Life as seen through this regular guy's eyes

I recently went to the movies with my family. I went intending to get nothing out of it except a little time with the family, and especially as a treat for my 7 year old daughter. We don't go to the movies that often, and this was a special family outing. We went to see the movie 'Cinderella'.

I must admit, I was shocked by the beauty of this movie. I believe that Disney (the actors, directors, screen writers, etc.), has done a wonderful job with this film. I was amazed to see something this good from Disney. I am writing this blog to highly recommend that everyone should see Cinderella. Yes, it is that good. Mothers should take their daughters, whether they are 5 or 50. Yes, fathers should take their sons, or sons should take their fathers. This movie is for everyone. It's not a fairy tale cartoon anymore. It is a real life story that we all can relate to. I dare you to watch this movie and not think of someone you know who fits into the situations portrayed through the characters in the film, and maybe you will even find yourself in this film.

After viewing the film my family, we could not stop talking about it. We spent the next hour or so discussing the movie. Remember my daughter is only 7, and to get her engaged in a long conversation about anything but herself or her toys is quite a task. This movie was the catalyst for a great conversation. To that end, I have written a series of questions to ponder both before viewing and after. Questions for adults and/or children. I hope that through these questions you can engage in a great conversation about some of the most important things in life. Things like, dealing with tragic events and searching for happiness and life ever after. I sincerely believe this movie can act as a starting point for talking about these deep truths of our humanity.

Father Robert Barron of wordonfire.org has a wonderful review of this movie which reaches into the depth of the Christian symbolism within this movie. His review can be a spoiler though, so watch it accordingly. But one of the simplest ways to find God in the world is to immerse yourself in what is true, good, and beautiful. I believe that this movie is full of truth, goodness, and beauty. In those 3 characteristics you can find so much that relates to our God. I will list a few examples here without giving away too much of the plot and surprises within this film. Remember this is not your bippity-boppity-boo cartoon. I am not critiquing that classic Disney film, but I am saying that this film is a much different telling of the same great classic fairy tale story. At least in my eyes, this film touches on much more of the real drama in our own human lives. These are real characters we can relate too.

Here are a few examples of where I found truth, goodness, and/or beauty in this film:

The grace of costume and character, and the enormousness of the scene at the ball where Cinderella enters. Think of a modern 'Gone With the Wind' spiral staircase scene in front of the whole world.

The depth of love between a father and son in the scene of the king's death. This is a heroic love.

The respect and honor shown by the prince for his father, the king. Don't we all wish our own children showed this kind of respect.

The incredible carriage that Cinderella rides to the ball in.

The idea that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

The enduring goodness and love of a parent who cannot be present due to death or other circumstances.

That envy can rob a person of their dignity and destroy their own self worth.


These are just a few ways that I found goodness, truth, and beauty in this movie. I think it would be a great idea to make your own list.

I entirely expect that some of you attend movies just looking for an hour or two of down time, and you turn off your brain and veg for awhile. While I believe that relaxation is necessary sometimes, I do not encourage that type of attitude with this film. It has so much depth.

I encourage everyone to go and see this movie. Read the pre-movie questions below before the movie and then be prepared to discuss afterward. I believe you will have a great conversation (way too rare these days) as a result of your open-mindedness.

Here are a few things to think about before the movie, if you are bringing others and you hope for an engaging conversation afterwards, it would be a good idea to talk about these things before the movie:

1. Try to find goodness, truth, and beauty in the movie and be prepared to share your examples after the movie.

2.  The movie is full of tragedy and death. Please identify 4 different deaths and how others were effected by these circumstances. What were the outcomes in the lives of the survivors?

3. Pay close attention to the ending. What is so profound in the end? Who lives happily ever after? For those who do not live happily ever after, where do they go and how/why do they have this fate?

4. Who do you know in real life that has faced tragedy in their live and how did that effect them? Does it still effect them?

5. To whom does the invitation go out to attend the ball? To whom is the opportunity for a happily-ever-after life extended? Is anyone excluded from the invitation?

 ______________________________________________________________________________

After the movie I encourage you to discuss the above 4 ideas and/or these topics/questions.

1. Where was true love (self-sacrificing gift of self for the good of the other) present in the movie?

2. How is parental love expressed in the movie and how is that similar/different from my own personal experience of love with my parents?

3. What is 'ugly' in the movie? Which characters, or what actions are 'ugly'? Do I know people who sometimes behave like that? How do I handle those situations?

4. If you could pick one moment in the movie in which you were emotionally touched, which moment would you pick and why?

These are just a few stepping stones on which to begin your conversations. I believe that they are applicable to both adults and children. I also would encourage all of you to post comments to this blog with any thoughts you have about this movie. Do you agree with me or disagree? How did you enjoy the movie and/or the conversations that came out of it?

I believe in the goodness of each and every person. God created each of us for Himself. We are all created by a great God, for an eternal greatness . But each of us is also fallen. Tragedy has struck in our lives and we have separated ourselves from a relationship with God. But God is calling each of us out of the ashes and brokenness of our lives. He asks each of us to rise up and be kind to others despite our circumstances. With His help and grace we do not have to live in brokenness and sin but can rise above. He is reaching out to each of us to live with Him in a happily-ever-after eternity. He loves each of us with an even greater love than a father/mother has for their child.

This movie will help you to think about these eternal realities. We are each created to live forever. It's not just a fairy tale, it's real life we are living and there are consequences for our actions and or inactions.

May God bless you and may you always act with kindness and courage.

 Lenten Journey – Holy Week

Are you ready to celebrate the passion of our Lord?

The focus of this reflection is going to be love. I choose this topic because last week I was hit with several 2x4's from God. He told me to wake up and realize how much he loved me. He sent several people into my life in special ways to show me his love. By the end of the week I had had enough and I woke up to the realization that God really loves me and he shows that love through other people in my life.

I know we talked about love back in week 3 when I reflected on relationships. But this time we will go deeper and in a different direction. I hope that this reflection will help you to make this week a very special, prayerful time. Let us together close out this Lenten season and celebrate the Easter Triduum with increased fervor for living our personal call to be apostles for Christ.

How many of us struggle through each day just trying to survive?

I do! I struggle each day to do all the things I do. All of us have struggles. We all have issues and have to learn to deal with difficulties but do we define ourselves by our struggles or do we define ourselves by the love Christ has shared with us and asks us to share with others?

Over the last few years I have struggled with cancer; several rounds of chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant, months in isolation, rejection issues with the new immune system, and drugs too numerous to mention. Throughout this whole ordeal God has provided me a super network of support, many prayers, and lots and lots of love, through friends and family. People I don't even know have helped out. People have stormed heaven with prayers for me. And what have I done? Over time I have developed an attitude of survival. A feeling that each day was going to be a struggle and an attitude that I would have to endure through it and do whatever was necessary to survive each and every day. In the process I have hardened my heart and focused on myself and my needs. I have lost touch with the world and isolated myself.

