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Tag: Bible (Page 2 of 2)

Spiritual Procrastination

January 13, 2023 /

A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews: 

“The Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors put me to the test, though they had seen my works for forty years… They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known my ways.””

Do you consider yourself a procrastinator? 

Why do you think people procrastinate even when it causes anxiety? 

Recently, I was reading through the comments of a YouTube video on procrastination and the following comment caught my attention: “The amount of stress I got from being guilty of procrastination is higher than stress from my actual work.” 

The human mind is very mysterious. When I was in high school I would procrastinate, especially in classes that I had trouble in. I normally procrastinated when I had the greatest fear of failure. In my experience, fear of unknown outcomes normally leads to procrastination. 

Procrastination is closing ourselves off from the reality that we have to eventually face. I would procrastinate from studying for my chemistry test, but eventually I had to face the test and deal with the consequences of anxiety, fear, and failure. Alternatively, I could have studied and had more confidence on the day of the test. 

In the Old Testament the Israelites wandered in the wilderness just outside of their promised land for 40 years. The reward that God promised them if they remained faithful was right there, yet several times the Israelites chose to shut God out of their lives. In other words they were procrastinating. They knew what had to be done, but didn’t do it. Instead of remaining faithful to God, they worshiped idols and fought among themselves for power, ultimately rebelling against God. 

In the same way we procrastinate in our spiritual lives. We have a sense that we ought to live a life faithful to God, but we can’t see the exact outcome, so we just put Him off. Yet God’s plan for us is within reach, if only our hearts weren’t hardened towards him.

Let us pray, 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

Lord Jesus, all glory and honour is yours. Thank you for creating me with the potential to acquire and apply knowledge. Inspire me with the motivation and the discipline to productively work on my CPTs and study for my exams. Help me to focus and dispel my fears and anxieties at this time. I pray this in Your name. Amen. 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

From Death Into Life

January 5, 2023 /

When I was growing up, on the surface, my family was well off. My parents had respectable and well-paying jobs, had two cars, and lived in a generously sized suburban home in a quiet neighborhood.

Yet having material success did not equate to peace and love in our home. Our home was filled with conflict, animosity towards those whom we were supposed to love the most, and jealousy. There was always a sense of wanting more; never having enough. Everyone blamed one another.

The apostle John writes, “Yet if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, does God’s love abide in him?” (1 John 3:17).

Photo by Joshua Sortino from Unsplash.com

Not surprisingly, God was not a part of our home. Our hearts were so closed against one another that there was no space for God. Personal gain was more important than laying down one’s life for the other. Jealousy of other people’s possessions dictated decisions. There was no room for love in any of our hearts.

We were living in a state of spiritual death since we allowed sin to consume our hearts.

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Witnessing Your Own Funeral

December 17, 2022 /

A reading from Psalm 1: 

“Happy are those whose delight is in the law of the Lord… In all that they do, they prosper.”

In your opinion, what does it mean to live a rich life? Upon hearing the word, “rich” your mind may have immediately jumped to images of luxury cars, seaside mansions, or expensive clothing. However, while this is nothing inherently wrong with luxury, it is a narrow understanding of what it means to be rich or prosperous. 

To be prosperous is to be rich in gratitude and generosity. While luxuries and money can certainly make life easier and, perhaps more enjoyable, they don’t guarantee a life of fulfillment and impact. 

All the things we acquire in this world we will leave behind after our earthly life and will eventually fade away. But what can remain for a long time is the memories people have of you. 

Think about it this way. Imagine you had the opportunity to witness your own funeral. What do you want your loved ones to say about you as they gather to remember your life. How much wealth have you’ve accumulated? The cars you owned throughout your life? The size of your house? The amount of money in your bank account? Or perhaps, how infectious your gratitude was and how insanely generous you were with your time and wealth? Which message do you think would have a lasting impact on the world? 

I think it’s safe to say that how people remember us will have a greater impact than how much we accumulated? We want to be remembered not by what we took from the world, but how much we gave to it. 

Let us pray, 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Lord, thank you for overseeing my life. Help me to keep track of all my blessings. Inspire me with the wisdom to prioritize my desires in my life. If I am blessed with wealth in my future, remind me to bless others with generosity. I know that everything that I acquire in this world is not mine. It is a borrowed gift that one day I will leave behind and will eventually pass away. I pray this in Your name. 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

The Measure of Real Love is Our Willingness To Lay Down Our Lives Daily

May 10, 2021 /

In this Sunday’s gospel Jesus says that “there is no greater love than to lay down your life for a friend.” 

 

What comes to mind when you hear the words “lay down your life”?

Story

 

My mother in-law, Anna, lost her husband 20 years ago to cancer. Anna’s husband was an only child so she became responsible for the wellbeing of her in-laws as they aged. 

