THE FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING

As one liturgical year comes to an end, and another begins next week with the First Sunday of Advent, it is time to reflect...on how our relationship with Christ has grown...or weakened...over the last twelve months.

Have we kept Christ as the King of our hearts...our souls...and our lives?

Have our words and actions loving shown this truth to others?

OR...

Have we made ourselves the king...or queen...of our own universe?

Have our words and actions shown to others a love of dominance above all else?

Is it always YOUR way or the highway...in your family and professional relationships?

Can YOU bend with circumstances...or...do YOU bend circumstances to suit YOURSELF?

Do YOU always have to have the last word?

Are YOU always right...in spite of what the facts may prove?

The time is right to change that dynamic...to put Christ back where He belongs...as the King of YOUR heart...YOUR soul...and YOUR life!

Turn back to Christ...give Him back His rightful place in YOUR life...the time is NOW!

WE CAN'T TAKE IT WITH US

You can’t take it with you!

We have all heard this phrase time and time again.

And, we know it is so true.

We can’t take the stuff…the things…the detritus of this life…with us into the next life with Christ.

And, who would want to?

There is nothing man can make on earth…no matter how fabulous it may seem…that can compare to what God has ready for us in heaven.

No, we can’t take the stuff of this world into the next.

Neither can we enter the next world with the baggage of sin on our souls!

We don’t like to admit it much…but…

WE ARE SINNERS!!

We make mistakes…we do and say things that we shouldn’t…and we don’t do and say things that we should…every…single…day.

We are imperfect.

Jesus tells us in today’s gospel that if our hand causes us to sin…we should cut it off. If it is our eye through which we sin we should pluck it out!

And, what about our tongue…angry words spoken in the heat of a moment…gossip, rumors…telling our “friends” things that we know will hurt them...and sometimes cause them to re-evaluate everything they have ever believed…under the guise of “better they should hear it from me than someone who doesn’t love and care for them?!”

If that’s how we love and care for our friends…I feel sorry for our enemies!

Sins!

Over the last two weekends, the Level 2 children and parents came for gatherings. The first sacrament the boys and girls will receive in 2010 is the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The children come up in the church…they are taught to bow as they approach the altar...as they will on their First Holy Communion Day...and sin is explained to them.

SIN…such a little word that causes so much terror and distress...in our lives...and...in our world.

Last week, one of the second graders raised her hand and said, “I don’t sin.”

Once sin was explained, the look on her face said clearly…that she too has sinned...at least once...in her seven years.

So, too… you and I.

The good news is, Jesus gave us a wonderful gift before he left us…The Sacrament of Reconciliation.

When we grow weary from the weight of the baggage of sin we carry with us…a few minutes of heartfelt confession with a priest...renews our soul...our heart...and...our conviction to live a life of love...so that we may be welcomed into the loving arms of Christ...and...granted eternal life.

When First Reconciliation Day comes…some of the children will be a little anxious…they are encouraged not to be nervous because when they are done they will be refreshed...and...renewed.

They will be given a new page upon which to write their future.

Some come out literally glowing!

And how about us?

Sometimes we feel weary…overburdened.

Sometimes we need to be refreshed…renewed…strengthened to resist temptation.

So I invite you to accept the gift Christ so graciously offers…the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

It is true…we can’t take it with us!

When we die…all the things we hold dear here on earth will be…disbursed…discarded…even destroyed.

Our soul will always be…either with Christ…or…in Gehenna.

In the Religious Education Program, it is our task to help you…help…your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews grow in relationship with Christ.

Each and every one of us is called to be a prophet.

Would that we take that calling seriously, and model by our actions, the things our words say.

We must...

Walk the Talk.

Why not…walk the talk…right into the confessional…and…show our boys and girls the importance of cleansing our soul…even as we nourish it each week…at the altar?

I promise you…that even if you are a little anxious…you will feel so much better afterward.

You will be refreshed…renewed…you may even…GLOW…with the mercy...and...glory...of God!

