I AM

When the Lord met Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:14) - Moses wanted to know what name to use when telling the people about the encounter.  The Lord replied - I AM.  He went on to add - I AM WHO AM.  In Hebrew the name is consonants only - YHWH - which makes the name unpronounceable.  This was done on purpose as the thought is - no one - is worthy of speaking God's name.  Lord - God - Creator - Elohim - are all substitutes which refer to the person of God - none are the actual name.  In some instances there are those who do this in writing - using Gd or G-d as acceptable substitutes.  All of this is a sign of reverence - showing tremendous respect for the One whose name cannot be spoken by anyone.  

I recently came across a blog post from 2019 in which that person claimed that the Vatican had been hiding documents that Pope Francis had released in 2017 revealing the name of God.  What that person was oblivious to was that nobody has ever hidden the name of God as spoken to Moses.  That name - which must not be spoken - out of reverence - known to Moses and the world since that time - never hidden from anyone.  That person declared some conspiracy at the Vatican - revealed their ignorance. Anyone with some sort of intelligence understands that out of reverence - God's name cannot be spoken by anyone.

As we spend our days contemplating our relationship to God - better to focus on the - Us.  Your relationship with God - my relationship with - He whose name cannot be spoken.  It is in developing our personal relationships that we come as close as possible to our creator.  Through prayer - worship - adoration - meditation - spiritual reading - we can know the person of God.  In that regard - His name - becomes inconsequential.   

Deacon Dale 

The Credo

In studies of Faith -  we often hear or read of "The Credo" - what is this?

From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary "Credo comes straight from the Latin word meaning "I believe", and is the first word of many religious credos, or creeds, such as the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed. But the word can be applied to any guiding principle or set of principles. Of course, you may choose a different credo when you're 52 than when you're 19. But here is the credo of the writer H. L. Mencken, written after he had lived quite a few years: "I believe that it is better to tell the truth than to lie. I believe that it is better to be free than to be a slave. And I believe that it is better to know than to be ignorant".  

In the Catholic Church during the celebration of Holy Mass - around the world - in many languages - participants all speak the same Credo during the service - repeating the Credo - I Believe.  In worship this is an assumed statement of faith spoken by all - priests - deacons - laity.  The original Nicene Creed stated "We Believe" more recently modified to say "I Believe" - I spoken by the individual - in community - as a group - We Believe.

In the practice of Christian faith - so very important that all proclaim I Believe.  I believe in God - the Father - the Son - the Holy Spirit.   One God - three personalities - One undivided Divine Person.  In this belief - all else in the practice of Christianly - flows. 

Deacon Dale 

Religious Or Spiritual?

 It is very common to hear people speak of being - religious - spiritual - in both positive and negative ways.  For some - particularly - those who do not participate in a specific community gathering on a regular basis - being religious - spiritual - a practice to be mocked - ridiculed.  I recently read a post that said that among those who focus - think often about God - His existence - His reality - on a regular basis - are #1 - those who practice a specific belief in God - #2 - secondly atheists - those who spend as much - perhaps more energy than the believers - as they seek to disprove the believers beliefs.  Weird - yes?  Of course there are others - for various reasons - who say the word religious as if it leaves a bad taste in their mouths.   For the majority the word religious relates to a belief in God - the One who created everything.  Consider others who practice things completely unrelated to God.  We all know people who meet routinely  - on a set schedule - at a set location - with the same people - for purposes unrelated to God.  They may be a breakfast group - a sports group - or gathering routinely for dozens of reasons completely unrelated to God.  Those who meet following a set routine - time after time - can be said to be religious about these events. Being religious does not specifically mean being Godly.  Spirituality follows a similar path. There are hundreds of forms of spiritual expression - the majority focusing on one's relationship with God - many others looking to a different kind of spirit.  Finally - being religious does not automatically mean one is spiritual and vice versa.  One of the greatest gifts God gave to humanity besides life - free will.  Although we have been created in the likeness of the Creator - we are not gods.  What that means - simply - we have the ability to accept - reject - anything - everything - that we experience.  It is up to each individual to determine if they were hurt - or helped.  Perspective is reality - reality for most is what is clearly seen by each individual.  Being religious - spiritual - exists in the mind of the individual.  No one else has the ability to really know the heart of another.  That alone belongs to God.  What is important is that for those who profess a belief in God - their observance whether religious - spiritual - is honest - true. 

Deacon Dale 

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