Dad’s Lenten Blog

Thoughts during Lent

Tag: faith

  • Three Hours

     All  the suffering, all the tragedy, all the pain, all the heartache, all the failures, all the wars, all the injustices, all the unfairness, all the adversity, all the hatred, all the sickness and all the sin that was, is, and will ever be is summed up today.

    All of that was absorbed by Jesus Christ in those three hours hanging on the cross.

    Three Hours.

    Abandoned by His friends, beaten, whipped, Nailed to a cross with thorns ripping through his head. His pain. 

    In those three hours He took it all on.

    “My God, My God! Why have you abandoned me?”

    Sin is the separation between us and God. In those three hours, He took all of the sin of all men on His shoulders. Maybe for the first time in His life, He could feel that separation. And for Jesus that may have been worse pain of all.

    At 3 PM Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior died.

    What could possibly be like to be an apostle, standing there, staring at the cross? “ How could this happen to this innocent man? He was the Messiah. I watched his miracles. I saw him raise Lazarus from the dead. And now he’s gone”

    What was it like to be Peter. The leader, Jesus’s best friend. He denied even knowing Him, three times. The guilt, the shame, the pain of conscience. Peter’s world had just fallen apart.

    Of course, they would know in a few days that Jesus would conquer death and sin. 

    But today, Good Friday, we need to reflect on this perfect sacrifice.

    “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

    Jesus loves each of us so much. Unconditionally. So much that He was willing to offer His life for each of us. 

    So today, sometime between 12 and 3PM take a moment. Close your eyes and see Jesus on the cross. 

    Close your eyes and look up at the cross and see Him. All your fears, disappointments, pain, heartaches, errors, wrongdoing, and suffering are with Him. Its Ok and right to feel sad, to feel sorry, to feel like Peter. 

    Everything we are, everything we have, all whom we love and our path to eternal life in heaven is because of Him…….

    and those three hours.

  • The Path to Heaven

    Sometimes in Mass I can’t help but to watch the communion line. I think all of us have the same feeling when a small child is brought to the priest and is blessed. It’s such a great feeling inside. Or maybe when we see a young boy serving on the Altar, it gives me a sense of hope in the future.

    Mom and I were always amazed and very happy that when all of you were little, you each had such love for Jesus and Mary. It was almost supernatural. We use to think that you guys as infants could see angels when we were in Church. Each of you loved to stare at and kiss my Miraculous Medal. You had a sense of its holiness and worth.

    I can remember putting each of you to bed and saying our prayers. Even in your cribs, a sense of calm, of peace came over you as I made the Sign of the Cross.

    Why is this universal? We are certainly not the only ones who have seen this in our children.

    Well I think that first and foremost, these little ones have not yet been corrupted by life’s choices, by its falsehoods, by the world. They are the ultimate purveyors of truth. They can see truth and don’t understand untruth. Each of there feelings are real, if injured, they cry, if their feeling are hurt, they frown, if they see something funny, they laugh. When they say they “I love you”, it melts your heart because you know it’s so true.

    When they pray it is from the heart. Maybe they make a mistake, maybe they don’t do it just right, but it’s straight from the heart.

    Children believe because it’s true. Sure, we try to catechise as much as we can. But when they are so little its just simple. “Jesus loves you” and “the Blessed Mother loves you”.

    And they believe.

    Why is this so important?

    “And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.’”

    Jesus is calling us to be like a child. To simplify. To rid ourselves of all the trappings of life and just see the truth. Why do we want to complicate everything? No, Jesus wants us to be like we were when we small children. That is what we have to work towards. How can we love like a child loves? How can we shed ourselves of what the world sees? How can we pray like a child prays?

    Jesus gives us the answer. It’s in humility and in love.

    There are fleeting moments in life where you get to experience a very small piece of joy, What heaven must be like for all eternity. I’ve been so fortunate to have many of those moments with each of you and your mother. And almost all those moments came when you were saying your prayers as a little girl or a little boy. It fills my heart just thinking about it.

    So next time you see a small child in church or you are with your niece and nephews or friends’ children take a moment and pray with them or talk to them about Jesus. I think you’ll be surprised how much they’ll teach you about how to get to heaven.

  • The Perfect Fit

     He was the perfect fit.

    Saint Paul, then called Saul, could not have a better resume. He was a Pharisee, he was wealthy and interestingly enough, a Roman citizen. This man dedicated his life to killing and torturing as many Christians as he could find. Who better to be the chief persecutor.

