Alive!

Being alive - breathing in the fresh morning air - being able to walk freely about - going where you want - when you want - making your own decisions - that is being alive. Many people know what it means to be alive - many others - do not have a clue. They are bound by fears - depression - worries - guilt - anxiety - the unknown.  Often they are held back by physical limitations - others who tell them that it is not possible - jealously by others.  Whenever a person gives in to these - the chance to experience life to the fullest is diminished - completely taken away.

(John 10:10) Jesus came that we might have life and live it to the fullest - no guarantee - it is up to us to stake our claim on His promise. He will not force the fullness of life on us if we fail to act. We cannot be afraid - rather it is imperative that we act boldly - people of faith - confident in His promise - confident in Him.  As Easter people - as people of Hope - we rejoice in all that He offers us - we live in Him - we share His victory over death - we are alive!

Deacon Dale 

Call to Service

Quite often people pose the question about why are we "here" - what is our purpose - what goal are we to accomplish in our life time. There are many ways to view this - the answers will vary depending on the person who is asked and their personal perspective on life. For myself - I believe that we are here to help each other - in many and various ways. We might be teachers - doctors - lawyers - nurses - mechanics - artists - musicians - thinkers - doers - role models for those who know and see us and what we do. Each of us projects a certain image - a persona that is specifically ours - others watch - wait - listen - observe what we do - how we react - how we cope with our own lives. In a way we are all teachers - leading by example - helping in ways - often unknown to ourselves.

After the first Easter event - when Jesus had been crucified - died - rose - His disciples asked themselves the same questions. Their prime directive - Go - baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit - carry the Good News to the four corners of  the world. A large task by any measure - a task that was overwhelming - a task that needed more than  the twelve to accomplish. (Acts 6: 2-3) So they looked around for men suitable - those who could help - they prayed over them laid hands on them - thus the first seven deacons of the Church. Today the number of permanent deacons is close to 40,000 - men ordained specifically to serve the people of God - through acts of Charity - serving the needs of others especially the marginalized - Liturgy - serving at the Eucharistic table - solemnly baptizing - witnessing marriages - presiding over funerals and burials - bringing Eucharist to the home bound and in hospitals - Word - proclaiming the Gospel - preaching at Mass - catechises - evangelization and sacramental preparation - ordinary men - ordained to Holy Orders - assistants to the Bishop - working alongside the parish priests - to fullfil their call to service. Jesus calls each of us - ordained or otherwise - to make ourselves servants to each other - in plain and simple ways - for although He is mighty and powerful - He works through the week and ordinary. Listen to Jesus - He just might be calling your name.

Deacon Dale 

M Is For Mother

M is for mother - mama - mom - mommy - mysterious - masterful - magnificent - mine.  We all have a mother - many of us are married to women who are mothers. In our lives few women impress us as much as mothers. They might be your own - your friend's - your neighbor's. Whomever they are - wherever they may be - they surround us - touch our lives. There is nothing like a mother's love - that unconditional - always loves you - always forgives you - always cares for you - love. Mom is always there - always waiting - always helping - always encouraging - constant - a peg firmly set in place - hard to move - hard to change.  Mothers are a treasure to behold - God's gift to His children.

Mary - beautiful by any name - Saint Mary - Mother of Jesus - Mother of God - Mother to the World - Mother to all Mankind - the First Mother. Mary prays for us - intercedes for us - cares for us - just as she does for her own son - Jesus. As a role model for all mothers - Mary reminds them and us - of God's constant love - God's constant forgiveness - God's awesome agape love for all people - Christians - Jews - Muslims - Buddhists - Hindi - all faiths - believers and non-believers - atheists and agnostics - everyone -  everywhere. This Mother's Day as we celebrate the gift of our own mothers - remember who created her and who loves each of us - every day.

Deacon Dale 

Changing Times

Those of us who live in the Midwest are still waiting for Spring to arrive in full force - bringing with it some long awaited warmer temperatures. Last week my wife and I spent seven days in Arizona looking for a winter home - seeking to avoid the cold Midwest winter next year. We were blessed with very nice temperatures all week long - ranging from the 90's to over 100 - wishing that we could have brought some of that warmth back home with us. Today - our second day back - cool and wet - not exactly the weather either of us prefer. It is what it is - and as the saying goes around Chicago Land - wait a few minutes - it will change. While driving all around the Phoenix area - with the sun constantly shinning and beating down on us - one question that came to mind was - how hot can we tolerate - keeping in mind that famous Arizona expression - but - it is a DRY heat. We will give them that - at 100 degrees we did not perspire - we did not wilt - but it was still hot. As we age we learn more and more every day how our tolerances have changed from our younger days - when we tolerated all sorts of things - not just the weather - but attitudes - people - politics. Tolerance is a virtue too often ignored by many these days - we try to the best of our ability - to be tolerant - especially to other people.

