You Never Know When God Will Call

 

(NOTE: This story was published by the Batavia News on Saturday, May 25, 2024)

by Fr. Matt Kawiak

I get a text from my wife Susan that says: “I need your help!” At that moment, I am in the tractor garage and notice that she is pulling into the car garage and inside the passenger seat I am shocked to see a baby fawn jumping around from the passenger to the driver seat. 

 

Sue shared that as she pulling into our driveway from the busy highway. This fawn was running down the hill toward the busy state highway and she would have surely been killed by a tractor trailer. Instead, when Sue spotted the fawn, she got of her the car and the fawn came bleeping up to her. She immediately picked it up out of harms way and put it into the car.

 

The next question in this trauma response is how to you get this fawn to reconnect with its momma? Sue called her friend Shana, who is a USDA trainer, and Shana drove over immediately and started checking online to check how best to care for this lost fawn. 

 

Sue told me to get a large kitty cage and we put the fawn inside for safety. Sue noticed that it was hot and she soaked some towels in cold water. In the meantime, Shana checked its ears to see if it was dehydrated. 

 

She started a search online for a deer rehabilitator. With one phone call, this kind volunteer requested we take a photo of the fawn so she could assess its condition. She shared it looked like a newborn and in good shape. Her next recommendation was to forward “the sound a fawn makes” when it is lost. On her cell phone, Sue was told to walk back to where she found the fawn and turn up the volume and blast the sound of the newborn fawn cry over the fields so that the mother would return to find its baby.

 

Imagine, Sue is walking along the driveway along the side of the woods holding her cell phone over her head as the sound of the fawn can be heard throughout the woods, Shana is carrying the newborn fawn in a blanket in her arms while the bleeping sound can be heard throughout the fields

 

I am the walking behind, scouting for momma when suddenly a deer darts out of the woods, she notices the two women and jumps back into the shrubs.

 

We now know that momma deer is nearly. Sue and Shana turn around and walk away from the main highway toward an open meadow with the sound of a bleeping fawn leading the way. Once in the open meadow with high grasses, Shana places the fawn on the ground and starts walking away. However, our little friend follows Shana back to the house.  So, she picks up our lost fawn and walks further out into the meadow. We continue to scout for momma as the bleeping continues and this time the fawn is gently placed in higher grasses so Shana can walk away when it was not looking. 

 

We were exhausted form the tension, but satisfied that once moved away from the open field with the fawn lying still in the grasses, momma would pick up the scent and the sound of her lost fawn and she would take her baby back to safety and home to safer fields.

 

We were grateful for the quick and accurate helpful advice from the deer rehabilitator. In my cell phone contact list, I now have a deer rehabilitator listing.

 

One never knows when God will call upon you to save a poor lost soul. It might be a child, a relative or neighbor or in this case a newborn fawn who lost its momma.

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who volunteer as deer rehabilitator, or animal shelter volunteer and work tirelessly to save the orphan animals in our community from harms way. We need more good people who stop what they are doing and come to rescue of those in need in their moment of crisis. Thank you for your kind and generous service. If you like to help stray animals at the animal shelter, contact Volunteerr4Animals at (585) 343-6410 option 7 or info@vol4animals.org

 

Memorial Day Blessing

 

As a young seminarian, Memorial Day memories turn to my dad a veteran of WW II and commander of his American Legion Post. At the local cemetery, we would honor our war hero’s by offering prayers, laying the wreath, sounding taps and a twenty-one-gun salute. The words of John said it best: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”  I have heard this verse so many times that the ultimate sacrifice is to give one’s life for friend or country. But I wonder if that was the message Jesus was talking about. He wasn’t talking about war, was he? My dad was invited to speak on this day and he would always turn to me and say “Can you write me a few words” So my Sonshines, my stories began long before I took my first homiletic course in seminary. While we came to remember the sacrifice of so many young people, when and how you die isn’t as important as how you live.

 

Surely Jesus didn’t want us to die in wars. When he called his disciples to lay down their lives, maybe he meant something more like to put aside our own goals, our own desires, our own ambitions and to live for others -- to dedicate our lives to our brothers and sisters, our friends, our church, to dedicate our lives to God -- to lay down our own will and to seek God’s will, and then do it.

