The Humility of Inspiration

Some weeks I just can't wait to receive Christ in the Holy Eucharist.  I don't work on a schedule that allows me to attend daily mass anymore, and the place I live is vastly different from the very Catholic state of Louisiana.  So the assurance of the sacrament on Sundays seems far away on long days like I had last week.

One part of the readings this week refers to Romans 12:1-2 "present your bodies as a living sacrifice" and "be transformed... that you may prove what is the will of God"

The letter to the Romans is so forthright. I have always found it the most engaging letter of scripture.  This call to not 'do' what the will of God is, but to 'be' the will of God that He may prove what that will is, is the narrow path.

Most of what I write on this website is part of an ongoing life's reflection. Currently I am reflecting on the role of leadership.  At first I thought it was a good thing to be in leadership, but then I realized my focus should not, and can not be for my own aggrandizement.  I turned my heart toward trying to inspire the little people I teach.  I think to inspire them to care and to love and to learn would be the most important thing that would lead them to Christ.  Loving and learning and inspiring is what Christ did while on Earth.  The will of God IS good and acceptable and perfect, though I am not, I must move aside and 'be' that will rather than try to 'do' that will myself.

The Murky side of the Sun

Being a saint is like being a champion at the most popular sports events but you hide in the bathroom after the game.

Being a saint is like finishing all paperwork for everything forever but you forgot where you put it.

Being a saint is like swimming across the ocean and discovering all fish and mammals in the sea but you can't remember their names.

Sometimes it is really hard to even try to be a saint. Anything worth trying is going to be difficult. Good thing it's only the Risen Christ who judges us and not a crowd, a due date or a fish population.

A Few Good Books Before the End of Summer

Summer is almost up for this teacher. I am starting at a new school, as in, newly built, so they want us to come in for training early.  That means I have about a week to cover a few good books I wanted to read or re-read this summer.

1. Re-read: Poverty of Spirit by Johannes Baptist Metz
I can't get enough of this 52 page small book. The description of the crucifixion is beautiful.

2. Read: Eleanore of Aquitane and the Four Kings
I don't always read biographies, but I think this one promises to hold my other favorite subject, history.  I'm sure when I finish reading it, I'll relate it to something suitable for Jesus.

3. Skim Read: Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
This will probably finalize my interest in Eastern culture and religion. I took a world religions class in college which was very interesting.  The professor asked us to introduce ourselves the first day with what we expect to get out of the class, I went with a chipper, " To evangelize for Christ!"  It's true though, He is Truth.  I feel it is important to understand other religions so you can meet people where they are and then be able to bring them toward Christ if it is the Father's will.

4. Practice Read: Fables Choises by La Fontaine
One of many French prose books I like to read and study. I am not fluent in French but I read it often.  Five years of French in elementary and high school and a Cajun French speaking grandmother have endeared the language on my heart.

5. Quick read: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
A children's book, a Newbury Honor book.  I teach 5th grade, delightful and pleasant little people, so I try to find books they like and put them on my classroom shelf.

Wish me luck!! I have a full week and then my brain starts preparing for school even though it doesn't start until Aug 22nd!

New to me Website for Catholics

This looks pretty cool, but I haven't read everything in it yet.


http://www.catholicscomehome.org/

The Grand Expectation

Expectations.

Guy walks into a church, bartender asks, “The usual, Bob?” Bob says, “Yep!”

Bob has been going to a place where his usual drink is well known.  The bar may be his church in a world where vice is accepted as necessity.  Our expectations of life and living vary in wide degrees between cultures.  And thankfully they also change as we learn more about our Savior and ourselves.  

Many people we hear about, seem to get really hooked on expectations.  There are ideas about what a loved one should do or look like or have.  There are scales for wealth depending on race and age and status.  There are expectations for yourself as far as your dreams and hopes and worries.

Do these matter?  Do any of our expectations for ourselves or expectations of other people matter?  No they don’t.  In some ways, if they are centered on the good for a person, other’s opinions may be helpful. But in the long run, imagine a Creator that is Omnipotent, Powerful and Engaging, who could also crush you like a bug.  

This is the guy whose expectations matter.

