Together Time Advent

I’m watching a commercial where the little girl looks out the window at the beautiful snow falling down, but her mom is busy on the computer, her dad is on the phone and her brother can't be distracted from his video game. She starts to walk dejectedly up the stairs to her room when she sees Tick and Tock -- two cats in her family's grandfather clock. She follows the cats to the clockmaker's shop who says there's "lost time," "time that flies" and "together time." She wishes she could get more of "together time" so the clockmaker sends her back with a card. She presents her parents with a card that promises that it's good for one hour of snowman building, and they smile as they go outside to make their memories. Chick-fil-A says that it can help give you and your family the gift of time. I have to admit that I did shed a tear at the end of this commercial. I wonder where that tear came from? Why did it strike such a sensitive spot?

Advent is about preparing ourselves-for a most important event—the coming of Christ—whose date we cannot know? None of us truly understands what it means that “the Son of Man will come,” nor can we pinpoint the day when his kingdom will be fully realized. There is no specific strategic action for us to take here. Rather, we are called to develop habits that will make us and keep us spiritually fit and ready. First among these is the habit of prayer. 

My electric toothbrush has a built-in two-minute timer that frees me to focus on the act of brushing rather than on the passage of time. We might adopt such a mechanism as we strive this Advent to prepare for Christ by deepening our prayer life.  The simple act of setting a smartphone or a kitchen timer to five minutes—or ten, or twenty—will allow us to be fully present as we pray.  Within the frame of those five minutes—or ten, or twenty—we can express regret, give thanks, ask a favor, pray for those we love. Instead of using this time of year to exhaust our credit card limits, Advent becomes a time to spend with Christ as we prepare our hearts for his coming by the daily practice of prayer.

What is prayer? Prayer doesn’t just happen when we kneel or put our hands together and focus and expect things from God. Thinking positive and wishing good for others is a prayer. When you hug a friend. That’s a prayer. When you cook something to nourish family and friends. That’s a prayer. When we send off our dear and near ones and say, ‘drive safely” or ‘be safe’. That’s a prayer. When you are helping someone in need by giving your time and energy. You are praying. When you forgive someone by your heart. That is prayer. Prayer is a vibration. A feeling. A thought. Prayer is the voice of love, friendship, genuine relationships. Prayer is an expression of your silent being.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that they set their timers to experience your love, affection and genuine desire to be our friend.

Here are some “Together Time” Advent ideas to celebrate the coming of Christ in serving others:

·      Shop for a gift and donate to a local charity.

·       Visit an elderly home and hand out homemade cookies.

·       Take a few small gifts to a shelter for women and children.

·       Write a letter to a family friend or some troops stationed overseas.

·       Drive to a store that has a Salvation Army bell ringer just to donate (without going into the store to buy anything!).

·       Buy a small gift for a child in the long-term care wing of the children’s ward, and bring a bouquet of flowers for his/her mother.

·       Serve a meal together as a family at a local homeless shelter.

·       Clean out your toy boxes and donate good quality items to an opportunity store.

·       Raid the pantry for canned goods to donate to a charity.

·       Take a plate of cookies and a homemade Christmas card to your  veterinarian or animal shelter, library, church, doctor or dentist office.

·       Anonymously pay for the Santa photos of the person behind you in line at the mall.

·       Wear Santa hats and take some doggie treats to your local shelter.

·       If you go to the woods to chop a Christmas tree, buy an extra tree and bring one home for a neighbor who may not have the resources to get their own.

·       Wear Santa hats and take a garbage bag to clean up garbage from your neighborhood.

Thanksgiving Prayer for Your Family Table

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And on the 8th day, God looked down on his farms in North Java and said, "I need a caretaker." So God made a disciple of Holy Family.

God said, "I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, boil water, stir the sauce, prepare the meatballs, work all morning in the kitchen, mix the salad, bake the desserts, serve our neighbors with a smile for three hours and then run home to get more meatballs. So God made a disciple of Holy Family.”

God said, I need somebody to take down the leaky parish hall windows and replace them with new insulated panes to keep the chill out so our kids can learn in a warm classroom, the AA members can support one another, our seniors can enjoy their luncheon and social activities and our sewing ladies won’t freeze their fingers sewing blankets for newborn babies, kids in hospitals and seniors in nursing homes.

God said, I need somebody to take care of Clayton Park, so nineteen people bought memorial bricks. Then volunteers got down on their knees to ply out the old bricks and carefully insert the engraved stones with beautiful verses and memories of loved ones so that we can take care of anything that breaks and keep the playground safe for our children.

