A New Day.

My parents had a small wooden plaque with an inspirational quote in the den. It was there for at least my first 15 years of life. I looked at it and read it every single day. More often than not I ignored its message. This morning I remember, feel it, and am trying to live it. The quote was as follows:

Today is the beginning of a New Day.
God has given me this day to use as I will.
I can waste it or grow in its light,
And be of service to others.
But what I do with this day is important
Because I will have exchanged a day of my life for it.
When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever.
I hope I will not regret the price I paid for it.

Browsing around the internet looking for the author of this poem, I found a good number of inspirational-type sites that include some version of it. I almost was let down by finding it...thought is was something unique to my parents' den for some reason. An inspiration meant to speak directly to me. Well regardless to whom this poem is directed, it inspires me today. And I guess that's the point, isn't it?

Daily Mass Readings
Exodus 17:8-13
Psalm 121:1-8
2 Timothy 3:14,4:2
Luke 18:1-8

PROVE it.

I realize that I can't. And that's alright.

I cannot provide scientific proof of the Judeo-Christian God. I can argue God philosophically, logically, theologically. I can offer no scientific method-type proof that would satisfy. None whatsoever. Yet I believe anyway.

My atheist friends loooooooove when they get me to this position in a debate!

Although fictional, I always think of Ellie Arroway, the atheist scientist in the book/movie CONTACT, regarding the demand for proof of her supposed intergalactic journey:

I had an experience... I can't prove it, I can't even explain it, but everything that I know as a human being, everything that I am tells me that it was real! I was given something wonderful, something that changed me forever...I wish I could share that. I wish, that everyone, if only for one moment, could feel that awe, and humility, and hope. But that continues to be my wish.

A faith experience is very similar. I've had several experiences in my life that have confirmed the faith I was born into. When I received Communion for the first time. When I first met my wife. When I made my first Confession in 20 years. When I saw my sons leaving their mother's body into the world. When I decided to stop drinking, literally in mid-slug. When my cancer-afflicted mother asked for my prayers...and her doctors still can't fully explain her recovery.

In each of these experiences, God was with me. Period.

I can't prove it. I can't explain it. But like Ellie, everything that I know as a human being, everything that I am tells me that it was real. Thank you God, for Your Presence today and everyday, for believers and non-believers.


Daily Mass Readings
Galatians 3:7-14
Psalm 111:1-6
Luke 11:15-26

Fool for God

Today is the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron of the Franciscan Family, ecology, animals...and plain old fools like me.

- Brother Francis renounced a life of wealth and privilege in favor of strict poverty
- Brother Francis embraced a terrifying Wolf at Gubbio.
- Brother Francis kissed the hands of a Leper.
- Brother Francis stripped naked in front of his bishop and his community, to be closer to his Lady Poverty.
- Brother Francis often preached to his sister birds.
- Brother Francis on his deathbed thanked his donkey for carrying him throughout his ministry. The donkey is said to have wept at his passing

My Brother also literally and figuratively built up the Church and founded a great religious order of men and women who follow his path to Christ even today. My Brother also received the Stigmata. He has inspired millions with his simple way of following Christ. He embraced all of God's Creation as his own family.

My Little Brother Francis was a Fool. May I one day be as foolish as he!

Brother Francis, let me truly follow your Path to Our Lord Jesus Christ, and to serve Him with great humility!

Amen

Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi
Daily Mass Readings
Galatians 1:6-12
Psalm 111:1-2,7-10
Luke 10:25-37

Finding our Strengths

During the past year, our parish has been encouraging all members who wish to be involved in ministry to take the Clifton StrengthsFinder, a tool released by Gallup that rates you on 34 different themes, based on around 180 questions. The questions are timed so you have to go pretty much with your gut instinct. The poll is geared towards finding your strengths to better direct the types on ministry you ought to pursue. The top 5 themes are your most dominant strengths.

The results are more individualized than you'd think. The odds of someone having the same top 5 strengths in any order as you have are 1 in 250,000. The odds of someone having the same 5 strengths in the same order of dominance as you are 1 in 33 million. This surprised me!

