An Old Message in Modern Times

NORTH JAVA — Madelyn King delivers her lines during Saturday morning’s dress rehearsal for Holy Family Parish’s nativity play.

As with multiple other churches throughout the area, it’s a Christmas tradition and Madelyn, 11, is among 15 young people participating. The message is a bit heavy at first, with Madelyn playing a daughter talking with her mother about modern holiday expectations and unrealistic goals

Then it segues into the familiar story of Mary and Joseph, and Jesus Christ’s arrival in a Bethlehem manger.

“We’ve been practicing for a couple weeks,” Madelyn said. “It’s fun.”

The church’s Nativity play was written by its religious education students, who range from 4 to 16 years old. It was set to be performed Sunday, as part of the run-up to the Christmas holiday.

Titled “A Christmas Reminder,” it offered a younger person’s perspective in some ways — frazzled parents and frantic smartphone calls, amid the holiday rush, while forgetting the holiday’s religious reality and simple truth.

The young people had been writing and rehearsing the play for several weeks, and it ended with “Silent Night” and “Joy to the World.”

“I think they’re unique kids,” said Molly Haungs, who helps teach religious education at the parish. “They wanted to tell the Nativity story, but they wanted to tell in a way other people would be able to relate to, and would be more meaningful. I think that sometimes traditions allow things to get lost, and you can put a different twist on it, and then it becomes something that’s more heartfelt ... That’s what I think they were looking for.”

Likewise most of the churches in the region as they celebrate Christmas.

Rev. Matt Kawiak, the church’s pastor, said he thanked the kids, their parents and teachers for their sacrifices and work throughout the process, including getting up early on a Saturday morning for the dress rehearsal.

And the play indeed has meaning for the wider congregation and community, he said.

“The adults who are going to witness this tomorrow, I know they’re coming, even though they’re busy with holiday shopping, Christmas cookies and parties,” Kawiak said. “I know they’re coming with a lot of hurt and pain from their daily lives, and the purpose of the Nativity scene is to bring hope to people’s lives. It isn’t about the parties and buying the gifts. It’s about needing Jesus in our lives.

That can include anybody from frazzled parents, to older people living alone, to people in broken relationships, or who lost loved ones over the past year.

Kawiak said the church is inviting anybody, of any faith or background, to attend the church’s Christmas Mass at 4:30 p.m. today. Holy Family Parish is part of the Polish National Catholic Church.

“The bottom line is the nativity is a sign there is a God who cares about us and loves us, despite all the brokenness and hurt in our lives,” Kawiak said.

Do You Need A Healing?

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It has been a hard week for many patients. I have had a mother cry in my office whose daughter died last year of a sudden heart attack. Another mom’s son died a year ago just before thanksgiving of a drug overdose. A wonderful Italian woman just returned from visiting  her best friend of 40 years who is dying in her own home. 

Then on Wednesday, I was called to help teachers, aids and staff in a very special school where a third grader died unexpectedly.  Finally, I had a woman share that she had to go back to the hospital a second time this past month. While her doctor was explaining that further treatment would require surgery to correct an electrical problem, someone popped their head through the curtain. The doctor asked if it was OK to let this person into the room. She was surprised because it turned out to be her brother-in-law who is being treated for cancer. He came smiling through the curtain, walked around her bed, pulled up a chair and took by her hand and squeezed it and looked at the doctor and said; “What are you doing for my girl.” Her reaction, why she never felt so loved and appreciated in her life. Imagine this that. This man is battling cancer and yet he found the time to come and visit her.

This coming Sunday, The third Sunday of Advent I will lead an Healing Service. This is what I will say. "This morning you have come to receive a powerful sacrament, the Anointing of the Sick. God is here ready to perform a miracle. Now close your eyes and imagine you are the patient in that hospital bed. Imagine, it is God the Father, the Great Physician, who is talking to you about what he wants to do to help you feel better and take away your pain. Then imagine, it's Jesus who pops his head through that curtain, walks around your bed, pulls up a chair and takes you by the hand and squeezes it and looks up at his Father and says, “now tell me dad, what are you going to do to make my boy, my girl better.” In your heart, what would you tell God that needs to be healed?

