Thoughts of God
Meditations of Faith, Spirituality and Prayer
By Ed Trego


Published by Ed Trego at Smashwords

Copyright © 2012 by Mitchell E. Trego


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Introduction

The idea for this book took shape at a silent retreat a little over a year ago.  The silence of the retreat was so conducive to thoughts of God and faith that I wanted to share that experience with others.  From this came the first of the thoughts that follow, “God’s Whisper”.Since then I’ve tried to find times of quiet and silence in everyday life to allow me to better reflect on God and his will for me.  From these times most of the rest of this book was born.  Some came easily, some did not.  Some of them were finished in one sitting, others over a period of weeks or months.  Inspiration came from many sources.  Some came from readings at Mass on Sunday; some from conversations totally unrelated to faith or spirituality.  Many were the result of allowing my mind to wander and consider the underlying meaning in scripture.  My prayer is that these small meditations were guided by God and share thoughts, feelings and faith that He would want shared.
What I discovered is that God is always willing to talk with us if we are willing to listen.  The challenge in today’s world is finding the time and quiet in which to listen.  I’ve also found that God doesn’t intrude or push His way into our life or our consciousness.  He waits.  He waits for us to open the door and allow him to enter.  He never shouts, He whispers.  We have the obligation to listen for those whispers if we wish to have him in our life.I owe a great debt to my wonderful wife, Karen, for her willingness to read, re-read, and read again in an effort to eliminate errors and to help me better express what I am hoping to impart.  My gratitude also goes to my good friend, Gail, who proof-read and offered suggestions along the way as well.  Without their help and encouragement, I fear this would not have been a successful effort.  I will leave it up to the reader to make the final decision of whether or not this venture was truly successful.
My hope and prayer is that this small volume may reach others and bring them to a closer relationship with God.  As a Catholic, my faith has influenced much of the thought you will find in these pages. However, I believe all sincere Christians share a common deep-seated faith in God which is exhibited here as well. Scriptural references throughout this book are taken from the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition of The Holy Bible.

May God Bless You


Chapter 1 – God’s Whisper

And he said, “Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.”  And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.  And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out stood at the entrance of the cave.  (1 Kings 19: 11, 13)

Have you ever just sat?  Doing nothing, just sitting in a quiet place.  Perhaps by yourself or even with others, but quietly, not talking, just sitting.  Letting your mind wander, not really concentrating on anything or thinking of anything.  If you have, I suspect that your thoughts turned to God at some point.  Maybe you didn’t think specifically of God but of his creation; perhaps the sound of the wind through a tree, or a bird singing.  Especially when sitting outside on a beautiful, warm, spring day you will surely notice the wonder of the world around you.  If so, you are giving glory to God, for what you are enjoying is the result of his loving creation.
I remember going to my wife’s family farm not far from the small town where we met, were married, and lived for a while.  Her family had lived there and tended the land for generations.  It was always a great treat when we got in the car on a Sunday after Mass and headed to the farm.  The kids were excited about being able to run freely around the farm.  Maybe fish in the pond or even ride “Ol Joe”, the farm work horse.  I looked forward to the wonderful meal I knew we would have and the chance to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Dinner, as it usually is on the farm, was always around one or two in the afternoon and the rest of the day was for whatever we chose to do.  Many times I chose to put a lawn chair under one of the huge old trees and just sit.  Not really thinking, not paying much attention to anything.  I don’t think I realized it then but what I was truly doing was opening myself up to God and his many wonders.
So many experiences of God were available to me during these times.  The smell of newly mown grass or hay; the song of a bird in the trees; the smell of the apple blossoms in the small orchard; the joyful sounds of my children loving the freedom of openness, all for their fun and exploration.  
My favorite of all was when my wife would come and sit beside me, holding my hand.  Not talking, just feeling the love pass through our fingers; the love that God has blessed us with throughout our life together.
It’s been many years since I’ve been able to visit the farm.  The family is gone now and the farm is owned by a small farming conglomerate.  But these memories are still as fresh in my mind and real and treasured as if it were just yesterday.
I’ve come to understand that the peace and quietness of those summer afternoons is something that we, as humans, desperately need and seldom achieve.  Our lives are so full and they seem to be getting fuller with each new advance in technology.  We are so wired, connected and tied to others that we have very little opportunity to truly get away from it all.
Are you old enough to remember when you left home and didn’t get any phone calls until you got back?  There was no such thing as voicemail so you didn’t even know if you’d missed a call while you were gone.  It didn’t seem to matter, if it was important they’d call back.
Now we take our phone with us.  Not only our phone, but email, texts, facebook, the internet, news and sports alerts and on and on and on.  We are never disconnected.
Our well-being as humans, our relationship with each other, and our relationship with God require us to disconnect from the pressures and stresses of daily life.  We need the quietness to listen to our inner selves and to hear the whisper of God.  If we never get away from our daily grind we risk missing the call of our God.  Have you ever tried to hear a whisper in a noisy room?  We have to shut out the noise to hear the whisper.  God rarely shouts; he speaks softly to us in the quietness of our soul.  
In today’s world finding that quiet spot and time can be difficult.  But if we are to truly live and know God we must find it.  It doesn’t have to be a farm, or any specific place. It can be a quiet time in our home.  A time without the TV, radio, computer, stereo or the ever present mobile phone blaring at us.  Get rid of the distractions, take some deep breaths, relax and just sit quietly.  Listen to God.  Reflect on what God has done for you today, yesterday and over the years.  Thank him for the many blessings he has given you.  Consider the times you’ve perhaps turned from God and ask his forgiveness.  But don’t do all the talking, because God has things to say as well.  As important as we all think we and our thoughts are, God’s are far more important to our lives.
Listening to God isn’t like listening to your spouse or a friend.  There may be a “conversation” but not usually in the sense we think of conversation.  I think a better word is “communion”.  We need to strive to be in communion with our God at every opportunity.  As you learn to listen to God you will be better able to seek his guidance and direction in your daily life.  You will want to be in constant communion with him, because that is what our heart truly desires.  In The Confessions of St. Augustine, he wrote “for you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”  Take the time, make the effort to listen and get to know God.  It will be the best time you’ve ever spent.

Be still, and know that I am God. (Psalm 46: 11)


Chapter 2 – Live Like You Are Dying

And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’  And he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and goods.  And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.’  But God said to him ‘Fool!  This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’  So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”  (Luke 12: 16-21)

Are you saving goods for yourself or are you saving to honor God in the use of the many blessings he has given you?  The rich man in the scripture was obviously more concerned with worldly goods than with heavenly reward.  The price he paid for his foolishness was great.
How would you live your life differently if you knew that your life would be taken tonight, or tomorrow, or next week?  Are you prepared for the reality that one day it will be required of you?  We all must die, and we do not know if that will be in an instant or many years from now.  Is your focus on yourself and your earthly pleasures and desires or is it on your heavenly home?  How we live today will decide how we will live in eternity.
If you were told that without doubt you will die in three days what would you do?  There are essentially two choices; you can become depressed and wait in horror and dread as death approaches or you can thank God for the opportunity to perhaps correct some areas of your life in preparation for death.  That choice is yours today just as much as it would be if you had a date certain for your death.
Would you reach out to those you may have hurt in the past and try to reconcile with them?  There are always relationships that suffer due to our selfishness and desire to take care of ourselves first.  But that isn’t the way it was meant to be.  When asked what the greatest commandments were Jesus replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.” (Matt 22: 37-40)  There is nothing in these commandments that mention love of things; only God and your neighbor.
We have a tendency to care more for our possessions than for our friends, family, and even God.  How many times have you failed to take part in a family event because work got in the way?  Have you ever skipped Mass on a Holy Day because you just didn’t have the time?  If we won’t take the time to care for our family and God, of what value is our goods.  Can they truly bring us happiness or just the temporary illusion of happiness?  We sometimes act as if we don’t really know what true happiness is.  When we depend on our money and our possessions for happiness we are proving that we have a misguided concept of happiness.
I’m certain Satan thoroughly enjoys and encourages our mistaken view of what constitutes happiness.  If he can keep our focus on material sources of happiness we are less likely to pay attention to the true source of happiness.  There is only one happiness that is worth striving for and that is the happiness of eternal life in the presence of God.  Satan will try any trick available to shift our focus to ourselves rather than God or our neighbor.  
In today’s society, Satan has developed his skills in this regard to nearly an irresistible force.  Everywhere we turn we are told that the path to happiness is a new or bigger car; a bigger house; more “toys” such as televisions, telephones, computers, etc.  In many cases our society teaches us that we can never be happy unless we are obtaining more and more and more stuff.  Never mind that once we get it we may rarely use it and it will become obsolete in a very short time.  Oh well, if it’s not the newest anymore we’ll just have to get the newest and discard what we thought we wanted last month.
Perhaps if we knew we were facing death we would reorder our priorities and consider those things that matter most.  Maybe we would strive for those things that can bring us true happiness instead of just material satisfaction.
When a death occurs we always hear things like, “I wish I had told her how much I loved her”, or “I sure wish we could have gotten things right between us before he died”.  Maybe taking care of these things right now would go a long way to making life better and more fulfilling rather than regretting that we didn’t do these things when it’s too late.
When you leave the house do you tell your spouse you love her or him?  When you go to sleep do you remind them of your love?  Perhaps hold them close for a minute or two just to feel the love between you?  When we walk out the door we never know for certain whether or not we will ever return.  People die in car wrecks, of heart attacks or from other causes every day with no warning.  Wouldn’t you want the last words your loved one heard from you to be words of love? 
Do you have children?  So many times one hears mothers and fathers scolding their children about some infraction of a rule, sometimes quite harshly.  While discipline is necessary and should be used to help the right development of children, it can be overdone.  What if you send your child off to school after one of these events and they never return?  Do you want the last words your child heard from you to be words of scolding or words of love.  Even when correcting children it can be done in a loving manner.  We should always ensure that our children know of our love more than of our dissatisfaction with their behavior.  
If we only knew, we could make sure those we care for were reminded of our love.  We could give that extra few dollars to the church or a charity.  We could reach out to someone we have wronged to ask forgiveness.  Perhaps give forgiveness to that someone whom we feel has wronged us and we’ve been unable or unwilling to forgive.
Death will take us all at some point.  We will not normally know when.  Oh, we may have some idea if we are diagnosed with a terminal illness, but even then we won’t usually know the day or the hour.
When death comes, all the “toys” we have will mean nothing, someone else will be playing with them tomorrow.  The big bank accounts are of no use, someone else will be spending the money.  That great summer home on the lake we worked all those extra hours to afford may have to be sold to take care of the ones we leave behind.  If we could only get those extra hours of work back, maybe we could have used that time for those things that really matter rather than the material things that will pass away.
Most of all, maybe we could have taken some of the time we spent searching for the material happiness we thought we wanted and used it to better our relationship with our God.  An extra hour at a bible study rather than watching the ball game on TV could make the difference between a mediocre relationship and a family relationship with our Lord and Savior.  A few more dollars to support the poor of the church rather than buying that new car that wasn’t needed could go a long way to helping someone get their life back on track.  While we may never know the good our contribution did, we can be sure that it had a beneficial effect. 
Jesus gave up his glory for a while to join the human race.  He felt pain, loss and suffering in his life.  He ended his life on a cross alongside thieves.  He didn’t work for a bigger home or nicer clothes.  He devoted his humanity to providing a means for us to regain our proper relationship with our God.  When it was done, he returned to the Father and still devotes his efforts to helping us along our way home to him.
We certainly can’t be like Jesus, but we can strive to imitate him as best we can.  We can work more for eternal happiness than for material happiness.  We can love better and forgive more and help more than we do.  All of these things will eventually bring us far more happiness and satisfaction than a bigger house, newer car or fancier clothes.
If we can focus on those things that bring true happiness we can face death, whenever it comes, calmly and with a certain knowledge that we have lived our life in a manner worthy of one who has been adopted by God.  We can go home and know we will be welcomed with open arms.

“Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of  the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was in prison and you came to me.” (Matt 25: 34-36)


Chapter 3 – The Least among Us

Imagine yourself as a young boy, eight or nine years old.  Imagine that you and your family are on a hillside in Israel over 2000 years ago.  As you look around you see more people than you have ever seen in one place.  Hundreds, probably thousands, far more than can be counted in a day’s time.  Everyone was there to listen to a man named Jesus speak.  He spoke in a way never heard before; of love and acceptance of others.  He spoke of the kingdom of God and what was required to enter that kingdom. 
Where others had spoken of the righteous entering God’s Kingdom, Jesus spoke of the mild and the meek inheriting the world.  He spoke of sadness and hunger being relieved and replaced by joy and plenty.  These things were never talked about in this way in the synagogue.  To hear the leaders of the synagogue speak one would have to be a member of their elite group to have any hope of heaven.  This Jesus talked of acceptance of the poor and the common into the kingdom.
He had been speaking since early morning and it was now afternoon.  In fact, it was getting close to dinner time.  As you look around, you notice a stirring in the crowd.  They seem to be getting a bit restless.  Jesus is still speaking and it’s nearing meal time.  No one wants to leave and miss what he is saying, but people are getting hungry. 
In looking around you also notice that most have nothing to eat with them.  Maybe they didn’t think he would talk this long so they didn’t bring food with them.  Thankfully, your father had thought ahead.  In your bag you had the family meal.  Not much, just a couple of dried fish and two or three barley loaves.  It is just a light meal, but certainly enough to relieve the hunger.
Suddenly, one of the men who have been with Jesus approaches you.  He seems to be looking for something and when he sees your bag he comes over to you.  “Son, is that food you have in your bag?  If so, please tell me what you have.”
“Sir, it’s just two fish and some barley loaves.  It’s only a small meal for me and my family.”
“Jesus has need of it.  Will you give it to him?”
What a strange request, why would Jesus want to take your meal.  The man can see the hesitancy in your face and says, “The Master needs it to feed the crowd.  They are hungry and there’s no place nearby to get food.”
“But sir, what good is this small bit of food for so many,” you ask.  “But, if Jesus wants them I will give them to him.”  The man takes you by the hand and leads you back to where Jesus is sitting.  He looks up at you and smiles.  In that smile you see and feel more love than you’ve ever known, even more than your parents who certainly love you with all their heart.
“Sir, if you need my fish and loaves, they are yours.”  You say as you hand the bag to him.
“Thank you,” he replies.  “Your generous gift will be well used I promise you.  Stay and eat with me.”
As you sit down, Jesus takes the food you have given him, holds it up and looks up to heaven.  “Father, bless these gifts and bless the one who has given them.  May they nourish us both physically and through your goodness, spiritually.”
Jesus places the food in two baskets and asks two of his friends to begin passing it out among the crowd.  As you watch, the men give food to more and more people.  How can this be?  They have given food to at least fifty people and there is still more in the baskets.  In fact, you can see that the baskets are completely full of food.  You look up at Jesus questioningly but he simply smiles at you as he eats his meal.  Soon the people in the crowd begin to notice what is happening and start to realize the miracle that is being performed for them.
Jesus puts his arm around you and you can again feel that special love you had felt when he first looked at you.  “You see, even a small gift can work great miracles.  Always remember that there is no gift so small that God cannot use it to do great things.”
I think we are many times like that small boy at the Sermon on the Mount.  We don’t believe the gift we have to offer is worthy of God.  So we don’t give it.  We wait, saying that when we have a gift significant enough we will gladly give it to God.  Unfortunately, the gift never gets big enough in our eyes to make it worthy of God so it never gets given.  God never has the opportunity to show us the wonders he can do with our small offering.
There is no gift so small that it can’t be a blessing when given to God or in God’s name.  Something as simple as a smile can change a life for someone who feels no one cares anymore.  A kind word can lift the spirits of a person in distress and help them overcome their problems.  Instead of throwing last year’s jacket in the trash, give it to a shelter to help keep someone warm through the next winter.  We have so much and we give so little.  We should be ashamed!
What small gift have you been withholding because it isn’t good enough to give to God?  If you will only give it, he will use it to work wonders.  We may never see the benefit of our gift in this world but I believe in the next we will know the greatness that God has done with our small gifts.
The next time you have some small gift that you can give, remember the young man at the Sermon on the Mount.  In the hands of Jesus, his gift of a couple of fish and a few loaves fed thousands.  There are no limits to what God can do with your gift and there is no gift too small to please God.


Chapter 4 – Blind Bartimaeus

“And they came to Jericho; and as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great multitude, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”  And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me.”  And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”  And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; rise, he is calling you.”  And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up, and came to Jesus.  And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?”  And the blind man said to him, “Master, let me receive my sight.”  And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.”  And immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.  (Mark 10: 46-52)

This is the story of Jesus healing a blind man.  But is that all that it is?  Doesn’t it also speak to us of spiritual blindness and the need for healing?  Physical blindness in Jesus’ day was nearly a sentence of death.  Except for the generosity of family, friends, or even strangers who gave alms to the blind, there was no way for a blind person to survive.  There was no “Americans with Disabilities Act” or agencies to provide shelter and food.  There was only begging and hoping that someone, anyone, would provide enough to enable the person to survive.  While it isn’t specifically addressed in the Bible, I’m sure there were many blind people who starved to death because someone didn’t give them enough to eat and they had no way to get it on their own.  Or maybe they fell and broke a bone and died of shock.  Or perhaps they wandered in front of a Roman chariot.  Any number of reasons could have resulted in their death.  But the point is that they were totally dependent on the help of others.
This blind man created enough of a stir that Jesus heard him and called him over.  It’s interesting that the people told Bartimaeus that Jesus was calling him and to “take heart” as if he had something to fear from Jesus.  After all Bartimaeus was blind, not deaf.  He had probably heard Jesus call for him.  He obviously had the courage to call for Jesus to help him.  Like many others that Jesus healed, Bartimaeus was a determined fellow.  In verse 48 we read how people were trying to shut him up and quiet him from calling for Jesus.  Don’t bother Jesus, they seemed to say, he has more important things to do.  You’d think the people would learn that their definition of important rarely seemed to be the same as Jesus’ definition.  How many times in the gospels do we see the people around Jesus trying to shield him from the bother of people trying to come to him for help and healing?  They couldn’t seem to understand that Jesus’ definition of important included people coming to him for healing.  Whether it was children, the blind and sick, the lepers, the possessed, or anyone else who sought his help out of faith, Jesus welcomed them all.  And thank God for our sake he did.  If he had not had the time or desire to help the least among his people, what hope would we have for his help?  If he would refuse to help a person blind through no fault of their own, why would he ever take the time to help us, who are sick through our own fault and sinfulness?
Looking deeper into this Gospel story I see many parallels to us as sinners.  If we look at Bartimaeus’ blindness can’t we also see our blindness to the will of God?  Isn’t our vision seriously impaired by the world in which we live?  So let’s put ourselves in the place of Bartimaeus for a minute.  Here we are, blind in spirit and faith.  We too will die without the help of others.  Not of starvation or of injury, but of sin.  We may not need to rely on alms but we certainly need to rely on the gifts of God!  Our eternal survival depends on it.  No matter how successful we are in the eyes of the world, in the eyes of God our success is defined differently.  Maybe the fact that the friends and followers of Jesus couldn’t seem to figure out his priorities is telling us that we also don’t understand God’s priorities very well.  We, like the scribes and Pharisees sometimes want to be legalistic and quote the law, all the while ignoring the intent.  We just don’t get it sometimes.  Bartimaeus, on the other hand figured it out.  He knew that what he needed was Jesus, regardless of what the people were saying.  And he kept seeking Jesus until he found him.  Once he found him, he didn’t ask for money or status, he just asked to be able to see.
Do we approach Jesus in the same way?  Do we simply ask for the ability to see His will for us?  Or do we ask for things that we consider important?  Do we try to set the priorities of God and then wonder why our prayers aren’t answered?  If we are asking for things that aren’t consistent with the will of God, we won’t receive what we ask for.  Not because God isn’t answering our prayer, but because he is; and the answer is No!  On many occasions Jesus taught that whatever we ask in prayer will be given to us.  But too many people want to believe that is a blanket approval of any prayer they offer.  Make me rich…make me famous…give me what I want.  It doesn’t work that way.  In Matthew 21: 22 Jesus tells his disciples “And whatever you ask for in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith”  Again, in John 15: 7, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.”  Both of these examples indicate that we must be asking in faith and because we live in Christ and he lives in us.  If our prayers aren’t offered in accordance with God’s will, we aren’t praying in the manner Jesus asks of us.  Regardless of what we ask we should also pray that it be Gods’ will as well.  If not, we aren’t praying in faith and we aren’t living in Christ and he isn’t living is us.  We are simply asking for favors.   Because our prayers are offered with the expectation that they be according to God’s will, we may not always recognize the answer to our prayers.  When we ask for a healing, do we automatically look to a physical healing of the person in this world?  Or do we recognize that the death of a pious person is also a healing?  That person, though gone from us, is in the presence of their Lord and Savior.  What greater healing can there be?
If we are truly calling to Jesus for healing, we too will hear his call to us and we will know we have nothing to fear from Him.  It’s when we aren’t hearing his call that we need to worry about what we have to fear.  That’s when we are subject to his judgment.  And we need to remember that his judgment is righteous.  There won’t be any wrongful conviction in His court.  We will have only ourselves to blame.  Again, we have to be sure that we are looking for God’s will in our life, not what we think God’s will is.  Only when this life is over will we truly understand His will for us.  Then we will realize that all of our prayers offered in true faith were answered, even though we may not have recognized it at the time.
The final line of the scripture from Mark above is of special significance.  “And immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.”  (Mark 10: 52)  Bartimaeus was not only healed physically, but apparently spiritually as well, for he followed Jesus on the way.  We too must follow Jesus on the way.  The way he chooses for us, not our expectation of what we may think is the way.  Otherwise we too will be as lost and blind as Bartimaeus was before he found Jesus.


