More Than Just the Turkey (A Thanksgiving Reflection)

This Thanksgiving we continued our tradition of going to visit my family in North Carolina.  I love traveling to North Carolina this time of year as the weather is always so nice, whereas in Indiana things are starting to really cool down!  My mom, both my sisters, and their families live in North Carolina just north of Charlotte (Taylorsville, NC area) so it is a great to be able to see everyone.  The one "big" change this year is that we had Colten, and it was also his first birthday so everyone got to celebrate with us!!  Abby loves playing with her cousins and it has been great seeing them all grow up through the years.  My mom hosted a great dinner at her house on Wednesday and my sister did a great job of hosting Thanksgiving and cooking a truly outstanding turkey!  I, of course, did my pumpkin crunch which I think everyone enjoys (at least I hope so). 

When Saturday afternoon came and we had to say our goodbyes I was a bit sad, as always.  It is difficult to be so far away from family, but at the same time I am thankful for the time we had to spend together.  As I reflected on the weekend and the spirit of the holiday, I thought about many of those people who are less fortunate.  There are many who do not have a roof over their head, who didn't have enough to eat on Thanksgiving, and others who are very ill this year.  Most of us know of friends or family who might be unemployed, have fallen on tough times, and who themselves might have lost someone recently due to illness. 

While I continue my own spiritual journey, I can't help but think, "how am I so fortunate?"  "What did I do to deserve such blessings?"  When having these thoughts, I remind myself that God has a plan for all of us.  We are all called to serve in our own way.  I have been blessed, but it is my responsibility to find a way to use those blessings in a way that glorifies God and shows how thankful I am.  Every day, it is important to think about how we are utilizing our own time, talent, and treasure to praise God and help others -- the poor, the hungry, the sick, the home bound, the lonely, and the less fortunate.  This quote from Luke 12:48 perhaps says it best:

"From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more."

I am very thankful this year -- for more than just the turkey.  I am thankful for my family, my wife, my gorgeous kids whom I love unconditionally and am loved by in return, my friends, my job, having enough to eat, the roof over my head, good health, the Church, having the opportunity to serve others through some great organizations, and a renewed Faith.  I thank God for all of these blessings and many more, and for sending his Son to die on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins for without that eternal life would not be possible.  I pray every day that I might live my life in an unselfish way, giving of myself in a way that lives the Gospel and encourages others to do the same. 

What are you thankful for this year?  How are you showing your "appreciation" for the many blessings you've been given?  Feel free to post and share your thoughts with others. . . 'tis the season for generosity and love. . . it's contagious! 

 

Peanut butter and . . .not enough jelly??

Okay, so I thought I would try a "catchy" title to see if it grabbed your attention. . . did it work?  As a kid, or if you have kids now, could you imagine having a peanut butter sandwich without jelly?  What if that grape jelly or strawberry jam didn't exist or was simply empty when you opened the fridge?  What a let down, right?  Well, more on that to come in a bit. 

This weekend I had the privilege of going with the High School Youth Group at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton to the Holy Family Shelter downtown in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.  This is the only shelter in the area of it's kind that is a temporary shelter for families.  There are other shelters for women, men, women and children, men and children, or other combinations, but this is the only one that extends to the entire family.  The shelter can house up to 22 "families" in it's dorm style rooms and even have one room that is setup to hold a family of 9 I believe.  The shelter is "temporary" though and is always at capacity.  It is more of a transition home for those that have fallen down and need help getting back up.  Perhaps parents lost their job(s), a mother was escaping domestic violence with her kids, or a family simply couldn't make ends meet and they need help.  Here, they get that help. 

At Holy Family Shelter, residents stay for up to 30 days (with extensions on a case by case basis) while they get the help they need to find a job, find a more permanent living arrangement, and even get help finding other types of counseling for things like substance abuse or mental health issues.  There are case workers to counsel, medical professionals visit, three meals a day are provided, computers are accessible for searching for jobs and writing resumes, life-skills classes held, and even clothes are given as needed to the families.  There is a lot more, but what a wonderful place to address the needs of our community. 

Our group had the opportunity to take care of the children that day so that their parents could get a much needed break.  One rule of the facility is that the parents must always be with their children just for their safety and security.  Parents are not allowed to leave their children -- they must accompany them to the bathrooms, showers, play rooms, and everything.  So, our youth group setup in the children's room for three hours and took in probably about 8-10 kids at any given time and played board games, dress-up, did crafts, and even had snacks with them, something they never get.  Those kids were great.  They seemed so happy to have all of this attention and you could see it in the smiles on their faces.  They played hard and laughed like our kids.  They jumped around.  They ran.  But, you know that they have been through so much.  Some have went to bed hungry many times.  Others might have been victims of violence or abuse.  One little boy had jeans that were too short with holes in them.  For these three hours though it didn't matter.  When it was over, there was a piece of me that hated to see them leave and I prayed later that they never lose hope and always feel the love of God on them.  For many of them, their hard journey isn't over, but they got a good start thanks to Holy Family Shelter. 