Here are my top 5 Strengths...and it is accurate, particularly the first one:

Communication
You like to explain, to describe, to host, to speak in public, and to write. This is your Communication theme at work. Ideas are a dry beginning. Events are static. You feel a need to bring them to life, to energize them, to make them exciting and vivid. And so you turn events into stories and practice telling them. You take the dry idea and enliven it with images and examples and metaphors. You believe that most people have a very short attention span. They are bombarded by information, but very little of it survives. You want your information—whether an idea, an event, a product’s features and benefits, a discovery, or a lesson—to survive. You want to divert their attention toward you and then capture it, lock it in. This is what drives your hunt for the perfect phrase. This is what draws you toward dramatic words and powerful word combinations. This is why people like to listen to you. Your word pictures pique their interest, sharpen their world, and inspire them to act.


Empathy
You can sense the emotions of those around you. You can feel what they are feeling as though their feelings are your own. Intuitively, you are able to see the world through their eyes and share their perspective. You do not necessarily agree with each person’s perspective. You do not necessarily feel pity for each person’s predicament—this would be sympathy, not Empathy. You do not necessarily condone the choices each person makes, but you do understand. This instinctive ability to understand is powerful. You hear the unvoiced questions. You anticipate the need. Where others grapple for words, you seem to find the right words and the right tone. You help people find the right phrases to express their feelings—to themselves as well as to others. You help them give voice to their emotional life. For all these reasons other people are drawn to you.


Connectedness
Things happen for a reason. You are sure of it. You are sure of it because in your soul you know that we are all connected. Yes, we are individuals, responsible for our own judgments and in possession of our own free will, but nonetheless we are part of something larger. Some may call it the collective unconscious. Others may label it spirit or life force. But whatever your word of choice, you gain confidence from knowing that we are not isolated from one another or from the earth and the life on it. This feeling of Connectedness implies certain responsibilities. If we are all part of a larger picture, then we must not harm others because we will be harming ourselves. We must not exploit because we will be exploiting ourselves. Your awareness of these responsibilities creates your value system. You are considerate, caring, and accepting. Certain of the unity of humankind, you are a bridge builder for people of different cultures. Sensitive to the invisible hand, you can give others comfort that there is a purpose beyond our humdrum lives. The exact articles of your faith will depend on your upbringing and your culture, but your faith is strong. It sustains you and your close friends in the face of life’s mysteries.


Input
You are inquisitive. You collect things. You might collect information—words, facts, books, and quotations—or you might collect tangible objects such as butterflies, baseball cards, porcelain dolls, or sepia photographs. Whatever you collect, you collect it because it interests you. And yours is the kind of mind that finds so many things interesting. The world is exciting precisely because of its infinite variety and complexity. If you read a great deal, it is not necessarily to refine your theories but, rather, to add more information to your archives. If you like to travel, it is because each new location offers novel artifacts and facts. These can be acquired and then stored away. Why are they worth storing? At the time of storing it is often hard to say exactly when or why you might need them, but who knows when they might become useful? With all those possible uses in mind, you really don’t feel comfortable throwing anything away. So you keep acquiring and compiling and filing stuff away. It’s interesting. It keeps your mind fresh. And perhaps one day some of it will prove valuable.


Adaptability
You live in the moment. You don’t see the future as a fixed destination. Instead, you see it as a place that you create out of the choices that you make right now. And so you discover your future one choice at a time. This doesn’t mean that you don’t have plans. You probably do. But this theme of Adaptability does enable you to respond willingly to the demands of the moment even if they pull you away from your plans. Unlike some, you don’t resent sudden requests or unforeseen detours. You expect them. They are inevitable. Indeed, on some level you actually look forward to them. You are, at heart, a very flexible person who can stay productive when the demands of work are pulling you in many different directions at once.

