A wise and holy priest once told me that there were times when his only felt connection to God came in listening to his conscience. Prayer is dry and without feeling, the mass becomes “routine” with no inspiration, the Church seems terribly slow and out of touch with real life . . . . God seems so distant.

At such moments the only light that shown in his darkness was the light of his conscience. Sometimes God lets this happen. So let’s look at “Conscience” to see how we might meet God.

First off conscience is “a judgement of reason” which moves a person to do good and avoid evil. “It recognizes the authority of truth” pointing to God, the Supreme Good. “When he listens to his conscience, the prudent man hears God speaking.” (Catechism of The Catholic Church. P 438)

Think of a lantern you carry into a dark room. The light makes visible what is real and present. “Reason” is that light humans have in their very nature. It is our ability to swim in an ocean of truth.

Reason must be accompanied by freedom and will. Without these two an act has no responsibility (morality) attached to it. Without freedom an act is coerced. Without our will we haven’t chosen or “owned” the act; it is merely accidental or unintentional.

So how does all this connect me to God? Well . . . following my conscience is to experience the “messenger of Him, who, speaks to us behind a veil.” (John Henry Cardinal Newman 1885).

The problem today is we lack the training to become sufficiently “present to ourselves”. There is a certain “interiority” required to hear and follow the voice of our conscience. It comes from prayer, quiet time with our- selves, good reading, virtuous friendships.

Kids especially need help putting down their iphones to listen to their own thoughts and feelings   their own personhood. This quiet opens the door for the Holy Spirit with his gifts to present the knowledge and practice of the interior law.

Parents. You have the best seat in the house when it comes to teaching conscience. You are there to help your child “listen to that voice in your heart.” You are there to celebrate and praise the times your child “does the right thing” (thus adding to the voice of conscience that they just heard and followed).

You are also there when the voice of conscience went unheeded and dishonesty or meanness came forth. Parents you need to sit and lovingly help your child “see and hear” that inner voice. Not every instance require this teaching moment but sometimes God just puts it on a platter for you. Use it! Share a suitable moment from your life when you listened (or didn’t) to your conscience. A true life story from mom and dad!

In the end you are giving your child a compass, a tool that will guide them in moments of temptation and confusion. You give them a connection to their true selves and to God. “For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God . . . it is his most secret core and sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths.” (Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes #16).

God’s got you . . . quit squirming!

Fr. Tim

Certainly you’ve heard the adage “you are what you eat.” And our computer geeks are fond of saying “garbage in, garbage out.” The point being in both of these sayings . . something becomes in large part the sum of what was put into it. Good health comes from a good diet. A dependable computer program only works with good data input. (The bible was on to this when 3,000 years ago it said “You reap what you sow.”)

It works like that with our spiritual life too. We are greatly shaped by what we think, and hear, and see, and touch. What we allow to enter through our senses creates the raw data for the kind of person we become.

So for example:

• Child psychologists tell us that hours spent watching violent images on television elevates the likeliness of children acting out violently.
• Constant attention to a handheld game boy or ipod inhibits a young person’s ability to interact with real people.
• Nonstop images of negative, argumentative relationships create the impression that this is how people naturally interact. Yelling, whining, cursing, name calling becomes the norm. Talk Radio is full of this stuff.
• Pornographic web sites demean the human spirit and unleash a powerful darkness
  
• Pretty much any television called “reality TV” has little grasp of what’s really real.

Why not put a stop to the “garbage in, garbage out” syndrome? We don’t have to drink from the media world what it calls “reality”. Why not dedicate ourselves to “Goodness in, Goodness out”?

What does this mean? It means putting a guard over what we let our eyes see and ears hear. I’m being literal here. Change the channel or turn off the TV when it becomes crass or trashy. Walk away from conversations that are only meant to hurt others reputations. Put away the electronic games or instruments when people are present to talk to.

And in their place? . . .

• Great music
• Good books and reading
• Cook something!
• Visit someone lonely
• Take in the world of nature
• Good conversation and listening
• Hobbies are great.
• At least 10 minutes of prayer each day (in a chair . . . talking/listening to God)
• Good TV or movies

I hope you are enjoying your summer days. This is a time to renew yourself with family and fun things. I hope you dedicate yourself to celebrating LIFE!!

