What have you been doing since 1999?
(That's ten years ago, for those of you keeping score.)
If you are like me, and the years are starting to blur together, here are some random events from 1999 to give you some perspective:
- The Euro was born
- The first episode of Sponge Bob SquarePants aired
- The DOW crossed 10,000 for the first time (ironic, as we just crossed it again)
- Apple launched the first iBook (not iPhone)
- Exxon completed its merger with Mobil
- JFK Jr. died
- Fight Club and Matrix were top movies
Oh, and some folks in Kansas City started praying.
And haven't stopped since.
St. Paul tells us to "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thess 5:17), and the folks at the International House of Prayer in KC have been doing just that.
Ten straight years of prayer. Day and night. 24/7.
I can't even remember watching the Matrix for the first time, and these people have been praising God relentlessly ever since.
And as I think back to some of the silly ways I spent my time over the past ten years, I ask myself, "Who spent their time more wisely, these people or me?"
(Please don't answer that, I already know who.)
May God continue to inspire the folks at the International House of Prayer.
And may they, in turn, continue to be an inspiration for all of us.
God Bless.
First of all, apologies for disappearing for two weeks. I ended up going on a last minute trip, and will be posting some pictures in an upcoming post!
(Here's a hint, in case you want to play Where in the World was Michael: October 4th and Top 5. Any guesses?)
In the meantime, Christopher tagged me with the Honest Scrap award and I will fulfill my obligation in this post. Christopher's blog, Sanctus Christopher, is a nice mix of wit, photos, and religious commentary. I always enjoy stopping by. (And thanks for tagging me Christopher.)
Without further ado, here are "Ten Honest Facts About Myself". And since there don't appear to be any guidelines about topics, I will share 5 religious facts and 5 non-religious facts.
Non-Religious
1) I really don't like talking about myself. Jesus, yes. Peter and Paul, yes. Myself, not so much.
2) Stealing a topic from Christopher ... I sing Sinatra in the shower. With over 300 singles to choose from, I take really long showers.
3) Speaking of which, I have always wished I could sing. Maybe even make it my profession. (But since this is an Honest Fact post, I must admit I could shatter windows.)
4) You don't believe me? In 2nd grade we put on a singing concert for all the parents. After the third rehearsal, the teacher pulled me aside and said that instead of singing, I would be playing the triangle. Said it was a very important role that only I could perform. I believed her.
5) I am an optimist. About life, and about people.
Religious
6) I listen to the bible every morning in the car. (Thank you Daily Audio Bible)
7) I have never been to the Holy Land, but would love to go someday. I can't even imagine how spiritually moving it must be stand where Jesus and His Apostles stood.
8) I think Ave Maria is the most beautiful song in the world.
9) Embarrassingly enough, for a good part of my life, I thought Mark and Luke were Apostles.
10) And to show you that I still have a long way to go, I just tried to name the 12 original Apostles off the top of my head and I missed one. (Sorry, Thaddeus!)
Ok, Christopher, I believe this fulfills my duties. For the rest of you, I am sorry you had to sit through this!
God Bless all of you.
I was in the park the other day when I saw a middle aged gentleman sitting rather quietly.
All of a sudden, he started waving his hands frantically in the air, and then began hitting himself in the head. This outburst was followed by 20 seconds of laughing, and then silence.
As he repeated this sequence a few more times, I realized he had some sort of mental or physical disability - or both.
I don't know about you, but when I see someone like that I get a huge knot in my stomach, followed by a giant tug at my heart.
The huge knot is my conscience raining perspective down upon me - reminding me how fortunate I am.
The giant tug is God reminding me of Luke 12:28:
From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded;
And from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
"Much", of course, is a relative term. But the fact that I am typing this blog, and can read all of yours, pretty much means I am in the "much" camp.
Which means I've got work to do.
God, please help all of us to be your vessels here on Earth; to use the unique gifts you have given us to promote your Kingdom.
God Bless.
Imagine your priest was killed right before your eyes at Mass.
Now imagine the murderer turned to the congregation and asked if anyone else would like to continue the mass ... and suffer the same fate?
What would you do?
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I've been thinking a lot about Peter and the Apostles this week, and how scary Jesus' final days on Earth must have been for them.
And my stream of consciousness led me to the following question ....
What if they just went back to living life the way they did before Jesus?
After all, look at their choices.
Go forth into a hostile world that hates them, will most likely torture them, and will eventually kill them
OR
Spend their mornings on a fishing boat and evenings having dinner with their wife and kids.
Of course on paper 2000 years later it's an easy choice. But I really thought hard about the magnitude of that decision back then.