 

Her father-in-law developed Alzheimer not long after his son’s passing. Not long after Anna’s mother in-law fell into depression followed by an avalanche of health complications that made her a regular at the St. Catharines General Hospital. Anna tirelessly drove them from appointment to appointment, cleaned their home, cooked for them and was always a call away. This was in addition to her duties as a mom, her job as a nurse, and tending to her own parents when needed. Both Anna’s in-laws have since past. Yet, if you knew Anna during those times you’d never guess what she was dedicated to. She was laying down her life for her in-laws, her daughter Jennine (my wife), her parents, and her patients at work. 

 

Here’s one more story.

 

Sarah, a high school teacher, is a hard-working teacher and dedicated wife and mother. While at school Sarah remains positive and inspires her students. When at home, she is loving towards her children. Perhaps, it’s only her husband who knows what she is going through. Sarah’s mom is an alcoholic and lives alone, one hour away. Despite being anxious, exhausted and even angry at her mom, Sarah drives one hour to see her mom every day after school and one hour home. She brings her a bottle of liquor (because it’s dangerous for alcoholics to suddenly stop), prepares food for her and ensures she’s comfortable and safe for the night. In the evening she gets home in time to tuck her own children into bed. She repeats the next day. Sarah lays down her life for her students, her family and her mom. 

 

Connection

 

Do you know people who lay down their life daily? 

 

Do you lay down your life daily for someone? 

 

When I hear the words “lay down your life,” I immediately think about grand heroic acts. But laying down one’s life is not always so grand that it would make a good movie. You and I can lay down our lives by doing little acts with great love. Here’s some examples:

 

Wash the dishes after dinner. There’s nothing exciting about washing dishes, but it can make a huge difference for your parents. Study and do your homework, even when you feel tempted to play video games or scroll through Instagram. Don’t dismiss someone just because you don’t see eye to eye them. Teach yourself to listen. Be present for your younger siblings, even if they are annoying. Honor and respect the dignity of your friends, peers and teachers. Finally, lay down your life for your own sake, by stopping negative life-degrading habits. None of this is glorifying and you may even be made fun of, but it’s the virtuous thing to do. 

 

The measure of our love is found in our willingness to lay down our lives every day. 

 

Let us pray, 

 

Lord Jesus, you laid down your life for us in an extraordinary way on the cross. But you also laid down your life in more ordinary ways when you encountered those who were marginalized or in need of forgiveness. We thank you Lord for your example of love and the examples set by countless saints before us. Sometimes the most difficult thing to do is to lay down our lives daily for our friends, family, co-workers and peers. When we feel lazy or unmotivated, help us to see opportunities to lay down our lives in simple ways. We pray for the inspiration of Your Holy Spirit. We make this prayer in Your Holy Name. Amen. St. Joseph…Pray for Us!

Loving God All Our Heart When We Can’t See Him…?

November 3, 2018 /

 

Looking to outsmart Jesus a scribe asks, “Which is the first of all commandments?” Jesus responds: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.” Jesus continues: “The second is this: You shall your neighbour as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Isn’t it strange that the scribe asked Jesus for one commandment, yet Jesus answers with two commandments? Did Jesus not hear correctly? Did Mark make a grammatical mistake? I don’t think so.

Keep in mind that the gospel writers did not have Microsoft Word where they can start writing without much thought and not have to worry about using up paper. Papyrus went for a premium in the ancient Near East, so those who were able to afford it used it with intention. So why did Jesus respond with two commandments instead of one?

#LoveIsLove….?

I think the answer is quite clear; you can’t have one without the other. Skeptics or atheists may respond by saying that they don’t believe in God, much less love him, yet they are capable of loving their neighbour. I agree, you don’t need to love God to love your neighbour. As a Catholic Christian I believe that every human person is created in the image of God. Since God is love (see 1 John) he can only create out of love; therefore, it follows that humans are created from love to love (though sin distorts authentic love).

Yet when I was an atheist I found it difficult to find an objective source for what we call love. Is love merely a feeling associated with survival that is the result of an evolutionary process. Do we love in order to survive. We know that’s not always true. Many people throughout history loved to the point of suffering and even death.

In our relativistic society some believe that love is subjective, evidenced by popular phrases as #LoveIsLove. This is an incoherent phrase because if anyone can define love to be whatever they wish. Love is…euthanizing one’s neighbour; Love is…aborting one’s neighbour; Love is…a cozy feeling towards my cat. Love can quickly be twisted into something unrecognizable if the source of love is not affirmed in our lives.

Everyone appears to have a sense of love, yet no one can point to one love that is perfect – a love that is not lacking. Yet, we all have a sense of perfect love – the sense that things can always be better. The source of this perfect love, I believe, is God, whose very essence is love.