Jesus was probably one of the most tolerant people of all times - yet - He too had His limits. The money changers in the temples - a common sight in His times - finally rubbed Him the wrong way - causing Him to overturn their tables - driving  them out of the temple with cords formed into a whip. Even God has limits - our One True Loving God - can become irritated with any of us. When we fail to listen to His words - fail to do as He asks - fail to turn the other cheek - time and again - knowing all the good examples left for us by His Son - even God becomes angry. Unlike we - who chose to ignore - who chose to go astray - who chose to turn our backs on Him - on each other - He is always there - waiting. Waiting for us - to turn back - to come around - to seek - to ask. God - Jesus - tolerates us - until we are ready to let Him into our lives.

Deacon Dale 

Yes Viriginia - There Is A Heaven

Many people know without a doubt that heaven exists - no questions - no arguments - others - quite the different opinion - varying from questioning its existence - to outright denial. Obviously none of us have seen heaven - the proof of its reality - only in testimony - in Holy Scripture - only in Near Death experiences. The Majority of people hope there is a heaven - pray that it is real - disappointed when some refute its reality. Near Death stories support believers - are fodder for those who chose to ridicule. Evidence supporting its existence does tend to conflict from witness to witness - the one common aspect is the sense of peacefulness - serenity - comfort. As we read and listen to stories - it appears that heaven is more of a personal experience for each person - one person's heaven may be similar to others - yet still different.  Christians are not the only ones to believe in heaven - other religions - have similar beliefs of a special place where one receives  their eternal rewards after leaving this life.

Jesus promised His disciples - Us - that heaven does exist. In John 14:12 Jesus tells that his Father's house has many rooms and that He goes before to prepare a room for us. If we who believe in Jesus - believe in His promises - then there is no question for us - no doubt - no fear. Jesus says to you - to me - to Virginia - yes there is a heaven.

Deacon Dale 

Easter Frenzy

It is now four days after Easter Sunday - four days in which I have been decompressing - coming down from the activities of Holy Week - The Chrism Mass - Holy Thursday - Good Friday - Holy Saturday - Easter Sunday - planning - scheduling - meeting - rehearsing - making phone calls - recruiting - emailing - a one man show - attempting to make Holy Week and Easter special for all who would participate.  It was not my plan to undertake all of this - on my own - it was not my plan to attempt all that had to be done - on my own - it was the reality of being told that it was my job - one week prior - that I was expected to arrange Holy Week - on my own.  In the past - others have been in charge and I have willing helped - this year those same people - for various reasons - could not help - did not want to help - so I did it - on my own.  I will never repeat that error - again.  I was there - I attended every service - I planned and led every rehearsal - I did the extras - the Holy Saturday blessing of Easter food baskets - the final rite for those in RCIA - I even bought the special candles and certificates for our RCIA participants - because that also fell through the cracks - on my own. My sole help - my sole support was my wife - who helped where she could - who allowed me the time - to make all this work - without a single heartfelt thank you.  I know I was serving God - serving His Son - my only real regret is that I failed to spend any quality time worshiping Him - my saviour - this past week.  My prayer is that He forgive me for allowing myself to be so unbelievably busy during the holiest week of the year - that I was caught up in such a frenzy organizing - that I failed to worship. This week - I pray that in some small way I can make it up to Him.

Jesus had a lot more disciples - followers - than the dozen we commonly hear about. They came from all over to see him - to listen to him - to worship Him - to touch Him.  At the end - with hundreds and thousands of followers - He ended up alone - walking the final step - on His own - enduring the punishment - on His own - hanging on the cross - on His own. Nobody else could have done what He did - nobody else could suffer the way He did - it was His - His alone to do - on His own - for you - for me - for the world.  As we continue our celebration of the Easter season - each of us needs to realize - if we were the only one worth saving - He would have still died for us - on His own - for us - alone.