    I’m sure he gained fame with both the Romans and the Pharisees for his pursuits. He also must’ve struck fear wherever he went. If I close my eyes and think back to what life must’ve been like in Israel at that time. I can imagine very simple and probably hard life. it seems to me that whole family would probably work to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads.

    It’s in these homes I think the Christianity took hold. These fortunate people more than likely heard the words of Jesus personally. How life-changing, how impactful, how extraordinary that must’ve been. But now think of what it would’ve been like a year, or two years after Jesus was crucified. Those who believed knew that Jesus had conquered death in His Resurrection. It was in this belief that their lives were transformed. “ Love thy neighbor, as I have loved you“, took on  a new meaning. I just have to believe that all of those early Christians would’ve stood out in a crowd. Peaceful, caring, tolerant, loving, hopeful. Qualities that may have set them apart from non-believers.

    Easy prey.

    And Saint Paul (Saul) was ruthless. We just get a snippet of his persecution of those early disciples of Jesus. But I imagine he targeted not just men, but women and children, whole families. Torture and death. He probably thought by this path of cruelty, these Christians will eventually fade away.

    It’s just an incredible event. Really think about it. That Jesus, soon after his Resurrection and Ascension into heaven, chooses maybe one of the most important figures in the early church. Who is that person He chooses, Saint Paul, ( Saul ). Of all the people, all the early disciples, even the first apostles, Jesus chose him.

    Of course, we know the story of Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. Now, think about several weeks later after his conversion. Paul goes and visits  the first apostles. Peter, James, John, all of them knew this man and what he had done. Can you even conceive of their astonishment at his conversion? I could just imagine him going to Peter and asking for confession.

    We just don’t know how God can turn suffering into good. We don’t know why God chooses people like Saint Paul. But by Saint Paul’s example, we can be confident in one thing. Jesus can open even the most hardened heart.

    We don’t know how many years he lived after his conversion, but we do know Saint Paul became one of the most important apostles, certainly the most prolific. He went out and preached the Gospel for many years under intense persecution. All of the people, Jews and non-Jews alike, would have known of his past. And as they listened to this man preach the good news they must’ve hung on every word.

    It’s amazing how God works because……… he was the perfect fit.

  • The biggest purchase

     What was your last big purchase?

    Maybe it was maybe it was that trip? Or the plane ticket? The clothes that you wanted? The big fancy dinner? A house?  

    Think about what you had to sacrifice or still are sacrificing to be able to spend that money. Maybe you passed up on a lot of fun things to save money. Maybe you have to put in more time at work. Whatever it is, its a sacrifice. In the end, we all hope it was worth it. 

    Because its when that purchase, whatever it is, doesn’t quite work out or meet your expectations that you realize the things you had to do or give up to get it! 

    It’s called value. And the more valuable something is to us, the more we are willing to sacrifice to obtain it.

    Sometimes, I like to think about Jesus life before He started his ministry at the age of 30. Back in those days that’s a middle-aged man. We have to remind ourselves that Jesus always knew his divine nature and therefore knew what came before him, and what was coming in the future. He knew exactly what he was going to do.

    As we get closer to Easter week and the Passion of Our Lord, we can reflect on just how crazy those days were in Jerusalem. After all, Jesus spent three years healing hundreds, maybe even thousands of people, raising people from the dead, exercising horrible demons, doing miracles beyond imagination witnessed by thousands. He preached to the worst of the worst sinners. He preached to small groups and to crowds that were in the thousands. 

    And just days after he entered Jerusalem as a great prophet to cheers and rejoicing and the laying of palms in his path, he would face the worst possible experience anyone could imagine.

    And yet, He did it. Of His own free will.

    You see, He loves us so much that He was willing to give the greatest sacrifice, His life.

    Sacrifice for what?? It is only by His suffering and dying on the cross that He purchased for each of us the path to heaven and eternal life. He was born and lived His whole life, 33 years, for that purpose. 

    That purchase was for the debt of our sins. The price…. His death on the cross. 

    How could any of us ever feel worthy enough for that generosity?? The thing is, we can’t. But it does make me realize just how much he loves me and you. And all he wants in return is, for us to love each other, to repent our sins and to love Him and be faithful. All good things.

    What is the value of a soul. Of your soul. For Jesus it was…….

    The biggest purchase of all.

  • The greatest Yes

    Their times in your life, many of them just fleeting moments, when you’re asked to do something that is either uncomfortable, inconvenient, or just plain hard. It could be a simple as getting up off the couch and doing a chore for Mom and or me. Maybe something much more difficult. Each of us has a story. At one time or another we had to make a decision. Yes, or no.

    Sometime today I want you to close your eyes and picture this scene. 

