God Moment Movement

 

A once in a generation blizzard slammed into Buffalo, New York that sadly left many people without electricity in the cold and worse a few people were unable to get home and died. Despite the efforts of our heroic first responders, the blinding snow storm prevented finding people stranded in the storm to save their lives. I had been deployed to help utility workers who found the dead in their cars while repairing the down power lines to restore electricity to homes.

 

Then again there are many stories like Jay who recused people in the storm. He found an empty school that he broke into and brought the stranded survivors inside out of the cold. These survivors bunked on the floor and cooked cafeteria food until they were able to leave the school in safety leaving a note of thanks.

 

For 72 hours, I looked outside the windows of our farm and watched the 60 mile per hour plus winds toss the trees like twigs. Then on Christmas Day, while I was Zooming Mass from my study, we got over a foot of snow dumped on the farm. Not the 70 plus inches at the Buffalo airport, but at the end of the storm we had a new landmark, a large locust tree had been uprooted and it was lying over the driveway hung up on the trees. Thank God there were no electrical wires down or caught up in this tree, but this poised a danger for anyone driving to our home and the tree needed to be brought down. But who was I going to call for help?

 

John was my guardian angel. A retired teacher and expert forester, he checked out the location of the tree and call backed that he had a friend in Elma who cuts trees. My forester feared that we would not be able to save the serviceberry tree at the end of the driveway located near the 40 foot tall locust. He then introduced me to Patrick, whose truck had the sign printed “Timbercat.”  He was the expert.  He started to cut the locust from the bottom, a section at a time, so that the tree stood straight and did not roll to the side. John and Patrick huddled together to share their ideas how to fell the tree without damaging the serviceberry. I offered my two cents, and to my surprise they agreed it made sense to pull in the opposite direction to keep the giant locust from falling on the fragile serviceberry. 

 

 

At one point, John shared that Patrick was a widower after his wife had died a few years ago in her forties to a rare form of cancer. As Patrick was preparing to lasso the tree with his rope and tie down to his truck, I shared my sympathy and prayers. Patrick appreciated the support and shared a message he received from his uncle. His uncle told him that what helps us get through the difficult moments of life are the positive connections you make. That was a God moment. In his moment of agony with the lost of his beloved spouse, he was told that he was not alone and he had friends who would be there for him. 

 

 

2022 has had its share of pain and tragedies, Buffalo with its TOPS shootings, the blizzard of a generation that left many families grieving, and now I met a tree cutter who shared his lost but came to my rescue to make our land safe. In 2023, think about this. When was the last time you praised God for anything? In 2023, let our focus be on praising God for all those moments we have taken for granted. 

 

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that we learn to stay in the moment and ponder where God is calling you to be and do in 2023. By the way, the serviceberry tree still stands tall with no damage. Patrick did a great job in falling the tree away from the serviceberry. Now our driveway is safe, our serviceberry will grow for generations. “Praise God’ for all His goodness.”

 

 

 

Lifeline Doesn't Work With Metal Roofs

 

I ordered Lifeline for Maggie, my next door neighbor, after her recent fall.  We found her alive on the kitchen floor. A true miracle after lying on the floor for several days. Taken to the hospital, diagnosed with low sodium, she was later transferred to a rehab center and discharged back home. It seemed a practical idea to order Lifeline to call for help if she fell again.

 

I read the instructions and plugged the unit into the wall and waited until a voice announced “we received your message, please wait.” So we wait a minute, then five, another five. What gives? If someone fell, I would assume they would get a response immediately. I call customer service and told that ‘their lines are busy.”

 

Seems odd that if you fell you would expect an immediate response. The customer service agent asked: “ Are there any bars showing on the back of the unit.” This is the signal that the unit is connected to the cell towers. After a few minutes, two green bars appear. The agent says that’s good but makes the comment the signal is weak, trying plugging the unit near a window. Once again, I find an outlet near a window, point the unit north out the window and no “green bars.” The agent suggests try another window, this time the unit is facing East and after a few minutes two green bars show up. Now the chaos begins.

 

While I am on my cell phone with customer service, I am getting calls from the Bethany fire chief, at the same time my wife calls to say that she got a call from 911 that there is an emergency and the ambulance is being deployed. WHAT’S GOING ON!!!

 

The agent has no clue, but I contact 911 to say we are only testing the Lifeline unit and there is no emergency. The ambulance is called back, but there is a knock at the front door and it is a volunteer fireman responding to the emergency call. We assure the young man that Maggie is fine, but the Lifeline unit is “sick.”