Fr. Tim

Great Music…

Cooking…

Nature…

I’ve never been much of a joiner of clubs. Let’s see . . . I was a Cub Scout for about three weeks. We had the 15th Street Raiders on my block as a kid. I joined the Camera Club in high school and a book club somewhere along the way. That was about it for clubs.

Some of them had certain rules and regulations and secrets. I can’t remember the “Raider Handshake” but it let us know who was “in” and who wasn’t.

Sometimes we tend to think of religion as a club. The Catholic Club. There is an initiation (Baptism). It’s got rules (10 Commandments). It has a leader (Pope). And there are dues (pass that basket!).

But this view of the Catholic Church tends to liken it to a merely human organization like Kiwanis, or Rotary, or Sierra Club. (These are great organizations by the way. They do much good for our community.) However, each of them receives its origin and purpose from its human founder, and does not profess to be able to connect its members to God or Eternal Life.

That’s not the way it is with the Catholic Church. It’s not a club or even an “organization” founded for some beneficent purpose. It is the living, mystical (spiritual yet physical) body of its founder, Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son.

Yes, the Church is Christ’s Body. We are its members and are connected with each other as fingers on a hand. . Christ’s Hand! Together, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we make up the person of Christ in the world.

The power and beauty of who we are in Christ makes it all the more painful when we hear of the failures of those most trusted with the Faith.

News headlines today tell us how some in the Catholic Clergy have failed to live as that presence and have betrayed the trust of so many in the Church. (In every age the church has both saints and sinners as its members and thereby stands in constant need of purification.)

But this does not change the fact that God has adopted us as sons and daughters. We become “co-heirs with Christ” to Eternal Life. “In Him we live, and move, and have our being.” Acts 17: 28

To our friends who are searching . . .

How about you? Would you like to join – – – not a club! – – – but a group of people who are searching for God in their life? Would you like to talk with others who, like yourself, are trying to figure out what life is about and how we might find some bit of happiness while we are on this earth.

Would you like to learn what the Catholic Church teaches about the meaning of our lives, about God and how we can know Him? Would you like to be free to question and maybe disagree with some of what you are hearing? Well come along!

This group is called the RCIA (The Rite of Christian Initiation). It starts SUNDAY, October 3, AFTER THE 10:30 MASS (@12:00 noon.) in the Gathering Space. Meetings last one hour and we think you’ll find the discussion interesting and fun.

There will be no pressure whatsoever for you to become Catholic. However, if during the sessions you feel God may be inviting you to join the Body of Christ, that will be your gift come this Easter!!

Hope to see all you Searchers on October 3.

God’s Grace to you this week.

Fr. Tim

Do you remember some of the things you used to do over and over as a kid? Little, personal and sometimes quirky activities that you’d do when things got boring or you started getting nervous?

Some children would suck their thumb. Some might bite their finger nails. Maybe you had a special blanket you would take everywhere. (Later in life my father and I battled cigarettes (I still struggle!). We call repeated actions habits; we do them without thinking. They relieve tension or anxiety and bring a mild pleasure or calming effect.

Some habits are healthy and benefit people whenever they do them. “That’s a good habit to get into,” we say. (Brush your teeth/eat your vegetables.) Other repeated actions can hurt us or others. These are bad habits. Some are bad (e.g. Lying) because the act itself is bad. We call these “sinful habits”. Others are bad because they go too far (“Too much” of anything is a bad habit) or not far enough (sloth, or carelessness) in doing the right thing.

So . . . what’s the point? It’s simple. Get in the habit of doing good things. How? All habits begin with Repetition. Doing something again and again will bring a certain ease of performance. A good thing, once rather hard to perform (choosing not to gossip) can, with repetition, become easier. Parents, I can’t stress this enough for your children. “Repetition” of good actions is essential to finding a path to true happiness in life.

Our bodies themselves bear witness to this. Sit-ups/push-ups (yuk!) become easier with repetition. It’s really no different for our spiritual lives. Repetition makes for habit. Habit makes for virtue (an abiding strength). Virtue leads to happiness. Want to be happy? Keep on doing good. Simple eh?!

