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He Gave His Only Son

"Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

John 21:29

• There should be less talk. A preaching point is not a meeting point.


• The dying, the cripple, the mental, the unwanted, the unloved-- they are Jesus in disguise.


• In the West there is loneliness, which I call the leprosy of the West. In many ways it is worse than our poor in Calcutta. (Commonweal, Dec 19, 1997)


• It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.


• The poor give us much more than we give them. They're such strong people, living day to day with no food. and they never curse, never complain. We don't have to give them pity or sympathy. We have so much to learn from them.


• I see God in every human being. When I wash the leper's wounds, I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. Is it not a beautiful experience?


• I do not pray for success. I ask for faithfulness.


• Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.


• If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

~Mother Teresa~

Every time I'm reminded that it's my turn for the 'Weekly Word' I panic. I rack my brain to think of something you might want to read, something that might hold your attention or something that might inspire you in some way. I worry and fret and then I pray and instantly something pops in my head. Amazing isn't it? I cannot imagine having a priest's vocation, having the job of inspiring us day after day, week after week. I thank God for those men and all the religious that have passed through my life and left their marks upon me. I pray for them, for our future priests, and all religious that they may lead us closer to our Holy Father in heaven. We must continually do this.. I praise you Jesus for giving us these holy people. They pave the way to a fuller relationship with You. I lift them up before You, inspire them and let them feel our love. We need them all. In Jesus' name we pray.

I've mentioned before that I feel 'God moments,' or what I call 'whisper of the wings' moments. It's a fitting name to explain all those special occurrences that come along in life, things that I know had to be inspired from above. More often than not, when I'm telling someone about these moments, they'll share one of their experiences also. It's a good thing to share. These whispers are a sign, a way of letting us know that God is still among us, all the angels and saints journey along this road of life right there beside us. They protect and defend us in battle so we can make our way to heaven. This week is an appropriate time to speak of angels because we just celebrated the feast days of the 'Messenger Angels' and the 'Guardian Angels'. Mary, all the saints, and all the angels lead us closer to Jesus if we only will pay attention to their gentle quiet whispers.

One of my recent 'whisper of the wings' moments happened this summer while traveling with my daughter. We were in Europe, a long way from home. We were walking through Rome, to the ruins of the ancient empire. I was thinking of my mother. I had just been told a few hours before that she was in the hospital, in Portland, a full day's travel away, and in very serious condition. As my daughter and I walked along a sudden urge came over me to stop her, hold hands and say a pray to Mary for my mother. People walked around us without it fazing them at all. We had been trying to decide what we should do, go home, against most of my family's advice or finish our trip. We had prayed as soon as we heard this news but this was different, a powerful feeling to just stop right there and pray. As we finished I felt a peace come over me. At that moment I knew Mom was going to be OK. I don't know if it was because my daughter so willingly stopped in the middle of all the tourists or just the fact that I felt Mary so strongly beside me.

Whatever it was, I knew God's helping hands were involved. When we had finished the prayer I looked up and right beside me was a picture of Mary on the side of a building with angels all around her. I had not seen the picture before the prayer and no other pictures, advertisements, or any others signs were on any of the buildings besides this one. I don't think it was just a coincidence that Mary's picture was there at just that particular place. She was letting me know beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was with us, helping, protecting, guiding and loving us. She supports me over and over, in very visible signs, to His peace. Pray to Mary, let her have your hand, she will help you, she will lead you along the path to her Son and to an eternity in heaven with all the angels.

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