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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~

I want to write this week about the blessings I felt by being able to attend the ordination of Michael Caldwell as deacon to our church. It is a gift from the Holy Spirit every time we can gather together and be present at a sacrament. The Sacrament of Holy Orders seems very special in my book. We don't have the opportunity to be present as often for this as other sacraments. To witness the graces bestowed upon these men as they become servants of the Church is special. To feel the holiness in the Cathedral all around is amazing. I believe as we partake in the prayers and celebration at this time, we ourselves are blessed with extra graces as well. This is yet another 'genius' of our Catholic faith; being able to attend all sacraments is a blessing. We need to give thanks to our Lord that we live in a country where we can freely join in a celebration like this without fear of persecution. We should pray that we will always have this freedom. We should fight to keep that freedom. Not passively sit back and assume it can't be taken away. There are many places in our world today where people do not have this freedom, pray for those people as well.

A few years ago I had a conflict in scheduling. I had two things to do on the same day. The first event some of you may have heard discussions around St. Joseph about or read articles in the bulletin or newsletter. On the 3rd Saturday of each month, we have the privilege to help the Sisters of the Eucharist in Bridal Veil. As volunteers we go, in the morning, to their convent along the beautiful Columbia Gorge. We do yard work, cleanout the barn, or just regular maintenance in order to help keep up grounds and buildings. Without the help of the volunteers the sisters would not be able to keep the convent. As you work alongside these women, they share their stories and listen to yours in an environment of peace and love. You work hard for a few hours and then are served delicious food prepared by the sisters. As we eat in the spacious dining area or on the patio in the middle of the woods, you can listen to the waterfall and see breath taking views surrounding you. On one of these Saturday's I was also invited to attend a baptism of my great niece. I was in one of the catholic book stores picking up a present for the baptism and discussing the dilemma of the two events with the employee who was helping me. I was debating on serving at the convent or going to the baptism. The gentleman I was talking to said, "Excuse me, there is no dilemma here; you pick the sacrament over yard work always!" I was embarrassed to be even thinking it was a choice after that. It made so much sense when he put it that way I don't know what I was thinking. He also added, how many times will this baby get baptized and how many times can you go to the convent to work? Well, where was the choice, silly me.

We should be aware of what a gift it is for us to be present at any sacrament. Our churches should be overflowing with people making every effort to attend. Daily Mass should be as full as Sunday Masses. The Eucharist is our salvation and the importance we put on that should be our main goal in life. Even when you work it is easy to find a location to attend Mass before, during, or after our work schedules for most of us. And what a great witness it is to our children as well as all others we know. It will change your life and only for the better.

My prayer today is that we all strive to attend every sacrament possible and realize how blessed we are to be free and have the choice to do this. Thank you Mike for becoming our Deacon, you are loved!

URLVD

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