Back in the 1990’s there was a TV show called, “Hercules: the Legendary Journeys!” It featured the dashing Hercules, who went from town to town protecting innocent villagers from monsters, thieves, or the whims of the gods. There was also a movie called “Hercules” that came out this past July. Now, don’t feel bad if you don’t remember the TV show or you didn’t see the movie, because my homily won’t hinge on any plot lines. You don’t need to remember Hercules and his bulging muscles and flowing hair or any of the cheesy monsters. You just need to remember this one thing: the Greek gods were portrayed as detached beings who cared very little about the men and women below. Read More
hope | Deacon Allen Tatara Catholic Speaker - Part 6
On the Inside; On the Outside
“Do not depend on the hope of results. When you are doing the sort of work you have taken on…you may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect. As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself.”
~Thomas Merton
Have you ever accidentally missed a big moment? It feels terrible! You got distracted right before your child scored a goal. You missed the winning touchdown because your cellphone rang. You were driving to the hospital to witness the birth of a grandchild, and the baby arrived before you did. Maybe you missed the two Popes being canonized this morning because you overslept. It’s a terrible feeling, and this is exactly how Thomas feels in today’s Gospel (John 20:19-31). Read More
What are we waiting for?
Holy Saturday is a time of waiting, of living in the uncomfortable middle between the necessary death of Jesus and his Resurrection. It’s a day of grief and mourning, of patient waiting and hoping. It is a day of holy waiting, which requires a spirit of patience and prayerfulness. Yet, for most of us, we are so busy with Easter baking, last minute cleaning, preparing for guests, or prepping for Easter liturgies. So how can we hold onto the spirit of patience and prayerfulness in the midst of such busyness? Read More
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.”
In case you haven’t heard the news, I have found employment again! (Thanks be to God!) Thank you for all of your prayers and support during my job search. It is truly appreciated!
After reflecting on today’s Gospel (Mark 10:46-52) about the blind man, Bartimaeus, I couldn’t help but to think how much I have in common with him. (Honestly, I think we all do!) For me, it was going through the loss of my job. Read More
As a society, we always seem to be doing something at sometime. And as we are well into the holiday season, there is even more hustling and bustling in our lives. Whether it’s Christmas shopping, or planning holiday party menus, or house cleaning for guests, or school concerts, or baking cookies, or home decorating, or writing Christmas cards, or… Read More
Back in 2006, I was blessed to be on a mission trip with a group of teens from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. We had the opportunity to go to New Orleans to work with the people who were suffering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. We were there one year after the hurricane had hit, but you would never know this by the devastation and destruction that we saw. You would have thought that the hurricane had just hit a few weeks prior. Yes, it was as bad as it looked on TV, and it was even worse being there in person. Read More
This reflection comes from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis:
A live body is not one that never gets hurt, but one that can to some extent repair itself. In the same way a Christian is not a man who never goes wrong, but a man who is enabled to repent and pick himself up and begin over again after each stumble – because the Christ-life is inside him, repairing him all the time, enabling him to repeat (in some degree) the kind of voluntary death which Christ himself carried out. Read More
