Search and Destroy

As we become serious about our Lenten journey we are urged to look deep into ourselves to see what needs improvement - what needs to be changed. Going through our search and destroy mission - we will find things that are in fair shape - need some minor changes to make better. Digging deeper - honestly - we may also find things that have entered our lives that are dangerous - bad for anyone seeking greater holiness. In those instances when we discover the bad - we need to destroy - remove completely from our lives. Many defects are easy to remove once we acknowledge them - others much more difficult. In time - with due diligence - hard work - prayer - even the very difficult may be removed. The good thing about Lent lasting 40 days - enough time for even the worst defects to be corrected.

With God - one day is as if a thousand years and a thousand years as if one day (2 Peter 3:8) - bottom line - with God all things are possible - He is the one in control - when you give your life over to God He becomes the commander in charge - the one who leads the search and destroy mission. He leads you to discover - then does the cleansing process. An impossible task made possible - in His time. This Lent - as you proceed through these days - turn the entire process over to God and all will be fine.

Deacon Dale 

How Do I Love Thee?

The first one we hate - the last one we love - is ourselves. It is far easier to love others - than ourselves. Forgiving - forgetting - letting go - consoling - accepting - the shortcomings of others - is always so much easier than ourselves. How we love others - we can count the many ways - for others we are able to list one positive characteristic after another. When it comes to seeing our good qualities - the list - much shorter. The reality is that for the majority - we are fairly nice - good people. Where we find faults - others see virtues - strengths. Our greatest fault - not seeing the goodness that resides in each of us - failing to see the holy person that God made us. 

Hate the sin - love the sinner - pretty much sums up God's feelings for each of us. We know that His love is a love that we ourselves are not capable of expressing. He alone exhibits agape love - a love that is hard to define - a love that never stops - a love that humans are unable to express. As we journey through these weeks of Lent - as we walk through the interior hallways of our heart - as we take time to pause and reflect - the first thing we need to do is to decide to love ourselves - no matter where we are - no matter what we have done - no matter how unlovable we think we are. We need to learn to love ourselves - in spite of ourselves - if we are to ever truly love anyone else. Love will carry us through these 40 days of Lent - God's love - our love for self - to carry us forward to live in a life of love. 

Deacon Dale 

Va-LENT-ine's Day

Valentine's Day - a day of shared love - spending time with those who are special to you - spouses - children - significant others - gathering with family - friends - heart shaped boxes of candy - red roses - blood red decorations. As we also celebrate this First Sunday of Lent - we pause on this special rare Va-LENT-ine's day - not often when the two significant days fall on the exact same day. Today on the First Sunday of Lent - when we seriously begin our reflections on our personal lives - we are asked to focus on two hearts - our own - the sacred heart of Jesus - on our relationship with our self - with God - on the value of red blood flowing through our heart - the red blood that flowed from the heart of Jesus as He hung on the cross. In Today's gospel - Jesus reminds us - "Man does not live by bread alone" - there is more to life than eating and drinking - more to life than the past - present. Our vision is to the future - to our place with God in His heavenly kingdom - how we may or may not attain that goal.

In every life rain must fall - even in times of drought - when the air and soil become unbelievably dry - rain will fall. Every day God rains His love - His Holy Spirit - down - upon each of us. Many will soak in - basque in His love - some will reject - ignore - His blessings. Today we are asked to be aware of God's constant presence in our lives - to acknowledge Him for all He has - will do for us. On this First Sunday of Lent - know that He sends you a Valentine's gift - all that you really need - His love.

Deacon Dale  

What Is Holiness and WHO Can Be Holy?