Is it a cancer, an addiction, a broken-heart, a past hurt, a pain in your neck, back or knee, or all over. Do you have a bad ticker, or a soul that feels sad and empty. 

Now before you walk up the aisle to have your forehead and hands anointed, take a moment to think what needs to be healed in your life. When you show me your hands, you might say: 'Jesus I want to be healed of my….' and fill in the words or phrase that best expresses what’s hurting you most at this stage of your life. 

And I will say the healing prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to come down upon you to give you His strength, His courage and His healing."

Lord, I pray for all my online Sonshine Friends who are hurting in any physical, emotional or spiritual way that You come beside them now and take their hand and heal them with Your love and peace.

 

Priest's landscapes Support Comfort Care Hospice

There are many ways to support a good cause. Two years ago, Charlotte Comfort Home was an idea to provide compassion and care to the dying in Wyoming County. Tim Kibler, the hospice director, shared that this project would be a “community effort by the community.” This project has grown from a grass roots effort of local people who plan campaigns that have included wine and spirit nights, theatre by a professional ballet, Arcade and Attica railroad mystery dinner theatre and now the invitation to buy greeting cards for the holidays to provide encouragement and celebration for those special occasions. However, the artist for these cards comes from a local pastor who enjoys landscape photography that parallels his ministry as a storyteller.

Fr. Matt currently serves as “shepherd” (pastor) at Holy Family Catholic Parish in North Java, New York. Since the 90’s he started his journey as a photo journalist taking pictures for science projects. In 2002, he was invited into the home of Mr. OJ Roth, a 45 year photo journalist with Eastman Kodak. “It’s all about the light” OJ would teach as Fr. Matt worked as an apprentice for three years learning the art of storytelling through the lens. While tourist are taking selfies and shooting their travel adventures on their cell phones. “I research each location and work up a sweat moving around the image and capturing every possible angle to tell the story. I am often surprised how one angle may tell a bigger story than another angle. The time of day, the light, the weather, the shadow and pattern can set the image apart from one that is merely a snapshot into stunning moment that makes one stand in awe of God’s wonderful creation.” 

 

Father Matt served as chaplain at Strong Memorial Hospital from 1992 to 2000. He was a trauma specialist in New York City on 9/11 and acutely aware of how hurting people need support in times of crisis. Charlotte Home will be open to everyone to help provide respite and comfort to families and their loved ones. Currently, the facility will be located in the former St. Nicholas rectory located in North Java. At this time, demolition has been completed and volunteers from the county are being invited to donate their talents. Skilled laborers of all kinds are needed like carpenters, electricians and heating and cooling specialists to redesign the building. Local dealers are being asked to donate materials needed to restore the building into a two-bedroom facility for patients and family. The estimated cost would be over $250,000 but people are being asked to donate their skills and materials to keep the costs under $100,000. The volunteer committee hopes  that patients will be served starting in the Spring fo 2019. Families will not be charged for using this facility.

Fr. Matt enjoys storytelling and focuses his pastoral ministry on making the gospel stories of Jesus relevant and meaningful to his faith community. Landscape photography can tell a story that conveys a mood of comfort and celebration. With the help of his friends at the Norberg Art Gallery in East Aurora where his landscapes are on display. Amanda, the gallery owner, and Marie, a Holy Family parishioner, helped select ten images that will be on sale to support Charlotte Comfort Home. 

The images selected feature: a sunrise over Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park Montana, sunburst over the Athabasca Icefield in Alberta, Canada, Alleghany State Park, Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, Winterthur in Wilmington, Delaware, bluebells in Bethany, bleeding hearts from Nashua, dogwoods in Irondequoit, and reflections from the arboretum in Lexington, Kentucky.

The greeting cards are 5 ½ x 4 ¼ and blank inside so that a personal message may be written. Packets will include five images based on the themes of celebration and encouragement. It is my hope that people will enjoy these images and use them as gifts for their family and friends and know that they are supporting an important ministry of compassion to the people in Wyoming County.

To make a purchase contact Fr. Matt via email address: drmattkawiak@gmail.com or call his office at 585-586-8650.