They had just seen Jesus publicly embarrassed, tortured beyond human comprehension, and left to die in a horrendous fashion. To follow in his footsteps would mean the same for them.
And yet they did.
It would have been so easy to just go back to the simple life they were leading. To leave the whole "promoting-the-Kingdom" thing for the next generation to worry about. To assume God would just send someone else to finish the job.
But they didn't.
Strengthened by the Holy Spirit, and without their Leader physically with them, they looked death straight in the eyes and changed history.
I am in such awe of them, and so very, very grateful to them. It is because of their strength that we have the Gospels and teachings that can get us to Paradise.
God Bless.
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As I write this post from the comfort of my home, I imagine what kind of strength it would take to give that up, walk into town, and start preaching the Word of God to a square full of people that did not want me there. As daunting as that sounds, I imagine what kind of strength it would take to walk to the next town of angry people and do the same. And the next town. And the next...
I'm hooked on the song History by Matthew West.
If you haven't heard it, you can listen to it free here (in the upper right corner of the screen there is a mini player - just hit the big play button).
I like it for the melody, but also because of the wonderful message Matthew gives us.
The chorus ...
Yesterday is history
And history is miles away
So leave it all behind you
Let it always remind you of the day
The day that love made history
... reminds us that no matter what mistakes we have made in the past ... no matter how many times we have turned our back on God ... we can put it behind us because of what Jesus did for us.
That really is a comforting thought.
It's also something we should never, ever forget.
But the song intertwines another beautiful message regarding "history". One of the refrains is as follows:
Every word that you are saying
Every prayer that you are praying
Every chain that you are breaking
History is in the making
In other words, everything we do matters. We are making history every day. Maybe not like Jesus did, but in our own little way.
Every time you pass on the Word to someone, you can change their perspective. Every good deed or act of charity can alter a life. And every prayer we offer up for someone - or some soul - can change their future - here or in Paradise.
It all matters.
And on that note, I wanted to thank all of you that read this blog or host your own. From a post or picture that brightens my day, to a new prayer or spiritual reflection that feeds my soul ... you are helping to shape my history.
God Bless all of you.
Happy Feast of the Assumption everyone!
I have to admit, I thought long and hard about what to write today. After all, there are just so many things to say about our Blessed Mother.
I went back and read one of my older posts on proof the Assumption happened.
I thought about Her amazing faith in our Father.
I pondered how she found the strength to watch her Son go through what He did for us.
But mostly, I wondered.
I wondered what it was like on that glorious day. Most of the time when I think about the Assumption I think of the physical raising of Mary's body into Heaven. What was that really like? Was she carried away by angels? Did she float up on a cloud? Did it happen during the day or at night?
But Happy to Be Catholic gave me a whole new perspective in her comments on my last post.
She noted how wonderful it must have been for Mary to meet our Father for the first time! I have to admit, I never thought about it like that! Mary is such an important figure in our faith that sometimes I forget she only met God after her time here on Earth.
HC also stated how happy Mary must have been to see her Son again! Again, I had never really looked at the Assumption through Mary's eyes. Of course she must have been overwhelmed with joy be reunited with Jesus after all the suffering they went through here on Earth.
And of course, everyone in Heaven must have rejoiced to finally have Mary join them in Paradise.
What a beautiful day it must have been.
Mary, please pray for us.
Last weekends Gospel reading (John 6:1-15) is about one of Jesus' most famous miracles - the Miracle of the Loaves and Fish.
If I could have seen one miracle - aside from The Resurrection of course - this would have been it. It is the miracle that has always left me most curious.
Don't get me wrong, all of Jesus' miracles were wondrous. But I would love to know the details on this one. How did the loaves multiply? Was it when immediately after He blessed them? Did he break a piece of bread off, only to have it regenerate then and there? Or was the basket covered and every time He reached in a new loaf was ready for Him?
Some of His other miracles are easier to imagine. The raising of the dead: the person "simply" wakes up and comes back to life. Giving sight to the blind: They can immediately see again. The changing of the water to wine: the water is covered in a jug so no one can "see" the transformation take place.
I guess the Loaves and Fish has always been a wonder to me because it doesn't seem to be an instantaneous thing. John doesn't tell us that the five loaves instantly turned to five hundred. He just says Jesus kept passing them out until everyone was fed. Its the gradualness that peaks my curiosity.
Anyway, please don't take this post as a lack of belief! It is quite the opposite. I have great faith that all of Jesus' miracles happened.
This one just happens to put my human curiosity into overdrive.
So what miracle would you choose to watch if given the chance?
What have you been doing since 1999?
