Archive for August, 2008

St. Monica & St. Augustine

theophilus August 27th, 2008

Today and tomorrow, we remember the lives of St. Monica and her son, St. Augustine.

There are two amazing things about their story.  The first is that St. Monica spent her whole married and maternal life praying for the conversion of her pagan husband and her delinquent, wayward son.  She kept the faith and hope needed for such a life purpose and she showed them both the love required of a daughter of God.  She understood the power of prayer and persistence; and she succeeded.

It makes me wonder if Mary does the same thing for us.  We go off on our own without thinking of God or his son.  We try to live life our way.  And our heavenly Mother is there to pray for us, watch over us, have faith in us and hope for us, and ultimately to just love us; all in the knowledge that we CAN find our way back to Christ, especially when we are faced with the reality that we need him and have to have him at the center of our hearts and lives.

Which leads me to the other amazing thing about the story of these two saints.  St. Augustine was like us.  He was a frat boy on the loose (think John Belushi with the mind of a philosopher).  He was enjoying life to the fullest in every temporal way.  But, he finally realized that he was missing something central to his soul.  He was missing Christ.  And when he found him, he found his path and purpose in life and took off into a life so well lived that we remember him 1,700 years later.  And not only do we remember him but his writings are required reading for Christians and non-Christians alike.

It’s never too late.  I pray to St. Augustine all the time.  As I do, St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis of Assisi.  All three discovered their calling later in life.  They were all so far off the path that they couldn’t have found it with a GPS system.  Yet, Christ led them back.  Mary took their arms.  The Holy Spirit guided them along the way.  They ended up sanctifying their lives and dedicating themselves to the purpose designed for them by our Eternal Father.

They saved their lives; and we can do the same.  What is keeping us from living the holy, sanctified, joyful, Christ-centered, selfless, saintly lives expected of each of us?  We must ask Christ to help us recognize these obstacles and for the strength and persistence to get rid of them.  We must ask for his mercy and forgiveness so we can move beyond our past.

It’s never too late.  It’s just a matter of whether we want to cast these obstacles aside, like St. Augustine, St. Ignatius and St. Francis.  It’s just a matter of whether we want to become the saints we all can be.

Responsible for Other Kids?

theophilus August 25th, 2008

How responsible are we for other kids?

I ask the question because of the small creek behind my yard.  Flowing into this creek is a a culvert with a big enough hole for a kid to get into trouble.  The creek tends to fill up in heavy rains.  It’s a real enough danger (at least to me) that I have put the fear of God into my kids to keep them from playing in the creek and culvert.

I’ve gone over periodically to scare off other kids I’ve seen down there in the past.  Tonight, they were down there again and the gaggle seems to be getting bigger and bigger.  I went over and “convinced” them to move on – a command that they followed.  But twenty minutes later, they were back.  I watched them for about ten minutes and decided to go “relax” on my back porch.  Within two minutes, they were gone.

So, am I am being an old man who is trying to prevent kids from having fun or am I a concerned father who doesn’t want other kids getting into the trouble I work so hard to prevent for my own children?  To what extent are they my concern?

Of course, I ask this last question rhetorically, because I believe Christ asks each of us to watch out for each other.  But, I do wonder if I’m going overboard in this commission and whether it’s worth the effort (because I guarantee they’ll be back in the creek tomorrow).

How’s Your Heart?

theophilus August 21st, 2008

How’s your heart?  Not your blood pressure, pulse rate, or VO2 Max rate; but the spiritual soundness of your heart.

I starting pondering this question after reading the first reading from today’s Mass (Ezekiel 36):

“I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts.  I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees.  You shall live in the land I gave your ancestors; you shall be my people and I will be your God.” 

Today’s Responsorial Psalm is from Psalm 51 and has King David praying:

“A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me.  . . . My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.”

It doesn’t get too much hopeful than these two passages.  No matter how cold, hard, self-centered or proud our hearts have grown, God is always there to accept us and give us a “new heart”; a “natural heart”, a ”clean heart.”  And as we accept this gift from him, we will be encouraged knowing that we are his people and he is our God; and that he will not spurn us.

We spend a great deal of time caring or worrying about our hearts, both physically and metaphorically (for those who have suffered from a broken heart).  We also need to care for our hearts spiritually.  And we do so by praying to God for hearts created by him and spirits renewed by him.  We do so by asking for mercy, redemption and salvation, and by living in obedience to him.

So, how is your heart? 

Olympic Dreams & Nightmares

theophilus August 19th, 2008

Every Olympics has them – the stories of dreams and nightmares.  Today brought three of them.

This is the dream come true from U.S. freestyle wrestler, Henry Cejudo.

This is the nightmare for U.S. hurdler Lolo Jones and 400M Sanya Richards.

All three went through life experiences worthy of wearing the gold – only one actually did (although Richards did win one in Athens).

