Italy Pilgrimage - Register Now

Today's post is all about a pilgrimage that I am leading to Italy. We depart Chicago November 7, 2012 and return November 17, 2012 on an 11 day spiritual journey through Italy. We begin in Venice continue to Florence and Assisi and end up at Rome - the city of eternal love. 

Deacon's Dale's Italy Pilgrimage 2012 

If you click the link above it  will display a file that explains the pilgrimage in detail - the costs and most of what you need to know. I will be traveling with Father Michael Callea, MIC who will be celebrating Holy Mass daily. This promises to be a great pilgrimage. There is also a fair amount of free time for pilgrims to wander on their own - so you are not "tied" to the group the entire time.  I have been to Italy three times previously and each time I enjoy it more and more. This is a great place to travel as a couple if married - there is so much romance, history, culture and spirituality to share. Even individuals enjoy and appreciate all that Italy holds. Our pilgrimage is very well priced and a great value. Registrations are due now - reserve your place for $400.  Please look at the PDF file above and if you have any questions send me an email at:  deacondale@deacontravel.org

Deacon Dale 

Back To The Future

What a great feeling - my blog has finally been updated and back looking the way I wanted. For some reason it would not accept some recent updates and was not displaying as I designed it to look - but all things come to he who waits.  I hope it is a little more readable for my readers and the side bar information easier to locate. Hopefully now I will be able to also post the current pilgrimage to Italy that I have been working on - if anyone is interested to learn more - please hang in there and I will see if I can upload the pdf file.  Thanks for your patience.


Deacon Dale 

Your Wait Time Will Be.....

That dreaded message when you call a business or organization - "Your wait time will be..." then they state the time - anywhere from a few seconds to unbelievably long wait times. I realize that everybody has peak periods when they have to put your phone call on hold - but waiting fifteen minutes or longer is really unacceptable - and yet - if important enough - we wait. The real reason for such protracted wait times is not because of the volume of calls but rather the lack of staff to handle the calls.  In an effort to streamline operations and to reduce the expense of payroll - all too many organizations have made the decision to sacrifice customer service in an effort to beef up their bottom line - as a way to stay financially solvent or to increase personal profits. While you can understand and sympathize with the organization that is struggling financially - it becomes very irritating when it is done by a mega-billion operation that is not struggling.  The cutbacks in staffing when not justified - but fueled by corporate greed are unacceptable.

Thankfully when dealing with God - there are no cutbacks or layoffs. God does not short change anyone. When you need God's attention - He is there. When you call to Jesus in prayer - He is there. When you are hurting and lonely - He is there. Whenever you need Him - whatever the situation - no matter how serious or minor - He is always there.  Jesus - the One who Loves You - always has time for you - immediately!


Deacon Dale 

Men In Black

When you mention Men In Black most people might think of MIB3 the newest movie in the Men In Black  series with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. If you have seen the movies - they depict a group of primarily men - although there are some women - who dress in completely black suits and wear dark black sunglasses - a pseudo FBI or CIA group whose objective is to protect the Earth from alien creatures who want to harm the Earth. Part of the premises is that alien creatures freely roam the Earth disguised as normal humans - on occasion the Earth comes under attack by aliens and it is the job of MIB to bring a halt to those plans.

The actual Men In Black that I really wish to focus on is the priests and deacons who tirelessly give of their lives to help people on their spiritual journeys. It is this group of men who help protect the faith of the men and women of their parishes. It is their leadership - their listening skills - their guidance - that helps people avoid alien thoughts contrary to the Truth. The priest and deacons - who through the Grace of ordination - are empowered by God to cope with issues that are literally not of this world. To these men - my fellow clergy - I offer my prayers for constant blessings from God. The next time you see your priest or deacon - let them know how much you appreciate them and the time they devote to you.


Deacon Dale 

For Greater Glory

The movie For Greater Glory which is currently in theaters - is about the Cristeros War of 1926-1929 in Mexico. It is the story of religious oppression and the response of the people to that oppression. It is a sad story - not only because of certain events portrayed - but also because no government should ever feel it has the right to suppress religious freedom. Unfortunately that has happened more than once in more than one country. Currently our own government is trying to do that very thing with the current HHS Mandate - an action which if successful sets the stage for the government making regulations about other facets of American Life. The argument is not really about health care - it is about liberty of all Americans. You do not have to be Catholic to stand up and speak out against liberties taken away from yourself and your neighbors. 

Struggles such as this can only be won through the intervention of God. It is up to you and me to storm the gates of heaven with our prayers. Jesus can and will change the hearts of men and women so that all liberties may be protected. We need to pray for ourselves, our families and each other. Through prayer - through constant ardent prayer - God will reign supreme - for His Greater Glory.


Deacon Dale 

Growing Old

You hear it all the time - somebody in your life has a birthday rapidly approaching and the next thing you hear is something about growing old.  If we are to continue our life on this Earth - there is no way to avoid the ageing process.  When you are a child you just can't wait until you are older and when you are a teen being twenty-one seems like the ultimate goal.  Approaching thirty or forty or sixty brings feelings of wishing you were younger once again. Throughout life we all age physically and intellectually - hopefully in the process we take care of our bodies and minds so that over time we get better with age - like fine wine!  But I say there is a difference between getting older and getting old.  Being older means you have lived another year - being old means you have stopped the living process and have resigned yourself to the end of your life. Personally I hope to never get old no matter how much older I become. Although the numbers of years tallied in my own life have become quite numerous - mentally I still think and act like someone half my age. 

