Tough Nuts to Crack

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Tough Nuts To Crack”

First Sunday of Lent, Year B

The image was striking: a woman with the sign of the cross in ashes on her forehead tightly hugging a child (daughter?) both sobbing bitterly. Their photo captured by the reporter at the scene of the Ash Wednesday shooting at a Southern Florida High School where 17 people died tragically and many others wounded, and reasonable people left asking, “How much more of this can we take?”

Immediately the debate began over gun control, over mental illness, over the violence in this country, and so on. All are appropriate and, if past experience holds true, nothing will come of it. What is missing from the conversation is the mention of the word “sin.” We are missing a critical element contributing to this tragedy if we are not able to see “sin,” that is evil at work in our world as a source of the problem. Unfortunately, the word “sin” doesn’t enter the conversation. How then can we have “contrition” if we aren’t able to recognize the “sin?” How then can we ever have a solution to the many similar problems that plague us if we can’t acknowledge their source?

The word “Contrition” comes from the Latin word contritio, a breaking of something hardened. Contrition is the action we take to break away from our patterns of behavior that cause us pain, our self-inflected wounds if you will. In spiritual language we call this behavior, “sin,” and the desire to break our attraction to what harms, no longer to be “crushed by guilt.” is called, “contrition.”

To experience such a horrific act on Ash Wednesday encourages us to look at the sin in our lives and our need for contrition, “for what we have done and for what we have failed to do” as our Catholic faith reminds us of our active and passive participation with sin.

It is interesting that the word “contritio” connotes a breaking something hardened. Scriptures warns us about “hardness of heart” in Psalm 95... If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.  Pharaoh’s heart was hardened as were the hearts of the people of Israel as they crossed the desert to the Promised Land. Scripture reveals that nothing good results from a spiritual hardness of heart. There is much evidence to suggest that many of us suffer from some form of hardness of heart today. Take our attitudes, for instance. There are many who have become hardened to one degree or another by life’s experiences A homeless person will approach us on the street and ask for some change and we refuse them. We justify our actions in many different ways…They need to get a job…. They will only buy booze… and on and on.

Our attitudes are fixed on every topic from A – Z, from abortion to xenophobia and we are not about to change our positions, only hunker down on them.

That is exactly what the Season of Lent is all about. It’s time to make some changes in our attitudes and, as Philippians 2:5 says, “Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus.” And our attitudes can only change when we take steps to change the focus of our life from ourselves to Christ as the epicenter.

I don’t think many of us enter Lent looking to do a complete makeover of our lives. Most of us know that even small changes in our behavior are very difficult to make. Just try to stop smoking or go on a low cholesterol diet! We find out then how making small changes really impacts many other facets of our lives

Maybe that’s why we approach Lent so cautiously. We are afraid to go messing around with some of those attitudes that need to be adjusted Let’s face it; it is easier to give up a meal here and there than to try reaching out to a co-worker who is always making our lives miserable. It is much easier to say a Rosary than to say, “I forgive you” to someone who has hurt us in the past. It is much easier to do nothing because the problems we face are too big than to look at our own complicity with sin with a contrite heart and make the changes we need to make.   

During this Lenten season, let’s ask God for His grace that calls us to a spirit of “Contrition” so He may help us in our efforts to breakdown any and all of those attitudes that keep us separated from His love, mercy, and compassion.

Enjoy the day and remember to say “I Love You” to the special people in your life.

Deacon Tom

Image Credit: doodlescribble/1306@deviant.com

Healing Touch

Deacon Tom Writes,

A Healing Touch

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B 

It’s interesting how the same words can take on different meanings. For instance, if we walked into a room today in the middle of a conversation and heard someone say, “He touched me,” we might think of the #Me Too movement about sexual harassment or some inappropriate behavior being described. But if we turn the clock back to the day Jesus encountered the leper who asked to be made clean, a different image comes to mind. Jesus touched him and immediately he was made clean. In this case… touching brings about healing.

The simple act of touch is such a powerful gesture. It can produce either great physical and psychological trauma or it can bring about tremendous healing and comfort. Jesus, of course, brought about great comfort as he healed people throughout His ministry.

Jesus willingly touched the leper even though by that action He violated the Mosaic Law. He did so because He had pity on this poor, suffering Child of God. Jesus’ compassion for this man compels Him to place His hands upon him to show him that he was not “invisible”, that he was lovable even in his physical distress, and perhaps more importantly, that God was with Him, right by his side, suffering with him.

What a lesson this was for Jesus’ follower…. and for us! There was no boundary that Jesus would not breach to teach us about the dignity and worth that we all possess by virtue of our humanity. God’s love is unconditional and knows no limits. We are called to imitate Jesus by loving others even when they are “untouchable,” like the leper in today’s gospel. He was made much more than clean; he was given new life, all because of a simple touch. And we all desire that new life, no matter how “untouchable.”

