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Deacon Allen

Deacon Allen | Deacon Allen Tatara Catholic Speaker - Part 13

On the Inside; On the Outside


 
Oct 31 2019
Love0

A Scary Thought

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Halloween is an ancient Celtic festival that dates back some 2,000 years ago when the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. It was believed that on the night of October 31st, the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. Ghosts? That’s pretty scary!

What else do we find scary? According to a recent Internet poll: spiders, snakes, clowns, death, heights, falling, and fear of the unknown, just to name a few scary things.

As Catholic-Christians, we frequently find ourselves doing other scary things such as: talking behind each other’s backs, seeking revenge for something that was done to us, treating others unfairly, judging others because of who they appear to be in our eyes, neglecting to look out for those in need, not standing up for what is right – doing things that we think will disappoint God.

Yet no matter what we do, how we act, what we say, or who we betray, God is always looking at us with great mercy. God loves us no matter what. God is always with us, encouraging us to keep moving forward and to keep striving to live the gospel each and every day. God wants us to understand that although we may not be perfect in our eyes, we are made perfect in God’s eyes.

When the darkness of this world envelops us and we feel like we have been left alone, abandoned or forgotten, let us remember that nothing or nobody will ever separate us from the love of God.

That’s not scary; that’s praiseworthy!

Oct 03 2019
Love0

For the Love of Scripture

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When I train lectors, I always stress the importance of loving Scripture as it helps us to proclaim better and deepen our relationship with God. And that is really the message in our first reading from Nehemiah.

I love Scripture because it has the power to make us realize that we often fail in our attempt to live as Jesus taught us; yet, it fills us with hope in order to keep trying.

I love Scripture because it is living and breathing, constantly making itself just as relevant today as it was when it was first written.

I love Scripture because it reminds us of how we are to care for each other, despite our differences; to love all our neighbors especially those in need.

I love Scripture because even though we may not always understand it, there are many individuals out there who can help us decipher its meaning in our lives.

I love Scripture because it teaches and trains us in righteousness so that we are equipped to perform good works in the world.

And I love Scripture because it allows us to celebrate in the joy and strength that is offered to us when we open ourselves up to God’s living word on a daily basis.

May we always strive to be lovers of Scripture. For as Jesus said, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Aug 22 2019
Love0

To Do Your Will

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Today we celebrate the Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was established by the Pope Pius XII in 1954. He stated that Mary is Queen above every other creature on account of the elevation of her soul and how she never ceases to bestow all the treasures of her love and care on humanity.

Mary is often called the Queen of many things: Queen of the Angels, Queen of Patriarchs, Queen of Prophets, Queen of the Apostles, Queen of Martyrs, Queen of Virgins, Queen of All Saints, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, and Queen of Peace, and many others.

But how does Mary exercise this queenship? Pope Benedict XVI said, “By watching over us, her children: the children who turn to her in prayer, to thank her and to ask her maternal protection and her heavenly help, perhaps after having lost their way, or weighed down by suffering and anguish on account of the sad and troubled events of life.” He continued to say, “The title of Queen is therefore a title of trust, of joy and of love. And we know that what she holds in her hands for the fate of the world is good; she loves us, and she helps us in our difficulties.”

May we always turn to Mary in prayer for she will always intercede for us to her Son. Mary is the Queen of Heaven who is close to God, but she is also the Mother who is close to each one of us, who loves us and who listens to our voice. May we imitate her faith every day, for as it says in today’s psalm, “To do your will, O my God, is my delight.”

Jul 25 2019
Love1

Keep on the Sunny Side

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My grandmother was one of the most positive persons that I ever met. And although she was taken from this life far too early, she still has an important impact on me today.

The thing about grandma was that she always seemed to keep on the sunny side of life. Whatever difficulty or hurdle that crossed her path, she took it all in stride. When she couldn’t find answers to her problems, she never despaired. Whatever challenges were presented to her, she never appeared to be put into a corner and always found a way out. She was always so positive in a world that is often so negative. That is something that I truly admire about her, and it is something that I find very difficult to emulate.