Chapter 5 – Evangelization

What do you think of when you think of an evangelist?  Many would think of Billy Graham, one of the most famous of modern day evangelists.  Bishop Fulton Sheen might come to mind.  Many might consider Gandhi an evangelist.  There are many faithful, dedicated evangelists who have spent their lives furthering the Word of God.
Some might think “televangelists”; those who promise salvation and, in some cases, healing through their television ministry.  I remember one who actually said he could heal a listener who simply placed their hands on the TV and prayed with him.  
Then there were the tent evangelists.  They travelled from place to place, setting up their tents and inviting all in the area to come hear the word of God preached.  Neil Diamond sang a song about them; “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show”.  Their arrival was a major event in many towns during their day.
Is that what it takes to be an evangelist?  A TV show or a stage or a tent?  The apostles of Jesus had none of those things, yet they were evangelists.  They spread the word of God far and wide.  From their beginnings, the Christian faith has travelled throughout the world.  For over 2000 years people have been listening to their words read on Sunday and have heard an untold number of sermons about them and their lives.
These were common men who were chosen by Jesus to build his church on earth.  They had no special abilities or attributes other than a love and devotion to God and Jesus.  Their only source of strength came in the form of the Holy Spirit sent to help and guide them in their mission.  Jesus told them, “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” (Matt 28: 19-20).  With these words, Jesus commissioned his disciples to go and spread the good news throughout the world.  To evangelize and to represent him to all they came in contact with.  
When you look in the mirror do you see an evangelist?  You should.  That is what we are to be, evangelists.  In the scripture passage above Jesus tasks the apostles to “make disciples” of all nations.  We are to be disciples, not followers.  Being a follower is a reactive form of Christianity; I will follow were he leads.  That is certainly a worthy path to choose, but I think Jesus wants us to practice our faith proactively.  We should not just follow, we should evangelize.  We should live our lives so that others see Jesus in us.  

How are we to evangelize today?  In an environment that has taken on a decidedly anti-Christian attitude.  It seems that today, Christians are the one, and perhaps only, group that can be slandered, derided, ridiculed and made fun of with no fear of retribution.  We are told that we can’t have a manger scene at Christmas.  In fact, in many places they are trying to replace “Christmas”, with “Winter Holiday”.  I doubt those pushing this change realize that “holiday” is actually derived from “Holy Day”.  Otherwise I’m sure they would come up with a different name.  I’d like for someone to explain to me what is being celebrated during the “Winter Holiday” if it isn’t the birth of Christ.  What are we celebrating?  Are gifts still allowed?  After all, gift giving at Christmas harkens back to the wise men and the gifts they brought the infant Jesus.  So do we have to take away the gifts as well?  If we have to strip the holiday of all meaning and sense, then why bother.  If it’s just an excuse to take time off from work and school it becomes nothing more than a waste of time and money.  It becomes the only holiday without a purpose.
There have been efforts to remove “In God We Trust” from our money.  Some want to remove “one nation, under God” from the pledge of allegiance.  We aren’t supposed to say prayers at ball games and high school graduations, even though the U.S. Congress opens every session with a prayer.  Odd, isn’t it, that some of the same people who are trying to push God out of our lives and our country, have a prayer to begin work.  Everywhere we turn there is someone who claims to be offended by any reference to God in any part of life.
If we are to be evangelists, we must follow St. Francis of Assisi’s teaching.    He told his brothers, “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”  His message was to live life in a manner that reflects the Gospel in everything you do.  A difficult task perhaps, but one of the only ways the average Christian can effectively be an evangelist in today’s world.
If someone asked the people you work with for a one word description of you, would that word be “Christian”?  If it were a crime to be Christian, would those who know you call the police or would they not be aware of your Christianity?  I once had a co-worker tell me that, as a Christian, it was my job to push him into Christianity.  How sad to think that we must push someone to accept eternal salvation.  I told him that I could not push him into Christianity; I could only push him away.  My job, as he put it, is to live my life in such a way that he would, of his own choosing, want to be a Christian.  I believe that to be true.  I do not think anyone can convert a person to Christianity by pushing or force.  Those who knock on doors trying to push their particular brand of Christianity on whoever happens to open the door have most likely turned as many people from Christ as to him.  My intent here is not to offend anyone.  I absolutely respect the faith and intentions of those door-to-door evangelists but I have serious doubts about their success.
Simply living our lives as witness to our faith is a very powerful means of Christian evangelization.  Have you noticed when someone in a restaurant pauses to say grace before a meal, most of those who notice will quiet themselves as well?  True, there are those who will make some derogatory comment but the majority of people will respect this form of evangelization.
The same applies at work.  If you are one of those people who others tend to exclude from their sexual or bawdy humor, don’t feel left out, feel satisfied that your example has convinced them that you would not be interested in participating in that type of humor.  You’ve done well in your evangelization.
For several years I have displayed a crucifix on my desk, even though it is technically against the rules of the company.  I can’t recall a single time anyone expressed discomfort or offense at this display of my Christianity.  Yet, officially, this was prohibited.  I would like to think that most everyone who knew me was aware of my faith and believe most were.  Though I was never put in the position to have to choose, I would like to believe that I would have refused to remove my crucifix even if it meant losing my job.
As Christians in the United States we have a responsibility to make sure everyone is aware that the first amendment to the U.S. constitution does not say “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”  That phrase is not followed with a period but with a comma.  The phrase actually reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;” (emphasis mine).  The concern being considered in the first clause was that of a national or state enforced religion in which citizens would be required to participate.  The second clause of that statement, which is usually ignored, is to ensure we have the right to practice our religion without government interference.
If we are to be disciples of Jesus, rather than just followers, we must be aware of our rights to also be evangelists.  We must strive to protect those rights from those who would misstate and misinterpret our constitution and our responsibility as Christians.  We must also be willing to practice those rights, to “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”  St. Francis was a wise man.  We must live our life as an evangelist in all that we do.  Perhaps someone will notice and change their life for the better because of our example. 
“Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7)  Unless we, as Christians, rise to the challenge of becoming evangelists we will have no part of encouraging the sinner to repent.  We must be willing to reach out to others in faith and love.  We must live our lives as a Christian example that others will want to emulate.
If we ask, God will help us to follow the words of Jesus to his disciples.  He will give us the strength to spread the good news, the Gospel.  He will give us the courage to confront those who would take this right and obligation from us.  All we need to do is ask and be willing to walk the path he chooses for us.


Chapter 6 – The Faith of a Centurion

As he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, begging him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress.”  And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.”  But the centurion answered him, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.  For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”  When Jesus heard him, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.  I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.”  And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.”  And the servant was healed at that very moment. (Matthew 8: 5-13)

Do we have faith in Jesus and his ability to heal us?  Is our faith strong enough?  The centurion in the scripture above had faith far beyond that shown by most of the Jews, including, at times, the apostles.  He also had far more faith than many Christians today.  The centurion exemplified the kind of faith all people should have in our Lord.
A  Roman soldier and occupier, this man would have been considered an enemy of Jesus by most of Israel.  The Romans were the oppressors of the Jews and had killed many in the occupation.  At the insistence of the Sanhedrin, they would eventually kill Jesus as well.  Yet this Roman soldier had faith in Jesus far beyond what was evident in those Jesus had come to save.  Some would certainly question the fact that Jesus even responded to him.  Some might even consider Jesus a traitor for helping a Roman.  But Jesus seemed to be constantly doing the unexpected.  He was searching for faith, not nationality.  Simply being a son of Abraham wasn’t enough.  Recognition and acceptance of the savior was required. Even though his mission was to the Jews, Jesus obviously knew that others would be included in his mission.  In fact, those who accepted him would eventually be ostracized by the Jews and forced to separate from them in their worship.  How sad that his own people refused to acknowledge him.
As a gentile, the centurion had no reason to expect that Jesus would answer his plea, but he had faith that Jesus had the power to do what he asked.  Without question, he recognized the authority of Jesus.  His statements showed his understanding of Jesus’ power and authority.  It’s apparent that the centurion did not believe that he deserved the mercy of Christ.  “I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof”, he told Jesus.  Interestingly, this same statement of humility is used at every mass during communion.  When offered the body and blood of Lord we respond, “I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed”.
It’s worth noting that his plea was not for himself or even for a family member.  It was for a servant.  Do we seek God’s help only when we or someone close to us are in need?  Or do we, as the centurion, pray for those in need, regardless of their relation to us?
We should be very thankful for this healing performed for the Roman centurion.  By responding to the needs of gentiles, Jesus demonstrated that his love and forgiveness was not limited to the Israelites, but would extend to the gentiles.  There is another example of Jesus’ attention to gentiles in Matthew 15, verses 21-28.  The Canaanite woman who approached Jesus asked for healing for her daughter who was possessed by demons.  Jesus responded that it was not fair to take the children’s (Israelite’s) bread and throw it to the dogs (gentiles).  But she persisted, finally saying, “Yet, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”  At this Jesus answered, “O woman, great is your faith!  Let it be done for you as you desire.”  And her daughter was healed instantly.
Our hope of forgiveness and salvation is expressed in these healings.  Had Jesus restricted his help to the Jews we, as gentiles, would have had no part in his salvation.  Instead, out of love, God granted his blessings to all.   Because of this love and acceptance, we have been grafted into the family tree of God.  Jesus is our brother and Mary is our mother.
In today’s world expressions of faith are hard to come by outside the safety of the mass or church services.  It’s rare to see or hear anyone speak of faith and belief in Jesus in public venues.  Those who do are mocked and ridiculed by many.  Satan seems to have plenty of agents available to effectively silence all but the most innocuous forms of public faith expression.  When was the last time you noticed someone saying grace before a meal in public?  Have you seen anyone advising a friend or co-worker that prayer might be the answer to their problems?  Do we, as Christians, live our faith or do we just bring it out on Sunday for show and tell.
Unless we are willing and even enthusiastic in our faith and recognition of Jesus, how can we expect him to recognize us when the time comes?  When we stand before him in judgment which will we hear?  ”Come O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world….” or “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels…”  (see Matthew 25: 31-46)
One final thought about the centurion; could this be the same man who was present at the crucifixion of Jesus?  Matthew and Luke relate the story of the healing of the centurion’s servant.  Both Luke and Matthew, as well as Mark record the centurion’s statements at the crucifixion.  Matthew and Mark record his statement that Jesus was “the son of God”.  Luke records the statement as “This man was innocent, beyond doubt!” (see Matt 27:54, Mark 15:39, and Luke 23:47)


