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faith | Deacon Allen Tatara Catholic Speaker - Part 14

faith | Deacon Allen Tatara Catholic Speaker - Part 14

On the Inside; On the Outside


 
Apr 26 2018
Love0

We All Were Sent by God

Posted by | Discipleship | 2 Comments

“Whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”

Sara was a college senior playing for the championship of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference softball league. In the second inning, she hit her first home run ever. Then, rounding the bases, she realized that she had failed to touch first. So, she turned back. But, through a twist of fate and her knee, she found herself down on the ground with a torn ligament, crawling in agony back to first base. According to the rules, she would have been out if anyone from her team helped her.

That’s when Mallory and her teammate, Liz — from the other team stepped up to help. They carried Sara around the bases, making sure to tap her left foot on each base. Though Mallory and Liz lost the game that day, they clearly accomplished something more important. In a moment that really counted, those young women showed good character. It’s one thing to proclaim the importance of living up to your values. It’s another thing to do it.

Each one of us is a messenger of God. Everything we do reflects upon the one who sent us. Therefore, we all were sent by God and each of us has a mission – to bring about the Kingdom. That is done by sharing fully in Jesus’ own attitude of service.

Whether it’s through regularly attending Mass, committing yourself to volunteer work, or even consciously folding your values into daily life in small ways (e.g. being kind to someone in need), we must practice living our values to make them a part of us.

Service in the gospel is primarily love in action. Love is the desire for the well-being of the other. That love is actualized by service, by the doing of acts for the good of the other.

That is our baptismal calling. That is what we are called to do. And that is how others will know that we are sent by God.

Apr 12 2018
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To Boldly Preach in Jesus’ Name

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After having been miraculously released from jail and returned to the Temple to continue their preaching in the name of Jesus, the apostles were re-arrested and brought again before the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of the Jews. They were accused of two things:

  • They had continued to preach in “that name” (their accusers could not bring themselves even to mention the name of Jesus), even though they had been strictly forbidden to do so; and
  • They were blaming the Jewish leadership for Jesus’ death.

The apostles were not in the least fazed by these accusations. These men who were so fearful at the time of Jesus’ death now spoke out boldly. “It is better for us to obey God than men!” they told their judges. (Acts 5:27-33)

There is a lesson in there for all of us. How often are we fearful of speaking out for what is right? How often do we revert to silence when someone else is being accused of something that they didn’t do? How often do we question our faith when things become too difficult?

We need to follow the example of the apostles and realize that we already have the power of the Holy Spirit to push us forward. We have no need to be afraid or to worry about what could happen. Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in everything that we do so we may boldly preach in his name to the entire world.

Let us pray that our testimony and actions always be directed and confirmed by the Holy Spirit, who is given to all who respond to God with the obedience that comes from faith.

Mar 15 2018
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Living Simply

Posted by | Everyday Life | No Comments

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

Feb 15 2018
Love0

Take Up Our Cross

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What did Jesus mean when He said, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”  (Luke 9:22-25) What does this look like in our lives?

I don’t think Jesus was referring to our daily toils and trials. To take up our cross and to follow Jesus starts with literally taking up our cross. We can’t take it up for someone else nor can anyone take it up for us. The point is, it is “your cross” to pick up and not mine, and neither is mine for you to take up, so first we must take up our cross, and only then can we follow Jesus. Our cross is not dealing with chronic health problems, dealing with disobedient children, experiencing a relationship issue, or having one of the worst jobs on the planet. I don’t believe we can say, “That’s the cross I have to carry,” if we’re referring to things that cause us problems in life. Jesus wasn’t carrying His cross of being mistreated and beaten by the Roman guards or falsely accused and arrested. His cross meant only one thing for Him; death, but His death would bring eternal life for us, so His cross wasn’t about Himself, but about others.

The only way to God is through the cross … and to follow Him means to take it up. The words, to take it up, are a challenge to us. We often think of the perks of faith and not of the costs. But following Christ is not a passive endeavor. We have to be active in our faith, and being active in our faith will, quite frankly, cost us. This means that if we want to follow Christ, then we must be prepared to nail ourselves up there.

But in order to do that, we need to strip away all those things we cloak ourselves with. We need to strip away selfish desires, rip off arrogance and pride, and scrape off stubbornness. It means making God’s will our will, not creating our own path, but following in the footsteps of Jesus.

Our Lord chose the cross as the means of our salvation precisely because of the great cost it meant for Him and for us, so that in recognizing that cost, we can appreciate the immense joy and peace we find in His victory. So be not afraid. Let’s take up our cross and follow Jesus. It is definitely worth it!

Nov 02 2017
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All Souls’ Day

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Today we remember those who have passed from this life with faith, hope and trust in the promise of eternal life. Life is a gift from God and nothing that God gives or does is ever wasted. And let us always remember that each of us is a beloved child of God.

Our lives are a reflection of God and his love. Those who have passed whom we remember today somehow reflected that love. Sadness, sorrow, and grief may fill us today, but that is a reminder of their presence and love in our lives.

