Barking Dog

Although the Barking Dog is a great name for a doggie daycare center - a barking dog may very quickly become a nuisance.  I know - I have a dog who loves to bark. Bark to go outside - bark for food - bark to warn when somebody is on our property - bark when his canine cousins come to visit - and almost any other reason he can find to bark. I cannot allow myself to be angry at his barking - that is how dogs communicate. Sure they sit at your feet and beg with those big loving eyes - sometimes they cruise over to you and ask you to scratch their back side - and yes - rolling over on their back so you can scratch their tummy - yes that is all legitimate communication with you -  their best friend. To many people - barking dogs are a pain - no time to accept them for who they are - what they are trying to communicate - only anger at a sound  they cannot understand.

Sorry I Only Speak Dog 

To many people - when Christians talk about God - Jesus - Holy Spirit - Bible - Holy Scripture - accepted with as little understanding - respect - as for a barking dog. Confused by - Church Speak - Salvation - Confession - Forgiveness - New Life - Living Water - Heaven - Hell - nothing more than yapping puppies around the food bowel. For those of us - guilty of Church Speak - patience - demanded if we are to share  the Good News of Christ. Lent gives us that time - to hone our skills - to speak clearly about  that which we have received - to speak in Love - with patience - that all who have ears might hear - the Good News.

Deacon Dale 

Who Is Billy Baker?

So I ask again - who is Billy Baker? No one that I know personally - I recently ran across an article he wrote - Read Article - all about middle aged men. No - it was not about religion - spirituality - fathering - rather about loneliness. According to this gentlemen - men - specifically middle aged men - so overwhelmed with work - family - children - responsibilities - have no time for themselves. At one point in his article - click "Read Article" above  - he mentioned how women can maintain healthy long distance relationships with their female friends via a phone call - whereas men -  not particularly fond of long phone conversations - cannot. He also mentioned that when women talk to each other - they do so face to face - men on the other hand - stand side by side - looking out at the world together. My wife constantly tells me to look people in the face when I talk to them - I am guilty of also doing the side by side conversation thing - a bad habit I picked up years ago while working in the pharmacy - one eye on the computer - task at hand - while fielding questions from patients standing on the other side of the prescription counter - usually at an angle away from me. Bad habits are hard to break - but - in time - hopefully they do go away.

In Lent Jesus - God asks us - men and women - to take time out of our busy lives to talk with Him - face to face - not side by side. Jesus wants to look into our eyes - into the windows of our hearts - to let us know that He sees much deeper into our souls that we can ever imagine. He does it gently - not judging - seeking to heal our troubles - issues - buried deep within. He cannot do this while you are texting - talking on a phone - driving your vehicle - your complete attention is required. This Lent - give yourself a gift - spend some quiet time - alone with Jesus. Go to your prayer closet - sit quietly in Adoration - before the Blessed Sacrament - light a candle - focus your attention - on the Light of Christ. You will find Him - buried deep inside your soul.  Just like Billy Baker - God is real - and is waiting to form an everlasting friendship with you - where you will never be lonely.

Deacon Dale  

Wearing Thin

I must be getting old - reading news articles that make my blood boil -  When did it become acceptable to take others to task for doing what is normally done and socially acceptable. I am referring to a  group of American youth who while attending a sporting event at their school - chose to wear red- white - blue items on what was promoted as - USA - day. Some uninformed - uneducated - teachers from the very school that sponsored the event forced the youth to apologize to the guest school at the competition -  because - that school has students who are refugees. I am sorry but in my dictionary a refugee is someone who has escaped from a place - location - group - which professed - practiced things - which harm those who lived there - residents who - escaped - to the - USA - where they would no longer be oppressed - allowed to live their lives as they chose - freely. For the host school to wear red - white - blue - is more a sign of welcome - support - as opposed to exclusion.  After all - if the refugees were not welcome at that competition - why would they be there in the first place? How does wearing a shirt that proclaims - USA - exclude anyone? As a person who has traveled to many foreign countries - and actually talked with the ordinary people who live there - more than once - have I heard - we love the USA - we love the American flag - they offer us hope - welcome - security - a chance at a better life. So some American teachers think their students are oppressive.  Perhaps they need to think - by their actions - how oppressive they have been not only to their very students - but to those who were invited to the competition. By saying NO to red- white - blue - they have proclaimed that this is NOT for everyone - that the USA does not welcome refugees - foreigners to our soil.