Before I forget, let me get back to the title of this blog.  While we were touring the shelter, we walked through the kitchen and then the "pantry" where they keep the food.  One thing that was striking is they had A LOT of peanut butter.  The volunteer coordinator (who was great) told us they get a good amount of peanut butter donated, but not hardly any jam/jelly (there was only one jar).  She said that all residents, kids included, get the same dinner at every meal.  If the kids don't like the food, then they can go over to the side and get bread and butter or have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  But, most kids don't like peanut butter without the jelly. 

Why bring this up?  Because it struck me how fortunate many of us are in life that we don't have to worry about the little things day in and day out.  We don't have to worry about how our kids are going to get to school, where to take a shower, how we are going to buy new clothes for our growing kids, where we are going to sleep, where to get our next meal, or, yes, if we can afford jelly to make our favorite sandwich.  Every city, every town, and every community has many of its citizens that are hurting for which these are real worries.  And, they need people like us.  Don't wait another day to do something about it!  Find your local food pantry or shelter and donate your old clothes, volunteer with your family, write a check, or, just buy them jelly.  Every little bit helps.  

Dear Lord, give us a love for the poor and the giving spirit to do more.  Amen.

P.S.  Today, on my lunch hour, I took over a box of clothes and six jars of jam/jelly so the kids can have peanut butter AND jelly anytime they want -- at least for the near future.  I'm sure i'll be making more trips.  :-)

All Saints Day. . .Lives to Emulate!

I listen to this Podcast called Catholic Answers and one of the hosts, Patrick Coffin, always says, "Be a saint, what else is there?"  While, yes, it is a bit of a tag-line, we should all strive to be saints!  Today in the Catholic Church is All Saints Day.  It is a feast day, always celebrated on November 1st, where we Catholics honor the lives of all saints -- known and unknown.  The feast of All Saints traces back to Pope Gregory III in the early part of the 8th century.

Saints have been an important part of the Catholic Church since the beginning.  Many people outside of the Catholic Church accuse us of "worshipping" the saints and essentially committing idolatry.  This couldn't be further from the truth.  We honor the saints and pray to them for their intercession.  In the Catholic Church, we believe that the saints are in heaven and closest to God, so why not ask someone close to God to pray for a specific cause?  Have you ever asked someone to pray for you?  I see people on Facebook every day saying, "please pray for 'such and such' who is sick."  Have you ever asked your family or friends to pray for you?  Here is some more good information if you want to explore why Catholics honor and pray to the saints:

http://www.catholic.com/tracts/the-intercession-of-the-saints

Outside of the debate that often occurs between Protestants and Catholics around the saints, it is hard to disagree that these people were some of the holiest to ever walk the Earth.  Many did not lead easy lives.  Quite often they were persecuted for their beliefs, many were jailed and tortured, and others were martyred.  But, in the end, we have people that were examples of what it is like to devote your life to others -- a selfless living.  The saints didn't live their lives worried about the material things in this world, but instead they were more worried about helping the poor, feeding the hungry, taking care of the sick, and spreading the loving message of Jesus Christ throughout the world.  The saints didn't wait until tomorrow to do what they could do today.  They knew that tomorrow might never come.  They knew that at any time we could be pulled from this existence and judged based on how we lived our lives up to that very moment.  They lived every day to honor Jesus Christ by doing good and living a life of prayer.  Whether you are Catholic or not, these were good people and we should all try to "Be a Saint."

If you are interested in being inspired, go read about a couple of them.  Just Google Catholic Saints.  Or, some of my favorites are St. Patrick, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Padre Pio, St. Therese of Lisieux,  St. Vincent de Paul, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

The Vote that Counts. . . the Vote for LIFE

I read a great article in our Sunday Bulletin from the pastor of our Church titled "I'm Catholic. . .but."  It had to do with the idea that so many people identify themselves as a Catholic (or Christian) when it comes to their beliefs, but they don't live the fundamental teachings of the Church.  This begs the question then, "how can one really be Catholic (or Christian)" if he or she is not living the Faith?  In my opinion, you can't separate your personal life from your spiritual life.  God calls us to lead a life that is in communion with our values and beliefs.  In this election, it will become even more important as we chose between two presidential candidates.

The issue that should be at the top of the list for every Christian is the sanctity of life and protecting the lives of the unborn.  As our pastor said, how can someone be both Catholic and at the same time pro-choice?  It's simply not possible.  Catholics/Christians will sometimes justify this by saying that while they don't support abortion, they don't want to force their views on someone else.  Simply put, this is a cop-out.  Why is this any different from say murder or violence against a child where we force our views on what's right and wrong and just punishment on the criminals?