While we still mourn, we are confident that our loved ones are enjoying the peace, comfort and joy of eternal life. All Souls’ Day is a great reminder for each of us that we are given the gift of life.

So we pray today for our deceased parents, spouses, children, relatives, and friends. We want them to be capable of receiving the full bounty of God’s love; so we pray for them in our daily prayers.

All Souls’ Day touches us personally. Yes, it is a day of mixed emotions. It is our day to remember, to miss, but also to be joyful. We also reflect on our own existence. Each of us is a soul…a soul on a journey. We are still walking on that journey to become all that we were meant to be – a child of God enjoying eternal life with him.

“I will not reject anyone who comes to me,” the Lord said in our gospel today (John 6:37-40). We trust in the God who loves us – to care for us and our loved ones in life and in death. And so we pray, “May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.”

May 11 2017
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Are You a Seeker?

Posted by | Emotions/Feelings | No Comments

While on retreat a few months back, my spiritual director asked me this question: what am I seeking? (She asked me this question because it states that I am a seeker on my website and business card.) And, it was a good question for me to ponder while on my retreat. And ponder and pray I did – while walking and sitting on the shores of Lake Michigan. Here is the answer to this question as it came to me.

I am seeking to grow ever closer to the God of love. I want to continue to deepen my relationship with Him so that I can help others to have a personal relationship with our heavenly Father through a solid prayer life.

I seek to learn more about our faith.

I seek to become a better husband, father, and man of faith.

I seek to discover new and fresh ways to show the importance, relevance, and need of our faith to teens and young adults.

I seek to help others know that God is always present and with us – no matter what we do, say, or think.

I seek because I never want to be complacent or stuck with where I am. I may not always know where I am headed, but I want to try to enjoy the journey. And I am always looking forward to the surprises that God has in store for me.

I am seeking to help others find the way.

I am seeking; forever seeking.

What about you? Are you a seeker too?

Apr 27 2017
Love0

Off the Rails

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In 1980, Ozzy Osbourne released a song called “Crazy Train.” In this song, Ozzy asks when we can all learn to love in a world gone mad:

Crazy, but that’s how it goes
Millions of people living as foes.
Maybe it’s not too late
To learn how to love, and forget how to hate.

Mental wounds not healing,
Life’s a bitter shame;
I’m goin’ off the rails on a crazy train.
I’m goin’ off the rails on a crazy train.

What the apostles were doing in today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 5:27-33) must have seemed a little crazy to much of the surrounding world. The Pharisees and leaders certainly seem to think this. Drawing attention to the public proclamation of Jesus as Lord was indeed crazy.

The apostles preach the gospel, encounter imprisonment, are miraculously released, and immediately get back to preaching the gospel – in the exact same place their message seemed to fail the first time! Crazy, right?

How often are we eager to shake the dust off our feet when opposition to our faithfulness arises? There is a time for counting our losses and moving on, but our scripture encourages us to return to those hard places, to keep at the work of faithfulness, and to proclaim the good news again regardless of the results we see. Twice the apostles preached in the temple. Twice they were arrested. Once they were flogged. And yet, Acts 5 concludes with the apostles rejoicing in their sufferings and preaching in the temple every single day.

Too often, discouragement and indifference creep in, and we cease to proclaim and live the gospel. When we find the strength to obey God’s commands and respond to the promptings of the Spirit, God becomes more present in our lives.

Let us get off of our crazy train and persevere in our faith. If we strive to become witnesses and partakers in God’s joy, we will never go off the rails.

Mar 30 2017
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Prayer Changes Our Hearts

Posted by | Prayer | No Comments

Don’t hold back when praying to God – tell him exactly what’s wrong and insist on holding him to his promises. Prayer should be like speaking face-to-face with a friend: “without fear, freely and also with insistence.”

Pope Francis made these comments in a homily based on today’s reading from the Book of Exodus (32:7-14), when Moses begs God to spare his people, even though they have created a golden calf to worship as their god.

Pope Francis said that Moses shows what praying to God should really feel and sound like: not filled with empty words, but a heartfelt, “real fight with God.”

Moses is courageously insistent and argues his point, and prayer must also be “a negotiation with God, presenting arguments” supporting one’s position.

When God decides to not punish his people, it’s not God who has changed, but Moses, Pope Francis said.

“Prayer changes our hearts. It helps us better understand what our God is like. It helps us grow closer to him, recognize his love and rejuvenate our faith.”

The pope underlined what Jesus said: “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words.”

“No, say what’s what: ‘Look, Lord, I have this problem, in my family, with my child, with this, with that … What can you do? Now see here, you can’t leave me like this.’ This is prayer.”

Pray like Moses did, face-to-face with the Lord, like a friend, freely, with insistence and good arguments, the pope said. “And also scold the Lord a little: ‘Hey, you promised me this, and you haven’t done it …’ Like that, like you talk with a friend.”

Open one’s heart wide to God and get to know him better, and you’ll be amazed at how your relationship with the Lord will deepen and grow.