To road to destiny

Where does this road lead us? It leads to our destiny. Our ultimate goal, no matter what our circumstances, regardless of where we find ourselves right now, is heaven, or at least it should be. Our journey should be one full of questions and answers from Scripture, praying, devotions, sacraments and the list goes on, leading us to the destiny we hope for.

Two men traveled a road and met a man, a teacher who eased their sadness and their doubt. He opened for them Scripture filling them with the hope they had lost. Two men on the road to Emmaus walked with Jesus and dined with Jesus.

The road to Emmaus must be the road we choose to our destiny.  And as we travel that road to our eternal banquet, our Emmaus, we can walk with Jesus, filling our hearts with His burning love. As we reflect on Scripture each day of our lives, we ask Jesus to open them up for our understanding, for the way, the truth, and the life.

But the road isn’t always easy. Walking our road to Emmaus means accepting the crosses that come our way. It means accepting the fact there will be bumps in the road. There are obstacles, but there is hope. Yes, we all have a cross or crosses we need to carry and sometimes a cross seems impossible to carry, that it’s just too heavy. Today, we all seem to be carrying a heavy burden.

But God in His mercy, doesn’t allow us to carry that cross alone. He wants us to win the race, to be at that banquet table, so His hand is wrapped around our waist for support.  With His help, no cross is ever too heavy for our shoulders to carry.

There is a story told to me by a brother deacon, and you may have heard it before. It’s about a young man who felt like he was burdened with a cross he could not carry.  He complained for weeks asking our Lord to take it away from him. He kept pleading and finally God said to him, “I hear your cries, but together we’ll carry this burden”. But the man insisted, no Lord, it’s too much, please, give me a lighter cross.

So, our Lord took him to a warehouse of nothing but crosses and explained to the man he could choose any cross he feels comfortable with, replacing the one he now has.  The man went up and down every aisle of the warehouse, seeing only huge and heavy crosses, some he couldn’t even lift, others were full of splinters that could hurt and cut the skin, he wanted nothing to do with them, but he couldn’t find any that he felt he could carry. 

Almost exhausted he was about to leave and finally he saw this small cross by the door and he picked it up.  It felt good and he shouted with excitement and said God, this is it, I have found the cross I can carry, I’ll take this one. God said, “I thought you would choose that one, for that is the same one you came in with”.

Every moment of our lives, we are in the presence of our Lord. And every step we take, Jesus steps with us. Every cross we carry, Jesus carries with us. He wants to be alive with him in our hearts.  He wants to break bread with us at his Banquet Table. Today, take a quiet moment, break open Scripture and ask Jesus to send you the Holy Spirit for understanding. With a smile of joy, you will say, “Weren’t our hearts burning”.  What a meal he has planned for us.

Hooked

I remember as a young boy, fishing in Penny Pack Creek just about every day in the summer. In those polluted waters was a beast, a huge carp, whom we named Bubba. A fish just too big to catch and reel in for us, too smart too, but yet he was the ultimate prize that summer.

Occasionally we hooked him, but every time you hooked Bubba and tried to bring him in, he would snap the line, and a few fishing poles left unguarded followed Bubba in the water.  Still, every day, some of us would bring our lunch and fish all day, just for an opportunity to catch this monster.

One day, I got to my favorite fishing spot before anyone else arrived.  I had been able to save some money and bought some stronger fishing line for my reel.  And it worked, after I hooked this monster, I struggled and fought it and was able to reel Bubba in. 

He was huge, the largest fish I had ever caught.  I was so proud of myself holding Bubba in my arms.   Yes, I was Jumping for joy, and couldn’t wait for the others to come to share my excitement with me. 

I kept waiting, but no one came. They’re always here by now. I looked at this huge fish, and Bubba was beginning to show signs of dying, being out of the water for so long.  I couldn’t let this fish die, this famous icon. So, I brought it to the bank of the creek and let it go. It struggled at first, then swam away immediately.

Sure enough, some friends arrived to fish for Bubba. It was a long wait, but finally, I could tell someone my great news.  I remember shouting in excitement, “caught the monster, caught Bubba”.  No one believed me, regardless of how many times I told them.  They wanted proof, and I had none, for the fish was gone.  If only Bubba could come back and tell them.

Remembering that story made me think. Maybe Jesus must have felt that way during his three years of proclaiming His Word. No one seemed to believe Him either, And, he tried so hard using stories and analogies.  Even with all the miracles, his humility, all of his good deeds, so many still didn’t believe he was the Son of God. They took it a step further, they crucified Him.

