Tempus Fugit

Tempus fugit - a Latin phrase - often translated in English as - Time Flies - coming from book #3 of Virgil's Georgics - appearing as - fugit inreparabile tempus - it escapes irretrievable time.  In simple terms - time is wasting - an admonition to stop procrastinating - get with it - get a move on - do it now. In a more modern translation from the Star Trek: The Next Generation series featuring Captain Jean-Luc Picard played by actor Patrick Stewart - his famous line - Make it So.  Do it now - get the lead out - ready - set - action. A call to move from just thinking about something - to doing - something - anything. Nothing ever gets accomplished until action happens - nothing changes - gets better - reaches completion - until positive movement forward occurs.

Jesus warned us to be vigilant - to take advantage of His warning that time waits for no man - the day will come when least expected - without warning - like a thief in the night.  At that time we will be called to - judgment - the last day - no time left - times stops - we enter eternity - either with - without - God. Daily we are reminded that our decision to follow Christ - to be ready - on a moments notice - is now - later - too late - no second chances. It only takes a minute to pray the sinner's prayer - Lord have mercy on me a sinner - to accept Jesus as your Lord - Savior. Now would be a perfect time to do just that - Tempus fugit - Make it So.

Deacon Dale 

No Way

No Way - a definite No!  Zero chance of ever doing it - never going to try - buy - attempt - whatever. Decision made - no need to even discuss it any further. All of us have said these two words at one time or another. For everyone there is always at least one thing that we find impossible - repulsive - threatening - scary - highly undesirable. No one should ever be surprised that anyone has limits - boundaries - never to be crossed. It could be skydiving - bungee jumping - flying in an airplane - hiking in the mountains - sailing on the ocean - speaking in front of a group - eating sushi - any imaginable thing you can think of. We all have limits - a normal part of who we are - how we have been raised - what we feel - think.

When we come to Jesus -  to God in prayer - especially when asking for forgiveness - for anything - He always offers us His Heart. His Divine Heart is so large - so forgiving that many doubt - question - the possibility that He is able to forgive certain sins. What we must understand is that His love is not like our love. Our love is limited by human weakness - His love has no limits. Just as God is so much more than any of us can imagine - so is His love. It is called agape - beyond limits - love. He will - can - forgive - anything you place before Him. Lies - stealing - cheating - broken vows - adultery - abortion - murder - all forgivable by God. Denying His existence - turning your back on Him - speaking foul words towards Him - all forgivable. He has the power to do anything - even forgive  the forgivable. Turn His back on you - refuse to forgive you - No Way!

Deacon Dale 

Super Man

When a person accomplishes an awesome feat - does something out of the ordinary - far exceeds expectations - the event is declared - great - super. This may be applied to anyone - man - women - child - even animals. Everyone has opportunities to excel in life - to perform so well - to attain what were believed unreachable goals. A female runner - setting a record time - superwoman - a young boy - saving a small toddler from drowning - superboy - a teen girl - receiving a perfect ten in gymnastics - supergirl - a father honoring his wedding vows - not straying outside marriage - superman. The list can go on and on. 

When God created man and woman - they were told to go and multiply - to create with God's blessing. Create they did - children - families - neighborhoods - communities - towns - cities - countries - nations. What started with a few - blessed by God - has become the world. We have been created to become super at all we do - in our daily living - in our families - in our communities - in the work place. We are called to be super - to go beyond the ordinary - to make our lives count - to make other peoples lives count - to make what we do - super. Many live very ordinary lives - merely existing - those who know better - called to a higher level of life - to be who God created us to be - to live as one - to worship the Lord - to be super people.

Deacon Dale 

The Second Greatest

In any competition - everyone strives to be number one - the best - greatest - among all competitors. Whomever that person is gets all - the attention - the publicity - the grand prize. All others - "also-rans" - second - third - fourth - place - passed over - smaller rewards - less publicity - very little attention - losers. All eyes on the big prize - the rest - ignored. All worthy of attention - anyone who enters the competition - should be acknowledged - complemented for making an effort.