I may never know how God decides on the medals – the fulfillment of one’s life dream.  But He does - in the lives of athletes and in our lives too.  It’s up to us to trust and believe, and to remember that sometimes he just wants us to put in the effort worthy of a medal, even if we never wear it around our necks.

Whatever you do tomorrow, put in the effort of an Olympic champion.  It’s what we’re expected to do.

Respect for Others

theophilus August 18th, 2008

Last night, I worked the Bengals game.  Our Knights of Columbus Council has a concession stand with two other councils that we man and we get a cut of the money we take in for our respective groups.  Most of the concession stands at Paul Brown Stadium are manned by one community group or another and is a good source for fundraising.

In any case, last night, the credit card machines went down at halftime (a common occurrence).  As a result, the lines backed up 20 something deep.  We worked the lines as fast as we could, improvising along the way when it came to credit card transactions.

Towards the end of the halftime rush, a father came up with his two sons.  Obviously thinking that the long wait had to do with me and also thinking that I was an idiot, he proceeded to order as if he was talking to a second-grader.  “I want two super dogs, two large Pepsi’s, a pretzel and a nacho.  Do you have that?  Again, that was two . . . super . . . dogs . . . two . . . large . . . Pepsi’s . . . a . . . pretzel . . . and . . . a . . . nacho.  Do you need me to repeat that?  Are you sure you’ve got it.”

It took everything I had to refrain from reaching across the counter, grabbing his shirt and letting him know in so many words that I had two post-secondary degrees and could most-likely take him down in a game of Jeopardy or any other test of intelligence of his choice.  What’s worse is he did it in front of his sons who are being taught that it’s ok to treat people that way.

Let’s be careful how we treat people, especially when it comes to perceptions.  Last night was the third game I’ve worked for the Knights and I’ve noticed how certain people react to us behind the counter.  There are those who realize that we are working for charity and treat us with respect, courtesy and patience.  And then there are those who think we are high school dropouts because that’s their perception of those who work concession stands. 

The lesson I’ve learned from working these games is that we need to treat everyone with respect, courtesy, patience – no matter their job or position in life.  It is what Christ calls us to do.  We have to be 24/7 Christians and that includes when we are in a long line at the stadium concession stand.  I’ve made this mistake before and I’ve now worked enough games to ensure I never make that mistake again.

St. Max

theophilus August 14th, 2008

Today is the feast day of St. Maximilian Kolbe.  He is my parish’s patron saint and there is a big stain glass window of him in our church.  So I’ve done quite a bit of studying his life and praying to him and, through the years, I’ve grown in devotion to this rather remarkable man.

Most people only know him as the martyr of Auschwitz; the priest who took the place of a condemned man in the torture chamber of that gruesome, evil place.  But his life and sainthood did not begin there.

He was brilliant, having received one doctorate at age 21 (philosophy) and another at age 25 (theology).  He was a leader in the Conventual Franciscans.  He had a deep devotion to Mary and, at age 23, founded what would become a worldwide order, the Militia of the Immaculata, so others would be drawn to our Blessed Mother.  He published magazines and did radio shows.  He was a missionary in Japan and India.  All the while, he was suffering from tuberculosis.  And then came those fateful months in 1941 when he was arrested by the Gestapo and ultimately sent to Auschwitz.  It was at this point when he truly lived the life of Christ in giving his life for another; dying on the vigil of the Feast of the Assumption, the day we commemorate Mary being taken up into heaven.  It was on this day when he was forever tied to the Blessed Virgin to whom he was so devoted and in whom he placed so much trust.

His was a life well-lived.  He followed Christ’s path and God’s plan for him.  It led him from a simple life in Poland, to Rome, to Nagasaki, to India, to Auschwitz.  He went whenever and wherever the Spirit called him and did whatever he was asked to do.  And through it all, he remained a humble friar who cultivated and relied on his deep love for Mary.

St. Max, on this your feast day, pray for us so that we may follow Christ’s path and God’s plan for us no matter where it shall lead.

The Most Meaningful Eucharist

theophilus August 11th, 2008

Fr. Dan is the pastor at St. Susanna’s in Mason, Ohio.  I don’t belong to this parish but I go there occasionally for weekday Mass.   Last night, my family went there for Sunday night Mass.  And I was part of one of the most meaningful liturgies of my life.

Fr. Dan has ALS, Lou Gehrig’s Disease.  I see him about every other month, so I probably notice the differences in him more than those who may see him every week.  And the differences I witness are becoming more and more painful to watch.  I am watching this dreadful disease take hold of him and progress in him, function by function.

At yesterday’s Mass, he was totally confined to his motorized wheelchair.  His voice was audible only to those who focused with sonar intensity.  Every one of his movements were calculated, deliberate, slow.

But Fr. Dan preached a thoughtful homily, continued to be in his usual good cheer, and willed himself and his flock to celebrate the majesty of Christ’s life, death and resurrection.