    In a small ancient town, over 2000 years ago, there is  a small, nondescript house, probably with stone walls and dirt floors. Inside, maybe there were just a couple of rooms. In one of those rooms there’s a young girl, maybe 13 or 14 years old. I’d like to believe she’s praying.

    All of a sudden, there’s an intense light. A man appears in the room. She is very frightened. The man kneels at her feet and bows his head. His words, “Hail Mary, full of Grace!“.

    We are so used to watching science fiction and monster movies and supernatural ghost stories with great CGI. Just imagine for a second what it would’ve been like for a young girl back then to experience this. Her heart racing with fear of the unknown and of what’s happening before her.

    Then, on top of this frightening moment, the man tells the young girl that she has been chosen by God to give birth to the savior of the world, the Messiah, the Christ, Jesus. At this moment in history, the Jewish people in Israel were under occupation by the Romans, so the prayer for the Messiah to deliver them from oppression was on everybody’s lips for decades. This message from the man to the young girl must’ve been incredible shock.

    Above all else, this young girl must have been so confused and fearful because she had never been with a man. But the man said, “Be not afraid”! 

    In this tiny, humble room, this young girl was asked do to do something very difficult, fraught with issues. How could she explain this? What would she tell her fiancé, Joseph??? What would her parents say? What thoughts must have been racing through her mind. 

    What would her response be???? I believe all the angels heaven stopped at that moment and were listening and hoping. She had free will to say yes or no.

    This was the moment that would change everything, forever.

    Her response, “ Behold, I am the handmade of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word“.

    At that moment, which we celebrate today, heaven must have rejoiced. 

    This young, simple, and innocent girl from a small, poor, insignificant town loved God and trusted Him. No matter what the repercussions.

    Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation. Today we celebrate like the angels did at that moment. Why?

    Because Mary said Yes.

  • A Good Vintage

    There is something special about really good wine. Where it came from, somewhere in the hills of France or Italy or California. And there, grapes were harvested, processed, and eventually bottled some times 10 or 20 years earlier. And when one of those wines are opened, its like they have a life of their own, as the air touches the wine for the first time in years the wine comes to life and the flavors just get better and better.

    Why is wine interwoven in our faith and in a bigger sense all human history? I don’t know. But it absolutely plays a huge part. The most significant is the fact of transubstantiation. It is wine, that becomes Christ blood. Jesus could’ve chosen any liquid, water, grape juice, anything, but he clearly chose wine.

    But outside of the Eucharist, it is Jesus‘s first miracle that has such deep meaning for me. It’s not necessarily about the wine, as it is about Jesus‘s mother, Mary.

    There are very few words that that Mary speaks in the Bible. They are all very substantial. But I do love the the night of the wedding in Cana. 

    So, these wedding feasts go on for days and I imagine a lot of wine is drunk. And as we all know the story, the hosts somehow run out of wine early.

    Though the Bible doesn’t specifically say it,  we have to believe that Mary senses the anxiety of the hosts. And so She goes to Jesus and simply says “they have no wine“. That’s it. Maybe She didn’t have to say another word. He knew what She was requesting because She and Joseph were the only ones in the world who knew who Jesus was. What was Jesus‘s reply? “ Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come”.

    Whoa! That was pretty tough response. Almost a rebuke.

    But then something amazing happens, Mary just turns to the servant standing near and says “do whatever he tells you“.

    We know the story, Jesus tells the servants to fill six jars that held 30 gallons each, with water. ( ok, I had to look that up ; -) That would be like 180 gallons. And with the His first miracle, turns that water into wine. And when the master of the wedding tastes it, he can’t believe the quality! Can any of us imagine how good that wine must have been!

    But not only did Jesus fulfill Mary’s request to help someone else. He fulfilled in a way that was bountiful. 180 gallons!!!!! That must have been some wedding.

    Mary is our mother. And as any good mother, She is concerned always for the well being of Her children. A mother senses things about her children. So when Mary senses what was happening, the embarrassment and bummer for all the party goers and the bride and groom, what did She do? She went directly to Her Son. And He could not turn Her away.

    Why do we ask our Blessed Mother to pray for us? Because She loves us only a mother could. And Jesus can’t say no to His mother. She knows what is good for us. What is good for our souls. And She wants us to be with Her Son, forever, in Heaven. 

  • 3 PM

    Why are Fridays singled out in Lent as different?

    Well, the obvious answer is that it reminds us of the day, Good Friday, Jesus died on the cross.

    But it is more than that during Lent. We are also called to fast and specifically abstain from meat. Back in the day when seafood wasn’t as available, this meant a real sacrifice at the table for adults and children alike.