Chapter 7 – The River of God

As a child growing up in small town Kentucky along the Ohio River there were many times we would find ourselves at the river on a weekend, picnicking and swimming.  Swimming in rivers isn’t as popular today but in my childhood there weren’t a lot of options.  I’ve since found that, in some ways, we can compare God’s will for us to swimming in a river.  You can choose to stand on the shore and watch it pass you by or you can get in the water and take part in life.  
As we enter the river of God’s will we begin to feel the gentle tugging of God, urging us to follow him.  If we stay on the shore and never go in the water, we will never feel this pull, we must enter the river and take a chance on trusting God.
In ankle deep water the tug is quite weak; we may barely feel even feel it.  As we go deeper into the river we can feel the tug of God strengthen.  At the knees, it’s a bit stronger but still easily ignored if we choose.  In waist deep water the current begins to feel stronger and we may experience some fear and uncertainty.  We might find ourselves pushing back against the current for fear that we will be swept away.  As the water rises to chest level it’s even harder to resist the current.  If we fight it we may lose our balance, fall and go under water for a moment.
Once we reach the point where we can no longer keep our head above water by standing on the bottom we have to make a choice:
- We can go back to shore, pack up our stuff and go home.
- We can go back to shallower water where we feel more in control.
- We can tread water.
- We can swim against the current.
- Or, we can choose to swim with the current and accept God’s will for us.
If our decision is to go back to shore, God will not interfere with that decision just as he will not interfere with any decision we make.  That is the blessing, and in some cases, the curse of free will.  While this decision will get us out of the river and back onto solid ground, it will also cost us our relationship with God.  If we refuse to engage, then God can’t share his many blessings and guide us to the ultimate happiness that he desires for all of us.  Even though this decision will remove us from the pulling of God’s will, the fact that we have felt that will and rejected it will change our life forever.  We will always question what would have happened if we had let God take us where he willed.
Going back to shallow water isn’t really much better than leaving the river altogether.  At some point we will almost be forced to revise this decision.  How can we feel the gentle pulling of God’s will and ignore it?  We will eventually either have to choose to participate in His will or leave his will entirely.  There are some people who may linger in this half-way state for most of their lives.  They never fully experience God’s love for them, but are still longing for that love.  What a sad, unfortunate position in which to spend a lifetime.
Treading water will allow us to fully feel the pull of God’s will for us, but we are hesitant to submit our will to his.  We want to wait and see, we don’t want to commit.   Treading water will work for a while but sooner or later we will tire and be forced to make a decision to either fight God’s will, accept God’s will or ignore God’s will and return to shore.  
I sometimes think treading water is the place Satan wants us most.  We can pretend that we are living in God’s will but at the same time we are resisting or are indifferent to it.  We haven’t completely rejected it but we have refused to fully accept it.  By failing to make a decision, we have already made one.  We have chosen to reject the will of God for he would have us follow him, not remain indecisive.  In the book of Revelation we read God’s message for the Church in Laodicea.  “Would that you were cold or hot!  So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3: 15-16)  They were treading water, failing to decide one way or the other.  God wants us to make a choice.
Many of us make the choice to swim against the current, at least at first.  We recognize the will of God but we aren’t ready to follow it just yet.  We want to push back and follow our own will.  In his journey to the Catholic faith St. Augustine knew what it was to swim against the current of God.  In The Confessions of St. Augustine he wrote, “O Lord, help me to be pure, but not yet.”  And again, “Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.”  He knew God’s will but wanted to continue the life he was living rather than accept and follow.  When he finally made the decision to accept God’s will, he wrote, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
Too many times we, like St. Augustine, know the will of God but resist due to our own personal, usually selfish reasons.  We can only swim against the current for a short period of time.  The effort is too much to sustain indefinitely.  Satan stands on the shore and laughs at our futile efforts to resist God’s will.  There will very quickly come a point when we must either choose to respond to God’s will or give up from exhaustion in fighting it.  If we continue to fight, we will drown and Satan will have won.  He will claim our souls and we will never know the joy of living in God’s will.
Of course we still have all the other options available.  We can go back to treading water, but not for long.  We can go back to the shallow water and never experience the many blessings God has in store for us.  Or we can leave the river, pack our things, go home and reject God entirely.  
Hopefully we will choose the right option; swim with the current of God’s will.  Anyone who is familiar with swimming in a moving body of water knows that once you figure out the current and use it to your benefit the effort is much less demanding.  In many ways choosing to follow the current of God’s will is the same.  However, even when we choose to follow God’s will, we can still expect difficulties and challenges.  Satan doesn’t give up just because we’ve chosen God.  He will continue to tempt, to challenge and to push us in every way possible to make us change our mind.  He knows that simply because we chose to follow God’s will there is nothing to stop us from changing our mind.  The free will that God has given us will allow us to turn from him again should we choose to do so.  
There will be times when we can easily float with the current of God and there will be times when we will have to challenge the rapids Satan places in our path.  Our security and our salvation rests in God.  As long as we are willing, he will give us the strength and grace to resist Satan and continue to follow his will.  Whatever the challenge, God can give us the strength to get beyond it and remain in His will.  All we have to do is ask and be willing to accept the help God wants to provide us.
The next time you see a river remember the will of God and pray that he will help us to swim in His blessed current and place our trust, our lives, and our souls in His faithful care.  It will be the most important decision you will ever make.


Chapter 8 – Adam’s Sin

In Roman’s, chapter 7, verse 15 Paul says, “I do not understand my own actions.  For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”   I take a lot of comfort from these words. If the great Saint and evangelist Paul had trouble doing the good things he wanted and avoiding sin, then maybe there’s hope for me as well.  At least I know I’m not the only one who can’t seem to avoid sin even though I hate it.  
Why do I have such a hard time with sin?  I know that I don’t want to sin, but I do anyway.  This is, at least in part, the result of original sin.  As a result of Adam’s sin, sin has become part of our nature, it’s in our DNA.  But exactly what was Adam’s sin.   I had always considered Adam’s sin essentially a sin of disobedience.  God had forbidden something and Adam and Eve had ignored the rule of God.  But I don’t think that is whole story.  If eating from the tree of knowledge, a sin of disobedience to God, were all of it, we should say that sin entered the world through Eve, since she was the first to commit that sin.  But we don’t, we say sin entered the world through Adam.  That would seem to indicate that Adam sinned in some way before Eve ate the fruit.
God had given Adam and Eve everything they could possibly want.  They would never know pain or illness or death.  All of their needs would have been met.  There was only one, relatively minor exception; the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  Of course, we all know that the easiest way to pique our interest is to tell us we can’t have something.  Immediately, it becomes the one thing we almost have to have.   I can almost picture Adam and Eve standing in the Garden of Eden, surrounded by everything they needed, looking at the one tree they were forbidden and thinking, “Man, I bet that fruit tastes really good.  If only we could have some of that, we would really be happy”.  I can also picture Satan standing to the side watching and thinking that this was his chance to undo some of the good work that God had done.
As I’ve thought about this there is another thing that has puzzled me.  Why did Satan choose to tempt Eve?  Why not Adam?  After all, Adam was supposed to be head of the family.  He was the one who should have been the natural target if Satan was interested in trying to destroy man’s relationship with God.  But instead, he went after Eve.  Possibly because of Eve’s supposed weakness before Satan women ever since have been accused of being the weaker sex.  But if we think about it, Adam was actually the weaker of the two.  At least Eve had the courage to try to take a stand against Satan’s temptation.  She tried to defend God’s rule concerning the tree.  And finally, she did have the courage to make a decision, even though it was the wrong one.  In Genesis, chapter 3 verse 6 it says “she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband and he ate it.”  So, Adam was right there the whole time Eve was being tempted.  But he never took any action to stop Eve.  As the story is told in Genesis, he didn’t even try.  And he didn’t do the one thing that should have been first on his mind.  He didn’t call out for God’s help.  That, I believe, was the original sin of Adam, a sin of pride and self-reliance.  Had he asked, I’m certain that God would have taken care of Satan and his temptations and man would have continued to live in paradise.  At least until someone else forgot to call on God when they should.
But still, why did Satan tempt Eve?  I don’t think it was because he thought she was weak.  I think he knew that Adam would just sit there and let it happen.  I also think he knew that if he could convince Eve, Adam would follow.  We have to admit that there are times when someone else makes decisions that we don’t always agree with but we go along to get along.
I also think that it’s sometimes easier to accomplish what you want if you don’t directly confront the one you are targeting.  It’s a little like spreading rumor and gossip.  It isn’t the one who is told the rumors that is really harmed, but the one who is the subject of the rumors.  That way we can attack someone but we don’t have to do it face to face.  We can be sure it will get back to them, but we don’t have to have the courage to face them ourselves.  Maybe Satan knew that if he directly confronted Adam he would fight back, if only to prove to Eve that he could.  But if he could just get Eve to give in, Adam would then give in to Eve.  And what did Adam do?  He just sat there and let it happen to Eve and then gave in himself.  Not exactly a picture of faith and courage, our Adam.
Another interesting part of the story is that Satan didn’t technically lie to Eve when tempting her.  In Genesis 3: 3-5 Eve told Satan that God had said of the tree in the middle of the Garden “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.”  But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die.  For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God knowing good and evil.”  Then Eve ate it, and she didn’t die; at least not in a physical sense.  And they knew what was good and bad, since they then realized that they were naked and made clothes to cover themselves.  So old Satan didn’t actually “lie” to them, he just didn’t tell the whole truth.   They didn’t physically die, but they died spiritually.  From that point on, they had broken their covenant with God, which is really what sin always does to us.  It breaks our relationship with God and encourages us to sin even more.
Isn’t that the way Satan also tempts us many times.  A direct assault might result in a fight that would bring God into the picture.  But a little bit of misstating the truth will make us think and try to reason with Satan.  Reason with Satan, now there’s a formula for disaster.  Our only hope is in God and we are so arrogant that we think we can defeat Satan through our own efforts and intelligence.
So, now they have had a taste of the tree of knowledge and God shows up.  To read Genesis it sounds like God didn’t know what was going on until he came upon Adam and Eve hiding from him wearing their fig leaves.  Of course, he knew exactly what was going on.  His prized creation, the one he had created “in His own likeness” and had given dominion over everything had just failed their first test.  What happened next also shows the true weakness of Adam.  When God finally corners him on what he had done, what was his response?  He points directly at Eve and says “The woman whom You put here with me – she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.”  Adam doesn’t seem to be the bravest guy around does he?  First he lets Satan tempt his wife, and then he blames her for giving him the fruit.  And, oh by the way God, it’s Your fault too since You are the one who put the woman here with me.  Like everything would have been OK if God had just given him another puppy dog instead of his soul mate.  Don’t we do the same thing?  When we get caught, don’t we usually look for an excuse for why we really aren’t responsible for what happened?  Then there’s always the old standby; the devil made me do it.  All that was really required to avoid the sin in the first place was to ask for God’s help.
So Adam and Eve, and the rest of humanity, paid the price for all eternity.  However, don’t we still commit the same sin as Adam?  If his sin was failing to call on God for the strength to resist temptation, don’t we do that every day?  How many times have you heard a co-worker or maybe a friend say something that we know is sinful and against God?  How many of those times have you confronted the person and pointed out their error?  We usually just think it, or at best, say it under our breath.  Or we make it even worse by not saying anything to the offender, but talking about them behind their back to someone else.  We don’t want to offend anyone, we say, so we keep our mouths shut.  Oh, and of course there’s that rule about judging others.  Isn’t that convenient?  After all, even the bible says “Judge not lest ye be judged”, right?  On this point, we usually are pretty good at following the bible’s advice.   We say to ourselves that we are doing the right thing because we are not judging.  Do you think maybe Adam was thinking the same thing while the flesh of his flesh and the bone of his bone was being tempted into condemnation?  Maybe he was sitting there thinking, “Well I could say something but, gee, I don’t want to raise a stink and start trouble.  After all, God is the one who made these rules, let him enforce them.”  Can you picture yourself allowing your wife to be convinced to do something that you know full well is harmful to her, and not try to stop her.  That is exactly what Adam did.  But we mustn’t judge others, right?  I think that’s usually a lot of bull.  I think we use that to make us feel better about not doing something we know we should.  And if we speak up, are we really judging the person or the sin?  We all talk about loving the sinner but hating the sin, but not speaking up doesn’t say much for hating the sin.  And letting someone we care for go on sinning and not trying to help them isn’t showing much love for the sinner either.
Do we call on God’s help when we need it?  Do we understand that he is there, waiting to help when we ask?  I think most of us commit the sin of pride and self-reliance rather than turning to God for the strength to resist sin.  We may have all become sinners because of Adam’s original sin, but we sure don’t seem to be doing much to stop repeating that same sin over and over.  Can we overcome Satan and his temptation?  Of course we can, God gave us the means and the ability to reject the enemy and all he does.  He’s there, waiting for the call, ready to respond at a moment’s notice.  All we need do is ask.


