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Deacon Allen

Deacon Allen | Deacon Allen Tatara Catholic Speaker - Part 34

On the Inside; On the Outside


 
Dec 12 2013
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Carrying Christ to Others

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Every time I hear the story in today’s Gospel (Luke 1:26-38), I can’t help but to be in awe of Mary and her acceptance of her call to be the Mother of God. I can’t help but to think about how Mary responded with complete, obedient faith.

I’m sure that Mary had a ton of questions that were bouncing around in her mind. And I’m sure that Mary, so innocent and young, struggled with her fear and not really knowing what was being asked of her – just as we too struggle with allowing God to accomplish all things through us. But it is in faith that we know that God will use us in spite of our weaknesses, our deficiencies, and even our own ignorance.

In these remaining weeks of Advent, let us take a deliberate step back from the rapid pace of our lives and take some time to simply breathe. Let us then focus on what God is asking of us; knowing that God has chosen each one of us, just like Mary, to carry Christ to others.

Let us pray for the strength to echo Mary’s words of prayer: “May it be done to me according to your word.”

Dec 05 2013
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Like a Rock

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Have you ever had a song just pop into your head out of the middle of nowhere? And it was a song that you haven’t heard in years? Well, that happened to me a couple of days ago when the song “Like a Rock” from Bob Seger entered my brain. And what a great tie-in with today’s Gospel (Matthew 7:21, 24-27). Here are some of the lyrics:

My hands were steady; my eyes were clear and bright.
My walk had purpose; my steps were quick and light.
And I held firmly to what I felt was right. Like a rock.
Like a rock, I was strong as I could be. Like a rock, nothin’ ever got to me.
Like a rock, I was something to see. Like a rock. Read More

Dec 01 2013
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Being in God’s Presence

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God and a man are walking down the road. The man asks God, “What is the world like?” God replies, “I cannot talk when I am thirsty. If you could get me a drink of cool water, we could discuss what the world is like. There is a village nearby. Go and get me a drink.”

The man goes into the village and knocks at the door of the first house. A beautiful young woman opens the door. His jaw drops, but he manages to say, “I need a glass of cool water.” “Of course,” she says smiling, “but it is midday. Would you care to stay for some food?” “I am hungry,” he says, and your offer of food is truly kind.” He goes in and the door closes behind him. Read More

Nov 28 2013
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Happy Thanksgiving

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thanksgiving4Many Americans think of Thanksgiving as a wonderful time to celebrate getting out of school for a long weekend, and eating a great dinner. Or, maybe they think it is the start of the Christmas holiday season. What is the real meaning behind Thanksgiving? 

We can trace this historic American Christian tradition to the year 1623. After the harvest crops were gathered in November 1623, Governor William Bradford of the 1620 Pilgrim Colony, “Plymouth Plantation” in Plymouth, Massachusetts proclaimed:

“All ye Pilgrims with your wives and little ones, do gather at the Meeting House, on the hill… there to listen to the pastor, and render Thanksgiving to the Almighty God for all His blessings.” Read More

Nov 23 2013
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Entrepreneurs for Social Justice

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For those of you who attended my workshop at the National Catholic Collegiate Conference in Indianapolis, a very sincere thank you. (For those who are just reading this from my blog, keep reading. This is good information for you as well!) I really enjoyed being with you, and I am truly excited about the fact that you are ready to begin working as an Entrepreneur for Social Justice. We shared some great information with each other during the workshop, and I really appreciated your enthusiasm and participation.

As promised, I have attached some additional information to help you get more involved in charity and social justice. Click on the link below to download the document: Read More

Nov 18 2013
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Today’s Daily Special

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I saw a commercial last night on television for a very large sandwich chain. They have a special going on where you can get a different sandwich every day of the week for a low price, eliminating the possibility of getting stuck in a routine of eating the same sandwich day after day. And that got me thinking: what if we did the same thing with our prayer lives? Read More

Nov 07 2013
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Lost and Found

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Lost and FoundOne Sunday morning, I was going through the Lost and Found box in the usher’s room at our church to see if I could find someone’s rosary. I didn’t find any rosary, but there was a pair of glasses, a set of keys, one glove, a watch and many other interesting items. And I couldn’t help but to think of that prayer:

“Tony, Tony, turn around. Something’s lost that must be found.”

It’s a prayer to St. Anthony who is the patron saint of lost items.  Read More

Oct 27 2013
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I Am a Sinner!

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If you haven’t had a chance to read the America Magazine interview of Pope Francis, I have included the link here. It is a wonderful insight to our Pope. (http://www.americamagazine.org/pope-interview) One of the things that struck me the most was when the reporter asked him: “Who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio?” The pope answered, “I am a sinner.” Well if the Pope is a sinner, what does that make me? Our Pope has inspired me to come clean…I too am a sinner! Read More

Oct 17 2013
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St. Ignatius of Antioch

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Today is the feast day of St Ignatius of Antioch. He was the bishop of Antioch in Syria and was the second successor of St. Peter.  He was a disciple of the apostle St. John, and also met St. Peter, having probably been ordained by him.St. Ignatius of Antioch

During the reign of Emperor Trajan, Ignatius was sentenced to be thrown to the wild beasts. He was transported in chains to his martyrdom in Rome; along the way, he was met by Christians from nearby places.  To these friends, he wrote seven letters, six addressed to some Christian communities and one personal letter to Bishop Polycarp of Smyrna.  All seven are most beautiful pearls of our early Christian literature.

Prior to his death in the year 110, he wrote a letter to the Ephesians where he highlighted the following four points, which are still relevant to this very day: Read More

Sep 29 2013
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It All Begins with Us!

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There was an article in our local newspaper a couple of weeks ago that stated that the suburbs now have as many poor people as the city of Chicago. The number of poor in the suburbs has nearly doubled in 20 years from about 323,000 in 1990 to 630,000 in 2011, far outpacing overall population growth in the suburbs. It’s a trend researcher’s call “the suburbanization of poverty.” And this is not just here in Chicago; it’s a nationwide trend.

Poverty is defined based on income of less than $11,484 per year for a single person or less than $23,021 for a family of four. That’s living on $443 a week for rent, food, medicine, transportation, utilities, etc. I’m not sure how anyone can live on that amount in this area. Something has to be done! Read More