I just walked on by....

It doesn’t make much sense when we think of sheep as an economic value to leave ninety nine of them in the wilderness to go out and search for one single lost item.   Fiscally it would be reckless to do so.  You leave ninety nine of them without protection in order to go find a single one.   The return on the investment would be astronomically minuscule if the other 99 were gone when the shepherd returned.   In the ways of man, with our concentration on self comfort, wealth, power and honor… it makes zero sense.   In the economy of salvation though… it makes perfect sense.

Christ proclaimed this mystery when He said that He came as a physician, not to heal those who were already well, but the sick who were in need of Him.   There are many people out there who have that holier than though attitude.  The notion that we are the saved ones and them?  They? The ones over there?   They are the sick.  If that is so, then Christ is not after us.  After all how can He offer us Salvation if we don’t feel we are the ones who need it?   That’s why the Church looks the way it is now.   The world tries to hold us to a standard of perfection.  Those Christians have to be perfect, but those who aren’t religious?  They can do whatever.  The Church is not a museum for the perfect, but a hospital for the sinner.

That’s what the Sacraments are all about.  A moment of encounter in which the sick go into to see the physician.   In penance we go in with our symptoms and come out after a shot of medicine and a prescription of how to maintain that health.   In the Eucharist we go forth for a checkup in which Christ enters us himself.   It may sound silly but sometimes it reminds me of that movie Inner Space, where they shrink down and go into a persons body to try to get rid of whatever is ailing him.   Christ does that, He takes that work on the cross and applies it to us.   He comes into us again and again to help push out those things that aren’t quite right, those little things that keep us from being perfect.   It is He, who through a lifetime and beyond, who makes us perfect.. Who turns us into Saints.   We need Him.   He knows that.   So He makes it happen.

Today as I was venturing around Belvidere I walked through a pretty harsh neighborhood.   The water there looked as if it was coming straight out of a sewage pipe.  People were walking around in gang colors.  I passed by a ‘Relaxation Station’ that touted with bold words that if you took the full package the lady of your choice would ‘join you in the Jacuzzi’.  Another place warned that not only could you not wear saggy pants, but that ‘gang activity would not be tolerated on premises.’   I was nervous to say the least.  Then a man walked by in raggy clothes and torn pants.   His shirt open revealing sunken ribs and obvious signs he had not eaten or bathed in a long time.   He asked me for a dollar and I said ‘I don’t have any cash on me.’   That was the truth.   Yet Christ had just walked by me and I didn’t recognize Him.   I didn’t offer Him what I did have, a moment of compassion, a prayer, a conversation… I just kept walking.  One of the lost ones might have been going by and unlike the Savior, I didn’t go after Him but returned to the safety of the ninety nine.  

That’s why I need Him.   Because I am not there yet.  Forgive me.

His servant and yours,

Brian

“He must increase, I must decrease.”

A reflection on the daily readings for Tuesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time: August 9th, 2016.   Ezekiel 2:8-3:4; Psalm 119; A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14  

Our Lady of Sorrows

I haven't had much time lately to write.  Between Volley Ball, Color Guard, Band Practices, picking up and dropping off for school, ministry duties, and Diaconate studies and meetings (while still trying

to make sure to keep a healthy balance of time for my wife and children as my primary vocation) I just haven't had a moment to sit down and write.  I felt the need strongly today to do so.

Today is the Memorial for Our Lady of Sorrows.  That day when we recognize the pain and suffering that Our Blessed Mother went through as she stood at the foot of the cross.  Simeon phrased it well when inspired by the Holy Spirit  proclaimed in the presence of Our Lord and Lady, “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel,and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.”  (Luke 2:34-35) Today as I have gone through my morning prayerfully and considered the images and thoughts that have been put in my path, my mind is drawn back to a blog I wrote a few years ago.

