Tag Archives: Spirit

The Rights of the People: The Choice:

The Potential of a Blank Piece of Paper:

A blank piece of paper is empty.  It openly awaits and serves as pure potential to inscribe a message yet written to communicate thoughts hidden in ones mind.  It has no history, values, principles, rules or guidelines.  It is an opportunity to sort through ideas, hopes, and dreams while entering the battleground of discovering  and engaging with the spirit of Truth!

Modern man and America are at War with the Truth!  It is a War between the creature and the creator.   It is the War explained “In the Beginning” and just who owns the “Tree of Knowledge, Good and Evil”!  A story that precisely provides a God given basic Truth called “Free Will”!

Spirit and flesh who is in control?  Emotions and logic who is in control?  Yes it is the War between the Spirit and the Flesh!!  Who is winning in 2022?  Yes it sure looks like the Flesh – yes the Flesh appears to be winning!

The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution

Oh yea and then there was this Declaration of Independence and Constitution paper thing!  And just what does it say?  Not your opinion or mine!  At what cost were those words written on a blank piece of paper? Just exactly what do the words placed upon a blank sheet of paper say?  And and does modern man have a clueBlood the cost humans were willing to pay – real blood and real tears!  Hearts torn not just a little!  Should we even pay any attention to these words in 2022?  Or do modern humans have insights sufficient to throw away the words written on a blank paper many years and generations ago?

One Flesh – United – Do we any longer have any Idea what it Means:

Are all people are created “Equal”!  Are we confused?  The word on the Blank paper is “Equal” not “Equitable”Endowed by the “Creator” not manIndividual Rights No Government may infringe upon!  Am I allowed to speak these words today which were long ago written on a blank paper?  Does our modern government now support a new religion based upon the creature versus creator?  Seems so!  The “Pronoun” Religion — Prohibited by sacred words written long ago!  Who is being sacrificed at the altar of the Pronoun Religion?

The Pronoun Religion has been Elevated to the Status of Law:

Some assume this was written for the reader, when in fact the written Word carries the Spirit of Life / Truth for which I was created in the first place.  It’s desired destination is the eyes and ears of those who I love even tough many may demand that I not speak!  No more sermons from Jesus Christ was clearly communicated through His crucifixion long ago!

To my Grand Children:

My spirit cries out – sometimes in real tears!  Before you were born and even as you were formed in your mothers womb the God of Life was shed to assure that the spirit of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness were birthed as well!

Least Understood is the Pursuit of Happiness:

Life provides the opportunity to search and discover ancient Truths.  Your spirit cries out from deep within searching to discover the gifts buried within your body and soul!  Precisely and Uniquely your own at the moment of conception – the implantation of your soul hidden in your body.  A closely guarded secret by to those who seek to replace the creator with self.    The secret of happiness is found in the creators spirit of Truth!  It was for this Truth I was destined to reveal!  I would gladly give my life so you might encounter the mystery of life and the fountain source where the the thirst for happiness is found!

The War of Good versus Evil from Antiquity Continues

From this formerly blank paper leaps hope the tears I shed from the collision of God’s Truth with the demons who sought from the “Beginning” to lead humanity to replace the owner of that Tree in the Garden with Man himself.  If Man owns the Tree then the Spirit of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness lead mankind down the road to hatred and division – clear symptoms of the Satan’s War is being successfully waged against the creator’s Plan for the Salvation of man!

Where Hope Hides:

Yes it is!  It is buried in your soulYou were born for this day and this particular War.  As Jesus told His disciples every time he encountered them — “Do not be afraid and Peace be with you“!  Turn your Spirit to me, I am at your side always and yes faith and trust are the gifts freely given for you to find your way Home!  Yes God loves you and yes He does – He calls you by your most beloved name!

To Lily and Molly:

Merry Christmas 2021:

I wish you a very Merry Christmas December 25, 2021 and a Happy and prosperous New Year 2022 with new adventures in growing into young women!

Hope Came into the World During the Longest Night:

In every life time darkness invades life from time to time. Hope always shines forth in the midst of darkness. This Hope can lie hidden for years! Love is communicated through the gift of Free Will we call choice. The great difficulty for humans is the freedom and willingness to be open and actually begin to search for the spirit of Hope buried in the crucifixion story. Love is communicated by surrender to the spirit of Truth. Truth serves as a mirror and one can not escape the image of the one looking back. Humanity choose to crucify the one who came to testify to the Truth.

May Almighty God Bless you both.

