that breath of fresh air - the living water - that quenches all thirst - must be invoked - before starting any journey. We begin with prayer to God - through Jesus - His Son - through the power of the Holy Spirit - we continue prayer as we journey - at the conclusion - an ending prayer of thanksgiving. If you thirst for life - if you seek fulfilment - seek Jesus and His Holy Spirit - He is there - waiting - for you.

Deacon Dale 

Desert Experience

Living - working - walking - in a desert climate - takes some adjustments. Coping with excessively bright sun light - extreme heat - dust storms - lack of water - takes awhile to adapt - learn how to live with those conditions. One would think it impossible - very difficult - hard on individuals - families - elderly. Reality - it is no worse than adjusting to any new climate. Excess heat - no worse than excess cold - just the other side of the spectrum. When very hot in the desert - escape to the inside with air conditioning - when very cold in the north or mid-west - escape inside with furnace warming the air. When these minor inconveniences are ignored - living in the desert opens one up to amazing and interesting things - the animals - plants - people. One after another - each has a story to tell - experiences to share.

As Jesus walked in the desert of Israel - He was able to view first hand - God incarnate - how people lived - coped - adjusted - treated each other. He knew from His own life's experiences what people were really like - good and bad - saint and sinner - young and old. As the God - who walked among His people - He knew patience - love - concern - for all mankind.  Even now - as you walk through the desert of Lent - He knows exactly where you are - what you have done well - where you failed - in all of this - He waits patiently for you.

Deacon Dale 

Dusty Feet

If you wear sandals in the desert you are guaranteed to get dusty feet - sand underfoot - pebbles between toes - an occasional thorn or two. Logic would seem to demand wearing another style of footwear - yet - desert in Israel - desert in Arizona - most prefer sandals. The airy open shoe style - very comfortable - allows feet to breathe. Sandals have been a favorite of many since the time of Jesus - a favorite particularly with women even in 2015.

Jesus instructed His disciples to travel with no extra baggage - one pair of sandals - a walking stick - the earliest ultralight trekkers. Dust in sandals a given - not being accepted when proclaiming the Gospel - uncertain - possible - not probable.  For those who refused to listen - dust shaken from the sandals - a sign of displeasure - a lesson for all.  Walking with Jesus - dusty sandals a given - expectations - many - walking alone - never.  He stands - looking for a companion - waiting - for you. 

Deacon Dale 

Not All Bad

During Lent it is not uncommon to find people who think they are the worse person in the world - all bad - doomed to hell - forsaken forever. Yes - there are many bad people - people who are so bad - the rest all look like saints.  Everyone has sinned - period - everyone has redeeming qualities - even the worse sinner - can be forgiven. It does not matter what the sin is - how it was committed - when it was done - where it happened. Believe it or not - sin - is - sin. There are no colors to sin - no taste - no flavor - no size - no shape. It is not big sin - nor little sin. It is like being - a lttle bit pregnant - either you are - or you are not. Sin is the same - one size fits all - not gender specific - not limited to one age or another. My sin may be completely different from your sin - it is still sin. How often we sin - slightly different - yet the same.  If someone sins once and another ten times - it makes no difference - if neither has respented - asked for forgivemess.  When sinners do finally repent - all receive the same for giveness from God - like sin - forgiveness has no size - no limits.

Jesus promises all - come to me all who are weak and burdened - I will give you rest.  Not a little rest - not a big rest - simply rest. He loves all equally - He forgives all equally - He calls each of us to holiness - equally - no limits - no restraints - no time limit.  His call is constant - His love unmeasurable.  Listen - today - God is calling - waiting - for you.

Deacon Dale