God calls us to be His people - not just Americans - not just Polish - not just Italian - not just German - not just Syrian - etc.. In our diversity of cultures we share the beauty of all God's creation only when we openly - freely share what we have with others. If - we have more - we share - that is what being Christian - American - is all about. It is our legacy as followers of Christ - to go among all the people of the World - to share - our faith - our lives - our school events - to all who will walk through our doors. In Lent we need to stop and ask ourselves - do I welcome all - and if not - why not?

Deacon Dale 

Lent 102

Today we celebrate the Second Sunday of Lent - our focus on the Transfiguration of Christ before His disciples. This event not only confused - but also scared - His disciples. Who was this man - who changed before their eyes - did amazing things - unseen by others. I can imagine that you and I would be just as confused - concerned - wondering just what was going on before our eyes - and why. I doubt any of us would just say - oh - a miracle from God - rather - slowly inch away - waiting to see what followed. 

God does not expect us to blindly accept everything that happens right in front of our eyes - there are those who would deceive - manipulate what was happening. That is a lot of what is happening right now in world politics - people - misleading - misinterpreting events - to draw us into their mindset - to make us believe - their truths. Today we heard in the Gospel - watch and listen - great advice for each of us. Using our days of Lent to read - listen - ponder - think - reflect - will bring us to the truth - which is Jesus.

Deacon Dale 

Countdown

For many people - Lent is a giant period of counting the days - hours - minutes - until Lent is over. Sadly - so many people fail to recognize the gift of Lent - seeing it as a burden - an intrusion on their daily life. Rather than using these 40 days - to slow down - reflect - take time - to focus on themselves - their focus is on the world and all around them. They see what they are giving up - not what they are gaining. They see bondage to rule - not the freedom offered by meditation - contemplation. Day after day -  they mark their calendars - one less day to endure the discipline of Lent - missing those blessings poured upon them by a loving God.

Jesus spent 40 days in the desert - fasting - praying - not for Himself  - for each of us. He walked in the desert - freeing Himself from the world around Him - to focus on us - our futures - our lives - in the world. What He gave up - He never lost - what we gained - everything freely because of Him. In Lent we countdown only those days left until we celebrate Easter - savoring our Lenten days as the gift they are.

Deacon Dale 

Meet Less

During the Fridays of Lent - Catholics are asked to fast and abstain from meat. To go meatless - substituting fish - vegetables - anything - in place of meat. As they give up meat on these fast days - they are encouraged to offer this sacrifice - as a sign of penance - reflecting instead on their life and what abstaining means to them.  Fast days are asked of us by the Church so that we may empty ourselves - making room in our lives for God - His presence - His Son - His Holy Spirit. When our lives are filled with everything else - when our day is consumed by worldly things - we will deprive ourselves of being able to meet our Lord - to be meet less - with Him.

Jesus asked all to come to Him - especially all who were hungry and thirsty.  He did not specifically mean those whose bellies were void of food or drink.  He meant those who lacked the real substance of life - that which would nourish  them forever - into the next life. He called those hungry for the Word of God - those thirsting to drink at His fountain of salvation - those seeking New Life - in God. As we pray - fast - give alms - during Lent - we open ourselves to His presence. We meet Him in the emptiness of our souls. In Lent we wish to experience more of Jesus - not less.  Jesus calls each of us by name - wiling to meet us exactly where we are - exactly as we are. He does not want to meet less - He seeks more.

Deacon Dale 

Focal Point

When one sets out on a quest - hunt - task - they set their sights on one or more goals. Keeping themselves focused they attempt to accomplish whatever goal - task was in mind. All goes well as long as they stay focused. However - once distracted - eyes off the target - things often do not go as planned. A doctor loses focus during surgery - distracted - a slip of the scalpel - a cut not intended - minor error - critical wound. In some things a slight distraction only causes a slight issue - others - like the doctor example - life threatening. Best practice - learning how to stay focused - until task completed.