 

After the ceremony, dad and I stayed after everyone else left. We moved from stone to stone, looking at each name, each date. As we walked, we came upon a platform carved out of stone. In the center was a sort of a pulpit also carved from stone. I stood behind the pulpit and looked out over hundreds of graves. It was like a congregation of the dead. It was the quietest, most attentive congregation I had ever seen before. For a minute, I imagine myself like Ezekiel preaching to the dry bones. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I shook my head.  What’s the matter, dad said?  I realized I didn't have anything to say to them. As I thought about their sacrifices, and the sorrow of their families and friends, I didn’t have a word to say.  Just then, an older legionnaire friend of my dad had come up beside us. This old WW I veteran looked at us and said, It’s all right that you have nothing to say to them, he said, gesturing to the silent gravestones stretching as far as the eye can see. The question is, were you quiet enough to let them speak to you?

 

God prays for us as we reflect:

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who cry over the stones of their war hero’s. In our souls, let us hear:” I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.” On Memorial Day, our soldiers did leave us something that will last...let them speak to you. May we honor them, and all those who have served others, by serving the one

How to Fill Empty Pews

 

On route 98, as I was driving to Holy Family Church in North Java, you will pass through Varysburg. There is assign outside the Catholic church that says: “Empty Pews, but filled with Prayer.” A sad comment on the fact that most church pews really are empty. However, the Mother’s Day gospel story was the formula how Jesus brought people into the pews

There's a famous line attributed to France of Assisi, "Preach the gospel at all times and only when necessary use words." 

 

We talk a lot about meeting people where they are and leading them to where God is calling them to be. This essentially was Jesus' model of evangelization. Jesus never preached to somebody before he fed them, healed them, comforted them. This was his approach. He went out to the people. He met the people where they were, physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. He met them where they were. He ministered to them usually first in their human need, and then he ministered to them spiritually. He met them where they were and led them to where God is calling them to be.

 

Question to ask yourself, “are we really meeting them where they're at? Or are we standing down the road and saying, 'Hey, gals and guys, come to our church, because that's not what God calls us to. He calls us to walk back down the road, to meet them where they're at, to say, "What is troubling your heart? 

 

And they may say, "I got a whole bunch of credit card debt because of my gambling addiction to scratch off cards." They may say, "I just lost my job because I stole money from my job to pay for my cocaine.” They may say, "Don't like my job. Don't get on with my boss at work. I'm worried about my son's health. I'm worried about my mother’s alcohol addiction? My mom's sick. My dad's sick." The things that are heavy on people's hearts. What's troubling your heart? 

 

Because when we meet people where they are, we are first concerned with what's troubling their hearts. And there're so many ways that we can help people carry their burden. But the first way is just to recognize that people are carrying a burden, to listen to the burden that they're carrying, and then to do an inventory of our lives and say, "Okay, how can I help this person? 

 

What talents or resources do I have available to me that can help this person?" The person may say, "I'm struggling with getting my medical insurance benefits?" We may think, "Hmm, I know this person who's really good at that or an expert at that. Maybe I can connect the two and they can help each other" We're here to help each other. It's the beginning of filling the empty pews..

 

A starving person cannot hear the message. You have to feed the starving person and then their ears become open. Our mission is about you and me listening and how we can we feed them so that they can hear the life-giving, life-changing words of Jesus in the gospel.

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who like our nurturing women make the sacrifice of their time and use their compassionate hearts to care for the staring souls of the world. So, whether you are a mom or grandmom, a teacher, a nurse, a social worker or a generous neighbor and family caregiver, let me say “thank you” for your service, each and every day by following the mission of Jesus to bring His love to all the staring people in need.

Mother's Day Blessing Prayer

 

 

Friday night, my wife Sue woke me up at 4am to take a photo of the Aurora Borealis.

My Mother’s Day gift to all our nurturing women is this gift from God from the heavens.

 

Living Nurturing Mom’s
And celebrate the many wonderful mothers/nurturing women here on earth who touch so many in such a positive way- Michelle M., Rose W., Theresa L., Dorthea L., Ashlynn, Sharon M., Kerry M., Tammy M., Barbara S., Natalie S., Donna S., Jane S., Kate , Stephanie Katie, Terria, Ashley., Breena, Justine., Gina, Kim, Shelby, Courtney, Caitlin, Gail Boldt, Rebecca Feistel, Laura Fafinski, Janyce Feistel, JoAnn Kalinowski, Elaine Hill, Kathy Casale, Cathy Post, Cheryl in Florida, Yvonne Seekins, Sue Sullivan, Bev Kaiser, Marlene; Bev; Cindy; Barb; Gloria; Vianna; Grandmother B., Muriel, Tracy H in Fairport, Eileen C in Rochester, Mary Jane B. in Webster, Maggie K. Susie K., Ogivens spouse in Haiti, Viola Podleiszek, Florence Ruszala, Denise Flanagan, Cassie North, Elizabeth Mays, Katie Van Damme, Michelle North in Florida, Danielle Michalek Hernandez, Arianne Michalek Aughey, Becky Michalek, Joyce Hakes Montanaro, Patty Dondorfer, Marianne Gerwin Reichelt, Mary Stopper Eiswert, Marie George, Vicki Rehwaldt,

