My Daily Musing

   The misery of other people has become a type of "spectator sport" in our world. Oftentimes, instead of helping a person in need, we laugh at the person who is down. We mock the person who has failed.

   When our turn comes to fall, we often never again attempt that which we failed. We may blame others for our failings or attempt to have others perform the task we could not complete.

   Jesus fell under the weight of the cross. Let us never forget that it was the weight of our sins that Jesus labored to carry to Calvary. If we feel the burden of our cross, let us remember the greater burden which Jesus bore.

   Jesus, entirely innocent, was condemned to death by Pilate. He deserved none of the abuse that would be heaped upon Him. He deserved no torment, no suffering, no crucifixion.
   There are many people in our lives who may have been condemned falsely by us as well. When we gossip about others, when we refuse to listen to others, when we maliciously hurt others or use others for our own benefit, we visit harm upon them that they do not deserve.
   When was the last time that a child, spouse, co-worker, or employee begged us to hear them out but we had already made up our minds and condemned them? Or when was the last time that we saw or heard someone falsely condemned and did not come to his/her aid?

   A priest I know once said -- and I concur -- that he did not believe that Jesus will judge us on the number of times we fall.
   What Jesus wants to see is that the number of times we got up again exceeded the number of times we fell by one.
   If we continue with the struggle, if we remain faithful to the Lord, if we endure to the end, the Lord will reward us.
   Is there anything in your life that you have given up on? There is still a chance to rectify it! Get up one more time.

   Today is Palm Sunday. It is also called Passion Sunday.
   Today begins Holy Week.
   Holy Week is the pinnacle of liturgical celebrations in the Roman Catholic Church. It takes us to our lowest lows and highest highs. It has the power to speak volumes to us, if we but listen.
   Today we remember our own fickle, sinful nature. How could a group of people — who only a short while before greeted Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem with shouts of “Hosanna” — turn so quickly and shout all the louder, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him?”
   Then we remember the fact that “those” people are us as well. We often accept the Lord with joy when it is easy and suits our needs. Yet when the going gets tough, we are just as prone to abandon and reject Him.
   Today truly brings to mind our sinful nature and our great need for the saving love of our God.
   Use that reality to draw close to the Lord this week.
   And, on a personal note, many thanks to those of you who prayed for our Confirmation candidates yesterday. The Confirmation Mass was a truly beautiful and inspiring liturgy and the students felt the movement of the Spirit. Praise God!

   Please join me in praying for our 134 students who will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit today in the Sacrament of Confirmation conferred upon them by Bishop Dale J. Melczek.
   Join me in praying that our confirmandi receive, in great abundance, the gifts of Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Courage, Knowledge, Reverence, and Wonder and Awe. With these gifts, they will be able to face anything the world throws against them!
   Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
   O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.

   Remember, the Fridays of Lent are days of Abstinence. "Abstinence" is the practice of refraining from meat and meat products. Abstinence is to be practiced by all who are 14 years of age and older.
   Today, a Friday of Lent, is also a great opportunity at most any parish to walk the Stations of the Cross, a wonderful Lenten reflection. You might want to adopt this practice if you do not do so already.
   Have a holy Friday!

   When I left the parish yesterday shortly before noon, the carpet project in our church was well under way. The main aisle had already been carpeted by last weekend. Two days ago they finished one side of the church as well as the school hallway. As I was leaving, they were going great guns on the other side of the church and preparing to carpet the main foyer and a side foyer. Yesterday afternoon they were to have at least stripped 2/3 of the carpet from the sacristy and may have begun carpeting in there as well.
   We have moved the statues that were just standing along the back wall and side wall of the church and relocated them to two side foyers as well as the main foyer. In the main foyer, the statue of Jesus will be placed. We already placed the statues of St. Joseph and St. Mary in the foyer that leads into the church from the school hallway and we will be moving the Pieta into the foyer that serves as the entrance to the chapel.
   And, I must say, the church is looking great!
   The carpet helps to pull the wood grain in the pews, the earth tones in the terrazzo between the pews, and the browns in the marble in the sanctuary.
   I really think that that parishioners are going to be wowed when they come to church this weekend!
   The best thing about the church carpet project is that we are using a high-traffic carpet square so that even if a piece of the carpet should become damaged, all we have to do is replace the carpet square rather than rip up and replace an entire carpet.
   The even nicer thing about this project is that it is all paid for already. We had set aside money for the carpet from our Catholic Services Appeal rebate three years ago. It took a little longer for us to do because we wanted to repaint the ceiling of the church first and then repave the parking lot. We did not want the paint or the asphalt to ruin new carpet, so we put the project off until this year.
   This year, when we celebrate New Life at Easter, we will be able to do so on our new carpet.
   Sometimes simple pleasures are the best!

