2014/11/23 - Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda...

“and these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life”

Doesn’t it seem cruel that God would condemn ANYBODY to eternal punishment?  I mean, if God is a God of Love, then how could he be so heartless?

We’d LIKE to be able to ignore Hell… to say it doesn’t exist… that God has wiped away all of our sins and there’s nothing more anybody has to do to avoid going there…but – well – here it is in black and white… in the very words of Jesus himself,  “these will go off to eternal punishment”.  That sounds like Hell to me… so it MUST exist.  It would be dangerous for us to just ignore it.

But - I’ve got some good news and some not so-good news and some even better news. 
First the Good News – God does not send ANYONE to hell. 
Did you hear me?  God does not send ANYONE to hell.

Your eyebrows should go up about now… what… Mike you just pointed out in that reading how those people will be sent to hell…. Make up your mind….does God send people to hell or doesn’t he?!

Actually – read that again – “these will go off to eternal punishment”.   God didn’t send them there – they went by their own free will.  They CHOSE hell!  Can you believe it?

See – that’s the worrisome, not-so-good news.  We all get to choose heaven or hell.  But –unless you understand how you choose it, you might not even realize you’ve made that choice.  Look in the reading – those who chose heaven asked ‘when did we see you hungry and feed you?’  ‘when did we see you ill or in prison and visit you’….   They didn’t know they were choosing heaven – they just knew they were doing the right thing.  It was their very nature to do the right thing: the Loving thing.  That’s super important… their personality was such that it was just second-nature to do the Loving thing.

Now – look at the other guys… they didn’t realize they were choosing Hell.  ‘When did we see you hungry and NOT feed you?’  They had the chance, but they chose NOT to do the right thing.  Since they didn’t practice acts of kindness and Love, it didn’t become their very nature to Love.  Instead, their very nature is Love of Self… selfishness…looking out for number 1.  By choosing themselves, they failed to experience the Grace and Peace that God gives to those who do the right thing….and they chose themselves over Jesus.

Which leads us to the ‘Even Better’ news!  Fortunately for us – we’re not like these guys in the Gospel.  They didn’t know they were choosing… but because we’ve all read this reading today – we all KNOW the rules!  We know now that every act of kindness to anyone is actually an act of kindness to Jesus.  We know now that these very choices which will determine where we spend eternity.  Do we love Jesus more – or love ourselves more?

Notice in that Gospel, that those who went to Hell didn’t go there because of anything they DID…but rather for what they DIDN’T do.  “For I was hungry and you gave me no food.  I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome…”  This is important – it’s not what they DID – but what they DIDN’T DO!  This is known as the “sin of omission”… as opposed to the “sin of commission” where we actually  COMMIT a sin… in this case, we sin by failing to do something. 

Imagine being one of those people in the crowd that day when Jesus says, “what you did not do for one of the least ones, you did not do for me.”  I’d be standing  there thinking… but, but, but… if I had KNOWN it was you, I woulda…. If I had known this was important, I coulda… If I had realized that my eternal life was at stake, I shoulda…
Woulda, coulda, shoulda…  I think THAT is their Hell.  It’s called ‘regrets’.

Regrets can really eat at you…  Does anybody else experience this?  I’ve found over the last few years that the things in my past that I regret keep popping-up in my mind.  I’ll be hoeing the garden and suddenly have a memory of when I cheated on a test in high school… it’s like a slap in the face…I really regret that.  Or - I’ll remember the time I was driving too fast on an unfamiliar wet road and slid into the guard-rail… the memory makes me physically wince…I really regret that.  I could go on… Like probably everybody here, I’ve got plenty of regrets  - and those regrets are physically and mentally painful to me.

But – regrets can take two forms.  We can regret what we did…or often, the more painful regret is what we DIDN’T do.

My buddy, Jerry’s Dad was near death not too long ago.  It came on kinda sudden and was like a kick in the gut to Jerry.  In talking to him, he was really hurting watching his dad so close to death – but the thing that really tore him up was that there was one topic he had always wanted to talk to his Dad about – in a heart-to-heart, man-to-man, father-to-son conversation.  It hit Jerry that he would never be able to have that conversation.  That regret continues to eat at him today.

Researchers say that people near death are often torn with regrets, but most of those regrets are for things they DIDN’T do….  I wish I had spent more time with my kids when they were young.  I wish I would have worked on my relationship with God more.  I wish I would have set a better example to my kids by going to Church regularly.  I wish I had stayed at home with the kids rather than sending them to the babysitter while I went to work.  I wish I had given my wife more attention so she would have known how much I love her.  You fill in the blank from your own life… we all have regrets.

