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God | Deacon Allen Tatara Catholic Speaker - Part 7

God | Deacon Allen Tatara Catholic Speaker - Part 7

On the Inside; On the Outside


 
Sep 23 2021
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Is Your Life Lacking Something?

Posted by | Emotions/Feelings | No Comments

Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you.
All things pass away, God never changes.
Patience obtains all things.
He who has God lacks nothing.
God alone suffices.

I found these words in a Catholic magazine that I was reading while on retreat. I have seen these words before, but at this particular moment in time, something was different.

Too often in my life, I have let those petty little things “get to me.” So much so, that it manifests within me and changes my physical being. For example, I often won’t be able to sleep at night or I experience severe internal stomach issues. Many times, as much as I hate to admit it, my moods seem to frequently shift throughout the day. Thankfully, I’m not experiencing any of these symptoms while on my retreat, but the above words immediately took me back to all of those times when I have lived these symptoms. And now, as I reflect on these words, I realize the absurdity of my actions and behavior.

Why do I allow these things that are out of my control to ultimately take control of me? Why should I get disturbed over situations that arise that, when you really think about it, just come and go? And the patience thing? Oh my, this is a huge one for me. Every morning I pray for patience to get me through the day. (When they were passing out patience at the beginning of my life, I must not have been paying attention – or I was distracted by a shiny, fancy guitar.) But for whatever reason, these words really touched my heart today.

With all the things that are happening in our lives such as work, home, family, etc. and the various tasks and responsibilities hitting us from all angles, isn’t it comforting to know that God never changes? It is an incredible feeling to be reassured that when we have God in our lives and have a personal, active relationship with him, that we have all that we need. We lack nothing because God alone suffices. If we change our mindset to think this way, we will be filled with an amazing sense of peace which nothing else in this world can provide.

Read these words at the start of each day and you will realize that God is right there with us giving us all that we need – and that’s all that really matters!

Apr 20 2021
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God Bless the Whole World

Posted by | Emotions/Feelings | No Comments

It was a beautiful afternoon as I hopped into my vehicle to run some errands. The sun was glistening in the sky and the birds were soaring amongst the giant, puffy clouds that decorated the Spring landscape. Drivers were hurriedly passing me by as if all were late for an important engagement. Sometimes I feel like the speed limit is only a guideline for most people. Regardless, it did not deter me from my tasks at hand.

As I was cruising down the road, a car passed and signaled to enter into my lane in front of me. Once in the lane, I noticed a bumper sticker on their rear fender that read: God Bless The Whole World: No Exceptions!

That really struck me in a number of ways. I immediately thought of all of the hate that exists in our world – and our nation. A thought often crosses our minds that some of our enemies should not exist. And I’m not just talking about those in other countries, but also the individuals that cross our paths in life. But to see this statement on that bumper sticker reinforces the fact that no matter the color of your skin, the language you speak, the faith you profess, or where you call your home, each of us is made in the image and likeness of God. We are Gods’ creation and his chosen people. Every single person in this entire world is worthy of God’s blessings and love.

The modern-day mantra of “it’s all about me and what I want and what I think or believe” is really getting old – and it has to change. It must change! Everyone needs to accept the fact that God loves and forgives all people – no exceptions. God has chosen each and every person on this earth for a specific reason and purpose. Each of us is called to do great things in Jesus’ name and to make a difference in this world. Each of us needs to spread the love of Christ to others. But we cannot do this if we are prejudiced and biased against one another. We have to find a way to genuinely love our enemies and forgive those who have wronged us. This was the message of Jesus, and this needs to be our message as well.

We need to make sure that we pray and ask God to continue to send his blessings down upon us AND everyone else – always!

May God bless the whole world: no exceptions! Amen.

Feb 23 2021
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Are You Too Exhausted to Pray?

Posted by | Prayer | One Comment

During the first week of Lent, I listened to an audio book from Archbishop Desmond Tutu titled, ‘God Has A Dream.’ In that book, he makes this enlightening statement:

“Pray as you can – not as you can’t.”

He refers to the times when we are so exhausted that we can barely function, and we do not have the energy to give God our fullest attention.

