theROCK

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.  With this statement our forefathers declared the very purpose of government. This statement and the remainder of the Declaration of Independence would set in motion the great nation in which we live.

Tomorrow we will celebrate the signing of this document and the birth of our nation. There will be parades, fireworks, picnics, cookouts with families and friends celebrating together the birth of this great experiment. My memories of these events date back to the late 50’s and early 60’s. Yes, as my daughter never fails to remind me, I am old. I recall with fondness great parades, large bands, drum majors and majorettes, batons twirling and flags flying. I recall fire engine sirens, huge crowds, fireworks that were weak by today’s standards, and fun with family and friends. The more things change….the more they stay the same.

But this experiment is not over. It is not complete. These unalienable rights have yet to be fully attained. I do not believe they will ever be fully attained this side of heaven and yet strive to attain them we must. We must never tire of bringing the kingdom of God to earth. Today we hear Jesus say, “the harvest is abundant but the laborers are few” and so it is, just as surely today as it was in 1776, as it was in Jesus time, and before. 

Jesus’ solution? Go to all the nations, to all the people, with great haste.  This mission we are sent on is a dangerous one so don’t be dallying about. Go and offer your peace to everyone and to those who return that peace stay with them and teach them about the greatest gift ever given. The gift of those very same rights given to us by a God who loves us so much he became a man, suffered and died at our hands only so we might spend eternity in paradise with him. Spend eternity in that one place where all men are truly equal and love abounds. The one place where we coexist in, no, become a very part of love, which is the Creator.  

Go, live and proclaim God’s peace!

The Amazing Holy Spirit

I came to an appreciation of the Holy Spirit in my thirties as I taught the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the fruits of the Holy Spirit to my fourth graders. I didn’t quite understand it as a child the first time around. I will say this, the Holy Spirit is amazing! When you ask to be strengthened in the gifts of knowledge, wisdom, understanding, courage, piety, counsel, and fear of the Lord there is clarity of purpose and direction that follows. Fear, not so much that you are afraid of God but more that you are in awe of God’s love and power in our lives, is what is meant by “fear of the Lord”. This comes from paying attention to how God works in your life. It leads to giving your all for God because you appreciate the magnitude of His love. Exercising the gifts through prayer, results in the fruits of the Holy Spirit which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are all things that allow us to live in right relationship with God and one another. All things we need in our world. All things we need to continue the work of Jesus. Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your spirit to renew the face of the earth.

The Great Gift of the Eucharist

Recently, I was exercising at the Wisconsin Athletic Club, the people there are friendly and I enjoy the opportunity to keep my body loose for school recess. The room I was exercising in was shared between myself and two other men. One of the men I had never seen before, the other had become an acquaintance. At one point I moved to another part of the building when, shortly after, the man I was an acquaintance with excitedly came up to me. He eagerly told me that he started a conversation with the third man in the room and it turns out he was a VP for none other than the famous website Facebook and had the wealth to prove it. As much as I was surprised to hear that such a man had somehow found his way into the WAC in Brookfield and had been in the same room as me, I was more surprised at my indifference to such a fact. I simply could not match or come close to the excitement my friend was displaying. I found this quite strange. After all, this man was, according to my friend, worth many millions if not billions, how could I not be at least somewhat excited to think I was a mere feet away from him. 

As the week went on I mulled this over and an answer slowly became clear. While this man represented the pinnacle of worldly wealth, it pales in comparison to what myself and every Catholic has. For in my poor and unworthy hands, I have held the very Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, my hands have held God himself. When I enter through the doors of the Church, I find myself in the same room as the God who was born in a manger, walked on water, forgives sins, created me and died for me. What could this man offer to me that I do not already have?

The longer I am a priest, the more I am in awe and gratitude for the great gift of the Eucharist. The world can offer me many things, but it cannot offer me God himself. Perhaps that is why it is so fitting that the word “Eucharist” means Thanksgiving.