Commitment To Christ

The Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP) book says “A life without commitments is devoid of meaning”. As I go through all of my commitments that I currently have...my children, my work, my church, and I take them out of the equation, I soon realize that those words are  true. Commitments give our life some meaning. But as Christians we are challenged to do better. We are called to make our commitments Christ centered. When we commit to work, our Children, our church, our community, we serve God. In my personal life I call it ministry. When asked by my peers how I could run a Robotics team out of my home, I tell them that I look at Robotics as Ministry. It has nothing to do with St. Maximillian Kolbe Catholic church, but to me I treat it like any other ministry. When we take time out of our lives in the spirit of volunteerism or going above and beyond the call of duty whether it is our Jobs, our families or even CRHP....we are doing Gods work.

One of the greatest things about being Catholic is that our Church has a direct linage to the original 12 apostles and Jesus Christ himself. Their remains are held in Cathedrals where they are venerated. Those men shared a brotherhood with the Son of God. As we today are brothers praying and reflecting on scripture. Peter, the first Pope, serves as one of our greatest examples of personal commitment. Even though he betrayed Jesus he came to commit to Jesus. His act of commitment flowed from the experience of repentance and reconciliation. And through reconciliation his rebirth and re-commitment. We all have committed to Christ at one point in our lives, some of us like myself are recommitted.

In closing I refer to

1 Peter 2:2424 Christ himself carried our sins in his body to the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. It is by his wounds that you have been healed.

Forgiveness - Forgiving the unforgivable

There will be one day that you may ask yourself "How can we forgive the unforgivable?" Much harm has been done to  us by certain people in our lives. Some worst than others. But how can we find it in ourselves to forgive.

Mathew 18:21-22 tells us,

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning against me, how many times do I have to forgive him? Seven times?”  “No, not seven times,” answered Jesus, “but seventy times seven -GNT

Tell me about a time when you really forgave the unforgivable?



I'll leave you with a quote from GK Chesterton:

“To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless.”

The Crucible

We all have had our cross to bear. It could be a divorce, a death in the family, sickness, loss of job. It's like a gauntlet full of obstacles. A crucible in fact. In the begining your path seems impossible, desperate, and you feel like your trapped. But there is still an option. To humbly get on your hands and knees and pray to Jesus.

Mathew 11:28-30
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

It's not the crucible that matters, it's how we overcame adversity. It's What we learned from the experience. I've learned to forgive and love, I've learned that being a Father is about sacrifice, it's about being their always for your kids. St. Joseph serves as one of my greatest examples. and I have learned to depend on God. Not just say it, but give it all to him.

Initiation

Baptism is one of seven sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church. I recently went through my daughter's baptism and I wanted to share some advice that made this baptism so memorable.

1. Get yourself registered to a parish. Get involved. Go to a retreat. Make sure you have a special connection to the parish. Prior to my daughter's baptism, I got involved in a Retreat called Christ Renews His Parish, a few seminars and PREP. The baptism felt like a great celebration, with my Christian community, who were now my family.

2. Discern on the God Parents. Pray about it. Make sure you choose Catholic God parents, who are in good standing with the Roman Catholic Church. Remember this event is a celebration of your child entering the church, God Parents are there to assist in the formation of your child into the church. God parents will play a major roll on your child's life in Christ.

3. Make sure you let the God Parents know how serious this sacrament is to you. And let them know how and why you discerned on them to be the God Parent.

4. Finish Baptismal Classes early. Remember there is no re-certification when it comes to baptism, also there is no test, so don't be afraid to do it early.

5. Paperwork: Once you have identified the God Parents, make sure you get there letters faxed to the parish office. Get several copies of your babies Birth Certificate and give a copy of them to the parish. Make sure all letters and paperwork have been submitted.

6. Get to Church early and make sure your God Parents arrive on time and that your Baby is ready for Baptism. Needless to say, change diapers before mass.

Lastly, make sure you have a baptismal reception. Invite the people of your parish that have made an impact in your life and your child's life. Enjoy this day, the day your child is initiated in our Church.

- A A

Ash Wednesday

For the past few years, the Lenten season has served as an opportunity to focus on my faith. It's more than given up a material things, it's about turning away from the distractions in my life and focusing on the Lord. In my opinion there are three points that make a great Lenten sacrifice. Reading and reflecting of Scripture, Fasting, and opening your mind, your heart and your soul to your calling.

In Acts 3:1-10 Peter and John heal a Lame Beggar. They did not hesitate in healing the man. They were called to do so. During this Lenten Season pray that God gives you every opportunity to serve him, and listen to his call.

I challenged my son to find something he could give up for Lent. Initially he said he would give up playing with his toys. I gave him a hard time since he doesn't play with his toys?
Later on in the day while picking up our dinner he says he had the perfect idea of something to give up. He wanted to give up our arguing. This did not last very long, but he is new to the practice of lent. We are not perfect, we just start again with our intention to keep our promises.

New Life in Christ - How did I get here?

While Reflecting on the topic of "New life in Christ" I'm led to the question, How did I get here?

I was lost for sometime, It was not the the Condemner who brought me here, nor was the Judge, or the Chastiser, but it was the Sheppard that found me.