I must admit there were a few days in there where I felt good and thought that things were progressing well. But for the most part life became a drudgery. I went through the motions of daily life but I had forgotten how to live. I put blinders on and saw things from a skewed perspective. I had really forgotten how wonderful life was and how much joy there was to be had on earth. I thought about myself and my difficulties. At times I even wondered why I was still living. Others I knew had passed away from the same cancer and treatments that I received. I often asked God why. Why am I still here on Earth? What do you want from me? Why did this other person die but I lived?

One of the reasons I started writing this blog was to share my story and to share Jesus with others. I felt called by God to tell people and encourage them to grow in their own journey with Christ. I figured most people just went through the motions of life and didn't realize that things could change so very quickly. One day I was a working man with a family to support and feed and I was running my own business. The next moment I was laying in a hospital bed, receiving the strongest chemo drugs they could lethal give to me and wondering if I would live to see another day. Things can change so quickly. I figured that if I could help others to grow in their own faith life maybe it would help me feel better about my own life and where I was at on my journey.

While I was encouraging others to pray and grow closer to God through my blog, I was drifting in the wind in my own faith life. My journey was dark and I often felt alone. In reality I was never alone, but as I said earlier I had blinders on and could not see the whole picture. I was too focused on myself and my difficulties.

Through different events in the last few weeks I feel that God has woken me up. No longer is this just another blog post I'm writing, this is my story, this is my journey. Writing this blog has become therapy. As I write this I am on my own journey and I am searching for answers in my life as well. I am the person benefiting most from this process of trying to help others. I started this blog as a service to you but now I realize that God is leading me on a special journey through this blog. I am most appreciative to all of you for your encouragement in this journey. Your responses and prayers have helped lead me onward on my journey even when the writing was difficult. I thought I was writing this for you but it's really for me. Thank You for listening and following me on my journey!

Let's get back to Holy week.

On Palm Sunday Pope Francis sent out this tweet:

“How beautiful it is to stand before the crucifix,

simply to be under the Lord's gaze, so full of love.”

Last week I spent a day with family at the Shrine of Christ's Passion in St. John, Indiana. We had a group of 3 adults and 5 children with us. We paused at each station and reflected on the images. We spent about 2 hours in contemplation and prayer with the life size images of Jesus on the road to Calvary. When we arrived at the station where Jesus hung on the cross we all paused in silence and spent about 10 minutes in personal reflection just looking at Jesus. It was a very special moment for me and I think for all of us.

Something else quite wonderful happened to us while we were at the shrine. At each station I asked people to mention someone in their life that needed prayers. Someone that we could spiritually bring with us on our journey with Christ that day. We were somewhere in the middle of the journey and my wife took a turn and mentioned that we should bring my cousin Paul Scull and his family with us on our journey. If you haven't heard or seen my facebook posts; my cousin Paul had been missing for 2 ½ weeks. He had left his home and no one new where he was. Search teams were called in and were searching for about a week and no trace had been found. The search was now more limited and only a few people remained to look for him. 

Within about 30 seconds of us leaving this station my cell phone rang. There are signs at the shrine not to be on the phone and to respect the other visitors so I didn't answer. It rang again 2 more times over the next 10 minutes. It was then I decided I should check my phone and see who was calling. I took a small walk off the prayer trail and into a parking lot where I could check on my phone. The first call was from my mom and the others were from work. I called my mom back first.

My cousin Paul had been found. He was dead. He was found in a field just on the outskirts of town. God spoke to me in that moment. This day at the shrine is not for you it is for him.We needed to be at the shrine to pray for him. He could have been found on any day, but it just happened to be on this day and I just happened to get the phone call right after we prayed for him. I don't believe in coincidences, God always has a plan.

In the days since I have reflected on this moment. God is calling out to me to unite my own sufferings to those of Christ and to offer them up for others. It's not just about me. The sufferings and difficulties I face can be offered up for others in prayer. I think I kind of knew this all along but I never really understood it and never put it into practice. I don't just suffer all by myself. I can offer up my prayers and my difficulties for others. Maybe I am alive so I can help others. Pow! Another 2x4 to the head. God says to me “wake up you sleepy head, you've got things to do for me.”

Let's go back to what Pope Francis had to say about the crucifix. To “be under the Lord's gaze, so full of love.” In simple terms the cross can be an empty symbol by itself. We must always remember that it is Christ who hung upon this cruel means of torture. Without Christ the cross is just a couple pieces of wood but with Christ it is the means of our salvation. It is the ultimate sign of God's love for all humanity. He actually hung on the cross for people he knew would not accept him and his love. Think of the unrepentant thief and how he was still defiant even while hanging on the a cross. And Jesus gave his life for him and just as well as the other thief who repented and asked Jesus for mercy.

Be sure this week to spend some time with a crucifix. Not just a cross but a crucifix. God became man to die for us. This is his God in his glory. This is the greatest moment in the history of the world. Get a crucifix or at the very least a picture of one. Hold it. Touch it. Gaze upon it. Question it. Ponder it. Kiss it. Ask God about it. Just sit with it. Look at Jesus in his glory. Look at his pierced hands and feet. Contemplate his love for you. Then let Jesus look back at you. Let him gaze into your eyes. Allow him to see into your heart and your life. Open up yourself and allow Jesus in all his glory into your life.

Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life

for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you

should go and bear fruit...This I command you, to love one another.

John 15: 13-14,16a,17

At church on Sunday we celebrated Palm Sunday. Jesus's triumphant entry into Jerusalem. While everyone was celebrating Jesus's entry into the holy city no one could possibly imagine all the things that would happen there in just a few days. Jesus knew that he was entering into his passion. He had told the apostles in advance what would happen. But they followed him blindly not understanding the depth of love that Jesus was about to show them.

How could they be expected to understand. They, like us, were just humans. They followed this man that claimed he was God. There were even times that they really believed that he was God. They had seen many healings and miracles. They had just witnessed the miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. He had raised a man who was dead 4 days. He was now entering into the city of Jerusalem to great shouts of joy and triumph. Was it the time for the messiah to show himself to the world?

We have a special benefit in pondering these Holy week mysteries; we know how the story turns out. We know about the resurrection. But in your reflections this week try to imagine being alive in Jesus's time before the resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Imagine living these stories out in real time. Imagine actually being there in Jerusalem. Again I turn to something Pope Francis recently said: (this comes from his homily on Palm Sunday, I have edited it for brevity, the full text can be found at this link) http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2014/documents/papa-francesco_20140413_omelia-palme.html )

Who am I? Who am I, before my Lord? Who am I, before Jesus who enters Jerusalem amid the enthusiasm of the crowd? Am I ready to express my joy, to praise him? Or do I stand back? Who am I, before the suffering Jesus?

We have also heard another name: Judas. Thirty pieces of silver. Am I like Judas? We have heard other names too: the disciples who understand nothing, who fell asleep while the Lord was suffering. Has my life fallen asleep? Or am I like the disciples, who did not realize what it was to betray Jesus? Or like that other disciple, who wanted to settle everything with a sword?

