God has created everything that exists. All that God has created is good and depends on him. In God’s creative design, he has also created a richness and vastness of diversity that is amazing and beyond our comprehension. Just taking a walk each evening around the lake here at the seminary, I have experienced in each evening such beauty and wonder, especially with the cloud formations at play while the sun is setting.

On our planet, God has brought forth a richness and diversity of natural wonders, animals, and peoples as well. In the natural order that God has created, there is such a range of uniqueness while at the same interconnectedness. And yet, with the fall of our first parents and humanity, sin, and suffering has entered the world and not only disordered but set off kilter God’s natural order and brought about dis unity.

Pope St. John Paul II highlights our fallen nature in his encyclical, The Gospel of Life, line 36 in which he writes: “man not only deforms the image of God in his own person, but is tempted to offenses against it in others as well, replacing relationships of communion by attitudes of distrust, indifference, hostility and murderous hatred. When God is not acknowledged as God, the profound meaning of man is betrayed and communion between people is compromised.”

Our Gospel today from Luke briefly touches on this compromised nature and falling for the temptation toward division and Jesus’ response. Most Samaritans and Judeans were not seeking inroads regarding how to bridge their divides. They at best tolerated from a distance and at worst killed each other.

This lack of compassion toward one another is displayed when the Samaritans refused to provide hospitality toward Jesus when they found out he and his disciples were going to Jerusalem, the city of the Temple for the Judeans. The Samaritans worshipped not at Mt. Zion, but Mt. Gerizim.

Each group also believed that they were the true Israelites. There were other causes to fuel the division as well and James and John seemed to have them on the front of their minds when they responded by asking Jesus “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” The brothers were recalling how Elijah did just that (see 2 Kings 1:10 and 12) and seeking permission from Jesus to do the same. Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village (Luke 9:54-56).

Jesus would have none of it. His face was set toward Jerusalem where he would not call down fire or a legion of angels to destroy the Romans or the Jewish high council. He was heading to the holy city to give his life for them, for the Samaritans, and for all of humanity, past, present, and future. Jesus, the Son of God, became man to save humanity, to save you and me. He came close to unite those places in our human hearts that divides us.

Jesus rebukes the Sons of Thunder, impulsive and self-seeking, James and John while at the same time trusting in them and seeing their promise, which they both would fulfill.

Jesus sees our promise as well. In what ways are we resisting Jesus’ invitation to work toward building up the kingdom of God, even in small ways, by keeping others who we may deem as different at arm’s length? May we ask the same Holy Spirit, who touched and transformed James and John’s hearts at Pentecost, to move our hearts and bring about greater healing within so that we may not only embrace the wonder of God’s beautiful gift of diversity in creation and humanity but to also think, speak, and act in ways that help bring about better unity where there may be division in our places of influence.

Photo: Rosary walk, St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, October 3, 2023

I went to Central Connecticut State University for college. I commuted during the day for classes and worked back in my hometown of East Windsor at the Prospect Hill Nursing Home, as it was named at the time, second shift, and as needed third shift to pay my way through school. Navigating through Interstates 84 and 91 traffic wasn’t always the easiest.

I was often told by many not to cut through the north end of Hartford to get to New Britain where Central was located. One day I was running late and the traffic on the highway was not helping matters so I diverted my course and headed through the north end and got a flat tire. I was not mugged, held at gun point, nor was my car stolen. I was helped without hesitation.

Did two angels come to my aid that day? Was my guardian angel moving the hearts of the two men that helped me? I don’t know, but I remembered moving from a place of rising frustration, then anxiety, to gratefulness within only a few minutes.

Those that helped me that day lived out today’s gospel without hesitation: “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.”

The dynamic duo that came to my aid that day treated me like family, they received me as their little brother. Not only did they help me to get my tire back on in record time like any of the best pit crew guys at Nascar, they offered me something to eat and drink which I thanked them for but shared I was already late.

Whether they were angels or not, they acted like them. Each of us do have our own guardian angel, and thus why we celebrate them today. Mine may have been working with the guardian angels of the two men who helped me. It is good to ask our guardian angels for help for the little as well as the big things. That’s what they are there for, messengers of God sent specifically to help us in our times of need.

May we also have our hearts and minds open to be moved by our guardian angels so as to be there for each other and those we come across who are in need and let God happen!