A while back I had been convicted about my weight.   Not in the "you are the temple of the Lord" way that many of our Christian brothers and sisters use to encourage health (one I agree with to an extent.)  (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)  Rather I felt the need to think about my food choices in relationship to how many calories I was consuming in my comfortable first world home, while there were people starving in other countries.  At the time I was beginning to read many more books about a healthy

vegan diet vs an unhealthy one loaded with fat and Oreo cookies.  I also began to look at how heavy I had gotten.  

At my heaviest point I was 380 lbs.  That's roughly 180-200 lbs more than I should weigh according to which chart/doctor you go with.  I started wondering, what does that mean in terms of food consumed?   Well most science agrees today that it takes 3500 extra calories to gain a pound of fat.  That means (not counting all the times I had lost weight and gained it back, in a vicious cycle of indulgence) that I had consumed somewhere near 700,000 extra calories that I did not need. Wow, I thought to myself.. that's a huge number... but how can I express that in a meaningful way?  How can I express that in a way that means something?  A big number just means I had too much, I already knew that. 

So I wondered, how many calories does it take to feed one of these starving children you see in the commercials on TV.  You know the ones with Sarah McLachlan singing "In the Arms of an Angel"

in the background?  That would give me something concrete, a face to put with a number so to speak.. or faces.   So I looked into it. Somewhere over 1500 calories a day.  That's just to keep from starving.  That means for every pound I have gained, I could have feed a child for nearly two days.   At my heaviest I had literally eaten enough food to feed a starving child for over a year!  How much shame that brings to my heart.

Jesus Christ tells us in one of his may parables, a parable Mother Teresa mentioned in a very succinct and profound statement, " "At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done.  We will be judged by "I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in."    (Based on Mathew 25:31-46)  What does this have to do with starving children and Our Lady of Sorrows? 

Well, our Lady stood at the foot of the cross of Salvation and watched her own child dying a horrible, painful death.   Then as He, the God of the universe, was losing his life;  he turned and gave His mother to His beloved disciple.   You and I are that beloved disciple.   Mary is our mother, Mary is their mother.  We are all part of the body of Christ.   When that child is laying, dying of thirst and hunger in some foreign country; Christ and the Body of Christ, including the blessed Mother are there.  We are in some way responsible for that.  We who do not reach out and feed, clothe and visit those children in need.   They are bearing their cross, and she stands at the foot of it in Sorrow for their agony.  

Whatever we do for the least of these.... doesn't that mean that we should at least consider, at least have the conversation of what our food choices are doing to others in this world?  We sit here feeding thousands of pounds of grain to one animal, to make a $.99 hamburger.. instead of taking those grains and feeding those starving children.   We eat our twinkies, drink our coffee, and celebrate so many festivities, sports events, holidays, birthdays, etc at the drop of a hat.. often with much food waste and excess gluttony.   By making simple choices and then using the extra to feed the rest of the world, we can make a difference. 

Does everyone have to give up all treats? No.   Yet, it should not only be during Lent that we

consider taking part of our money and feeding someone else.  It should not only be during Lent that we make a change to our coffee and put the extra money in a CRS rice bowl or send it to Feed Em Soup.  No Lent is a time for change.. permanent change.   We are supposed to continue those changes throughout the year.  

All Saints day is coming.  Thanksgiving will soon be upon us. Advent is coming in 10 weeks.  Then Christmas before you know it.   This year let's consider making all of these times not just a time for personal celebration, but also a time of cheerful giving.  A time in which we sacrifice a little of our excess (maybe even going as far as not just giving from the excess but from the normal day to day) and then take the extra and give it away.  Let's look for ways to improve our world.  One step at a time.  One child at a time.  Even one bite at a time.

In Christ, 

Brian

Jesus and the Forklift

One of the most wonderful notions about Cursillo and the teachings of our church is to look for Jesus in every person.  You know that biblical verse where Jesus said "Whatever you do for the least of these"? As a Catholic we take that literally, that we can 'entertain angels unaware' and that Jesus presence can come in front of us as in anyone.