God said, "I need volunteers to teach our kids about God’s love. Moms and dads willing to get the kids ready for church and drive in stormy weather to bring their children to class. So God made a disciple of Holy Family. Because our kids can’t wait to see what their teachers have planned to teach them about God’s love for our little ones.

God said, I need people with faith and creativity, openness and welcoming smiles to work on various projects and many of you accepted the invitation but prefer NOT to be mentioned. So in my quiet way, let me say thank you for your donations for our new insulated windows in the parish hall, flowers for Christmas and Easter, buying winter coats for the poor, getting gifts for children during Advent, cleaning the bathrooms, cutting the grass, planting flowers, plowing the snow, remodeling the rectory into a hospice, planting flowers around our parish, bidding on a pig at the County Fair to feed the hungry through the winter, organizing the Spaghetti Dinner, serving on the Parish Committee, balancing the books, donating religious education supplies, practicing with our kids for their nativity pageant, writing our bulletin, training our altar servers, lectoring at Mass, taking up the collection, increasing your weekly donation, and singing in our choir leading us in praise of God for His goodness and kindness to our farms and homes.

God said, all are welcomed at my table, the divorce and separated, the proud and the humble, the self-righteous and imperfect, the hypocrite and the gossip, the fearful and abused to bale a family together with the soft strong bonds of sharing, who would laugh and then sigh, and then reply, with smiling eyes, the people of Holy Family will welcome your family, your children and your soul with peace and good will. So God made a disciple of Holy Family.

Last Sunday, all our parishioners were invited to a gourmet breakfast. It’s my thank you for their daily sacrifices, their generosity and their many acts of kindness that each person brings to this community. Make no mistake, they deserve all the credit for growth of this dynamic Catholic parish.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends and humbly pray in thanksgiving for serving as shepherd of this parish. Please feel free to use the following Thanksgiving Prayer for your Family.

"Lord, We feel so blessed to have been given such a wonderful family.
We ask that our roots would be deep in your love. Fill our hearts, friendships and homes with your truth and forgiveness. We thank you for each person, for their unique qualities and special gifts. Watch over each one and keep them safe, Fill their lives with your goodness, Inspire their hearts to follow you, Bless the work of their hands, And weave us all closer together."

Open to New Possibilities

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in taking photos I am always searching for the moment that best reflects a sacred moment.

About a month ago, a friend forwarded an email on Friday afternoon asking if I would be willing to take pictures at his son’s wedding reception on Saturday.

I replied that I am not a professional wedding photographer. His response was “you’re better than you think.” It seems his son forget to hire a photographer for the reception so I was his backup. Well, I’m not afraid to tackle another vocation at this stage in my life so I reached out to a real professional wedding photographer who shared his experience with some practical tips on the web. The website made a list of what a wedding photographer needs to shoot at a wedding like when the bride throws the bouquet, or when the bride dances with her dad. I got to review the photos that he took at previous weddings and made my notes. When the guests arrived, no one knew my cover since I was dressed casual, so I just walked around the hall snapping away and looked for “sacred moments” when family and friends were greeting one another.

During the reception I noticed five young men all sitting together at a table. I asked the father of the groom what’s up with these guys. He shared that they were his son’s best buddies when they were 10 years old. He remembered they use to pile into his kitchen on a Saturday morning and he make them French toast. Now they all live and work around the country and yet they traveled to share the joy of their old buddy’s new vocation.

I only took 150 shots, a wedding pro takes 4,000. I edited my best 10 images and forwarded to this dad. The image he liked the best was his son smiling with his old buddies around the table. I was embarrassed when this dad’s response after he looked at the photos was that they were better than the wedding pictures. 

  

I feel blessed that my primary vocation has been a spouse to my beloved Sue and to serve as shepherd at Holy Family. However, I am approaching another milestone that offers the possibilities of embracing other vocations.

Some of my Sonshine Friends have offered their encouragement and suggestions that include: mentoring young people for ministry, a forest ranger working with professors to teach college students the physical sciences, photography ambassador for visitors to national parks, and a baker of artisan breads.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that we are open to Your possibilities, Fill us with Your wisdom, grace and courage to step out of our self-imposed limitations and live in your possibilities.

Finding Faith and Freedom in the God Who Loves Us

 

This could be a college student, a soldier returned from deployment or you. The person was battling mental depression and he was on a bunch of different medications. But that fall morning, nothing seemed right; something very terribly wrong was happening. The voices in his head seemed louder and stronger to him, convincing him that he had to take his own life. So he kissed his father on the cheek, got on a local bus and headed to the bridge with his plans to end it all.

