Size Matters

There is a lot of concern about many things - for those trying to observe a faith filled Lent - always the concern of what to do - when to do it - how much is enough,  Prayer - fasting - alms giving - how many times to pray - what prayers - how much to fast - what to avoid - making donations to help others - where to draw the line.  To each of the above - depends on the individual - their circumstances - wants - needs.  No two people are alike - no one situation exactly like another - to each - the answers - only apply to them - up to them to make that determination.

Jesus said if we had faith the size of a mustard seed - very tiny compared to other seeds - we could move mountains - do amazing - wonderful things.  All He asks of us during Lent is to focus on our personal relationship with Him - His Father.  The time we spend - place - completely up to us.  No right answer - no wrong answer - as long as we just do it.

Deacon Dale 

When Will This End

It is very hard this Lent to focus one's mind - spirit - on spiritual exercises - when everyone is being bombarded from all sides about the Coronavirus.  Unfortunately there is so much misinformation - guessing - experts - amateurs - selfish - greedy - people looking to scare - make a quick dollar - it makes one's head spin.  In the midst of all this - precious time wasted - better spent quietly - doing constructive things.  Reading - meditating - praying - being quiet - all better uses of time. 

Worry is not from The Lord - a tool of the devil - disrupting otherwise peaceful lives.  Right now too many worry - when will this end - will I be infected - will I survive.  We have gone through this before - survived.  Some did not make it - those same people - those who were in the process of dying anyhow.  All of us begin the dying process the day we are born.  We are born to die - no one immortal - most live fairly long lives.  When will this current virus be a thing of the pass.  The cap is just off the pen - the ink has not yet started to run.  It will be months before life returns to normal - in the meantime remain - people of Hope.

Deacon Dale 

Bonus Post - Social Distancing

This new terminology - social distancing - what is the fuss?  I see a lot of people - complaining that large venues have been banned in light of the COVID19 pandemic.  The President - Governors - Mayors - all mandating - social distancing.  The outcries - unbelievable - conspiracy - government regulating our lives - our freedoms - unfair!  That is what my children would often say as mom and dad would lay down the rules - rules to protect them - keep them safe - healthy.  They were only children - did not have the knowledge - experience to know what we knew - thus the cry - unfair!  I find it unbelievable that in this day and age - knowledge readily available - adults - those who think they are adults - crying unfair.  I am no stranger to large events - most recently standing with 200,000 strangers - waiting to see Pope Francis at the Vatican.  Did I really want to be in that crowd - did I really want to find the right spot - get close to the Pope - did I really think that the other 199,999 people added to my experience - No!  My preference - one on one - nobody else around.  When we attend sporting events - how many people do we interact with - maybe a handful - why the need for a crowd? Bottom line - the need to feel involved.  If large groups were allowed right now - the spread of COVID19 would be monumental - the affect - mass deaths - all because we had to be there - to be a faceless number in the crowd.  When those deaths - many unnecessary - added up - we should stand trial as being involved in one giant mass murder.  Sure - you didn't get sick - but you got the virus - unknown - no symptoms - carried it home to your children - spouse - parents - to the neighbor recovering from surgery - immune system completely comprised - and you brought the virus to them even though they were observing social distancing. In spite of their efforts - your selfishness - caused their premature death.

Although you may miss the game - party - gathering - you will miss your mother more.  Think about it - this will pass - in a few months hopefully - all may get back to normal.  Until then - follow the guidelines - practice social distancing - stay safe - not just for yourself - for everyone else around you.

Jesus I Trust In You
Deacon Dale 

Living Water

Today's Gospel is about Jesus meeting the woman at the well - the one who had numerous husbands - the current man in the house - not her husband.  By all rights - most would condemn her - Jesus doesn't.  That should be reassuring to those of us - who sin less - commit small sins - or so we think.  As people of God - disciples of Jesus - none of us is immune to sin.  The world is a giant bowl of potato chips - each chip - a sin of a different flavor.  As the saying goes - you can't eat just one - same goes for sins.  When considering what is sinful - the list so long - it has no end.  If I sin against my wife by disrespecting her and you - is that one sin or two?  If the sinful action is the same but applied to multiple persons - how many times have I sinned. If I lose my temper and in anger shout curse words at someone - if I sneak ahead in a line - which sin is worse.  In Proverbs 24:16 we read - a righteous man sins seven times a day - so essentially we are doomed?  Tracing our roots back to the Torah - it was common knowledge that none of mankind was perfect - even a righteous person - sinful.  Recognizing that we are all imperfect versions of a perfect God - we struggle with sin everyday.