I came here not when all was good in my life, nor was I rich, or my life was perfect. It was when I was in complete desperation, when I had no one to go to.

With a family torn apart, my life in turmoil and no hope in sight, Two people came to my home, brought me communion, and prayed with me. That day they lit a light in my heart that has kept burning until this day. I now approach each day in a new light. My new life in Christ has given me a hunger and an appetite for more. I get involved in many ministries not because I want to be in the Parish year book multiple times but because it fulfills my need to give. My parents set this example for me a long time ago. I witness them time and time again giving unconditional time and love to their community. I realized later that there is an unconditional amount of love received by giving, even the small things can accomplish great things.  I'm sure the two disciples coming to my home never realized that they saved my life that day. Like them I too want to make a difference.

No Worries

Matthew 6:24-34

Good News Translation (GNT)

²⁴ “You cannot be a slave of two masters; you will hate one and love the other; you will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

²⁵ “This is why I tell you: do not be worried about the food and drink you need in order to stay alive, or about clothes for your body. After all, isn't life worth more than food? And isn't the body worth more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds: they do not plant seeds, gather a harvest and put it in barns; yet your Father in heaven takes care of them! Aren't you worth much more than birds? ²⁷ Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it?

²⁸ “And why worry about clothes? Look how the wild flowers grow: they do not work or make clothes for themselves. ²⁹ But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers. ³⁰ It is God who clothes the wild grass—grass that is here today and gone tomorrow, burned up in the oven. Won't he be all the more sure to clothe you? What little faith you have!

³¹ “So do not start worrying: ‘Where will my food come from? or my drink? or my clothes?’ ³² (These are the things the pagans are always concerned about.) Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. ³³ Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things. ³⁴ So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings.

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It’s impossible to live in the Lord and live of the world. You will always compromise one for the other. I like most people am a worrier. I worry about the things I can not control. I worry about the future. Apparently I have been dabbling in pagan activities. I have to always remember to Trust in him. Our all knowing loving father tells us to “Don’t worry, and  Be happy”.

This scripture passage brings me back to a discussion my 6 year old wanted to have about original sin. He wondered why Adam and Eve were naked, and then they were clothed. He described to me how they had everything and threw it all away because they wanted something they were forbidden to have. I explained to him how Eve ate the fruit and gave some to Adam, and they were given understanding and realized they were naked. My son smiles and tells me it all makes sense to him now. Animals don’t wear clothes because they don’t know they are naked.

God provides for us whether we know it or not. He blesses us with gifts, talents, and children. Depend on him, and he will help you.

 

The Sower

Mark 4:1-20

Good News Translation (GNT)

4 Again Jesus began to teach beside Lake Galilee. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it. The boat was out in the water, and the crowd stood on the shore at the water's edge. ² He used parables to teach them many things, saying to them:

³ “Listen! Once there was a man who went out to sow grain. ⁴ As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some of it fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The seeds soon sprouted, because the soil wasn't deep. ⁶ Then, when the sun came up, it burned the young plants; and because the roots had not grown deep enough, the plants soon dried up. ⁷ Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up and choked the plants, and they didn't bear grain. ⁸ But some seeds fell in good soil, and the plants sprouted, grew, and bore grain: some had thirty grains, others sixty, and others one hundred.”

⁹ And Jesus concluded, “Listen, then, if you have ears!”

¹⁰ When Jesus was alone, some of those who had heard him came to him with the twelve disciples and asked him to explain the parables. ¹¹ “You have been given the secret of the Kingdom of God,” Jesus answered. “But the others, who are on the outside, hear all things by means of parables, ¹² so that,

‘They may look and look,
    yet not see;
they may listen and listen,
    yet not understand.
For if they did, they would turn to God,
    and he would forgive them.’”

¹³ Then Jesus asked them, “Don't you understand this parable? How, then, will you ever understand any parable? ¹⁴ The sower sows God's message. ¹⁵ Some people are like the seeds that fall along the path; as soon as they hear the message, Satan comes and takes it away. ¹⁶ Other people are like the seeds that fall on rocky ground. As soon as they hear the message, they receive it gladly. ¹⁷ But it does not sink deep into them, and they don't last long. So when trouble or persecution comes because of the message, they give up at once. ¹⁸ Other people are like the seeds sown among the thorn bushes. These are the ones who hear the message, ¹⁹ but the worries about this life, the love for riches, and all other kinds of desires crowd in and choke the message, and they don't bear fruit. ²⁰ But other people are like seeds sown in good soil. They hear the message, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirty, some sixty, and some one hundred.”

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The parable of the Sower shows us the difficulties in Evangelization and what we are to expect as we sow the good news to people. We have 4 different scenarios; Seed falls along the path, rocky ground, thorn bush, and good soil.  On my journey through my renewal I am the seed in every scenario. I heard the word, but did not see or understand. I’ve heard the word, received it gladly, but when challenged in my faith I gave up. I’ve heard the word and tried to live in the lord and of the world at the same time. This is obviously impossible because you will have to compromise one for the other. It wasn’t until I was at my lowest; I was backed into a corner and sought the Lord my savior that a Sower threw me in to the rich soil. God has a plan for each and every one of us. We just need to listen, receive his word, and do his will.