Let’s take matters of sexuality. I don’t think anyone of us is immune to the “sinful habit” that can develop in our thoughts or actions as we confront lustful images or impulses that exist within us and around us.

There is a “good habit” that can defeat this lustful impulse. It’s called “custody of the eyes”. It refers to a mental readiness to turn away from seeing things that we know go beyond “just seeing” to become “lusting”. It’s kind of like being nosy . . . with our eyes.

Here’s how it goes. Our eyes want to see everything. Some things are not ours to see (or show). We need to have a mental readiness to turn away from things we “ought not see”. (Be ready to change the channel, look away, find something else to focus on.) We do this because it carries a respect for that person. Repeated ways of acting in this way we call “modesty” and become a habit leading to the virtue of “purity”.

(Purity has gotten a bad wrap in our culture. It’s seen as prudishness or a “holier-than-thou” attitude, or even a certain fearfulness of sex. Not so! Purity is a veneration of the person as a vessel of the Holy Spirit. God dwells in each of us and therefore we are each worthy of love . . . not lust.)

The point here is to make clear these virtuous states don’t “just happen”. In fact, when left to nature, the opposite happens. Lust grows, not purity. Rumor, not truth. Selfishness, not generosity. It’s part of our fallen human nature that this tendency exists.

Let’s develop “habits of love”, actions of reverence for others and ourselves motivated by the knowledge of who we are . . . God’s beloved children. This friends is the way to JOY.

Everyone of us, God’s Children – no exceptions.

Bless your heart.

Fr. Tim

PS. A great habit? Morning prayer.

(You’ve seen this before. But it still speaks).

Something happened a few years back at a conference I was attending. The subject was “vocation” and how we find God’s way and plan for our life. A young priest presented an image that surprised and delighted all of us. He gave us a picture of how life gets pieced together in partnership with God.

He used this image. See what you think.

Picture you’re weaving a cloth with various shuttles and several colored yarns attached to them. The cloth is suspended over your head much like an umbrella. The garment you’re weaving is of course “your life”. But remember, you can only see it from underneath. The finished cloth can only be seen from above.

As you view your cloth from the bottom you see several openings which could receive your shuttle. So seeing the pattern you’ve already begun, you choose an opening that seems to best add to your plan. You push the shuttle through and wait for its return.

Meanwhile God is there above to receive your choice. He takes his time in returning the shuttle. He’s been waiting for you to make your choice since He’s partnering with you as coweaver! Finally He drops the shuttle back down to you but not exactly where you thought He would. It’s “over there”.

“Oh,” we think. “That changes things. Now what? Where do I send my shuttle back to Him?”

And up and down the shuttle of life goes. Each time we make the best judgment we can about life’s choices . . . Is this the person I should marry? Do I work or stay home with the children? Do I apply for the new opening at work? Where do we send the children to school? How do I handle this new problem? Etc.

So you think about things; maybe talk things over with family or friend. Hopefully you’ll say a prayer for the Holy Spirit to guide you.

But then comes the moment of decision (“Mom, dad, I’ve decided to go into the military.”) and with that you’ve sent the shuttle up through the cloth of your life. What will God send back? We’ll see . . .

Get the picture? It’s really a nice meditation on the partnership God has with us in guiding us through our lives.

Two points seem critical to me in this process.

1. When we ponder where to send up our choices (the shuttle) there needs to be some sort of prayer. “Lord guide me, enlighten me. Show me your will. I give it to you.” Then . . . do your best. God will guide this whole process. He loves you!

2. When God drops the shuttle back down to you (in other words, when life gives its unforeseen events) we can receive this as God’s answer, whatever it might be. This is an act of faith in its rawest form. Your feelings may not be brimming with confidence. That’s okay. Faith helps us submit. “I don’t get it Lord but I trust in you.”

Remember, we only see our life from below. God, our co weaver, sees the big picture. God knows stuff about your life that you don’t. Do you trust Him to help you create the tapestry of your life?

God’s Providence (His guiding grace) extends even to our bad choices (decisions made thoughtlessly or in emotional turmoil). God can work with our mistakes   if we turn things over to Him.

God is waiting for your next prayer as together you weave the pattern of your life.

Bless you. Happy Summer still.
Fr. Tim

PS. Partner with God. Make your garment breathtaking!