Let Go of the Remote

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One evening, I turned on the remote and a message came on the TV. Error CODE 727. This error indicates that the sports program you're trying to watch is blacked out in your area. That’s odd because I have it set to channel 4 watching “Jeopardy.” I switched to channel 220 a NBC Sports Network and the same message appeared. I call Direct TV and the tech responds that she had to report it to another power and they would get back to me. When I inquired when it would be fixed, she had no clue. The following night, the same message appears on our PBS network that didn’t make sense. This time Susan gets on her computer and logs onto the Direct TV chat line. I remark that won’t help. But she’s chatting with a tech who says she will refresh the network feed. I picked up the remote ready to change the channel and Susan gives me that “teacher look” and says “Don’t you dare touch that remote. Let Go of the remote.” To myself, who does she thinks she is talking to like that but in a few minutes, I’m switching channels and this tech had restored our reception with no error message.

Our remote is like our traditions. We hold onto to them so tight that they can become stubborn and our downfall. Sound familiar ladies, you have to tell your old man to let go of the remote. In the gospel story, Jesus had to tell his men friends to let go.

“John said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.’” Now, by all accounts, casting out demons is a good thing. And, truth be told, I don’t think that the disciples were upset about the demons being cast out. They were upset because they were being cast out by someone who wasn’t them. They had the corner on this whole Jesus movement, and if someone else was casting out demons, that’s a threat—never mind the fact that demons are being cast out!

Maybe it’s time the men in priesthood let go of their power and trust their laity to take over the leadership of the faith community. Jesus was stern with his disciples because they felt they were the only ones allowed to heal. Jesus was reminding his men that there is more than one model for being Christian and being the Church. Big screens and praise bands may make some people’s skin crawl. But for others, the ancient liturgies of the Church have a way of snuffing out the fire of the Spirit. The best sermons are the ones the pastor most needs to hear himself. It’s time the priest let go of their remotes, their traditions, that stifle the spirit and let our lay leaders refresh the church and faith.  

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends and, especially brother priests, as we gather for our synod meetings. May we accept the wisdom of Jesus who said: “Whoever is not against us is for us.” In other words, Jesus is saying, “We’re all in this together!” There’s a lot of Kingdom to build, and there’s more than enough work for everyone! In a world that can sometimes feel like everything is falling in on itself, what a welcome breath of fresh air to hear that, no, in fact, the whole world does not depend on its priests. We are all in this together!

Taste Our Goodies

The Polish National Catholic Church has designated 2018 as the Year of the Family. In September, the church will focus on encouraging people to identify their unique talents and skills to enrich their family and the church community.

Holy Family will celebrate this theme by dedicating the new Ed Bartz Pavilion the handiwork of its carpenters and masons who built this structure over the summer. Here the community will celebrate family reunions, anniversaries, weddings, baptisms, birthdays, showers and any occasion where families bring their favorite recipes to the delight of their friends and neighbors.

The children of the parish have written prayers and memories that will placed in a time capsule that will be buried and opened in 2025. Included will be stories about the history of the parish that celebrates over 150 years of faith and love to God and neighbor. In addition, a new teeter totter will be blessed the result of the generosity of many local donor families.

Finally, a Memorial Walkway that leads to the Clayton Playground will be blessed and dedicated and serve as a prayerful journey to remember individuals living and deceased whose gifts of faith and unique talents have helped this parish continue to serve the spiritual needs of this county.

Holy Family’s mission is to welcome all people where the hopeless find hope. Where the lost find direction. Where the hurting find healing. People experience church in a refreshing new way. Where real people talk about real issues. It’s a community where people love God, love others and love our rural lifestyle.

As shepherd of this generous and talented faith community, we invite all parents and grandparents to come with their children and grandchildren and experience the best of who we are. Come and taste our goodies, play on our swings and meet old fashioned country folk who have open minds and open hearts. The celebration will being with our “Mass in the Grass” at 10am, followed by a bring a dish luncheon and old fashioned games for the kids.

There's a Hole in the Heart That Will Never Heal

A mother whose son died twelve years ago shared that there is a hole in her heart that will never heal.

Jesus taught: “whoever wants to be my disciple must deny one self, take up thier cross daily, and follow me.” What does Jesus mean by this?