These regrets can really eat at us.  And that is Hell.  Imagine the pit in the stomach of the folks in that reading as they head off to eternal punishment… man, they are REALLY regretting what they didn’t do.  And that regret will stick with them for eternity.  That mental anguish is their hell.

So – what are we supposed to do?  It’s really quite simple…but not easy.  In every moment of every day – every decision we make – choose the most loving option.  By doing so, not only are we choosing to serve Jesus, but we will experience God’s grace and peace NOW… we will experience the Kingdom of God NOW.  And every time we choose the loving thing to do, we train ourselves to be Loving – until it becomes our very nature to be that way….   Make sure you understand this:  God puts the poor, sick, hungry in our paths as a means to give us His Grace.  It is in serving them that God blesses us…know what I mean?  When we do good things for people, we feel good about it!  That is God’s Grace.  When we avoid those opportunites to help others… we are avoiding the Grace of God.  That’ really what our Grace Co-Op is all about – helping our parishioners to find opportunities to serve others so that we can all experience the Grace of God.

This is Jesus’ plan for YOU.  Like it says in the Gospel – “come inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”  “From the Foundation!”  That means he intended from the beginning for every one of us to join Him in heaven…   Every time we Love, We DO experience heaven.  Anything else leads to regrets – where we’ll spend eternity with a pain in our gut as we’re thinking - Woulda, coulda, shoulda.

20141025 What do we want people to say about us?

Before Mass:
Pay particular attention to the second reading today – it’s to the Thessalonians… what does it tell you about them?  What kind of people were they?  If you met a Thessalonian on the street, what would you notice about them.  And then… pray about what this might tell you about how you and I should be.

 

Homily:

Let’s play a little word association game…. I’ll say a city – you tell me the first thing that comes to mind.

            Vegas – sin city – gambling – casinos

            Denver – Rocky Mtn High – mile high city

            Philadelphia – brotherly love. 

See – even if you haven’t been there, you know about these places.  Other people have told us about these places and THEIR experiences… and we believe them.

I bring these up because of that second reading -

What kind of people were the Thessalonians?  In case you didn’t catch it, let me point out a couple of things that Paul said – here is talking to the Thessalonians:

-       “you became a model for all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. “

-       “from you the word of the Lord has sounded in every place your faith in God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. For they themselves openly declare…how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” 

In other words, these people were apparently such awesome Christians that word ABOUT them had spread throughout the area.  Everybody knew that the Thessalonians were the role model – if you want to be a good Christian – go see how THEY live and try to be like them. 

Makes you wonder – what do people say about OUR parish?  When people hear of St. Raphael or St. Celestine, what words or images come to mind?  Are we known for our Love of God?  Are we known for our love of neighbor? Or are we just known for the tastiest fried chicken at our parish social or shoot? 

When I was a kid in Newburgh, our pastor wanted our parish to have a different image… so I can remember a homily talking about nudging other people to come to church.   Little prayer cards were passed out, we prayed it together all the time, and in time we really did become known as the ‘nudging parish’.  See what happened there?  The pastor set the vision… some simple actions were put into motion… and we ‘became’ that vision. 

So – here’s the real question – what do we WANT people to say about our parish?  Try something with your friends and coworkers – ask THEM what they think of when they hear St. Celestine or St. Raphael.?  It would be interesting to do a survey and collect the results… but my guess is that the answers would be all over the map.  Without a vision set out there, nobody is sure WHAT they’re supposed to believe about us.

I personally would like for people to say about St. Raphael/St. Celestine what Paul said about the Thessalonians…that we are a role model for all the believers.  I want them to think of US as a Joyful, Welcoming, Compassionate, Evangelizing, Active Catholic Parish. 

Here’s where it gets personal…. What would you and I have to do to make that happen?  Jesus gives us an answer – Love the Lord your God with our whole heart, soul, and mind – and love our neighbor as ourselves. 

Jesus is giving us the priority list… God first, Others second, and ourselves third.  An easy way to remember that is the acronym for “JOY”  - J –O-Y:  Jesus, Others, Yourself. 

When we put Jesus and others first PERSONALLY – then we personally become a Joyful, Welcoming, Compassionate, Evangelizing, Active Catholic person… and when we all learn to love like that, then our parish becomes the role model for all and people will travel from around the world to learn from us how to live as a Christian.