Jesus recognized the woman at the well - just as he recognizes each of us.  He knew she was sinful - he knows we are sinful - to her - to us - He offers us His healing power - to atone for what we have done wrong - to avoid the temptation to continue to sin.  As we remove one sin from our lives - another appears - another to be reconciled with - to be healed - to move on - like a powerful stream of water - flowing over us - cleansing us of our imperfections - His Holy Spirit - the Living Water of the Gospel - constantly being poured upon each of us - washing us free - to New Life in Christ.  Today thank Jesus for seeing your sins for what they are - imperfections in your life - that need to be washed away - to purify all of us - leading all to the Joy of Easter Resurrection - new life in Christ.

Deacon Dale 

A First Time For Everything

Never in my lifetime - yours - did we ever think the Catholic Church would cancel Holy Masses - especially on the weekend - a staple for all involved.  When I read that Italy was closing everything - except pharmacies - grocery stores - during this pandemic - I never thought that would happen in America.  In large cities on the east coast - in the midwest - churches closed - this weekend.  In the Chicago area - hundreds of churches closed.  It is understandable - wise - difficult - decision by the bishops - seeking to help stem the spread of the Coronavirus COVID19.  Better to miss church services - than irresponsibly - assist in the early death of parishioners - neighbors - friends - family. 

As Christians - we claim to be people of Faith - people who trust in God - people who believe Jesus' words - that He came that we might have Life - live it to the fullest.  Missing a church service - will not kill us - figuratively - literally.  God is much larger than that - He commands us to Love Him - Worship Him - Serve Him - never said it had to be in a church building - never said it had to be in a crowd - never said that we had to put our own health at risk - to Honor Him.  As committed Catholics - Christians - the Temple where we first worship Him - in our Hearts - Minds.  If we can't - don't worship Him - in the Temples of our Bodies - then all other worship - meaningless.  Jesus told us to Worship - with our whole - Mind - Heart - Soul - in the Temple that we call our body.  First and foremost - worship - begins at Home - in our bodies.  Worship continued in community - in buildings - churches - secondary.  Gathering each weekend - Sunday - as the Body of Christ - a reminder to all of us - we are not alone - we - as disciples of Christ - a visible witness to Him - the Author of Life.  Even when not in the parish church - our visible witness remains.  For  those without a church this weekend - there are many services televised - live streamed via computers - phones - tablets.  You will miss Holy Eucharist - something that many take for granted - for those who really understand - a very special sacrifice - this Lent.

Deacon Dale 

Rolling With The Times

There are always a ton of distractions during Lent that get in the way of our best intentions - work - family - illness - emergencies - helping others.  It is inevitable - if it can go wrong - it will.  In spite of all this - doing Lent properly - still possible.  All it takes is minutes - not hours.  Prayer time does not have to be hours - minutes count - seconds matter.  What is important - prayer period.  The Sign of the Cross - a prayer. A quick Hail Mary - Glory Be - Our Father - prayers that carry more power than hours of words.  Jesus I Trust In You - speaks volumes.  

Life is filled with so many challenges - making time for faith matters - one of them.  Avoiding panic buying during virus pandemic - another.  If people would hoard up prayers as much as they hoard toilet paper - world would be in better shape than currently is.  This too - will pass - Heaven - will not.  Faith in self - others - Jesus - worth more than all the toilet paper in the world.  There are options to toilet paper - not to Jesus 

Deacon Dale 

Trust In The Lord

It is printed on our money - In God We Trust - but do we really?  Trust is something that does not happen immediately - it is earned - gained - from experience.  Many people have difficulty trusting in God - past disappointments - ignored prayers - paradise gained - lost.  It is understandable why some have this feeling - losing loved ones - jobs - financial security.  Life is filled with so many variables - at any moment things can change from good to bad - vice versa.  God has blessed us with this Earth and all that is in it - He does not micro manage.  With His gift of Free Will - we affect many of the changes in our lives.  Taking the high road or the low - up to us - God blesses whichever route we take - up to us to make the most of the route we chose to follow.  If we choose wrongly - can always go back - make a new decision - follow a different route. When we think God failed us - vice versa - we failed ourselves.  Ignoring His clues - things placed before our eyes - our fault - not His.  When analyzing our failures - not because He wasn't trust worthy - rather the World - not God failed us.

Jesus had no choice but to trust in God - His Father.  There must have been times when He paused - questioned - placed His trust in His Father - who knows all.  His trust paid off - just as ours will. Trust in God is golden - a link between Him - us. In these days of Lent - in these days of concerns of the coronavirus - we place our trust completely in God.

