JUST CALL ME THE COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT

Some days, I feel like I am the complaint department for the parish, the diocese, and the entire Catholic Church!

In the last month, I have had complaints about catechists teaching that abortion is murder; complaints that we expect the children AND their families to actually attend mass; complaints that we are rigid (WHAT does that even mean?); complaints that there are too many meetings; complaints that there are not enough meetings; complaints that each class must do an end of the year review; complaints that all I do is defend (again, WHAT does that mean?); and complaints that expecting Confirmation Candidates to fulfill a few requirements (a saint report, 4 service projects, 2 service reports, 10 mass reflection papers, and completion of information and sponsor forms over the course of an entire school year) on the journey, is asking too much...and...that it is not asking enough!

My all-time favorite complaint by far is this: "Exactly WHY does the sponsor have to be CATHOLIC? My sister-in-law is 'born again,' and she's a better Christian than you will ever be!"

(Well, that may be true; but if you want your child to be a baseball player you don't bring him to a basketball coach!! Is that really so difficult to understand?!?)

At times, I think that those complaining really believe that I personally make the rules, and sit up nights trying to come up with new and more tortuous ways to make their life difficult.

When the complaints begin, I usually take a breath and then begin the explanations that unfortunately at times simply fall on deaf ears.

Then I am told, "I don't know why I bother, all you do is defend!"

At times, I ask myself, "Why do I bother?"

And then I remember...

I bother because I care...because I believe that Jesus Christ took on human flesh to walk this earth to show ME the path to salvation.

I bother because I want to help others share in that salvation.

I bother because I believe that even with all the mistakes that have been made throughout the centuries, it is the Catholic Church that has immediate succession from Christ.

I bother because I worry about the immortal souls and the eternal life of us all.

I bother because Christ bothered to die for ME...AND...YOU!!

So then the question becomes: "If YOU say YOU believe, are YOU bothering, too?"

I CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY!!

My younger son and I love the television show "Monk." In this week's episode, Mr. Monk was talking with Randy Disher about how even when everyone pokes fun at him and gives him a hard time, Randy is always good natured. Randy explained that years earlier on a case, he saw a bumper sticker that read:

"CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY."

As the show went on, Mr. Monk...obsessively, obsessively compulsive...took this advice to heart...and...even after getting bad news...literally danced out of a courtroom and almost did a Fred Astaire on a bench in the hallway...all the while repeating: "I choose to be happy."

Yesterday was my 49th birthday. I always enjoy it more when a birthday falls on a weekend, because in my house that means we celebrate ALL weekend long...a veritable holiday weekend for the birthday boy or girl.

It isn't grand or expensive...just three days of doing the favorite things and eating the favorite foods of the birthday person.

In this case...ME!

And so, it was...God...family...barbecue...the arcade...relaxation...and, a triple chocolate birthday cake from my favorite bakery.

All weekend long, I kept hearing Mr. Monk repeating: "I choose to be happy." That simple phrase, became the mantra for my birthday weekend between my younger son and I.

The past few years at my house have been difficult:

illness...anger...helplessness...death...sadness...irrationality...threats...drama...and the ultimate realization that there are always those among us, who...no matter what we may say or do...cannot love or respect us...because, they simply have not yet learned how to love or respect themselves.

Today, as I begin my 50th year on earth...I am adopting Mr. Monk's motto for this next part of my life:

"I CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY!!"

To paraphrase Mother Teresa: it is never between me and THEM...it is...and...always has been...and...always will be...between me and GOD!


God wants me to be happy.


I choose to be so!


How about YOU?


God wants YOU to be happy, too!


Say it...

in your head...

out loud...

or...

dancing down the hallway, a la Fred Astaire...

but...

just say it:


"I CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY!!!"


Then...make it so!


God Bless YOU!!

FINDING UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

Each morning, I receive a Minute Meditation via e-mail. The thought for today is:

Love within a family is unconditional, and this kind of environment is necessary not only for children but also for adults who need a space of healing from wounds inflicted in the marketplace.
~Living a Spirituality of Action~


Love within a family SHOULD be unconditional and curative.

Is it that way in YOUR family?

Is it that way in MINE?

Too many times, our families are our worst judges and juries...our closest relations are our harshest critics...our most punitive taskmasters...a veritable fount of unforgiveness.

There are many reasons...excuses...why this dynamic is so; and yet, it is not the familial relationship-dynamic modeled to us by our Triune God!

So, where do we go, when the harshest wounds are not inflicted in the marketplace, but rather in the bosom of the family?

While some turn to alcohol, drugs, promiscuity, overspending, and other "self-medicating"...self-harming...short-term fixes; I turn to God...my haven in the complexities and irrationalities that are my family life. I would love to have had a "Donna Reed-type" family...but, I was not so blessed.

And so, I turn to God...who KNOWS all...and...SEES all.

I pray for conversion of hearts for those who refuse to communicate...or have right relationship...with me.

I pray for God to pour His love and mercy and forgiveness out upon me, so I in turn, may have mercy, forgiveness, love...AND...understanding for those who are hurting my children and I.

I pray that God may keep me from becoming as bitter as some.

And, I pray for fortitude...to continue doing what I know in my heart is the right thing to do...to follow through on the wishes of the one who was disrespected...in life...in illness...and even...in death.

I guess, as the old saw goes: "candy is dandy...liquor is quicker"...


but...


GOD IS FOREVER!


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THE POLICEMAN

Who are YOU judging?

Who needs to hear YOU say..."I love you?"

What are YOU waiting for?

Tomorrow, may be TOO LATE!

THE REASON FOR OUR HOPE FOUNDATION