“In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he spoke to us through the Son” (Hebrew 1)
There is a passage from St. John of the Cross in The Ascent of Mount Carmel that has stuck with me all these years. It always comes to mind when I hear this opening line from the Letter to the Hebrews. I should probably re-read the passage to see how much jetsam and floatsam I have added over the years. I imagine the conversation between the faithful believer and God the Father. The believer is doing what we all do: asking questions of God. Continue reading
This past Saturday morning our children’s sacramental preparation program held a morning retreat for our kids making their first Reconciliation. A part of the morning is called “Friar Time” in which the kids and their parents have a 20-25 minute space of time with the pastor (that’s me…). We use the time to have a final chat about the sacrament and to put them at ease about the upcoming celebration.
There are lots of different new years to celebrate. The Western world celebrated two weeks ago. The Chinese New Year is Tuesday, February 5. It is the year of the pig in case you are interested. Lots of different dates around the world – and all are based on some different calendar, event and spirituality – and all have very different ways to celebrate.
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do will it. Be made clean.” (Luke 5:12-13)
Recently I found myself on a basketball court. I picked up the ball with visions of past glories rebounding in my head (…and those glories are more delusional than actual). As I positioned myself at the free-throw line it occurred to me that the ball had become noticeably heavier and that the basket was somewhat further away. Undaunted, I went through the routine and took the shot. The shot arched nicely through the winter air and in my mind the crowd broke out in a chorus of ….. air ball, air ball! … as the shot returned to earth well short of its intended destiny of “nothing but net.” 
Unless you happen to be like my muse, Calvin, in the comic strip, I suspect you are about to make some New Year’s resolutions. How did you do on last year’s resolutions? About the same as the rest of us? One ad hominem wisdom saying defines “insanity” this way: To keep doing the same thing and expect a different result. Perhaps 2019 is a time to consider changing the way resolutions are considered, made, and hopefully, kept. 
The days of Christmas are quickly approaching, your shopping isn’t finished (….maybe not started!), the end-of-year activities at work are reaching deadlines, the tree is not up, the kids have a school Christmas play tomorrow night (… “Mom, is my costume ready?”…what costume?), and…and… oh my gosh, the in-laws are coming to stay with us this Christmas. Even amidst the momentary panic of “how will all this get done,” there is an ever-present awareness that we want to be hospitable, warm, and welcoming – not only to the in-laws but to all who come to our door during the holidays. 
Last weekend the National Catholic Youth Ministry Conference was held in Tampa. There were more than 2,500 Catholic visitors to our fair city. They were quite happy to be here, energized by the conference and no doubt happy to return home to share the Good News with their parishes. As the major, early season snow storm swept across the southern states, many were quite happy that the airplane finally got off the ground. Not all travelers were so lucky. There were lots of delays and cancellations. I hope they found happiness in a phone call, a familiar voice, or maybe a moment of quiet after the conference. 
friarmusings 