It’s Thursday morning: I’m working from home as I always do. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and I’m on the telephone with a very important customer. Suddenly, the lights begin flashing, my computer monitor flickers and goes black, the lights go out, and my telephone disconnects. Yes, we just took another power hit. (This has been a frequent occurrence lately, primarily due to some road construction that is happening at the end of our block.) So I quickly grab my mobile phone and redial the customer. I was saved by technology after technology nearly did me in. And that got me thinking. Read More
God | Deacon Allen Tatara Catholic Speaker - Part 18
On the Inside; On the Outside
As we enter the final week of August (which is going to be a hot one in this neck of the woods), I wanted to pass along this posting from a friend of mine, Fr. Tom Zelinski from the St. Anthony Spirituality Center in Marathon, Wisconsin (http://sarcenter.com/). He truly captures the “heated” topic of the Dog Days of Summer.
This time of year is often referred to as “dog days.” I have been thinking about dogs, whatever the weather might be. Dogs have certain qualities about them that are quite appealing, when they are not suffering from particular doggie neuroses and other troubles. Read More
Last evening, I had an opportunity to get together with a friend for dinner. This may not seem like a big deal, but it really is. With my schedule, I really don’t get out socially very often. So when an opportunity like this comes about, I do not take it lightly. Especially when this friend is venturing out and beginning a new phase of his life. Read More
I spent the day on Saturday with about 800 teens from across the Midwest as we celebrated World Youth Day Chicago – A Midwest Celebration. It was an amazing day filled with energy, faith, and prayer. I was so blessed to have been able to be the emcee and give a workshop to such wonderful, faith-filled teens. The young church is certainly a powerful force! Read More
What does Jesus really ask of us as one of his followers? Are there certain requirements that we need to have? Are there a number of hoops that we need to jump through? Actually, God’s requirement is simple: love God and love each other. This sounds simple, but are we really doing this? Read More
Here is a prayer often attributed to Oscar Romero, but actually written by the late Bishop Ken Untener:
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith. Read More
This is a blog post by Joshua Madden that I felt compelled to pass along. Enjoy these five ways to prove God exists…
I’ve heard it. You’ve heard it. We’ve all heard it. “You can’t prove God exists!”
“If I am to know the will of God, I must have the right attitude toward life.”
Trappist monk Thomas Merton really hit the mark when he wrote this. How can a person expect to hear the voice of God if one isn’t listening? How can a person expect to see the path one must walk if one is blinded by their own desires? How can a person expect to experience the presence of God if one doesn’t let God inside one’s heart?
Live the gospel by the way you live your life, and you will experience the Lord in ways you never imagined.
Back in the 1985, I was divinely inspired to write a song called “On the Inside; On the Outside.” The song speaks to the fact that one needs to feel God on the inside for others to see God on the outside. In other words, if you recognize God in your daily life and live the way that God wants you to live, than others will see that something good is going on in your life. If you find that your heart is cold and empty, it may be because you have not let God inside. If you let God enter your heart, you will be filled with overflowing love, which you will want to naturally pass on to others. God is always with you, and we are called to spread His word to all. Others can’t help but to be attracted to a person who is so filled with the love of God, and so filled with the vocation of serving others. Read More