Am I like Pilate? When I see that the situation is difficult, do I wash my hands and dodge my responsibility, allowing people to be condemned – or condemning them myself?

Am I like that crowd which was not sure whether they were at a religious meeting, a trial or a circus, and then chose Barabbas? For them it was all the same: it was more entertaining to humiliate Jesus.

Am I like the Cyrenean, who was returning from work, weary, yet was good enough to help the Lord carry his cross?

Am I like those who walked by the cross and mocked Jesus: “He was so courageous! Let him come down from the cross and then we will believe in him!”. Mocking Jesus….

Am I like those fearless women, and like the mother of Jesus, who were there, and who suffered in silence?

Am I like Joseph, the hidden disciple, who lovingly carries the body of Jesus to give it burial?

Where is my heart? Which of these persons am I like? May this question remain with us throughout the entire week.

Are you going to walk through this week with blinders on?

Are you going to go through the motions or are you going to live the passion with our Lord?

Open your eyes and your heart. Love is surrounding you. Take the time this week to experience God's love for you in a special way. Will you be a disciple who tries to walk with Jesus, you may even fail in the moment of trial only to rise again with him after the resurrection and carry on his mission? Will you just be a passerby who is curious and watches the events but is not open to a change of heart and purpose? Will this Easter be about life and death or about bunnies and jelly beans?

God has and does continue to show us his love. Are you open to see him working in your life? How has the love of God changed your life and does it continue to challenge you each day?

We still have a few days of lent left to help us prepare for our Easter celebrations. Let us look at a few more ways we can practice prayer, fasting, and alms giving. Let us proceed with joy in our hearts and finish off our Lenten journey with a fantastic finish. Let us pick up our crosses and carry them with love. Let us imitate Jesus.

Fasting

This week we have a great opportunity to intensify our fasting and/or try again if we have failed. Remember we are seeking spiritual progress not spiritual perfection. It may have been a very difficult 35 day journey to get here and maybe, like me, you have not completed your fast as you hoped. There is still time and only a few more days to go. You can finish strong. Choose something that will bear fruit in your life and do it.

Here are a few suggestions for your fast this week:

Fast from all entertainment that is not of a religious tone. Do it for a day or try for the whole week. Maybe if you turn off the TV you will have time to go to a special holy week service/mass.

Fast from the radio/cds in your car. Spend the commute in prayer or in silence. It's just for a day or two.

Fast from your daily coffee, sweet, or snack. Give it up for the week. Just think how wonderful it will be at Easter when you have it again.

Try a bread and water fast for Good Friday. In my healthier days before cancer I would try bread and water fasts on Fridays until 3 pm. Then I would pray something special and remember Christ's passion. I couldn't wait for supper but it was a great way to recall and remember Jesus's great gift of love. Soon I hope to be well enough that I can try again.

Fast from complaining. This may be the most difficult of all of my suggestions. During some of my more difficult days I had lost my ability to taste food. Everything was difficult to eat and swallow. Having dinner was a painful experience. After awhile my wife made me aware of my complaining and general attitude at mealtime. It was becoming a problem because my daughter had heard me complain and fuss enough that she thought it was just what you did at dinner. She was complaining at every meal. Can you imagine the frustration of my loving wife when all she received for her tireless efforts to try and feed us nutritious and tasty food was complaints? I'm so glad she didn't just walk out on us, she is a very special woman indeed!

Fast from facebook or the internet. I know people who are regular Facebook users who chose to fast from it for the whole of lent.

Fast from work when you are not at work. This may be hard for some people but turn off that smartphone and really spend an evening or two with your family.

Be sure to fill your time with extra prayer and/or silence. Bring more power to your fast by attending daily mass or some special service this week. Let your fast bring you closer to Jesus and his passion.

Prayer

Way back in one of my first blogs I made the suggestion that we try and read a gospel from start to finish. This would be a great time to fulfill that idea. If you have never done this before I suggest you start with Mark. Not only is it the shortest of all the gospels it is probably the easiest to read. I'm a slow reader and I finished the whole gospel in about 4 hours. Reading the gospel straight through is a great way to get the whole picture of Jesus's life. You get a complete picture of birth, life, and death. Of a journey not just of Jesus but of many other people as well. Real people come to life. Peter is one of my favorites, but there are so many more. Spend an hour or two and start reading, I really think you will be surprised at the results.

If you are afraid you don't have the time for the whole gospel at least read the passion narratives. Most are only 1 or 2 chapters long. Take the time to follow any footnotes that stick out to you. Pause to reflect on passages you don't understand. Take time to notice the differences in each of the 4 accounts and the similarities. If you have time, do a little research and dig deeper into the scriptures.

Another thing to do this week is to watch a video of the passion. Please make this a prayerful experience. I suggest a prayer before you begin and a time for reflection or discussion afterward. My favorite depiction is the movie “Jesus of Nazareth” but there are many others out there including the popular movie by Mel Gibson “The Passion of Christ”. Do you have small children? Try a veggie tales video, my daughter loves these. Be sure to watch with your children and be sure to discuss the video afterward. Remember this isn't just entertainment time it's prayer time too.

The last suggestion I have for prayer this week is to set aside some time for silent reflection. You may want to start with a brief prayer or a passage from scriptures but make sure the majority of your time is spent in silence. Listen to your heart and listen for God to speak to you. Let the silence permeate your being and give it enough time to settle into you. In a world that is constantly making noise, silence can be a welcome retreat but can also be a scary idea. I personally fled from any silence for years. It was only on a retreat that I experienced how joyful and wonderful a period of complete silence could be. No longer does it scare me but it calls to me to come back to it when I need peace and comfort. If you have some of these same thoughts about silence I encourage you to just give it a try, if even for just an hour. What have you got to lose?

Alms Giving

It is never too late to reach out and help someone in need. On Saturday night I received a very special gift from several special people. They took an hour or two out of there Saturday evening to share God's love with me. They gave me a gift I will never forget. They did something quite simple but they did it with great love. This was the last of several smacks God gave me to wake me out of my self induced pity party. Thank you to all the men who paid me a visit on Saturday night.

You have the love of God within you. Are you going to keep it for yourself or are you going to share it with others?

That is what alms giving is all about, sharing yourself with others.

Here are a few suggestions and concrete ways to reach out to others.

Invite your neighbor to church with you on Easter Sunday or any other services you will attend this week. The majority of Americans are Christians but how many will actually attend church this week. Maybe they are just waiting for you to ask them.

After Easter dinner send home your guests with your leftover food. Give it away. Or better yet bring it to someone who is elderly or home bound and is not able to go out for Easter.