This guy, or God, has set us up for life!  We have prime positioning over all the Earth and beyond.  We have emotions that can carry you to the moon, in a good way.  We have the full and complete attention of the same divine God that created a Pangea as well as our very selves.

Expectations you say?  Innocent guy walks into a court, comes out sentenced to die for all humanity so they know what true Love is.

Pretty wacky and illogical if you don’t expect it, but this God that gives full attention to small man, planned the whole thing.

Grace.

Christ said, “Hey guys, I’ll see ya later in Heaven, but I’m going to send my friend over to help you out.”

That friend, The Holy Ghost, came along with a big load of grace. It’s like when your sick and some cheesy girlfriend or boyfriend at the time brings you a can of Campbell’s. Replace the ‘chicken noodle’ with ‘Grace: Zero Sodium, No Calorie!’ and you’ve got an allotted portion of grace that is for you!

Now take all of your expectations about life and living and the way those have changed and morphed into what you didn’t want and maybe did or found out was kind of okay.  Jesus has a big-ole-pantry full of extra cans of ‘Grace:Zero Sodium, No Calorie!’ and you can have as much as you want! 

You only have to ask.

Remember, God had the expectation that his creation would have the free will to love Him. Jesus came and gave us his expectation for life and living.  It’s a matter of getting over the other people’s opinions and ideas and expecting great things in Christ.

The Paraclete Judge

In light of today's ruling in the case of a small child that died, I was thinking about judges in general when I went to adoration and read John 16.  In verse 8 Jesus says: "And when he comes he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation".  In the 1983 version I read, it said justice instead of righteousness.

The link will guide you to the USCCB reading of Chapter 16 of John in the New American Bible.  This chapter goes on to state the necessity of the Holy Ghost coming and Christ going back to his Father.  In the footnote to explain the passage I mentioned is the word 'forensic', meaning in this instance I assume, a judgement made with methodical and meticulous logic.

All of this made me think of the direct relationship of authority and how our systems reflect the Kingdom.  I am no theologian or philosopher, but I know that the Kingdom of God is flawless in its judgement, where we are full of flaws in our systems.  But we can see in a logical way the idea of a judge working for a greater personage as 'the state' or on the federal level, 'the nation's interests'.

This brings me back to the Holy Ghost coming to guide us and judge us and the fact that Christ says that the Holy Ghost will share nothing that is not of Himself and of the Father.  I think it is pretty interesting to consider the Holy Ghost in light of your relationship with Jesus Christ.  Many may have heard of Christ, but have they truly sought Him? The Holy Ghost will know.  Many may have talked the talk, but the Holy Ghost reads the heart.

I have met a judge before to help me with a speeding ticket.  I was definitely speeding, but I was young and didn't want it on my record.  But the point is, he knew me.  If he wouldn't have known me, he probably wouldn't have helped me.  The Holy Ghost, the Paraclete is the divine judge in the end acting for the one true King that we have in this life, Our Lord Jesus Christ Son of God.

Galactic Catholic Photo of the Day: Mission

Mission work in Mexico was probably easier 15 years ago.  I have more than a few friends working on mission projects in Mexico. Please pray for them and their success in Christ's mission.  The picture below is when I was still coming back into the Church. Our Lady of Guadalupe was my guide.

 

An hour outside Saltillo, Mexico 1997

Our Lady, Pray for Us!
Saint Therese of Lisieux, Pray for all Missionaries throughout the world!

The Mission Trip

Looking Past the Present

A friend recently made a comment about something I said about disliking all the yucky stuff that goes on in this world. I said I couldn't wait to be done with it, but I know I'll end up living till 100 years old like the rest of the Cajuns in my family.

When I said this, she tilted her head slightly and said,"You know, it is good to have that perspective, that there is more to look forward to."

She said it because she has so many beautiful things in her life, and so do I, but it is easy to forget that our main goal is to be able to stand before Christ unashamed.

I would like to think that everybody thinks like me, but the fact is there are plenty people that are much, much smarter! and holier! But one thing I keep in mind is the prize of being in the presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ on the Throne of Heaven and Earth. While there are so many good things on this planet and people to love, no one who knows anything about love cannot deny that people are doing a lot of hating lately.

The same people who preach tolerance and peace are the ones that define those terms as "agree with me" or else your stupid and intolerant and racist and a bigot and a homophobe.

