deacon's corner

Love Never Fails

17. April 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

In God I trust

In 1956 the motto of the United States was officially proclaimed to be “In God We Trust.” While placing our trust in God can be difficult as well as controversial, people have been doing so since the beginning of human existence, so it is not a new phenomenon. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence rely not; in all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths” [Proverbs 3:5-6].

May The Wind Be Ever At Your Back

09. April 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

May God hold you in the hollow of His hand

The same word in Greek – pneuma (πνευμα) – and in Hebrew – ruach – can mean breath, wind, or spirit. The Spirit of God is mentioned in both the Old and New Testament as breath, wind, or spirit. In Job 33:4 we read “The Spirit of God made me and the breath of the Almighty has given me life.” After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples and breathed on them and said “…receive the Holy Spirit” [Jn 20:22]. And in the Acts of the Apostles we read “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting … And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit …” [Acts 2:2-4].

Flesh Is Mortal

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

but the spirit immortal

John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, once wrote “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” There can be no doubt that this describes our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for he is the epitome of a leader. Another important quality of a leader can be expressed with the maxim “never ask others to do what you are unwilling to do yourself.” Again, Jesus is perhaps the finest example of this, especially through his passion and death on the cross.

Make A Difference

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

How big is your Spiritual Footprint?

How big is your ‘spiritual footprint’? Many people are concerned with the growing size of our “carbon footprint” and the damage — real or imagined — that humanity is inflicting on our environment, now and for the future. But where is the concern for our ‘spiritual footprint’, the lasting spiritual effects we leave, during our lifetimes, here on earth.

God Never Throws Stones

13. March 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

Mercy is God’s kind of justice

During his public ministry Jesus taught of love, compassion, and peace. He did not judge or condemn others; rather he accepted them as they were, broken and human. “Mercy is God’s kind of justice”, said St. Therese of Lisieux.

Poverty Of Spirit

06. March 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

One is truly poor when no one cares

The parable of the prodigal son is a familiar one; its moral and meaning have been presented in many ways. But Jesus, in its telling, used the story for a very specific purpose. As Monsignor Edward Buelt describes it in A New Friendship, “Here Jesus gives us a clue as to what true poverty is—both physical poverty and poverty of spirit. Even when materially destitute after having squandered his inheritance, the son was not completely impoverished. Even when a natural crisis erupted in the form of famine, he still hadn’t reached rock bottom. Even when longing to eat the same husks he was feeding to the pigs, he still wasn’t completely broken. Lower still than all these depths, than all these poverties, his deepest poverty lay in the fact that no one cared for him. One is truly poor when no one cares. The true inheritance the younger son wasted was neither his money nor his possessions. It was his father’s care. Only when he understood that no one else cared for him did he understand how much his father did.” [Emphasis mine]

With One Voice

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

we prayed

A common complaint, voiced by many, is that the Mass is boring, rooted in ritual that never varies and that this unwavering sameness is the principle reason many choose not to attend. After all, if you attended one Mass you have experienced everything that you possibly could through a lifetime of Masses, therefore, why waste your time and energy on such a repetitive exercise?

Perfect Prayer

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

for the common body

In the Gospel of Luke [Lk 11:2-4] Jesus responds to his disciples request to teach them how to pray. Luke writes a much abbreviated version from that of Matthew {6:9-13] which is the form that we are most familiar. While one could argue that the beatitudes are prayer, the Lord’s Prayer is quite unique in its form and substance as a true and perfect offering of prayer to God, our Father. While Jesus often went away to be alone and pray, we know little or nothing of what he prayed. The Lord’s Prayer is the only prayer that Jesus taught us.

A Time Of Awakening

13. February 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

A time of new birth

Lent is a Teutonic word that was used to describe the spring season, the period between winter and summer. Since the Anglo-Saxon period it has been used as a synonym for the Latin word quadragesima and the Greek word tessarakoste which both mean forty days. Lent, as a period of fasting and prayer, has been practiced in some form since the earliest days of the church; St. Athanasius, in the year 331, called for forty days of fasting prior to Holy Week.

A Surge Of The Heart

07. February 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

A cry of recognition and of love

What is prayer and how should we pray? These are questions that have been voiced many times, even by the apostles. Jesus gave us the Lord ’s Prayer, that perfect plea which contains that which we rightly desire before God. St. John Damascene wrote that “Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.” St. Therese of Lisieux wrote that “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.”