Lent 103

The Third Sunday of Lent - Water Divine - a precious resource - available to all - for free - unless you buy it bottled. Water rains freely from the sky - anyone may collect it - use it - drink it - bathe in it. Our bodies are 50% - 60% water - the rest is all the good things - bones - muscles - fat -brain tissue.  Although seen as insignificant - we cannot live with out water. We can skip meals - avoid food - but we can only last so many hours without water - before serious damage sets in.  Water is the oil - grease in our joints - the liquid that lubricates our eyes - makes tears - aids digestion - controls our inner furnace - fuels the thermostat of our bodies. It is so important - divinely inspired - that we use it constantly in our daily lives.  In our spiritual traditions - water - used to cleanse - baptize - purify - wash away sins - impart blessings - nourish our spirits - souls. 

For the people of God - water gushed forth from rocks in the desert - saved the people fleeing Egypt - washes away impurities - sins - prepares one for prayer - to name a few. Water is an important element in many religious practices. In Lent - specifically the Third Sunday - water points to the baptism of converts to be celebrated on Holy Saturday when they will be baptized at the Easter Vigil Mass. Water - one of three major focuses in Christian baptism.  As we begin our third week of Lent - we who have been baptized - reflect on what our baptism means to us. For those looking forward to baptism at the Easter Vigil - the focus is on hope - a new life in Christ.

Deacon Dale  

A Rose By Any Other Name...

Frequently quoted - a rose by any other name would smell as sweet - from William Shakespeare's - Romeo and Juliet - is taken to imply that no matter what you would call a rose - it would still have the same aroma - pleasing smell. Juliet - in defense of Romeo's name - stating that the name of a person or object - does not define the characteristics - qualities - of anyone or thing.  On this point Juliet is correct - after all - a name is simply a name.  It takes years - decades - for a name to become common enough that certain characteristics are implied by a name.  When Shakespeare first wrote Romeo and Juliet - it was simply a new play - to be attended - investigated - critiqued - enjoyed - at that time - no significance - importance. Four hundred and some years later - Romeo and Juliet - a classic tale of love and tragedy - a name known around the world.

God not only knows how many hairs are on our heads - our name as well - each and every one of us. There may be millions of people - but each is significant - important - to God. We may share names with other people - no two people are identical - even among twins. When we come to God - He knows exactly who we are - what we are about - what we need. He waits for us to speak - quietly - gently - giving us time - to ask - to receive. In Lent - in the quiet of our hearts - dare to speak your name to God.

Deacon Dale 

Wearing Green

Saint Patrick's Day - time for  the wearing of  the green - showing your Irish pride - ancestry - genealogical roots - connecting to Irish ancestry.  Unfortunately the only green shirt I have - not in the laundry - says "Italia" not "Ireland" so could not wear that today.  Acknowledging that today is Saint Patrick's feast day - not a requirement to wear green. 

Today everyone wants to be Irish - to have an excuse to celebrate - gather with friends - with food - drink - joining together as one - enjoying life. That is as it should be - holiday not required - saint or not - people should be gathering every day to celebrate - life - the possibilities that exist - when two or more are gathered. God asks us to celebrate His creation every day - even during Lent.

Deacon Dale 

Tearing Down Walls

Last year our Home Owners Association in Arizona sent out a request for homeowners to notify them if they had any issues with property cared for by the association. We have a cinder block wall that surrounds our home and the majority of it is cared for by the association. I notified them that I thought there was an issue with one section which seemed to be tipping inwards toward our property. They finally responded - after 10 months - that they would look into this issue.  Happy to report they were out in a matter of a few days to inspect the wall from our side - the community side had been inspected last October.  The decision - tear down a twenty foot section and rebuild at no cost to us. Now we wait and see when this will be done - as we wish to be here during that process - either April this year or January 2018.  When they do the work they will remove the wall - block by block - tearing it down to its foundation - then rebuilding - back up six feet.  The entire work to be done will be completed easily in one day - hopefully straight in line with the remainder of the existing wall.

  

As we journey  through Lent we are asked to examine our lives - to see where we have built walls - keeping others out - locking sins in - putting up barriers to our relationship with God. Time heals all things - so we are told - and in time - most things are healed.  Unfortunately some will not live long enough for time to do its work. As we spend time in prayer - meditation - we need to look inward first - at our lives - our relationships - our walls - before we can start the process of restoration - tearing down - building up. Removing barriers in our lives should be simple - one of  the most complicated tasks known to man. Attitudes - feelings - past history - often confuse the real issues.  Through prayer - patience - perseverance - walls can be torn down - removed - opening us up to everything hidden on the other side.  Need help - ask Jesus - He is awesome at removing - healing all barriers.

Deacon Dale 

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