The Winds of God
Posted by Deacon Allen | Emotions/Feelings, Everyday Life, Hodgepodge | One CommentDid you ever have a song pop into your head, completely out of the blue?
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journey | Deacon Allen Tatara Catholic Speaker
On the Inside; On the Outside
Random Thoughts from a Wandering Mind
Posted by Deacon Allen | Discipleship, Emotions/Feelings, Everyday Life, Hodgepodge, Prayer | No CommentsThere are quite a few random thoughts running through this wandering mind of mine this week, and it seems to be taking me in a variety of directions.
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There I was, digging through my archives of articles and meditations when I came across this beautiful story. On the road of life, do you have trust issues?
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I’d like you to imagine this scene. You are in grade school standing with a group of your friends on the school playground. Two people emerge as captains and begin picking their teams. You stand there, waiting for your name to be called and to be chosen. What are some of the emotions that are running through your mind? Is it excitement in anticipation of your name being called? Is it anxiety and the stress of waiting? Is it doubt that maybe you don’t feel like you’re worthy of being chosen? Or is it fear, thinking to yourself, “Please don’t let me be picked last.” Finally, you’re picked. What were you feeling? Was it relief that you landed on a team? Were you hesitant because you weren’t sure of what was to come? Or were you filled with exuberance, ready to jump in and get started? I remember one time in grade school, there was a boy named Billy who had absolutely no athletic skill at all, and neither captain wanted him on their team. Eventually he was the last kid standing. When he was finally chosen, he didn’t reluctantly mosey over to his team because he was last. He was filled with such joy and excitement that he began yelling at the top of his lungs, “Woo hoo! Yeah! Alright! Let’s do this!” The rest of us kind of looked at each other in complete shock because we had never seen anyone so excited to be chosen. Read More
I love modern technology! Maybe this is because I have spent the bulk of my career surrounded by its bleeding edge innovations, but I am constantly in awe of the immense impact it’s had in our lives. However, it has been said that technology has exceeded our humanity. Well, I don’t know about that, but technology is super cool – especially if you know how to use it. Read More
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” ~Mark 8:34
If you are anything like me, you have probably thought about this verse more than once over the years. What did Jesus really mean by following him? What does it truly entail?
Following Jesus means responding to his call every day and believing in the gospel. But it is more than just following and believing; it is also about imitating his example. We need to be asking ourselves these questions: Are we living in a manner that reflects Christ to everyone we encounter? Are we putting the needs of others before our own? Are we being kind and treating our neighbors (and I mean ALL our neighbors) with dignity, respect, and love – acknowledging that they, like us, are made in the image and likeness of God?
Honestly, following Jesus is downright difficult; however, it can be done. During every step of our journey, we must make a conscious effort to follow Jesus through the narrow gate of life into the abyss of the unknown. If we can faithfully do this, we will find peace. Fellow composer and musician John Angotti wrote about this when he quoted Jesus in a song:
“He said to me, ‘Come and follow me.’ He said to me, ‘Come and follow me.’
There you’ll find peace of mind if you just come and follow me.”
And this is what I now ask of you: to make that conscious effort to come and follow me, too. I want to assist you on the journey by providing spiritual and faith-based guidance through my thoughts, writings, and insights. But due to my busy schedule, my blog posts do no appear as often as I would like. Therefore, the best way to keep up with me is to follow me on social media. Hopefully, I can provide you with some peace of mind through my Daily Thoughts, Noonish Nuggets, PM Ponders, and just a little bit of my ‘Deacon Allen’ humor. Here is where you will find me:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DeaconAllenT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeaconAllenT/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deaconallent/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deaconallent
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DeaconAllenT
Website: https://www.deaconallen.com
Blog: https://www.deaconallen.com/blog
In the words of author Francis Chan, “We never grow closer to God when we just live life. It takes deliberate pursuit and attentiveness.”
I would be honored if you would come and follow me. May God bless you on your journey.
Deacon Allen
Today is the feast of St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr. Vincent was ordained a deacon by his friend and bishop St. Valerius. The Roman emperors had published their edicts against the clergy in 303, so Vincent and Valerius were imprisoned in Valencia, Spain. They seemed to thrive on suffering, for hunger and torture failed to break them.
Valerius was sent into exile, and the Roman governor now turned the full force of his fury on Vincent. Many types of torture were tried, but all failed.