Send that check you have been meaning to send out. I still haven't sent mine yet. I've been going to but just haven't gotten it done yet. Write it and mail it to your charity of choice. I would especially look to donate money this week to missionaries or others who work directly with the poor and hungry. You could also give to a local homeless shelter or food bank. If you live in the Dekalb area you could attend dinner at feed 'em soup and give a donation. They have experienced a very poor winter fund raising season and are having difficulty continuing their ministry of offering free meals each week. They have lots of volunteers willing to help but not near enough money to stay open. Here is a link to their website: http://www.feedemsoup.org/

If you fast on Good Friday add up the cost of the food you didn't eat and donate that money to a local charity or church.

Donate a little extra time to your church this week. Ask the pastor if they need any help cleaning the sanctuary or preparing for the Holy Week services. This is a very busy week at most churches. I'm sure your help and service would be greatly appreciated.

While fasting and prayer are mostly about ourselves and our relationship with God, alms giving gives us a special chance to reach out to others and share God's love and mercy. 

Another way to even go deeper in your Lenten service might be to find a way to work all three of these practices together into one act. Here is one idea but feel free to come up with your own. Got something good, please share it by posting a comment to this site.

The whole family could fast from TV for one night. First things first, everyone should turn off their phones/ipods/radios. Start your meal with a simple prayer and explain that after dinner the whole family will take an extra plate of food to someone else (perhaps a priest/minister or maybe an elderly friend). On the way to the other persons house the family should recite a common prayer everyone knows or each person could mention something they are thankful for and someone who has a special need. Then spend real time with your guest and be sure to pray with them. You have now worked all 3 practices of lent into one evening. Give it a try you might just change someones life. Maybe even your own.

Closing

I recently received a prayer card with a Lenten Morning Offering on it. I was so touched by this prayer and by the giver. I wish to share this simple prayer with you. It is a powerful way to start your day and I have found myself pausing throughout the day to reflect on individual parts of it. I also have looked at it when I get ready for bed to reflect back on my day. I hope you enjoy it and use it for yourself as well. It is a prayer of great love and service.

God Bless! Have a wonderfully blessed Holy Week!

Lord Jesus,

You lived and died for me.

Help me to keep that thought before me today so that whatever life

brings, whether it be success or failure, satisfaction or disappointment,

happiness or sorrow, I may offer it to you.

Through me, may everyone I meet this day see you, Lord,

feel your presence and experience your love.

Lord, I offer you today.

May I serve you by serving others in your name making all that I do a

gift of love and thanksgiving for all you have done for me.

Amen

Lenten Reflection – Week 5 – This journey will last a lifetime

As we wind down our Lenten observance, I wanted to remind you that this journey we are on will last a lifetime.

And you thought it was going to end soon. Lent is only 40 days. We are one week away from Palm Sunday and the start of Holy Week. Soon Easter will be here and we can end the fast.

Yes, this 40 days is almost over, but does that really mean we should stop our practices of prayer, fasting, and alms giving. I propose we should join in the great joy of our Risen Lord at Easter and that we should continue our journey toward a deeper faith and experience of God's love for us. If our Lenten practices just end because lent 2014 is over then we have not really changed our lives at all. Jesus is calling us to repentance. To constant, unending change. To a radical conversion. He is calling us to pick up our cross daily and follow him into eternal life.

This is no easy thing. This is not something you can do for just 40 days a year and be done with it. Being a Christian is a 24/7 task. It is unending. It lasts a lifetime.

The hardest thing that we are called to as Christians is to Love as the Father has loved you.

Yes, this isn't just a feel good sort of emotion. This is a deliberate decision we all must make. It is a decision, that no matter what the cost, we decide to always act in love. Always putting the other person first. Working with all people, of all faiths, of all beliefs, and of all denominations. Working with them and for them. Hoping for their own salvation. Praying with and for them.

One of the most common experiences of total self sacrificing love we can experience as humans is the gift of parenthood. When you are touched with the beauty and awesomeness of working with God and your spouse and together you create a new life, you become a parent forever. No matter what the outcome or circumstances that surround that new life, you are forever after a parent. No one, or nothing can take that away from you. You can run from the responsibility. You can try and hide from it. You can embrace this new life and support it. You could even be in a situation where you have to watch your child suffer and die while you still live. Even as painful and difficult as this may be, nothing can ever change the fact that you are a parent and that child is a gift from God to you.

God is our Father. He has chosen it to be this way. As he is our Father, we are his children. And we are his children forever, nothing or no one can change that fact.

“See what love the Father has given us, that we should be

called children of God, and so we are.” 1 John 3:1a

God has adopted us as his children. He will forever be our Father. We can and often do run from him. We try and hide ourselves and our sinful ways from him. We move ourselves into the darkness so to escape the light that pierces all things. But we can't ever take away the fact that God is our Father. Now and forever more. Even when we sin and separate ourselves from his love, he is still our Father and is waiting for us to turn around and come back home to him.

Our Lenten journey is a 40 day period of reflection and prayer meant to help us grow in our faith. A period of preparation. Making our hearts ready to spiritually die with Jesus only to rise again with him at Easter. This dying to self and rising to new life should remind us of our baptism. At our baptism we were washed with the life giving waters and entered into the Christian life. Listen to what St. Paul says about baptism:

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ

Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him

by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the

glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Rom 6:3-4

Do you walk in newness of life? During this Lenten Journey we are called to die to our self and give to others. To dive into the water and take a plunge. To move deeper and deeper into a loving relationship with God and his creation.

Have you died to yourself this lent?

If we have practiced any type of prayer, fasting, and alms giving we can confidently answer yes to this question. If we have not, there is still time. Start today. There is great wisdom in these Lenten practices. Within these little acts we are slowly dying to ourselves and inviting the Lord into our lives. Even in the little things. Each act is a step into being more and more like Jesus.

Recently on Relevant Radio I heard a little nugget of wisdom from Fr. Albert Haase. He said something like this: “On our Lenten journeys we should not seek for spiritual perfection as if we do, we are setting ourselves up to fail. But instead we should seek spiritual progress. Every step moving us closer to union with Christ our Savior.” We are not going to do everything perfectly, but everything we do in love moves us closer to being the perfect lovers we are called to be.

Are you ready to rise into this newness of life?

For most of us our baptism was many years ago when we were infants. But each and every time we go to church we should recall our baptism. It is such an important part of our journeys as Christians. As a Catholic Christian I feel blessed because baptism is so much a part of every mass. We remember our baptism every time we bless ourselves with holy water. It is mentioned in the creed we recite every week. The baptismal font is an ever present fixture in our sanctuaries. At all Christian services we are called to remember our baptism in prayer when we pray in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Every Easter around the world all Christians are called to renew their baptismal promises. In this brief service within the Easter Liturgy of the Catholic Church, we are both reminded of our baptismal promises and called to live them out. Let us all take a moment to reflect on these promises and recommit to them. The appropriate response to each invocation is to say 'I do'.

Do you reject Satan?
And all his works?
And all his empty promises?
Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth?
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?
God, the all-powerful Father of Jesus Christ has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and forgiven all our sins. May he also keep us faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever.
R. Amen.

