Valentines - How Do You Love?

How do I love thee - let me count the ways.  Easy to do when you are thinking about your spouse - child - parent - loved one.  When we look at those we love - lots of ways to describe them - their attributes - character - cuteness - good - funny qualities.  Without a doubt - very loveable.  In todays scriptures - people much harder to love - lepers - those who are diseased - physical defects - mental issues - older - aged - worn by the ravages of time - wrinkled - people struggling with their very lives - desperately trying to fit in - find happiness in a troubled world. 

All too many people are too quick to cast aside those who do not meet their expectation of beauty - charm - intellect - attractiveness.   Guilty of judging the book by the cover - looking only at the superficial.  Wise people know that physical beauty is only skin deep - the true beauty of an individual so often not visible to the human eye. When God looks at us - He sees deep to the soul - the interior of our being - our minds - hearts - our very spirit - our ability to either love as is - to reject based only on physical appearance. God calls us to love each other based on who we are - inside.  As we quickly approach the Season of Lent - now is a great time to ask ouselves - who do we love and why.

Deacon Dale 

JOB or JOB?

In today's first reading from JOB 7:1-4,6-7 we are told life is a drudgery - a long - never ending chore - a job.  Interestingly JOB also translates as job - something to be done - a task to perform.  As we read further - we come to realize  that none of us really knows the mind of God - what He asks of us - what He can do for us.  Once we begin to understand - grasp His power - the extent of His love - ability to walk with us in our lives - then and only then - can we even begin to comprehend His expansiveness.  None of us will ever truly know the mind of God.

Accepting Jesus as God the Son of God - understanding His ministry to us - helps draw us closer to God - who He is - our relationship to Him. Through prayer - worship - becoming an active disciple of Jesus - helps us to create a connection to God.  Staying connected to Him gives us the strength to continue our journey as a productive disciple of His.

Deacon Dale 

Fighting Fire With Fire

Here we are at the end of January 2021 and not much has changed.  A new president has been put in place and executive orders signed - business as usual.  January is always a month of change - anyone who pays attention to history realizes this.  What is - new - one year is the same - new - as in previous years.  New presidents always cancel what previous presidents declared new - only to be reversed in future years. What is new is old and what was once old becomes new again.  That happens with many of us.  New Years resolutions made with vigor die a slow death very often in the first thirty days.  It is called the cycle of life.  None of us is perfect - a reality that we are called to accept. It has been almost a year since we first learned about the Covid virus - a virus raging around the world like a giant fire. Coping with the pandemic along with all the other issues is like fighting multiple fires - fires that attack from all sides - damaging our lives - relationships - our total well being.

In a few short weeks we will once again celebrate Ash Wednesday and Lent.  In that time we will reflect on our lives - what is good - what is not so good.  We will fast - pray - make sacrificial offerings - in an attempt to make retribution for the things that we have done wrong.  In the time of Lent - in our prayers - we will beg God to send down the Fire of His Holy Spirit - to burn out the sins in our lives - to purify us - to make us whole - clean.  As we do our work - on our lives - we use God's Holy Fire to destroy the fire that has fueled all the negativity that has been destroying our lives - the world.  Just as firefighters use fire to control out of control fires - so we beg God that His Holy Fire do the same in our lives.  Fighting fire with fire - God's way.   Praying that when the smoke clears - we will see a better us - a better world.. 

Deacon Dale

2021 Blessings

May the Lord bless you and your loved ones in 2021.  Even though we are still coping with the pandemic - many blessings will be given to us.  Last year was difficult for all of us - all have had to endure a year of disappointments - financial - spiritual - recreational - educational.  In spite of all this - good things still happened.  Scheduled surgeries - weddings - births - graduations - all went ahead - changed - modified - but still were completed.  Many blessings were received - more blessings went unnoticed - yet God still sent them upon all of us.  

The best blessings from God - other people who entered our lives - those who surprised us with their physical - virtual presence - to encourage us that we could cope - know that we are not alone in this life.  If you are reading this - you have been blessed even if you do not realize it.  You are alive - possibilities abound - so many good things lay ahead.  Praise God for your life - make it worth living.  With God all things are possible.

Deacon Dale 

Christmas 2020 The Celebration That wasn't

This year the normal celebration of Christmas was anything but normal. Travel canceled - church services - canceled - simplified - family gatherings - on hold.  The pandemic that was suppose to be under control - still raging its ugly head - every where.  Needless to say - most likely the biggest disappointment of 2020.  However - there were moments - unmatched in previous years - that managed to bring joy - peace into many lives. 

Jesus told us that He didn't promise us a rose garden - often He reminded us that there would be tests - trials that we would have to endure.  2020 has been a giant trial - test.  He also told us that He would never leave us - that He would be with us constantly - throughout 2020 - time and again - He has proven that.  With God - Jesus - Our Savior all is possible.

Deacon Dale  

Advent Goals

For the first three weeks of Advent we have been asking ourselves - are we ready to meet the Lord when He comes?  If our lives ended today - would we end up in heaven ? If we died today - where would we spend eternity?  For three weeks we have inventoried our lives - looking to our final destination.  Now in the Fourth week of Advent - our focus switches to Jesus - His birth -  what it means to us that God came down from the heavens to live with the very people He created - why He came as an infant - not an adult - why He chose to go through the birthing process - the growing process from child to adult - enduring - embracing the hardships - experiencing life - just as any ordinary human does.  To some these questions - very confusing.  To others - no issue - for a God who exists outside of time - 30 years a drop in the bucket - for we are told (2 Peter 3:8) "with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day",  Simply stated - for God who is eternal - outside of time - it was nothing - a blip in the calendars of the world.  Experiencing life just as His people - what better way to really get to  know them - understand them - understand what our needs were - the temptations we would face - the accomplishments we would experience.  