2014 October 5 - Hedge

Before Mass:

We’ve got two readings today about vineyards – they talk about all the steps the owner went through to build the vineyard in order to maximize the harvest.  There are a lot of great things we could say about that , but I want you to concentrate on one point in particular.  It talks about building a hedge around the vineyard…. Think about that point…What is the hedge?  What’s it for?  The first reading TELLS us what the vineyard is – but – using that analogy – what is the hedge?

Homily:

OK – I’m gonna do something odd today – I’ll give you the punch-line FIRST, then I have a story to explain it.  So, obviously, the vineyard is the Church and you and I are the branches on the vines.   The hedge around the vineyard is God’s law.  Got that?  You could say the Hedge is the 10 commandments.  The boundaries that God has set for His people.  So – given that understanding… What is the purpose of the hedge?  What is the purpose of God’s law?   

When Jerry was in high school, he knew everything.  Really – everything – well – at least everything he thought was important.  He knew how to do the absolute least he could in order to squeak by in his classes at school  He knew how to chase people away whom he didn’t really want to talk to – you know how teens are – often they’re quiet – with a scowl on their face – and any attempt to make a real conversation just pushes them further into their shell.  The only response you get is a one or two syllable grunt.  Those of us who matured past that point quickly grow tired of even trying to communicate – which is what the teen wants.  Just leave me alone.  There’s nothing YOU know that I need to know. 

At home, it seemed he and his Mom were always fighting.  She just wouldn’t leave him alone.  For example, she kept nagging at him for leaving all the dirty dishes and clothes all-over his bedroom.  It was so bad, that she sometimes had to go get all the dishes herself, because there were no more cups or spoons left in the kitchen.  Jerry’s Dad tried to reason with him…but Jerry wouldn’t listen …. So Dad made a rule:  Every day before you can have the car keys, you have to bring all of the dishes from your room and put them in the dishwasher.  But Jerry just rolled his eyes… “whatever”

 

Another constant issue was video games – If Jerry had his way, he’d waste just about every evening and most weekends in front of the TV in his room playing those video games.  His parents had to make a rule that there would be no video games until homework was done – and no more than 1 hour per day.  Jerry couldn’t believe they could be such tyrants!!!…. I’m not a 5-year-old!  It’s not fair!  So he’d lie saying he was heading to the library to study – but instead he’d go over to Paul’s house to play on his X-box.  Jerry wanted the newest X-box – but it was expensive.  He didn’t have a job – and even if he did have a job – he’d probably never go to it anyway because he was SO BUSY…busy doing what? - playing video games.  One day, he saw his Mom’s purse open on the kitchen table and right there was her credit card.  He slowly snatched it up and headed up to his computer where he ordered the x-box system on-line.  He was sly – he had it delivered to Paul’s house so maybe he could keep his Mom from seeing it.  But the next day, when Mom was trying to pay for gas at the gas station, her credit card was rejected.  So she called the company and found out that somebody had used her card to buy something expensive from Best-Buy online.  She knew immediately who it was… 

When she confronted Jerry, he rolled his eyes again – whatever – you never treat me like an adult.  You’re always getting on my case.  You never let me have anything I want!  I’m leaving!!!

Mom didn’t think it would escalate to THIS level, but – maybe it was for the best.  Maybe it was time for him to learn just how good he has it at home.  He stomped upstairs and slammed his door. 

Mom and Dad met him at the front door 10 minutes later.  Jerry – we love you – we want you to stay.  Jerry just rolled his eyes – whatever – you guys don’t love me – you don’t understand me and you’re just always on my case with all of your stupid rules!!  I’m outta here!!

He grabbed his dufflebag and the keys to the car and reached for the door handle.  Dad stuck out his foot to block the door.  Jerry – you can leave if that’s what you want – but – you can only take what is yours.  Jerry was like – ‘that’s what I’ve got – all MY stuff here in this bag… and my x-box is already in my car.’

