What A Stretch!

 My last post mentioned "Heading Into The Stretch" which referred to moving from the Fourth week of Advent into Christmas - what a stretch that was!  I missed posting the entire Christmas Season - now firmly set in Ordinary Time.  In those weeks - busy with too many things - preparing to celebrate Christmas - preparing for family events - preparing to make our annual pilgrimage to Arizona.  This  year - all those things took more time - effort - drawing my attention away from blogging.  Trusting in God - the Author of Life - the Author of My Life - I accept what I did not do - what was accomplished instead.  As a person of Faith - I can only Trust - this was the Will of God - whatever  the Reason.  Now firmly entrenched into 2023 - all of us - New Years Resolutions promised - failed - in the works - all up to the Lord's Design.  

With God - all things are possible - the mundane - the extraordinary - the minor - the grand.  In His eyes - all things - all projects - worthy - as long as they help - encourage - inspire - others in what they are doing.  In 2023 our goal - to become better - better people - better friends - better in every aspect of our lives - no matter what we do.  Done with honest hearts -  honest intent - God will bless all of our efforts.  Remember - with God - all things are possible.  May the Lord of Lords - the God of Heaven and Earth - Jesus His Only Son - Bless all you do in 2023.

In His Name

Deacon Dale 

Heading Into The Stretch

 Yes - the Fourth Sunday of Advent - Our attention turns now from the Second Coming of Christ to His First Coming at Christmas.  In these previous three weeks we have been asked to reflect - pray - on our individual goodness - how good we have become - the possibilities to improve even more - to be fully prepared to celebrate the original birth - Emanuel - God with us.   We have been asked to meditate - contemplate - on the concept of presence - the intentional act of focusing on others - listening to them - being fully present to them - their thoughts - needs - putting distractions aside - practicing the act of presence.  That sounds simple - in reality - all of us - hundreds of thoughts on our minds - dozens of things we have to do - distract us from truly being present to others.  With practice - very attainable.  

In this last week of Advent - now focusing on the Real meaning of Christmas - placing gifts - parties - gatherings - in their proper place - spending more time on what it is that we are expected to celebrate.  This should be easy - eyes on the Real Prize - eyes on the Real Gift - given Freely by Our Heavenly Father - to Each and Every One of Us,

Deacon Dale 

The Advent Experience

 The Advent Experience - something new?  Not really.  In the Catholic Church Advent is a Season.  In the Liturgy of the Church - what we celebrate - when we celebrate - is designated as a Season.  In simple terms there are five Seasons - Advent - Christmas - Ordinary Time - Lent - Easter - Ordinary Time. Each Liturgical year begins with Advent.  Once each year - at the beginning of the new Liturgical year we are asked to reflect on our lives - what we have done - where we are going - where we hope to be.  Advent is a four week period of time to help Catholics seriously reflect on the past year - to prepare for the next year - the Second Coming of Jesus.  All of us will meet Jesus at some point in time - at His Second Coming - at our time of death - no way out - at the end of your life you will meet God face to face.  All of whom profess in a life after death - pray - hope - that after we die - we continue in another existence in the presence of God.  In these special four weeks we focus on ourselves - with the aide of Jesus - we see what the possibilities are for each of us.  Unlike Lent - when we  tend to focus on our sinfulness - failures - in Advent we focus on our goodness - what we have accomplished - how we have advanced - improved - learned to be more present to God.  At the end of these four weeks - as we approach Christmas we then turn our focus on the next Season - The celebration of Our Lord's birth. That Season of Christmas starts immediately at the end of Advent at Christmas Eve and continues until the Baptism of the Lord on February 2nd - 40 days in total.  

Making ourselves present to The Lord for these specific four weeks is a gift the Church gives us every year. Time to reflect - pray - meditate - on the greatest gift we ever received - Life - Forgiveness of Sins - Salvation - through the atoning Death of Jesus.

Deacon Dale 

Giving Thanks

Hello Readers..... Giving thanks for a multitude of blessings - large - small. I know I have been quiet these last few months - life does happen to all of us - life - living - gets in the way occasionally of our normal schedule. Most of you know that I am deeply involved with planning for our Fatima-Lourdes Pilgrimage next September and for some reason - blame it on COVID - this pilgrimage has consumed more time than any pilgrimage normally would. But - it is a good use of time - energy.

We are a few days from Thanksgiving - a time when we should pause - stop - rest - take time to be thankful - for all the blessings we have experienced in the last year. Primarily I am first - foremost - thankful for a Loving God - the One who walks with me daily as I navigate my life. Secondly I am thankful for my wife - sons - grandchildren - in-laws - all my relatives - friends - they are the frosting on the cake of my life. We all know that frosting adds texture - flavor - to the basics - these people do exactly that. Without them - life would be rather dull.



Last weekend I had the privilege to preach at Holy Mass - celebrating the close of the current Liturgical Year - celebrating Jesus Christ - King of the Universe. It was a very good celebration - the parishioners were very responsive to my humble words - for that I am grateful. This coming weekend we mark the beginning of the new Liturgical Year with four complete weeks of Advent. Most years we do not get the full four weeks - this year we do - four weeks to contemplate our relationship with Jesus - with God. Unlike Lent when we tend to focus on how poorly we live our lives - in Advent we spend time on our goodness - how good we have managed to become - how much more we can do in our daily walk with Jesus. In reviewing our lives we in turn come to understand that we are all good people - each coping with issues that affect how we live our lives. Understanding that - we realize how well we are prepared to celebrate the birth of Our Lord at Christmas. Four weeks to review - reflect - to prepare for His Second Coming - His Coming into our lives - at some future point in time - at Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving

Deacon Dale

Fatima Burgos Montserrat Lourdes Barcelona Pilgrimage

Happy September! Yes it has been a bit since I last posted; however, I am not down - nor - out. I have been busy - not posting on this blog - rather taking care of ordinary family issues which take precedence over this blog.  Obviously - as with most - family comes first. I will not bore  you with the details - many of you very likely are coping with the same issues.  In spite of my absence from this blog - I have been busy arranging our pilgrimage for 2023.  As noted in the title - we will be visiting Portugal - Spain - France.  On this pilgrimage we will visit Fatima - Burgos - Montserrat - Lourdes and Barcelona.  Primarily a Marion focused pilgrimage - we will visit other sites of cultural and educational interest. All arrangements have been made - travel partner locked in - hotels - airfare - tour bus - travel options - all in place.  Registrations have been coming in and it appears that this will be an interesting - spiritual - fun group to lead.

To view the itinerary click this link:  Itinerary

We have arranged to have our own priest travel with us - daily Mass will be available.  Our priest is Father Antony Maria Minardi OSB - a monk from Marmion Abbey.  Father Antony is young - energetic - very spiritual.  He is a great addition to our team.  

For a quick highlight into the pilgrimage view this short video:  Fatima Lourdes Video

As of this date the bus is one-third full - there is still plenty of time to join us.  There is an early registration discount that is good until February 2023 - but do not wait too long. Once the bus

is full we will not be able to accept additional passengers. 

If you have question and need to contact me - please email DeaconTravel

Blessings

Deacon Dale 

 

Fatima - Lourdes Pilgrimage Explained

We are now accepting registrations for our 2023 pilgrimage to Portugal - Spain - France. Primary locations that we will visit is Fatima Shrine - Burgos Cathedral - Lourdes Shrine - Montserrat - La Familia Sagrada in Barcelona.  Other locations will also be visited.  Holy Mass is included on most days.  This trip is a spiritual - educational - fun adventure that everyone will enjoy.  Families - couples - singles are all invited to join us.  You do not have to be Catholic to travel with us and on all of our pilgrimages over the past 12 years, our groups have been very mixed.  Visit our web site at www.DeaconTravel.org or www.CaminoWalkers.com for links to the full itinerary with links to registration materials and a promotional video that explains all the ins and outs of this trip.  Early registration earns discounts - also free transportation to the airport**, free loyalty bonus dollars - earn $150 towards our 2024 June pilgrimage to Italy.  

                                        check out this video click here

Deacon Dale 

Announcing 2023 Pilgrimage to Fatima - Lourdes and More!

Join Us in Portugal - Spain - France

Early registration by September 1, 2022 earns $400 in discounts 

Click Link For Details 

Fatima - Lourdes Pilgrimage  

Just Because I Can

In life we have a lot of opportunities to make good - bad - decisions.  As intelligent - informed people of faith - we have been provided a ton of information to assist us when making any and all decisions.  Even in the face of controversy - misguided public opinion - we do not have to - go with the flow.  On the contrary - particularly as Christians - we are called to go against the flow of popular beliefs.  We - ourselves - may not win any popularity contests - but doing what is right - correct - just - does not make you an enemy - simply a person of conviction - standards.

Jesus was often misunderstood - even when He was attempting to bring goodness into the lives of others - many did not understand what He was attempting.  As Christians - Christ followers - His disciples - we are asked to stand strong in our knowledge and faith.  There are no options when facing wrong - uninformed ideas - concepts.  Standing firm in our beliefs - even when unpopular - is possible through the grace of God.  Nothing more - nothing less.  Just because I can do anything - does not mean I should.  Period

Deacon Dale 

IMHO

IMHO - In my humble opinion - why are we begging - screaming - complaining - that our government leaders are not passing laws to protect our children?  Laws are written on paper - not in the hearts - minds - of those who choose to do wrong.  It seems to me that every school district - funded by the local citizens - can make any - all - rules regarding school hours - curriculum - and more.  SO......why can't they simply lock their doors - hire security personnel - install security cameras?  To me this seems so very easy.  Sure it may cost a few dollars - but our children's lives and the lives of our teachers are worth it.   AND... it can be done immediately.

Contact your school district today and ask them what security measures they have in place and if they don't - ask why... It not only takes a community to raise a child - also to protect them.  Time to quit blaming others and as a community ban together to get changes made today.

Deacon Dale 

And In The Meantime.......

 Well it has been almost a month since my last post.  In that time we returned to Illinois - went to The Netherlands - back to Illinois - now back to our routine of mowing the lawn - living life in Illinois.  To say the least - it has been busy - very rewarding - looking forward to summer.  A quick recap on the traveling - no issues to cope with - some minor delays - being patient a big help.  Doing a Covid test to return to the States - very easy - negative results - no surprise.  The Netherlands was a pleasant distraction from all the crazy things going on back home in the States - good food - friendly people - an easy place to navigate.  We celebrated Mothers Day while there with a wine and cheese canal cruise in Amsterdam with a bunch of friendly tourists from all over the world.  If you have considered visiting The Netherlands - we definitely recommend - would return if the opportunity presents itself.

Keukenhof Botanical Gardens   Lisse, Netherlands

As Easter Season is rapidly coming to an end we count our blessings - the gift of life - the gift of love - family - friends - new opportunities - exciting challenges ahead. Walking though this life - with Jesus at our side - outstanding.  The thousands of tulips we saw at the Keukenhof gardens definitely made us stop - think - how beautiful life may be - if only we focus on the beauty that life offers us - rather than focusing on sad - unhappy things - events.  God is good - He calls each of us to receive the blessings He freely sends to us - every day of our lives.

Deacon Dale