FINANCIAL vs SPIRITUAL RUIN

It is always amazing to me how two people from the same family can be SO completely different. Even the children I meet who are identical twins: "they laugh alike, they walk alike, at times they even talk alike..." and yet, there is ALWAYS something that distinguishes them one from the other...completely!

As I was praying the rosary yesterday morning, I flashed upon something that was written in an e-mail I received last year. Among other more hurtful things said in a series of e-mails, was this: "Grow up, you're an idiot!"

Of all things to come to mind, while I was praying the Glorious Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary; but, there it was: my heart and soul kept flashing on that one word: "IDIOT!"

At 48 years old, I no longer fit the world's description of a child. However, in Christ's eyes and the eyes of our Heavenly Father, I am just that: their CHILD.

Just like YOU:

I Am A Child of God!

Apparently, according to some, I am the "Idiot" Child of God!

That puts me in good company. The prophets of the Old Testament are considered the predecessors of the "fools for Christ." The actual term: "fools for Christ" is attributed to Saint Paul. Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Anthony, and Saint Benedict Joseph Labre were all famous "fools for Christ!"

The term "fools for Christ" refers to behavior including giving up worldly possessions, and employing shocking, unconventional means to challenge accepted social norms.

To be incredibly honest with you, I am probably teetering on the brink of financial ruin because of the added burden of the debts of my aunt, that I have been and must continue to pay, while the probate process runs it's course.

I guess I really am an "idiot," as my relative so boldly wrote; because, I believe myself to be a wealthy woman SPIRITUALLY; and, that means more to me than ANYTHING ELSE IN THIS WORLD!

Money, jewelry, houses, cars, jobs...THINGS...they come and go, in and out of our lives.

But, OUR SOUL IS ALWAYS THERE, OUR SOUL IS US, AND WILL BE US FOR ALL ETERNITY!

Being the "idiot" that I am, I would rather be financially ruined on earth in service to others...than spiritually ruined in Hell, because I lived my life in service to myself!


How about YOU?


Do YOU have more saved up in the "Bank" of Materialism?


OR,


Are all YOUR important assets in the "BANK" OF GOD?


Here is our reflection for today:


As long as YOU are still breathing, YOU can change the course of YOUR eternity!


But, when YOU die, it's simply too late to make a transfer of funds!


Only You can answer this question:


Do YOU need to transfer YOUR assets to the "BANK" OF GOD?


May God Bless You And Those You Love...And, Even Those You Don't!!

WHY WE ATTEND MASS

The following video by Steve Silvia is a beautiful explanation of why we need to join together each week at mass.

As Catholic Christians we are called to be the eyes, and hands, and feet of Jesus here on earth.

I personally cannot do that without the mass.

I need the prayers, the Word, the fellowship, and the homily to guide me in what I ought to do.

I need the Holy Eucharist to nourish my soul so I may have the strength of my convictions to do what I ought to do.

Studies show that a good breakfast sets the pace for our day. How many of us would send our children to school each morning without a good breakfast?

Yet, we think nothing of sending our children out into the world each week without the nourishment their little souls need to keep them strong against all the temptations they will find there.

Go figure!

AN ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT

I sent the following text message to my secretary this morning: "Hi will be in shortly. Had to adjust my attitude first."

You see, I was out of balance...actually have been for several days...but this morning especially, I was clunking around like a washing machine with a pair of sneakers jostling about inside.

It wasn't pretty.

My mind was not in alignment with my heart and soul.

Despite an active prayer life, I needed something more.

I needed uninterrupted quality time to sit quietly with God and reassess my priorities, unclutter my mind from the detritus of the world, and allow my soul to surrender.

And, I needed it right then and there...it could not wait a minute more...my very being depended on it.

At the end of my "re-balancing" session, I literally was singing: "To You, O Lord, I Lift My Soul."

Indeed, for my very sanity that was what I had to do this morning before work.


How about you, are you in balance or out of balance?

Are you centered to your very core, or are you not really sure who you even are at this moment?

The answer is right before you: surrender.

Sit humbly with our God, listen quietly, re-balance, re-assess, rejuvenate, re-connect, be in the world, not of it.

Lift up your soul, and the attitude adjustment will follow!