First, it means accepting that suffering is a part of our lives. Accepting our cross means we have to make peace with the fact that frustration, disappointment, pain, misfortune, illness, unfairness, sadness, and death are a part of our lives and they must be accepted without bitterness. As long as we nurse the notion that pain in our lives is something we need not accept, we will habitually find ourselves bitter—bitter for not having accepted the cross.

Second, taking up our cross means that we may not, in our suffering, pass on any bitterness to those around us. There’s a difference between healthily groaning under the weight of our pain and unhealthily whining in self-pity and bitterness under that weight. The cross gives us permission to do the former, but not the latter. Jesus groaned under the weight of his cross, but no self-pity, whining, or bitterness issued forth from his lips or his beaten body.

Third, carrying our cross daily means accepting that God’s gift to us is often not what we expect. God always answers our prayers but, often times, by giving us what we really need rather than what we think we need. The Resurrection does not come when we expect it and rarely fits our notion of how a resurrection should happen. To carry your cross is to be open to surprise.

And finally, taking up your cross means living in a faith that believes that nothing is impossible for God. This means accepting that God is greater than the human imagination. Indeed, whenever we succumb to the notion that God cannot offer us a way out of our pain into some kind of newness, it’s precisely because we have reduced God down to the size of our own limited imagination. It’s only possible to accept our cross, to live in trust, and to not grow bitter inside pain if we believe in possibilities beyond what we can imagine, namely, if we believe in the Resurrection.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that you give them the patience to wait and give up their bitterness so that they we will take up their cross and believe in the Resurrection.

I Love You

Next time you are praying, try this. Open yourself in such a way that sometime—perhaps not today, but sometime—you are able to hear God say to you: ‘I love you!’

These words, addressed to you by God, are the most important words you will ever hear because, before you hear them, nothing is ever completely right with you, but, after you hear them, something will be right in your life at a very deep level.

These are simple words, but they capture what we ultimately try to do when we “lift mind and heart to God” in prayer.

We need to open ourselves to God in such a way that we are capable of hearing God say to us, individually, “I love you!”

This might sound pious and sentimental. It’s anything but that.

In the Gospel of John, we meet Jesus as an adult right on the first page and the first words out of Jesus’ mouth are a question: “What are you looking for?” That question remains throughout the rest of the gospel suggesting that beneath everything else a certain search is going on. A lot of things are happening on the surface, but underneath, there remains always the nagging, restless question: “What are you looking for?”

Jesus answers that question on the morning of the resurrection. Mary Magdalene goes looking for him, carrying spices with which to embalm his dead body. Jesus meets her, alive and in no need of embalming, but she doesn’t recognize him. Bewildered, but sincere, she asks Jesus where she might find Jesus. Jesus asks her: “What are you looking for?” Then he answers it. With deep affection, he pronounces her name: “Mary.”

In doing that, he tells her what she and everyone else are forever looking for, God’s voice, one-to-one, speaking unconditional love, gently saying your name. In the end, that’s what we are all looking for and most need. We need to hear God, affectionately, one-to-one, pronounce our names: “Carolyn!” “Julia!” “Steve!”  Nothing will heal us more of restlessness, bitterness, and insecurity than to hear God say: “I love you!”

Moreover, prayer is meant to be a mutual thing, it’s important too that we respond in kind: Part of prayer is also that we with affection, occasionally at least, say the same thing to God: “I love you!” In all our relationships, we have to occasionally prompt each other to hear expressions of affection and reassurance. It’s not good enough to tell a marriage partner or a friend just once “I love you!” It needs to be said regularly. The relationship of prayer is no different.

Prayer is not meant to change God but us. And nothing changes us as much for the good as to hear someone say that he or she loves us—especially if that someone is God.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends and let them know that “I love them.”

Skip the Insults

Last evening, I was driving to CMAC in Canandaigua to see Steve Martin. On Route 20, I found myself behind a car creeping along and getting impatient. It reminded me of a story about a man screaming epithets and beating on the steering wheel when he was interrupted by a policeman, gun drawn, tapping on his window. The driver was ragging: "You can't arrest me for hollering in my car," but the policeman ordered him into the back seat of the police car. After checking over his car from top to bottom, the arresting officer advised him he was free to go. The driver said, "I knew you couldn't arrest me for what I was yelling in my own car. You haven't heard the last of this." The officer replied, "I didn't arrest you for shouting in your car. I was directly behind you at the light. I saw you screaming and beating your steering wheel, and I said to myself, 'What a jerk. Then I noticed the cross hanging from your rear-view mirror, the fish on the trunk lid, and the "My boss is a Jewish Carpenter," and the "Jesus is Coming Soon" bumper stickers. I was going to arrest you for stealing a car from a Christian."