(this baptismal renewal service appears from the site www.catholic.org)

Reflecting on these things over the past few years while I was sick and unable to work I have come to the conclusion that in order to rise with Christ in new life we must also die with him. We must pick up our cross and carry it. We can't leave it for someone else to carry. We can't ignore it and think it will go away. We must walk with our Lord. We must live as he lived or we will experience no life at all.

Just going through the motions is death. Living in lukewarmness is a prison sentence. This is no way to live. As a Christian we must be courageous! We must be bold! We must be different! We must be like Jesus!

Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we

shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we

shall see him as he is. And every one who thus hopes in him purifies

himself as he is pure. 1 John 3:2-3

We are God's children!

We shall be like him!

We shall see him as he is!

We will be purified as he is pure!

I could spend a whole reflection on each of these statements. Think about how powerful they are. Read each one slowly and pause to think about them.

The movie version of the book “Heaven is for Real” will debut in theaters next week. I have read this powerful book and hope to see the movie. In this true story, a 5 year old boy dies and goes to heaven. Then he awakes again on earth and in the years to come tells the story of his time spent in heaven.

We are called to put our hope in Christ Jesus and the promises he made to us. He has promised us a seat in his kingdom at the royal banquet. His Father has given everything to him and he offers everything he has to us if we just trust in him. Put your faith in Jesus and his promises. Heaven is for real because he tells us it is. God is really our Father because Jesus tells us he is. God really loves us because Jesus told us he does.

Put your hope in Jesus! Listen to what he is speaking to you this lent and carry it with you throughout your entire life. Don't just stop loving because the 40 days of lent is over. Be the change that you want to see in the world. Go out and make a difference. Be the best version of yourself.

Wow! I'm full of cliches today, too bad I borrowed all these from other people much more intelligent than myself. Maybe I could coin some great phrase for myself. How about this one from the first Lenten post I made back on Ash Wednesday. I'm sure someone else has said this before but I don't know who. So until I hear otherwise I'll give the credit to the Holy Spirit who inspires all my writing.

I'm just a regular guy, who works a regular job, just like most of you. But in and through

Christ I am made extraordinary. I hope one day to be a saint and enjoy the gift that my

God has prepared for me since the beginning of time. I pray the same for you. I pray

that this special season of lent will be enriching and will help you to grow into the

person that God created you to be.

All of us are called to be saints. To live forever in eternal love with our creator. He gives us everything we need to make this a reality. Put yourself on the shelf and put your life in his hands. Be the clay on the potter's wheel. Let him guide you, shape you, purify you with fire, and then let him show his greatness to the world through you and your life.

This lent is just a small step in that process.

• This week I am taking a break from making suggestions on the three pillars of lent. You are on your own to pray and discern what God is calling you to. You could go back and read some of my earlier blogs. You could spend quiet time with the Lord and take the time to listen to him speak to you. Do something small or do something big, just be sure to do it with the extraordinary love that God has given to you. Share yourself and give the gift of life to others.

Let us end our reflection in prayer:

Lord Jesus, you are my light in the darkness. Let me never stray

to far from that light. And if I do let me always have the courage

to turn around and come back into the light. Your light is love

in a world that is full of sin and hate. Shine your light in and

through me so that I can bring you into this world of darkness.

Please let me finish this lent with increased fervor and

zeal for spreading the good news of salvation to the world.

Jesus, I am ready to die with you so as to live in the

newness of life you promise to me.

Amen

Lenten Reflection – week 4

“Forgive me, Lord. I'm just a stupid man.”

Do you know that line from the movie 'Jesus of Nazareth'?

It is one of my favorite moments in the movie. Let me set up the story for you.

Peter, the fisherman, and Matthew, the tax collector, are bitter enemies. Jesus is preaching at Simon's home when Matthew walks in. Simon kicks him out of his house. Jesus asks Matthew where he lives and invites himself to his house for dinner. Mathew accepts and leaves.

Everyone is in turmoil. A rabbi like Jesus, let alone any Jew, can't enter the house of a sinner. If he does so he defiles himself, he becomes a sinner himself. But Jesus is determined to visit Matthew in his own house. He arrives for supper and is welcomed into Matthew's home, while his new followers, Peter, Philip, James, John, and other Jews, stay outside the door. Here they stay afraid to enter and be defiled.

Jesus is asked to speak to the crowd gathered in Matthew's house. He tells the parable of the prodigal son. The music crescendos, and the lighting is superb. Jesus ends the story and there is an awkward pause. Then Peter steps into Mathew's home and says, “Forgive me, Lord. I'm just a stupid man.”

Peter, after confessing his sinful nature to Jesus, has a moment with the Lord of mercy. Then the camera pans back and you see both Peter and Matthew in the picture together. Then, being forgivin by Jesus, Peter walks to Matthew and puts his hand upon Matthews shoulder in a sign of companionship and forgiveness. Both men realize that they are each sinners in their own way, and both need the love and friendship of each other.

It is such a powerful moment. We all are sinners. We all need each other even in our sinfulness. We all need to admit we don't know it all and need forgiveness for our mistakes.

Do you yearn to reconcile with an enemy or just someone you disagree with? Or do you stand outside and distance yourself from others not willing to face the difficult task of forgiveness. If we just stay away maybe the pain will disappear. Maybe if we turn on the TV or the internet we can distract ourselves and forget about it. How often do we try to busy ourselves so we don't have to face up to the difficulties of life?

This week we are going to reassess our Lenten journeys. We are about halfway through this Lenten season. Let's look back on where we have come from and then look forward to where we might be going. All the while focusing on what we have right now in the present moment.

Let us pray:

Oh, good and loving God, we began this 40 day journey several weeks ago

with a hope to grow in our faith life. We have a sincere desire to grow deeper

and deeper in love with you and our fellow man. We want to pick up our crosses

and follow you. We knew that the journey would be difficult but we began with

determination to see it through. Lord, we need your help on this journey. Please

send your Holy Spirit down and help us to finish what we started. Amen

Let's look at where we've been in our Lenten Journey. I am going to recap some of the stuff that has been in this blog, but I encourage each of you to take some time in quiet reflection. Look back at your lenten resolutions and see where you have had success and where you have failed. Spend time with this and assess your progress. Remember each baby step adds up to a big step as you grow in your faith journey. Even if you have failed in your observances of lent, you have tried. Reassess where you are and try again. Lent isn't over yet.

God has forgotten about your lenten promises and doesn't really care if you have been successful or failed. What he wants is that you have spent more time with him this lent. More time in community helping others. More time in prayer. More time in sacrifice. More time thinking about him and getting to know him through prayer and service of others.

Here is where we have been in this blog. We started by trying to get our priorities in line. God doesn't just want a little bit of our time each day. God wants it all. Bring him with you. Invite him into your work, play, meals, and sleep. He already knows what you are doing and can see you. Why don't you personally invite him in to be there with you? He is waiting for your permission to be a special part of your life. God loves you so much he isn't going to force himself upon you. He wants you to open up and let him in.