Photo: Evening Rosary walk, St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, October 2, 2023

Where we tend to place our attention and focus, our thoughts will follow. As we entertain those thoughts, our words and actions will also follow. From there we create habits that carry us through our days and nights, months, and years. If not healthy habits, the momentum that we have created can be difficult to change over time, though not impossible.

Jesus is coming upon the chief priests and the elders in today’s Gospel and shining a light on their unwillingness to see from a different perspective, which is God’s and not theirs. He tells them a story about a father asking his two sons to go out and work in the vineyard, one originally says, “No”, and then goes, the other originally says, “Yes,” and then does not. Jesus then compares the priests and the elders to the second son and the prostitutes and the tax collectors to the first son.

The point is not what we say, but what we do and are we willing to change when we realize we have missed the mark? The prostitutes and the tax collectors repented at the invitation of John, the priests and elders did not.

St. Paul who called himself the Pharisee of Pharisees was so zealous that he was one of the foremost persecutors of the early Church. Yet, in his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, he was willing to change. He was willing to see no longer from his point of view but from God’s. He was willing to humble himself and be transformed over the next three years.

It is wise to be careful with that word humility. Some of us have the perspective that to be humble is to put ourselves down and allow people to walk all over us. That is not humility. A better understanding of humility comes from C.S. Lewis who wrote: “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.”

St. Paul did the180 of 180’s and not only thought less of himself going forward but surrendered all to God and gave us one of the most powerful messages of humility in the Bible. Here are two points that he wrote to the Church in Philippi: “Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others” (Philippians 2:3-4). Again, not thinking less of ourselves, but of others more, especially regarding that God is to be first in our lives.

The God who sent his Son to show us the truth of humility, again, expressed powerfully in the words of St. Paul as “he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8). Jesus asked that this cup, the cup of his blood to be poured out, be passed from him. As fully human, he would seek to preserve his life, but Jesus put the will of his Father over his own, he put the lives of humanity over his own.

Jesus gave his life for you and me, so that we might have life and be able to live it to the full. We have been created to love and to be loved. And the best way to begin and continue into this day is to be humble enough to trust, breathe, receive, rest, and abide in the love of Jesus and allow him to show us where we need to heal, to change, to let go, so that we can have the humility of the second son, change course, and follow the will that God has placed before us today.

Let us receive the hand of Jesus and follow him to work in the vineyard of his Father, meaning, let us allow ourselves to be loved by Holy Spirit in the quiet of our hearts and minds and share the love that we have received with those we encounter today.

Photo: May our heart beat in the same rhythm of humility as the sacred heart of Jesus. Mosaic for my living quarters at St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, October 1, 2023.

I was moving the inflated mattress through the bedroom door of our apartment and struggled to do so as it was fully inflated. I made it through and got into the second bedroom. I was moving the mattress because the tenants in the apartment two floors above were enjoying themselves later into the evening when JoAnn and I were trying to sleep. Since she had to have some form of pain medication every two hours, the hope was that being on the other side of the apartment would be enough of a buffer not to be disturbed any more than the every two hour alarm waking me up to wake JoAnn up to give her medication.

JoAnn didn’t understand why I didn’t take the time to deflate the mattress more before heading through the door. Which would have made more sense. I shared with her, I was only thinking, and not fully coherently with lack of sleep, of getting the mattress to the next room and it looked like it would fit which it did, eventually.

Sometimes we don’t understand. We don’t understand why we or others do what we do. Don’t understand why we are going through something, don’t understand why we are going through something for so long, don’t understand the behavior or lack of behavior of another, something that is said and or shared. Not understanding can come from the simplest of issues, moving a mattress through a doorway, to the most complex or even life-threatening diagnosis, fourth-stage pancreatic cancer.

The disciples found themselves dumfounded by Jesus’ words today when he said, “Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” But they did not understand. This was not the first nor the last time the disciples did not understand what Jesus was sharing with them, especially now that they were coming to understand that he is the messiah, took them a while to get there, and now he is telling him as the messiah, he is going to die. Two steps forward and five back! We may find ourselves in the same position in our own reading of the Bible at times.