When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was he told them - Love the Lord your God with all your heart - your soul - your mind. That is the number One - First -commandment - He went on to say - there is another - second commandment - Love your neighbor as yourself. The second commandment - an also-ran - second place - often overlooked - ignored. Like the First - the Second is very important and not to be overlooked. To understand what it means to love one's neighbor means you have to understand what it means to be - loved as yourself - loved - not by yourself - rather as you are loved - by God. That also-ran commandment - very important - it tells us to love others as God loves us - them - a love that cannot be measured - limited - put into a box. We are each called to love in earnest - consciously - with our whole heart. Not always easy to do - not something we wish to do with  those who oppress - offend - hurt us. As disciples of Jesus - we have no choice we must love - without limits. To love without limits does not mean accepting bad behavior - rather if we truly love - care about others - we will speak honestly to them - in love - informing them why they are hard to love - what they are doing wrong - why they are difficult to love. It is incumbent on us to be frank - honest - to bear the burden of trying to help them to become lovable. Our job - as Christians - to turn losers - into winners.

Deacon Dale 

Take A Hike

Take a hike - often spoken when one is tired - irritated - with another person - get away - leave me alone - take a hike. The truth - hiking - taking long walks - away from your normal busy life is very healthy. It is not just the fact that you are off the couch and exercising your body - but there are beneficial aspects to your mental health. According to an article posted on the website of outsideonline.com - research has been done both in America and England citing data to show that hiking makes one happier. The study followed participants who walked in cities and countryside walks measuring their levels of depression - happiness. Bottom line - getting out side your house - away from hectic lives - the stress of work and daily commitments - helps one cope much better with their life overall.

Jesus told us in Holy Scripture - that He came that we might have life and live it to the fullest. Some would say that means spending all your time on your knees - in prayer - alone and quiet. If you really think about what Jesus said - He declared that we should live life to the fullest - taking advantage of the world created for all of us by God. That means the land - water - air. We are called to explore - investigate - immerse ourselves - in all of God's creation. If we sit in our chairs - spend countless hours on our knees - when is there time to explore - experience all the rest? That is only possible when we move outside our homes - our comfort zones - into the rest of the world. Hiking through a woods - forest - nature trail - traveling to other cities - states - countries - meeting and exploring the cultures of the world - is how we experience life to the fullest. God calls each of us to move - from complacency - to being active participants in all He offers us. He asks you and me to venture with Him - into the unknown - uncharted - corners of our lives.

Deacon Dale 

Write - Rite - Right

For those of us born in this country - learning English from our youth - our native tongue - easy. Those who come from other countries usually have a difficult time learning English. It is not just learning a new vocabulary - how to pronounce the words - complete with various dialects - inflections - but the number of words that sound identical - with completely different meanings which cause major issues. Write - the action of forming letters and numbers into words and sentences - Rite - a ritual or ceremony often involved in religion and solemn gatherings - right - as in the direction one may be looking or walking - the right side of the body - also meaning correct - morally good - justified - true. In just these three sound alike words - four different meanings. The list of other words that pose the same issue - many which are spelled identical - with different sounds and meanings - bass - the sound - bass - the fish - lead - to walk in front - lead - the metal. This does not include the very common issues with there- their - they're - pray - prey - to - two - too.

Language may be  the nemesis of people at different times - not an issue for God. No matter what words we speak - how we pronounce them - He always understands. When we come to God in prayer - when we initiate a discussion with Him - He listens - hears - understands everything we tell Him. He not only knows our words - also our hearts - the truth of what we speak. Language is no barrier when speaking with our Lord - when thanking Him - singing His praises. With God there is no phone line - no internet provider - no gateway that needs to be negotiated. He is available to all of us - at the same time - every second of the day. He is there for us to initiate a conversation with Him - open and available waiting for us - whenever we wish. No rite needed to follow - no letter to write - He is there - right now. 

Deacon Dale

Family

This weekend we have the honor of hosting family - cousins on the Italian side. They have come from Illinois and Texas to Arizona to visit their father. They could have made arrangements for other accommodations - we insisted that we have plenty of room at our place here and would love to have them also visit us - happily they agreed. Having time to share memories - now as adults - gives us an opportunity to fill in the blanks - answer unasked questions - get to know them much better as a smaller group. We do have an annual reunion - BonviniFest - in which all  the relatives on my mother's side come together to play bocce - bean bags - eat Italian foods - desserts - enjoy the weather outside - as a group of maybe one hundred. In that setting - very hard to have meaningful conversation - so this weekend we relish this time together - more one on one time.