Sign, Symbol, Message or Chance – Hidden Message

Anyone care to help me reflect upon and try to solve a message hidden in a messenger? A few days ago a white pigeon showed up at my back door. It was wondering around near the steps pecking at the grass, greens and the ground. It was pecking at plants and the ground obvious to me the bird was searching for something to sustain it’s life!

A Pure White Pigeon – a Dove – a Messenger with a Hidden Message:

The arrival of this bird created for me a thirst for answers as I found myself being pulled into deeper and deeper reflection. These are not ordinary times are they? And this was no ordinary bird. In fact it was a white homing pigeon. And just why did this bird choose come to my house of all the homes in my neighborhood to stop? There are at least fifty plus homes just in my local neighborhood and many others in the local city area.

Why My House?

Let me help you a little and explain my what caught my interest and curiosity. I am an unusual man of sorts. I have raised and raced homing pigeons from the time I was boy all the way to the 1950’s. But not only that, but I am rapidly approaching my 25th anniversary as an ordained Catholic Deacon. Perhaps one can begin to detect that I may see things in both a spiritual and physical perspective light that many folks wouldn’t necessarily have a clue exist. And I must admit that I have been reflecting more than a little upon this chance arrival and even this may an understatement.

Discern – Write it down – Reflect:

Fact is something is pestering me to write this down and ask for help! I wonder if there is anyone out there with who is willing to take the time to join me in reflecting and discerning the message hidden in this unexpected arrival? And then — is there someone brave and with the courage to take a risk and share the message this reflection triggered?

I already knew what I needed to know but didn’t know it:

Like the rest of you living life, teaches many lessons and often one can not digest at the time they are first learned. What I will share has been learned and taught through nature and in numerous spiritual reflections. In 2011 I discovered I had already been taught as a kid what I need to know, but I just couldn’t connect the dots to know, I already knew what I needed to know – I just didn’t know I already knew it!

The Sign and symbol of the bird. So what is it? It is white pigeon. It has wings and has the freedom to fly away. And it is a symbol of a dove spoken about in the stories of scripture from almost the beginning. Hidden to many are the symbols of scripture in the creation of the bird itself. Noah’s ark, angles with wings appearing such as Gabriel, Rapheal, and Michael. The spirit of God descending like a dove upon Jesus as he came out of the Jordan river.

Multiple Secrets –> Hidden in the Symbol yet easily available for deeper inspection:

Long ago I knew a Pigeon has ten primary flight pins (feathers) that serve to propel it through the air and with the velocity to escape it’s enemies gifted with stealth techniques. Could these feathers represent the ten commandments if kept can save one from an enemy stealthy hidden in the consequences?

Power of 12 – Hidden Message:

These birds have twelve tail feathers. Takes just a little more than a casual look to learn this fact. Hum – the number twelve – twelve months, twelve tribes, and yes the twelve apostles the leaders of the church a very rich symbol. And one who studies flight knows the tail feathers have a purpose. They serve as a rudder that guides. Combine the realty of the dynamics of flight, make possible unbelievable maneuvers which enhance the birds ability ability to escape it’s enemies.

Oil – Anointing – Hidden Message:

Yes, there is more! The bird has an oil gland at the base of it’s tail. Almost everyone has seen a bird preening but do you know how important that is? The birds uses it’s beak to rub the oil gland and thereby is able to spread a thin layer of oil all over it’s feathers. This reality offers another opportunity for an in-depth reflection. The bird is preparing for survival, a real kind of War – like the the oil of salvation, the oil of the early Christian catechumen’s who used oil to cover themselves before entering the coliseum in preparation for the fight of their life.

This oil also provides some degree of water proofing and more importantly enhances the bird’s ability to slip through the air most efficiently again enhancing it’s ability to escape it’s enemy.

Hang in There:

Hang with me a while longer. The bird has a white wattle on it’s nose or beak. It is in the shape of a heart. The color of the wattle immediately communicates the health of the bird. When a bird is healthy the color of the wattle is egg white – no yellow shade – the color of a fertilized egg. Nature – God’s creation is amazing!

The Heart of the Matter – Hidden Message – Search for Home – The Promised Land:

Scientist theorize the wattle is the primary organ the bird uses navigate and find it’s way home. I can testify that almost anywhere you take the a homing pigeon it will find home. It just needs a little practice while growing up. Homing pigeons in fact have a rich history of being willing to sacrifice their life to find home and they mate for life! They have been used in many past wars to communicate critical information upon which troops lives depended.

Now that I have taken you back to the 1950’s lets start from the beginning!