But we are believers, each of us to a different degree.  Even though we believe, some of us sometimes become lukewarm in our faith, and our branch on the vine begins to wither.  We begin to lose faith and trust. St. Paul tells us we must keep our eyes on the finish line, and to run the race as to win. In other words, regardless of the obstacles, the circumstances, and even though Churches are closed, we must keep faith, for there is a prize well worth waiting for.

“What eye did not see and ear, did not hear, and what never entered the human mind-- God prepared this for those who love Him”. For all who finish with God in their heart, the prize, the heavenly reward, is eternal life with all the saints before us.

Our world is in chaos, and sometimes I think many  of us are so much like Bubba, the fish in that polluted water. We need to be hooked and God wants nothing more than to catch us. And when he does, he brings us to shore and hugs us and feeds our spirit. It is only then he will tell us, “I will make you fishers of men”. Then we become the true fishermen of God, casting our nets and spreading his Word, fishing for lost souls in our polluted world. Bringing inner peace to people in a changing world.

For that we must believe and build for ourselves a strong foundation of faith. Yes, today’s world makes it so easy to struggle. And so, we pray, we sacrifice, we do all we can to be faithful followers of Jesus. For those who are sinking, whose faith is fading in murky waters, we must be their anchor.

Can you imagine if we all had the great love and excitement for Jesus that Mary Magdalene had upon finding our Lord? She had to share, and in her excitement and with true happiness she proclaims to the world, “I have seen the Lord.” There are fish out there we can help.

Wonder if Jesus liked liver

I love that expression, “God is good all the time, all the time, God is good”. And what an amazing God he is, for he won’t force us to accept his goodness, or reject it.  No, he has giving us one of the most beautiful and wondrous gifts - our free will.

A free gift to choose how we live our spiritual life. And I believe we would all agree, most times when we find ourselves in the confessional it’s because of the wrong use of our free will, we caved into temptation.

My father was strict and laid down the law for us growing up. And one of his laws was you ate everything on your plate or you went to bed and had it for breakfast in the morning. He liked liver and my mother loved beets and many times liver and beets were both on my plate at the same time. And, both made me gag, still do. But, it made no difference, his law meant clean your plate.

One supper when both were served the devil got into my creative mind. I so carefully slid, piece by piece, the liver and the beets off my plate onto the napkin on my lap. So far, so good.  My plan, be the last one to leave the table, stuff the loaded napkin into my pocket and quickly head to the bathroom for a flush.

The plan was on target. I managed to be the last one to leave the table as my mother, doing the dishes, had her back to me. But someone sneaked into the bathroom, so I did the next best thing.  My sister had a large hollow toy lamb, a pull toy on a string whose mouth opened and closed.  So, I stuffed the napkin with the beets and liver into the lamb’s mouth and pushed into its hollow stomach.  Ingenious!

After a few days, the little lamb really did start to have a stench. My poor little sister, every time she pulled that toy around the house, they kept checking her diaper.

My father finally figured out where that aroma was coming from, the toy lamb. When he emptied the contents into the trash, it was he who started to gag, badly, I might add. He knew it had to be me and I was punished, a bad choice breaking a rule, but you know, we never had beets and liver again.

Yes, beets and liver are bad news, and I certainly did disobey my father. On the other hand, God’s demand for obedience is absolute, his commandments are not to be tinkered with to find a loop whole to please our own desires.

When Jesus sat on a mountain side and taught his disciples, they found out that judgment and hell are no longer just for killing someone, but even just being angry with a person. Not just adultery will bring you to hell, but even looking at a woman with lust brings death to the soul. Yes, there are demands.

Jesus’ words must have astonished his followers sitting on the mountain side listening to him preach. He had their minds thinking, calling them to a higher standard of true love for God and neighbor.

Our free will is a gift, but how do we use it? When we say yes to God’s demands, we are provided the strength by grace, to nurture our faith to maturity, and then we are giving another gift from the Holy Spirit; Wisdom.

Every new day challenges us, and to compound that, every new day in isolation can tempt us with fire and evil. But we must never forget, God has a plan. Our duty through our free will is to place all our trust in God’s plan. Adhering to his demands and to preserve through sacrificing in troubled times.