So, you have not been attending Mass to protest the failure of the church to report the hideous crimes of its priests or you were just too busy on the golf course or taking your grandkids to the beach. To bring you up to date, Jesus has people walking away and scolding him for not following the rules of his synagogue.

However, Jesus is looking for people with a “teachable spirit.” While some may criticize us for our lack of presence, Jesus is focused on a faith that takes a neighbor shopping, bids on a steer to donate the hamburger to hungry families, calls a brother to express forgiveness and surrender our past resentment.

Revenge, anger, and dwelling on how someone hurt you will eat away at you. It is a huge barrier to finding healing and peace. God promises that if we seek his face instead of retribution, he will bring healing.

God prays for us as we reflect: “All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. [And] be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.” Ephesians 4:31–32 .
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that they will have a “teachable spirit” where the love of Jesus will help us be more compassionate and forgiving.

Waffle House Shuffle

 

Linda has been serving her neighbors and tourists for over 20 years off Highway 75. She starts work at 6am with a purpose. This grandmother has become the primary caregiver for her 8-year-old granddaughter, Bethany Michelle, whose daddy died three years ago to cancer and a bad heart.

Rob, the cook, whips up the eggs in the frying pan, he makes a remark to the other cook that his preacher asked him when he was going to see him on Sunday. At that very moment, one of the waitresses plopped a quarter in the 1950’s jukebox and played the song: “You’re My Darling Angel.”

Why this is a church, the guests are greeted at the door as they walk into the restaurant. The server gives them the bulletin containing all the information they need to make their order. They are served with a smile and even a song as another server starts singing along with the tune on the jukebox.

At the end of our breakfast, Linda came back to asked if we wanted more coffee, but it was her spirit that made this place amazing. You were sent on your travels with a full tummy and filled with joy that you received the very best service from people who take pride in their work.

The spirit was definitely present inside this house of pancakes. Maybe no one recognized that the love of God was oozing with maple syrup and apple butter, but his sweetness was the dominant theme and the servers and cooks were all ministering together to make sure their congregation (all those weary travelers and locals) had their stomach and souls filled for another’s day’s work or play.

I shared this vacation story with my parishioners at Holy Family and told them we need to treat one another like those servers at the Waffle House. We are invited to bring our bread to those who are hungry, comfort to the weary ora smile with a cup of coffee.

God prays for us as we reflect: “He commanded the clouds above and opened the doors of heaven. He rained down food in the form of manna upon them to eat and gave them food from heaven. People ate the bread of angels.” (Psalm 78: 23-25)

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Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends and all in customer service, for the Linda’s at Waffle House who give their best service may we give thanks for being treated like special guests with a big tip. May we do the same for one another.

Spirituality of Non-Hurrying

“Nothing can be more useful to a man than a determination not to be hurried.” Thoreau wrote that and it's not meant as something trivial.
We hurry too much, pure and simple. As Henri Nouwen describes it:

One of the most obvious characteristics of our daily lives is that we are busy. We experience our days as filled with things to do, people to meet, projects to finish, letters to write, calls to make, and appointments to keep. Our lives often seem like over-packed suitcases bursting at the seams. It fact, we are almost always aware of being behind schedule. There is a nagging sense that there are unfinished tasks, unfulfilled promises, unrealized proposals. There is always something else that we should have remembered, done, or said. There are always people we did not speak to, write to, or visit. Thus, although we are very busy, we also have a lingering feeling of never really fulfilling our obligation.

We are always hurrying.
What's wrong with hurrying? Any doctor, police officer, spiritual director, or over-worked mother, can answer that: Hurrying causes tension, high blood-pressure, accidents, and robs us of the simple capacity to be in the moment.
But spiritual writers take this further. They see hurry as an obstacle to spiritual growth. Donald Nicholl, for example, says “hurry is a form of violence exercised upon time” an attempt, as it were, to make time God's time our own, our private property. What he and others suggest is that, in hurrying, we exercise a form of greed and gluttony? How so

The gospels tell us that even Jesus was so busy at times that he didn't have time to eat.