Suzie L., Mindy Q.,Emilie M  

 

Deceased Mom’s
Lucille Fafinski, Sophie Wrobel,  Lucy Czarmowski, Virginia Fafinski, Rosemary Fafinski, Antonia Fafinski, Annie Kawiak, Catherine Sullivan, Helen Ogrodowski, Rose Maggio Guido, Ruth Maggio Barlow, Angeline Adonnino Lallucci, Veronica Lallucci Kurek, Lorraine, Dorothy Wangler; Leona Tiernan: Catherine Wangler-Spriggs, Sharon Bean, Maryann Delfino, Dorothy Bender Hakes, Mary Rose Cenname Montanaro, Ruth Meyer,

Teresa George, Grandma June V.

 

MOTHER’S DAY PRAYER

A wise old mother taught her daughter many prayers and this one was her favorite. She was about six years old at the time. She was sitting outside on a block of concrete, and she was crying. She doesn’t even know why. She was just crying and crying. Her mother came along and said, “What’s the matter?” She said, “Nothing, leave me alone!” She did - and then she really started crying!

About 15 minutes later, the mother came back and sat beside her. “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, this mother said she was going to teach her a prayer for the times when she was crying and didn’t know why. She made her get off the cement block and stand up. She said, “Now, put your arms around yourself. “She 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? She still says it today when she feels 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.

 

Blessings on Mothers’ Day to all our moms and nurturing women,

fr. matt

 

 

 

 

 

What Kind of Friend Are You?

 

Do you have friends? I hope so. Here's the good question though. What kind of friends do you have? Or a better question might be what kind of friend are you? Jesus gives us a really good measuring stick for friendship today. Here it is, "Love one another as I have loved you. This I command you to love one another." Right there, Jesus summarizes the key quality of a great friendship in one word, love. It's agape love, love that gives, love that sacrifices, love that's selfless, love that's patient. That's what Jesus said about true friendship. Love each other as I have loved you. So we're talking about real, true, deep, lasting friendships. Do you have any really good friends? And what kind of friend are you? One sure way to learn whether you have a real friend is in a moment of crisis. You will see certain qualities. One thing you'll absolutely see is loyalty. Do you have friends who are only there when they need you? But nowhere to be found when your life lands in the ditch? I'm talking about loyalty. A friend is one who walks in when others are walking out. Love means a real friendship will be rooted in loyalty. A second thing, love also means there will be forgiveness. Love doesn't hold grudges. Do you have friends who are always reminding you of everything you've done wrong or always holding guilt over your head?

You also find that real love produces honesty in a friendship. A true deep friend speaks the truth in love. They don't just tell you what you want to hear. They actually tell you when you have spinach in your teeth. And they tell you things that are even harder to hear. A good friend will confront you when you're making a mistake, even when it hurts, because that friend doesn't just want to make you feel better. The real friend hopes to make you a better version of yourself. Do you have a friend like that? Someone who loves you enough to come to you and say, "You really ought to consider that again." Or, "If I were you, I'd think about this." Even when they know you probably won't want to hear it. That's what a true deep friend does. They love you enough to speak the truth to make you better. And finally, a true friendship has dedication, dedication. A friend sacrifices, is selfless, devoted to the friendship, committed. But that's the kind of love God has for us. Dedicated love takes lots of forms. Jesus even says sometimes it means laying down your life for a friend because almost always dedication means sacrifice.

The cell phone  rang. It was late in the day, and I was driving home from a critical incident. It was my sister-in-law. “Matt, I am at the nursing home with Aunt Helen and she’s not doing well, the end is very near. I got to make some tough decisions and need your help.” She had to decide how she was going to make funeral arrangements. She found an insurance policy in which she was the beneficiary, but she didn’t know how to get the information how to make a claim. 

I told Kathy I’m on my way. So I turned my car around from home and drove straight to the nursing home. Kathy said, “you got stuff to take care of right now. I will figure it out. I'll keep you posted. Don't worry about it." I said, "No, no, I'm on my way.” I’m going to come and I will contact the Life Insurance policy and get what you need so that you will ready to take care of Aunt Helen when God calls her to heaven,

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who drop everything at a moment's notice in an unplanned time of crisis. Jesus said that real, true friendships will be rooted in love. Real friends will show loyalty, forgiveness, honesty, and dedication. Love shows itself most of all in times of crisis. That's the kind of love God has for you. What kind of friends do you have? What kind of friend are you?