St. Paul tells us that the “secret and hidden” wisdom of God can only be mysteriously explained when we nurture and mature in our faith, by using our free will.  Determined to choose eternal life. God wants us to experience his presence and refreshment every single day, in times of trial as well as in times of peace. He wants to be our light on our stairway to heaven

What is the stairway to heaven? - trust and faith. And without them, the light is extinguished and everything goes dark – we lose our vision of God

God’s only desire for all of us is to be welcomed into the open arms of Jesus when he calls our name.

Remember, even in these very unusual and troubled times, God places demands on us. But with faith and our trust in the God who loves us “we can do all things through Jesus who strengthens us”.

Yes, He has risen!

I’m not sure Jesus had me in mind when he said, “No one has a greater love than to lay down one’s live for one’s friend”.

I have told this story before but, Easter Sunday, as a small child, had a different meaning for me than it does now. All I could think about was the Easter Basket, not just my Easter basket, but my brother and sister’s baskets as well. I may not have understand the true meaning of Easter, but I did understand candy, chocolate candy to be precise.

My mother would sternly say, under no circumstance, were we to eat any candy from our basket until after Church. That was sheer agony. Chocolate right there, the aroma, the coconut alone was worth the risk.

When no one was looking, I would quickly bite off the bottom of the huge chocolate coconut egg in my sister’s basket. Then inconspicuously fit the egg back into the basket, push it down a little into the green straw and place the jelly beans around the perimeter of the egg. Looks like it was never touched.

And as I think back to those days, I realize that I was truly a great brother. How lucky my sister was. I did all that extra work of hiding the chocolate egg just so my sister wouldn’t get in trouble. And then temptation got the best of me and I would begin snacking on the bottom of my own chocolate egg.

I know Jesus said Lay down your life for your friend, but he didn’t say sibling, so when my parents found out the chocolate egg sitting in my sister’s basket was missing the bottom, without any hesitation, I quickly picked up the egg in my basket and said, look, She ate mine too!

That’s not the love God wants us to imitate. But, as I grew in my faith, I understood the real meaning of love and today, the Resurrection, is truly the ultimate culmination of love. He has truly risen.

Today is Easter. Christ is risen! It was today that he renewed the earth. Renewing it, the Church and us as its members by bringing us back to a new life, a life full of hope. We are his friends and need him always, but more in these days than ever before in our lives.

Today, what a spectacular event took place in heaven. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, welcoming all those just souls rising up from under the earth. The heavenly embrace of longtime friends with Jesus.

On Good Friday He forgave us and called us his friend. For it was on that day He laid down his life for us, nailing all our sins to that Cross.  And this morning we see the empty tomb of the resurrected Jesus. He is not there, and still must be found. But for those who hope and search their hearts will rejoice, for he will be found.  

The Resurrection is a pure sign of hope and love, for those who remain as his friend. And today we see that image of love for a friend. It was Mary, who loved Jesus so much, who was first at the tomb.

It was John, the disciple whom Jesus loved and who loved Jesus, who was the first to believe in the Resurrection. It was that Love that gave them eyes to read the signs and a mind to understand.

It’s like a marriage, how easy it is to destroy that beautiful relationship, when the focus is on ourselves. How easy it is to miss the Lord when our focus is on ourselves!  Hard work that brings about many tests.

In these days we truly are being put to the test, and it is times as these that we can shine, that we can offer ourselves for the good of others, by doing all things pleasing to God; More praying, persevering with annoyances, fasting for repentance, holding one’s tongue, sharing what we have, and the list could go on being cramped up in a small area for a long. What little we may think we have, others have less.

There has never been a time where our Churches have closed, the House of God cannot be entered and our services are on line. It all seems to distant us so far from God. But this is also the greatest opportunity for the world to bring itself closer to our Creator. For lost souls to find the true way to be set free. This is a remarkable time for the world to know that God is in command.

When we do all things for the love of God on this journey, his eyes and strength will be upon us. And above all, he will certainly call us his friend. Then someday we will join that special group of his resurrected friends in heaven, his saints.  Happy Easter

A Good Friday of hope

It was called the Place of the Skull, a small hill just outside of Jerusalem. Golgotha to some or the Hill of Calvary to others, and there on that hill hung two thieves roped to their cross.  And from their vantage point they could see another man, dragging a cross, some distance away, being whipped as he struggled up the hill trying to reach the top.

There was a great deal of space between their crosses and they knew where his Cross would be planted. Yes, right there between the two of them was a place where this next man would hang.

Yes, two thieves waited for Jesus that Friday, but for one thief, his heart was full of compassion, for he knew this man was innocent, and had the power to do remarkable things. He even knew, by the grace of God, Jesus was going to his Kingdom that day. For that man, that criminal, the seed of hope was taking root.

