Stop Soldier Suicide

On this Memorial Day celebrated with lots of ceremony, parades, picnics and placing of flags at the grave of our brave family members, let me share this tragic soldier story. 

A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in a war. He called his parents from San Francisco.  “Mom and Dad, I’m coming home, but I have a favor to ask. I have a friend I’d like to bring home with me. “Sure,” they replied, “we’d love to meet him.”

“There’s something you should know,” the son continued, “he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mind and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us.” “I’m sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live.” “No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us.” “Son,” said the father, “you don’t know what you’re asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can’t let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He’ll find a way to live on his own.”

At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him. A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide.

The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their horror, they also discovered something they didn’t know, their son had only one arm and one leg.

The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don’t like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. We would rather stay away from people who aren’t as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are. Thankfully, there’s someone who won’t treat us that way. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are. 

Tonight, before you tuck yourself in for the night, say a little prayer that God will give you the strength you need to accept people as they are, and to help us all be more understanding of those who are different from us!

Lord, I pray for all our Sonshine soldiers and veterans who have made the sacrifice to defend our freedom. We remember and give thanks for those who have given their lives in the service of our country. Help us to honor their memory by caring for the family members they have left behind, and that all our wounded comrades are properly cared for. Lord help us to remember that freedom is not free and though their names may fade with the passing of generations may we never forget what they have done.

Contact STOP SOLDIER SUICIDE at 844-889-5610 for help.

Email address: stopsoldiersuicide.org

Why Millennials Are Leaving the Church

I have this idea that I wanted to make a “YouTube” video that features our young school age children answering the questions: “Why do our older brothers and sisters ages 20 to 35 not attend church?

First boy says: “The church will never change and nobody cares what we think. When was the last time someone from our church asked us our opinion?”

Second young girl says: “Stop wasting our time with all your holy mumbo jumbo. The church makes things too complicated. Jesus taught: Love God. Love neighbor."

Third little boy says: "We are not impressed with how long you spend behind closed doors wrestling with Christianese dogma. We’re impressed with actions and service."

Fourth little girls say: "What you call Holy activities: Bible studies, bingo, fish fry’s, planning meetings is a distraction for having compassion for the poor."

Fifth boy say: "Church have always felt exclusive and ‘cliquey’ and we fell like outsiders and we have never been very good at that game so we stopped playing."

Sixth girl says: "What do you do with all that money that people  contribute. We don’t trust institutions that are hurting people."

Seventh little boy says: "We can download millions of podcasts and YouTube videos of pastors preaching. Instead of windy sermons, we prefer mentors walking beside us through the muck of life."

Eighth little girl says: "The church is always asking us young adults for help and making us feels guilty if we don’t give enough of our time."

Ninth boy say: We don’t like the way the world is telling us how to live in making big decisions about our careers, education, relationships, marriage, finances, children, purpose, chemicals, but we never hear from the church."
Tenth girl says: "Lip service about reaching out to young adults in abstract sound bites doesn’t cut it. If you want respect from our generation, practice what Jesus did in his life." 

Our final little person says this: "Our older brothers and sisters are not attending church but we have learned in our religion class that Jesus loves us as we are. No conditions. Despite the gossip in town about our church, Holy Family is all about action and service. We’re not just playing church, we are not doing the same things that we’ve have always done. We donated toys, food and clothes to kids in our county. We are building a hospice, we are feeding the poor, we are helping the addicted stay sober and clean and we want the millennials to know that we are here to listen and help you be the best person you can be filled with Christ’s compassion, kindness and mercy. We know that we are making a difference in this community because we practice compassion and kindness every day in our classrooms, in our homes and on our farms. Our doors and hearts are open and we like to invite you to join us.

Signed: Your loving younger brothers and sisters

Mother's Day Blessing

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My Mother taught me many prayers and this one is one of my favorites. I was about six years old at the time. I was sitting outside on a block of concrete, and I was crying. I don’t even know why. I was just crying and crying. My Mother came along and said, “What’s the matter?” I said, “Nothing, leave me alone!” She did - and then I really started crying!

About 15 minutes later she came back and sat beside me. “You know,” she said, “I have to tell you something. There are going to be a lot of times in your life when you are going to cry, and you won’t know why. You won’t understand and neither will anyone else.

Then, she said she was going to teach me a prayer for the times when I was crying and didn’t know why. She made me get off the cement block and stand up. She said, “Now, put your arms around yourself. “I did but it wasn’t good enough.
         