Messengers with Wings:

In scripture Angles appeared to many and they served as messengers with wings and came in the form of a dove. Why again did this bird show up at my back door? Of all the homes in the neighborhood it came to my back door. My back door happens to be the doorway through which many pets who are not our pets arrived and took up residence.

I am also the only ordained preacher in the neighborhood who also currently raises and races homing pigeons. Could this bird have known I was the most likely to recognize it’s need and it’s message?

Have I presented sufficient details that someone will be willing to embark upon a reflection journey to discover the message hidden in this story?

Use it or Lose it – Message Hidden:

I was easily able to pick the bird up though is was capable of flying away. Could this be a message I was chosen and trusted to care for the birds life?

I could now inspect the bird more closely having developed skilled hands at detecting the health of the bird almost instantly. I forgot to mention a healthy homing pigeons breast feels like one of those small footballs we boys used on the play grounds in the 1950’s. It has a supple feeling – not hard – but firm. Funny a healthy homing pigeon in your hand feels like a football you could throw and it would fly!

Well, this bird breast had suffered atrophy. Atrophy is what happens when one stops using a muscle or has overused the muscle without sufficient nourishment and rest. One just becomes weaker. A sure sign the bird was in trouble and needed some tender loving care! The flight feathers were in good shape and all ten were there.

Hidden Message = 12 Tail Feathers – Rudder – Guide – (12-4) Oh Oh!

Oh Oh, there were four tail feathers missing! Four of Twelve were missing! How to interpret the mystery. I have been involved in racing pigeons over 60 years! It is a sure sign the bird has been attacked by it’s enemy who seeks to take it’s life! A hawk during an attack will extend it’s claws and often only gets the tails feathers which then become detached from the bird saving it’s life!

Confusion here! Four tail feathers are MIA! Four of Twelve is a third. What message does this communicate about the Twelve? The Hawk got them? Yet the bird survived without them! The voice in my head says please pay attention! Where are the twelve today? Where is the Hawk? Are 1/3 of the Bishops MIA?

One is Black as in Sin – Hidden Message:

The next finding was a little more disconcerting. Oh Oh! Of the eight tail feathers remaining one was about half black. The only feather on the bird with black was a tail feather. This sign is perhaps more difficult to discern. Could this be a which do you want first message? The Good news or the Bad?

I must confess, even I have been challenged with some black markings from time to time. Sin can not be denied even in the church! And the Good News is still the Good News. The one who was sent came for the sinner so the sinner would come to understand the message that the sender treasured the sinner so much the sender was freely willing to sacrifice the greatest treasure.

Now that was what I learned in Catholic grade school in the 1950’s. A run on sentence!! Oh my!

So again why did this bird show up at my house??? Does anyone have a clue?

Who am I? I was called to follow a man who came to testify to the truth and people didn’t like the way he preached. I was called to follow a man named Steven who served at tables and the next thing you hear he is out in the street preaching and the people liked his preaching so much they stoned him to death!

“No more sermons from the deacon” = “Shut Up”. Did this bird come to my house so I would stop talking and be quite?

And just what about you? Why does it appear my church is in hiding? Why are we afraid?

I took the bird to my pigeon loft. It is located on 220 acres! I go to care for that bird every day! Every day the wind whisper’s in my ears God’s creative genius and that everyone of us was created in the image of God with a creative nature to adapt and change even as the war rages around us!

And you Say?

What message is that white bird bugging me to speak? What has happened to the tail feathers that are supposed to guide and show us how to use the creative gifts of imagination, truth, sacrifice, courage while the muscle of the bird has suffered atrophy?

So what say you?

We have gone to the Dogs:

We have had at least 8 dogs that are and were not our dogs! Wolfgang was a black lab puppy my oldest son brought home when he was a freshman in college! Wolfgang would bite your feet (it hurt let me tell you) until you played with him – he did not run out of gas!!! Before we knew it he started running the neighborhood and – he was hit by a car breaking a hip and slowing him down! Nursed him back / he became my traveling pal! Hyper hyper hyper. Hip injury took it’s toll!

Then came Winston – Australian Shepherd – same son – after college! Dog got on the back of someone’s truck and got lost. Winston had our name / number on Veterinarian rabbies tag! Someone called Vet – Bet called my wife. She wouldn’t let our son have the dog back! Winston became my pal too – walk – walk – bounce up walk walk walk – Just like herding sheep – bounce up to look over sheep = me! Winston just got old! Made me cry the day he died!

Well then there was Scarlet – bad habit Russel Terrier – loved chasing cars – found her in the street one morning – sad. With Scarlet came Mick – bull massive – big boy – my wife managed to find Mic a loving home with kids! Both from – you guessed it the same son whose mom set down the law!

