After Shock

An aftershock is a smaller earthquake that occurs after a previous large earthquake - in the same area of the main shock. That is not the after shock that this article refers to. What I am focusing on - when something of unusual proportion occurs - an event that surprises - shocks - most people. It may be a good or bad event - winning the lottery - getting a surprise promotion - receiving a proposal for marriage - house burning to the ground - being fired from your job - sudden death. All of these events cause shock - great concern among those affected - confusion - a rush of emotions - happy - sad - joy - anger. In the time following the surprise - the after shock - those minutes - hours - days - following - trying to sort things out - clearing ones mind - making adjustments - looking to the next days. Focusing on what happens next.

When Jesus rose from the dead - His disciples - in a state of shock - was it real - was He a ghost - a figment of their imagination - trying to sort reality - from exhaustion - anxiety. The aftermath - sharing stories - putting it all together - to make sense - to create comfort. Two thousand years later - no after shock - we have been conditioned all our lives - to accept this unbelievable event - the Easter Event - Mystery of God's plan - Jesus - Resurrection. For believers - the Easter Mystery is an event to be celebrated - not dissected - analyzed. We rejoice in Christ's victory over Death - the next 50 days - Easter Season - focusing on what happens next. 

Deacon Dale 

Life Not Death

I read a comment somewhere yesterday where the person was asking what the big deal was with Jesus' death. Scripture does clearly say that Jesus died on Good Friday - rose on Easter Sunday. From the writer's perspective - Jesus was only dead - three days - whereas others - soldiers for instance - dead forever. For some reason he seems to understand that Jesus only had to be dead for three days - then return to life as before. What? Obviously the fact that Jesus was raised to - New Life - a Glorified Body - NOT the same as before - Resurrected! The only person recorded in history to be resurrected from the dead - Jesus. His whole death - passion - was not about dying - all of us can - will - do that at some point in our lives. The Easter Mystery is about - Resurrection - only done once - only by Jesus.

Faith is a very big pill to swallow - very hard for many - not logical - defies understanding - wisdom. Faith cannot be held in the hand - nor can it be felt - smelled - seen. As an intangible object - invisible - impossible - for many. That is why Jesus performed miracles - why the disciples performed miracles - signs of God's presence - in ordinary people - in out of the ordinary events. Believing in God - the Holy Spirit - Resurrection - takes Faith. To believe one has to be open to the possibility - the opportunity - without hard evidence. - willing to place logic aside - to open oneself to a Mystery beyond human understanding. God wills it - Jesus speaks it - the Holy Spirit does it. It is all about Life - not Death.

Deacon Dale 

Victory Dance

A Victory Dance - any dance or special traditional movement - done in celebration of a small or grand victory - over anything. If you Google the term victory dance you will find a vast array of what is called a victory dance. In a nutshell - anything worth celebrating - worth dancing for. The most common victory dance - on the sports field - after a goal - win. Other victory dances - personal - among friends - celebrating small accomplishments. As a people - it is good to celebrate our small wins - with family - friends. Many cultures - celebrate - with dance. Dance expresses in movement - music - where words fail to convey - fully express - the emotions of joy - happiness.

When Jesus rose from the Dead - the angels in heaven danced for joy - rejoiced as He defeated Death - the enemy of mankind. His disciples - shocked - amazed - over joyed - filled with new hope - anticipation - of more to come. Today as we Celebrate Easter - a once pagan celebration - Christianized - now a celebration of Christ's Victory. The victory - not His alone - also ours - as we who call ourselves Christians - share in that victory over Death. To us - the promise of New Life - Life with God - an eternal gift from God the Father. - with fellow Christians. Today each of needs to dance with Jesus - celebrate His victory - in a victory dance.