When we don’t understand something or someone, the response that is good to resist is giving into frustration, impatience, anger, or throwing your Bible across the room or something at the someone we may be losing patience with; that includes resisting throwing harsh or angry words. A good first move is to take a few slow breaths and be alright with not knowing, then step away from the situation, and ask God for some guidance. Certainly, talking to another, as JoAnn and I did will help clarify things as well.

Sometimes, just that little step will give us a different perspective because we have moved out of a fight or flight response, a knee jerk reaction, and can see the issue or person a little clearer. More time also may be needed, it could be necessary to gather more information, and we may need to reach out to ask for another perspective, help from someone we trust, has some understanding of the present situation, or person we are struggling with.

Some things can be answered with a Google search and there are other things that cannot. Let us not be afraid though, like the disciples were in today’s reading, to ask Jesus for some clarification and guidance. May we also have the patience to listen and wait for an answer. Sometimes, we have to go through an experience for a longer time to get an answer to the why, and sometimes we may not get an answer – still waiting for one regarding JoAnn’s cancer.

No matter what the challenge or scenario, we need to continue to trust in Jesus today as the disciples did, even when we don’t understand. Continue to breathe, and pray, seek, ask, and listen. Above all, know that Jesus walks with you, he cares about you and your issues, and his love will carry you when you most need him to. Hopefully, we can receive a resolution sooner than later, but our goal is that no matter how long it takes, to be grounded in the love of Jesus so as to feel his peace even as we walk in our seasons of not understanding.

Photo: Breathing, walking, praying Rosary. Good way to end the day at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, September 30, 2023.

He promised that he would be there so that she would not have to die alone. The hospital called that her time was closer while the priest was visiting another ill parishioner. He finished up as fast as he could, and unfortunately ran into traffic, and too many lights turning red instead of staying green. And although he pushed the speed limit, when the priest arrived at the nursing station and asked for the name of the woman, the nurse informed him that he was too late, she had already passed.

He felt horrible because he promised her that she would not die alone. As he was mulling over the unfortunate timing, the nurse continued. “An interesting thing happened. An orderly came in with another patient, and I had no order for her to be in this room. This woman looked at your friend and asked if she could have her bed closer to hers, then reached out her hand. They held hands while the orderly and I left to check into the matter. When we returned, your friend was dead. The orderly then moved her bed out. The funny thing is that I have been checking since they left and found no record of this orderly or his patient being in the hospital.”

She did not die alone after all. Was this a visit from two angels?

Today we celebrate the feast of the archangels, Michael, Gabriel, and Rafael. Angels are eternal, spiritual beings. They are not human but can take on human form in their appearance. Also, when we die, we do not become angels. We are human beings, and as such we are human and spiritual.

One of the possible reasons for Satan, who is an archangel, and the other angels, now called demons, rebelled against God was because in our participation in the life of Christ, we become higher than the angels. That was too much for them to take and so choosing their pride over God, they rebelled.

Jesus as fully God and fully man is infinite and eternal as Son, while at the same time finite as human. In Jesus coming close to be one with us in our humanity, we can become one with him in his divinity. Like the angels God has given us the reason and freedom to choose. We can choose to grasp at divinity on our own terms through our pride or we can receive the gift of God’s love, the very presence of his Son in whom we can become one with.

The wonderful reality we can ponder today is that in God’s order of creation, we all have a significant part to play and we are all interconnected: God, angels, humans, and creation. We also can enter into the day with the affirmation that we belong to an incredibly extended family of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, the angels, and the saints. We can be at rest, no matter what challenges we are going through, in knowing that we are not alone, we are loved, and that many in heaven and on earth are not only cheering us on but also willing to help us on our journey.

Photo: Angels bowing before the Body of Christ in the tabernacle, St. Peter Catholic Church, Jupiter, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, September 29, 2023

The people of Judah have returned from their exile in Babylon and God, through the prophet Haggai, is calling them to rebuild the temple which will again be the house that God will “take pleasure in” and “receive” his “glory” (Haggai 1:8).

Herod is hearing the stories about Jesus, teaching with authority, freeing people from possession, healing people such that the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, and he wonders, “Who then is this about whom I hear such things?”And he kept trying to see him (Luke: 9:9).