Spiritually I am at an older stage in my life - but I have not yet become old to the point that I do not need to continue my spiritual development. Seeking God's presence in my life - in the lives of the people around me - in the lives of people that I influence - is a quest that hopefully will continue for many many years to come. None of us can ever really know God - that is not a reason to stop trying.  Knowledge of God - of His Will - of His desire for us to achieve spiritual maturity - all comes with age and the amount of time we invest in spiritual inquiry. The Bible and the Catechism contain pages and pages of information on how to live a good and spiritual life - the best way is to make a personal commitment to Jesus - to get to know Him on a personal level - but to do  that you must be spiritually older!


Deacon Dale 

Defending the Faith

As you would expect - Roman Catholics are often called upon to defend their practice of Catholicism - as I am sure many other people of other faiths have done. Although I am a fairly staunch Catholic - I personally prefer to leave decisions about faith up to God's Hand.   Rather than try to force feed my beliefs upon another person - I like to sit back - smile - and watch God do His Work. And - amazingly enough- He does! When given the opportunity to add my own voice in another's faith journey - I very willing jump right in.  It is always rewarding to see how God works in people's lives and the results. As a Catholic when you are called to defend your faith - you need to arm yourself with good resources.  I recently came across two of these - blogs written by recent converts to Catholicism. One blog is by a young lady who I knew as a teen and was Catholic at the time - but then wandered - and recently came home to the Catholic Church. I encourage you to check out her blog at The Recovered Catholic.  The second blog is one I just came across that reads just as well as the first at St Paul's Center for Biblical Theology. 

Jesus calls each of us to personal conversion again and again.  At first He calls us to make a personal commitment to Him and then He calls us to continually turn our lives back to him day after day. Being a committed Catholic Christian is a task that never ends. There is so much that exists in the world today that tries to turn our vision away from Jesus - that we have to constantly turn back - to experience conversion over and over again. Best news - Jesus is holding our hands the entire time!


Deacon Dale 

Outrageous!

Outrageous - i.e. wildly exaggerated or improbable - going beyond all standards of what is right. So what is outrageous you ask - lately it seems like so many things qualify for being outrageous. The way people walk all over each other and then ask "why?" - the promises made to get elected but never get honored - people who commit a crime and end up being rewarded damages because they injured themselevs in the act of committing the crime and more. So today my wife and I took a break from our other commitments and decided to "take a drive" with the new puppy so he can get adjusted to riding in the car. While driving around Lake Michigan we happened on a private road that we wandered down and stumbled upon some very nice looking beachfront houses. Being curious - I stopped our car and flagged down a police car that was slowly patrolling the area - the first sign that this was a special neighborhood. I introduced myself and asked him to tell me about the area.  As I thought - it was a very special area - with the "big" house up the road valued at ten million dollars! The outrageous part - he pointed out a vacant lot that was for sale - approximately one acre in size - bare land - priced at $ 2.8 million dollars - and the kicker - they will get it he said.

Maybe you don't think that is outrageous or perhaps you are one of those skeptics that believe that outrageous things don't exist. As a person of faith I only have to point my finger at Jesus - just as His cousin John the Baptizer did. There - with finger extended - "there is the Lamb of God,  who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29-30) Jesus was considered outrageous by many who listened to His words and experienced His presence in their lives. From those who sat on damp ground listening to His "Sermon on the Mount" to those healed by His touch - all of them would state - outrageous! To those of us today who know Him as Lord - as Teacher - as God Incarnate - we too make such a claim. You can experience Jesus in this way - you simply have to ask Him into your heart - to take control of your life - to give yourself up to Him. That - would be outrageous!

Deacon Dale 

Va Bene

Va Bene is Italian for "it is good".  And so it is for those who cooperate with each other and get along. When people put aside their differences and work together for the common good - then good works are accomplished - communities are strengthened - neighborhoods become better places to live.  It could be a project to help out a senior citizen or a family who are having financial problems or perhaps a neighborhood beautification project. It really doesn't matter what the project is - as it benefits everyone involved.  All it takes is people making a commitment to join and become involved.

Jesus made that commitment to each of us - no matter what the cost. He wanted people to connect with each other - to experience life - to celebrate living - to enjoy all that His Father provided for us.  Following on that thought - I have made arrangements to host a pilgrimage to Italy this November.  We will be traveling 11 days from Venice to Florence to Assisi and Rome. We will participate in a Papal Audience and visit many spiritual sites in Italy. Father Michael Callea MIC has accepted my invitation to be our Spiritual Director and offer Holy Mass daily. This pilgrimage promises to be very special. More information is available at DeaconTravel or for more particulars you may email Deacon Dale   I will see if I can post the pilgrimage brochure on a follow up post.  God calls us to be His disciples - He calls us to experience Him daily - God calls us to celebrate life!

Deacon Dale 

Full Coverage

When it comes to buying insurance it is like any other purchase - you have options - often too many - and confusing. Do you need only basic coverage - or extended - earthquake - or flood - umbrella - or other add ons?  What any person really wants is enough coverage to cope with whatever surprise arises - an illness - an accident - an act of Nature. That is all - enough to make sure that you do not end up with a financial nightmare because of an incident.- no frills - just full coverage - to limit your liability and out of pocket expenses.

Jesus offers each of us exactly that - Full Coverage. He came and died on the cross for you and me - to make an atoning offering for our sins - so that we can be guaranteed a place in Heaven.  He died that we might live - and enjoy an eternity in the presence of His Heavenly Father. He is our insurance that our debt to God has been paid in full. Rejoice in the fact that God loves you so much that He sent His Son to pay the price to be your insurance policy for eternal life.


Deacon Dale