If you're interested in discovering your top five themes, visit http://www.strengthsfinder.com. You'll need an access code to take the poll, which can be found in a number of publications. The one I purchased through my parish was
LIVING YOUR STRENGTHS: DISCOVER YOUR GOD-GIVEN TALENTS AND INSPIRE YOUR COMMUNITY (CATHOLIC EDITION). It is worth the price/donation of the book (I donated $10 to my parish for the book). Be warned that every book's code that can only be used once; do not purchase a used book for this purpose!

Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul
Daily Mass Readings
Job 1:6-22
Psalm 17:1-3,6-7
Luke 9:46-50

Virginia executes first woman in a century

From CNN

Teresa Lewis, called the mastermind in the murder-for-hire deaths of her husband and stepson, was executed Thursday night, Virginia Department of Corrections officials said.

Lewis, who was given a lethal injection, was pronounced dead at 9:13 p.m. ET at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt.

Death penalty opponents argued that Lewis, a 41-year-old grandmother, should not have died for a 2002 conspiracy that spared two triggermen a capital sentence. Instead they got life without parole...Lewis and her lawyers argued to the governor that she had an IQ that was borderline mentally retarded and that she was manipulated into committing the crimes by a dominant male co-defendant. She pleaded guilty to her participation in the murders but later regretted her actions, they said."

The actual triggermen, one of whom admitted targeting and manipulating Lewis to commit the crime (he subsequently committed suicide), were given life without parole. Lewis was called the "mastermind" of the plot, despite having an IQ that borderlined mental retardation, and as such her clemency pleas were rejected by the Governor and the Supreme Court.

It was right that Teresa Lewis was punished...but did she deserve death, especially if the triggermen did not??? The Holy Father Benedict XVI has come out strongly against the death penalty, as did his predecessor Venerable John Paul II. Where was the condemnation on behalf of Ms. Lewis by the US Bishops, who constantly remind us of the dignity of life "from conception to natural death"? Where were Priests for Life, Missionaries for the Gospel of Life, or any other Catholic organizations that work tirelessly against abortion and euthanasia, but are rarely seen speaking up for those executed by the state? To be fair, Priests for Life does have a page on its site dedicated to the abolition of the death penalty (the last news item on that page however, is PFL calling for a halt to Timothy McVeigh's execution in April of 2001.)

Building a culture of life means all life, not just the lives we think have worth. To quote Sister Helen Prejean:

"The profound moral question is not, 'Do they deserve to die?' but 'Do we deserve to kill them?'"

And from Romans 12:

"Vengeance is MINE, says the Lord. I will repay"

May God have mercy on the soul of Teresa Lewis...and on all of us.

Daily Mass Readings
Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:8
Psalm 90:3-6,12-14,17
Luke 9:43-45

Who am I, really?

I was just thinking today about my former spiritual director, Father Jim. I met him a few years ago when I was discerning the diaconate; all inquirers were mandated to begin spiritual direction. After a year of sessions with Father, it became clear that I wasn't supposed to be a deacon (at least not in the near future). However, I continued the sessions with Father Jim because he challenged where I was going with my faith, where I was going as a writer, and most importantly where I was going as a husband and father. Jim became more than a spiritual director, he became my friend and confidante; what the Irish call Anam Cara or soul friend. He moved to a parish out east and we sort of lost touch (really ought to call him).

Fr. Jim once presented me with a small framed quote; it said simply REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE. He asked me to take it home and consider its meaning, and that we'd discuss it during our next session.

OK, so...Who am I, and why do I have to remember? I figured it would be relatively easy to come up with the right answer, doll it all up in spiritual "lingo" and present it for Fr. Jim. In fact, it was MORE than easy. I wrote a whole essay on who I was, who I saw myself to be, where I was going, etc. I was a little stuck on the whole "remembering" thing, but hell, how could I forget who I was? I had a couple of pages worth!

I went down the list with Fr. Jim the following month.

I'm a husband!
I'm a dad!
I'm a brother!
I'm a son!
I'm a friend!
I'm a religion teacher!
I'm a banker!