It took all the nerve Dad could muster to say the next thing – son – I love you.  In fact, I love you so much that All that stuff in that bag I bought for you to use…but it is not yours.  That x-box is paid for with money your mother and I earned.  It has to go back to the store for a refund so we can afford to pay the house payment this month.  This house – which we want you to live in with us – this is OUR home – not your house.  I work everyday to get money to pay for it – for the electricity which runs your games – for the food – for the car and the insurance and all the other stuff here at home.  You can leave if you want to, but realize that none of this stuff is yours.  We sure hope you’ll stay, but as long as you live under our roof, you will follow our rules.  You look at rules as something we come up with to keep you from doing or having what YOU want, but someday you’ll learn that rules are there to protect you.  As long as you follow the rules, life is much easier.  Think of it practically….When you follow the rules, there’s no reason for Mom and I to yell at you.  :) 

Then Dad did something which surprised his wife.  Son – you are free to make this decision on your own.  None of this stuff belongs to you – but as of now – I am giving you this car.  You can choose to take it and drive as far away from us as you want to go – but remember - you’ll always be our son.  You can always come home.  Just please be careful – you are a new driver….– be safe – follow the traffic laws and don’t speed. 

Jerry rolled his eyes, there he goes again… more rules… he grabbed the keys, slammed the door, hopped in the car – and headed for town.  There was a hill just before you got to town where it was impossible to see over.  Jerry got behind an old grandma driving 25 miles per hour as they approached the hill.  He stomped his foot impatiently on the floorboard.  And even though he could hear his Dad in his head reminding him to be safe and saw the sign that it was a no-passing zone on the hill, Jerry figured he had enough room to make it – so he gunned it and pulled into the other lane…. Just then a furniture truck came popping over the top.  With only inches to spare, Jerry swerved back into his lane so quickly that his wheels went off the other side of the road before he regained control. 

Jerry’s heart was beating so hard it nearly burst out of his chest.  He pulled over and shut the engine off and without realizing it, tears started coming from his eyes.  Suddenly, like a light shining through the fog… he understood what Dad had said: Rules are there to protect you.  I might think I can pass safely on a hill, but the law is very clear that it is a no-passing zone, because you can’t see what’s coming at you.  The rules are not random boundaries put in place to keep us from being happy – but they are the very KEY to living life to the fullest.

Sooner or later, we all come to realize that WE have been planted in the choicest soil – in God’s vineyard – and that HE has given us everything – even His law – so that we can flourish and bear great fruit.

2014/09/07 - Harden Not Your Hearts

Before Mass:  Sometimes it may seem that the readings are kind-of over our heads and we think– well, that’s nice – but it doesn’t REALLY apply to my day-to-day life.  Not today.  There’s are several lessons to learn – and they are very helpful advice for how we interact with other people.  I can’t talk about all of them in the homily, so you’ll have to listen closely to learn what you can.  I’ll warn you, the homily today will actually center on the Psalm… “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts”.  Anybody know what in the world that means? Harden not your hearts… No – it doesn’t mean to cut down on your cholesterol which hardens your arteries.  Let’s pray that God gives us some answers today on how to soften our hearts…

Homily:  Larry was at work one day and headed over to the lunch room.  He was getting his lunchbox out of the refrigerator next door, when he recognized that the guys in the lunchroom were talking about him, so he stood there for a moment to listen.  They were saying all sorts of bad things about him….he only thinks of himself… he doesn’t work as hard as the rest of us... and doesn’t do as good of work as he should either!  One after another, the guys in the crowd joined in gossiping about Larry.  Any one of us would have been ticked off listening to that.  We would have stepped out indignantly to defend our honor and yell at them for saying all of those bad things.  Larry had the chance to leave.  He could have walked away without anyone blaming him.  He obviously wasn’t wanted there.  But Larry was different.  He guy stood there listening, and recognized that there was some truth in what was being said. He had faults that, up until now, he had either not recognized or had rationalized.  So - instead of hardening his heart and becoming indignant – he listened to the truth of it… and made up his mind to change.

Do you see how that applies to our own lives?  People often don’t even tell us the truth, because it will hurt our feelings.  When someone DOES tell us something they don’t like about us, we too often harden our hearts and instead of hearing the truth and making a change, we rationalize it – or more often, we get really mad at the person who told us.  Today’s message is:  ‘Harden not your hearts’…. The Truth – however hard it is to hear – is the only thing that can show us where we need to make a change.                                                                                           

