deacon's corner

God Calls

22. January 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

each of us to a purpose

There is a great truth in the knowing that each of us is called to something greater than what we believe we are meant to be. God calls us, each in a unique and compelling way, to bring light to an often dark and forbidding world. For a few the call is direct, the response obvious, and the results measurable, while for the vast majority our calling is far less obvious and our response and any results lie shrouded in the fog of uncertainty. But no matter how clearly we are called, there can be no doubt that God gave us life for a purpose and that it is our duty and responsibility to live as He intended.

The Bonds Of Love

15. January 2014 · 2 comments · Categories: Reflections

keep silent watch

There is often a mist of poetry to be found within common prose, a phrase that sings a melody, a line that beats with the rhythm of a metered verse, or a passage that somehow transcends its purpose and breaks the bonds of ordinary composition. Unintended though it may have been, somehow thoughts that lie within the heart and soul burst forth with such beauty that it takes your breath away.

God’s Exit

08. January 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

is her entrance

Life is a journey, with neither a marked beginning nor a distinct ending, for God has known each of us before we came to be and the essence of our life, our spirit, will live beyond time and place with and in Him. We exist in differing forms, both material and ethereal, both within time and beyond and how we choose to live, the paths we choose to take will, as Robert Frost wrote in The Road Not Taken, make all the difference.

Find The Time

01. January 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

to do something for somebody else

Gisele Bundchen once said “Everyone has an hour in their day to go and do something for somebody else; I don’t care how busy they are.” While I’m sure that there will be those who would disagree with her, it is certainly an idea worth serious consideration.

Do You Like It?

25. December 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

I did it all for you out of love

Have you ever wondered why God gave us such wondrous beauty, beauty that goes far beyond even our most basic needs? As Max Lucado asks “Did He have to give the birds a song and the mountains a peak? Was He required to put stripes on the zebra and the hump on the camel? Why wrap creation in such splendor? Why go to such trouble to give such gifts?” If you think about it, there really is no compelling reason for such wonders other than God’s desire to create everything out of His love.

Christmas Begins With Christ

18. December 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

Christmas is Christ

It is the time, the season of Christmas, a time for great joy and happiness as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We must, however, never forget that while the birth of the Word made flesh was and is truly a miracle, it was not his birth that saved us but his death and resurrection that brought us salvation. On this day, His day, we celebrate God’s greatest gift to all of us, the gift of His only Son.

The Greatest Gift

11. December 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

they’ll get this year is life

Eleanor Roosevelt is credited with saying “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” and I firmly believe it to be true. But there are times when the missing hurts beyond measure. For many, this time of year is a special time for family and friends, joy and laughter, happy times and fond memories, but for others, it conjures a sense of loss and loneliness, a profound feeling of impending emptiness and darkness. Often the memory of Christmas lies on a delicate balance, at a tipping point between joy and sadness, and a moment before or after can change the remembrance of it.

Produce Good Fruit

03. December 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

as evidence of your repentance

In his novel Love Story, Erich Segal has Jennifer Cavilleri tell Oliver Barrett “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” Acknowledgement and acceptance of our faults and failures is both necessary and important, but it is never enough; apologies are never enough; asking for forgiveness is never enough, saying ‘I’m sorry’ is never enough.

I Am In God

27. November 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

God is in me

Perhaps it is the advance of time and maturing years that move us toward the mystical. When what lies ahead is closer than the distant ever fading past we find ourselves contemplating the mysterious and the unknowable, seeking answers to questions that reach out beyond our own existence. What awaits us beyond our brief moment here on earth becomes the pressing question when we come to the startled realization that the answer has somehow become an immediate if not urgent concern.

We Are Spiritual Beings

20. November 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

having a human experience

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a French philosopher, paleontologist, geologist, and Jesuit priest. In addition to taking part in the discovery of the Peking Man, he also wrote two comprehensive works, The Phenomenon of Man and The Divine Milieu. In the latter work he wrote “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”