Chapter 9 – Who Is Your God?

“I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20: 2-3)

The first of the Ten Commandments seems pretty simple.  God saved the Israelites from the slavery of Egypt and they were to worship him and him alone.
Unfortunately, the Israelites couldn’t seem to follow this simple rule.  They found any number of gods to worship other than the one true God.  Even while Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving the Commandments, the Israelites were already melting gold and shaping it into a bull for them to worship.  In most every place they journeyed, they found other gods to worship.  God punished them when they turned from him; they repented; God forgave them and the cycle began all over.  You would think that at some point God would simply give up on them and let them go their own way and worship whatever they wanted.
But God loves his people and wants them to share eternity with him.  So every time the Israelites strayed, God welcomed them back with open arms.
Things haven’t changed so much since the time of the Israelites and the exodus from Egypt.  Today we also find other gods to worship.  We may not worship golden bulls or Baal or some of the other pagan gods that the Israelites worshiped but we still have our gods that we put in place of the one true God whom we should worship in all we do.  Satan is well aware that we, just like the Israelites, can be tricked into worshiping other gods.  
What are our false gods today?  In reality, anything that interferes with our relationship with the one true God can be seen as a false god.  For some it may be their looks; maybe their car or home.  Even our family, that God wants us to love above anyone other than him, can become a false god if we place them on a pedestal above God.  Virtually anything can become a false god if we allow it to become the focus of our happiness and satisfaction.  True happiness is only attainable through a strong, loving relationship with God.
I think three of the biggest false gods today are money, sex and pride. Each of these can have elements of good and can be used to accomplish good; however, they can very easily obtain god-like status when used for selfish purposes.  Satan is aware of our attraction to certain things and will use that attraction to place it between us and God.  
“And behold, one came up to him saying, ‘Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?’  And he said to him, ‘Why do you ask me about what is  good?  One there is who is good.  If you would enter life, keep the commandments.’  He said to him, ‘Which?’  And Jesus said, ‘You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and your mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  The young man said to him, ‘All these I have observed; what do I still lack?’  Jesus said to him, ‘If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven;  and come, follow me.’  When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.” (Matthew 19: 16-22)
This scripture has always interested me.  There is nothing here to indicate how the young man had gained his wealth or for what purpose he used it.  If anything was standing in his way to perfection it was his love of his wealth.  He was sad at the thought of selling everything and giving it away.  Notice, however, that we are never told whether or not the young man actually did what Jesus had told him he must do to gain eternal life.  Even though he went away sad, it’s possible that he followed Jesus’ advice, sold everything he had, gave the money to the poor and returned to follow Jesus.
God loves us, so he wants us to be successful.  In our society today money is often equated with success.  Does that mean that having lots of money is an indication that God has blessed the rich?  It certainly may be a blessing, but we can turn that blessing into evil by misusing it.  What of those who gain riches illegally or through unfair treatment of others?  While God may bless us with money, he expects us to obtain it honestly and use it properly.  
First Timothy, chapter 6, verse 10 is frequently misquoted when the discussion turns to money and its place in our life.  “For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs.”  All too often the first four words of the verse are omitted, leaving “Money is the root of all evils”.  With this omission this verse is often used to indicate that anyone with money must be evil.  Even some politicians foster this misconception by pitting the rich against the poor for their own political gain.  There is nothing wrong with having money or being rich.  People of wealth have used their money to begin and support numerous charities, benefitting many.  Universities benefit greatly from endowments from the rich, helping to provide scholarships and financial aid to those deserving of it.  We used to hear stories celebrating these philanthropists and their generosity.  It seems all we hear about the wealthy today is negative.  People seem to have the idea that one person’s wealth necessarily means someone else can’t be wealthy.  They forget that wealth is not a finite item, it can be grown through proper investment and provide many others the opportunity to increase their own wealth.  Rather than envy or deride the wealthy for their success, we should look to how it was gained and how it is used.  If gained honestly and used properly, we should applaud their success and even look to them as possible examples to emulate.
Of course, there are also those who have made their money through dishonorable means and cling to it rather than use it for the good of others.  Unfortunately, these are the ones we hear of most often.  For every story of wealth being used for the good of others, there are several told of how the rich got their money from the hard work of others.  They refuse to recognize the great good accomplished by many of the wealthy.  The fact is there is both good and evil in everything, including wealth.
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world.” (1 John 2: 16)
Sex and personal sexual gratification is another false god many people allow to interfere with their relationship with God.  Human sexuality is a tremendous blessing from God when experienced as intended.  The love, devotion, and oneness shared in the sexual life of a committed couple in a sacramental marriage are God’s intentions for the proper use of human sexuality.  The problem arises when it is used for selfish gratification and pleasure.  Sex itself isn’t the issue; sinfulness occurs in the misuse of God’s blessing.
Sex was never intended to be a spectator sport.  Nor was it intended to be part of random encounters or traded for favors or money.  The intensity of the emotion and love inherent in the properly exercised use of sexuality is one of the greatest blessings God has given mankind.  When experienced as intended, within the bonds of a sacramental marriage, human sexuality is beautiful.  Unfortunately, sex has been perverted by the open flaunting of sex in fashion, film, stage, music and most other aspects of our lives.
In its’ proper environment,sex provides an extreme physical and emotional high for the couple.  This pleasure was intended by God.  It not only helps solidify the covenant of marriage, it is the only appropriate means of procreation of humanity.  It is perhaps the extreme high experienced by a couple in a truly loving, faith filled marriage that others are trying to find in their casual, meaningless sexual encounters.  In a jealousy-driven effort to attain the beauty of sex as God intended, they pervert it into a sinful, lustful act of selfishness and degradation.   Sex is everywhere today.  In books, magazines, movies, and on TV, it’s there, right in our faces.  When we shop, sex is used to entice us to buy this particular dress or shirt or shoes or whatever we are shopping for.  Some of the stores in our malls are virtually pornographic in their store front ads and displays.  It’s not unusual to see glaringly sexual clothing even for pre-teen children.  Multiple marriages, with multiple partners during marriage seem to be the norm for many of those who are considered heroes and stars of the entertainment industry.
Pornography is rampant in society today.  What used to be the “family hour” on network television has disappeared and has been replaced by sexual innuendo, as well as barely hidden references to sexual activities of all types.  The relationships that are depicted are more likely to be adulterous than sacramental in nature.  Bed hopping is common and open presentations of sexual encounters, both heterosexual and homosexual, are the subject of the comedy in many popular sitcoms.  In the sitcoms of today, those who refuse to engage in wanton sexual activity are portrayed as fools and the brunt of vicious jokes.  Cable television and movies are even worse since they can be more blatant in the graphic presentation of sexual activity.  Open, promiscuous sexual lifestyles are presented as the norm with few examples of committed, married relationships.  In many cases it seems the more depraved the act, the more it is “honored” in the film industry.
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16: 18)
In our society we are taught in many ways that pride is a good thing.  In some ways pride can be useful.  It can motivate us to do better.  It can help us resist temptation in some instances.  It can serve to push us a little harder to do something to which we have committed.  Sometimes our pride won’t let us quit when our body or our mind says we can’t go on.  In these cases pride can be a good thing.  It can be help us to be a better person.  However, pride is also a very dangerous thing.  Remember, Satan used pride to tempt Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  All of humanity suffers the results of their pride.
Job’s pride put him in direct conflict with God.  When tested, he complained to God and his friends of his hardships and blamed God.  God replied to him, “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?  Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me.  Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?”  (Job 38: 2-3)  The Lord continues to question Job for the next four chapters of the book of Job.  If you want to understand humility in your relationship to God and his creation, read Job 38 – 41.  It is quite a lesson on exactly how little we understand of the true nature of God and his creation.  If you can still be prideful after reading those chapters, you should probably read it again.  You’ve obviously missed the point.
Pride can very quickly degrade most anything, regardless of its’ potential good, to sinfulness.  Even the good of providing for the needy can become sinful if pride enters.  
“Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men.  Truly I say to you, they have their reward.  But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward.” (Matt 6: 2-4).
This same principal applies to most anything we do.  If you sing in the choir, or usher, or assist in the readings, is it to praise God or for the attention you receive?  If you give large sums to the building fund, is it to get your name mentioned in the church bulletin?  If you donate to a university, is it to help those who need it or to get a building named for you?  If you knew that no one would ever know the good that you do, would you still do it?  We need to understand that our purpose should always be to please God, not other people.  We must always keep in mind that regardless the blessings, talents and success we may have, they come from God.  Even doing good can become a false god when done for the wrong reasons.
Money, sex, pride; three of the greatest obstacles to keeping our focus on the one true God, rather than our selves.  Those are only three, there are many others.  Only you can say what interferes with your worship of God.  Whatever that is, put it in its proper place.  God should always be first in our lives.  Everything, family, friends and self, especially self, should come after God.  In this way we can be assured that we know who our God is and keep Him in the place of honor in all aspects of our lives.


Chapter 10 – Doing God’s Will

“What do you think?  A man had two sons; and he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’  And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he repented and went.  And he went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go.  Which of the two did the will of his father?”” (Matt 21: 38-31)

Did you ever think about how parables Jesus used nearly two thousand years ago are as fresh and applicable today as they were then?  The world has changed incredibly in the time since Jesus walked here but the issues that we deal with daily remain the same.
The chief priests and scribes of the day believed they were doing God’s will because they answered yes to his calling.  They answered yes with their lips but not with their actions.  This was the point Jesus was making to them.  Simply saying yes isn’t following God’s will.  Today we might say, “You have to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.”
Jesus made it very clear what his opinion of the chief priests and scribes was in this example.  Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.”  (Matt 21: 31)  This must have been quite a shock to those listening to him.  It was also this kind of honesty that helped convince the religious leaders of the time that Jesus must die.  They could not allow their position and power to be threatened by this simple Galilean.  Over and over Jesus used parables to point out the errors in their religious attitude and practice.  Not once did they listen to him.  Of course, there were a few of the Scribes and Pharisees who secretly believed in Jesus and took his message to heart but as a whole the religious establishment rejected and condemned him.
Today we see the same thing everywhere we look.  We see those who pervert the faith that Jesus taught and twist it to their own use.  There are the preachers who preach that God wants everyone to be wealthy.  But many of them seem to  believe that God wants them to be the first to receive the gift of wealth.  Simply contribute to them and your life will improve.  Actually it seems their life is the primary one they want improved.
I saw a TV evangelist who claimed that if his viewers would send him a thousand dollars he would virtually guarantee the blessings of God, to include tremendous wealth of course.  Really; the kingdom of God is for sale at a thousand dollars a share?  That seems quite different from a faith that was built on belief in God with little care for the day to day issues of life on earth.  Do you think there might be some tax collectors and prostitutes entering heaven before this minister?
How successful are we in doing God’s will?  First of course, we must have an idea of what God’s will is for us.  How often do we stop and pray before making decisions?  Do we seek to know what his will for us is or do we pray for him to approve our will?  I have found that it’s very easy to convince myself of what God’s will is for me while not really turning the decision over to God.  I’ve seen a ministry or a plan that pleases me and fits in with what I’d like to do for God.  But it’s really my will that I am praying for.  I find it much harder to open myself up to God and to honestly seek his will for me.
For several years I was convinced it was God’s will that I become a Deacon in the Catholic Church.  I was certain that was what God wanted of me and I sought to fulfill God’s will.  After three thwarted attempts at entering the Deaconate, I finally realized that I was pursuing my will, not God’s.  While the path to God’s will may have hardships involved, when it is completely blocked that should be a clue that maybe He has a different path in mind.
Am I certain of what God’s will is for me now?  No, not really.  But I do know that he will guide me on the path he has for me.  My responsibility and mission is to pray for understanding so that I may know what that path is and to make every effort to allow God to lead me on the chosen path.
There was a common bumper sticker around for several years.  It said “God is my co-pilot”.  One day I saw a sticker that said “If God is your co-pilot; you are in the wrong seat”.  The more I thought about that the more I realized the truth in it.  God isn’t supposed to be our co-pilot; he is supposed to be the pilot.  We should be the co-pilot, willingly following the direction of God.
Understanding that simple fact has made a big change in the way I approach everything from daily life, to prayer, to spiritual study, and in the expectations of each.  I used to pray for God to walk with me each day.  But just like the bumper sticker, that is backwards.  If God walks with me we won’t get very far along his chosen path for me.  Why?  I really don’t know the path to follow without His guidance.  I’m just as likely to lead us astray as I am to discern his path.  My prayer has changed to asking God to let me walk with him each day.  He knows the way, my job is to follow his way.
In many, and perhaps most, cases it is our pride that gets in the way of looking to God for our path in life.  Whether we like to admit it or not, most of us have a hard time giving up control, even to God.  From early childhood we are taught independence and self-reliance.  We should “stand on our own two feet”.  Don’t let anyone control you or your life.  Live your own life.
From a purely human standpoint, perhaps these bits of advice are useful.  Certainly we should not allow others to control our lives in such a way as to discourage us or deny our abilities.  It is within those abilities that we all have that we are most likely to find God’s will for us.  For our abilities are gifts from God and he has a plan for the use of those gifts.
Great musicians, artists, writers and thinkers have a gift.  While not all of them will acknowledge the source of their gift, they will almost always recognize the gift.  Technical ability in all of these areas and most others can be taught, but the truly great ones have something more.  The source of that something more is God.  I’ve often wondered how much greater some could have been had they realized that the gift was of God and had allowed God to use their talents to their full capacity.  You see, I think when we shut God out of our lives, our ability to use God’s gifts are lessened.  For every great composer or musician, how many others have wasted or lessened their gift by claiming it as their own?
Satan convinced Eve, and Eve convinced Adam that God’s plan for them was not in their best interest.  They chose to turn from God and seek the wisdom and knowledge that the serpent promised them.  “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will like God, knowing good and evil.”  (Gen 3: 5)  Had they followed the path God had planned for them, how much pain and suffering would have been spared humanity.  Of course, if it hadn’t been Adam and Eve, someone else would have fallen to the temptation.  One thing we humans have always been good at is succumbing to temptation.
While it is difficult for us to give control to God and we must consciously seek the will of God in our lives, the rewards are incredible.  The Holy Spirit will lead us if we will allow him.  Jesus promised that he would be with us forever.  The question is; will we be with him?

“…and behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”  (Matt 28: 20)


Chapter 11 – Offer It To The Lord

Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter Sunday, is a time of the year that means a lot to me.  To contemplate the Passion of our Lord, the pain he suffered, the death he endured, and finally, his glorious resurrection is, along with Christmas, one of the primary highlights of our Christian year.  It provides the whole of the plan of salvation and enables us to focus on that plan and what it means to our life.
There is one Holy Week that had a major impact on my faith and understanding of Jesus’ gift to us.  By Tuesday of Holy Week I was so sick I could barely walk or even get out of bed.  Once my loving wife convinced me I needed to go to the emergency room, I spent Wednesday, Thursday, and most of Friday in the hospital.  Thankfully, it was not a serious illness, mainly the result of extreme dehydration brought on by what was probably a virus.  It’s amazing how God uses situations such as this to our benefit even though we may not realize it at the time.  This virus, or whatever it was, helped me to learn and better understand the true meaning of Holy Week and the final victory of Easter Sunday.  There truly is a silver lining to every cloud.
As a convert to Catholicism, I had often heard that when in pain or distress we should “offer it up to the Lord”, but never truly understood what that meant or why you would do that.  Surely Jesus didn’t want us to suffer, so why would we offer our suffering to him?  Jesus spent his ministry relieving the suffering of others, so did it mean we were supposed to offer it up so he could take it away?  I didn’t really believe that was the reason.  At least if it was, it seemed not very many people were doing it right, because there continues to be a lot of suffering in the world.
However, due to my experience that Holy Week, I found a whole new meaning to this practice.  I found what I believe is the purpose of offering it up to the Lord.  It made a great impression on me and taught me a lesson that I hope will never be forgotten and gave me a far greater appreciation for the true meaning of Holy Week than I had ever had before.
As I lay in bed sometime on Tuesday, so weak that even raising my head was a chore, I was aware of the desire to offer this suffering up to the Lord.  This seemed a little odd to me because, as I’ve said before, I had never understood why you would do that.  But it didn’t seem to matter the reason, my whole being was insisting that I offer my suffering up to Jesus.  So I did.
I didn’t know what I was doing, and really didn’t know why, but I opened myself up to the presence of the Lord and offered him my suffering as a gift from me to him.  I didn’t know of any special prayers for this, so it was just a one on one conversation with my God.  I didn’t know what to expect, and to be honest, didn’t know if I should expect anything.  What I received was one of the greatest gifts of my Christian life.  I wasn’t “cured” or anything like that.  I discovered that healing isn’t the reason for offering suffering to Jesus.  It is an opportunity to share in his suffering and to better understand the sacrifice he paid for our sins.
The gift I received was a deep, personal experience with our suffering Lord.  It was almost as if I were there during His passion.  I knew, more than I have ever known before; the pain of his scourging; the crowning of thorns; the carrying of the cross.  Not only his physical pain, but his personal pain as well.  The pain inflicted by the desertion of his friends.  The same friends who had just shared supper and the first Eucharist with him.  Those who hadn’t had the strength to stay awake and pray with him in the garden of Gethsemane.  The humiliation and pain of being betrayed by one of the twelve that he had chosen.  Peter’s denial that he even knew Jesus, not once, but three times.  It was incredible to understand his suffering as deeply as I did.  Finally, the pain and humiliation of the crucifixion and his death on the cross.  All the while it was like I could see his face and I could see the love in his face through the pain and the suffering.  The love he had shown by becoming man in order to pay the debt for our sins.  It was the most incredible spiritual experience I have ever known and I’m sure that it will affect me as a Christian for the rest of my life.
The only word that even comes close to describing what occurred that day is revelation.  This was an experience deeper and more meaningful than any other in my life.  As I contemplated and virtually witnessed his suffering, I could almost hear Jesus saying to me that all of this was for me.  All that he suffered was his gift to me, and to you, and to all mankind; the greatest gift of all, the gift of salvation and eternal happiness with him.  I’ve known this throughout my Christian life, but never to the depth that I now understand it. 
I know now that “offering it up to the Lord” is something each of us should and need to do.  While we are offering our suffering as a sacrifice to Jesus, we also open ourselves to Jesus and to having a better understanding of the suffering and sacrifice that he endured for our salvation.  Our relatively minor suffering can’t possibly begin to compare with his suffering for us.  But if we are willing to suffer for Christ, perhaps, in some small way, we can say thank you for the suffering he willingly endured for us.  This isn’t to say that he wants us to suffer.  It certainly doesn’t mean that we should seek to suffer.  But there will be some suffering in everyone’s life; maybe physical, maybe emotional, maybe financial.  If we can take that suffering and make it a gift from us to Jesus, I know that it will help us understand his gift to us.  It will also help us put our hardships in perspective and understand that regardless the suffering we experience in this life, Jesus gave his life that we may not experience suffering in the next.
One of my favorite prayers was written by Thomas Merton.  In part it says:
“…the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.  But, I believe that the desire to please you does, in fact, please you.  And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.”

I believe that offering my suffering to Jesus does, in fact, please him.


Chapter 12 – Prayer

“Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstance; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18)