So my peeps, don't be hatin' and remember that Christ is the Kingdom, the Power and Glory.

The New Prayer for Vocations

Pope Benedict XVI released in a statement recently a new prayer for vocations. It is so beautiful. Please check out his address here for the original context.

Santa Clara University Chapel

My Favorite Scripture

My favorite bit of scripture is Ephesians 6:12

"Our battle is not against human forces but against the principalities and powers, the rulers of this world of darkness, the evil spirits in regions above."

The Aura of Home

It's great to be back in Louisiana for a bit. There are so many opportunities for Catholic get togethers. Not with friends so much, but in general in the Catholic bulletins at church and in the diocese in general. Louisiana is so Catholic. Though friends are a callin' too!

I wish Florida had more opportunities like that, but they are all in the morning geared toward the retired crowd.
Either way, it's nice to be with the best dad in the world today and the best mom too.

Happy Father's Day to Father God, Creator of the Universe.

The Earth in Miniature

I am working on my ESOL certification classes tonight. We had to watch this youtube video. It's very cool and very relevant to the problems of today.

The Time for Graces

Time has taken its toll on my heart and soul.  I find as I get older I need to seek more ways to obtain grace.  Also, I see that there is nothing I can do to reach God without His help.

There are many obstacles along the way.  There is hurt, deceit, violence and cruelty in the world. Among these there is also the sin that we are inclined to commit that keeps us from truly knowing how to love in Jesus Christ’s name.  All of these make it hard to love and see past the actions and hurt of others close to home.

I have been praying for a long time for my family to seek and know the most Sacred Heart of Christ and to be embraced by his love.  I pray for it, but I have no control over their hearts and they don’t really want to listen to things I have to say.  

I mention it, because though it hurts me enough, the effect of some of their actions hurts the ones I love the most.  I cannot move their hearts by my actions or words.  They have to choose the right path toward Christ themselves.

It would be nice to go back in a time machine with the knowledge I have now so that maybe I could have prayed more before, but such a thing does not exist.  I think that prayer transcends time though.

It is hard too, to see a light in the darkness when there are individuals striving to keep families apart.  I suppose I must keep praying and maybe like St. Augustine, there will be a realization of the love of Christ and the grace of God will prevail in their lives as well as mine.

Unfortunately, I am called to be a peacemaker.  I say unfortunately, because usually the peacemaker must go where the bombs have been and are being thrown.  It's not an easy job.

St. Joseph, Patron of families,  pray for us.

The Mother of Spirituality

Spirituality starts with our first answer to the Holy Spirit’s call.  The Holy Spirit will lead us on the most appropriate path toward fulfillment of God’s will in our lives. Mary, the Mother of God, was and is an easy path to understanding what spirituality is and how to seek the Lord continuously.

Before I knew Jesus Christ, I knew Mary the Mother of God.  My spirituality developed by her loving embrace always pointing toward the Savior.  It was easy then to trust her son because she had introduced him to me herself.

Our Lady is more than an example of physical proof that Christ was born. 

“Mary is the believing other whom God calls. As such, she represents the creation, which is called to respond to God, and the freedom of the creature, which does not lose its integrity in love but attains completion therein.” Pg 31 Mary: The Church at the Source

Some people think that spirituality is the action one takes to ‘show’ love of Christ.  Pope Benedict in his words from Mary: The Church at the Source, takes the complexity of the fiat and simplifies in words the fact that to gain spirituality is to lose self.  Our Lady did just this as she contemplated all things thrust upon her with Christ at the forefront of her mind.

Intimate relationship with Jesus

[Mary] To be soil for the Word means that the soil must allow itself to be absorbed by the seed, to be assimilated by the seed, to surrender itself for the sake of transforming the seed into life. Pg 15 Mary: The Church at the Source

I have met more than a few Christians who deny Mary as a way to knowing Christ.  They are very mistaken because her very nature was centered on Christ. The Catechism of the Catholic Church quotes in 2014: “Spiritual progress tends toward ever more intimate union with Christ.” and “God calls us all to this intimate union with him, even if the special graces or extraordinary signs of this mystical life are granted only to some for the sake of manifesting the gratuitous gift given to all.”