The second week we looked at sin and how we choose to separate ourselves from God's love. But God is full of mercy and comes running out to meet us if we but turn back toward him. This turning back is what the Greek word metenoia is all about. In English we translate metanoia as repent. It means to change our lives and keep changing our lives. Turn back to God and receive his forgiveness. Again, God is not going to force you to turn back to him. He may allow obstacles to come into your life that cause you to pause and take reflection but ultimately it is up to you to turn around and come back home.

Then last week we reflected on relationships. Our life is all about relationships. This is how we find God in the everyday. Through our relationships with others. In service and in friendship. In love and in hardship. God is a relationship. The Holy Trinity is a relationship. Our lives are a participation in the love of the Trinity. Our lives are relationship. God has shone great mercy to us, we must show great mercy to others. God has helped us to discover the truth, we must help others discover the truth. God has died for us in the person of Jesus Christ, we must be prepared to die for others. And we must also be prepared to live for each other.

That is the main point of this reflection. We must be prepared to live for each other.

This is not an easy task. Jesus lived for us. God became a human in every way save original sin. He lived in Mary's womb as an unborn baby for 9 months. He was born into the world in a foreign place made for animals. He was forced to move to a foreign country with his parents to escape an early death. He gave up his divinity and humbly sat at the feet of Mary and Joseph and learned to read the Torah. Can you imagine. The living word of God humbled himself so much that he learned the word of God in scriptures through humans. This is a God of the people. This is a God so in love with his people he would do anything. Even so much in love with them that he would never force them to worship and follow him. He leaves that all up to us. And guided and inspired by the Holy Spirit he invites us to call him Abba, Father. God wants to be our daddy.

This love has consequences. As Jesus tells us in Mark's gospel, “..repent, and believe in the gospel.” Turn from your sinful ways and trust in Jesus Christ, the Good News. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

As Christians we must live out this message of hope and love. We must bring this gift that we have received to others. We must not keep it to ourselves. We are each called as disciples of Jesus to 'go out to all the world and share the good news'.

This is the heart of Lent. Sharing our lives with others. Let's look at the 3 practices of lent this week as ways to follow Jesus. Ways to walk with him. Ways to grow into his image and likeness as we were created to do.

Prayer

Have you prayed every day during Lent?

The scriptures tell us that Jesus spent much time in prayer. He could have talked to God anywhere and at anytime, but scripture tell us that a lot of the time Jesus would go off to a quiet place and spend time in prayer.

Do you set aside time each day for a conversation with God?

Lent isn't an easy journey. You will have a very difficult lenten journey if you try and do it all by yourself and all for yourself. Get some help. Read the scriptures and/or pray more. Ask for help. Find stories about the apostles and read about their own failures and difficulties in understanding Jesus.

Watch a great movie like 'Jesus of Nazareth' and see the ongoing conversion of St. Peter. It is brilliantly acted out. From his first meeting with Jesus to his denial of even knowing him on the night before his death. In Peter we have someone who we can relate to. Jesus praises him for his faith one moment and the next calls him 'satan'. Peter is a sinful man, but through Jesus's life and the Holy Spirit he comes to be a great man.

This is our journey as well. To go from sinful humanity to everlasting divinity. God calls us out of darkness and into the light. From death into life.

Are you ready for a life of constant upheaval and conversion?

We will all need a life of prayer to be able to persevere in this world. Thank God, that he is always there to turn to when we decide to.

Fasting

I have failed a couple of times in my lenten fasts this year. There have been days I just kinda lost focus and drifted off into my own world, forgetting my intended sacrificial fasts. I've realized it takes a lot of work to stay focused. It takes effort. It is not easy.

This may or may not be your story as well, but I'm sure we can all relate. Sometimes the best of intentions just aren't carried through to the end.

This week marks the halfway point to our lent and as stated earlier, it is a great time to reflect on our journey so far and make changes as necessary. We need to forget about what we have done , or haven't done, so far this lent, and focus on what we are doing right now and what we will do in the future.

I suggest going back and looking at previous blogs I have written. Or go back and think of other ideas you've had during lent that you wanted to live out but for some reason or another you just haven't done it. I remember having a meager dinner one week and talking about poor children and families in Kenya. It was a good experience. I have not done it again with my family since.

This week we should all set aside a little extra time and spend it in silence, reflecting on what God may be calling us to in these last few weeks of lent. How many of us actually have ever asked God to help us figure out what we need to fast from in our lives? Give him some time to help you figure out how to make the most of the rest of lent.

Alms Giving

Back in week one I mentioned taking inventory of all your excess stuff, and of your talents. This week would be a great time to figure out how to share these gifts with others. God gave them to you but are you doing anything with them. Give them to someone who needs them.

One of the things my wife has been doing this lent is helping us to de-clutter our house. Each week we have been sifting through stuff and boxing most of it up to give away to area charities. This week in Dekalb the local chapter of St. Vincent DePaul Society is having a spring/summer clothing drive. They will use these clothes to give away to people of need in our community. Guess what? This week we are focusing on de-cluttering our drawers and closets.

Parishes and various charities throughout your own community are in need of something. Look for someone or some organization in need and share from your abundance.

Also, if you planned on giving a donation of money to help the poor and hungry in another part of the world during lent, this week would be a great time to get it all together and mail it away. Easter isn't quite as busy and commercialized as Christmas, but it is fast approaching. Also with the weather turning warmer you will be getting outside a little more and before you know it, lent will be over. Take a moment and write that check today. I would also encourage you to pray for the people to whom you are sending the check. Both for the volunteers/missionaries that run the charity and for the people your money will help. This is a little more personal than just cutting them a check.

Closing

Let us walk these last few weeks of lent with Jesus. Let us intensify our efforts in preparation for the celebration of his death and resurrection. Let us leave our selfish notions behind. Let us pick up our cross and follow him. Let us trust that this is the way to eternal life with him.

Lord, I need your help. I am weighed down by worldly concerns.

I wish to be transformed by you and your love for me.

Help me each day to grow closer to you.

I Love You.

Amen

Lenten Journeys – Week 3 – How we Love, Relationships

Let us start with a prayer:

O my God, I love you above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because you are all good and worthy of all my love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of you. I forgive all who have injured me and I ask pardon of all whom I have injured.

Amen

Love, it is an integral part of the human experience. It is a feeling and yet it is so much more. We use it to describe our favorite foods and it also describes how we feel about our children. We also use it to describe our God. Are these all equal things? No! So before we begin I want to clarify that for this reflection we are talking about agape love, total self gift to another. The Greeks used several different terms to describe love. Agape is a love that gives everything to the other and leaves the self behind. This is what Jesus did for us through his crucifixion. He gave himself in total self gift to repair the damage of our sins.

Most of us experience this type of love with our children and/or our spouse. Some of us feel this way about our relationship with a few close friends. But how many of us feel this way about our relationship with God? How about with our neighbors and co-workers? How about the mailman or the clerk at Walmart? What about our enemies and those who think quite differently than we do?

