Prayer of Thanks

 

Karen, the widow of my good friend Ken, who died unexpectedly in November wrote me a very kind thank you note on behalf of her family.  Her words were very humbling. In response, I wrote the following prayer of gratitude to Karen that expresses my sadness and desire to bring comfort to her, his son joe and all their family. May I suggest if you have a family or friend who has suffered a recent lost, to email or write a note to express that they are still in your thoughts and prayers.

 

My dear Karen:

“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about your beloved Ken and offer my prayers that he is safe in the arms of Our Lord in heaven.

 

Your thoughtful card and prayers from yourself and family are much appreciated. Ken was not only my mentor but my best friend who understood my ministry as a priest. He stood behind me when I made a decision to help reopen the closed RC parish in North Java into a PNCC Catholic church. He knew the RC bureaucracy would expunge me from their church. However, it did not deter my vocation to serve and reopen a Catholic faith community and serves the people of Wyoming County with a hospice services open to people of all faiths and traditions.

 

He helped me cut down thousands of grapevines that were killing the trees on our farm. He also supported my vision to make our land into an educational center. At the current moment, I am negotiating with Brockport College inviting their students and faculty to use our land as a resource to study the environment. To date, we have no signed agreement but I pray Ken’s spirit is helping from heaven to make this dream a reality.

 

As I shared at the funeral service, he was my uber for all those adventures to the National Parks where I enjoyed taking landscape photos while he would explore the seashore or climb a mountain. I knew that after each adventure he planned to bring his grandkids along for future adventures.

 

Since the funeral, I have met with his wonderful son Joe several times. We have discussed several topics about his studies at school, his career decision to work at the office, religion, and to his relationship to God.

It would seem that my new role in life is to mentor Joe to become the

best person that he can be. I welcome this opportunity to help this young man to follow in the footsteps of his dad. To help him learn that happiness in life is not found in fame, wealth or power but in relationships where our purpose in life is to be of service to people by being generous and compassionate in all our relationships with them.

 

I have you in my daily prayers that Our Lady who understood sorrow at the foot of the cross of her son will be by your side to give you strength and comfort in the coming days. Thank you again for the humble privilege to lead the service and allow me to share stories about Ken and our adventures. Keep me posted on any family gatherings in the future, I would love to join your family. May Our Lady protect you always and keep you in good health.”

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who are grieving the death of family members and friends. Remind them that our God is a God of life and not death. As my friend Ken would often say: “You got to be lucky.” Yes, we are lucky that as children of God we are destined to be reunited with all our family and friends in Paradise.

 

 

 

We Are Children of God

 

In the Baptism of Our Lord, the voice from heaven declares the newly baptized Jesus to be his Beloved Son, with whom God is “well pleased.” The phrase “well pleased” sounds a little tame to me, like something you’d say if the restaurant that cooked your steak the way you wanted it. If I had to translate this sentence from Luke’s gospel, I’d say, “You are my Son, the Beloved; I see something really, really special in you!”

 

It is the same for us in each of our own individual baptisms. It is the Spirit which comes upon each of us at baptism which enables us to live Christian lives. And with the Spirit of Love within us, we too can do wonderful things, selfless things, things which enable the unconditional love of God to shine forth through us to others.

 

For example, a young husband has a crippling, terminal neurological disease. His wife is carrying a baby which this young man may never live to see. So he writes a letter to this unborn child to say something very important that is in his heart. "Your mother is very special," he writes. "Few men know what it is like to receive appreciation for taking their wives out to dinner when it entails what it does for us. It means that she has to dress me, shave me, brush my teeth, comb my hair, wheel me out of the house and down the steps, open the garage and put me in the car, take the pedals off the chair, stand me up, sit me in the seat of the car, twist me around so that I am comfortable, fold the wheelchair, put it in the car, go around to the other side of the car, start it up, back it out, get out of the car, pull the garage door down, get back into the car, drive off to the restaurant. And then, it starts all over again. She gets out of the car, unfolds the wheelchair, opens the door, spins me around, stands me up, seats me in the wheelchair, pushes the pedals out, closes and locks the car, wheels me into the restaurant, then takes the pedals off the wheelchair so I won't be uncomfortable. We sit down to have dinner, and she feeds me throughout the entire meal. And when it's over she pays the bill, pushes the wheelchair out to the car again, and repeats the same routine. And when it's over, finished, with real warmth, she'll say, 'Honey, thank you for taking me out to dinner.' I never quite know what to answer...