Mary is the first of us to truly know God in His Son.  Who better to spiritually guide us?  If spirituality is not many spoken and outward signs, while those are good and have their place, the internalization and contemplation of Christ is a true spiritual path.  Our Lady takes this path in a dedicated manner throughout the gospels.

A witness and participant to our Salvation

Mary, the Mother of God, knows Christ.  Our natural reason leads us to know a greater good and to seek the maker of our souls.  Mary, having been born Immaculate, had a greater supernatural revelation of Christ.  Her experience of His life makes her the bearer of His pain, having known Him.  “Marian piety is thus necessarily a Passion-centered piety.” Pg35  Mary: The Church at the Source

Our Lady, Queen of Angels and Queen of the Universe is the perfect example of an Earthly life lived for Christ.  Blessed Pope John Paul II states in Redemptoris Mater,  

“But she was in the Upper Room, where the Apostles were preparing to take up this mission with the coming of the Spirit of Truth; she was present with them. In their midst Mary was “devoted to prayer” as the “mother of Jesus”, of the Crucified and Risen Christ.  And that first group of those who in faith looked “upon Jesus as the author of salvation,” knew that Jesus was the Son of Mary, and that she was his Mother, and that as such she was from the moment of his conception and birth a unique witness to the mystery of Jesus.” Pg. 39

She remains the most important witness to Jesus Christ on Earth.  Her fiat along with the embodiment of the theotokos grants Mary the depth of spirituality that we can only one day hope to experience a small part of in Heaven.   She has had and does have the most intimate of relationships with Jesus Christ and therefore is the first witness that we should entrust with our petition for more knowledge of Him.  Her actions were never obnoxious, showy or over the top.  Her loving and contemplative way was the way of the Cross along side her Son. 

Our witness and cross

I was inspired to write this because I read a blog called Catholic American Eyes in Korea.  The Maryknoll fathers wrote recently about a lack of spirituality amidst the prevalent materialism in the Asian society in which they live.  It made me think about how I first sought Christ, and that was through Our Lady. 

I want to tell all those who think they cannot know Christ out of fear or ignorance, seek His mother.  She is our first witness to his life and passion.  She can lead you if you need a way to reach the full love and completion of knowing Jesus Christ.

The Reality of Sheep

I heard a lady once say, " I always feel insulted when Jesus refers to us as sheep."  She had owned sheep at one time and adamantly admitted how stupid they were. 

It is good to know though, that Christ is so forgiving and loving that he watches closely over the most stupid creatures.  Sheep have it better though, they don't get angry and intentionally hurt others like people do.  So we all have a long way to go. 

Listen for the voice of Christ and seek the narrow gate.

The Jesus in Jazz

Sunday was a great opportunity to rejoice in the Divine Mercy and John Paul the Great's beatification.   My small celebration consisted of finding a coffee shop to crack open a book or two for enjoyment.  I brought with me Tanqueray's Spiritual Life and Who's Who in Jazz by Chilton.

I covered a little of both and the awesomeness of the musician always amazes me and shows me the glory of God.  Just like Tanqueray's Spiritual Life reads as a guide to follow the righteous path, the Who's Who reads like an encyclopedia of persons of Jazz desiring to attain in their lifetime a type of peace and righteousness with the desire to create beautiful jazz.  The musician is an isolated figure struggling to make his music, but always sees the fruition of playing with other musicians, each one adding in his own specialty for the glory of it all.

After studying the names and paths of individuals and understanding the importance of the band leader calling everyone together to New York or Chicago, I switched over to Tanqueray's opinion of it all.  Here is where my comparison lies in the path we take and the limitations that this human method has.
In the chapter on perfection in the Christian life, Tanqueray states "we cannot on Earth love God with a constant, nor yet habitual love which is at the same time perfectly pure and disinterested."348  This habitual love is also unperfect like the improvisation of the jazz musician's weaving across the country to play for food, work and soul. 

I like these type of random comparisons because I see God in the talents he has given these musicians that strove to survive in the early 1900s.  There is such a joy in music and the style of jazz is also a creation of God the Father.  The Creator weaved a world that we could find joy in.  The jazz musician developed as a response to a cry in the wind from the beats and rhythms of Africa, the Caribbean and the sounds of Europe.  The growth of the medium is still in development as the hearts of men still turn one by one and all in unison to the Great Band Leader of this universe.