Too often we have a rather simplistic notion of greed and gluttony. We imagine greed, for example, as hoarding money and possessions, as being selfish, hard-hearted, like Scrooge in the Dickens' Christmas tale. For most of us, greed takes a different, more subtle form. More than money, we hoard experience. We try to drink in the world, all of it. We would like to travel to every place, see everything, feel every sensation, not miss out on anything. We constantly hurry what we're doing so as to be available to do more. We try to juggle too many things at the same time precisely because we want too many things. The possessions we really want are experience, knowledge, sensation, achievement, status. We're greedy in a way Scrooge never was. Gluttony works essentially the same. For most of us, the urge to consume is not so much about food or drink, but about experience. We are always in a hurry because we are forever restless to taste more of life.
But there are other kinds of hurry that come from simple circumstance and duty. Almost everyone of us, at least during our working years, have too many things to do: Daily, we struggle to juggle the demands of relationships, family, work, school, church, child-care, shopping, attention to health, concern for appearance, house-work, preparing meals, rent and mortgage payments, car payments, commuting to and from work, bus schedules, unwanted accidents, unforeseen interruptions, illnesses, and countless other things that eat up more time than is seemingly available.
The gospels tell us that even Jesus was so busy at times that he didn't have time to eat. God didn't make a mistake in creating time, God made enough of it, and when we can't find enough time and, as the Psalmist says, find ourselves getting up ever earlier and going to bed ever later because we have too much to do, we need to see this as a sign that sooner or later we had better make some changes. When we hurry too much and for too long we end up doing violence to ourselves, and to our blood pressure.
Lord, I pray for Sonshine Friends that they learn to stop and smell the flowers. Help us Lord, to walk more slowly, eat more slowly, talk more slowly so that we can enjoy and savor the beauty of Your gift of time.

We Are More Than People Think

My best friend who I had the privilege of serving as his best man 20 years ago invited Sue and I to stay as his guests in Nashua. His beloved spouse made gourmet meals every day and we spent our time watching World Cup Soccer, some PBS detective shows and enjoyed the Boston Pops at Tanglewood. He recently retired after 40 plus years service as a geriatric physician.

His vocation was to get his elderly patients off their pills and make them as independent as possible so they could enjoy their golden years. His other talent was to teach the next generation of young docs how to care for seniors with respect and dignity.

My best friend is now 75, and he was showing off the features of his new 2018 Subaru with all its bells and whistles. His family comes from Detroit and he has an extensive appreciation for all makes of cars. Yes, his toy has google maps, back up screens and bells that sound when you cross the lines. This is a good thing because when seated as a passenger he made me crazy. We are on the highway and you need to change lanes to make a turn but he’s still going straight until someone points out “not here go there.” “I’m sorry” he says. Now we are on cruise control and he shares when you come up too close to the car in front of you, the car’s brakes back you away. Good thing because I didn’t want to be part of that guy’s bumper.

Bless his dear wife and Susan who are in the back of the car and his wife says to “quit it” you’re making us dizzy. I’m sorry, he says again. Mind you, he’s more then it seems. He’s not trying to be malicious or rattle us, just a tad careless at times.

I wonder, when you retire does something happen to your brain that says you can get a little flaky and people around you will look the other way. Maybe, he just wants our attention. You may think that he’s just another doctor who has enjoyed the power and prestige of his position and expects people to bow to all his whims. You would be dead wrong with my friend for he is not what it seems with this true story.

Our spouses called to make reservations for dinner after the concert, but every restaurant was booked except one known as the Church Grille that took no reservations. After my friend parked the car, we are walking to the restaurant and he says let’s go here. I’m thinking that’s silly since the ladies had called the Church Grille. However, when we got to the door, the place was dark inside and a sign on the door read the place was closed that night due to a plumbing problem.