Deacon Dale 

Carpe Diem

According to Wikipedia - Carpe Diem - is a Latin aphorism - definition - usually translated - seize the day - taken from book 1 of the Roman poet Horace's work Odes (23 BC). In modern terminology - grab it now - do it while you can - take advantage of the opportunity now - while it is there. So to all - today I urge you - carpe diem - Holy Saturday - grab it - become involved with it - become an active participant - because tomorrow it will be gone. This is the final day of the 3-peat - the Triduum - the religious hat trick - the three holiest days of the year. On this day in churches around the world - the final examination - blessing - of the Elect - those preparing for Baptism - Confirmation - Holy Communion. This morning also - the blessing of Easter food baskets - food to be prepared and shared with family and friends at the Easter feast.  A day of fasting - prayer - in preparation for the Easter Vigil - the Mother of all Vigils - celebrated tonight after sundown. The darkness of the night broken by the outdoor lighting of the Easter - Pascal - Candle - in a solemn light service - the entrance into the church - in a victory march to begin the Vigil - Holy Mass. Twelve scriptures - maximum - with sung psalms - the Epistle - Gospel proclamation - words of encouragement - the blessing of water in the font - Baptism - Confirmation - finally Holy Eucharist. The community gathered at prayer - joyfully celebrating - the Resurrection. 

Tonight - Heaven - Earth - join together in a moment when ordinary people experience the Divine. Listening to Holy Scripture proclaimed - reassured by the words spoken in the Vigil Homily - God draws all of us deeper into the Mystery - that is God. Tonight we remember Creation - the Escape - God's Call - Jesus' Passion - the dark moments - the emptiness - the Glory - the Hope. As a family we witness - Baptism - Confirmation - First Communion - the addition of New Members - to the Family of God. Tonight we celebrate Hope - we celebrate Joy - we celebrate Jesus. Carpe Diem.

Deacon Dale  

What Is So Good About Friday?

Today - Good Friday - the day we remember when Jesus was led to the Cross - crucified - unjustly - for our sins - although He had committed no sins of His own. Unjust - not fair - should never have happened - why did God allow this to happen - what went wrong here? In our eyes - a terrible mistake - plans gone wrong. What did this accomplish - how have we benefited - what was the big picture? To many people - Good Friday is nothing more than a day off from work - a holiday - time to party with friends - the beginning of a long weekend. Christ's death - a historical fact - nothing more. The significance of Good Friday lost - in the celebration of Easter joy - hunting for eggs - bunnies - chicks - Easter baskets - family - food - fun. Too many people focus their eyes on the celebration - forget that before the celebration there was suffering - anguish - blood - tears - death. 

In the beginning God knew - knew everything. He knew that this day would come - hoped it would not be necessary - but mankind failed - God intervened - took corrective steps - sent His Son - to save the world from itself. The enemy to be confronted - not people - rather Death. Death - the final enemy - that which robs people of hope - life. Death - an enemy too powerful to be fought by ordinary means - by ordinary people. Only Jesus - the Son of God - able to face head on - that which placed fear in the hearts of men - women. Jesus - armed with spiritual battle gear - prepared from birth - for this one day - this one battle - for mankind. He was prepared - ready for whatever happened - ready to suffer the pain of physical death - prepared to die and sink into the bowels of Hell - to defeat Death where it lived - to escape - rise - to New Life. That is what makes this Friday - Good.

Deacon Dale 

Spiritual Hat Trick

In sports - a hat trick is the achievement of a positive feat three times in a single game or another achievement based on the number three. The most common reference to hat trick is hockey - when one player score three points in a game. Today - Holy Thursday marks the first - of three - very significant events in one series known as the Triduum. In the Triduum - Catholics around the world celebrate the three most holy days in the year - Holy Thursday - Good Friday - Holy Saturday with celebration of the Easter Vigil. Each event on its own is significant - the three - celebrated in three consecutive days - very significant. 

The Church gives us these three very holy days - to remind and reassure us that all that we profess and believe - is true. So true that it bears repeating - year after year. Holy Thursday we celebrate the institution of Holy Eucharist and the Priesthood - the washing of the feet of the twelve - being called by God - ordained to service to each other - strengthened by the spiritual food of Holy Communion. Each day of the three - the final teachings - lessons in preparation - for the celebration of Easter. 

Deacon Dale  

Wrapping Up

Wednesday of Holy Week - time to wrap up our Lenten experience - gather up all that we have accomplished - review all that we have done - looking forward to the Triduum on Thursday. Similar to getting our vacation house in order as we prepare to leave  - putting things away - turning things off - shutting down this and that. One final cleaning - getting our spiritual house in order - as we move on.