Paul tells us we should pray constantly.  That’s quite a mission.  I’m not sure how anyone, Paul included, can pray constantly.  Even cloistered nuns and brothers surely can’t pray constantly.  They must eat, they must sleep.  There must be some time that they are not praying.  No one can achieve what Paul asks.  Or can they?
Paul had to have known that praying constantly in the sense we normally consider prayer isn’t possible.  So why did he tell us that this is God’s will for us?  We get on our knees, or at least quiet ourselves, and pray to God.  That takes time.  Time we may not have on a daily basis.  Most of us have a job we must accomplish, families we must care for and love.  We must even find time for ourselves, to recoup our sanity from the daily chaos that many of us live with.  So how is it possible to pray constantly?   Perhaps Paul isn’t talking about what we normally think of as prayer.
If you’ve ever read of the life of Mother Teresa you might find a clue to what Paul may have been talking about.  Mother Teresa was a small woman with a big heart and an enormous love of God.  She devoted her life to the least of God’s children; those who were dying in the streets of Calcutta.  How could such a woman do the things that she accomplished?  Maybe it was because her life itself was prayer.  Everything she did, she did for the greater glory of God.  She risked injury, illness and death to help those whom no one else would help.  She took them in, fed them, clothed them and cared for them.  Most importantly she loved them with the love of Christ.  She dignified their lives and their deaths by giving them love and respect in a world that had abandoned them.  Maybe that is the kind of prayer Paul is referring to when he admonishes us to “pray constantly”.
Even so, that is a difficult task.  How do we live our lives in such a way as to make our very lives a prayer?  We can’t all live the life of Mother Teresa or other great spiritual women and men.  How can we, the average Christian, approach the goal of constant prayer by the way in which we live our life?
In a bible study I once attended, the leader of the group said that every morning when he woke up, before he even put his feet on the floor, he offered the day to God.  We can do the same.  We can give our day to God’s will, simply, sincerely and with conviction.  We can ask God to watch over us, to guide us, to protect us as we go through the day.  Our life can be a prayer to God if we give it to him and do our best to live it for him.
Of course we will fail at times.  We are, after all, only human.  But God knows that, he expects that we will fail at times; maybe many times.  Regardless of our failings he is there for us, to welcome us back when we finally realize we have strayed.  You see, God is more interested in our efforts to try to please him than in our failures.  In many cases it is our failures that lead us back to God.  If all is well and we are satisfied with our lives we, as humans, tend to take credit for the success and forget that there is no success without God.  God wants us to know that even failure can lead to future success if we are truly seeking him in all that we do.
How are we to pray?  There are many forms of prayer.  They include petition, intercession, and thanksgiving.  There are formula prayers, such as the Lord’s Prayer; meditative prayer; contemplative prayer; and freestyle prayer.  There are probably nearly as many ways to pray as there are people who wish to pray.  Each is valuable in establishing and maintaining a relationship with our God.  
All forms of prayer are pleasing to God because he desires our friendship and our love.  He wants us to petition him for our needs, even though he knows far better than we what our needs are.  He wants us to intercede for others who have need of his help.  Sharing our love of God with others through intercession to help them through difficult times is good and God wishes us to share his love for us with others.  
The form of prayer that is perhaps the most overlooked is prayer of thanksgiving.  Each and every day we are given so many blessings.  Unfortunately, we usually accept them as our due, never stopping to thank God for his gifts to us.  We never have a problem asking him to fix something we believe is in need of repair, but we have a hard time thanking him for the things that aren’t broken because he loves us and watches over us.  Perhaps take a few minutes at the end of the day to look back over your day, trying to find those events that are of God.  If you look for them, you will find them.  In this way, you can better realize the gifts God provides and thank him for his love. 
Contemplative prayer can help us to better understand scripture and our relationship with God.  Similar to a news reporter’s task of finding out the actuality of what the events were, we place ourselves in the scene as an observer to detail and more fully understand the events.  If we contemplate the parables, for instance, we might consider not only what is being said but what the reaction of those around us is.  Do they appear to understand?  Do they agree with the principal or meaning of the parable?  How are they reacting to the message?  This allows us to more completely consider the scripture and, hopefully, get a clearer understanding.
Meditative prayer is quest to try to deepen our understanding of Christian life and how we are to live it.  We seek to better understand what the Lord is asking of us and how to respond in a manner pleasing to him.  When we meditate on scripture we seek a deeper meaning in what we have read.  While contemplative prayer can be a more analytic view, meditative prayer is of the heart and feeling.  Perhaps we will find that we can better apply that particular scripture to our life and our current situation.  Thought, imagination, emotion and our desires are all a part of meditative prayer.  This helps us to deepen our faith and strengthen our convictions.  As with any prayer, meditative prayer will help us better understand God and our place in his plan.
One way to experience meditative prayer is to imagine yourself as a participant in the scripture you are reading.  For instance, if you are reading the parable of the prodigal son, try to imagine yourself as the son.  Think of the hurt you caused your father by demanding your share of the inheritance, in effect, wishing him dead.  Consider the life of debauchery on which you wasted your inheritance.  Experience in your mind the shame and dismay of tending to swine.  Swine were unclean to the Jews, so you were unclean day after day.  Can you begin to feel the sorrow once you realize the wrong you had done to your family and to God?  Fully aware that you are no longer worthy to be called son, do you share in the hope that your father will at least take you back as a servant?  Imagine the joy of seeing your father running toward you as you approach home.  Experience the depth of love from a man whom you had wronged but who was now willing and anxious to reclaim you as his son, forgiving you completely.  Feel in yourself the unrestrained joy of total and complete forgiveness.
Now reread the parable, this time imagining yourself you as the father.  How would you feel as the father if your son whom you deeply loved betrayed you in such a way?  Basically saying I wish you were dead so that I can have my money.  Can you understand the hurt and the loss of a child who abandoned you and your love?  Do you, as the father, watch for him every day; hoping; praying that one day he will return to you?  Feel the joy when you first see him far off, finally coming home.  Experience the joy of running to greet him and taking him in your arms.  Know the love of a parent whose child has returned.
Freestyle prayer is also a means of developing a deeper relationship with God.  Picture yourself simply talking to God as you would your best friend.  After all, our best friend is what God truly wants to be.  Take the time to sit down with him in the evening and share with him the joys and the trials you experience throughout your day.  Ask him for help in living your life as he would have you live it.  Prayer should be a two way communication.  Take the time to be silent and listen for God.  Some say they experience the voice of God.  Many simply understand that God has a plan for them and if they honestly seek it, he will show them the way.  However God responds to you in prayer, you must listen for it.  God does not yell, he does not push, he simply is.  Let him into your life and he will change it.  I used to ask God to walk with me, but I’ve learned that it has to be the other way around.  Instead of expecting him to walk with you, make it your prayer to walk where he will lead and follow joyfully, for it is in his will that eternal salvation is found.
Regardless of the type of prayer you are most comfortable with, the primary purpose of prayer is communication with God.  St. Therese of Lisieux said, “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.”  Prayer should be a joyful time, a time spent with our best friend.  If we can develop a friendship with God in our prayer life it will deepen our love and adoration of the heavenly Father tremendously.  There is no other joy that can compare with the relationship with God built by sincere, continuous prayer.  
Paul gave us the path, it is up to us to follow it.  “Rejoice always, pray constantly”.


Chapter 13 – Son of the Living God

“Who do men say that the Son of man is?” (Matt 16: 13).  Jesus asked the apostle’s this question while on the way to Caesarea Philippi.  The apostle’s answered that some said John the Baptist, others Elijah, or one of the prophets.  He then made the question specific to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  (Matt 16: 15-16). 

The importance of this question is the fact that Jesus is God.  He doesn’t represent God, he doesn’t preach the word of God as a minister or priest.  He isn’t a prophet of God.  He is God!  In order for the new covenant to succeed, people needed to understand that the covenant Jesus would institute was a covenant with God.  Just as was Abraham’s and just as was Moses’.  
The significance of Peter’s answer is evident in Jesus’ response, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona!  For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Farther who is in heaven.  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matt: 16: 17-19) The divinity of Jesus was acclaimed in his proclamation.  God had granted Peter the grace to fully understand the true identity of Jesus.  He was thus designated as the head of Jesus’ church, to be the continuing force in the church once Jesus had returned to the Father.  
Today, we need to reclaim the strength and confidence displayed by Peter.  We are too willing to allow others to define Jesus.  Rather than defend our faith strongly and confidently, we tend to want to avoid conflict.  We’ve been taught that it isn’t polite to “argue” religion.  Even when the eternal life of others, and perhaps our own as well, is at stake we still hesitate, and too many times refuse to boldly state what we know to be true:  Jesus Christ is our God and Savior!
Have you ever heard someone say that they thought Jesus was a great teacher, a holy man, and even a prophet?  They will go this far but aren’t willing to say he is God.  I’m sure that we’ve all heard these statements from non-believers or even some who claim Christianity but don’t have the courage to fully state their belief.  This is a blasphemous statement that we, as Christians, should never allow to go unchallenged.  In fairness, they possibly make these statements in an effort to avoid confrontation or maybe in an effort to not offend their Christian friends by admitting that they don’t believe at all.  Whatever the reason, the statement is categorically wrong. 
Jesus was either the Messiah or he was a liar, a blasphemer, a revolutionary, and a very dangerous man.  There is no other choice, we must either accept him as the Son of God, or condemn him for his lies and blasphemy.  In this there is no middle ground and those who claim one need to recognize that fact.
As Christians, we must be willing to stand up for who Jesus truly is.  We must have the courage to debunk any definition that denies the divinity of Jesus Christ.  We, as believers, must not allow false images and theories about our Lord and Savior to go uncontested.  If our faith is not strong enough to stand up for our Lord we have lost the race.  We might as well admit to ourselves that we have abandoned the Savior who gave his life for us.
Standing up for the true identify of Christ can be difficult and may result in being seen as a religious fanatic, or old fashioned.  Perhaps you will be ostracized and your friends will be uncomfortable with your stand.  We are not intended to seek comfort; we are intended to seek the Lord.  The disciples suffered for their belief and their courage in preaching it.  Saint John is the only one of the apostles who did not suffer a martyr’s death.  They did not shrink from their responsibility as Christians. They accepted their fate, knowing that Jesus had prepared a place for them if only they remained true to him.
Peter, when called before the high priest to be questioned concerning the healing of a cripple, replied to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a cripple, by what means this man has been healed, be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well.  This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, but which has become the cornerstone.  And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4: 8-12).
This is the courage of a man convinced of his salvation and its source.  We must strive to have this same courage to stand tall before those who would question the divinity of our Lord, and say with Peter, there is salvation in no one else!  This is not faith in a prophet or a religious “leader” this is the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ.  When the Sanhedrin ordered them not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus, Peter and John answered, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4: 29-20) 
Peter and John were facing the same group of men who had condemned Jesus before Pilate and sought his death by crucifixion.  Yet they had the courage to not only stand up for Jesus and his divinity, they told the high priest and his council that they would disobey their order not to speak of Jesus.  They had to know that they could have been put to death for their actions, but chose to stand for Christ regardless of the consequences.
Stephen, the first Deacon in the church, was also a man who was willing to risk everything rather than deny the divinity of Christ.  When brought before the high priest for questioning he related the history of all of Israel and their continual rejection of God’s prophets and representatives.  When the Sanhedrin became enraged at his recounting of the unfaithfulness of the Israelites, he stood his ground, saying, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7: 56).  Even as he was being stoned to death for his convictions, he had the courage to plead with Jesus for the forgiveness of those stoning him.  “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”  (Acts 7: 60)
When Jesus found the money changers and those selling sacrificial animals in the temple, he didn’t hesitate to make a whip of cords and run them out of the temple (see John 2: 13-16).  The apostles faced imprisonment, torture and death, but chose to stand up for their faith.  Martyrs over the years have suffered grievously, yet still clung to their faith.  At one point Nero used Christians soaked in oil as street lamps in Rome, but they accepted this death rather that deny Christ.
The history of Christianity is replete with the stories of martyrs who willing went through horrible torture and death rather than deny our Lord.  Yet it seems that we have lost that courage in many ways today.  Rather than risk being seen as a fanatic we’ve become willing to allow non-believers to dominate the discussion of who and what Jesus truly is.  If we continue to deny him, how can we expect him to not deny us before the Father at our judgment?
In today’s society we are not encouraged to stand up for Jesus, but are actually encouraged to not mention him at all.  We are not supposed to talk about our faith at work, or even in public.  We might offend someone.  This idea that religion and faith is off-limits offends me, and I hope you as well.  We have a right, guaranteed under our constitution, in addition to our God-given right, to stand up for our faith.  We need to exercise those rights, just as those who would silence us exercise their rights to state their non-belief.  If not, we risk eliminating faith from our culture.  Without faith, our culture will not survive.
We hear repeatedly about the so-called separation of church and state which, by the way, does not appear in our constitution.  What the constitution actually says in the first amendment is, “Congress shall pass no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;” Maybe we should stop calling this the “establishment clause” and start calling it the “free expression clause”.  We tolerate atheists, agnostics and others who wish to denigrate our faith yet fail to allow the faithful their free expression to dispute those statements.  As Christians, we must confront those issues and stand our ground.  
Jesus asked his apostles to pray to the father for workers to help gather the harvest (see Matthew 9: 37-38).  We are those workers.  However, we must be willing to take a stand for Jesus if we are to be of service.  We are his hands and his feet, but we can’t walk the path he lays out for us if we are afraid, ashamed or embarrassed to proclaim, as Peter did, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”