I turned and there’s my friend running back to the other restaurant. We walked only halfway not sure what he was up to. Then he’s frantically waving his arms to come back. He’s more than people think because we learned that this restaurant had no reservations available, but there were 5 free seats at the bar where we could eat. No problem, we appreciated my friend’s quick response and to our surprise enjoyed a wonderful gourmet meal. When I wanted to pick up the bill, he said to me “please let me take care of this.” So, I got off my bar stool, walked over to the end of the bar and took him by the shoulder and said “Thanks.” You see we are always more than people think.

People are always more than we think. You may never know that my best friend worked with veterans who struggled with their PTSD and drug addictions. You may never know that he has an auto-immune disease that requires a powerful medication that lays him up for a day or two before he feels better. You may never know that his generosity extends to all his adult kids and grandkids whom he visits often around the country. His grand-kids love their grand-dad.  He gives quietly to all his family and I can say: “We never knew he had it in him.”

The point is that we are indeed more than people think and sometimes you know, it breaks out. Sometimes our crazy side drives other insane, then again our generous and heroic deeds pop out to challenge others’ assessment and in surprise they say: “We never knew you had it in you.”

This happened often to Jesus and his disciples as they began their ministry to the folks in surrounding villages. The truth is people are always more than we think and therefore we must never lock them in the box, nor should they lock us in.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who have been misunderstood by family and friends. You know our silly side and our heroic deeds. Help us to see the good that you see in all of us and be a grateful people.  

Holy Family Fathers Gift to Their Children

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The Batavia News by Jessica Dillon

NORTH JAVA — When members of Holy Family Parish first tossed around the idea of a memorial playground three years ago, it took just 37 days before mulch was laid and a play-set complete with a spiral slide, monkey bars, swings and a small rock wall sat ready and waiting for the community’s youth.

“Clayton Park,” dedicated in memory of infant Clayton George, who died at just 15 days old in March 2013, served as testament to the devotion and caring nature of parishioners and local residents, many of whom had rallied together to raise $15,000 for the cause.

Even after all this time, they haven’t lost their giving spirit — just last week, the men of Holy Family set to work once again on another community project, constructing a picnic pavilion to serve as the perfect shady shelter for parents watching their children play on sunny days and as a safe, dry space during the sometimes rainy outdoor Masses and old-school picnics held annually at the parish.

“Basically, we were all sitting around one day looking out at the park playground, and every year we have an outdoor Mass to honor our grandson, so we thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a pavilion out there?’,” said Clayton’s grandmother, Marie George. “It kind of snowballed from there.”

With a sizeable contribution made by the daughter of another late, beloved parishioner, Ed Bartz, and with continued donations flowing in for both the Clayton Park and parish building funds, the approximate $5,000 project soon became a reality.

“(Bartz) contributed an awful lot,” said Marie’s husband, Steve, who serves as a construction leader on the project. “He was a fantastic woodworker and donated many handmade wood goods to the church and to fundraisers.”

And so volunteers — at least a dozen of them — didn’t hesitate in offering up their time for the cause, with even Rev. Matt Kawiak, the church’s pastor, helping to nail in the boards and install the roof on the 24-by-48 structure.

“What people like about Holy Family Parish is its sense of community,” Kawiak had said just days before the Clayton Park dedication. “Clayton Park is a reminder that while the tragedy of a death of a child is devastating, the faith community can provide comfort and support to grieving parents.”

Now the pavilion, too, is intended to bring healing and restore the joy to the hearts of all people whose hearts have been broken by the death of their loved ones, Kawiak said.

Work on the project is nearing completion, with the metal roof fully installed and plans for the addition of a concrete pad and the installation of grills firming up. Though a dedication ceremony has not been set just yet, parishioners expect it will coincide with the annual Clayton Park Picnic held each year in early fall.

“This is for the whole community,” Steve said. “That’s what we want the whole thing to be. Even though it’s on church property, it’s big enough for maybe small weddings or bridal showers or baby showers or family reunions. It’s open to everyone. All are welcome.”

And not just at the pavilion and park, but at church, too, the Georges said.

In the wake of the closure of the former St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church in 2007, Holy Family Parish was born from the ashes, and the congregation has worked actively to welcome new parishioners ever since.