   Whenever this makes the rounds on the Internet, it always puts a smile on my face. I thought I would share it with you today hoping that it puts a smile on your face as well:


Yesterday I went to the doctor for my yearly physical.
My blood pressure was high ....
My cholesterol was high .......
I'd gained some weight,
and I didn't feel so hot.

My doctor said eating right doesn't have to be complicated
and it would solve my physical problems.
He said: Just think in colors.
Fill your plate with bright colors.
Try some greens, oranges, reds, maybe something blue, etc.

So I went right home and ate an entire bowl of



And sure enough, I felt better immediately.
I never knew eating right could be so easy!!!

   There are definitely times when I identify so well with the picture above!
   It seems as if we are going along without a care in the world when all of a sudden a ton of "stuff" falls on us and covers us.
   I have been feeling that way the past few days.
   After all, we were fooled and teased by ol' Mother Nature. The weather, last week, turned absolutely glorious. After some very bitter weather, we came into some unseasonably warm weather. I guess my first clue that something was amiss was the word "unseasonable."
   We went from nearly seventy degree weather back down to the lower thirties. Sleet, gloomy days, damp nights, they have all taken their toll. My sinuses and joints are saying, "Hey, what's going on here?!"
   We are also looking at a project in our church that is causing me to squirm just a bit. We are actually in the midst of a re-carpeting project. Last week the center aisle and center front and back sections received the new carpet. We now have the sides of the church to do, as well as the sacristy, confessionals, cry room, bride's room, usher's room, and foyers.
   All this needs to be complete by this coming weekend. That is when our bishop comes to our parish for Confirmation.
   I can just see it now. Something will happen that causes the project to be delayed and the bishop will come to a church in disarray. That would not be good.
   So that is why I am feeling a bit of stress. Is it realistic? Probably not. There should be no reason that the project cannot get done in time. But stress does weird things to us.
   There is also the stress of the season of Lent coming quickly to an end. It is unfathomable to me to think that this coming weekend begins Holy Week. How can we be less than two weeks from Easter? Yikes!
   So, when the stress piles up like this, the best thing I have found is to remember to turn to the Lord in prayer.
   I am going to do that right now...

   If I would have played my cards right from the beginning of my priesthood, after these almost twenty-seven years, I could have been a millionaire.
   How, you ask?
   Easy.
   If I would have received a dollar from every parent that ever asked me, “Where did we go wrong?” I would be rich!
   Parents are entrusted with an awesome responsibility. They do their best to raise their children, they share their faith and morals with their children, they encourage their children to grow in wisdom, and then they let their children go.
   Once a child grows up, that person will either accept the values and beliefs that were shared by his or her parents or that child will reject them. This is something that the new adult does on his or her own.
   No one can force someone to adopt a set of values or beliefs. All parents can do is hope that their values and beliefs are accepted by their child and made a part of their child’s life.
   “Well, Father, if that is the case, what can I do? What should I do? I feel like a failure. I do not know what to say to my son or daughter.”
   The best advice that I can ever give to a parent is not to say anything.
   Too often, parents end up yelling at or nagging their children to get back to church. You all know how those kinds of “discussions” end up. Everybody is angry with one another and nothing is accomplished.
   Instead, the best that can often be done is for the parent to do two things: (1) pray for their child and (2) set a good and consistent example of what it means to live a faith-filled life in the Church.
   Prayer is so vitally important and, yet, it is often one of those things that gets overlooked. Praying for another is a powerful witness of love, care, and concern.
   Setting a good, consistent example also goes a long way and speaks volumes to another person. Nagging and fighting can be so negative. Setting a good example is positive.
   So, for all of you who are in this situation, as well as for all of us, the reminder today is quite simple and goes to the teaching of Jesus: love. Do not beat yourselves up. Do not beat your children up.
   Instead, love one another and leave all things to God who loves us all and loves us best. He would want it no other way.
   God bless you!