If you do a Goggle search you will find "Holiness is the state of being holy or sacred. Holiness may also refer to: Holiness movement, a specific tradition within evangelicalism. His Holiness, an official style of address in reference to the leaders of several religious groups". So what does it mean to be "Holy"? According to Dictionary.com holy is defined as: (1) specially recognized as or declared sacred by religious use or authority; consecrated; (2) dedicated or devoted to the service of God, the church, or religion; (3) saintly, godly, pious, devout; (4) having a spiritually pure quality; (5) entitled to worship or veneration as or as if sacred; (6) religious; and (7) inspiring fear or awe. Reading this many - perhaps all - may make a claim to being holy. Remembering that each of us was created by God - with the cooperation of our parents - and  that all that God creates is good - that we are all children of God - makes us holy. Most of us live out our lives in some form or manner of holiness - each to their own level according to their circumstances.  Not all live holy lives - unfortunately - for they have made wrong decisions - drawing them to the "dark side of the force".  Those who live holy lives share in the light of Christ - the "light or bright side of  the force". How brightly our lives shine is a direct reflection on our level of holiness. It is up to us - as individuals - to recognize how bright or dim our light shines. Spending all day on knees - bent in prayer - does not guarantee that our life shines brighter than one who prays little. Rather our individual brightness is more than prayer - more than donations - more than being busy about things. The brightness - the holiness - that we radiate is a direct reflection of how well Jesus lives in our thoughts and actions. How we live our lives is what we need to reflect on during Lent. We need to ask (1) does our light shine? (2) how well does my life -  actions - reactions - reflect the love of God?

Jesus came for all but all did not accept Him - many rejected Him - chose the "dark side". In baptism you were filled with the Holy Spirit - In confirmation - the Holy Spirit was again poured freshly into your life - in Holy Eucharist - Jesus comes to you in the form of His Blessed Body and Blood to again give you His Holy Spirit. Daily God rains His love upon you - to guide you - to help you - to keep you on the correct path - to holiness. 

Deacon Dale 

It's All About Sin - Isn't It?

Lent - it is all about sin - right?  Actually - no.  Rather Lent calls us to focus - not on sin - but on Holiness. It asks us to take a personal inventory of our lives - how we live - what we do - how we react - our goals in life and beyond. Of course - sin is involved in the evaluation process - and if we are burdened with sin - eliminating it and what causes us to sin is good - as we seek greater holiness in our life. Committing our self to a period of quiet and reflection - looking deep into who we are - what we do - leads us to that goal of holiness.

When God created the world and mankind - He saw that it was good. Not just O.K. - rather He saw good. Each of us has to remember that one truth - we are all created good. How we live our life has an effect on our goodness.  In Lent - we reflect - we pray to correct faults - to regain any goodness that we have lost.

Deacon Dale  

El Segundo Día

Lent - The Second Day.  Ashes gone - face washed clean - all visible signs of Ash Wednesday gone until next year. The homily from yesterday's Mass - still faintly lingering in the mind. Time to get more deeply involved in some sort of Lenten exercise. Today we look into our lives - what needs to be fixed - maybe too many things - better to start simple - otherwise failure is guaranteed.  Giving up unnecessary time wasters - making that wasted time available for better things. Say an extra prayer - or if not normally praying - start to pray. Looking at the sky - the vast expanse of possibilities - an ocean of opportunities - needing to make a decision - to focus. 

God makes all things possible - a Lent that is meaningful to everyone is a distinct possibility. It may take a little time to focus on that one or two things that will make our personal life better - but that decision will happen soon. Right now - just realizing that we need to make some decisions-  is a great jumping off point. Knowing we have to start is the first step to an awesome journey. Tomorrow we map out our course.

Deacon Dale 

A Smudge - A Stroke - An Ash

Ash Wednesday - observed today around the world - different nations - different continents - different cultures. A day of acknowledgement - the beginning of a Holy Season - a Season of repentance - Repentance for what we have done - have not done. A time of deep reflection - where we have been - where we are going - unless a change is made. A Season made for all mankind - religious - or not. Today we received ashes imposed on our foreheads - ashes from the burnt palms from lasts year's Palm Sunday celebration. Palms once waved in joyful expectation and remembrance of Christ's entrance into Jerusalem. From Celebration to Repentance - Joy to Sorrow - Hope to Renewed Hope.