Well, today I met Jesus. I was at the church this morning, attending daily mass, doing the divine office, then watching as the new carpet was being put down for the music area and talking to Butch about other maintenance issues we need to get to, and upcoming school etc.  While I was wandering around doing some 'busy work' (small chores here and there) a latino gentleman approached asking to see Father.  After being told that Father was at lunch and would be back in a while, this man sat down and said I'll wait.

I walked past him a few times, saying hi and being kind but not really paying attention to who he was or giving him the real dignity he deserved.   Then when I finished my chores I walked down the Hall and introduced myself and started up a conversation.  He told me about his family, about his wife, and about the company he worked for; how they had just let him go from his job as a forklift operator because work was too 'slow'.  He talked excitedly about his fork lift certification and in broken English told me about his fears.  He told me he was scared that on his wife's minimum wage he'd never be able to make it, she works at a fast food place and like so many others that do so, is only 'part time.'

I told him I'd pray for him, not even realizing that I had never even asked his name.  I started to shake his hand to leave and he stopped me.  His eyes met mine and there was that twinkle, that 'there is more going on here than you think' look, and there he was.   Jesus was in front of me.

"You will pray for me?"

"Yes, I will pray for you."

I meant it, I never say that unless I truly mean it.  But everyone reading this knows that when someone says that they will 'pray for you' they often mean, I'm gonna say a prayer as I walk away for whatever your needs are, but then I may not think of you for a while.

He stood up and Jesus looked at me and said, "Ok".  Then he bowed his head.   I knew right then that Jesus was taking me up on my offer to pray for this child of his, my brother.  I placed my hand on his shoulder, and I bowed my head.  I prayed for him out loud.  I prayed for his family. I prayed for his children. I prayed for his job situation. I prayed for his soul.  I prayed for God's guidance.  I called him my friend, I called him my brother. I made the sign of the cross and said Amen.

Jesus was still there in the room with us, but he was no longer in the man in front of me.  The man with trembling voice thanked me, and sat back down I think almost shaken.  I was a bit shaken too.  Thank you Jesus for helping both of us.  The man looked up and he held out his hand one more time.  He said "My name's Fancisco." I shook his hand and told him, "I am Brian."

In Christ,
Brian

The Stranger

There was a child who lived with his grandfather by the side of a busy road. One evening the grandfather and this child were outside listening to the meadowlark singing her clear, sweet song as she perched on the fence post. Suddenly they heard a commotion up the road. A crazy beggar man, with a tilt to his head and a glaze in his eye, was lurching up the lane. All the children of the town were chasing him, throwing sticks and stones. Even the dogs were nipping at his heels. As the beggar man passed the house, the grandfather could see his humiliation beneath a sheen of desperation on the man's face. The child, however, saw a chance to have some fun and joined his friends. Too old to move very fast, the grandfather could only call out to his grandson to come back. Above all the commotion, the meadowlark’s song could be heard sweet and clear. The child broke from the group and ran back to his grandfather. Together they looked at the beggar man lurching and stumbling down the road chased by children and dogs.

The grandfather, eyes glistening with tears, knelt down and wrapped his arms around the child. The child dropped the rock in his hand and touched the tear that rolled down his grandfather's cheek.

"Grandpa", he said, "what's wrong?"

"Ah, laddie," said grandfather, "would you be knowin' who that crazy beggar man was?"

"No, Grandpa," said the child.

"Well I'm not sure as I know either, lad. But did you hear the lark? The lark was singing on the fence post, she was. And do you know what she was singing? There's words to her song lad, and never forget them, for she was singin:

"Often, often, often, walks the Christ in the stranger's clothes.

Often walks the Christ in the stranger's clothes."

Two tears struck the ground, one shed from the face of the grandfather, the other from the eyes of the boy, as together they watched the King of Glory stumble down the road. Often walks the Christ in the stranger's clothes.

From the book, "The Shadow of the Cross: A Journey Through the Virtues of Celtic Spirituality."