Life begins at conception.  At the point an egg is fertilized, it becomes human DNA and starts to grow.  The fetus is a living being from the very beginning.  As Christians who adhere to God's Ten Commandments and specifically the one that says, "Thou Shalt Not Kill", how could we possibly support a candidate for office that supports killing fetuses -- our unborn, our children??

Some people will say that there are other important issues as well including care for the poor, the economy, education, and world conflicts.  I don't disagree, but how do we even entertain conversations around those things if the most basic rights are not protected?  Those rights of the unborn?

I know many of you won't agree with me for a variety of reasons.  Some of you are on the fence.  I simply would ask you to take the next week to really pray and think about what you are supporting when you go the polls next week.

God Bless,
Jeremy

P.S.  The link to our Sunday bulletin is here if anybody is interested:
http://www.catholicweb.com/bulletins/58801/Oct-28-2012.pdf

As another day winds down. . .

As another day winds down,
I think about what I did and did not do,
where I went astray.

As another day winds down,
I think of those I may have hurt,
oh, how I'm ashamed.

As another day winds down,
I think about Jesus on the cross,
His pain,
and how I am to blame.

As another day winds down,
I ask Him for mercy,
for my actions
and falling away.

Forgive me, Father,
for all the wrongs I've done this day.

The Mourdock Controversy -- Weighing In

Two mornings ago, I woke up to a barrage of tweets by local and national media about the Richard Mourdock comments claiming he said rape is God's will.  If you haven't seen any of the reports, then simply do a search on Google, and you'll see plenty I'm sure.  I don't want to recap them here because I think some of the media took a comment out of context and twisted the meaning based on a poor ordering of words.  Mourdock has since, of course, clarified his comments, but we still see certain politicians and specific members of a certain party (with some of the media's help) trying to use it to their advantage which is plain sickening. 

Mourdock's point, and one that I happen to agree with, is simply that life is God's will.  Sometimes, we don't comprehend why bad things happen, and it is hard for people who don't have a good foundation or understanding of Christianity (or Judaism for that matter) to understand why we believe that good things can come out of bad things.  I found an OUTSTANDING article today that I recommend everyone (liberal or conservative, Christian or non-Christian) read about why the media is ill-equipped on these issues:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/getreligion/2012/10/media-embarrassingly-ill-equipped-to-discuss-rape-theodicy/

This article provides some of the theological foundations and references the parts of scripture that outline why some of us believe what we believe and are pro-life. 

As the next two weeks come to pass, I hope that voters will look deep inside themselves, reflect on what they believe and why, and pray about making the right decisions before visiting the polls.  Don't be swayed by biased media coverage.  Don't get distracted by issues that really aren't issues.  Focus on what matter's most. 

God Bless. 

Reflection on Luke 12: 16-21 (Parable of the Rich Fool)

I just finished reading the Parable of the Rich Fool in Luke 12: 16-21.  It is about a rich man whose land produced a plentiful harvest, and his response was to tear down his old barns and build larger ones to hold all of his 'treasure' for many years.  In his eyes he would always be able to eat well, rest well, and be merry, but God said "You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?"  The lesson here is that God doesn't care about our earthly treasures and riches.  Having lots of money, lots of possessions, and lots of things that we think are going to make us happy mean nothing to God, and don't help us get into Heaven.

I wrote previously about the parable of the Rich Man in Mark, and this has a similar theme.  Our secular society has become enamored with having more and becoming more.  Our kids want more toys and nicer clothes.  As adults we may desire the new car, the new/bigger house, that nice boat for the lake, or to be able to take that vacation to the Caribbean.  But, to what end?  Seemingly for nothing other than some sort of shallow and short term satisfaction.  Now, granted, there are some innocent reasons for needing some of these things (i.e. a larger house for a growing family, a new car to replace an old one to get to work), and the point is not that material things by themselves are bad.  The issue is that we get obsessed and become a slave to these things.

Rather than using our time, talent, and treasure to glorify God and become rich spiritually, we become slaves to material things.  Before we know it, we are making excuses and thinking how we really need that new pair of shoes when in reality we don't and the $50 could buy several cases of food for the local soup kitchen or bedding for the homeless shelter.  We have to work those long hours in order to keep the high paying job that pays for the nice house at the expense of spending time with our families or at Church.  We skip Church on Sunday so we can take out the new boat on the lake that we just bought.  We focus so much on the house we need, the cars we need, and how much money we need for retirement 20 years from now that we don't stop to think, "what if I'm not here?"  "What if I am called to God before then?" "Will I be able to say I fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, or clothed the naked?"  Or, will I have an excuse that is rooted in my own desire to have more?

We have all heard the saying "live like there is no tomorrow", but it's time to think about this in context of our eternal life.  Even if our earthly time comes to an end, are we ready for eternity?  There is going to be a tomorrow, but are we prepared for it?  How about, "live like your eternal life starts tomorrow!"

I am as guilty as anybody here.  I pray that my reflections on Sacred Scripture help me make better choices and maybe others that happen to read this as well.