And during the Eucharistic Prayer, I silently cried.   As Fr. Dan consecrated the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, I looked up at Christ crucified and fully understood the depth of his love in his bodily sacrifice for us all.  For the first time, I witnessed one of his chosen ones showing the same love and sacrifice for us, his flock.  Fr. Dan was showing us Christ through his own infirmity and perserverance.

Fr. Dan could be in a home, giving up.  But, he is fighting for his life and the sanctity of his flock with so much vigor and grace that he belongs in only one temporal place, and that is at the altar of St. Susanna’s.

His parish has invoked the intercession of Blessed (soon to be St.) Damian of Molokai for his healing.  I trust that it’s a good time to pray to Blessed Damian that Fr. Dan, this holy and faithful shepherd, be allowed to tend to his flock as long as God’s will be done.

Observations

theophilus August 7th, 2008

Some observations on this, the perfect Midwestern summer night -

- There is nothing better than an unsolicited hug and “I Love You, Daddy” from your little girl;

- It’s not a coincidence when you run into an old friend whom you have always known as a good and decent person;

- There is nothing that sounds more beautiful than “Celtic Woman”;

- When things seem to keep getting worse, there is nothing better than just having a laugh and asking God how he expects you to get out of this one;

- When you pass the homeless Downtown, sometimes you just have to ignore St. James’ admonition about faith without works, and bless them anyway;

- It’s good to hear from a dear relative with whom you’ve lost touch;

- It’s appropriate to plant a seed in a friend’s mind when you feel like he is about to make the wrong choice, no matter how well intentioned he might be;

- It feels good when you stand up for what you believe in, but it feels even better when you know when to stop because you’ve proved your point;

- It’s enlightening when you’ve realized that a successful person who has cut corners has already received his just reward;

- It’s uplifting when you’ve realized that there are others like you out there and you do not walk alone;

- It’s divine inspiration when you are running and come face to face with the majesty of God unveiled before you in the early morning dawn;

- It’s reaffirming when you realize that God knows what he is doing, no matter how bleak our circumstances may appear;

- It’s kind of freaky how God gets you to pick up something he wants you to read.

In other words, it’s just good knowing that God is in charge of our lives and leading us according to his plan for us.

Transfiguration

theophilus August 6th, 2008

I have often wondered what it was like to be an apostle following Christ.  The healings, miracles and profound daily wisdom must have had an incredible jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, did I just see that quality to them.

So what did Peter, James & John think of the Transfiguration?  They saw Moses and Elijah.  They heard our Father.  They saw the divinity of Christ in a way that must have just blown their minds.

Coming down from Mt. Tabor, they had to be transformed, energized, ready to engage.  They had to realize that their historic, saintly futures were set out before them.

Next time you go to Communion, imagine yourself on Mt. Tabor that day.  Imagine that you are coming face to face with the Holy Trinity.  Imagine that you are witnessing the glory of God and desire that he will say of you, “this is my beloved son, with whom I am well-pleased.”  And let us say, like St. Peter, “Lord, it is good that we are here.” 

Ryan Hall

theophilus August 3rd, 2008

The Olympics start on Friday, but the guy I’m most intrigued by won’t compete until the 24th when the Men’s Marathon is run.

Ryan Hall, is a 20’s-something long-distance runner who last year stepped up to half-marathons and marathons.  He made his marathon debut in London and ran a sub-2:10 (which is outstanding).  He blew away the competition at the Olympic Trials in November.  Just last April, he returned to London and took two minutes off of his time from the year before.  That’s three marathons in his life – three sub-2:10 finishes, one win, three incredible performances.  This guy obviously doesn’t understand how hard running a marathon is supposed to be.

He heads off to Bejing with expectations high.  But that’s not what intrigues me about him. 

He is a devout Christian who is running for the glory of God.  This month, Runner’s World has an in-depth article on him and his faith is the foundation of the story.  He seriously runs because he knows it is God’s call to him; the way he is to be an everyday evangelist.  And he doesn’t do it by bashing people over the head with his faith; he does it by succeeding with his running and using that success as a platform to let others know that his success is because of God.  Not a bad approach for us all.

Runners World also has a website chat with Hall that gives you a snapshot into the man.  At one point, he discusses how he plans on dealing with his nerves -  

“It is difficult to keep the right perspective. Part way through my buildup, I found that I was holding on too tight to my Olympic desire to get a medal. But God worked in my life in such a way that I have been able to surrender the race back over to Him and His will. My prayer going into the Olympics is the same of Christ’s before He went to Calvary, “not my will but your will be done.” I find that when I start thinking too much about medals, records, etc., it is important for me to get back to the basics. My sole focus is to follow hard after Christ during the race. I hope to pour myself out for Him in the same way He poured Himself out for me. If I run with this attitude then I will be happy with whatever result may come.”

This is an amazing young man.  He is not just walking with the Lord, he is running with him.  His race is on the 24th, the last day of the Games.  It should be exciting to watch.

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