Finally, the governor suggested a compromise. If Vincent would give up the sacred books to be burned according to the emperor’s edict, he would stop the torture. But Vincent would not give in, so the torture continued. Vincent remained courageous, and the torturer couldn’t take it anymore. So, Vincent was thrown into a prison cell and ended up converting the jailer. The governor wept with rage; but strangely enough, ordered the prisoner to finally be given some rest.
The faithful came to visit Vincent, but he was to have no earthly rest. For when they finally settled him on a comfortable bed, Vincent fell into his eternal rest.
Even in the midst of turmoil, God sticks with us and uses those challenges that we encounter to shape us and make us better disciples. As it says in the psalm, ‘In God I trust; I shall not fear. When we remind ourselves of this, we no longer see our setbacks as failures and our problems as obstacles; we see them as moments when God is working in us, strengthening us for our earthly journey. We will be rescued from our stumbling. All we have to do is trust in the Lord with all our hearts. For when we trust in the Lord, we have nothing to fear.
In July of 2005, our family vacationed out west, and the highlight of the trip was going to Zion National Park in Utah.
All of us love hiking, so I was super-excited that our three sons and I were going to venture on an adventurous hike. (Stephanie had surgery a few weeks before our trip and didn’t want to risk going on this particular hike.) We decided to do the ‘Angel’s Landing’ trail which was advertised as ‘5 miles of strenuous and steep paths with high elevation and exposure to long drop-offs.’
So off we went, climbing higher, and higher, and higher. We finally reached a flat cliff and decided to take a break. The view was spectacular. As we caught our breath, one of my boys (who will remain nameless) suddenly said to me, “Dad, I think I’m afraid of heights.” I couldn’t believe that he waited until that point to tell me this important piece of information. I pointed to the visible end of the trail stating that we were almost there. I asked his brothers if they wanted to continue on; but after seeing how high we still had to climb and the extremely narrow ledge we had to ascend to get there, they all wanted to go back.
I was really hoping to continue; but I was also very fearful for their safety. So, we headed back down the mountain. To this day, I still wonder how it would have felt to have continued our journey to the top of that summit.
The reading from Isaiah (Isaiah 2:1-5) talks about our spiritual journey as an ascent up the Lord’s mountain. And that is what Advent is all about. It’s a time for us to step back from life as we know it or life as we live it, and re-look at the direction of our spirituality. Are we walking toward the Lord, or walking away? Are we trying to deepen our relationship with God, or are we burying ourselves in the black hole of busyness? Are we taking steps to improve our prayer life by following the light of Christ, or are we falling into the darkness of temptation and deceit? Are we in such a hurry to reach the destination of Christ’s coming at Christmas that we’re not being patient enough to enjoy the journey?
It’s only the second week of Advent. There is plenty of time left for us to focus on the Lord’s coming. And it all starts with a desire to journey forward and not let fear get the best of us – and to prepare the what lies ahead so that we are able to tackle the obstacles that we face on a daily basis. If we can improve our relationship with Jesus, our ascent up the Lord’s mountain – although challenging – will be achievable.
During this busy season, let us begin tonight by stepping back from the busyness and walking toward our God who loves us so deeply. Jesus is coming, but He is also here right now. Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.
The sannyasi (a spiritual Hindu person who has turned away from all material possessions) had reached the outskirts of the village and settled down under a tree for the night when a villager came running up to him and said, “The stone! The stone! Give me the precious stone!” Read More
In today’s Gospel (Mark 6:7-13) we read how Jesus sent out his closest friends with special instructions and powers. Like Jesus, they were to go out preaching and teaching the Good News. They too, will face rejection. Jesus also gave them detailed instructions as to what to carry and how long to stay in any given place.
Jesus warned the twelve against carrying anything they did not need. They were to be counter-witnesses to possessiveness and the consumerism to which advertisements propel us. The more we have, the less we are. The greatest treasure which the twelve carried with them was the good news of Jesus.
The notion to “take nothing for the journey” makes traveling easier. Wealth, desire for recognition and personal pride can stunt our desire for God and our freedom to love and to do good. Jesus wanted his disciples to realize that they could not depend on human possessions but to trust in God alone. Trusting in God is more than enough!
Today, we need to reflect on these two questions: are there things that we hang onto in our lives that we might be better off letting go? Are we putting all our trust in the “baggage” that we have collected throughout our lives instead of traveling light and trusting in the Lord?
Each one of us is being sent out each day to bring the good news to those we meet. May we all live as disciples, available to do the work that God calls us to do – always aware that Jesus is with us wherever we go.