 

If you have ever been the recipient of unconditional love, you know what this young man felt. If you ever get a grasp on all that Christ has done on your behalf, you will understand what it means not to know what to say. You and I are the recipients of an amazing self-giving love. The Lord of all life came into our world and gave his life for us. That is who Christ is and what he has done. He is not simply a good teacher who gave us some insightful lessons about life. He is the Cornerstone that was rejected. He is the Lily of the Valley crushed under the heel of humanity's sins. And because he left his throne and entered our valley, the valley of suffering and pain, he knows our hurt, our disappointment, our fears, our frustrations, our anger.

 

And how do we know that God knows? Because Christ has walked where we walk. He has experienced what we experience. At Jesus' baptism, we are introduced to Jesus as the Father's Son, with whom the Father is well pleased. Jesus was baptized to show us who he is and to show us how much God loves us. Because we have been baptized, we know who we are. We are children of God.

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that just as Jesus received his commission at his own baptism, we received the Spirit of Love into our lives at our baptism and with that Spirit, we too can do wonderful things, like the wife in the story. When we were baptized, the heavens did not open nor a voice come forth as when our Lord was baptized. However, the Spirit of Love, which we have all received, should lead us to live lives as children of God, so that one day our Father will look at us face to face and say: "You are my beloved child in whom I am well pleased. Enter into the joy of your Master."

 

What is Your Shooting Star?

 

I am at Cathedral Gorge in Nevada taking sunset reflections of the landscape, but as I scout this location my real goal is to come back in the pitch of night to do some astro photography. Yes, I came back at 9pm into the park, carefully driving into the parking lot, finding my way in the dark. I set up my tripod, shined some light on a cliff while looking up into the night sky. The above photo is a “God moment” for while you see the stars shining bright, there is a shooting star streaking across the night sky. Awesome!

 

This reminds me of the following Scripture verse: “Where is the child who has been born King of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising and have come to pay him homage.” (Matthew 2:2) 

 

Epiphany comes from a Greek word meaning “manifestation” or “appearing” is the day after the Twelfth Day of Christmas and celebrates this story in Matthew’s gospel (Matthew 2:1-12) about some astrologers from “the East”—possibly from Babylon (which is modern-day Iraq)—who’ve determined that an unusually bright star is a heavenly sign that a new king is being born. 

 

Being good diplomats, these clever fellows set off to follow the star to Judea where they intend to offer some pricey birthday presents to the new little sovereign, possibly on behalf of their nation and the folks back home. The trouble is, as you can readily tell from the gospel reading, the guy who currently occupies the throne of Judea isn’t too tickled to know there’s a new king on his turf, so he plans to use the stargazers as spies so he can find the little tyke and snuff out his competition.

 

Here's a little back story: The Wise Men, as we call them, may likely have been Zoroastrian priests who were revered for studying the heavenly bodies and predicting their influences upon the earth. The miraculous star may have been a comet or possibly a close conjunction between Saturn and Jupiter which astronomers believe occurred around the end of the reign of King Herod.

Another legend, which I like, says that they were of three different ages. Gaspar was a very young man. Balthazar was in his middle age, and Melchior was an old man. When they arrived at Bethlehem, they went into the cave one at a time. When Melchior, the old man, went into the cave, there was no one there but a very old man his own age with whom he was quickly at home. And they spoke together of memory and of gratitude. The middle-aged Balthazar encountered a middle-aged teacher when he went into the cave and they talked passionately of leadership and responsibility. And when young Gaspar entered, he met a young prophet, and they spoke words of reform and promise. And then when they had all gone outside after going in one by one, the three of them took their gifts and went in together. And when they went in together there was nobody there but a twelve-day-old infant. And later on they understood. The Savior speaks to every stage of life. The old hear the call to integrity and wisdom. The middle-aged hear the call to generativity and responsibility. And the young hear the call to identity and intimacy.

What jumps out at you about this story? Jesus is constantly inviting us. What is he inviting you to today? And will you accept his invitation? Will you say yes? Will you say no? Will you say maybe? Will you vacillate on whether or not to accept his invitation? Or will you just boldly say, "Yes, I will follow"? And that's what we see with the magi; we see them boldly responding to Jesus's call, boldly responding to Jesus's invitation. And so whatever it is he's inviting you to do today, I encourage you, I challenge you to boldly say yes. Our purpose is to cultivate the way of the Savior in our everyday lives. It’s a call to be loving, compassionate, inclusive, generous, and forgiving. It’s also a call to see the way of Christ in other human beings and to celebrate that holy presence when we recognize it. 

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that we will be less hung up on doctrines and traditions and just, like the Wise Men, seek Jesus. We won’t care about our position in society, but we will care about the hungry, the hurting, and the lost. We won’t insist on conformity, but we will open our churches for the healing and comfort of all people, no questions asked. May this New Year be a time when you draw closer to Jesus.