Whew! Thought I was finally free! Neighbors sold home and left dog behind – wife fed him – another pal – Brownie was the name we gave her! Unknown to use a hound dog must have been watching – cause little by little he came closer and closer! Brownie’s pal. I called him Little Bit becuase he won’t get close enough to touch! But Inch by inch- day by day, week after week Little Bit moved in. Unfortunately, Little Bit also loved to chase cars – not good!

After a time the Vet discovered found Brownie had had heart worms for a very long time – oh my! A few more tears!

Let your hearts not weary! Bailey, the other neighbors dog had obviously been watching and found an opening – another pal! Bailey was already old and soon began having trouble getting those hind legs to follow! Lots of consulting with the neighbor and the day finally came!

The cold of winter is here – but the signs of new life surround hidden in the wet cold ground around! It’s kinda like some how I managed to learn I can smell nature cooking a brew of nutrients from what appears as all the dead stuff that surrounds!

Took my tractor for a ride in the cold! She fussed a bunch and blew smoke as I started her up! But you know she started to purr as she warmed up to the chore of pulling a harrow in toe! Magic all around if one just open eyes and ears to listen for sounds – new birth mixed into the earths brew! Hills and valleys lie ahead for sure and treasures await for those open to search! Wow! The wonders of the spirit of life – Not for a single second did I think I’ll of anyone – not once did I encounter a trace of ill or hate!

Get it together folks – we are called to be in one spirit = united! The dogs figured it out – just say hi – I wish you a blessed day even when all I can do is only negotiate an inch at a time!

In the Name of Jesus; First Spanish Reflection:

El Evangelio de hoy nos da la esperanza de que, incluso desde detrás de las rejas de una prisión, un pecador abierto al espíritu de Dios puede traer sanación a un mundo en caos. Esto es realmente una buena noticia a la luz del fracaso de algunos de los clérigos al más alto nivel que le han fallado al pueblo de Dios.

En el Evangelio, oímos que los discípulos de Jesús intentan , sin éxito, detener a un exorcista que estaba usando el nombre de Jesús sin su autorización pero exitosamente. Ahora los discípulos de Jesús, estaban listos para el fracaso de no poder detener a este exorcista de usar el nombre de Jesús sin autorización.

Quizás, más al punto, a nosotros los clérigos nos pueden dar celos hasta el punto de descartar a las personas laicas que quieren servir en posiciones de ministros usualmente reservadas para los clérigos. A menudo, los laicos sirviendo en posiciones oficiales también pueden ser igualmente celosos de la autoridad dada a los clérigos en la Iglesia.

Cristo nos llama a dejar a lado los celos mezquinos y a respetar los dones de aquellos que trabajan en el nombre del Señor.
El don que Jesús menciona es una simple taza de agua fría ofrecida a una alma sedienta. Puede servir para abrir las puertas a la esperanza y a la nueva vida.

Jesús nos está animando a ir a realizar acciones simples pero poderosas en su nombre y no podemos hablar mal de él ante el fracaso de sus discípulos. Clero o laico, debemos de servir al Señor y reconocer el poder de su nombre.

Will Emotion Override and Cloud the Spirit’s Path to Logic and Truth?

I listened to a young man pour out his emotions as he spoke on TV about the terror and trauma he experienced during the mass shootings that took place at the Parkland High School in Broward County, Florida.   It was gut wrenching to listen to.  My heart was torn as I listened as his words.  It caused me think of my own children and grand children.

Emotions are a vital part of our human condition.  More than that they are truly a gift from our creator.  Emotions serve as the only source capable of taking a human on a journey to the core of our soul where we encounter our human values.  But more importantly, they take us on a journey so we can see ourselves face to face as in a mirror.  It is as if we must be dragged kicking and screaming into a Garden long ago set aside as the place where blo0d is sweat as the human heart engages the battle where emotions attempt to drive us away from looking into the mirror of truth.  Said another way, emotions seek to focus on a simple solution rather than confront the ancient symbolism hidden in a seamless garment.  The truth of the temple of our soul is intimately connected to the human search for the purpose of a people so loved they have been granted free will.  The pain of emotions can distort truth as one who seeks to avoid the journey to the only source with the potential to wash the human family clean and make us whole again.

Hold on to that image of the seamless garment for within it’s creation lies the secret of one who is willing to offer up life as the price of penetrating the human heart and restoring mobility to a stiff neck!  The truth found in the blood found on the ground speaks to a hope beyond measure!