Deacon Dale 

Easter Season

Easter is such a monumental event that one day does not do it justice - therefore - Easter season - 50 days - which lasts all the way to Pentecost - the Christian Church celebrates Christ's victory over death and sin. The victory is so important - so grand that one day is not long enough to honor the significance of this victory. In this season we are affirmed in our belief - in Jesus - in God - in the promises of New Life for ourselves. Jesus was the first - we are to follow one day - assured that He has gone to His Father to create a room for each of us.

Jesus is the same today as yesterday - His promises as valid today as when first spoken -  He calls each of us - daily - to come to Him - to accept His offer and promise - of New Life. In these 50 days - He waits for you to respond.

Deacon Dale 

Easter - Resurrection - הַלְּלוּיָהּ

Easter - the Big Day - Christ is Risen - He is Alive - Resurrection - Birth to New LIfe. Today we celebrate the most often recorded - and debated - event of all history - the resurrection of Jesus - the Christ.  Around the world - in as many languages as there are people - the one word most often spoken - that universal utterance - known by almost all - Alleluia - Hallelujah - a transliteration of the Hebrew word הַלְּלוּיָהּ - halleluya - a two part word meaning praise (you) + the Lord. On this day Christians of all denominations celebrate - rejoice - in this one act - the raising from the dead - of Jesus.  A statement - in fact - if God can raise Jesus - what can He do with us? Can we truly be saved from our sins - from a sinful world - from sinful people - from those who would harm us - those who would deny us - those who would seek our personal destruction? In Jesus' resurrection the answer is - YES - without a doubt - no challenge - to a God who is not only - the Author of Life - but the Guardian of Life - The One who Is - the One who will Be - the Source and Summit of our existence.  

On this day Jesus - celebrates with all people around the world - He came for all - but not all will accept His gift - He offers New Life - many will accept - some will reject. For those of us who believe - we place our trust in the promises of God - we rejoice - we proclaim alleluia - praise the Lord.

Deacon Dale 

The Triduum - Holy Saturday - The Mother of all Vigils

Our third day of the Triduum - this morning we blessed Easter food baskets - for that Easter meal which breaks the Paschal fast - we blessed our catechumens as they recited the creed - a time of instruction for tonight's vigil Mass - server training - back home to rest and prepare for tonight's Vigil Mass - the longest Mass of the year. Tonight we bless fire - the new Easter Candle -the water in the font - for those who will be baptized - received - confirmed in  the Church - as they prepare to celebrate their First Eucharist - Holy Communion with the parish family. Mass will last more than two hours - time filled with darkness and light - Holy Smoke - as we incense the Easter candle - the altar - the people. We listen attentively to a string of seven readings from Holy Scripture - as the Litany of Saints is sung - prayers spoken - hearts lifted - as we wait- anticipate - Easter morning.

The vigil for Jesus - quite different - betrayal - darkness - violence - ridicule - dropped into a cistern over night - waiting in darkness - waiting to see what the morning would bring - crucifixion - hanging on the cross - death - lying in the tomb - waiting - for resurrection.  The First Son waiting for the first sun - morning - new life - a new world. Tonight - we remember - we recreate - we too wait for the First Son - for Jesus - to enter our lives.

Deacon Dale 

The Triduum - Good Friday - Nails in the Pail

Today - Good Friday - a somber day of the year - a very somber day of the Triduum. Today we commemorated the Passion and Crucifixion of Jesus - we read the Passion - again - we listened - again - to the reason - the justification of Jesus' atoning death. After listening - we walked - slowly - to the Cross of Christ - we knelt before the Crucifix - kissed the cross - the feet of Jesus - this year - with square head nails in hand - dropping the nails - our sins - in a metal pail - at the foot of His cross - giving to Him - our sins - our sorrows - our disappointments - the sound of the nails in the pail - resonating throughout the sanctuary - drawing us closer to His Passion - onwards to communion - where we shared in Eucharist - from last nights Holy Mass - walking away in silence - walking away - in sorrow - to meditate - to contemplate - to pray - awaiting Holy Saturday - the Vigil Mass - Resurrection

Jesus could not walk away - He had no options - He was submissive to His Father - allowing Himself to be nailed to a cross - for US. He committed no sins - carried Our sins to the cross - our sins - the metal of the nails that pierced His skin - His hands - His feet - for us.  Jesus died that we might live - tonight we wait - we pray - ready to celebrate - resurrection.

Deacon Dale