Our loving God and Father welcomed his chosen people back home after freeing them from their time of exile and sought to dwell with them again, to have his house among them, even though generation after generation they turned away from him. Herod who had John the Baptist executed because of a foolish vow is having a tug at his mind, and could it even be a tug of his heart to come to know his Son, Jesus?

The psalmist gives us not only the interpretive key for these readings but the whole of the Bible. “The Lord takes delight in his people” (Psalm 149:4).

He took delight in his chosen people and still does, he took delight in Herod even though he killed one of his prophets, and he takes delight in each one of us. He has loved us before time began, he knew us before we were in our mother’s womb, he loves us more than we can ever imagine, and more than we can ever mess up.

God delights in you this morning. God is looking at you and loving you as you are right now as you read these words. You are precious in his eyes, he cherishes, and adores you.

I invite you to receive this truth, breath it into the depth of your souls.

Because every word is true. Yes, God loves you and me with all our imperfections, “pride, fear of not being loved, the conviction of how little we are worth,” and all the other lies the enemy fills our minds with.

If any thought other than how much God is loving you right now is coming into your mind, renounce it right now in Jesus’ name. It is a lie. Breathe slowly and allow yourself to sit in God’s presence, continue to breathe, for: “Only under the gaze of God can we fully and truly accept ourselves” (p. 35, Interior Freedom, Jacques Philippe).

I invite you to accept that you are a beloved daughter or son of God loved unconditionally. Continue to rest and abide in his gaze of love. Believe, carry, and return throughout the day to these words that he offers you through another prophet, Isaiah: “You are precious in my eyes, and honored, I love you” (Isaiah 43:4).

Photo: Evening Rosary walk, St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, September 28, 2023

Still a teenager, he left the poverty of his youth from a small peasant farm and entered the seminary in the hopes of having a better life. One day during his studies, his father came to visit him. When he saw the ragged clothes that his father wore, he was ashamed, and refused to meet with him. He would go on to be ordained a priest at nineteen years old.

For the next ten years, he appeared to have reached his goal of leaving a life of poverty in the past. He used his intelligence and way with people to gain access to wealthier patrons and became a tutor for the children of the rich. By his own admission, this young priest had a short fuse and was very impatient.

Then one day, he was called to hear the confession of a servant of one of the richest families in Paris. His heart was moved with compassion when he experienced this man’s faith and heard his confession. No longer did he live a life of comfort, luxury, and ministering to the rich but became a servant of the poor. Vincent de Paul’s heart found the same rhythm of the heartbeat of Jesus as we heard in today’s Gospel:

“At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).

As we celebrate the feast day of St. Vincent de Paul, let us follow his example of being willing to be transformed by the love of Jesus. In allowing our minds and hearts to receive the love of Jesus our souls will be set free to expand and share the love we have received from him. May our hearts become like a prism so that as we receive the light and love of Christ, we may reflect it in our own unique ways to others radiating out like a beautiful rainbow of compassion in action.

There has never been before nor will there ever be again, another you. Each of us are here at this time and this place having experienced our own challenges and traumas, as well as our victories, healings, and blessings, so that we can allow our hearts to be moved with compassion to be there for another and allow God to happen through us. Don’t believe the enemy who says there is nothing we can do. We do not need to do big things as Mother Teresa taught, but let us today do something for someone with great love. Let us begin there.

St. Vincent De Paul – Pray for us!

Photo: Statue of St. Vincent De Paul with rainbow overhead from the first day I moved back into St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, September 27, 2023.

Many people experience anxiety, sadness, and confusion. Especially many of our youth today. This can be caused by a medical condition or natural chemical imbalance, or listening to the lies of the enemy and being led away from living out the reality that we are created to be loved and to love in the proper order. God loves us, and we are to receive, rest, and abide in his love and share it with others. When we place others or other things before God, or take out God altogether, all other pursuits are going to fall short, and we will be left wanting.

I think we are also forgetting who and whose we are. Our loving God and Father has created us to be in relationship with him. He does not want us to be enslaved by sin and inordinate attachments, nor does he want us to merely survive. As St. Irenaeus wrote, “The joy of God is the human being fully alive.” God wants us to live a life full of meaning, purpose, fulfillment.

The message that Jesus offers us today then is good news: “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it” (Luke 8:21).