The point is that we should not just give up or neglect prayer altogether because of our physical state of being. What we need to do is open up a dialogue with God letting him know that we don’t have it in us right now for “full-blown” prayer. Simply stating this to our heavenly Father is indeed a prayer in-and-of-itself. The purpose is to pray as you can – in the condition that you are. It doesn’t have to be a 15-minute litany. A simple prayer will do just as well. For it is better to pray short and simple than to not pray at all.

What we need to do is something that my spiritual director has told me for years. Instead of stressing over the fact that we cannot manage to pray in the manner that we would prefer, we just need to say something like this:

“Father, I am too exhausted right now to give you my complete attention or the praise that you rightly deserve. I will make the time to speak with you later. Until then, please continue to watch over me and keep me safe. Amen.”

Our intentions may always be good, but the body is often too weak. So, don’t be afraid to ask God to have the patience with us if we fall asleep in the middle of our prayer. There is nothing to be ashamed of if you fall asleep during prayer. As I always say, what better way to fall asleep than in the arms of our loving Father.

Don’t let exhaustion or extreme busyness pull us away from prayer. Make the effort to keep that line of communication with God always open and active. Remember, pray hardest when it’s hardest to pray and you will find true peace this Lenten season. Amen.

Jan 17 2021
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What Are You Looking For?

Posted by | Discipleship | One Comment

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

Mar 05 2020
Love1

Ask and You Shall Receive

Posted by | Emotions/Feelings | 2 Comments

For the past several weeks, I have been under an overwhelming amount of stress. Most of this was work-related: working long hours with short deadlines. Throw in several church-related activities and tasks on top of that, and I was running on non-stop overdrive.

        In the midst of all of this, we had a family emergency at the hospital. Upon driving to the hospital one day, I noticed that I was having difficulty breathing and felt some odd pains in my chest that I had never felt before. I thought that I was having a heart attack. I immediately broke into prayer asking God to help calm me down. At that very moment, a song came on the radio – and I heard these lyrics:

Every anxious thought that steals my breath,
It’s a heavy weight upon my chest.
As I lie awake and wonder what the future will hold,
Help me to remember that You’re in control.

You’re my courage when I worry in the dead of night.
You’re my strength ’cause I’m not strong enough to win this fight.
You are greater than the battle raging in my mind;
I will trust You, Lord, I will fear no more.

As soon as these words touched my ears, I felt the power of God within me and I began to realize that I could not handle all of this weight on my own. I suddenly felt a calmness come over me and began to breathe normal again.

In our first reading, Queen Esther, filled with anguish, breaks into prayer and realizes that there is no one else who can provide her with the help she needs other than her Lord and Savior.

Every now and then, you and I need a little reminder that we need to turn to God for help. We cannot handle our stress alone but need to rely on the one who can help us carry our load.

During this Lenten season, let us get into the habit of turning to our Father in prayer. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Lord, turn our mourning into gladness and our sorrows into wholeness. Praise be to God, now and forever. Amen.

Feb 13 2020
Love1

Persistence Pays Off

Posted by | Everyday Life | No Comments

Today, we meet a Syrophoenician woman (Mark 7:24-30), which means she was from the area near Tyre and Sidon, just north of Galilee. These were cities truly lacking in faith, and those that lived there were Gentiles. Bottom line: if she was not a Jew, she was considered an enemy of Israel. But this was one brave and determined woman.

She cried out to Jesus to heal her daughter, who was possessed by a demon. But she was a Gentile, so he would not help her.

But she persisted. Finally, he acknowledged her, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” (Many Jews referred to Gentiles as ‘dogs’.) The children of the Israel were to be fed first, meaning that she might expect that her turn would come, if she waited. But she wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. She basically humiliated herself in a desperate effort to save her daughter, refusing to give up even when Jesus pushed back. Jesus is no match for her: she won’t leave; she beats him in the argument (willingly, I might add). She ends up breaking down his resistance and he changes his mind. Then, she ends up placing her complete and total trust in him.

It’s a great story of a mother’s love. The Syrophoenician woman teaches us something about prayer: sometimes God keeps us waiting so that we can deepen our faith. Persistence is key; that’s the reason God responds to persistence because prayer changes the one who is praying. Prayer doesn’t change God – it changes us. As we pray, God is making us spiritually ready to receive what God is already willing to do.

Let us put our complete trust in the Lord and remember that persistence in prayer makes all the difference in the world.

Jan 23 2020
Love1

In God I Trust

Posted by | Discipleship, Everyday Life | 2 Comments

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.