It was all a matter of getting the music out there for these guys, and playing, playing, playing until it killed you.  Which is the case of many of the small autobiographical references in Chilton's encyclopedia.The Sugar Cane Orchestra and the Young Olympia Band developed in a time of hardship.  Experimentation of a different kind took place in the sound laboratory of Fred Van Epps. From the 1900s to the 1960s, these mostly self-taught artists played for the heart of it and left a legacy of beautiful music.

Can we say that we try to play the way God has intended for us?  Or are we creatures of poor habit that will never try to create music of the soul in striving for  good habits? 

I think we are only improvisors on this path that God leads us on and he is the great conductor that brings us all together from different places, calling out of the blue one summer to come and add your piece to the music of life.

The Unbitten Path

A long hike in the wilds of Florida has a wonderful affect on the conscience.  Spiritually, it makes one wonder about the habits that lead away from God's love.  Physically, you are molested by a plague of bugs that want to suck your blood to remind you that you are a sinner.

It was a beautiful walk though and I am the better for it.  The wooded trail with many palmettos and wildflowers reminded me of my childhood walks in the early morning in the swamp near my home.  I did not see the random wild spider lily, but the baby cotton mouth and shallow dark canals were similar to the weaving canals that criss-crossed my neighborhood growing up.

And because I have experienced my own personal plague of that one damn horsefly that wouldn't go away, it reminds me of a sin that I confess repeatedly just like the horsefly.  You think it goes away, but really, it lands smack on your forehead and bites the hell out of you.  Grace is kinda like bug spray, I gotta get some.

Galactic Catholic Universe Photo of the Day: Florida:Little Manatee River State Park

God is in the details.

The Right Left Turn

In my small downtown neighborhood the brick buildings butt up against the main highway that stretches straight through at the super speed of 30 mph.  When it comes to making a left turn, you have to be very careful to see around the edges and in most cases you can't see what is coming.  Still, it is a leap to go ahead and make that turn because your trying to get somewhere.

Easter is very much a reminder of left turns and sightless hope because the Resurrection is the promise of difficult tasks that will be accomplished with faith.  A few years back you may have read the story about the United Postal Service planning their routes in America to have more right turns, and thus less idle time using gas and valuable service time.  The opposite is true for the person who longs to know Christ.  The outcome for the UPS was to increase revenue which could easily be seen in dollars and cents.  The outcome for the faithful in the Holy Church is far greater than dollars and cents and depends upon that same sightless hope which we may use to make left turns when the view seems blocked. 

The easy way is not always the best way.  You have probably heard this saying before.  It is hard to see it as true when pride tells you otherwise.  Physically, making an endless amount of easy right turns will only lead you in a circle, whereas life is a series of multi-directional turns that lead you on the path of the will of God.  Left turns are a leap of faith.  They are scary sometimes and can be downright dangerous at other times.  These metaphorical turns in life have much more fruit than an easy way out or in or through.  The difficult decisions that our interactions with others create are the masters of our character and soul.  Would it be so great to explain to the maker that you were so crafty as to only make easy right turns in your life?  The soul and character would be made of mush at that point because of the folly of the easy road. 

Left turns in life are usually about people.  The turn starts with someone else but always ends up with you.  In the end, the turn depends on you.  The sightless leap of faith around a blind corner happens if you chose to go that way.  New opportunities are more likely to arise on that path not taken.  Forward is the only way that a hard task leaves one to take.  Would it be so great to explain to the maker that you were so scared but you took that leap of faith anyway?  The soul and character would be made of the very strong stone that you once believed blocked your path.

The Resurrection is a New way of thinking.  A new path has been lit by the Christ and the Father above waits for your arrival on that weaving way of hardships and renewal. 

If your right turns are pride and vanity, let humility and poverty be your left turn.  If your right turns are hatred and anger, let forgiveness and peace be your left turn. If your right turns aim you right at yourself, let Jesus Christ be your left turn and turn to Him again and again.

Alleluia! He is Risen!

Galactic Catholic Universe Photo of the Day: Florida

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