   It is never too late to "get into gear" when it comes to Lent. If you have not taken the opportunity to do much this Lenten season thus far, you might want to consider these thoughts that have made the circuit on the Internet:

Give up complaining. Focus on gratitude.
Give up pessimism. Become an optimist.
Give up harsh judgments. Think kindly thoughts.
Give up worry. Trust Divine Providence.
Give up discouragement. Be full of hope.
Give up bitterness. Turn to forgiveness.
Give up hatred. Return good for evil.
Give up negativism. Be positive.
Give up anger. Be more patient.
Give up pettiness. Become mature.
Give up gloom. Enjoy the beauty that is all around you.
Give up jealousy. Pray for trust.
Give up gossiping. Control your tongue.
Give up sin. Turn to virtue.
Give up giving up. Hang in there!

   Whatever you do, do something! Give your Lent a "kick start" today.

   Every Friday throughout this season of Lent, I have been reminding you of the need to abstain from meat as the season of Lent demands.
   Well, today I am telling you something different!
   When we talk about "giving up" things for Lent, so many people are reminded that Sundays are not "counted" as days of Lent and that they can partake of the things they are giving up throughout the season.
   That is because Sunday is a Solemnity.
   Today is the Solemnity of St. Joseph. As such, according to Canon Law 1251, you are free to eat meat on this day.
   Canon 1251 Abstinence from eating meat or another food according to the prescriptions of the conference of bishops is to be observed on Fridays throughout the year unless they are solemnities; abstinence and fast are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and on the Friday of the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
   Since St. Joseph's day holds the rank of a solemnity and the character of a solemnity is one of rejoicing, penitential practices like abstinence from meat are not required. People may choose voluntarily to abstain from meat on March 19, but it is not required. Hence, Catholics can participate in a St. Joseph's table without worrying about breaking the penitential discipline of Lent.
   That does not mean you have to eat meat today, though.
   If you want to observe the spirit of the season of Lent and abstain from meat today, more power to you.
   If, however, you decide not to, you are covered.
   Every so often it is kind of nice to have your cake and eat it, too!

   Yesterday we celebrated the "luck of the Irish."
   I, on the other hand, have absolutely no luck. Well, I take that back. I do have luck. It's just bad luck...
   The other day, I received an email from a contact on Disney Cruise Line. She was asking if I were available for a three day cruise on the Disney Wonder so that I could say Mass for the passengers for Easter. I would board the ship on Holy Week and celebrate Mass. Then, on Easter Sunday, I would disembark with the passengers and then get back on so that I could say Mass for people on board before they left port. I would leave the ship after Mass that afternoon.
   What an opportunity . . . a chance of a lifetime . . . a wondrous sprinkling of "pixie dust."
   The only problem is that I am the pastor of one of the largest parishes in our diocese and I am needed here, not off galavanting somewhere on a cruise ship.
   Now, if I were retired, well, that would be a different story.
   So I emailed the person back and said that I would have to respond scripturally: "Get behind me, Satan." The temptation was great, but I did not succumb.
   Therefore, on this year's Holy Week, think about me. I might shed a tear or two if I thinking about what could have been. But there will be plenty of opportunity in the future, God willing and the creek don't rise.
   Have a great today!