 

Calm

 

This morning as I am watching the London New Year’s parade, I was humbled to receive the following email from a Sonshine Friend. “Pray you take time to take care of yourself- remembering we are all human- you’ve had a lot going on in your personal life-the scare you had earlier with your wife, the loss of Ken, tending to his family, of your close friend Father Erick’s daughter being murdered, and checking in on his family, all the loss, crisis, struggles and difficulties you assist with… and especially when feeling a wee bit run down-  and it’s one of the busiest times of the year- none of us want anything to happen to you!!!  So please do take care of yourself, know others care.”

 

Let me share this reflection about being “calm.” “Let it be done unto me according to your will,” Mary had said.

A real Archangel had appeared, handing out shocking news. What a jolt the Annunciation must have been for someone so unassuming, as Mary. Did she flinch?

No. She reacted with calm. She said simply, “I accept. Tell me how this wonderful birth will happen.”

But the series of events that followed do not seem to warrant calm. Mary became a betrothed woman found pregnant. Her husband-to-be had been about to divorce her until an angel explained things in a dream.

And since walking was the usual mode of transportation in those days, sometimes for astonishing distances, the census call did not make her promise easy. It was the last part of her pregnancy—the most difficult time of all to travel from Nazareth in the far north of Israel down to Bethlehem, which is south of Jerusalem. Not an impossible distance, but in the last month of pregnancy, a real challenge. This was God’s will and she had accepted it. Joseph in his kindness got a donkey for Mary to ride.

This Sunday we see Mary just days after the grueling journey and the amazing birth. She is carrying out the promise she made to Gabriel. All is well. The child is healthy and cute, and the angels, unable to contain their joy, have once more danced into Mary’s life. Even the animals understand. It is breathtaking.

It would seem that Mary’s calm would now seek some quiet and rest after all that had happened. But no. Unkempt shepherds, straight from the fields, “went in haste” to the shelter, announcing in their craggy voices that they knew who this baby is. Angels had told them. Wise men, or as we now say, kings, found the holy shelter and barged right in, bearing royal gifts.

Does this all impinge on Mary’s peace? No. She is good to her word. The Gospel says that she quietly "kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.”

How could she do this? Part of it was her personality, but even more, it was the presence of God deep within her, so deep that she let her life become one with his, and produced a son. Life on this earth is never free from hazards and setbacks and stunning difficulties, but as Mary let her heart reflect, and as she watched each movement of the newborn baby, she breathed in a holiness, a degree of holiness that even she had not known before.

“May it be done unto me according to your will.” Her acceptance was complete.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends in this New Year that we witness this calm, in ourselves, within a crowded, difficult, surprising stable, as we keep the picture of it within our own hearts, may each of us be able to echo her words, “May it be done unto me according to your will.”

May the intercession of our Blessed Mother bring you closer to her Son and fill your year with grace, hope, and peace.

 

Wishing you a happy and blessed New Year!

 

Blessed are the Caregivers

 

On Christmas Day, I heard Fr. Joe preach this wonderful Christmas story about the farmer and the geese in the snowstorm. It goes like this.

There was once a man who did not believe in either the virgin birth of Christ or the spiritual meaning behind it and was skeptical even about God. He and his family lived in a farm community. "It's all nonsense -- why would God lower himself and become a human like us? It's such a ridiculous story," he said.

One snowy day, the snow turned into a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening. Then he heard a loud thump, something hitting against the window. And, still another thud. He looked outside but could not see anything. So he ventured outside for a better view. In the field near his house, he saw, of all the strangest things, a flock of geese. They were caught in the snow storm and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter, unable to do more than flutter their wings and fly in aimless circles. He had compassion for them and wanted to help them. He thought to himself; the barn would be a excellent place for them to stay. So he opened the barn doors for them.

He waited, watching them, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. Nevertheless, they did not notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. He moved closer toward them to get their attention, but they just moved away from him out of fear. Starting to get frustrated, he went over and tried to shoo them toward the barn. They panicked and scattered in every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where there was warmth, safety, and shelter. 

 

He thought for a moment and realized that they would not follow a human. He said to himself, "How can I possibly save them? The only way would be for me to become like those geese. If only I could become like one of them. Then I could save them. They would follow me, and I would lead them to safety."

At that moment, he stopped and considered what he had said. The words reverberated in his mind: If only I could become like one of them, then I could save them. Then, at last, he understood God's heart towards mankind and he fell on his knees in the snow.

 

Great story, but as I reflected on the meaning I wanted to take the story a step further into your imagination and think about the caregivers in your life.