As he sat on the bus – he was crying. He promised himself that if anyone asked him what was wrong, he would not go through with it. The entire bus ride, no one did. So he got to the bridge, walked to the midway point where he stood, staring down for over 40 minutes. Out of nowhere, this woman approached him… he turned as she asked “can you take my picture?” He took 5 snapshots with the camera she handed to him, and gave the camera back to her, as tears continued to stream down his face. At which point she turned and walked away. With that, he took a few steps back, rushed the railing and threw himself over.

This nameless tourist got her picture, got what she needed or wanted and couldn’t be bothered to simply ask “are you okay?” All that would have prevented him from making this leap was someone reaching out to ask him “what was the matter?” – more importantly to say to him that “he mattered.” Because at that low point of his life, he was so isolated, he was so hopeless and didn’t believe that to be the case.

How many people around us suffer from hopelessness? How many people do we know feel hopeless? How many of us do? Statistics, reports, stories all over the place telling of skyrocketing suicide rates, deaths from drug and alcohol abuse all point to a seeming epidemic of hopelessness for our world. So what is the reason for this epidemic of hopelessness?

Many experts point to the rise in smartphones and social media which has resulted in far less inter-personal relationships and authentic friendships. But I can’t help but think that another factor has been a greater number of people who claim not to be Christian anymore, claim that they have no faith.

Too many people have not heard that they have a God who loves them. A Heavenly Father who loved them into existence – who sustains them each and every moment of each and every moment. A Father who sent His son, Jesus here among us so that God would have a face and a name that we can approach, can know, can touch – can get so intimately close that we receive His very Body and Blood in the Eucharist.

Too many don’t know that… Don’t know Him. Too many people like that young college student or our returning soldiers don’t think, don’t feel, don’t believe that they matter. Are hopeless.

In the Gospel, Zacchaeus, was the ultimate outcast. As the chief tax collector he’s the epitome of a traitor: He’s working with the enemy – the Romans who’ve occupied his fellow Jews, collecting taxes from them – then charging them extra for himself. So to put it mildly, Zacchaeus’ fellow Jews would not be fans of his. The Romans, meanwhile – they’re happy to use the guy – he’s getting the job done – – – but he’s not one of them – he’s not a Roman – so it’s not like he’s getting invited to any of their dinner parties.

Something deep within Zaccheus calls him to open his heart, to look for something, someone to restore his Hope to tell Him that he matters that anyone would care about him. He’s got nothing to lose at this point -climbing a tree – thinking perhaps he will hear or see something that will do something, anything for him.

The Gospel story says, “Jesus looked up…”. What does Jesus see? He sees the loneliness, the brokenness of the man in the tree. He sees the lengths Zacchaeus went through just to see Him. He sees Zacchaeus in all humility looking for hope…. looking for Jesus. Jesus says Zacchaeus, come down quickly for today I must stay at your house.

Zacchaeus is being offered a radical new life. He wasn’t being seen through the lens of others in the crowd: a traitor, or some puppet of Rome. Jesus looked at him with love that made all the difference. It restored his Hope.

Yes, we see a lot of hopelessness in the world around us. Maybe we even suppress those types of thoughts and feelings within ourselves: When we struggle at work, when there’s difficulties at home, when illness and death hit our loved ones – and we feel like no one knows, no one understands after we return from deployment, no one is listening…

The beauty of our faith in Jesus Christ – is that we know that is not true. We have a God who loves us – and we don’t have to give into the lies that others say about us, or that we tell ourselves. Lies that were not good enough, holy enough, worthy enough to be in Jesus presence.

The reality is Jesus is searching for us, wanting to gaze on us with His eyes to tell us we do matter, that we are loved.   Despite how trapped we might think we are by the poor decisions we’ve made, despite the prisons we find ourselves confined to because of whatever mistakes we keep letting define us and weigh us down, Jesus offers us true freedom when we lift our downcast eyes to look to Him. 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that the story of Zacchaeus may prompt in us a desire to let Jesus enter in. To make us humble and let Jesus look at us as we are. To make us courageous and to let His look of Love transform our lives that testify to the world of the true Hope that is found in being loved by Jesus.

While suicide remains a rare event among U.S. troops, 325 active-duty members died by suicide in 2018, the highest number since the Defense Department began collecting the data in 2001 and exceeding a record set in 2012.

If you or someone you know needs help, the Veterans Crisis Hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 800-273-8255, press 1. Services also are available online at www.veteranscrisisline.net or by text, 838255.