Here in this mirror lies a treasure, a gift from our creator where the real possibility exists to confront and overcome human natures original sin!  Sin the modern world seeks to ignore and worse deny!  In this mirror the image and likeness of our creator one cannot  ignored or escape!  The source of truth is dimly lit to a new arrival and the values buried within are designed to lead us to the truth in the beginning hearken to a soul thirsting and longing for an answers!  Here in this garden of agony one encounters the potential to ingest the breath of ancient truths again as in the first time.  Emotions erupt from deep within our gut as they crawl upward into our heart and mind creating the only unrest that can open the door that can lead to the search for hope we can find again the sacredness and treasure of life!  The question is  will take the time necessary to endure the journey to the core of our soul where we can encounter the spirit and wisdom that created us.  It is in the deeps of our soul where emotion can be balanced with the gifts of logic, wisdom, understanding of the purpose of the creator’s plan that calls people to freely choose the journey with the potential usher in real hope for a healthy human family.

A gun on the other hand is just metal and cold.  It has no spirit, no emotions and cannot make a decision.  It can not pick itself up, load itself or pull it’s trigger.  It lacks warmth or breath.  A gun has no emotions and cannot reflect upon anything that happens to it or it’s impact on any living being.  Why are we investing so much time on an inanimate object with no potential to save us?

As I listened to this young man, I too was sent on a journey to the core of my soul and began to ask the spirit in the mirror questions.  Who was this young man who picked up that gun?  What happened to him?  Who were his parents and how did he get that gun?  What questions are being asked about this young man and his environment?  Guns were allowed in school when I was a kid and this kind of event never took place.  What has changed?

Can we examine the seamless garment without being executed?  Do we really have an understanding of who we were created to be?  Is our focus on an inanimate object or the core of the soul of humanity?

If you made it thus far, will you come with me on a journey through the flawed memories of a child beginning to digest and grasp at the seamless garment and how it runs through the whole of humanity where not a single soul is without impact?

Is anyone willing to ask, have all the political attacks over the past several years on the police had an impact?  he alone the associated demand for body cameras?  Have we  pushed our policemen into political correct precautionary non life saving behaviors?  Someone with courage needs to be willing to ask?  Have our emotions and power agendas overridden our ability to have courage under fire?

How about the violence in so many neighborhoods?  How about the self inflicted wounds of gender-ism?  Isn’t the DNA we are born with the DNA we will die with?  Did God make a mistake when he created us?  Is there something else in play?  Have we now declared ourselves to be God?  How about the breakdown of families?  How about the destruction of life for those who cannot speak?  How about a feminist movement that does not include mothers?  How about the stripping of a mans ancient obligation to the mother and their children?   In the beginning God created man and woman and it was good.  The two became one flesh.  Abortion kills not only the child but the father for the two are no longer one flesh!

Do we have any real men in political life?

Why are so many people today taking drugs for everything?  Why are TV commercial’s full of advertisements for new drugs?  Does a pill correct every situation?  Do our brain’s work any more?  Why do we want to stop letting boys be boys?  Why are so many young men in prison and why are they so angry with their parents?  Why are we afraid to ask these questions?

When I was a kid we allowed prayer to be taken out of school about the time I finished.  We allowed abortion to begin to flourish at about the same time.   Why do our politicians support the abortion of 60 million babies and then insist we need 60 million immigrants?

Does anyone recognize the abortion decision declared a death sentence on a father’s right to protect his children?  Do gun free so called safe zones override the right of a father to protect his child from a principal whose policies do not report crimes which undermines the law intended to keep guns out of the hands of individual’s with histories of violence?  Are our police and sheriff’s bullied by the politically correct and unwittingly unleashed the violent and mentally unstable on society.  Has politics destroyed common sense?  Have we become so smart and tolerant that we are now become our own worst enemy?  Have we declared that sin is dead and people are just misunderstood?

Have we allowed a judge to override the voice of the people?  Have we allowed a judge to declare the father of a child has no rights even in a marriage?  Why do we want to destroy men and the potential father many are created to become?  What has this done to our children and does anyone care what the the impact is on children and family?  Is anyone looking at the success of children brought up in a traditional family versus the new so called norm?

About the time I was just a kid contraception exploded.  I thought it was good!  Has anyone opened their eyes lately?  Is sex no longer about children?  Have we advertised the impact of contraception on the human breakdown of the family?  Divorce has sky rocked.  Single parenthood in many neighborhoods is 70% and higher.  What is the emotional cost and impact on children from all of these changes?  Our prisons are overflowing with angry, upset young men most from single parents homes.  Discipline in schools is major growing problem.