“If you’re looking for somewhere to go, we’re there,” Marie said. “We want everyone to know that they’re all welcome. We don’t turn anyone away.” 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends and especially grateful to all the volunteer dads, granddads and mentors who built this manificient structure to bring kids to the playground. Bless these nurturing men with good health, strength and joy.

Blood and Sweat

A pastor was invited to help the men in his parish build a church pavilion. It turned out to be quite an education on the kind of talents and skills God had blessed his parish. Four by fours had to be placed three and a half feet deep in a hole and separated eight feet across. You needed some muscles to move these posts and when all else failed the “man thing” to do was to take a sledge hammer and pound it into place. After placing eighteen posts in place, it was time for lunch, Gus, our chuck wagon cook, served lunch with his secret ingredient “limburger cheese.” Our numbers grew to ten in the afternoon with the addition of a young pro who helped this team of volunteers straighten their earlier lines with laser beams and a lever and a wonderful positive attitude who shared “piece of cake.”  Our senior volunteers may not have had all the skills but their hearts and sweat make up the difference.

This Sunday is the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, an invitation from Christ is to be there for one another in times of difficulty and tragically in life. Jesus came to the sick and dying and those who felt abandoned and misunderstood. It is also the 7^th anniversary of rebirth of Holy Family Catholic Parish. What a perfect feast to celebrate that we are the blood that brings warmth to people who feel cold from loneliness, despair or grief. We are the hands of Christ who bring His comfort and hope, and help nail in the two by fours to build a church pavilion next to the church playground.

The pavilion still needs a lot of work before completion, but let me offer my humble thanks to Chris for straightening our lines, for Steve nailing the boards, for Rory and Harry holding up our beams, for Andy digging the holes, to Larry and Tom drilling the screws and cutting boards, for Gus who kept us hydrated and Chris who made us all smile with his enthusiasm.

Bishop Mack shared that I was doing a great job, I corrected him and said that it is the people who God has blessed with many gifts who deserve all the credit. My job is simply to open the lid and let their light, their gifts, their wisdom, their faith and their love pour across this community and county and others will follow.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends and the people of Holy Family Catholic Parish that their blood and sweat are signs of your presence in our community. I am truly humbled and grateful for their generous and warm hearts and pray You continue to bless them with Your peace, joy and wisdom.

I'll Love You Forever

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This year I sang a lullaby to all our nurturing women who serve as parent, mentor and guide to children, neighbors and friends in their lives. The lullaby comes from a children’s book written by Robert Munsch entitled: “I Love You Forever”. The words are:
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living,
My Mommy you'll be.

Now for a moment, put your arms around yourself. Cuddle your body, hold yourself the way you would hold a baby in your arms. Now, after you have a real good hold of yourself, close your eyes and begin to rock yourself. Rock yourself real good, the way you would a baby, and just keep doing it. When you grow up, no matter how old you are, and if you are crying and you don’t know why, I want you to rock yourself just like this. As you do it, remember that you are God’s little child, and that God understands why you are crying even if no one else does. As you rock yourself let me offer this blessing:

To the Moms who are struggling, to those filled with incandescent joy.
To the Moms who are remembering children who have died, and pregnancies that miscarried.
To the Moms who decided other parents were the best choice for their babies, to the Moms who adopted those kids and loved them fierce.
To those experiencing frustration or desperation in infertility.
To those who knew they never wanted kids, and the ways they have contributed to our shared world.
To those who mothered colleagues, mentees, neighborhood kids, and anyone who needed it.
To those remembering Moms no longer with us.
To those moving forward from Moms who did not show love, or hurt those they should have cared for.

Good and Gentle God, we pray in gratitude for our mothers and for all the nurturing women who have joined with you in the wonder of caring for life. You who became human through a woman, grant to all mothers the courage they need to face the uncertain future that life with children always brings. Give them the strength to live and to be loved in return, not perfectly, but humanly. Give them the faithful support of partners, family and friends as they care for the physical and spiritual growth of their children. Give them joy and delight in their children to sustain them through the trials of motherhood. Most of all, give them the wisdom to turn to you for help when they need it most.

Lord, I pray for all our nurturing Sonshine Friends who need your gentle touch to remind them that we don’t have to be perfect to be a mentor to our kids. We need  to know that as you hold us close we can hear you sing to us at this very moment:

I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living,
My Child you'll be.