 

On Christmas Eve, my next door neighbor’s housekeeper called me to say Maggie asked for my help because her cell phone was not working. I walked over in the snow and she showed me that every time she touched the number zero it did not record the number but a slash icon. I touched the pads and the number zero worked fine for me.  Maggie presses zero and again the slash icon appears. We call Consumer Cell and the agent says she has life warranty and she can get a new phone. That means call the All State vendor, give them your warranty number, install a new SIM card, reset the system. Instead, I said “let’s practice using your phone.” Just tap zero and don‘t press so hard and the phone worked fine. Again, she practiced and her phone is working. However, before I leave, she says, “I got one more thing for you to look at?” Above her kitchen sink, the light is flickering. I climb the chair and luckily unscrew the fixture. Both light bulbs are shot, so I go back home to retrieve new bulbs and when we insert in the socket, “there be light” with no flickering.

 

This Sunday is called Shepherd Sunday, and you will hear cute stories about shepherds taking care of their sheep. I suggest we rename this weekend, “Shepherd Carergiver Sunday.” Why not remember the generosity and compassion of family members, neighbors and all our first responders who are “on-call 24/7” when a senior lights have gone out or their technology is on the fritz, or they have fallen in their home. Who comes to their rescue, their elderly sister, their daughter, or a kind neighbor, or the volunteer firefighter to pick them up off the floor.

When asked why would anyone go out of their way to help a stranger in need, think of our farmer and the geese who never realized that when he humbled himself to be those frozen birds, he found the compassion and patience to help.

 

Lord, I pray on this Holy Day “Shepherd Caregiver Sunday” for all my Sonshine Friends who are taking care of their senior parents, mentally challenged child, senior neighbors to the doctor office, physical therapy, pharmacy, grocery store, plowing the driveway, getting their mail, paying their bills, calling Medicare, or repairing a broken light bulb. May God bless you for your spirit of patience, generosity and compassion. Blessed are our caregivers, for you have a special place in heaven for your mercy and love.

 

 

Christmas Sunrise

 

It’s Monday morning and I have a doctor appointment to unplug my ears, check a nagging cough, pick up some mending from my Jewish tailor and shop for groceries at Wegman’s. But before my travels, I look outside my back kitchen window to a stunning scene.

 

It’s been a sorrowful month with the death of my best friend Ken. Then returning from Vegas helping Fr. Erick to learn that his precious daughter was murdered. And no live Christmas tree this year because all the tree farms we sold out while I was away helping another parish.

 

Lord, I need your comfort and peace. So, this morning, the Lord revealed His glory with this magnificent sunrise glowing through the trees.

 

Take a moment to chill and bathe in the beauty of this scene. You may feel exhausted, burned-out or simply sad and in tears. Stop, gaze and relax at this moment and let the light of Christ’s love fill you with comfort and peace.

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that this Christmas will find them in your tender arms. Filled with the joy that you came into our world to be a sign of hope when we are in despair.

 

 

 

Do Not Be Afraid

 

 

“Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.”

Joseph has to make a choice. He has the weight of religious law pressing down on his shoulders. You have the whispers that would surely come, the sideways glances, the judgment of neighbors who would count the months between wedding and birth. Any one of these could have driven Joseph to harsh action.

But in that one little word – yet – we hear the beating of Joseph’s broken heart. All those concerns were real, were justified, were true. Yet – Joseph loves Mary. Joseph loves God. And in that love, he searches for a solution that will protect her dignity even as his dreams crumble to dust.

And then – God intervenes.

As Joseph lies in the darkness, his heart heavy with the loss of the future he had imagined, God speaks. Through an angel in a dream, God confirms Mary’s incredible story and reveals something even more astounding – Joseph isn’t being written out of the story; he’s being written into the greatest story ever told. All he needs to do is trust those four powerful words: “Do not be afraid.”

Two thousand years later, God is still writing stories. Still looking for men and women willing to say “yes” when everything logical says “no.” Sometimes it’s in life’s small moments – when we’re too busy, too tired, too stressed to help someone in need. Sometimes it’s in those crossroad moments when God asks us to completely rewrite the script of our lives.

But here’s the truth that Joseph’s story echoes across the centuries: When God interrupts our plans, it’s not to use us – it’s to transform us. When our carefully constructed dreams shatter, it’s because God is building something far more beautiful than we could imagine. When the ground crumbles beneath our feet, it’s because God is teaching us to fly.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends, in this moment, what dream is God asking you to surrender? What impossible situation is He asking you to face? What angel is whispering “do not be afraid” to your doubting heart?

Everything in your life may be saying no… yet God is calling.
Everything may seem impossible… yet God is waiting.
Everything may feel broken… yet God is ready.

And you? You may feel unprepared, unworthy, unable… yet God has chosen you.