Are we in denial about the nature of our humanity and natures use of hormones?  Do we not know what takes place year in and year out in natures survival of life?  In many parts of our world cultures are approaching self annihilation because of the refusal to birth children.  Anyone talking about the death of Christianity by those who [profess to be Catholic’s and Christians.  Who has muted the voices of our Bishops and Religious leaders?

Has anyone noticed the changes that have taken place over the years in Hollywood, TV, movies, entertainment and video game industry.  Do they glorify violence and shoot em up adventures?  Is promiscuous and raw sex displayed as normal?  How about the impact of the internet, the smart phone and sexting?  And what about the explosion of porn – the objectification of women, children and sex?

We have become a people who lack the courage to ask ourselves tough questions!  What is the stumbling block that prevents us from asking the tough questions that affect people with the potential to pick up and use a gun?  Why are we so afraid to ask these questions?

What is a safe zone?  Shouldn’t a mothers womb the safest zone every created.  Ask a small kid?  Who is the enemy of that zone?  Is it a gun or is it man?

Aren’t a mother and a father supposed to be the protectors of their children with the duty and responsible to assure their safety?  Who overrode those parental rights?  Why do we entrust our children to people who have allowed the children to run the school?   What system or systems in Broward County failed the students and faculty in that school?  Do we not know our government has encouraged the non reporting of violent crimes in schools?  If you see something – say something!  Did that work?  And what is the FBI doing these days – does anyone know?  So how can a system based upon reported crimes prevent someone from purchasing a gun when the system rewards non reporting?  Have emotions overtaken and all bet eliminated logic and leadership?

My brother tried every kind of drug while he was in college.  He took his own life!  So we ant to legalize pot!  Emotion has overridden logic!  What about all the drugs people are using today?  Is anyone paying attention?  Can we ask?  What is the drug overdose rate today?  Does anyone notice all the drug commercials on TV?  What is our society selling – a quick fix – just take a pill?

And we have just entered the arena of social media and new technology?  What about social media?  Will the children of the future develop social skills to interact with people face to face?  What again about the deterioration of the family and why is it children with a mother and father are so much more successful on average?   Do we have the courage to ask the questions that we get to the heart of the problem or have our emotions trapped us in a dialogue with a gun issue?

Folks, we have a culture problem.  Our values are in the toilet!  It’s time for our emotions to take on a trip back to source when we look ourselves in the mirror of truth so the door of hope is opened and we can begin again to reach for the full potential of the gift of life!

Finally, does anyone know that true love will piss of an awful lot of people?  Didn’t the people of his own family take the one who came to testify to the true to a cross?  Weren’t they jealous and envious of his courage to speak the truth?  And they didn’t like the way he preached because it forced them to look into the mirror of truth!  So I ask, do we modern day sophisticated people really want to hear the good news or do we just want happy talk?

Self examination in the deeps of ones soul is where forgiveness and healing begin.  Love one another as I loved you!  Lord have mercy!

The Spirit of My Soul

There are times the Spirit of my soul will not let me sleep.  It’s as if a voice is crying out from the bottom of my soul but I am unwilling to listen.  What is it that I am avoiding?  Do I have the courage to silence myself and take the time to listen to the cry coming from deep within?  Oh that my soul would know that I am tied and weary from the battle of those who would silence the voice of the one who sent on this long journey teaching me as I stumbled and suffered the promised injury my savior before me encountered!

What is it?  What is it?  My body longs for rest yet my spirit continues to harass my mind into paying attention.

Dumbbell – Get It?

Saturday I served at Funeral for a friend who passed away unexpectedly. He had three sons. Good looking kids. Caused me to remember I had taught the oldest during preparation for Confirmation (15-16 years old) a long time ago. Confirmation is a Sacrament of initiation in the Catholic Church.

I brought to class a 50 lb dumbbell from the local gym. How can I
get these kids to think about what Confirmation is preparing them for?

Note a dumbbell from the local gym comes from the real world. It has a handle that has been soiled with real flesh, skin, sweat and even blood. I asked these kids if they knew what it was used for?

At first silence and finally someone said to build muscle and strength. I asked if anyone willing to demonstrate how to lift it and curl it. To my surprise a young lady bravely stepped forward and grabbed the dumbbell. Promptly it dropped to the floor with a crash. Her willingness to step forward generated silence among many.

It was then, that my friends oldest son quietly stepped forward and to my amazement not only lifted the weight but property curled that 50 lb. dumbbell. Wow I thought, I could curl it but I needed to warm up first.

Next I asked them how long it would take before they could do what this young man did? Well – brave heart – so how does one go about preparing oneself to curl a 50 lb dumbbell?

