Where does the wind go

Jesus tells us, “The wind blows where it wills and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.”
Have you ever wondered, where does the wind go, or what makes it stop?  For that matter, does it ever stop?  Is there a chance the wind goes completely around the globe, blowing through tress and forests of many countries?

Do we feel that same wind weeks or months later? And when it returns to us, does that wind have stories of places it has seen, the fears in the hearts of those being persecuted, the hunger from dying starving children.  Does it see God’s world spiritually decaying?

And yet, sometimes, for us that wind is the welcoming breeze on a hot summer day, and at other times it has the devastating force of destruction. But the wind is free, free to go where ever it wants and to do practically whatever it pleases.

But there is another wind, a wind more powerful and precise, a wind that brings good fruit and feeds the spirit with knowledge and courage. It is a wind that speaks to our heart.

We have a loving father who wants us to turn our faces into the wind of the Holy Spirit and allow him to work in our lives, to allow that wind to blow away everything in us that is not of him.  That is the wind, the instrument that transforms our lives.

If we are of the Spirit, we are like the wind that blows where it wills. (Jn 3:8). We are the light that shines on the mountain top proclaiming the Good News to those who are lost
So we listen, we hope and we trust in our Triune God. We are obedient to the Holy Spirit and are like the wind that blows where God wills us to go.  

What are you doing for Fat Tuesday

For many of Church’s liturgical events, we sometimes dedicate the eve of the liturgical event with prayer, or worship or a vigil Mass, such as the Easter Vigil. The Christmas Midnight Mass, even Church services on Saturday evenings or feast days. Some type of prayer that leads us to the special day itself.

Today is a little different. Although tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the very first day of Lent, the eve of this day is celebrated in an unusual welcoming of the Lenten season. Yes, today is Fat Tuesday

Fat Tuesday also referred to as Mardi Gras. Yes, eat, drink, and be merry, dance on the tables and party to your hearts content. Because tomorrow we begin to hibernate from the material world, and bring ourselves closer to Jesus.

We begin our journey, sharing the suffering and pain of Jesus, following him to the Cross on Calvary, his earthly death and his glorious Resurrection. For this we prepare, for our own death is eminent someday. We prepare to die with Jesus from this world and to live with him forever in the next.

There is a beautiful verse in today’s Gospel to help us prepare. Jesus tells us “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” May not be a bad way to live out our Lent. May, too, be difficult, but the more we try, the more we please God and the more help he provides. Be sincere in your efforts and have a great and meaningful Lent.

Practice makes perfect

We hear it said. We see it written. We may even say it ourselves, and say it with authority. But do we believe it?  Do we practice it? Do we understand the true meaning of “Love one another?

Why is this so difficult to practice? Because to love one another means to love all human beings from the heart and that is the love that is capable of forgiving. “Love one another as I have loved you”.

Sometimes, it is easy to love, but so difficult to forgive, because it takes courage to forgive. Without that courage we really don’t have true love.

Today, Jesus tells us to strive for perfection. “Be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect”. You know the only way we can come close to being perfect is through love. Love as God loved. Have mercy as God has mercy. Listen as God listens. Forgive as God forgives.

Perfection is not something we wake up with one morning. No, perfection is an on going process, a life time journey. When we love as Jesus loved, we will learn forgive. We understand the value of all life from conception to natural death and the caring of that life.

So, maybe starting today, pray a little more, forgive a little more, extend your hand a little more, listen a little more, and above all, love a lot more.

A great way to prepare for Lent.

Being Great isn't Easy

Who is or was the greatest athlete? And if you were to think long and deep, who was the greatest singer of all time? Or actor who danced on stage? So many categories, so many variables to consider, and so many differences of opinions. Yet, we debate and will always debate those differences and they become the topic of many conversations.

So, it would make sense to ask, who is the greatest in heaven? The apostles, no different than us did just that. They asked Jesus, “who is the greatest in heaven”? And Jesus had an interesting answer. He said, more or less, don’t worry about who is the greatest in heaven, worry about just getting to heaven.

He then told them how. He said that we have to become like little children, because children depend on their parents for all their needs, and God wants us to depend on God, who is our Father. Depend on him for all our needs, for everything. 

And, when life gets rough, when we find ourselves in a jam or when we need that shoulder to console us, it is God, our Father who will do everything to relieve our pain, to admonish, and bring us back, just like a father does to help their children. It’s called love.

When we love, we hope for love in return. And God who loves us, hopes too for our love in return. But God won’t force us to love him, and he won’t force us to come back to Him. No, that’s our free will.

And we can love him in return by staying focused on Him. When we have done everything we can do, and keep your eyes on God, that’s when He steps in as a loving Father and will do what we can’t do.

Who is the greatest? First, let’s pick a category. Who is the greatest in the category of love, for that’s what really matters? And how do we measure love?  “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud”. These words of St. Paul are words, that when followed and practiced, help us to keep our eyes focused on heaven, not to be the greatest, but just to reach those gates and cross over the finish line. They help us to love God in return. Jesus said, “there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for a friend”. Being great isn’t easy.

The Village Darkness

He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. He knew the inner most feeling of this man, the miracle to be performed and the incredible light this man would see for the first time in his life.

It’s called consideration. If the man were instantly cured among all the people, the shock of seeing what one does not understand could be over whelming and frightening. Jesus led him by the hand, to be alone with him.

It’s is Jesus, who knows our most inner thoughts and considers how best to open our eyes to our own spiritual blindness. Gradual, at first, may be best for us. Do we see and do we want to see more? Then the hand that led us outside the village will help us to see more.

The blind man could see, and we too, who have been led out of the village of darkness,  can now see and with each passing day we begin to see more distinctly the path we must take for our salvation.