 

I shared what happened with the Lifeline agent and they have “no clue” what happened and suggested to wait five minutes and she would call for a reset on the unit. Then she asked, “does the house have a metal roof?” Why yes. Maggie’s roof was leaking 10 years ago, she had no money, and I found an agricultural grant to replace her leaking roof with a 50 year metal roof. The agent reports, “ATT signals do not work in a house with a metal roof.” Does she have a land line and the answer is no. She uses cell service to save money. The solution, send the unit back to Lifeline for a refund.

 

It's good to know that when you need God, your prayers will be answered despite whatever material you have on your roof, even a metal roof.

 

Lord,. I pray for all my Sonshine Friends to keep them safe. If they can’t use Lifeline where they live, I pray they have good neighbors to check on them to make sure they are safe. Maggie’s sister promised to call her daily to check and she has my number to call anytime for an emergency. However, if you know a solution, please contact me.

 

 

Chrsitmas Card Delayed

 

Instead of fretting about what to get for your relatives and friends, I took on a different strategy. I put a blank white envelop inside the Christmas tree and the message I wrote to my wife Susan was this. In her name, I made donations to Volunteers4Animals where she volunteers and another donation to the Domincan nuns in Girard, Illinois who relocated from Elmira, New York. I asked the sisters to mail Christmas cards to all my Sonshine friends designed by one of their creative, artistic sisters. However, I received the following letters yesterday.

 

Dominican Nuns

Monastery of Mary the Queen

15635 Greenridge Road

Girard, IL 62640-7030

 

Dear Friends,

As we worked toward the big move of all our belongs to Girard, IL, it seemed reasonable that we could set up Sr. Grace’s equipment quite quickly once we arrived. She has been taking orders and filling them promptly before we moved and it seemed that she could just continue that efficiency once we arrived. And that is why we sent out this flyer.

But things did not work out as we had planned. Sister Mary Grace had a bad fall and has several fractures. She is bedridden at this time but we know that she will improve and with time and again be able to produce the cards as ordered.

But now it is obvious that she cannot accomplish the task of filling your order before Christmas. As soon as she is up and around again she will make the cards that you have ordered and we will get them to you as soon as we can. We have kept careful records so we can just hold your order until we are up and running again.

We are grateful for your response to this flyer and feel badly that our plans fell through. But we do intend to serve you better in the future. As soon as possible we will train another Sister to produce the cards that Sr. M. Grace paints. And this will facilitate the process. Please know that we do keep you and your intentions in our prayers.

Gratefully yours in Jesus and Mary, Sister Anna Marie,

Choose Your Battles Wisely

 

We don’t use the word meek too often nowadays. The only time I heard this word when I was growing up—other than in the Beatitudes (“Blessed are the meek”)—was in the Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy introduces herself to Oz, the great and powerful, as “Dorothy, the small and meek.” Naturally, I grew up thinking that to be meek was to be the opposite of powerful: weak and powerless.   In Scripture, meekness is not weakness and has no affinity for cowards. Rather, it is a quiet strength acquired through self-discipline. If meekness were an NHL hockey player, it would receive the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy—an award bestowed upon the player who combines sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct with excellence in the game. Among NHL greats who have won this trophy are Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Pavel Datsyuk, Alex Delvecchio, and Mike Bossy—and if you know anything about any of those players, you wouldn’t dare call them weak. However, they did indeed embody the scriptural characteristic of meekness in their approach to the game. They could take a hit, even a dirty one, and just keep on playing the game instead of retaliating and ending up in the penalty box along with the goon that roughed them up in the first place.   Unfortunately, since Jesus is described in the Gospels (Matthew 21:5) as being meek, we often wrongly see him characterized in art as looking weak. Not just weak, he too often looks like a wimp. But Jesus was certainly no wimp. As a carpenter, he would be the equivalent of a modern-day construction worker, hard hat and all. When he called himself the Good Shepherd, we need to recall that a shepherd was the equivalent of a cowboy. Jesus stood toe-to-toe with the most powerful men in society and never backed down. Even as he faced the abuse and taunts of his executioners, he did not cower, nor did he strike back. Rather, he absorbed their most ferocious blows, patiently trusting that God had something greater planned for him.   Smart hockey players will tell you that the best way to give payback for a cheap hit is to score a goal and win the game rather than respond with a cheap shot of your own. This type of meekness—disciplined, harnessed strength—allows one to strive for something greater instead of settling for a petty response. One who remains meek is able to see and think clearly and, as a result, is able to reach for higher things. Meekness is at the heart of the saying, “Choose your battles wisely.” Because of Emmanuel—God-with-us—we are able to absorb the blows that life and those in our lives send our way, knowing that we have a greater weapon and a greater goal in life.   Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who should be awarded the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy. Give them the strength to absorb the blows of life filled with the meekness that allows them to trust that Gods has great plans for their faith and courage.