Consistent repetition, starting at an initial weight one can easily handle and then followed by more consistency gradual working ones way up gradually until ones muscles replicate the action successfully.

But wait a minute – aren’t we talking about Confirmation? Could it be the muscles we are talking about are spiritual. Yet they are no different than the muscles attached to our bodies that we can see. Like so many things in life they built upon the same founding principle == “use it or lose it”.

It we don’t use our muscles they atrophy and we lose strength.

Our spiritual muscles are no different. If we want our spiritual muscles to grow we must make a decision to consistently enter the spiritual gym and begin with lifting spiritual weights that at first can be easily handled. Life is about carrying a cross and sometimes we are called to carry the cross of someone we love. I had an aunt who carried a heavy burden but she was able to lay down her cross so she could pick up the cross of her son who came home to die of AIDS – the symbolic handle of the handle on a dumbbell.

If we don’t use our muscles they atrophy. If we don’t use our mind it will atrophy. If we don’t use our spirit it will atrophy. Then when the day comes and we desperately need strength to handle the weight of the cross that surely will find its way into our life we will have a spirit to call upon that can prevent us from crashing to the floor.

What is that “A Puddle”?

The Baptism of the Lord   January 13, 2013

The Possibilities Story:

“In the beginning”.  The Heavens opened and the Spirit hovered over the waters, the wellspring of all life.  It is a story of not only the beginning but the story of a companion who will travel with us on a journey to continual rebirth.  It is a story of the very real possibility of being reborn to the possibility a fresh start with the breath of new life again and again without end.  When we are down in the dumps – know within lives the grace of our baptism.

What is it that we are longing to be reborn to?  What road block and impossibility is it that we want to overcome?  What is the magic secret tonic, brew or medicine or ingredient will do the trick for us.  Is it possible we may already have received and have at our finger tips such a magical and spiritual potion?

Let’s examine that theory!  It was the kindergarten teacher’s birthday and the students decided that they would each give their teacher a gift.

The first student, whose parents own a florist shop, gave her a present. She held it and said “I guess that it is flowers”. “How did you guess?” asked the little boy. She laughed and thanked him.

The second student, whose parents own a candy store, gave her a present. She held it and said, “I guess that is some candy.”  “How did you guess?” asked the little boy. She again laughed and thanked him also.

The third student, whose parents own a bottle of spirits shop, gave her a box which was leaking. The teacher touched the liquid with her finger and tasted it. “Mmmmm is it wine?” she asked.  “No,” said the little girl.

So she tasted it again. “Is it champagne?” she asked.  “Noooo,” replied the little girl, “It’s a puppy.”

Do we know God loves you even when we “P” all over ourselves!

Water and God and the Wind of Creation

Yep he sure does and that’s what today lesson is all about!  And did you know “dog” spelled backwards spells “God”?

You see God is like a puppy, when we come back to him He gets so excited the grace of our baptism begins to sprinkle, and pour all over us again like the very first time.  Come back to me with all your heart and I will cover you with living waters.

From time to time in life we need a way, sneaky as it may be, to be reminded of who we are!  Our frail human nature and the world ties us up in knots which can causes us to lose track of our spiritual history and forget who we are.  Sometime we forget where we all originally came from and for what purpose we were created in the first place.

Listen again for the first time!   At his baptism “the heavens were opened” 237 – the heavens that Adam’s and Eve’s sin had closed – and the waters were sanctified again by the descent of Jesus and the Spirit of God descended upon the waters – the wellspring of all life.

The Spirit who had hovered over the waters of the first creation descended in the bodily form of a dove upon Christ.  A new beginning, a new creation, and God the Father revealed Jesus as his “beloved Son.”  This is the prelude to the greatest story ever told.

Baptism is a Living Sacrament:

Baptism is not limited to and just that sacrament we received so very long ago!  Baptism is a living sacrament.

Baptism is the pathway that opens a doorway to new life in every blind alley. Baptism is the doorway that lead to the Eucharist, which overcomes death.  Jesus Baptism preceded the Baptism which he had to be baptized.

The blood and water that flowed from the pierced side of the crucified Jesus are types of Baptism and the Eucharist, the sacraments of that opened the pathway from death to new life.

From then on, it is possible “to be born of water and the Spirit” in order to enter the Kingdom of God. [766]   This is the good news to which each of us are called.

Go – Go out into the world!

“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.”

 

The Secret – The Spirit Hidden Within

17th Sunday of Ordinary Time July 29, 201

I know a secret!  Anyone want to know what my secret is?  Is anyone searching for answers?  Is anyone searching for wisdom?  Does anyone want to know the secret to becoming the creator of an idea or dream that leads to a success story?  Does anyone want to know the secret to achieving more than they ever thought they could?

