A Little Lenten Lesson

His Excellency, the Most Reverend John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, in an article in the Intermountain Catholic, the official newspaper of the diocese, provides a short reflection of why we do what we do this Lent.

"Again We Keep..."

Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;
Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God.
For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment. 

Joel 2:12-13

As an aid to become perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect, a way to grow in discipleship, and as preparation to celebrate the great Paschal Mysteries come Holy Week, the Church carves from her liturgical calendar each year a time to meditate upon the salvific action of Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection.

Whether we hear the reminder of our mortality or the call to repentance when the Sign of the Cross is traced upon our foreheads with ashes today, we should recall a rather stark reality. While being made in the image and likeness of God and called to be His adopted children, we should realize first and foremost we are creatures totally dependent on the Creator.  Because we have sinned and wandered far away from His love, we are in need of His redemption and sanctification.  Because we were given free will, we have the ability to receive and utilize His grace as much as reject and scorn it.

With this backdrop, we begin to shape our preparation for the next "forty days".  How will we our prayers rise like incense? What excess can be removed from our lives? How do we recognize the needs of our neighbor and respond to them? We know what planks are in our eyes, what stumbling blocks are ahead of us, what things we have covered with Pharisaical white.  True conversion is a life-long process; this provides us with a chance to focus.

May whatever seeds planted this Lent bear a fruitful harvest this Easter.

Off To Work?

"How's the job hunt going?"

Funny you should ask.

I have some good news and some bad news.

The good news is I did land a part-time job last November.  I work for a company that demonstrates various foods and other products in a members-only wholesale warehouse.  It's only one, maybe two days a week, but at least it's something.  It's allowing me to re-establish some of my job skills and demonstrate I am still employable.

Somewhat.

The bad news is another opportunity went awry.  Shortly before Thanksgiving I interviewed for a position in a call center for a major home improvement center, one which would involve assisting customers with their on-line purchases.  Shortly after the new year began, I accepted their offer of employment.  I started a training program at the end of January, with the goal of transitioning to take calls in five weeks.  The classroom work went OK.  But putting on a headset proved to be an entirely different matter.  Whether I really don't have the personality to do something like that or lack the courage to overcome the difficulties (and yes, dear Brutus, I know where lies the fault), I was struggling to keep my composure.  Thirty minutes into my shift yesterday, after almost breaking down in tears again, and despite the best intentions of those who were in charge of this portion of the training, encouraging me to keep at it, I decided to walk away.

The self-doubt still resides.  It won't go away until I put myself in the right situation.  "Go Forward" is the only option.

Back to the drawing board.

March 2014 Morning Offering Prayer Intentions

Here are the intentions for this month when reciting the Morning Offering:

General:  Respect for Women. That all cultures may respect the rights and dignity of women. 

Mission:  Vocations. That many young people may accept the Lord’s invitation to consecrate their lives to proclaiming the Gospel.

February 2014 Morning Offering Prayer Intentions

Here are the intentions for this month when reciting the Morning Offering:

General:  Elders. That the Church and society may respect the wisdom and experience of older people. 

Mission:  Collaboration in Evangelization. That priests, religious, and lay people may work together with generosity.

Marching 4(1st. Time) Life

"Where shall we gather?"

First we will start here the night before, where we will offer prayers for our cause.  Our Lord asked us to spend at least an hour with Him in His agony; surely we can do that for those who have suffered from the horrors we seek to eradicate.

"Then what?"

The next morning, we will start here, travel by this route, and finish here.

"What shall we do on the way?"

Continue to pray.  Offer the Rosary.  Recite the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.  If you have a sign or banner, hold it up.  Most of all, by our presence, we make the strongest statement for our cause.

"But why do we do this?"

We believe in the sanctity and sacredness of human life, from natural conception to natural death.  Science informs us a distinct new human being is formed at the fusion of human egg and human sperm; that is the material side of the equation.  But humans are not just "skin and bones"; the flip side of the coin is that we are also a spiritual being.  Our faith informs us God infuses a rational soul into the zygote at the time of conception.  Therefore, we are made in the image and likeness of Him.

The right to life, the right to live, the right to exist is the first and foremost human right.  All other proper rights flow from this.  The Founding Fathers of the United States recognized it as well and listed it as the first of the three inalienable rights in the Declaration of Independence.  And drawing from English Common Law, the fetus had legal protection until this day in 1973, where Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton struck down those laws.

