Daily Archives: October 9, 2012

Admonition 5

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I think anyone who is involved in pastoral ministry or ministries of service – inside or outside the home – knows that there days that are less rewarding than others – and days when you wondered why you got out of bed. There are those days when we tried to bring to bear some of the talents, gifts and abilities that we were given to be instruments of God’s compassion – and the days is unrewarding or even filled with some form of suffering, persecution or disappointment.  If we are truly wise, then we will recognize that our role is to live as Christ lived.  Nothing more, nothing less. Continue reading →

Admonition 6

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Every group, community, organization, parish – and any gathering of human beings – has its stories that look to a “golden age.”  When I served in the Navy, it’s was the tales of “iron men and wooden ships – aaaaargh!” As a Franciscan friar our provincial stories include the Paul Bunyan-like tales of Fr. Tex Dooley OFM in Bolivia who tamed a mountain and built a road.  Here in the parish in Tampa it is the stories of the Jesuit missionaries who rode out from Tampa across central and south Florida establishing missions and churches from Tampa to Key West. In the Catholic Church we have the stories of the saints, martyrs, missionaries and holy people.  It is good to tell the stories. But… Continue reading →