Jesus offers several teachings about relationships and love in the scriptures, here are just a few:

...but whoever would be great among you must be your servant,

and whoever would be first among you must be your slave;

even as the son of man came not to be served but to serve,

and give his life as a ransom for many.    Mt 20:26-28

But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to

those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you..

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love

 those who love them. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

Luke 6: 27,28,32,36

Do you know what I have done for you? You call me Teacher and Lord; 

and you are right. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, 

you also ought to wash one another's feet. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives

 any one whom I send receives me; and he who receives me receives him

who sent me.    John 13:12b-14,20

These are not easy sayings. I believe I can say accurately that all of us have failed to live out these teachings. I for one can say that I truly don't deserve His love if this is what it costs because I can't live out these teachings. It is only in and through Him that I can carry out these teachings.

We live out Christ's teachings in how we treat and act with others. In seeing the Christ in them and caring for them like they are the only person on the planet that existed. Our life depends on others.

That is the heart of my reflection this week so I'll repeat it:

Our life depends on others, without others we are nothing.

Without others we can not carry out what Jesus's teaches. Have you ever thought about it that way? That everyone you meet is a gift from God. Without them there is no way for you to live out your calling as a disciple. Your neighbor is a gift to you. Your boss is a gift to you. Your mother-in-law is a gift to you. Your children are a gift from God. Your wife is a gift from God. You don't own them, they are not your possession, but instead they are a gift for you to love and care for. They are there for your salvation.

Let me share a recent story from my own life about the power and need for relationships.

I am a cancer survivor. In January of 2013 I successfully went through a bone marrow transplant and have remained cancer free since. Praise be to God! But there are many ongoing complications post transplant. After a bone marrow transplant, your body will sometimes reject the new cells. In my case, my body is the same cells but I now have my sisters immune system in me. When the body reacts to these cells as foreign there is a reaction. Doctors call this Graft vs. Host Disease (GVHD). In some cases it's a mild irritation, for others it leads to further complications and sometimes death. Each body reacts differently and the direct cause of rejection is unknown. I have chronic GVHD. It is ongoing and could last a long time. Some times the medications keep it under control and other times it rages out of control.

The week before lent started the GVHD acted up again. This time it was effecting my eyes. Severe dry eyes is one of the most common effects of GVHD. It was a Tuesday and I had a long day at work. That night I had a ministry formation class to attend in Aurora, IL. About 25 miles from my home. I went to class and soon was having trouble with my eyes. I had not brought any eye drops with me. I hoped that it would go away but as the night wore on it was getting worse. I knew it was getting worse but I stayed at class and thought I would be OK.

When class got out at 9:30 pm I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. I was blinking every second or two and the only relief I got was when I closed my eyes. Not a good idea to get behind the wheel of my 18' box truck, but that's just what I did. I should have asked a classmate for help but I was too stubborn and thought I could do it. Walgreens was a block away and they had eye drops. If I could just get there and buy some I would be OK and then drive home. God protected me and I got to the drug store safely, but the eyes were getting worse fast. I could hardly see. Walking through the aisles I couldn't find the eye care section. I remember asking the pharmacist where the eye drops were. I was blinking constantly or keeping my eyes closed. It took about 5 minutes to sort through the endless packages and find the right eye drops. I found my way to the counter and asked the girl to scan my credit card for me because I really couldn't keep my eyes open.

The pain was increasing and closing my eyes tight was the only comfort I received and it was only a slight comfort. As I exited the store the harsh cold (it was below 0 that night) blew in my face and that was it. My right eye closed shut and I couldn't open it. The left was so blurry I could only see about 5 feet. I slowly made my way to the truck and felt my way into the drivers seat with eyes closed. I was terrified and frozen. The keys were in my pocket and I started the truck for some warmth. I couldn't see a thing.

I fumbled through the bag and got the box of eye drops out. I couldn't get my eyes open enough to put the drops in. As drops fell on my checks and my nose I realized this wasn't going to work. I was alone and scared and blind. I paused and took a breath. The first thing to do was pray. There was no way I was going to drive home that night. I don't mean to sound over dramatic but it was a frightening experience I will never forget it. I sat there in the blackness. Time seemed to stand still.

I was frozen in time and frozen in my bones. The last phone call I had made on my phone was to my wife Holly. If I could just open my eye enough to see the screen and redial the last call. I felt around in my book bag and found my phone. I opened my left eye and couldn't see the screen, it was all a blur. After a couple of winks and another prayer I tried again and made out enough to call Holly. What a relief when she answered. An instant feeling of peace came over me. She would be able to help me. After explaining what was going on she sprung into action. Soon my sister had been called and arrived on the scene to help. Then a good friend came and drove the truck away. I stayed with my sister until Holly came and drove me home. It was after midnight and I still couldn't open my right eye.

Thank God my eye did stay closed. It is the bodies way to save the eye from permanent damage due to lack of moisture. I didn't go to work for 2 days and was putting drops in my eyes every 10 – 15 minutes just to be able to partially see. A neighbor helped when I went back to work and he drove the truck for me while I went into the stores and did my job. It took about a week till I could keep my eyes open without blinking every couple of seconds. I walked around with a strained look on my face for at least a week because my eyes wouldn't open properly. I had to stay away from computer screens and bright lights for about 10 days.

I've since seen a specialist and we are working on trying to work through the eye dryness. I will have dry eyes for the rest of my life says the doctor. We will continue to work with it and figure out what brings the most relief but I will always have some vision problems and will just need to get used to it. Why do I tell this story? My relationships with others saved me that night. When I sat in my truck blind that night I couldn't do a thing. When you've relied on your sight all your life and it's suddenly gone it is a scary thing. If I didn't have my relationships I'm not sure what I would of done. But when things were tough and I was in need I fell back on those relationships to help me. Each one of those people that helped that night saved me in my distress. I can't thank them enough. Everything seemed to be gone in those hours I couldn't see. My skills and talents, my own strength and intelligence were of very little value to me without others to help me.

Our relationships are who we are. They are really what define us. We are best defined by our love and who loves us. Without relationships your gifts, talents, and money are useless. Even if you are the greatest singer in the world what good is it unless there is someone to listen to you? If you have no relationships your money has no value because it's value comes in its exchange, and you'd have no one to exchange it with.

Think hard of all the important things in your life, they are there through relationship. You are a spouse because of a relationship. You have a college degree because someone else found you worthy of it. You have a job only because of your relationships, even if self employed like me you don't have any work unless someone else wants what you got. You are a father/mother because of your relationship with your kids. You are a Christian because of a relationship with Jesus Christ. You are alive because of a relationship with God the father and creator of all. Our relationships are who we are.