For with God - nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37) - what He desires for us - what He needs to do to help us - never impossible - knowing that He - Jesus is always at our side - that He fully knows our needs - we go forward as we end Advent - we go to the crib of our Lord - knowing that He is always with us.  In the crib - at our side - holding our hands - together we celebrate Christmas.

Deacon Dale 

Unwrapping Your Cheer

Pink - Rose - Purple - on this Third Sunday of Advent the focus is not on the color of vestments worn at Holy Mass - rather - Joy - Happiness - Hope.  As people of hope we pause and reflect on where we might possibly find moments of joy - cheer - happy events that bring pleasure into our lives.  Advent - unlike Lent - which is a time of penance - is the season in which we reflect and review our lives and what we have accomplished - how good we are. In Advent  - we should focus on how we can improve - become better Christians .  All too often - others - meaning well - lead us on a path of discovery - focusing only on our failures - disappointments - wrapping the good - happy moments - in stories that overshadow any cheerful moments we could remember. 

Rather than focusing on our failures - we need to unwrap everything that is hiding the cheer that is in our life.  With the help of Jesus - we may see our goodness - too often hidden by guilt - anxiety - distractions - placed in front of us by the world.  As Christians we live counter cultural to what the world says is important.  People not things are what helps us unwrap our cheer.  As we continue our Advent journey - may all of us rediscover the cheer in our lives.

Deacon Dale 

Road To Salvation

On this Second Sunday of Advent we hear - "Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God"  (Is 40:3) - prepare a path for Him.  We have been called to go before Him - to smooth out the path - to make clear for His feet - to prepare hearts - to hear His message - to be heralds of His message. The majority or us will ask - how?  How can we possibly do that?  We are not theologians - priests - deacons - not trained in Holy Scripture - not comfortable sharing our faith with others - not people of influence.  How may we do as He asks - as limited as we are?  In faith we go into the world - to walk a path of faith.

The reality of the matter - all of us have been called - through our baptism - we have been given everything we need.  We believe - therefore we can share what we know with all that we meet.  We are not called to debate - only to share our faith - our belief.  It is up to those who hear - to sort out our message - to digest it in their minds - hearts - to let the words we share grow within them.  Like farmers - we are called to spread seeds - to let God do the watering.  We share what we know freely in Advent because so many people are searching in these days for words of hope - inspiration.  Whatever path we take - Jesus will always be with us.

Come Journey With Us

Deacon Dale 

Happy New Year

Happy New Year? Now?  Yes! - The First Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of a new Church Liturgical Year - in this four week period we are given a fresh chance to prepare ourselves for what lies ahead.  Short vision - preparing for Christmas - the Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Long vision - preparing for that time - somewhere in the future - when we will meet Our Lord Face to Face - the end of our life - the end of the world. Advent is not a penitential season - rather a time of reflection to see who we are - what we have done - where we are headed - what we need to do - to be ready for Christ's Second Coming.

There are so many times in our lives that we are given a second chance to get things right - a re-do of sorts.  Time to revisit events and situations that we have already experienced when we did not do as well as originally hoped.  In Advent we have the gift of four weeks to focus on our spiritual life - what was done well - what needs improvement - how to accomplish that goal.  At the end of these four weeks we will not just be ready to celebrate Our Lord's birth - but also better prepared for our own end days.  Advent a season looking to the future - what is coming.

Come Lord Jesus

Deacon Dale 

Waiting For A Miracle

Everyone is waiting for some sort of a miracle.  For the majority - an end to the pandemic - for others - personal needs - new jobs - financial relief - physical and spiritual healings.  Like most people - I am not the best model of quiet waiting.  Since this pandemic started I have been preoccupied with so many things - primarily - avoiding people - keeping my risk to a minimum. Obviously I am not alone.  Avoiding family - close friends - neighbors - wearing a mask when necessary - hiding from life.  These past months have created tension - stress - concern not only for my own well being - also for my spouse - children.  On top of all this - I recently had knee surgery which has placed me in a higher risk category.  Adding surgical pain - physical therapy which challenges my body - lack of sleep - I am ready for a miracle.

Deacon Class Ordained October 1988 - The Other Twelve

This past October we celebrated our 32nd year of ordination.  In those 32 years we - the Other Twelve - served our parishes - the parishioners - through the grace of our ordination as Permanent Deacons - ordinary men called to do the extra ordinary.  We have performed weddings - funerals - preached hundreds - maybe thousands of homilies - easily baptized thousands of babies and some adults. In the last ten years I have been privileged to lead some 20+ pilgrimages - domestic and international.  I have been blessed to preach at Shepherd's Field Chapel in Bethlehem in the Holy Land - la Familia Sagrada in Barcelona - Saint Francis Basilica in Assisi, Italy and many others.  These memories - experiences - the people who joined me on pilgrimage - all inspire me to continue on - to look forward to that day - when by the grace of God we will emerge from this pandemic.  Until then we wait - trusting in God - for a miracle.

Deacon Dale