“You’re just folding your arms” she said. “Put them all the way around yourself. Cuddle your body. Hold yourself the way you would hold 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 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. And, remember, too, that God holds you close just the way you are holding yourself because God loves you very much. Then just keep rocking yourself and be comforted.”
         

Isn’t that a good prayer? I still say it today when I feel bad. I recommend it for you, too. Just stand wherever you are - in the kitchen, in the bathroom or outside in the barn - and wrap your arms around yourself, tight as you can and rock yourself.
         

Before long you’ll be able to feel God holding you in the same way you are holding yourself, and you’ll be comforted the way you were comforted as a child when your mother held you in her arms and rocked you. God understands why you are crying, even if no one else does.         

The Benefits of Being a Hospice Volunteer

I ask your prayers for a very special volunteer meeting that will take place on Thursday, May 8^th at 7pm at the Holy Family Community Center.

Charlotte House needs hospice volunteers and let me share the benefits of serving as a hospice volunteer. People become hospice volunteers for many reasons.  Many volunteers express gratitude for help they received during their loved one’s illness. The benefit of engaging in this type of community service is that you’re making a difference where you live.  You’re giving back, and you’re helping others.  Helping others promotes satisfaction and self-worth.  Plus, it’s good for your health—mind, body, and spirit.

Studies show doing regular volunteer work dramatically increases your life expectancy.  As Allan Luks states in “The Healing Power of Doing Good” volunteering improves your sense of well-being, decreases insomnia, builds a stronger immune system, and helps speed up recovery from surgery.

For others, enhancing your college or job application is a benefit of becoming a hospice volunteer.  Volunteer service always reflects positively when a college or organization evaluates your resume.  A study by Time Bank states 73% or employers would recruit a candidate with volunteer experience over one without.

Finally, meeting new people is a benefit of becoming a hospice volunteer.  Helping at events, greeting guests at Charlotte House, and meeting other volunteers expands your social and professional networks to include more like-minded people.  Meeting new friends creates more fun in your life, which also improves your health.

Light refreshments will be provided, and your questions will be answered. At the meeting, full detailed position descriptions and expectations will be provided.

Come and meet everyone! Learn more about the house and how your volunteerism can take root in Charlotte House. If you have questions before the meeting please call Tim Kibler (585) 727-0942, or email: timothy.kibler@charlottehouse.org

Join me in prayer that the spirit of compassion will inspire many people to come forward to help those in life’s final journey.
Fr. Matt

Iron Chef Jesus

A TV show that makes me hungry is called “Iron Chef.” I admire their culinary skills in making tasty recipes and wish that I could be a judge on the show to taste the results.

Today’s gospel story has Jesus serving breakfast to his disciples after a terrible night of fishing. His words are most startling. First, he gives fishing instructions and then an invitation to eat. "Catch anything?" he shouts through cupped hands. "Want some breakfast?" 

If you ever doubted that the resurrected Lord is a hoax, check out this scene in which his disciples notice Him from their boats off shore that is nothing short of a grand miracle. So, what is Jesus doing fussing with fish and cooking a breakfast on the beach? Why in the world would this man have the time to help out some discouraged anglers and then do the work of a cook, poking at a charcoal fire with a stick, frying up some fish, baking some pita bread? Curious?

Why is it that the resurrected Lord of the universe has time to dabble with cooking? Why is it that, what with a world of pain and suffering, terrorism, hunger and war, Jesus has time to play “iron chef” and waiter to his hungry friends? Well, it's because in real life this is where we need to meet up with Jesus or else we're not going to see Him much at all. If encounters with Jesus are limited to mountaintop experiences of ecstasy, brilliant visions and dreams—much less limited to the rare occasion when we can say with certainty that the Lord has revealed something big to us—then much of life is going to look very unspiritual.

Jesus breakfast on the beach reminds us that in the ordinariness of everyday life, and in between the times when we gather at the Lord's table, our Lord is with us by his Spirit. He may not cup His hands so as to ask you if you've caught any fish, but he will ask things like, "How was your day down on the farm? Did anything interesting happen today? Want to talk about it?" What are you stressing about? He will ask if we've eaten yet and, if not, He will work to provide us with the staff of life. His word and sacrament strengthen us in our daily tasks to persevere with courage knowing that He is always by our side.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends to help us pay attention and notice Your presence in the encounters we have daily with one another. On the farm, in the fields, out in the barn, milking the cows or waiting for the rain to stop so that we can plant our seed. In times of doubt and worry, let us experience Your presence. In the voices and warm arms of our loved ones, we can hear Jesus shouting through cupped hand: “Want some breakfast.”