    But we need to go deeper. Fasting, though so important, is just one sacrifice that we offer up. A physical reminder of real sacrifice. 

    Do any of us really contemplate the meaning of Friday? Many years ago in my 30’s, I read Saint Faustina’s diary, called “Divine Mercy in my Soul”. It is where the Divine Mercy Chaplet comes from. An incredible book. But there was one point in that book that stuck with me for a couple of decades. That was the Hour of Mercy……. 3 PM.

    It is the tradition of the church that Jesus died at 3 PM on the very first Good Friday. At the moment of his death, he bore the sins of all mankind. But more important, by giving his own innocent life, he opened up his Sacred Heart, the Fount of Mercy. Where no sin, even the worst of the worst is unforgivable when seeking His unfathomable mercy. 

    “ There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” 

    So for all of these years I set a reminder at 3PM. Back in the day it was a beep, and then just a pop-up reminder. But it was 3 PM every day. Maybe some of you remember seeing it. Maybe some of you joined me in that moment. But my prayer is just very simple. “ Jesus, my Savior, forgive me, a poor sinner”

    A couple of phone upgrades ago I got away from it. But its back ! You see everyday we need to be reminded of His love for us. His desire that we be with Him always. 

    So maybe set a reminder for 3PM on the next couple Fridays. And when that reminder goes off. No matter what you are doing, close your eyes for a second and picture Him there, on the cross. 

    And at the moment, believe deeply in your heart, that He did this for you.

  • How did he do it?

     How did he do it?

    How in the world did he do it?

    Mary would’ve been about 15 years old when they were engaged. I can only imagine how beautiful she would’ve been. Imagine with the singular grace she received from God, never having sinned in her whole life. When Joseph laid eyes on her for the first time, I can’t imagine what he must’ve felt. Can you picture the sheer beauty that would be before his eyes?

    Sometime during their engagement, Mary conceives Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Immediately following that moment, Mary goes to her cousin Elizabeth to take care of her during the later stages of her pregnancy. I can imagine that Joseph took Mary to Elizabeth to protect her along that journey. And while she was there for three months, he most likely returned home to work.

    So he is working hard and anticipating marrying this beautiful girl. But when she returns three months later, she is noticeably pregnant. What could possibly be going through his mind? I can’t even imagine the anxiety, the questions, the doubt. 

    He went from being on top of the world to distressed beyond belief. I like to think that he decided one night to pack up his things and just leave and travel to a far off place never to be heard from again so that Mary’s virtue would be protected.

    How much did Joseph pray during those trouble moments? How many times he must’ve said to our Lord “what should I do?” 

    And then, Joseph gives us perhaps the greatest example of trusting in God. In a dream, an angel tells Joseph to not be afraid, to take Mary into his home, and that the baby, Jesus, would be the savior of the world. And what does Joseph do? He trusted in God’s will and took Mary as his wife and raised Jesus as his son.

    Each time we hear of Joseph in the Bible, he is undergoing some incredible test. When Mary is nine months pregnant, they must make the journey to Bethlehem. A very difficult thing to do. And then, upon arriving, having no place to stay. Joseph must’ve felt like a failure as a protector and provider, especially knowing who Jesus was. And then the humility it took to stay in a lowly stable. Could you imagine? 

    When they presented Jesus to the temple to be circumcised. Simieon, the priest, fortold to Joseph and Mary that Jesus was the Christ and that in the end, Jesus would suffer, as would Mary, for the sake of the whole world. Can you imagine Joseph’s reaction. How that must have hurt his heart to hear that. Yet he persevered.

    Soon after Joseph, because of another dream, would have to take Mary and the baby and flee in the middle of the night on an incredibly dangerous journey to Egypt to save Jesus’ life. I’m not sure if I had a dream that I would get up and undertake such an incredible difficult task. At the time, Egypt was a place where Jews were not liked. Joseph had to provide for his family in a strange place, probably without any tools. I just can’t imagine the stress he must’ve been under. Yet he persevered.

    Maybe the one that gets me the most, because I can identify with the sheer vulnerability, is when while traveling from Jerusalem back to Nazareth, Jesus is separated from Joseph and Mary. They searched for Him for three days!!!! Can you even conceive of the stress, the prayers, the anxiety that Joseph must have felt. 

    Joseph was one of us. And he gives us the greatest example of trusting in God’s plan. He had to abandon his will to trust in Gods. And God always gave him the strength to persevere, to protect, to nurture, to love, to be a great father. 

    That’s how he did it.