Christmas Story

I have been asked by Bishop Mack to preach the Christmas homily on Christmas at the cathedral. In reviewing hundreds of online stories, I want you to notice that the story about the birth of Jesus is for children, not for adults.

Jesus said, “Unless you become a little child, you’ll never know what it’s all about.” On Christmas morning, I’m going to tell three true stories and then a small conclusion, because you cannot explain the gospel. We always look for explanations. The Bible is different: stories, just simple little stories. Jesus never explains anything. He says proverbs and stories. He entices the imagination. No explanations are necessary. In stories, you accept the story. And the truth is not in explaining the story, it is receiving the story into your own heart.

Here is a glimpse of one of my stories.

Grandma taught her little grandson everything about Christmas. However, his big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus, even dummies know that!"

Grandma was not the gushy kind, so he fled to her that day because he knew she would be straight with him. He knew Grandma always told the truth.

"No Santa Claus!" she snorted. "Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad. Now, put on your coat, and let's go."

She drove to Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything, like Vidler’s in East Aurora. Grandma handed him ten dollars. "Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.

He had no clue what to do, when suddenly he thought of Bobbie. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in class. Bobbie didn't have a coat. He would buy Bobbie a coat.

The lady cashier looked at the coat, the money, and me. "Is this a Christmas present for someone?" she asked kindly. "Yes," I replied shyly. "It's ... for Bobbie. He's in my class, and he doesn't have a coat." The nice lady smiled at me. He didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag and wished him a Merry Christmas.

That evening, Grandma helped him wrap the coat in Christmas paper and ribbons, and write, "To Bobbie, From Santa Claus" on it ... and we drove over to Bobbie’s house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially one of Santa's helpers. Grandma parked down the street from Bobbie's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk.

Suddenly, Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going."

I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his doorbell twice and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma. Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobbie. He looked down, looked around, picked up his present, took it inside and closed the door.

Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my grandma, in Bobbie bushes. That night, he realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were: Ridiculous!

Santa was alive and well ... and we were on his team!

My stories are Christmas stories, but they’re only for children, not for adults, and if you want to understand them, you must become a child.

For Jesus says, “Unless you become a little child, you’ll never, never know what the love of the Kingdom is all about.”

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that they know deep in their hearts that You hear their every prayer and come into their hearts to bring us all peace and joy. Blessed Christmas Everyone. Fr. Matt

 

 

 

 

The Call of Advent is Not to Give Up

 

Sadly, when we went to visit friends in Nashua, New Hampshire, Tim a retired geriatric doctor whom I met 35 years ago working on the geriatric team shared that he has been diagnosed with bladder cancer. He wanted to tell us in person and not in a text or over the phone. He shared that there is a family history of cancer in his family. His aunt was diagnosed with the same cancer and she is a cancer survivor for seven years. He is now waiting for the tests results to see if they got all the cancer cells but knows further treatment will begin in January.

As you drive around and hear Christmas songs on the radio and see decorations everywhere. Hearing about the struggles of friends only heightens the emotion and pain. Maybe that’s an idealized thing from our childhoods that makes us want to lodge a complaint somewhere with the Lord reminding Him that this is supposed to be a “sadness-free” zone this close to His Birthday. It’s a difficult lesson in life to come to realize that whether it’s the Christmas season or not… whether you’re the most devout of believers or not – the reality that “life happens” that bad things happen to all people, good, bad, somewhere in between… is just that. It’s a reality we have to acknowledge. And it’s a reality that, in short, sucks.

Jesus – it’s not supposed to be this hard, this difficult….

Jesus it’s hard to believe in you when all these terrible things are happening around us – or when rough things are happening to my best friend Tim, your friends, your relatives – to me…

John the Baptist was in a desperate situation, imprisoned and Jesus speaks into his darkness… Not just to give him a hang in there buddy pep talk – but to speak faith-filled words that will renew John’s hope. And what an amazingly beautiful, hope filled response. No parables. No dodging. Jesus says : Go tell John what you hear and see – the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.”

Jesus reminds John and to all who will listen how the world is changing. God has come, and remains with us. Emmanuel – God is with us. John might not feel it at that moment… and here’s the thing, we might not either from time to time when we know so many who are suffering, or are in pain, or are feeling lost, or feeling without hope. There are still evil forces to contend with.

Yet the good news is that those aren’t the end of any of our stories. As messed up, as painful as that dark night you are going through might be… As terrible or scared or afraid as we might be… The call of Advent is to not give up.   We cry out “Come Lord Jesus”… whose coming is putting the forces of evil on notice that it’s reign is coming to an end.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who are facing painful and dark nights. May we find hope and courage in your words to John: ”the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.” And the call of Advent is not to give up. I’m happy to report that my friend Tim received good news that he is cancer free. Praise God.