Chapter 14 – A Sacramental Marriage

“This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”  Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.  (Gen 2: 23-24)

And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.”  (Gen 9: 1)

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one.  What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder.”  (Matt 19: 5-6)

“My dear friends, you have come together in this church so that the Lord may seal and strengthen your love in the presence of the Church’s minister and this community.”  (Catholic Rite of Marriage)

Of the many vocations of the Church, marriage is by far the most common.  Unfortunately, it seems many people don’t look at marriage as a vocation these days.  It is rare to see a priest abandon his vocation; Deacons don’t usually resign; Sisters and Brothers rarely call it quits.  But marriage has a failure rate near 50%.  Catholic marriages, a sacramental covenant of God, suffers a divorce rate just over 21%.
If God cries, I think he must be weeping over what has been done to the sacrament of marriage.  Marriage is under attack in today’s society.  If you doubt that fact, simply look at the divorce rate, the out-of-wedlock birth rate, the number of people who choose to live together without benefit of marriage, the push to recognize homosexual marriage and the general degradation of human sexuality exhibited virtually everywhere you look.
God created marriage and endowed it with certain characteristics which are necessary to the continued well-being of the human race.  Marriage is intended to be the building block of a successful society.  It provides a basis for family life and allows for the procreation of children in a safe, nurturing environment.  Any society that chooses to disregard the sanctity of a covenantal marriage cannot long survive.  Without the loving and giving environment of marriage as intended by God, society risks deterioration into an amoral, selfish environment which cannot long sustain itself.
Scripture, in both the Old and New Testament is filled with references to marriage and its  proper use.  Even after the fall of man brought about by original sin, the relationship between Adam and Eve remained permanent and fruitful.  As a result of their sin, childbirth became painful for the woman, but the joy of motherhood overcame the pain of childbirth and the couple continued in God’s plan for procreation through the marital relationship.
God instructed Noah and his sons to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth”.  Marriage and the resulting progeny are to fill the earth.  A sacramental marriage is intended to be fruitful, producing children.  By its very nature marriage and married love is intended for, in part, for the procreation and education of children and it is in them that it finds its true purpose and glory.  To reject this purpose of marriage is to reject the original intent of marriage.
Efforts to redefine marriage as any relationship between any two people as well as the open acceptance of non-marital relationships has had a negative impact on marriage and the civilizing effect it produces in society.  The current impetus to consider same sex relationships on an equal basis with marriage is just one more effort by the secular society in which we live to further dismiss and disregard the true meaning of a marriage.  Marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman.  Under no other circumstances can a sacramental marriage exist.
However, same sex relationships are not the only, or even the biggest, threat to marriage in our society.  A general disregard for the sanctity of the marital relationship throughout society is by far a greater threat to marriage than any one specific action. Indiscriminate sex and living in a sexual relationship with another is not the equivalent of living within the bond of a sacramental marriage regardless of the circumstances.  Without the vows and the commitment of marriage, the relationship is sinful at best and seriously disordered and even dangerous at worst.  Relationships of this type are frequently associated with violence.  These non-marital relationships of all kinds present a serious abuse problem for both the man and woman involved.  Children are especially at risk in these relationships.  Hardly a week goes by that there isn’t a report of children being physically or sexually assaulted by a Mother’s live-in boyfriend, in many cases resulting in the death of the children.  A person who is not willing to enter into a permanent relationship is not worthy of the trust necessary to allow access to innocent children.
The ease and frequency of divorce has also undermined the sanctity of marriage.  Some are now even changing the wedding vows to “as long as we both shall love” rather than “as long as we both shall live”.  There is a move to redefine marriage as a contract with an expiration date.  If either of the partners chooses not to renew it, the contract expires and the marriage is defunct.  
When is the last time you saw a series on television that portrayed a healthy marital relationship?  Most don’t even include marriage, although there are always numerous references and depictions of sex.  If a marriage is portrayed, it’s usually in tatters or is a caricature of a true sacramental marriage.  If a character in the series is serious about marriage or morality they are normally portrayed as the “weird” one.  The rest of the cast make fun and try any means possible to convert the person to their own secular, anything goes attitude toward sex and marriage.  Are you old enough to remember the television shows where marriage was the norm and sex was not in your face from the opening to the closing scene?  
Marriage, as it is intended, is more than a relationship between a man and a woman.  The marriage vows are taken before God and witnesses for a reason.  There are actually three partners to a marriage; a husband, a wife, and God.  If the couple will keep in mind the third party to their covenant, they will always have an arbiter for disagreements.  Through prayer and love of God and each other they will have a position of strength from which to build and maintain their commitment.  If they honor God as part of their marriage, they should also honor each other as members of a holy covenant.  If they exclude God from their relationship, they will lose a powerful ally in their married life.
The New Testament, through the teachings of Christ, re-emphasizes the sanctity of marriage.  One of the first public appearances of Jesus was at the wedding in Cana.  His presence and his miracle of turning water to wine speak to the importance of marriage in God’s eyes.  He taught that marriage is permanent and should not be dissolved.  “And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” (Matt: 19: 9)  Matthew records the questioning of the Pharisees concerning marriage and divorce.  When asked if it was lawful to divorce, Jesus replied, “Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female,  and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one’?  So they are no longer two, but one.  What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder.” (Matt: 19: 4-6) 
When the Pharisees pressed him about the laws Moses had given concerning divorce, Jesus said “Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.” (Matt 19:8) Throughout both the Old and New Testaments there is consistent teaching of the permanence and sanctity of marriage.
If our society is to survive and continue to prosper we must recapture the glory, faithfulness and sanctity of a truly sacramental marriage.  We cannot continue to disregard the wishes of God and expect to also continue to receive his blessings.  The near total disregard of proper marriage in favor of the many distorted varieties of relationships is condemning us to failure as a people of God.  For the sake of our society, our children and our future, we must turn to God and relearn His definition of marriage and make that the standard by which we live.  Any other course is a path to the continued degradation of our society and culture.  Cultures from the Greeks to the Romans and others throughout history discovered that a society based on humanism and the rejection of God’s will and purpose for man cannot long survive.  When God is eliminated from the culture, the destruction of the society is not far behind.


Chapter 15 – Forgiveness

One of the most well-known parables of Jesus is the parable of the prodigal son.  It is a remarkable story of forgiveness and acceptance that we all should better understand.  God’s love for us knows no limits and his forgiveness is always available and will be readily given when properly asked for.  To help appreciate the grace God offers us through forgiveness, let’s look at this parable in some detail.  The parable can be found in Luke, chapter 15, verses 11 through 15.  It’s not very long but the depth and beauty of this story and its meaning for us today is vital for our understanding of God’s love for us and his desire to keep us a part of his family.
”There was a man who had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that falls to me.’  And he divided his living between them”.  
By asking for his inheritance this young man was in essence saying “I wish you were dead”.  Under normal circumstances, the father’s death would be the only way the son would receive his inheritance.  But the father agreed and divided his wealth, giving the son his share.
Don’t we turn our back on God in our lives as well?  While we might not wish him dead, we certainly wish he would get out of our lives at times.  The way we live our lives sometimes says thank you for your blessings but I’ll use them as I see fit for my own enjoyment.  When we turn from God and commit serious sin, we are “killing” our relationship with God.  At that point we have willingly told God to leave our presence.
“Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took his journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in loose living.” 
 We too take the gifts of the father and use them foolishly and wastefully, just as this young man did with his inheritance.
In our society today, those who try to live their lives in recognition of God and the many blessings he has given are looked upon as odd or as a religious fanatic.  We are taught by our television, movies, books and examples of supposed heroes that we should “just do it”.  Marriage and the covenantal relationship between a man and a woman are one of God’s greatest gifts, but when was the last time you saw a new television series that exemplified a stable family relationship?  In far too many cases the relationships that are depicted are adulterous and promiscuous with absolutely no evidence of marriage or fidelity.  In fact, in the few cases where a character is recognized as have a moral attitude toward promiscuity and pre-marital sex that person is derided and ridiculed as old-fashioned or just plain stupid.
The same applies in the sports world.  There are those who are blessed with athletic abilities far beyond most of us.  However, it seems they have no understanding that their abilities are gifts from God.  Those who are successful are routinely found to have had numerous affairs while married.  In many cases they have violent interactions in their relationships and seem to think they are above the rules simply because they have the talents given by God that have enabled them to be extremely successful.  Again, in the few cases where one tries to recognize and thank God for his many gifts, they are seen as out of the mainstream.  In many cases they are laughed at and made fun of not only by other players but also the media that covers sports and all the depravity endemic to that profession.
“And when he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in want.  So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine.  And he would gladly have fed on the pods that the swine ate; and no one gave him anything.”
It always seems friends are easy to come by when one has plenty of money and is willing to share it.  There are numerous accounts of people who were quite wealthy and readily shared their wealth.  They buy cars, homes, and all the newest “toys”, not only for themselves but for all of their supposed friends.  Eventually, the money will run out in a lifestyle such as that.  When this occurs the friends also run out.  You see stories of these people living on food stamps, or homeless, or working in menial jobs such as the one the son in the parable found.  Even some of the greatest of professional athletes spend their final years in such a state.  They spent their gifts and the money those gifts provided foolishly and wastefully.  Once it was gone, all those who supposedly cared for them left them alone and in crisis.
It’s worth noting that the young man was sent to feed the swine.  As an Israelite this would have been virtually the worst possible experience.  He was continuously unclean because of his proximity to pigs, which were an unclean animal that was not to be touched by the Israelites.  Not only was he starving he was completely separated from his own people and his religion.
“But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger!  I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; treat me as one of your hired hands.’”
How far we fall when we fail to recognize our relationship with God and the tremendous debt we owe him.  The young man finally realized his errors and decided to try to change his life.  He recognized that he did not deserve the love or benevolence of his father but was willing to be a servant to him.  We too have sinned against heaven and before God.  We too are unworthy to be called a son by our Father in heaven.  We too have lived our lives in such a way as to estrange ourselves from God.  Yet God waits with open arms to receive us back into his family, regardless of our sins.  We, like the young man, must recognize our faults and sins and truly repent of them.  Once we realize how broken our relationship with God is, we can mend it and again become part of God’s family.
“And he arose and came home to his father.  But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.  And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you: I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’  But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’
It is noteworthy that the father saw the son returning while he was still far away.  He had been watching for him, hoping that he would return.  And he was ready to forgive him and accept him as his son once more.  If fact, he was eager to reclaim his son and welcome him back into his family.
By the grace of God and the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus, we also have the opportunity to experience a home-coming such as this.  God is waiting for us with arms open wide, ready to welcome us home. All we need do is acknowledge our sins, and reject them in earnest sorrow and repentance.
“Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15: 7).  The choice is ours.  God is there, waiting for us to return home.  He too will celebrate our return just as the father in the parable celebrated his son’s return.