Every year we hear this passage from Ephesians (5:21), “Wives be submissive to your husbands” and so this Sunday we hear it again. Let the eye rolling begin!

Of course it is immediately written off by many as a message from a different time. Today, we moderns see things in terms of “equality” and have freed ourselves from the old-fashioned roles of husband and wife. “Submission” feels like we’re losers in some contest of wills.

Rather than spending time explaining what this passage does NOT mean (blind obedience and the self-effacement of women); let’s look briefly at what this means FOR HUSBANDS.

God’s word is laying a burden on men that is different from the burden women carry. St. Paul calls them “the head” of wife and family. What could this mean but to serve the needs of the body (of which he is a part). To be a “Look Out” for those most dear to him . . . his family.

Every family needs someone who’s major responsibility is to be watchful for dangers, observant of needs, and dedicated to providing a stable, safe and peaceful home base. (Who goes downstairs in the middle of the night to find out what that noise was?) The Head.

But can’t wives do that just as well? Yes. Many do. Heroic single mothers are everywhere. They carry the man’s burden as well as their own. I bet if you asked them if they’d like the man to carry his burden with her . . . and for her, she’d say “Finally. Some help!” God bless them.

C. S. Lewis writes, “It is painful, being a man, to have to assert privileged or the burden which Christianity lays upon my own sex. I am crushingly aware how inadequate most of us are to fill this place.” God in The Dock.

He goes on to say we men often make very bad husbands (priests!). “That is because we are insufficiently masculine.” Masculine in the way that is modeled in Jesus Christ.

And that’s the key for both husband and wife – – to be like Christ for each other. Husbands, remember when Jesus spoke of himself as the good shepherd? “I am the Good Shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep . . . I will lay my life down for the sheep. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.” John 10:18.

Wives, remember when Jesus spoke to his Father in the Garden the night before his crucifixion? Knowing that somehow his death would be the way his Father revealed the salvation of humanity, yet feeling the terror of what lay ahead – – he submitted. “Father take this cup from me, but not what I will, but what you will.” Mark 14:36.

And in the end, don’t we all “submit”? Don’t we give in to the wishes of those we love. Love wants to say “yes” every time! But love also knows it must be guided by what is right and virtuous. And here we are back again to the role of husband and wife. I hope we can still say clearly that the woman’s heart pulls together the family relationships, giving that warmth and comfort that is her genius.

The man, if he’s carrying his proper burden, has her and the children as his chief concern in life. He’s the “lookout” for all of them. Protecting, providing, and yes, sometimes correcting.

It’s like a dance. You need a Fred in his top hat, and a Ginger in her flowing gown, joined in their coordinated whirl of love.

Bless you.

Fr. Tim

There’s an old saying that says, “if you don’t care where you’re going, it doesn’t matter what road you take.” This little philosophy of life is the mindset of many people. Other thoughts go along with it . . . “live for the moment”, “go with the flow”, “see what turns up.”

This approach to life works just fine . . . when you’re lying on a beach; when your longawaited vacation has begun; when you’re sick in bed with a cold. But they don’t work so well if you want your life to accomplish something; if you want your life to “say something”.

I’m not saying we have to win an election or be chairman of some board, or get that house on the hill. I am saying that to live our life to its fullest we need to follow the principles that God has placed in our hearts. These principles give glory to God and fulfill our purpose as God’s children.

Without that, our lives have no meaning. Two weeks ago I asked you to consider what you’d like your tombstone to say. I’m thinking what some “go with the flow” markers might say . . . “He loved Bud Light”, “Great Bills Fan”, “She was so stylish”, “Knew where to go for good Italian”. (W. C. Fields’ marker said, “I told you I was sick!”)

So where do you want your life to go? Our Faith has a ready answer . . . Heaven.

How old fashion that sounds, eh? Back years ago, Sr. Irma asked her 5th graders, “How many of you want to go to heaven?” Hands shot up immediately . . . “oh me! Me! Me! I want to go to heaven.” We went nuts.

And we meant it. What was heaven like? We didn’t have the slightest idea. But we knew it was very good. And we knew we needed to be there so we could be happy with God and all our friends. And we knew as children (get this, it’s important), that we had to make the right choices and avoid the bad ones to get there. Good and bad choices lead in different directions. And yes . . . the Devil was there to try and trick us. Take care!