Deacon Dale 

Giving Up

Now that is something I hear frequently during Lent - giving up - giving up candy - giving up cakes - giving up ice cream - giving up television - giving up Facebook - giving up a hundred other - things. During Lent - we are asked to focus - focus on what really matters - our interior life - that which brings us closer to holiness - closer to Jesus.  In today's Gospel - Jesus tells his disciples that he will be giving up His life - for all.  There is a discussion about who will share in His Kingdom - finally warned that all will share His fate - in the end.

The hardest thing about Lent is time. Time to pray - time to meditate - time to focus on helping others.  Lent can become tedious - difficult - stressful.  Giving up - quitting - not an option.  When Jesus faced obstacles - He did not give up - instead - prayed more.  Like HIm - we need to be faithful to this journey - faithful to Jesus - faithful to God - faithful to ourselves.  Giving up - not an option.

Deacon Dale 

Wash Yourselves Clean!

In today's Holy Scriptures we read in Isaiah 1:10, 16-20 - WASH YOURSELVES CLEAN!  We can take that literally in view of the current Coronavirus issue.  Yes - it is always smart to keep yourself - surroundings - clean - free from dirt that you can see - free from germs that you cannot see.  It is imperative - not an option - that people keep their senses about them. There are a lot of ridiculous things being published almost everywhere promoting crazy things people are doing - afraid that they will get sick - die.  Drinking pure alcohol not meant for human consumption - drinking bleach which will burn their throat and stomach - all will cause death - not from the virus - rather from idiotic actions.  If you find yourself in one of the higher risk groups - do the simple things that make sense - are proven ways to avoid the virus.  Number one - wash your hands - do not touch your mouth - face.  Next - avoid crowds - it is Lent so a great time to sacrifice - avoid public events - stay away from the movies - sporting events - even church.  Yes - if you are at high risk - better to stay home and watch services on TV or online - than risk sitting for an hour or more among those who may be carriers of the virus without their knowledge.  Thousands of people each year are exposed to the seasonal flu - get a few sniffles - maybe a runny nose - without it getting worse.  They will say they had a cold - that is a virus also - not realizing they had a mild case of the flu - now a carrier of that virus which they innocently spread to others - even just by their breath - talking with others while making no physical contact.  Viruses spread in the air as a primary means of transmission.  You will never see it coming.  For myself and wife - since we are in that older group - limiting our excursions outside the house - keeping active by ourselves - mostly in isolation.  Cycling in the desert with no body around except for a few snakes - coyotes.  Our house is like a walled in isolation chamber - our entire living space isolated even from the neighbors.  If we elect to stay home from church - remember Arizona is filled with the demographic most likely to get the virus - we will attend church via our home parish streaming service.  To view - visit Saint Patrick Church  and scroll down the welcome page to "Live Stream".  We may miss receiving Holy Eucharist but that is a sacrifice we can make this Lent - to protect ourselves and those around us.  As you can see in the photos below we already live in a cloistered environment.  Notice all the walls.

  

 

Isaiah's proclamation to wash clean was targeted at the people of Sodom and Gomorrah but still applies to each of us today.  It is not only our hands - body - homes - that need to be washed clean - also our spirit - the thoughts that we think - the doubts - fears - lack of trust - that we carry in our minds - hearts.  As we walk these days of trials during Lent - we must remove all that from ourselves that create a roadblock to holiness.  We worship God first in our minds - hearts - secondly in the way we live.  As Christians we walk each day trusting that Jesus - God will carry us safely to Easter.  

Deacon Dale 

Fear

Everyday we are told to fear something - be afraid - of the sun - the rain - the humidity - the flu - germs - violence - war - poverty - famine - God.  In the USA we are a people of fear - everyday we are warned about politicians who want to ruin this country - medical specialists who tell us to fear the newest virus - fear the loss of jobs - the decline in the economy.  All these do require that we pay attention - be informed - learn how to cope - roll with the punches - take preventative actions - to avoid bad situations.  Most of these are within our control - if we act wisely.  A few such as flu epidemics - the current COVID19 virus spreading around the world - out of our control - still within our own power to take action - to avoid - minimize effects.  

Fear of God is totally different - He only wants what is best for us.  In the old world use of the word fear it should replaced with the word - respect.  Respect the Lord God - His commands - respect what He asks - tells us.  Respect His Name - the name of Jesus - the Name above all Names.  We have the power to control all our fears - somethings we should fear - never - fear God - always - respect.  As we continue our walk through Lent - we continue to grow in our respect of the Lord Our God.

Deacon Dale