All of us belong to the family of God - we are related to each other through God's plan for the world. He created us as male and female - gave us gifts - abilities to do awesome - wonderful things. He gave us bodies to perform physical tasks - minds with intellect - to understand - explore - discover - His greatest gift - Free Will. Although a family - we are all individuals - our own spirit - hopes - desires. We have the freedom to do whatever we will - hopefully keeping others in mind when we consider the affect - outcome - of our actions. We embody the cultures of the world - many different skin colors - languages - customs - very different - yet connected to each other by God's design. We are neighbors - friends - cousins - we are family.

Deacon Dale 

Star Gazing

In its simplest form - star gazing - staring - looking - at stars - in the skies. Astronomers would be the most likely to be involved in this activity - joined by many amateurs - observing the activities up in space. Telescopes - long range lens - cameras - all incorporated in this study - hobby - documenting positions - movement - in the skies. On a lower level - there are also those who gaze at stars - not in the skies - rather on the streets - especially in Hollywood - wherever public figures - celebrities - gather. The stores are filled with magazines focusing on both types of star gazing - the internet loaded with an uncountable number of sites - for both kinds.  As people we are drawn to the grandiose - brilliant - shining - glamorous - around us - above us. As a diversion from what many see as a boring - ordinary existence - people gaze at stars. 

When God filled the heavens with the planets - stars - He knew we would look up - to see - observe - all above us. His hope - that in looking up - away from ourselves - from our problems - concerns - worries - we would see that the world is a lot more than just us - our daily existence. He painted the skies with awesome colors - mostly blue - often gray - frequently with bright reds - oranges - fire in the sky. He wants us to know that He lives everywhere - around us - above us - below us - in us. We are called to look outside ourselves - to the beauty of His world - our playground. When your life begins to feel boring - lacking the beauty you seek - you only have to look upwards - to God.

Deacon Dale 

Wasted

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary wasted means - not used - spent in a good useful - effective way - very thin because of sickness or lack of food - very drunk or affected by drugs. Wasted is never used to describe anything that is good - always in a negative sense. Most frequently when a resource is cast aside - not used - thrown away - it is wasted - should have been used to better advantage. When illness strikes - very often the one afflicted unable to eat - digest food and ends up losing body weight - muscle mass - tissue is lost. Becoming so drunk so as not being able to control the body - walk a straight line - speak a clear sentence - embrace the reality of the moment - a waste of time. When anything is wasted - it reflects poor judgement - lack of skills - no previous planning - throwing money down the drain.

God grants to each of us His time - His attention - His care. Day after day - He sends His blessings down upon us - to accept - reject - to acknowledge - to ignore. He invests more time with each of us than we can ever imagine. His love goes beyond human understanding - waiting day after day for us to recognize Him and His love. In all our lives we will never truly experience God's love - unless we learn to pay attention - to listen - to acknowledge His gifts of life - love. Time is precious - now is the hour to awaken to God - not to let it be wasted.

Deacon Dale 

Name Calling

As children it was not uncommon to yell at another child who was not being nice - not playing fair - bullying others. Physical violence was out - usually the one being mean - bigger than anyone else - stronger - older. The only thing left was to call the offender a name - any name - mean spirited - poking fun at anything - trying to get even - level the playing field - attempting to get them to stop. Sometimes it worked - more often than not - an adult heard what was going on - made you stop - not polite - not the way to treat a fellow human. The majority of us gave up name calling as we grew - matured into responsible adults - citizens. Unfortunately name calling is again in vogue - especially among politicians - candidates for public office - failing any legitimate criticism of an opposing candidate - slip into the gutter - spewing lies - filth - attempting to steer attention away from the other person - to oneself in an attempt in becoming popular.

Jesus - guilty of name calling in His day - brother - sister - friend - teacher - healer - names to compliment - build up - reinforce ones self esteem. When speaking a truth about another - using kind words - gestures - focusing on the true value of another human. God calls all of us to be like Jesus - to put on His manners - positive characteristics - to become Christ-like. He is with us always - guiding - helping - giving good direction to our lives - actions. If you listen - you will hear God's voice - calling your name.

Deacon Dale