Jesus made it to the top of the hill of Calvary. Then his executioners crucified his tortured body, stretching out his arms and nailing them to the wood. Then his feet placing a small platform to the cross to support his feet.  They raised him up and mounted him in the middle of the two thieves. Three crosses of shame, raised high on a hill for all to see.

We begin to hear the last words of Jesus, as well as the deathbed conversations of these dying men. From one cross comes insults, another there is hope and from the third lives mercy.

“Save us and yourself”, one thief shouts, but the other, the man on the cross of hope is defending Jesus and says, “Have you no fear”. Words from these two directed to the man in the middle, the man of forgiveness and mercy.

But then in the very quiet of death, the silence is broken with contrition and repentance, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” The man is crying in hope, his final words, his last breath.

And in the Heart of Jesus there is mercy for he finds the strength to respond with calm assurance: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise”. Hope! There is the hope! There is hope because there is mercy. There is hope because of the Cross and His Resurrection.

No one is denied a share in the victory of that Cross.  No one is beyond the help of the prayer of Christ.  The prayer of mercy, the prayer of hope, the prayer that brought forgiveness to the Good Thief, brings forgiveness to us. The prayer from the one crucified who forgives us of our sins.

It was a Friday like no other. Our Savior was crucified and the gates of heaven and hell were shortly opened. It was a day illustrating Jesus’ mercy to his last breath on earth and then beyond.

Today, is a Good Friday like we have never experienced before. But regardless of where or how we pray today, we must know that it is never too late to turn to Christ.  As long as a heart beats, the invitation of Christ and his mercy still stands.  So long as there is life there is hope.

With a leap of faith, the Good Thief took a step closer to heaven, a step that was born through hope and trust

 And Jesus, mercy personified, with eyes full of promise said: “Truly, I say to you.” The man’s hope was rewarded.  “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.”

This criminal died in the peace of our Lord and entered the promised paradise, the gates of heaven, with Jesus at His side. Isn’t that the way we want to live? Isn’t that the way we want to die? Isn’t that the way we want to live again?

As sinners, we hope for forgiveness and beg for Jesus’ mercy. Every new day brings that hope, another beginning. If we recognize each day as another gift from God, we can live each day with hope in what is to come.  

As we leave the scene on this Hill of Calvary, three crosses remain. To most of the crowd they are still the three crosses of shame, criminals deserving punishment. But what really remains? Yes, three crosses are still there, but we see there is really only one cross of shame, and there is one cross of hope, and there is the Cross of the Glory of Jesus, that Cross of Mercy.

And the Cross of Mercy brings the cross of Hope into his Kingdom.  “Today, you will be with me in Paradise”.  In these days of uncertainty, we don’t know what the future will bring, but we do know we must be prepared. And to be prepared we carry with us the hope of God’s mercy. Oh! There is hope. Amen!

He is the King

What a lent, to say the least! We are on the last leg of this journey and our solemn walk with Jesus begins today, and how appropriate to begin Mass with the reading of the Holy Gospel for Palm Sunday. Yes, it’s Palm Sunday, the King of Glory is entering into Jerusalem, the great prophet to the people is making his victorious entrance on a colt.

A royal welcome with song and praise, with people shouting “Hosanna in the highest”. With spirits lifted high, it is a true celebration for the crowd. But an entrance to death, a crucifixion for Jesus.

These very same joyful people will be there on Friday, watching Jesus suffer and die. But Jesus’ thoughts are elsewhere and not with the crowd. Riding on that colt, he sees his scourging, the thorns, the cross of splinters, his crucifixion. Today, he hears the crowd, but his mind is on the ninth hour reflecting on those bitter words of “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me”. He enters this city for one reason only, in order to suffer and die for, “thy will be done”.

Today, they are joyful, carpeting the road that he walks, bowing to their king.  But as Jesus looks, he knows that among this crowd are those not cheering, no in there are those who are hiding having different intentions. They are the enemy. Today, as the crowd shouts out hosanna, on Friday, they will change that to “crucify him”.

Jesus has a bitter and painful week ahead, but it is the week that the Father asked him to come into the world. It is the week that the world is forgiven, we are redeemed. It takes the bitter to bring the healing.

For us, we too have a bitter week ahead. Probably the worse week of our lives for many of us. It is a lent we will never forget, not knowing when it will truly end.  “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me”, we may be saying. We feel the pain, we see a crippled world, and reflect on an uncertain future. Our own enemy, the killer, is hiding among the crowds.