People feel different these days. Ask someone if they want to go to heaven. “Yeah, sure. Why not?” Or “Okay, but my heaven is different than your heaven.” Or “Whatever?”

Added to this is the notion that it doesn’t’ matter what we do with our lives, we all are headed to heaven cause that’s just where humans go. So don’t sweat it.

Jesus had a different message. He told us there would be a judgement. (Mt. 25:14; Mt. 25:31ff). In the Parable of the Tenants (Mt. 12:33ff) Jesus tells us that when God fully reveals Himself there will be a reckoning for each of us as to how we have spent our lives. How did we effect goodness (or evil) in the world? How did we use the gifts (talents) we were given? Did we dedicate ourselves to anything in this life?

In the Parable of the Sheep and Goats (Mt. 25) Jesus points out that it is our actions themselves that become our judge. “As often as you did (or didn’t do) these things, you did them to ME. . . And these will go off to eternal punishment (those who ignored their neighbor) but the righteous to eternal life.”

So dear friends   this life is real and earnest. It’s the only one we’ll ever get. We will be judged on how we use our time. It matters greatly what path we choose. Jesus made this path simple. Love God first. (Everything we have comes from Him). Secondly, love your neighbor as Christ has loved us.

Remember, Christ has a place for you in heaven.

Summer blessings.

Fr. Tim

Looking at the bulletin the past few weeks the topics for the article have been so serious. This week I thought to write about something younger people are concerned with . . . like . . . falling in love. (Share this with your children or grandchildren.)

When you think of the human experiences that most change and motivate our lives, falling in love has to be right near the top. I’ve seen selfish, sullen, sarcastic 22 year old men suddenly become thoughtful, generous, and gentle. The reason? They met someone to love.

It’s a fantastic feeling, isn’t it? To think that someone who makes me weak in the knees whenever they are near . . . actually feels the same way about ME!! “Finally”, we say, “I’ve met the person just meant for me! They make me feel so good.”

Been there? Lucky you.

What causes these powerful feelings in us? In no small part it’s hormones. Our bodies are speaking to us, telling us we need to be thinking about finding someone to continue the human species. This profound emotional swelling is meant to help us fulfill one of the purposes of life — children, family, home.

This is how God made us. These feelings are holy, ultimately to be shared with the one who will be a partner for life.

But then . . . like a summer’s day, the feelings can change. Life has other things that have to be dealt with: work, finances, life goals, etc. The thrill of first love becomes a steady, every day, sometimes boring, “presence” to each other. Young lovers can sometimes feel their hearts have tricked them. “He/She is not as exciting as they used to be.”

I’ve been with young married couples who feel they’ve “fallen out of love”. Perhaps this IS NOT the one meant for me. Maybe we made a mistake. It can be scary.

If a couple has been honest with themselves and each other along the way, what is happening is quite normal. God is leading them to a deeper experience of love. Though sex appeal and passion will always have great value something deeper is happening – – if they let it.

The lovers are beginning to experience the essence of love . . . self-sacrifice. The concern is no longer “How She/He makes me feel”. Love is now learning to seek first the happiness of the beloved. The partner’s happiness becomes the happiness for the one who loves.

It’s no longer about you. It’s about the beloved. Here is where some can’t deal with the switch. When I’m not getting the same feelings I must not be in love, they think. Some abandon ship.

♥ So permit this old man to suggest a few clues that tell you you’re truly in love.

♥ You’re basically happy when you’re around that person (not ecstatic, just happy).

♥ You admire and respect that person more than most of your friends.

♥ You feel honored to be loved and respected by them.

♥ Even if that person would never meet you, (if you could only watch them from afar), you would still find them lovable without their loving you.

♥ You’re transparent with them because they are your dear friend.

♥ You know they would be a good mother/father.

♥ You know they are not the perfect person, nor will they bring you total happiness . . . and that’s okay.

♥ You’re willing to stop comparing him/her to others. They’re the one.

♥ You’ve seen him/her in difficult situations and they have re-acted with kindness.

♥ A kiss on the cheek from them always brings comfort in the storm.