We are protesting this unjust decision by the Supreme Court of the United States.  Ever since that day, we have been working to restore the First Human Right.  The political battle over abortion for the last five decades has been fierce; some years the pro-life movement has made gains, some years the poor-(pro-)choice advocates cemented their hold.  In the past twelve months the scales have tipped a little more toward the pro-life side.  Just over 200 abortion clinics have been closed in that time, almost the same the amount of the previous eleven years. Various states have enacted laws giving the unborn child some protection, especially after the 20 week threshold; the state of Texas having the most contentious battle last year.  But it was the trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell in Philadelphia that brought to light more than any ultrasound picture what the fight is about.

Abortion-right believers use the mantra of "safe, legal, and rare" in promoting their agenda.  Rare? 56,000,000+ abortions in the past 41 years.  Safe? Most of the abortion clinics were closed because the practitioners did their business in environments as bad if not worse that what was seen at Dr. Gosnell's place.  (How does that protect the "health of the mother"? And why are there no cries from that side about regulations to insure that safety?) Legal? Only because the judicial system seems to be fractured along political lines; either side can find a sympathetic jurist.  There are legal experts on both sides of the argument who agree the rulings are a bad piece of jurisprudence.  This phrase holds no water any longer.

"How long will we do this?"

There are many hearts to convert and minds to change.  Courage, patience, and perseverance are a must.  It may not happen in my lifetime; I hope the next generation sees the ultimate success.  I look to the example of the abolitionist movement as to how to fight the good fight.  Let's hope it doesn't come down to a bloody civil war to seal the deal.

"So, we will be back next year?"

Most likely.

But, maybe, with more prayer (and let's include more fasting as well) and more hard work in proclaiming what is true, God might have a surprise in store.

Grandmotherly Assistance

I came across this on my Facebook page, thanks to the organization CatholicVote.org.

It has been a number of years since I did this, but more spiritual help is always better.

So I clicked my way through this website.

The result?

The Grandmother of Christ.

To Jesus through Mary and Anne.

January 2014 Morning Offering Prayer Intentions

Here are the intentions for this month when reciting the Morning Offering:

General:  Economic Development. That all may promote authentic economic development that respects the dignity of all peoples. 

Mission:  Christian Unity. That Christians of diverse denominations may walk toward the unity desired by Christ.

The Calendar's Entrance Hymn

"Out with the old; in with the new."  The promise of January 1 lies before us; the memories made the past 365 days we can use to our advantage.  The familiar words of Robert Burns will ring in the evening sky:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp,
And surely I'll be mine!
And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pu'd the gowans fine;
But we've wandered mony a weary fit
Sin' auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidled i' the burn,
Frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roared
Sin' auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

And there's a hand, my trusty fiere,
And gie's a hand o' thine!
And we'll tak a right guid-willie waught
For auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

May our triune God, Who sees past, present, and future, guide us along this time upon earth.  May He Who knows eternity grant us the grace to know Him better every day of our lives.  May He Who has no beginning or end bless us infinitely.

Happy New Year!

EOY POV

I honestly don't know what to make of 2013.

It was not, for the most part, "a very good year" for me personally.  Only the last six weeks have seen any improvement in my overall mood.  And that's because of maybe the only good news the calendar year saw.

I haven't mentioned it yet, lest I feared it would be another lost economic opportunity.  But, at last, I have regained some kind of foothold in the job market.  I have a part-time position with a company that provides people who demonstrate products in a members-only warehouse. Right now it's only one, maybe two days a week, but at least I am working.  The numbers on the paychecks are not big, but they are paychecks.  It's the psychological payoff that has more value:

1. I am regaining some lost dignity after having been out of work for as long as I have.  At least I have a feeling of being productive.
2. I am getting back some self-confidence in my abilities to relate to the public at large.  Whatever marketable skill sets I have are being strengthened.
3. I am hoping this is "the job which gets me a job."  Now that I am employed, the perception I want to project is that I am more employable.

My motto for the past few years has been "Go Forward."  It seems I have taken a surer step in the right direction. I need to have the courage to take another.

That's the material side of my life. It has tried the spiritual side sorely not only the past twelve months, but the six prior to that.  That time span has been perhaps the darkest, most depressing part of my life.  Hope has been as elusive as a rare butterfly.  I just wondered at times if I would ever come out of the shell I created.

Robert Browning's line, "Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp. Or what's a heaven for" now has a glimmer of truth to it for me.  My reaching in faith is not in vain. The goal of 2014 will be to grasp something more substantial.

So in a few hours the promise of a new year will be welcomed.

The words of Robert Frost echo in my mind:

"The woods are lovely, dark, and deep.
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep.
And miles to go before I sleep."

Turn the page.  Charge ahead prayerfully and thoughtfully.  Go Forward.