Jesus came that each of us might experience life to the fullest - to all He came - not everyone accepted Him - the same exists today - many believe - many others do not. It is not up to us to worry about the non-believers - that is God's business - that is Christ's concern. Our focus -this Lent - is on ourselves - on our own salvation - on the direction that our individual life is going. It will be hard enough for each of us to straighten the path we walk - the life we live - hard enough that Holy Roman Church gives us the gift of this Season - to pause - pray - to reflect - on our own life.  You have 40 days....

Deacon Dale 

A Year of Mercy

As we complete this first week of the 2016 New Year - the Holy Year of Mercy - we ask ourselves - what is different - what is suppose to be different - what do we want to be different. Each of us would have many and various answers - finances - health - relationships - serious - frivolous - too many to count - too many to contemplate. A New Year - for each individual - filled with thousands of variables. Every one of us - down to the last man - woman - could write volumes of changes they would like in their own life. 
New Years resolutions - quickly proclaimed - too often forgotten - minutes after declared - carry little use. For most people - something no longer contemplated. Most are numb - locked into a time - place - that precludes any thought of improvement.  The status quo - nothing more - nothing less. 

A Year of Mercy - offers - hope - a chance to break the bonds - to move beyond the status quo. In this New Year - Pope Francis - has given the world a gift of New Life - filled with the awesome Mercy of God Almighty. No one knows the mind - the heart - of God - Jesus. In this new year we offer our prayer - Jesus - I trust in You - in Your Divine Mercy. Trusting in God Almighty - in Jesus our Saviour - the Holy Spirit - is a great place to start.

Happy Divine New Year of Mercy
Deacon Dale 

Merry Christmas!

Christmas greetings to everyone - everywhere. To believers and non-believers - I wish you a Merry Christmas - the blessings of the Author of Life - The God Who Loves You - The Lord Jesus Who Died For You. Whether we believe - or not - God freely sends His blessing upon all.  Not everyone will be open to reception of His blessings - to those who are - His presence is constant - to those who are not - His blessings are like an unwrapped Christmas present - waiting for you to pull at the ribbon - to reveal all that He has for you.

Santa Claus is the expected giver of gifts - for all. Toys - clothes - electronics - gift cards - all freely and happily received. Acceptance by most - the majority - gladly. Digging deeper - Santa - Saint Nicholas - a mortal in whom God was very much alive - a mortal who reflected God's generosity - in ordinary human acts.  Today we who give - reflect too God's love - compassion - forgiveness.  As we share this day with family - friends - strangers - may each of us - through ordinary - extra-ordinary acts of kindness - be reminded of the One Who Loved Us First.

Deacon Dale 

Year of Mercy

We are now in the fourth day of the special Jubilee Year - Holy Year of Mercy - proclaimed by Pope Francis earlier this year. Starting on December 8th - this Holy Year continues until November 20, 2016.  Between those dates - many opportunities for everyone to become involved - either in their home parish - or across the world. In our diocese - nine parishes have been designated as "Pilgrimage Churches" - sites which may be visited as an exercise in personal piety. Pope Francis has asked us to focus on the Corporal Works of Mercy - feeding the hungry - giving drink to the thirsty - clothing the naked - sheltering the homeless - visiting those in prison - comforting the sick - burying the dead. I am happy to report that my homes parish has an excellent track record in all these - except visiting those in prison. For some reason - mostly red tape with entering prisons - we have not addressed that particular ministry.  Perhaps going forward - this will become a new and vibrant ministry of our parish.

Jesus asks us - when did you feed me - give me drink - clothe me - visit me in prison - BAM! Stopped dead in our pious tracks - no Lord we have not visited those in prison - there is so much red tape - it is dangerous - these people are the lowest of the Earth - they scare us. I would have to agree - to some extent.  Then again most of us have never visited a prison - nor do we wish to - intimated - afraid of the consequences. Our personal filter about prisons - mostly fed by movies - makes us shy away form this important ministry. We all know of the success of prison ministry - many others are visiting one daily - but not us.  In this Holy Year of Mercy - we must remember that to receive Mercy - we must show Mercy - to all.  Something to think about this Advent - as we seek to make changes in our own lives.

Deacon Dale