  • Waiting

    Something struck me at Mass on Sunday. It was the Transfiguration gospel. It was when at that when at the top of the mountain Elijah and Moses appeared in front of Jesus, they began to speak to each other.

    We are not told of the conversation.

    Here’s the thing. There were no mortal souls in heaven. Every human being ever born from the beginning of time was waiting for the Resurrection of Jesus to enter to heaven. There is only one way to heaven and that is through Jesus Christ.  So all the souls of those who had  departed the earth were waiting , anticipating, hoping and I have to believe, praying. 

    So what could’ve been this conversation between Moses and Elijah and Jesus? Neither Moses or Elijah were in heaven. They must’ve known that Jesus’s mission was unfolding. That heavens gate would soon be opened.

    There was a famous visionary named Anne Catherine Emmerick in the 17th century who is had visions of the Passion of Christ. Much of Mel Gibson’s movie was based on those visions. 

    In one story I had read, Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane and, as we all know, in great anguish of about what was going to happen.

    She described her vision and said, “Jesus, in his great agony, turned and saw the multitude of souls on their knees, praying for Him.” I don’t know why that is always stuck with me when I picture Him there in the garden, but it has. He knew He would be abandoned by his closest friends and followers. The pain and burden about to placed on Him. Maybe that sight fortified Him in some way. 

    How many hundreds or thousands of years were those souls anticipating this moment not fully understanding its magnitude. From the simplest of people to the great prophets. Maybe Jesus told Moses and Elijah to go back and tell all the souls to prepare.?

    Where did Jesus go for three days between His death and Resurrection? We say, in the Creed, that after his death, he descended into hell. But it is not the hell of eternal damnation. It was the dwelling place for  those souls. 

    All the souls who had been waiting. 

  • Lost and Found

    So many of us have them. 

    Stories.

    How did St Anthony help you.

    It seems on its face like superstition. But when you are in the moment. There is no superstition. Just anxiousness or desperation. You see, St Anthony is the patron saint of lost things. He is also patron of many other things including pregnant women, the elderly, the poor, and fisherman! But ever since I can remember my Mom always said if you lose something, ask St Anthony to pray for you. Ask his help! And if my mom or Dad lost something, always we prayed to St. Anthony.

    I have many stories of St Anthony and I know you have heard them multiple times. I have two for you today.

    When i was around 18 0r 19 I went to NYC on the train. I borrowed my dad’s Long Island Railroad Monthly Pass to take the train on a Friday night. But it was the first of the month and in those days it was a paper pass. I got home that night and when I woke up I realized I had lost my wallet. All my money and Dad’s pass. He was furious. It was a months $$ worth of  travel. I spent the next three days praying that maybe someone on the train would have turned it in. To no avail.  I went to church and knelt in front of the St Anthony statue and begged him for his help.   A day or so later, I’ll never forget,  my Mom called me and said that the mail had come. Someone put the wallet in a mailbox and it was mailed home. Pass and all. Coincidence? Maybe. But I knew St Anthony came through.

    I just turned 26 and was in Charleston working for the SBA after Hurricane Hugo. At that time there were no computers. I had a address book, like everybody else. In it, was all the contacts I had in my life. All my business leads, my family and friends, addresses and phone numbers. It also worked as my wallet, holding cash and a credit card.

    I had been in Charleston for 3 months and was coming home to Long Island for Christmas. I went to the mall to shop for some gifts. Somewhere that day, I had lost my address book. I freaked out. There was no backup. A disaster.

    I searched everyplace. Nothing. 

    From the moment I lost it and knew that it was gone, I started asking St. Anthony for his help. Every day. All day, I prayed.

    Imagine losing all of your contacts at once, with no hope of getting them back.

    The day before I was going home I called my Mom. I hadn’t said anything to my parents about this. She said to me “By the way, did you lose an address book?” 

    My heart just froze.

    “Yes!!!!! I lost it in Charleston!” Then Mom said “Well, some man called your Grandpa in Florida and said he found it in a parking lot and  it had a phone number for “Gramps” and would it be OK if he mailed it to my Grandpa.” My grandfather of course said yes.

    I could not believe it. I was so happy, relieved, thankful. 

    When I got home I got the package containing my address book from Gramps!!!!!! Credit card and money too.

    Though this particular story is long, its OK. It’s meant to be.

    You see, God’s graces come to us in many ways and many times through His saints. Maybe its just a little test of our faith? Little miracles often open our hearts.

    My middle name is Anthony. My Grandpa’s name is Anthony. And where did the package come from  Saint Antonio, Tx.