Anyone want to know the secret to living life in a manner which sets free ones spirit to dream and imagine beyond one limitations.  Anyone want to know the secret doorway that allows one to utilize ones natural aptitudes and talents to the fullest?  Anyone want to know and live the reason for which they were created?  Does anyone want to know the secret to the source that enables one to reach beyond themselves to open and create a spiritual infection that engulfs and set on fire all those around them?

To discover this secret one must be ready and open to having their heart tested?  Does anyone know what heart I am talking about?  It is the heart of our spirit – the place now one else knows or can see.  It’s the place where we freely make our decisions!  It is the place the evil one attacks to destroy the spirit of truth that lives there.

Listen to the secret that is hidden in the scripture readings today!  From 2 Kings we hear of a man from Baal-shalishah.  This must have been a man grounded of the earth with dirt under his fingernails – a farmer who brought Elisha, twenty barley loaves made from the first fruits, and fresh grain in the ear.
Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat.”  Being a practical hard working common servant of the earth he objected.  You gotta be kidding me!  This is the best of my best.  It is reserved for sacrifice to God alone.  Further “How can I set this before a hundred people and each have enough to eat?”

Yet Elisha insisted for he knew the secret, “Give it to the people to eat.”  “For thus says the LORD, ‘They shall eat and there shall be some left over.'”  Indeed when they had eaten, there was some left over.  One can not out give God.

The secret reveled?  Within the Barley grain lie’s a secret.  In those days barley was considered a common grain for common people and to feed the poor.  But Elisha knew the secret hidden there.  Barley provides excellent nutrition and protein to sustain life abundantly.  It is food that provides for growth and bone and muscle.  Even today Barley is feed to maintain a competitive edge to racing pigeons so they can excel.  Barley is a symbol of no matter how lowly or poor one is viewed one cannot exhaust the potential spirit of God that lives within no matter the circumstances of the time!

We humans are such slow learners and throughout history we tend to stumble over the same basic lessons of truth – To teach us God chooses what the world views as foolish, weak, lowly, common, poor, despised or essentially unqualified.  Our God unleashes from a spirit of unity, an abundance which can overcome the impossible to those willing to open their hearts to the risk of encountering the spirit of God that calls from within ones heart.

Again the essence of this secret is reveled in the letter to the Ephesians!  Did we hear it?  We are called to the unity of one hope, one Lord and Father of all, one faith, and one baptism.  The secret of abundance lives in the grace that flows from the spirit of Baptism into the soul of the baptized for ever more!  We tend to think of baptism as a one time event of long ago.  Yet we know our souls are marked indelibly, forever and the grace of Baptism can never be exhausted!  One cannot separate the spirit from the body for this God never abandons us!  Our hope lives in our unity with God’s potential to overcome division from within.

Today we will celebrate the Baptism of one of our own.  The spirit of the secret will be poured out through Baptism onto not just this child of God but we the baptized will be re-immersed into the unity of the font of new life.  We the people stand as the witness for the church.  We the people stand as the unity of the Body of Christ dedicated to supporting this child from this day forward.

Like the people of Jesus time we the people must live in our modern day, a world full of anger, inequity and turmoil.  We are confronted with what seems an endless and unbounded human ability to wreck tragic anger, failure, uncertainty, fear, and grief upon our fellow man.  We soberly stand as a witness to the recent 2012 Massacre in Colorado where God seems to have been absent or even cruel.

In the gospel today we hear Jesus saw the hunger of the large crowd.  So He asked Philip, where can we purchase enough food to feed them?  “Two hundred days?’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.'” Then Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?”   Note a boy in Jesus time was considered by the world to be almost nonexistent, owned by his parents, an insignificant nobody.

Jesus said, “Have the people recline.”

Through the boy, the barley loaves and two fishes the secret ingredient is reveled.  An abundant and inexhaustible supply of the food for the hungry is always at the finger tips of a people in desperate need of the truth that sets people free.

If we want to begin restoring our nation to prosperity the journey begins with a willing spirit open to the secret that lives in the unity of faith in only one true God who can multiply what appears to be the spirit hidden in common barley loaves and feed a hungry people.

All times of testing are not comfortable.  But the secret hidden in the story will sustain us for it’s demonstrates God’s graciousness, for through the revelation of God’s gift of free will only a spirit united to God can achieve a deepening of our unity in one faith and an inexhaustible supply of the spirit of love to crumble the walls of division.