I went through this little exercise with confidence, embellishing each title with how important each was to myself and the people I touched.

He listened, smiling has he did so, nodding throughout. Then he broke the news,

"Tom, all those things are true. But they are not who you truly are. There is something you are that you've forgotten, in fact most of us have forgotten. It is something you have always been, something you were before you were born, something you are now, something you will always be."

I waited, puzzled...and a little hurt that I had obviously failed my assignment.

"What you need to remember...before everything, during everything, and after everything...You are the Beloved of God."

OK, so let's just break this down. When I goof off at work, I am Beloved of God? When I yell at my kids I am Beloved of God? When I enjoy some gossip about someone who doesn't deserve it, I am Beloved of God? He could love me in the rain, he could love me on the...Oh, I could go on with all of this, and the answer will be the same; Yes.

God's love for me and indeed all of us is profound as the Father's love for the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). The son screws up...big time. He squanders his inheritance (indeed in 1st century Judea, it was an insult of the highest order to request your inheritance before your father's passing) going to prostitutes, and money lenders until he winds up as a penniless working on a pig farm (another big time no-no for a Jew). He decides to go home, and beg his Father to let him stay on as a servant.

However, the son is his Father's Beloved. The Father sees him from far off...and bounds off the porch to meet him with a tender embrace. The son took a step towards his Father...and his Father rushed to meet him.

I am Beloved of God. I pretty much have not forgotten since then. Thank you Father Jim for helping me to Remember.

Feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis
Daily Mass Readings
1 Corinthians 15:12-20
Psalm 17:1,6-8,15
Luke 8:1-3

On the EASE of Writing

Ah yes, the blog. The Lazy Man's Novel.

I've had the desire to write something a bit longer than a blog entry for awhile. I've written a few short stories, tried (and failed) to consolidate a couple of decades worth of journals into publishable form. I can say without exception, these 18 Easy Steps to Becoming a Writer is something I've gone through in each an every instance I've made an attempt. From WRITERS DIGEST:

Step One: Decide you're going to write a story.

Step Two: Decide it's going to be brilliant. Imagine the response of your [teacher, classmates, reading group, agent] and how it will completely change the way they look at you.

Step Three: Open up Microsoft Word.

Step Four: Stare at the blank white screen stretching on into infinity until your eyes begin to burn and your brain hurts from the sheer emptiness of it all.

Step Five: Check your e-mail. If writing a novel, research agents for a couple of hours.

Step Six: Stare at the blank Word document again.

Step Seven: Realize you need music. Spend the next hour finding the perfect "mood" music for what you want to write.

Step Eight: Inspired by [insert perfect music here], click back over to Word document.

Step Nine: Change Facebook status to: [Your name here] is WRITING!!! Realize you aren't on Twitter, and that anyone who is anyone is networking/wasting time on Twitter. Sign up for an account and spend the next two hours figuring out how it works and what the crap # means.

Step Ten: Stare at blank Word document. Decide you need a title. Brainstorm for the next hour.

Step Eleven: Come up with a GENIUS title. Proudly type "The Scent of Green Papayas" at the top of the document, followed by your name. Happily consider how easily a story will come now that you have such an amazing, literary title.

Step Twelve: Take a four-hour break for snacks and naptime.

Step Thirteen: Refreshed, sit down and toy around with pen names for a while.

Step Fourteen: Realize to your horror that your genius title is actually the name of a Vietnamese foreign film you saw seven years ago.

Step Fifteen: Erase the title, pressing Backspace much harder than necessary.

Step Sixteen: Stare at the blank Word document until your eyes bleed.

Step Seventeen: Check Facebook. See that fourteen people have commented on your status, asking what you are writing. Feel both guilty and annoyed.

Step Eighteen: Slam your laptop shut and go to the movies. Tomorrow's a better day for writing, anyhow.

See? You never knew writing was so easy!

I'll get there one of these days.

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Daily Mass Readings
Numbers 21:4-9
Psalm 78:1,2,34-38
Philippians 2:6-11
John 3:13-17