But I believe that she had a great understanding of today’s reading from St. Paul (2 Corinthians 4:7-15). She knew that no matter what we are going through, we are not alone. Jesus is always within us, beside us, and in those around us. God works through others for us just as God works through us for others. We are earthen vessels molded in the hands of the Father, shaping us like a potter molds his clay. God’s hand is always guiding us away from our despair and towards new life in Him. Whatever hardships come our way or when we are challenged by our afflictions, let us remember that we have the power to overcome them with God by our side. May we always keep on the sunny side of life, living in the moment, and praising God for the gift of His constant presence. The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad indeed.

Jul 17 2019
Love0

Removing the Veil

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A veil is an article of clothing that is intended to cover some part of the head or face. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies and is prominent in many forms of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Veiling continues to play a role today especially in wedding customs where it’s used to hide the face of the bride so that the groom would not see her face until after the ceremony. Then the new groom would lift the veil hiding the bride’s face and kiss her.

Sometimes it feels like you and I are walking around with veils covering our faces. We go through the motions of life not clearly seeing due to the many temptations of our modern culture like power, wealth, success, adulation, etc. – everything in relation to “me.” When we wear this veil, we become disoriented, disillusioned and lost, and we cannot see where we are heading.

St. Paul tells us that a veil lies over our hearts, but when we turn to the Lord, that veil is removed. It reminds me of that beautiful image we often see of St. Anthony of Padua holding the infant Jesus in his arms. When our veils are removed, we can experience the power of Jesus in our lives. When we gaze upon the face of Christ, we will find joy, happiness, comfort, peace, love, and the true light that shines out of darkness.

It’s time to remove the veil that hides us from seeing Jesus. Let us put aside the darkness that the world draws us into and allow the joy that comes from living with Christ permeate our lives for all to see. Let the unveiling begin!

Jun 06 2019
Love0

Write it Down!

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A couple in their nineties are both having problems remembering things. During a checkup, the doctor tells them that they’re physically okay, but they might want to start writing things down to help them remember.

Later that night, while watching TV, the old man gets up from his chair and asks his wife, “Want anything while I’m in the kitchen?”

“Will you get me a bowl of ice cream?” “Sure.”

“Don’t you think you should write it down so you can remember it?” she asks. “No, I can remember it.”

“Well, I’d like some strawberries on top, too. Maybe you should write it down, so as not to forget it?”

He says, “I can remember that. You want a bowl of ice cream with strawberries.”

“I’d also like whipped cream. I’m certain you’ll forget that, write it down?” she asks.

Irritated, he says, “I don’t need to write it down, I can remember it! Ice cream with strawberries and whipped cream – I got it, for goodness sake!”

Then he goes into the kitchen. After about 20 minutes, the old man returns and hands his wife a plate of bacon and eggs. She stares at the plate for a moment and says, “Where’s my toast?”

Have you ever had that feeling like you’re forgetting something? It happens to me all the time. But let’s face it: we’ve got a lot of stuff going on in our lives and it’s hard to remember everything. Between work, school, family, kids, church, social activities, home projects, etc., we often feel like something is missing. We feel like we’ve forgotten something important, but we just can’t remember what.

Today’s reading (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) reminds us to stop, take a deep breath, and feel the loving presence of God in our lives. When we truly feel God’s love, we can’t help but love God in return. But sometimes, in the midst of our crazy-busy lives, we forget to love, thank, and praise God for who God is and what God has done for us. We forget to live the Gospel, to be kind to our neighbor, and to be Christ to all we meet. We forget to love others like God loves us.

Maybe what we all need is a little reminder. What if we wrote down notes for ourselves reminding us to pray, or to notice that God is standing right next to us; or to thank God when something good happens to us; or to be strong in faith when temptation comes our way? Writing things down activates a part of our brains that helps us focus on these things – and God should be our top priority.

Let us remember to love the Lord with our whole heart, our whole being, and our whole strength. Write a note on our arms, doorposts and gates of our houses, if we must. God is worthy of our praise, and that is something worth remembering.

May 16 2019
Love0

Repping Jesus

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If you follow the contemporary rap music scene, you may recall hearing the word “represent” quite frequently. For example, “You gotta represent” means that one should be publicly candid about one’s social status or geographical origin; to acknowledge and even be an example of one’s roots. A different form of represent is often called “repping.” This means representing, glorifying or praising. For example, a sports fan who wears his team’s colors is “repping” his team – or he is uplifting, praising, glorifying, and representing them all at the same time.