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Self-inflicted Wounds

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Self-inflicted Wounds”

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Today’s readings begin with Job’s lament. He has lost everything: his family, health, fortune, and friends. He is living in misery; he has cut himself off from God and given up hope. One would have to look far and wide to find an equally pathetic creature under the sun, we might think. But how wrong we would be! Several years ago Sojourners Magazine, an inspirational magazine that carries articles where faith, politics, and culture intersect ran an article with the title, “Ending the World’s Most Savage Cruelty.” Gets your attention, doesn’t it?   

The article’s lead story is on the subject of global human trafficking. When it comes to suffering and misery, we have outdone ourselves!‼  The exploitation of women and children for the sex trade, child labor, and child soldiers is simply beyond comprehension. The torture and torment know no boundaries. Antislavery activist Siddhartha Kara in his 2010 exposé Sex trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery wrote these haunting words. “I experienced no emotion more devastating than peering into the eyes of and enslaved human child. Where one expects to see the spark of innocence, one discovers instead the abyss of humankind’s most savage cruelty.”

“More girls have been killed by violence or neglect in the last 50 years precisely because they were girls.” Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas Kristof and Sherryl WuDunn report in their acclaimed Half the Sky, “than men were killed in all the battles of the 20^th century.” http://globalsolutions.org

Not thousands, not hundreds of thousands, but more than a million children are living the nightmare of torment and torture as sex or labor slaves or child soldiers today….

Sickness and disease have plagues humanity from the beginning of time and have been the cause of much of our suffering. But this horrific evil - the sex trade, like war, poverty, ignorance, and so many other crimes against humanity, we bring about ourselves. We are the master designers of the misery and the suffering endured by the innocent….because our greed, our depravity and our perversity is without limit but surely not without notice. How often we hear the Psalm, “The Lord hears the cries of the poor.” In a world so fallen from grace, we must ask ourselves, “What is God asking of us?” and become engaged in being part of the solution. A first step is to become aware of the problem. To that extent, I hope this article accomplished that. The rest is between God and us.

Have a super Sunday!!!

Deacon Tom

I Know Who You Are

Deacon Tom Writes,

     “I Know Who You Are”

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Scholars believe that Mark’s gospel was the first of the four gospels to be written. It was composed shortly before 70 AD in Rome when followers of the Way (the name Christian had not yet emerged) were being persecuted and the devastation of Jerusalem was imminent. After a brief introduction of John the Baptist as herald of Jesus’ public ministry, Mark relates this short, yet amazing, story of Jesus curing the man with an unclean spirit. “I know who you are – the Holy One of God!” says that poor soul. “Quiet! Come out of him!’ Jesus responds.

Jesus begins his ministry by liberating a man bound up and tormented by some terrible affliction….sickness….mental condition…demonic possession. The cause of his condition is irrelevant. What people saw, what made them marvel was that Jesus had amazing power and that he used it for the well being of one of his neighbors who had suffered terribly. They ask the question, “What is this, a new teaching with authority?” Yes, it is, one that we continue to spread nearly 2,000 years later. It is the quintessential teaching not only of one man’s liberation; it is our story too, of our struggle to get free from all that imprisons us, from all that has hardened our hearts and blinded us to the sorrows and sufferings of those around us. It is a new teaching which calls us to be like the Master, to imitate him by helping others break free from whatever shackles them, diminishes their dignity and self-worth, exploits their labor, or impoverishes them.

No wonder the unclean spirits ask Jesus, “Have you come to destroy us?” They knew very well who Jesus was and what he had come to do. He came so that we might live life to the fullest, in the freedom and joy that belongs to all God’s children, to all who profess faith in Jesus, who turn to him in prayer, and who in their hearts can truly say, “I know who you are‼”

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Time is Running Out!

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Time is running out”

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Paul’s message to the Corinthians rings equally true for us today, “Time is running out!” Who ever has enough time? Ronald Rolheiser in his book, “Against an Infinite Horizon” writes, “In the torment of the insufficiency of everything attainable we come to understand that here, in this life, all symphonies remain unfinished”. What a sobering thought that reminds us that we all suffer from a chronic shortage of time. The clock is always running; how important it is for us to invest our time wisely.  

 Paul’s letter to the Corinthians wasn’t a lesson on time management! He stresses the importance of using the time we have now wisely in light of a future event that he is quite sure will take place in the near future. Paul is referring to the end times, the end of one era, and the beginning of a new one, when Christ will return in glory. This will be the final age when the things of this world will pass away and God’s Kingdom that Christ established in His time will reign forever. The message St. Paul wants us to understand is that in order to prepare for that day, we need to live differently and act differently; we need to align our lives with Jesus and His teaching and not in accord with the ways of the world.