So many people are praying to end this madness, probably, more than ever. Regardless of how well we kept our Lenten commitments amidst this crisis, let this Holy Week provide us with the unique opportunity to give our all to the one who loves us. A week to completely deny ourselves, for the love of God and our neighbor. This could be the medicine.

Yes, this will be a bitter week, and no physical Church to turn to for relief. Even so, make it a week like no other, a true Holy Week, reflecting on our own life with the courage to see our own faults. Make this a week of contrition. Make this a sorrowful week that leads us weeping to the foot of Jesus’ Cross on Calvary, comforting Our Mother Mary.

Deny ourselves and go wherever Christ empties himself for our sake, and believe his words, “I am with you always”. He is with us, among us, and in us. He hears our cries and our prayers. I just wonder if we hear his plea to the world, my people, my people, why have you abandoned me. “He is a forgiving God, always ready to forgive”

Have a Holy Week and one that is most pleasing to our Lord. Stay safe

Blazing Fire herself

I always wondered as a child what these words meant, “Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven”. They come from the Book of the Prophet Malachi and they are words expressing God’s anger by coming like a blazing fire.

I supposed what always confused me was the Blazing fire reference. Because that was the nick-name we gave a nun in grade school, blazing fire, I can tell you her left hand was a blazing weapon.  

She was my teacher in fourth grade in the days when we had those many air raid drills where we had to hide under our desks when the sirens were heard. I remember it well, “Shades down and under the desk” preparing for the real thing.

Yes, only a drill, but they were important drills, preparing for the worse, yet, hoping for the best, in case of some type of an enemy attack.  Drills preformed with perfection prevent the real thing from being unfamiliar to us. We’ll be ready. Today, our drill, our lockdown, is for real and should and must be practiced with perfection. If so, we will survive.

One day in fourth grade I was being disciplined by blazing fire herself, for something I’m sure I didn’t do, and then she punished me by walking me by the ear, into the long narrow cloakroom and closed the door. There I was all alone.

Suddenly, the air raid sirens started to blare and I could hear through the walls the scampering about of the kids sliding under their desks, pulling down the shades and Blazing fire herself, barking out her orders. But they forgot about me.

But, in that closet they also kept the pretzel bag, full of freshly baked salted pretzels that would be sold that day at recess. And they smelled so good.

Temptation got the best of me and I pulled up a strip of ten pretzels from inside the bag and tried to break one off, just one little pretzel, but, it slipped and a strip of 10 pretzels fell on the dirty hardwood floor exactly right next to the closed door that led into the classroom.

Thank God, the siren muffled the sound, but I knew that plenty of loose salt fell all over the filthy floor and if I didn’t clean that up, big trouble, the wrath of a nun called blazing fire would be upon me.

I threw the pretzels back into the bag, but for the life of me I couldn’t think of anything to sweep up all that salt. So, I was on all fours, pushing the salt in every direction away from the door.

The air raid sirens stopped and the cloak room door opened and there, Blazing fire herself came in, and there I was on hands and knees almost kissing the floor, blowing away the remains of any salt. Talk about trembling fear. But, something strange happened.

She reached down and helped me up, and apologized for leaving me all alone in the closet, and then commented, “but how good and obedient you were, down on your hands and knees, praying during the air raid drill.

But she said some powerful words that I live by, “Always be prepared, for some day when you least expect it, it will be the real deal”.

Those words are like the real meaning of life.  We don’t know when God will call us. And every day is a drill and someday a drill will be the real deal.  Thank you blazing fire.

“Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven”. Of course, Jesus will come in all his glory, but God also tells us before all of this, there will be persecutions.  We’re told, persecution will not merely be an occasional episode, rather, it will be an “indisputable reality” for the Church and for individual Christians. We know not the day, but we know to be prepared.

There is that old expression that says, “You know the drill”.  Make every day a drill for Jesus’ coming, be prepared, because one day, when we least expect it, it will be the real deal.

But for all of us in the midst of this terrible nightmare, we know the drill. We must stay safe by adhering to the words of Blazing Fire, “always be prepared”, by staying inside.  

We must also pray for every person and ask for God’s healing.  And when this is all said and done it will echo a Scripture verse in Jeremiah,  

“I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort and give them gladness of heart. I will lavish choice portions upon the priests, and my people shall be filled with my blessings, says the Lord”. God Bless!