There are so many groups, platforms and causes that we can represent in our lives. There are so many different things that we are “repping” for – the things that drive us to be more passionate, active and involved. But are we also remembering to represent our faith?

In John’s gospel (John 13:16-20), we are told that whoever receives Jesus receives that one who sent him; and whoever receives the one Jesus sends also receives Jesus. This means that if we are “representing” Jesus to others, we are not only sharing Jesus but we are also receiving the gift of Jesus ourselves. And I cannot think of a better gift than that.

Today, let us bring to prayer these questions: are we representing Jesus in our day-to-day lives? Can others see that we are Catholic Christians by the way we live? Do we show the world that we sons and daughters of the Lord by the actions we take? When we are “repping” Jesus, we are representing, uplifting, praising, and glorifying Christ to others – for it is in giving when we truly receive.

Apr 25 2019
Love0

Peace Be with You

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My father passed away in 2014, and there are still so many days when I miss him dearly. About a year ago, I was at a busy shopping mall when I noticed a man from a distance that looked exactly like my dad. I couldn’t believe my eyes, and since this man was far away, I needed to get closer to see if it was really him.

As I made my way through the crowd, my heart began beating rapidly. I began sweating and my mind was racing with fear and questions. As I approached, he turned around, made eye contact with me and then vanished into the crowd. It wasn’t him, but the similarities shook me to my core.

As I walked away, I felt deeply troubled, and I wondered what would I have said or done if it was indeed my father.

Today, we hear how the disciples thought that they saw a ghost because Jesus had died, and now he was standing right in front of them again – very much alive. (Luke 24:35-48) They had so many questions on their minds. Their hearts were filled with uncertainties and they began doubting themselves, their faith, and their mission. Jesus appeared and gave them peace, reassuring them that everything was going to be just fine.

Our lives are filled with so many questions, problems, and struggles. We get scared and often find ourselves lost. It is during these times when we need to remember that Jesus is right here with us. All we have to do is reach out to him in prayer and he will show us the way.

Jesus is offering us his peace. If we accept this peace, Jesus will open our minds to His word; and that Word will guide us and give us the courage to overcome whatever darkness comes our way. May God’s peace lead us to the brightness of each new day.

Feb 28 2019
Love0

Seeing Clearly

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For those who have not noticed, I am now wearing eyeglasses all the time. This was a Christmas gift from my eye doctor – although, it wasn’t much of a gift because I had to pay for them. I’ve worn glasses for reading and computer work for years, but a change was needed in order for me to see more clearly all the time. And that is precisely the message for us in today’s gospel (Mark 9:41-50).

The text we heard this morning is extremely powerful, as long as it’s not taken out of context. The danger of this gospel is when people take the words literally and start cutting things off and plucking things out. But Jesus isn’t instructing us to hurt ourselves. After all, the body is sacred because we were made in God’s image. But the true meaning of the gospel goes much deeper than the physical – it goes directly to the eyes of our hearts.

If we can put on our spiritual glasses, we would be able to see how each of us needs to change. We would clearly see how we sometimes neglect to treat others as sisters and brothers of Christ. We would clearly see how we sometimes focus on our own needs and wants instead of the needs and wants of others. We would clearly see how we sometimes abuse others by our actions and language, or how we manipulate others so that we have power over them. Sometimes, we lose sight of who we are because we become blinded by a society who tells us who we ‘should’ be. If we could clearly see and believe that deep down, we are all good – but sometimes, we just make bad choices.

Today is our wake-up call. Let us begin this day with a new set of eyes. Let us clearly see that we need to change, to become better people, better listeners, better friends, better neighbors, and better disciples. Let us not make a “spectacle” of ourselves by focusing on us, but truly see life through the “lens” of God so we know how we are called to live. If we want to find true peace in this life, we need to put our hope in the Lord. Only then will we be able to clearly see.