Thursday a rest day for the most part - all the action to take place at Holy Mass - Thursday evening. Jesus stands at our side as we take inventory of all that has been accomplished this Lent. Great and small - any improvement - a positive - moving us to the Triduum - closer to Easter. One day of rest - then three days - focused on the Passion.

Deacon Dale 

Winding Down

When we refer to something as winding down - losing power - coming to a stand still - we acknowledge that it is coming to an end. So many things happen in our lives - we will experience  this winding down - over and over again. We begin the work week - full of energy - as the days pass - it slows down comes to a halt. Schools open their doors - full steam ahead in August - wind down - shut down in June. The same goes for most professional sports - each has a season - training - active games - wind down with only a few teams - final competition. We are now in the winding down days of Lent - three days left - then over. In these last three days we focus - on ourselves - our growth - what we have accomplished. We slowly move from the Lenten season in preparation for the Triduum - the three Holiest Days of the Christian Year.

God gives us the ability to learn - grow - adapt - adjust - to prepare ourselves for an eternal life with Him. In the season of Lent we have taken time - away from other concerns - issues - to focus on the spiritual side of life. We have paused - prayed - reflected - meditated - on our relationship with Jesus - with God. In our spiritual exercises we have experienced growth - understanding - prepared ourselves to participate more fully in the special three days to come - the Triduum and Easter celebrations to follow.

Deacon Dale 

The Anointed

Normally when someone refers to - the anointed - visions of a person of great importance - jumps into your head - a religious leader - one elected to an office of great power - influence. To be anointed - means - standing out - selected from the many - to be included with the few. In most Roman Catholic dioceses - tonight - Monday of Holy Week - the local bishop celebrated the Mass of the Oils - special oils blessed - by the bishop - Oil of Catechumens - Oil of the Sick - Sacred Chrism - to be used in all the parishes of the diocese during the next year - in celebration of the sacraments of baptism - healing - confirmation - dedication. Sacred Chrism might be used in the dedication of a new altar - church building - the majority of the oil - used on people - ordinary people - receiving extra ordinary blessings.

Throughout history - religions - cults - have used oil as a special sign - blessing - healing - power - anointing from powers beyond our understanding. In Christian theology - anointing with oil - a special calling from God - to ordinary people - to become more than ordinary - to become people - of faith. The oils blessed tonight - presented to the parish family on Holy Thursday evening at the celebration of Holy Mass - the commemoration of the Eucharist - Priesthood - to be used on Holy Saturday at the Easter Vigil. God calls each of us to reflect on the anointings we have already received - will receive - in the future.

Deacon Dale 

Holy Week 2016

Today marks the beginning of Holy Week 2016 - we commemorate Jesus' entry into Jerusalem - riding on a donkey - palms waving - people cheering - chanting - excited - the entrance of the Messiah. How quickly things went from joy - excitement - to - despair - anger - sadness - loss of hope. Today we begin our annual walk down memory lane - we recreate the events of this week - complete with all the emotions - happy - sad. For over 2000 years now - we remember - has it done us any good - has it made us a better people. Most - weather Christian or not - would agree that Jesus' appearance in the world was one of the biggest events in the history of man - affected the development of cultures - people - around the world. Yet - two millennium later - do we act like we learned anything. If you have watched even a minimum of the current political shenanigans - it would be almost impossible to see any Christ like actions among the candidates. Trash talk - innuendos - misdirection - comments taken out of context - all confusing the public - creating a very unhealthy environment. At a time in history when we should be people of peace - compassion - understanding - we have nothing - reeds - palms blowing in the wind - our leaders - acting like children - immature - themselves victims of their own tactics.

In this holiest week of the Christian calendar - we experience God's Divine Mercy -  His compassion - understanding - forgiveness - healing. God is able - will forgive our sins - even the comedy that is the political scene in America. All we need to do is ask - period. We do not understand why - but He will. Jesus - the compassionate teacher - Son of God - the gentle spokesperson - calls each of us to a deeper relationship with Him - with His Father. In this week - it is possible - Jesus waits - quietly - for your next move.

Deacon Dale