So – where are you and I supposed to hear the truth?  Well – that’s where the first reading comes in…I don’t like this reading… it hits too close to home for me.  See – that first reading says “I have appointed you as the watchman”.  Who do you think He’s talking to?  Yes – he’s talking to Ezekiel – a prophet who spoke harsh words to the Israelites.  But, as with all Old Testament readings, they are a prophecy toward the future.  Naturally, you can apply it to Jesus himself.  God sent Him to show us the way – to point out where we left the path.  But there’s more to it than that – God has appointed watchmen in our own day as well: Most notably, the Pope, Bishops, Priests…and yes – even Deacons.  You’ll notice the Church continually points out the things going wrong in society.  We hear it so often, that we tune it out…:  how our culture’s morality is going downhill fast:  abortion, contraception, sex outside of marriage, the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, pornography, gluttony, alcohol and drug abuse, economic inequality.  Yeah, yeah, we’ve heard it before – and we don’t want to hear it anymore.  Too often, myself included – we just accept this stuff… for example, we laugh about or make light of somebody with an alcohol problem… or – get this – in talking with one couple preparing them for marriage, I challenged them whether it was right to live together (and presumably sleep together) prior to marriage – and you know what they answered?  “It would be ‘stupid’ for anybody NOT to live together before marriage!’.  After I picked up my jaw, I gave it one more try ….what if you have a daughter and SHE wants to go live with a boy?  Surely that will make them think… but no – their answer was ‘well, I sure hope she wouldn’t get married without first living with a guy to see if they’re compatible’.  Our culture has hardened their hearts to the damage this does to the sanctity of marriage and the family.

For those of us who stand here at the pulpit, this job as watchman is not a fun one.  We don’t like to rock the boat.  People get upset when we rock the boat.  I would prefer to always talk about how God loves us and wants us all to be with him for eternity… and that’s true… but He insists that we, as watchmen, look out for the evils that are attacking God’s people and warn them of the danger.  I don’t like doing that.  The most uncomfortable I’ve ever been up here was speaking out against the danger that the Church saw coming when there was a major shift in our government’s attitude toward the rights of the unborn.  That was several years ago, and there are people who won’t speak to me to this day.  Am I wrong to speak out?  Would God allow me to stop speaking out???  Now – if I’m honest with myself – I could have presented it in a better way – and one kind man in our congregation helped me to see that truth about myself.  See, each of us personally has to hear the truth and decide for ourself – will I harden my heart and get mad at the messenger – or will I see the truth and decide to make a change?

Here’s what I’ve been thinking… I sometimes wonder if we, as a Church, should give up speaking out against abortion and contraception and the sanctity of marriage – I mean – we’ve already LOST those battles so let’s just move on, OK?  But today’s message makes it clear that we CAN’T stop speaking out.  All it takes for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.  If we are quiet, who will stop the evil?  But more than that – re-read what God said in the first reading:  If we “do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way, the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death.”  If we are silent, we are as guilty as the society we live in.

We have our choice.  We can recognize our sins – both personal and as a country – and make real efforts to change… or we can wander in the desert of misery for the rest of our lives.  If we don’t turn from the evil on our own, God won’t hesitate to chastise us.  We see that time and time again in the history of Israel:  the prophets warn, and warn, and warn… the people harden their hearts, and God allows some other country to come in and take His people into exile until they repent. 

Fortunately, we can place our trust in the Mercy of God.  He wants us to spend eternity with Him, and He’ll stop at nothing to make that happen – even if it means leading us into the desert – even if it means taking us into exile until we soften our hearts, listen to His teachings, and make a change. 

If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.

2014/08/03 - Scoot over.... get personal

Before Mass:

You may remember me mentioning a few months ago that we’re starting an Evangelization Team here in our Cluster.  We have several folks who have started studying a book which will form us into a team and hopefully guide us toward what we are being called to do.  This book:  Forming Intentional Disciples, has a lot of good stuff.  I pray it will be a game-changer for our team, for our cluster, and for every one of us here today.  I’m going to be referring to this book and what it teaches us over the next few months.

Today’s readings are packed – and I could talk about a dozen different angles… but I’ll warn you that the main theme comes from the second reading, so please pay particular attention to that.  Paul gives a list of things that WON’T keep us from God – but I want you to think about – what DOES keep us from God?

******************************************************* 

Homily:

Did you catch it?  What is it that separates us from the Love of God? 

I’m sure we’ve all heard this story before, but it fits today’s theme so well, I just have to tell it…but there’s a twist.

Edna and Elmer were driving in their pickup truck down the gravel road one afternoon.  Elmer is driving, and Edna is by the other door.  Edna was feeling – well – like there was no more spark left in their relationship.  They’d been married for almost 40 years now and she was missing those days of romance and feeling special.  She looked over at Elmer and she could still see the handsome young man he used to be – underneath that bald head and beer belly.  She said – you know – used to, when we’d go out on dates, we’d sit side-by-side in the truck and cuddle.  Elmer said – well, I’m still sitting where I aways have…

Pause

That’s where the story normally ends – and it makes a good point if we stop there.  But, you’ve probably not heard what happens next.  Elmer says, “slide on over here and put your arm around me!”  But Edna suddenly gets practical – well – I can’t scoot over there.  I have to sit here with my seatbelt and where I have airbag protection.  Besides, there’s that pile of junk on the seat between us.  CD’s, ipad, books, beer cans, ice cream containers, maps.  There’s no room!  I can’t scoot over!