Jan 23 2019
Love0

A Life of Joy

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When I was in junior high, my mother asked me one day to clean my room. I decided to go all-biblical on her because we had just talked about today’s gospel in religion class. I said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” (Kids – do not try this at home!) I honestly didn’t know how quick her reflexes were or how strong she was until that very moment when her hand quickly smacked across my face. That was not a joyful experience.

Something that was a joyful experience happened a few years later. I bought my parent’s a wall calendar – and their reaction was truly priceless. It was called “Nuns Having Fun,” and it was filled with a variety of images of fully-habited nuns doing fun things. There were nuns in bumper cars, nuns on roller coasters, nuns having snowball fights, nuns skeet shooting, and on and on. My favorite was a group of nuns running in the ocean, arms up in the air with the biggest smiles on their faces! It was a really goofy calendar, but it brought up a great point: the Christian life isn’t a life of suffering, but it’s a life of joy!

And we can see this in our Gospel today. A lot of things are going on. It is Jesus’ first public miracle and it really kicks off his public ministry. It also shows us the deep relationship that Jesus had with his Mother. And the transformation of water into wine reminds us of the Eucharistic imagery that we experience during the Mass. But one detail that is overlooked is that Jesus was doing all this at a wedding feast! This is no small thing. Jesus lived a life of joy – and he actually went to parties! (OK, so he went with his mom, but still!) It shows us that Jesus wasn’t a stranger to the good and fun things in life. It’s important for us to remember that the good things in our lives are gifts from God.

There are two distinct parts in our gospel that I want to point out: one, Before Christ; and another, After Christ. The first scene that St. John describes is one of emptiness, and the second, on the contrary, is marked by abundance. And what brings about the difference between these two time periods is key: it’s the intervention of Jesus.

The marriage feast had come to a complete stop because they ran out of wine. Wine is a symbol of celebration and happiness. No wine meant that they had no joy. There were experiencing emptiness!

Mary noticed this, so she turned to Jesus for help. Though he initially hesitated, Mary trusted that Jesus would make everything right and instructed the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” The rest, as they say, is history. Jesus changed water into wine and saved the hosts from disgrace.

But of course, the point isn’t just the wine. The wine is a “sign.” As we look at our own lives, we can’t help but notice that the wine always runs out. Whatever the gains, life always brings losses. We grow up and we grow old. We have children (sometime in pairs). Children grow up and lose their innocence. Parents see their kids leave home (and sometimes come back again). We find jobs; and sometimes we lose jobs. We work and work and work until one day, we find ourselves facing retirement. Our body parts eventually lose the battle against gravity and we lose hair where we want it and gain it where we don’t. Aches and pains become more frequent, so we moan in despair. And no one gets out of here alive. Add all the technology you want, but our human resources eventually come to an end. That’s the bad news.

The good news – the great news: the resources of God never run out! New energy springs out of weariness, new opportunities emerge from failure, and new hope arises in the ashes of doubt and despair.

Jesus asks the servers to fill the six empty stone jars with water. (Interesting fact: six is a symbol of chaos, imperfection and evil.) When they drew out some of the water, they discovered that it was the best wine! The party could continue! There is abundance, order and celebration – all because of the intervention of Jesus.

The question for us is how do we keep our water jars filled?

We first must continually invite Jesus into our lives. We need to pray daily and believe that God is always right by our side guiding us every step of the way.

If we trust Jesus, our wine – or our happiness – will never run dry because when we realize that God is our first love, the wedding feast never ends.

And that superior quality of wine that he transformed is the quality of life that we will find in and with Jesus. We no longer feel abandoned because we are espoused to a God who gets involved in our lives by entering into it constantly so that he can share in our little and big joys.

And this brings me back to my original point: that the good things of life are gifts from God. God gives us so many good things and so many causes for joy for a reason – to draw us back to him. They give us little hints about what true communion with God will be like. Jesus didn’t just change water into wine to keep the party going, but to draw us into the mystery of God’s power and love. And what greater love does our bridegroom have for us then his ultimate sacrifice on the cross. As we approach this altar today to receive Jesus, let us thank God for our earthly joys, and to remember that when we entrust our lives to Jesus and do whatever he tells us, we will discover an abundant life that is overflowing with love, happiness and immeasurable joy!