This all probably sounds a little odd to some of you, but I believe that God allowed me to have that experience of blindness so that I could really see what was important. And I want to share that with you so that if you are blind in yourself you can realize that life is relationship with others. If you are alive and reading this you have time to build your relationships. Don't wait. Don't put it off till tomorrow. Tell someone today how important they are to you. Smile at someone. Stop and listen for their answer when you ask someone how their day is going. Don't just walk through life blind, open up your heart and your eyes and see the beautiful gifts that God has put in your life, namely other people.

And don't forget about God. Tell him you love him. Tell him you need him. Tell him how important he is to you. Who knows maybe after awhile you'll even convince yourself that what you are praying is really true. I know it took me years of praying to really believe that what I was praying was true. I was so blessed that night that the Holy Spirit came to me in my darkness and fear and breathed life into me and I prayed. By his grace it was my first reaction in the difficult moment. As I sat in darkness and prayed I gained enough of my senses to call out for help, and through my relationships I was saved.

Well that's probably enough for this blog but lets take a few moments and look at some ideas to build our relationships through our Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and giving alms.

Prayer

This week I will suggest 2 different prayer paths. Both are easy and yet very powerful if followed through. Many of you may already do these things but I offer them as suggestions. Take the time and go deeper. Jesus is calling out and wants a deeper relationship with you. All it takes is your time. He gave his life for you, can you give him a little time this week?

The first suggestion for this week is private scriptural reflection. Grab your favorite bible. Find a quiet room and ask your family for some private time to talk to the Lord. Let them know what you are doing and ask them to respect your private time with God. Your witness to your family will be a strong one.

Open your bible to any passage in the Gospel of Mathew. Read a paragraph or 2. Guess what? There is a relationship in that story. Think about each person in the story. Think about how they relate to each other and how they relate to Jesus. Now sit in silence for a moment.

Reread the story, this time more slowly and out loud. Which relationship is calling out to you? Which character is the one you feel closest too? How does that person relate to you and your life? Can you relate to their situation? Focus and think about the relationships in the text, try not to let your mind wander too much.

Now comes the hard part, sit in silence for awhile. A long while. Ask Jesus to speak to you about your relationship with him and sit and listen for an answer. It may not come right away so give it some time. If you are sincere and really want to know what Jesus thinks will help build your relationship with him, chances are he will let you know, just give him enough time to give you an answer. I know he wants a stronger relationship with you, but do you want a deeper relationship with him? He's waiting for you, will you give him the time?

My second suggestion is to pray the stations of the cross. This is probably my personal favorite prayer exercise of all of them I've tried. Sometimes I am deeply pained by the thought of the nails and the cross, sometimes touched by the sincerity and love expressed by Jesus's mother or the tenderness of Veronica who wiped away Christ's tears and blood. Another time I might be caught up in my own sinfulness and the ultimate sacrifice made by God. Each time through the stations is different. Pray them by yourself or with a group. They can be easily found by search engine or in small booklets found at religious book stores. Most parishes pray through the stations on Fridays during lent, and even if they don't just walk into any Catholic Church and they should be easy enough to find on the walls or in the windows. You don't even need a book, just meditate on the images and pray some kind of prayer at each station.

In the standard stations there are 14 stopping points. Not all of them come from scriptures as some are from the apostolic tradition handed down to us through the early bishops of the church. The stations are an ancient prayer that goes back to the earliest days of Christianity. If you are looking for a scriptural stations I have found one that is very good. It is published from Liguori and is written by Robert B. Heath. It's title is 'A Scriptural Way of the Cross'. It is a little different than the traditional Catholic stations but is based solely on the scriptures and still has 14 stations.

Also of note is that most walks through the stations also have a fifteenth station which is the resurrection of Christ. During Lent it is typical to end at the fourteenth station as we are symbolically waiting till Easter for his resurrection.

Alms Giving

Alms giving, like prayer, is all about relationship. Many of us think of alms giving as just donating money and/or goods to the poor. And while that is the heart of alms giving, let's take it a step further and give our resources with love and a genuine concern for the poor.

My suggestion is to give and pray for those you are giving too. Also, whenever possible, do so in person. This could be donating used clothes for a local clothing drive and then offering to volunteer your time and help with the drive. It could be a donation to a local pregnancy care center but instead of mailing the envelope drop it off in person and talk with the volunteers. Ask them if they have any special needs and how you could help them. I know several people who have picked up a stranger or beggar and bought them a meal at a local restaurant or given them a ride somewhere. The stories they tell about the conversations they had are amazing. These are real people with real troubles just like us.

These can all be life changing moments not only for you but for those you reach out to in relationship as well. Remember Christ stopped and gave 100% of himself to everyone he met. He was a busy guy but always made time if asked. And he is still available 24/7 for any needs you may have. Are we available 24/7 to stop and see Jesus in the poor and give them a little of our time?

Fasting

How can fasting be about relationships? It's just something I do as a sacrifice. It has nothing to do with others?

Stop and think again my brother/sister in Christ. You are a part of the Body of Christ. We are all linked together in a divine supernatural way. We are linked together through time and space and everything you do has a ripple effect through the entire body. If you take the time and sacrifice a little time to do one of the above suggestions think of the others that will be effected by your decision. Also take a moment to think what would happen if you didn't do anything this week in lent and time just slipped away. What ripple effects could that have?

The next time you pass a person with a sign 'will work for food', stop and think about the ripple effect of not helping that individual or family. The next time the pastor asks for a special collection at church and the basket is being passed around think about the person on the other side and the effect your action or inaction will have in their life.

Fasting is all about sacrificing our self and giving to the other in a special way. Your fasting or lack of fasting does change things for you and for me.

This week don't just fast for yourself, offer up your fast for someone in need. When you get out of bed each day say a quick prayer and let God know that today you are fasting from _____ , for your Uncle Joe who is recovering from heart surgery. Maybe the next day offer up your sacrifice for the homeless in your own community. Another day offer up your fast for someone in the Philippines or for a person who knows someone on the missing Malaysian airliner. Each day spend a minute or two in prayer and offer up your fast for someone else in need. It will help you to persevere through the difficult times of temptation if you have a concrete idea of someone you are sacrificing for.

Don't selfishly keep your fast for yourself alone, offer it up for someone else. You are a special part of the Body of Christ. How you live your life this week will have a ripple effect across space and time. Your actions or inaction do matter. Make a difference. You probably won't change the world in a day but a ripple in the pond will eventually move through the whole body of water.

Closing

I'll need to work a little harder next week to keep the word count down. This is probably to many words to be called a blog and more approaching a small boo,.but I thank you for giving me a little extra time this week to tell a personal story. Please do something this week to build the relationships in your life. A little word or action can change a day and even a life.

Let us pray:

Lord God, healer and teacher, my strength and my hope,

I hear you calling out to me and I want to come to you and

learn from you. I want to come to you and be filled up with

all I need. Please embrace me in your merciful heart and

help me to grow in love with you and all your gifts to me,

my brothers and sisters in my hometown and the whole world.

Help me to always look for and see you in all people.

You died so I could live, help me live abundantly and allow

your love to ripple through me and into the world.

Amen