Lastly. The person described above is a GIFT, not someone you can order up by wanting it. And if by chance God doesn’t give you this gift, He’s got something else just as good for you . . . because he made you and loves you.

Bless you always.

Fr. Tim

There were two kinds of questions on your high school tests. The one we most preferred were the “multiple choice” questions (a wild guess just might land on the right answer). The other, more perplexing, were the “thought questions”. You had to THINK.

Here are some Summer Thought Questions. Take your time.

1. Does God know you personally? What makes you feel that way?

2. Is there something you are thankful for that never changes? (Perhaps a starting point for a daily conversation with God).

3. God usually speaks when we are quiet. Do you have any time for silence in your day?

4. Who, of all the people you know, when they look at you and say, “trust me” . . . you do, immediately. Who is that person? What lets you trust them?

5. Does God have any history with you that you can trust in the same way?

6. How many more years do you think you’ll be alive? How often do you think about this? (I think it’s a good thing to think often about it   Fr. Tim).

7. Speaking of death (!) . . . what would you like carved on your tombstone about you?

8. On a lighter note (!) . . . you welcome them all, but what is your favorite day of the year?

9. What signs would tell you that you’re in a “good space” with your life?

10. These questions need some thought, don’t they? To do that you’ll need some quiet time. When can you grab some time in your day, or your week perhaps . . . to be quiet?

Mulling over these questions gives us an opportunity to get in touch with our spiritual life. Don’t be afraid of them or the silence that we need while reflecting.

“Lord you have probed me, you know me: You know when I sit and stand;
You understand my thoughts from afar. . . . Even before a word is on my tongue, Lord, you know it all.” Psalm 139

(Read it all. It’s wonderful!)

Fr. Tim

Voices are like finger prints, each is as unique as the person who speaks with it. You can be walking down a crowded concourse at an airport and hear your brother/ sister/friend calling you and immediately you know who it is that’s calling you.

It’s not so easy to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. The reason for this is that he speaks in a whisper. It’s a low, brief, quiet speech that we can easily miss if we aren’t paying attention. The second reason it can be hard to hear is because it often sounds just like MY voice. And so sometimes I think I’m hearing God’s will for me when really I’m just hearing myself wanting what I want.

But every once in awhile you hear deep in your heart “a feeling that has a voice like yours” telling you something you need to hear. It goes like this for me: it starts with a feeling, let’s say frustration. “I’m sick and tired of being the one who makes the peace – – – let someone else get everybody together.” This is MY voice expressing a very familiar frustration with having to put aside MY feelings for the sake of the good.

But then I hear way down in my mind . . . “Tim” (this voice knows me by name). . . and usually a few seconds later . . . “You know what is needed here; don’t you?” Then MY voice speaks, “Yes. I guess so.” Then the Spirit speaks . . . “Well?”

Something not to be missed is that there are actually TWO graces happening here. The first is the grace to hear the voice of your conscience (“you know what is needed here”). The second is to know the source of what you are hearing – – – “Hey, this is your conscience speaking to you. Listen up.”

So how can we tell which voice we’re hearing, our own or the Holy Spirit? Here are some pointers to hearing God’s voice.

+ God’s voice usually invites us to put ourself second to someone or something that needs help.

+ When we hear the voice of the Holy Spirit there is a feeling of “being reminded of something we already know deep in our heart.

+ God’s voice carries with it a personal note. What I’m hearing has a feeling of “being meant for me” in this time, in this place.

+ God’s voice is persistent. It keeps coming back even when we may flee. It can feel like it’s pursuing us.

+ If what we are about to do (or have done) is good and virtuous, God’s voice is usually quiet and peaceful. “Good.” It says. If however we are contemplating some- thing sinful, the voice/feeling is generally loud and insistent. “Stop this!” or “No. This is wrong!”

+ God’s voice generally asks me to “surrender” to “give in”. It must have been what Jesus heard in the Garden that night, “But not my will Lord, thine be done.”

+ There is generally a peace that comes over us that tells us what we’re hearing or feeling comes from a place (person) that loves us and speaks goodness to us.

So Lord . . . help me to find a quiet space in my day. Help me to quiet the world. Ask for the grace to hear His whisper.

Bless you all.

Fr. Tim