Not So Perfect

I hear some people say that good Christians are ones who follow the rules, believe the creed and for Catholics, go to church on Sundays.  This supposedly makes you a follower of Jesus.  But Jesus came before creeds and rules.  He wanted his followers to be doers of his way.  But there is something else here.  His original gaggle of men and women were people of flaws, some more flawed than others.  John seemed to be pretty good.  Peter, not so much.  Most seemed to be somewhat clueless.  Talent seemed to be buried and needed some excavation to bring it out into the open.  Not a good start, huh?  Now look at yourself and the people around you.  Do you write some of them off because of their flaws or seeming lack of smarts/talent?  School teachers do this at their own and the students peril.  Everyone has something to bring to the table.  The teacher, parent, co-worker, friend, fellow student, can be loving by trying to find a way to bring out that talent.  Passing a test, a good grade, does not guarantee that someone will be a doer of good later.  Report cards do not have a grade line for selflessness, kindness, patience, mercy and forgiveness.  If they did, how many of us would be failures, but with correct answers to creeds and rules.

Drinking World

If you know someone who "drinks too much" alone, here is what might be their history.  At one time they felt uneasy in social situations.  They found that drinking helped them to feel more comfortable with others, or with another person.  Subsequently, they kept trying to have that comfortable feeling in social situations.  They drank with others and at times drank too much, to where others felt uncomfortable with them.  What was happening was that the drinker, now an alcoholic in behavior, had developed a craving for alcohol.  They no longer drank to fit in.  This craving is unknown to the normal drinker.  This craving will lead the alcoholic to finally begin to drink alone.  They have progressed way beyond the desire to fit into social situations.  They just crave the alcohol.  If they keep at the drinking, death will make them cease.  One starts out wanting to fit in, or escape some feeling of being an outsider, and end up being an outsider.  But by then it is all about alcohol.  Craving always trumps will power.

Faith

I am impressed and sometimes befuddled by people who believe in a God worth serving,  after they have experienced tragedy and suffering.  It is hardly faith to believe in a God who seems to give you what you ask.  You find parking places, missing keys, good health news, and you say you believe.  These good results support your faith.  But for many of these same people, tragedy and suffering leads them away from faith.  They stop believing or wanting anything to do with God issues.  God did not come through for them.   I read about a fellow, Alphonsus Rodriquez, whose wife died in childbirth and then his two young children died.  Shattered, he did not give up believing, but decided to devote the rest of his life to serving God in others.  He became a doorman at a Jesuit college.  He was welcoming and caring for everyone who passed through the door.  He was declared a Saint.  When bad news transforms you, now that is a miracle.  Still want to be a saint?

Lucifer

Lucifer means light.  In mythology of evil, Lucifer was created by God as are all angels.  Then Lucifer decided to rebel against God and go rogue.  Thus we have evil. But Lucifer was created good.  God is Love.  So God still loves rogue Lucifer.  In Christian scripture Jesus said that he came to seek and save what was lost.  I like all this.  God is not out to punish me when I go rogue with bad behavior.  I did not lose God's love or have to do something to make God love me again.  Many people feel that they have to do something to get God back to loving them or at least not punishing them.  I think it is more productive to simply admit to myself, God and some times another person that I messed up, again.  Then move on with how to avoid this bad behavior in the future.  I know people who run off to confession to get God to love them again, but then go out and do the same stuff all over again.  Confession is not a magic tool for negotiation.  God's love does not change.  What needs to change is me.

Mom

I think my Mom was a bit of a saint.  She had a friend who would call her now and again just to talk. Mom said the friend, Mary, got depressed or sad at times and just needed to talk.  Mary seemed to know that Mom would listen to her.  Mary always seemed to call at the right time.  There was only a land line with no called ID. The phone call was usually a long one, but Mom felt that when Mary finished, things were good.  I don't think that Mom had an elaborate prayer life of meditation or scripture reading, but she seemed to have compassion and empathy, that I, with all my prayer and priesthood still lack spontaneously.  I have to be in "a good space" to be able to listen to someone who just needed to talk.  Technology now helps people like me to be somewhat helpful to others as my mom seemed able to do naturally.  If they call on my cell, I can see the name, and decide if I "am in a good space."  You don't want to talk with me when I am in a bad space.  I seem to have more good space times each day as I take care of my spiritual practice which includes taking a look at my shortcomings, alone or with friends who like me are trudging along.  Nothing like other people to remind me of my humanness.  I bet I am not alone in struggling for "a good space.  Fess up!

Stairs

I often wonder as I walk up stairs next to an escalator, why so many people take escalators, when there are stairs right beside the escalator, and then go off to the gym to work out on a stair master?  People are wearing good walking shoes or gym shoes as they stand on the escalator.  They have no heavy bags with them.  We are strange people sometimes.  I always take the stairs as part of my cardio, especially when I am traveling, or have no time for exercise otherwise.  There are certain muscles that you use when you walk stairs, that you otherwise don't use.  Try living in stairless Florida and you will see muscles atrophy.  We do this in prayer too.  We have our prayer time, like our exercise or gym time.  Outside of that time, we don't think about praying.  There are so many chances to pray as we go through our day.  You can pray while walking stairs.  Pray for the escalator people.

All Saints

Today is all saints Day. For guys, a Small way to practice saint ness is to take off your hat when you are speaking to a woman. You think this is so out of date that young women would not even notice?  Wrong!  And it can pay off in all kinds of ways.  Women notice.  I took my hat off in addressing a sales person in a store. She gave me an added $10 off the already great sale.  I most like being a saint when I don't suffer.  It encourages good behavior while I am still tinged with self.