Each day, then, we can grow deeper in our faith and each day, the hand of God will lead us closer to himself, who loves us. And Jesus said, “do not even go into the village”

A Teachable Moment

 “Oh, no, who forgot to bring the bread again”, they must have talked among themselves. “Who is going to tell Jesus we have to skip lunch today”. It was word association, Jesus mentioned leaven and the apostles immediately thought bread, or lack of bread. 

Their minds weren’t on the message Jesus was announcing, a critical teaching moment for them to understand. A warning of the leaven representing the spiritual sickness in the world. It was a caution then as well as it is for us today.

But, for the apostles, they forgot the power of Jesus to feed those in need, his authority to calm the storms. They failed to remember the miracles that Jesus performed to make the blind see.  They failed to understand that Jesus, who makes all things good was with them.

The apostles, so much like us. How many teachable moments have we missed, forgetting the power of Jesus in our lives?  Times when we should leave our problems in Jesus’ hands, trusting he knows the better answer? Realizing that he feeds us and nourishes us and the everyday graces he provides and miracles he performs in our lives through the power of prayer.

Look back to the past experiences in your lives, the times when life seemed impossible, problems were eating us alive, but with that trust in God’s power, he gave us the hope to survive. Times when we fought and won the battles on temptations. God always, yes always is there when we call his name.

Yes, we too can sometimes be blind to God’s message.  We hear, but do not listen. But we must always remember that when we believe, when we trust then God can bring us through every situation in this life. What is good about life is that every day is a teachable moment.

When a mistake becomes a choice

How many of us, if given the opportunity to go back in time would change just one decision you had made? I’m sure all of us.

Here’s a question for the wives. How many believe your husband is perfect? Never made a mistake, and always made the right decision? During my homily, not one wife raised their hand, although there were a few husbands coaxing their wife.

And during my homily, I prefaced this to the husbands with, this, men is your opportunity to shine, “how many believe your wife is perfect, always makes the right decision? Never made a mistake? Many hands instantly went high in the air.

Ah! But there is hope! Mark Twain said, "Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from making bad decisions."

Life is a matter of decisions, good and bad, right and wrong. Either, I care or I don’t care about the consequences.

It’s been said that you never make the same mistake twice. the second time you make it, it is no longer a mistake. it is a choice.

So, the choice is ours. Just think, the many choices you and I have made in this life, and it is those choices that have pretty much sculpt us to whom we are today. Some good and some not so good choices.

For many it is those very choices, that nurtured us, improved our physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Sacrifices were made, perseverance prevailed and goals were pictured in our minds and through hard work were achieved.

But for others, not so much, they chose not to make those same good choices, and many regret those decisions today.

St. Jerome one of the greatest doctors of the Church is known for many quotes.

But the one that should leave the biggest impression, the quote that should really penetrate our heart is, “Begin now to be what you will be hereafter.”

Our first reading today from Sirach is a collection of proverbial and yet, powerful teachings. Full of wisdom for those who listen, because it provides a fundamental order in creation and life.

But what it does not do is force us, or presume that we are destined to live by this order of life. It is the clearest statement ever written on the subject of human free will, on the choices we make.

This reading is a soul-searching experience, one we should take and reflect on in our own heart.

It is full of choices, set at their extremes; fire and water, life and death, good and evil, a total picture, that includes everything in between.

 Ultimately, it is telling us that what is before us is destruction and salvation, evil and what is good. These are the decisions we make, they are the path we will take. These are the choices leading us to Heaven or hell

God never told anyone to be godless. He never gave anyone a license to sin. No, but he does demand obedience, love and goodness.

Choosing God’s will is a choice only we can make, and it is the most important choice we will ever make.  It is the decision where we begin to be what we hope to be in the life hereafter.

And Jesus has told us so many times in the Gospels to be careful of what we say, what we see, how we use our body. These too, are decisions we make, decisions with consequences, and or rewards.

That is why it is so important to stay focused on God, and that if anything gets in the way of that focus to discard it.

Today we hear a warning. Jesus is warning us to take every precaution, and if necessary, drastic means against falling into sin, and away from him.

It is a warning that must be taking seriously, for he has told us that many are invited but only a few are chosen. 

Consequences for sin can be harsh. The punishment can be severe, to a place referred to as Gehenna. It is a hell.

We know that in the time of Christ, Gehenna was a valley just outside the city of Jerusalem where the early Canaanites once offered human sacrifices, their own children, no less

And then the Israelites turned this sacrilegious site into a garbage heap where rotten waste was constantly being burned. And, yes there was unbearable stench, a reminder of what hell is like, pain and suffering with no end.

You are either for me or against me, Jesus said. It is our choice. To be “For him” means heaven; against him means Gehenna, an endless stench. As St. James tells us “It will devour your flesh like a fire”.

Many of us know, that the longer we live the more choices seem to present themselves, and are opened up for us. And it is these choices we make that become our compass in life.

Yes, circumstances can impact our life and the decisions we make, but God has given us the graces to still make choices on how we will deal with them.Life is a God given gift, and with that gift comes another gift, our free will, what and how we choose to live.

Although a gift, Life is fluid, going this way and that way, a mind of its own. But we must be flexible adapting, changing our course with good choices when necessary.

It is that true wisdom from the Holy Spirit will provide us the insight, the guidance, and the perseverance to conduct our lives in accordance with God’s will, and in ways we never thought possible.

It’s how we live our lives that determine if we are for him who created us, or against him, who still created us. "Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God am holy."

That in itself should be our focus; the object of all our desires, our efforts, our decisions. We have a choice. Today Picture in your mind, your final goal, a vivid picture, aim to achieve it in this life and “Begin now to be what you will be hereafter.” You’ll be glad you did!