Jesus never waived - never lost focus of His mission - to do the Father's Will - to proclaim the Good News to all the people. His focus - New Life - Salvation. As we journey through these days of Lent we also need to keep our focus - not lose sight of the task at hand. If we persevere - hold fast - not lose sight of our goal - we too will achieve what we seek.

Deacon Dale 

Eye Candy

According to Dictionary.com - Eye Candy is slang meaning someone or something that is visually attractive or pleasing but is usually considered to lack worth or merit. An example might be an automobile priced at $249,00 which a majority of people could never afford and being realistic - does nothing more than any normal vehicle  - that would take you from point A to point B for $225,000 less. Vehicles such as this become nothing more than Big Kids Toys - things obviously meant for only the very wealthy.

Anyone can appreciate the beauty around them - appearing naturally in nature - in hand crafted pieces of art.  When that beautiful object become the sole focus in our lives - something has gone wrong. Although available for us to admire - nothing to lust after. Man - woman - machine - art - all offer temporary pleasure. The real object of our focus should be our relationship on Jesus - on God.  In Jesus only will our souls find peace - rest - true pleasure. Knowing that we are known - loved - by the Author of Life - much more pleasing than earthly pleasures. In this Lent we refocus our eyes on the real treasures placed before us. Our eyes seek that which is beyond ordinary beauty - we gaze upon the Mystery - the reality that is God and His plan for our life.

Deacon Dale 

Making Yourself Great Again

All of us entered  the world the same way - naked - innocent - crying our heads off. For most of us we have grown beyond those initial assaults on our lives. Over the years we have learned - acquired - knowledge - skills - to help us through our lives. Unfortunately some of what we have learned has not always been the best - worthwhile - knowledge.  Foul language - learning how to lie - becoming skilled in deception - to mention just a few - not something of which we should be proud. Those are the things - we seek to eliminate during our Lenten exercises. Like dust bunnies that cling to our souls - we seek to brush them from ourselves. 

Jesus is our role model when we seek to attain holiness. He who was without sin is our guide - mentor - in how to recreate the lives we were initially blessed with. No matter what shape our present life is in - it can become great again - if we only try.  Focusing our eyes on Jesus - reading His Gospels - going deep into understanding His teachings - then adopting them as our own - will give us the tools to achieve holiness for ourselves. Try you must - for to be great as your Heavenly Father intended - takes work.  Time to buckle down.

Deacon Dale 

Holier Than Who?

OK - let's admit it - those who are always at church - always praying - always talking about their relationship with God - may come off as - holier than thou. The thou - meaning you - yourself. It is not unusual for people to talk about - those - people - gossiping about how many hours - how many devotional practices - how often they are seen - on their knees - in prayer. There is no justification for this kind of criticism - spoken in angry tones - shared with others who hold the same attitude.  In fact - it is none of - your - business - how - they - pray - how often - they - take time out of - their - day to practice - their - devotions. Guilt and justification for your lack of a prayer life - the most common motivator. Everyone has to acknowledge - realize - that a person's prayer life - relationship with God - is theirs and theirs alone. No two people are expected to have the same prayer - spiritual - life. If that were true - we would all be robots - blindly doing the exact same thing.

Just because we have been created in the likeness of God - does not make us God. On the contrary - we are very far from gods ourselves. Psalm 8 tells us that we were made a little less than a god - the difference is our tendency to sin - to do things that separate ourselves from God. Gossip is one - being uncharitable towards others - another. When we look at one's level of holiness - it should be our own level and no other's that we look at. Each of us is called to holiness - to a closer relationship with God. Each of us is an individual and as such - is expected to meet similar but different standards. You cannot put everyone in the same class - category - box. We attain holiness in many and various ways - through different - but similar - devotions. In this Lent when  you reflect on your life - ask your self - holier than who - yourself!  Have you grown over the past year spiritually - have you finally mastered that one sin that separates your from God - are your truly holier than YOU.

Deacon Dale