Jesus came to be one with us in our humanity to remind us of our familial relationship with his Father so that we can become one with him in his divinity. He has come to tell us and show us that we are not alone, that we belong, that have a seat at the table, because we are his brother or sister. That said, each member of the family has a responsibility to do their part. Jesus is asking us here to hear the word of his Father and put it into action. And he is not putting down his mother by saying so. She is the model for us. Mary has heard and put into practice the word of God better than any other!

To hear the word of God, we need to slow down enough to hear. We can do so by attending Mass, spending quiet time reading of the Bible, in his creation, listening for him in our daily activities, and/or interactions with others, because God is speaking to us all the time. The next step after we have heard, is to trust and put into practice what God is sharing with us. That is when miracles happen, and lives are changed.

I invite you to take some time now to enter into the scene and sit with the others around Jesus. Breathe slowly and allow your senses to come alive. What do you see, smell, feel, and when Jesus begins to speak, what word or words does he give you this day to put into practice? Sit with this scene, the teaching he shares with you, and return to it throughout the day, and over the next day or two. Then put what he has shared with you into practice. As you do so, know you belong, you are loved, you are beginning or continuing your journey as Jesus’ brother or sister and each day is a new adventure!

Photo: My nephew Nicholas and me last month back home in Connecticut.

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Imagine yourself sitting on a hill somewhere in central Alaska. It is this time of year and not January, so you can enjoy doing so without risk of frostbite! You are watching a herd of caribou grazing. Then a wolf runs full speed at the herd. In rapid response, as one, the herd runs. If they remain tight and run as one, the wolf will give up quickly so as to preserve its energy.

The goal of the wolf rushing the herd is to isolate a younger, weaker, or sickly caribou. If able to do so, other members of the pack will then come in to help and take down the isolated prey.

The enemy: Satan, his evil spirits, and demons, is a predator and works in the same way. The enemy seeks to isolate us by tempting us into sinning and then when we do, stab us with shame, and then lie that we need to keep our sin a secret because if we tell anyone they won’t understand. The enemy tells us that we will be judged, condemned, that we are unlovable, as well as a myriad of other lies. In falling for this next level of attack, we then isolate ourselves further from those who care for us. In this way, we are more susceptible to be tempted again, and again, and fall deeper into sin, slip into desolation, and even despair.

To remain free of the snare of the enemy, we need to walk by the light of Christ. His word is the light that shines in our darkness. A nice clear beam is offered to us this morning:

“For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light” (Luke 8:17).

What we attempt to hide is revealed, at times overtly as the truth will more often than not come to light. Even if it doesn’t, the lie, the untold offense, or sin, creates a wedge that separates us from God, our true selves, and others that are close to us, even when it appears another does not know because they can feel or sense it. This is true because God has created us to be in unity and as one, we are interconnected with one another.

God knows and we know what we have done and what we have failed to do. The best thing we can do for ourselves and our relationships with God and each other, is to be honest, humble, and trust in the love of God and each other. There will be hurt involved but much less than any holding back inflicts. And once we come forward, the bleeding will stop, and the healing can begin. Bringing our vices into the light will also help us to break any cycle or pattern that has developed over time, and we can then work with God and others we trust to create new habits that can lead to virtue.

God loves us more than we can ever mess up, there is nothing he will not forgive. He never tires of forgiving us, let us not tire of seeking his forgiveness. The more we trust in Jesus and allow his light to shine in our darkness, the more we will experience his forgiveness, love, and healing, and the lies will dissipate.

None of us are perfect. When we trust God with our worst, experience his forgiveness and love, we can come out from the shadows into the Lord’s light, and be there for each other. We can forgive, love, and hold each other accountable which helps each of us to resist temptation better because we are no longer isolated. We need to trust in Jesus and surround ourselves with those people we can trust, hopefully family, but in our fallen world sometimes that is not always the case.

Let us turn to God our Father and stand together against the enemy with those we trust for: “Love is given freely, it’s not deserved, and our deficiencies don’t prevent God from loving us – just the opposite… we always have the hope of advancing in love. God can make us, sinners that we are, into saints: his grace can accomplish even that miracle, and we can have unlimited faith in the power of his love” (pp. 39-40, Interior Freedom, Jacques Philippe).

Photo: Evening Rosary walk in August, Egret Landing, Jupiter, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, September 25, 2023