Tapping into the Right Source

So if we acknowledge God as perfect love and ground ourselves in Him we tap into the source of authentic love and we can learn to see our neighbours a little bit more like God sees them.
We all know the saying, “You are what you eat.” I believe we also are what worship. Does this mean if we worship God we can become gods ourselves? Of course not. We can no more become a god anymore than we can become the salad we had for dinner. Like food that can effect our physical health, our object of worship affects our spiritual health, which in turn affects how we treat others around us.

The process of learning to see things as God sees them is called “theosis.” When we love God with all our heart, mind and soul it becomes impossible to not see the inherent dignity of other people, independent of their social status, personal struggles or utility.

Getting to Know Perfect Love

So if we want to love our neighbour to our fullest potential then we must tap into perfect love first. Tap into God.

Luckily, we as Christians believe that God became human in the person of Jesus Christ, so knowing God and loving him becomes a little easier. St. Paul writes that Jesus has become “the visible image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). God is no longer an abstract concept or entity, but a person, so it can become a little easier to love him.

I can only speak for myself, but there is a major difference in how I see the people closest to me and even those who I may not like that much since becoming a Christian. Knowing Jesus allows me to know others as Jesus knows them. That changes everything.

Avoiding Starvation in Your Spiritual Journey

August 12, 2018 /

Attached to the church I work at is a residence for seniors and for individuals with disabilities called “The Lodge.” In the Lodge lives an elderly lady named Rose. Rose is one of a kind person. Once you meet her it’s impossible to forget her. On weekends before and after the masses she can be seen greeting people as they enter the church, guiding people to empty seats, and making sure people with disabilities get accessible seating. After the masses she can be seen handing out cookies to young children. If you’re a new face at St. Luke’s on a Sunday, Rose will find you and get to know you. You can’t miss her. She loves speaking to new faces and sharing exciting parts of her life and about her memories at St. Luke’s in her heavy South African accent.

During the weekdays, early in the morning (and I mean really early, like 5am-6am) she can be found cleaning up the sanctuary. She will organise the hymnals and straighten up the donation envelopes. Some have lovingly given her the nickname “The Church Mouse.”

If you have a chance to meet Rose, immediately you will notice that she speaks with confidence, has a positive attitude, shows genuine interest in your life, is overflowing with joy, and loves to share stories. …Oh before I forget, she is her 90s, she lives on her own, her children and grandchildren live out of the country, and her husband has been suffering with dementia for over a decade in a nursing home. Despite all this she is full of life. What the heck?!

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Why Some Catholics Miss Out on the Christian Life

August 5, 2018 /

There are many things in my life that are routine. I wake up sometime between 5:30am and 6am to pray and have a coffee. I get ready for work. I kiss my wife and my two daughters before I head out the door. I will attend morning mass at my parish and then tackle my ministry related “to do list.” When I get home in the afternoon I usually play with my daughters or prepare dinner. Then we go for a walk as a family and upon returning home we proceed with our bedtime routine with the girls. This is a general snapshot of an average day in my life.

Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash

I got to be real with you. My mind isn’t always focused on the activities at hand out of the ones I mentioned above. Some mornings, my mind is on something important I have to finish at work, so I passively and quickly kiss my wife and girls and quickly shoot an impassionate “I love you” at them. Sometimes when I am playing with my daughters in the evening my mind is on a YoutTube video I’m looking forward to watching after they go to bed.

Early this morning I was sitting with my morning coffee in the silence of our home gazing out at the sun creeping over the horizon. A cliché question popped into my mind as I was listening in prayer. If I knew that I had a short time left to live, but I still had to do the routine things in my life, how would I approach them?

The word “intentional” popped into my mind. To spare you the boredom of reading through my intellectual gymnastics as I processed my thoughts, in short I resolved to focus on the task/activity at hand and nothing more. FULL immersion in all the moments I mentioned above.

Checklist Catholicism

Like the everyday routine moments in our lives, Catholics (including myself) risk the danger of reducing their faith to a list of routine tasks void of significance.

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Manly Conversations and Measuring Sticks: Walking the Fine Line of Pride and Humility

October 21, 2016 /

Is it possible to be a proud and humble at the same time? I think so. But in order to understand how we can balance pride and humility we need to turn to scripture (the Bible).

“Manly” Conversations

This past Thanksgiving weekend our family was invited to a baby shower. As I was speaking with someone in the kitchen, in the living room area sat most of the husbands of the wives of whom were invited speaking about “manly” things.

Courtesy of Unsplash.com by Jonathan Pendleton

Courtesy of Unsplash.com by Jonathan Pendleton

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