Doesn’t that describe so many of our relationships?  When we’re young and in-love and getting to know each other, we can’t wait to be together – and when we are together – it’s intense.  We talk, cuddle, laugh, do things together.  As we’ve been together for a while, we gradually drift away from that closeness.  It’s not that we PLAN to drift apart… I mean – it’s just PRACTICAL for Edna to sit on the other side so she had her own seat belt and airbag.  It JUST MAKES SENSE.  I think that fits too with all our relationships – practicality stops us from doing all those things we used to do.  Those things which we set aside are often what kept the relationship fresh and alive and growing…. But – other things took their place gradually until we find we’re sitting on the other side of the front seat with someone we hardly know anymore.

Relationship – that’s what it’s all about.  Our human relationships have to be fed with time, energy, talking and listening, doing things for each other, and sharing experiences together.  Those same rules apply to our relationship with God.  If we want a personal relationship with Him, we have to spend time with Him.  We talk to Him, listen to Him, share experiences with Him, do things For Him.

Last month, I encouraged everyone to dust off their Bible and spend time with God that way – allowing Him the opportunity to speak to us through His written Word.  We also constantly encourage everyone to receive the sacraments often – and what are the sacraments but a “personal encounter with Jesus”.

But one of the things this book has highlighted is that most people in our pews – and even many of us up here presiding – don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus.  In fact, it’s become obvious that many of us don’t even know what a personal relationship with Jesus looks like nor whether it is even possible.  I don’t know yet what the book it going to teach us to do with that problem, but even the Pope has mentioned that it is this lack of a personal relationship with Jesus that has drawn many people to walk away from the Church.  So – let’s tackle that issue!

We’re not going to solve it today – but let’s start the conversation.  Let’s lay some foundation stones that we can build upon over the next months.

If we need a “personal relationship with Jesus” – and we all do – we can start by looking at our relationships with everybody around us.  Look at the folks who used to be close friends, but aren’t any longer.  What happened?  It’s likely that we stopped feeding those relationships so they stopped growing.  Classmates who used to be best friends with moved away to college, for example.  We used to spend 5 days a week, learning together, talking, eating lunch together… in short – we spent time with them.  When we stopped spending time with them, that relationship fades.  Yeah, we might get together once in a while to reminisce about old times, but often it doesn’t feel right – because we’re leading different lives and having different experiences.

Another way our relationships can fade – even if we’re still living in the same house – is if we stop listening to each other.  We turn our attention more and more to practical things or our own interests.  When we stop communicating, it’s like cutting off the water from a plant – our relationship will wither. 

Another way our relationships fade:  we stop spending time together.  It’s so easy for us guys to get busy with the yard work and hunting and our jobs and fixing the car and by golly, we’ve got to have our own personal time to spend with our buddies at the local watering hole.  Likewise, we can get occupied with the kids and schoolwork and laundry and cooking and even with doing our ‘church stuff’… and when we put all of that at the top of our priority list, and our spouse no longer is at the top – nor second place – in fact, our spouse may not be on our priority list.  A relationship cannot survive if it is not fed with TIME, PRESENCE, and LISTENING.  Yeah – there’s other things that can kill a relationship, but these are three of the basics… like water, soil, and sunshine.

So – apply that to our personal relationship with Jesus.  Do we spend time with Him?  Do we come to visit Him in Eucharistic Adoration?  Do we come to the Sacraments?  Do we serve him by serving the needy around us?  And of course – do we listen to Him?  Do we read His word?  Do we pray and share our thoughts with Him?  Hopefully over the next few months, we’ll be offering some practical advice on how to feed that relationship with Jesus.

Paul says, “What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?”  None of THAT will separate us from God – in fact – usually, the people who are suffering those things are actually brought CLOSER to God.  No – there is only one thing in this world that can separate us from the God… and that one thing – is me. 

So look at the pile of junk on the seat between you and Jesus.  Get a trashbag and throw it all away… then Slide back across the seat and put your arm around Jesus as you let him drive you through life.