We look to Jesus to teach us how to be faithful to the gospel while living in this world. According to Mark the journey begins when we answer His call, as did His first disciples. Simon and Andrew, James and John dropped everything when Jesus invited them to “Come after me.” Jesus knew that time was critical and there was much work to be done. How interesting that two thousand years later nothing has really changed! Time is still the most precious element in our lives. My appreciation of that fact has deepened when I began visiting hospice on a regular basis. To some extent, time stops there. So many emotions are at work as spouses, children, grandchildren, and friends sit at the side of the bed as their loved one passes on. I often hear the expression, “I’ve lost track of time” or “I don’t even know what day it is.” Sometimes there is a lot of sadness and regret on the part of the survivors who feel guilty for not spending more time with their loved one, for not showing enough care. And as I said, time seems to stop as the inevitable unfolds.

There is still much work to be done and the clock is running as we maintain our vigil for the Kingdom of God to break forth on earth. We have time to do a simple act of kindness for a friend or loved one. We can lift somebody’s spirit with a phone call, a card, a simple “thank you” or a smile as you pass by. We have time to do so much good and to let the light of Christ shine in our lives so as to brighten the way for others as we wait for Christ to come again.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Waiting For The Lord

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Waiting For The Lord”

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

The Responsorial Psalm today is from Psalm 40, “I have waited, waited for the Lord, and he stooped toward me and heard my cry.” These words are a reminder that God works in His time and that waiting for the Lord is a habit we must form if we are to deepen our relationship with the One who hears all our cries.

We live at a time when we want our demands to be fulfilled instantly; we don’t want to wait for anything. I can pop a dinner in the microwave and sit down to a full meal in 2 minutes. I can go on-line, order a book or anything else I want and have it in my hands tomorrow. I can send money around the world with a click of the mouse. I can even watch my grandkids in Virginia decorating the Christmas tree while I am sitting in my living room in Weeki Wachee. It’s almost too good to be true! But when it comes to forming good habits or developing virtue, these things take time, effort, and prayer. Notice you don’t see the words “instant” or “easy”! Perhaps that’s why we all seem to be experiencing this growing sense of impatience which seems to be making the virtuous life ever more elusive than in the past.

We don’t know what the person who prayed Psalm 40 was asking God to accomplish in his or her life. It must have been something very important…comfort from some sorrow...forgiveness for some sin, some transgress, healing from some pain or compulsion. Whatever it was, God delivered, in God’s own time, filing this prayerful, penitent, and patient person with a new song, a hymn to God.

Waiting on God is never easy. Waiting for God to act in our lives is never something that we have on our list of things to do today. We turn to God when our world comes tumbling down, usually when we have no other place to turn.

Today’s Responsorial Psalm is an invitation for us to sit quietly before the Lord and wait for Him to act in our lives…. No crises going on…. great, that’s even better. In any event, if we place ourselves before God patiently, He will come into our lives and give us a new song or two to fill us with joy and remind us of His presence to guide us and abide with us throughout the day.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Hearts That Throb And Overflow

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Hearts That Throb And Overflow”

The Epiphany of the Lord, Year B

Isaiah gives us a vision of the future to inform us what God has in store for us. The only way he can describe it is to describe our reaction to the things God is planning. This is how he sums it up, he says that our “hearts will throb and overflow…at what we see”.

We have just celebrated Christmas, the birth of Christ, our Savior. The most ancient of prophecies has been fulfilled, and we have joined in the festivities. The good news has gone out to all the earth, into every nook and cranny, carried in the hearts and minds of believers throughout the ages. Christ came to restore what was lost – our union with the divine. As our celebrations wind down, we can ask ourselves these few questions. Are our hearts throbbing? Are we overflowing with joy, peace, and a clam inner spirit? Are we rejoicing because “the glory of the Lord” is shining in us? That’s what we celebrate today, God’ faithfulness to His promises of old, by repairing the breach that separated creatures from the creator, the human from the divine. What a cause for celebration!

The spirit of Epiphany is one of an awakening to all that surrounds us. Epiphany happens each and every day we chose to surrender ourselves to God and let Him guide our way, our thoughts, and our actions. This is what gets our hearts into a constant state of throbbing and keeps them that way. Yes, a new house... exciting for a while; a new car… fun, until the first dinger; the beach house…that will get the blood flowing during the summer. But where can we find the one thing that will fill all of our hearts desires and keep it throbbing? In the most unlikely place possible… in the very quiet within each of us; that place where God most high has chosen to dwell within us.

May the spirit of Christ dwelling within us cause our hearts to throb and overflow as we begin this New Year. And may the love within us reach out to others giving them comfort, hope, and joy so that their hearts may throb and overflow with the love of the Christ child.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom