A Bumper Sticker

I saw a rather nice bumper sticker on a car this morning.  It said:  Do You Follow Jesus This Close?

And before you ask, yes, I was close.  I was right behind that car in the line leaving the church parking lot.

 

Today is Ash Wednesday.  Unfortunately, it is also St Valentine’s Day.  I suspect the restaurants will be crowded.  It is a great day to give witness, having been crossed with ashes on our forehead we can go out to eat or shopping or just aisle-shopping, and the cross will give silent witness that We Believe.

I think I may try for a 3PM or so Linner, if I see a not so crowded restaurant parking lot nearby.

 

Happy Ash Wednesday!   Happy St. Valentine’s Day.  I hope Lent spurs us all on to spiritual growth.  Although I turned off my Christmas tree and outside lights last night, I will leave it all up until Easter.  We celebrated His birth at Christmas, I will continue to celebrate it until His Re-Birth at Easter.  Then it will all come down in my house.

 

That's Not Me

 

The Gospel today (Mt 8:28) spoke of Jesus freeing two men from demonic possession, casting the demons into pigs which ran off and drowned.  The first reading at that mass was about Abram, and his wife Sarah, who at an old age bore Isaac, a forefather of Jesus.  But Abram had two sons in his old age, the first by his slave, a son named Ishmael, to whom like Isaac, God had promised a great kingdom.  Ishmael is considered the forefather of Mohammed.  So, the Bible tells us that Christians and Muslims are distant cousins of our joint forefather, Abram, each with a great kingdom as promised by God.

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There is a new movie out, Sound of Freedom, starring Jim Caviesal, who played Jesus in The Passion movie.  I heard an interview with him this morning, as he talked about the movie, his role, and the movie’s topic:  the 300,000 children kidnapped each year into the sex-slave industry --- in our country.  In our country, where so many people support abortion, so many support the sex slavery of children.  To my way of thinking, it all about two things:  1) Money, and 2) The “It’s Not Me” mentality.  The most popular websites in our country are pornography, strongly underpinned by those child sex slaves --- whom we won’t believe are our children until we see one there, as has happened often.

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I will have masses said on August 1 in my parishes, for two intentions:  1) For an end to OUR support of pornography, and 2) For an end to sex-trafficking of OUR children.  The masses will intend to pray to God for an end to OUR sins.  Perhaps some who hear those intentions said (or read them in the church bulletin) will receive the grace to open their hearts, and do something.  Or perhaps, between now and then some priest will not want to hurt anyone’s feelings and delete or change those intentions.

But even among those hearing, many will undoubtedly think: “That’s not me.”

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There’s lots of talk about Christians becoming once again one church, united as it started out.  Not much progress is being made in that area.  But perhaps Christians could unite with Muslims, our distant cousins, to end pornography and child sex-trafficking in this country, even if to just remove our financial support.  Do you think that could wake some politicians up, if our churches said no one will vote for you unless you do something NOW to stop slavery in our country, the abduction and slavery of our children?

At one of my men’s groups the talk got around to the New Evangelization, and some asked “What can I do?”  I gave some simple examples of witnessing our faith, to our family, friends, or even strangers.  “Yes, we could do simple things, but the church is telling us to do more.”  Well, I said, in Poland the refugees from the Ukraine were taken into the houses of the Polish people, and treated as one of their family.  There were no refugee camps for the millions of refugees of the war; there was no need.  So, I asked the men: “Many of us have empty bedroom in our homes, what if we said, as a parish, that we will take in and care for the homeless and those in need?  That would be a great evangelization witness.”  There was silence at the table, and the topic was changed.

And He Echoes My Words

 

I know that if I am living my life as I should, I am echoing Jesus’ words and actions.  But on rare occasions, I seem to see Him echoing mine.  I just read what sounded like an echo.

In recent days, I have felt the presence of His Spirit, and in various ways His telling me that, especially in dark times, I am not alone.  I had a friend say these words to me recently because I am in her life.  And today the words resonated in my heart again, as I visited other friends who told me of their witness to God’s presence in their lives.  And then I read this Gospel commentary in The Better Part (--- Oops, I just paused in writing this here, as a friend came up to me in the adoration chapel to thank me for a book I had given her.  She said she bought a copy for her mother for Mother’s Day, and copies for two other friends --- I guess a little witness goes a long way.)  But, from the Better Part, Reflection 289 on John 16:16-33 are these words:

 

Christ the Friend     Mary: “I am not alone…”  Jesus could say that, because he was always united to his Father through prayer and obedience.  But he also wants you to be able to say that.  He never wants you to feel the angst of loneliness, of not being known and loved by someone close at hand.  Hell is eternal, unrelieved loneliness, because in hell there is no love.  But you are never alone.  He dwells in your heart, and he is always speaking with you, guiding you, and loving you.  He has given you his presence in the Eucharist and his grace in all the other sacraments.  He has extended his Incarnation through the living Church.  He sends you the messengers of creation and art and beauty of every sort as gifts and reminders that he is always thinking of you and looking forward to welcoming you home to heaven.  He has given you the Bible, the saints, and your vocation to spur you on to know and love him more and more.  He even gave you me, his own Mother, so I can watch over you as closely as I watched over him.  He wants to bring you life; he wants to bring you joy.  Truly you can say, even when everyone else abandons you, as everyone abandoned him, “I am not alone.”

Christ in My Life Teach me to pray, Lord.  Teach me to pray in your name; to pray with faith; to pray unceasingly.  Teach me to pray for the people you have entrusted to my care.  You want to shower your graces down upon them, and you are just waiting for me to open up the faucet by my sincere, trusting prayers.  In your name, Lord Jesus, I beg you to send the Father’s blessing and the Spirit’s grace into their hearts.

I am such a product of my times, Lord.  I am a coke machine Christian.  I want to put the dollar in the slot, press a button, and have holiness pop right out.  I still resist the cross.  No more, Lord.  You have promised that if I trust in you and follow you, all my sorrows will change into the kind of joy that nothing on earth can taint.  I cannot say that I like to suffer, but I can say that I trust in you, Jesus….

I am never alone.  You have made sure of that by giving me your friendship.  I am sorry for being so closed in on myself at times.  I spend most of my day living as if I were alone.  In my heart I monologue with myself, while on the outside I bustle and chat.  And where are you?  I don’t want to relegate you to a few minutes in the morning and a few at night.  I want to live in your presence, because I know that’s what you want.

 

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I guess I should copy here a document, words I felt compelled to write a few weeks ago and share with some men’s groups, about not being alone, about witnessing God’s love.  Not coincidently, I’m sure, the priest ended his sermon this morning with the words:  “We need to go out to the world and be witnesses to God’s love”

How I Witnessed His Love

To My Family

·         Prayed Before Meals Together

·         Prayed Rosary/Divine Mercy Together

·         Went to Weekday Mass

·         Read Catholic Bedtime Stories

·         Listened to/Watched Catholic Stories Together

·         Discussed the Sunday Gospel Readings/Homily

·         Visited Lonely Seniors Together

·         Participated in Charity Work Together

·         Exercised & Prayed Together (Soulcore.com)

·         Responded to anger with: “Jesus, I love You.”

·         Punished my child: “Go kneel down for 30 minutes and pray for yourself”

To My Neighbors

·         Smiled and Said: Thank You or God Bless You

·         Walked Outside and Said the Rosary/Divine Mercy Prayer

·         Prayed Before Meals in Public & Asked Servers if I Could Pray For Them

·         Participated in a Parish Ministry/Event

·         Tipped Service Provider and/or Said Thank You

·         Helped an Elderly Neighbor

To The World

·         Wore Catholic Clothing/Jewelry

·         Signed Emails with Catholic Quotes

·         Letters to Politicians, Editors, Co. Execs on Catholic Issues

·         Donated to Catholic Charities

·         Participated in Pro-Life Events

·         Prayed For/Supported New Vocations

·         Bumper Stickers/Home Décor (Visible Catholic Signs)

·         Letters to Priests/Bishops

·         “Thank You Jesus” Moments (as a reaction to bad interactions)

 

I told the men’s groups that it is good the work they are doing, reading and listening and discussing words and doctrine to help them grow stronger in their faith, but I feel strongly that now is a time they must go out and witness that faith, to be a light in the world.  Some of the examples above are ones I have done, and some (obviously) I have not.  But they are meant only to be thought starters, of how to be a witness of love in this world. 

And, again, not by coincidence I am sure, I listened to the Catechism in a Year podcast for today, in which Fr. Mike read these words from Paragraph 1022 of the catechism:  “At the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love.”