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Getting The Good Deal

Monday, November 9th, 2009

We’ve all heard it said that some people get a raw deal in life. But how do you get the good deal?

About ten years ago, my old girlfriend was looking to buy a car and I was helping her out. Aftr searching for a long time (too long a time), she noticed a car for sale by a private owner. She wasn’t comfortable going alone and so I went with her to help out.

We drove to a public spot to meet the seller and check out the car. After meeting the man and looking at the car thoroughly, we left and checked out some of its history. She decided she wanted to buy it.

“Can you come with me? I’m not good with the negotiating part, and I’m not comfortable with it. Could you do that part for me?” She wanted an advocate.

OK.

We went to the house and met with the seller and his wife. We chatted a little bit in the kitchen, and then the ladies went into the living room so the men could get down to the dirty work in.

Well about 15 minutes later we came out to the living room with no black eyes, no bloodshed, and with a deal done. My girlfriend came away with a nice car and an extra thousand dollars. She got a good deal. Why?

Because she had an advocate.

In the world, we meet up a lot of times with circumstances that are impossible for us to face ourselves. Broken politics, a broken Church, a broken family, a sinking society, dark news from the culture of death. How do we face it? How do we confront it all, as little and weak as we are on our own? How do we live in it and live sincerely and with happiness?

Well, if we give ourselves to the Lord, He will not leave us to ourselves. “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” (Jn 14:18)

He sends us the lawyer from Heaven to negotiate life in the world on our behalf.

He sends us His Spirit.

He sends us The Advocate.

“And when he comes, he will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” (Jn 16:8-11)

Then, we will get the good deal in life.

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Always Welcome

Friday, November 6th, 2009

A few months ago, I was in late night Eucharistic Adoration at St. Clement’s Shrine in Boston. Now, I have the 3am-4am Saturday night shift, and with the Shrine being right near the nightclub hotspots, the only things going on around the area are, as an old friend used to say, “nuthin good”.

So around 3:15 or so, I heard a very loud crash on the street outside. Another person inside the Shrine ran outside. A few moments later, there were sirens. I stayed and began to pray the Divine Mercy chaplet.

Well, I kept praying after my friend returned inside the Shrine. Suddenly, I began to be inspired to pray for all who were dying. It was so much so, that I continued the rest of the hour offering the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament to the Father in the chaplet. It was so strong, I even continued til 4:30.

Praying the chaplet for the sick and dying was something that I used to do a lot more regularly, but something that I had strayed from. I don’t think I prayed it for all the sick and dying since the days I was volunteering in the hospital.

Well, after I left, I went by outside to see the accident scene. A car had been driving pretty fast and missed the curve. It went directly into the side of a building. I looked around at the bits of debris and noticed guaze packages strewn about. My heart sank. It was serious, I thought.

Later that day I received a phone call from my cousin who I had just gotten in touch with. Two weeks earlier I finally made it around to visit his parents in the nursing home. My uncle was suffering from serious dimentia, but in the last visit I was able to speak with him and he seemed very happy to see me. “You are always welcome. Always welcome. Good good good.”

So in the phone call, my cousin shared with me the news: my uncle had died. He had been rushed to the hospital suddenly for unexpected complications on Friday morning. I asked him when he passed. In the very early hours of Sunday morning.

About an hour after I had finished praying the chaplet.

“Truly, truly I say to you, he who receives any one whom I send receives me; and he who receives me receives him who sent me.” (Jn 13:20)

How awesome is the infinite Mercy of the Heart of Jesus! Who will give themselves to Him? Who will be sent?

Will it be you?

Behold I come; in the roll of the book it is written of me; I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart. (Ps 40:7-8)

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Not Seeing Anything

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

This last Saturday night I was up very late, til about 1:30 am. Ordinarily, that might not be that big of a deal, but I go to St. Clement’s Shrine for an hour of Eucharistic Adoration at 3am every Saturday night. Then, after the hour of adoring the Lord, I drive across Boston to my father’s house and sleep until about 8 am to get up to teach religious education at the local parish church. That means that I only got a few hours of sleep, so, after everything was wrapped up at about noontime, I decided I would take a little catnap before heading out to meet some friends.

I got up around 1 and headed out to the car, got into the car, started it up, and proceeded to back out into the street, and – bam – backed right into the car that was parked across the street.

“Oh, no,” I’m thinking, “not good. Not good.” I’m thinking, time, paperwork, money… Not good.

The car I hit belonged to a laborer who was working on the neighbor’s house. Usually there is no car there, and I was still so groggy from the nap that I didn’t even notice.

I went to the neighbor’s – “I backed into the car here on the street.” So the man comes out in a good mood, and asks me where I hit it. “I backed into the bumper here.” He looked at it. “There?” Yup. He smiled and said, “I don’t see anything.”

As he walked back into the house, I thanked him a few times.

No accident report, no insurance issues, no cost. What a break, what a relief.

When we make mistakes in life, it can seem like we ‘re going to have to pay a lot for them. But when we’re ready to take responsibility for them, when we confess them to the Lord, He smiles at us. He looks at the damage and says the words that take a big weight off of our mind and heart:

“I don’t see anything.”

“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Lk 23:34)

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Plugged In

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

A few months ago, my friend Nate and I were putting in a new lock on the basement door in my father’s house. We had a cordless drill, one that runs on its own by a big battery, and we were using the hole saw attachment. A hole saw is, well, picture a small cup attached to the end of a drill, but instead of a nice, smooth surface around the edge of the cup for drinking, it has sharp saw teeth around the edge of the cup for cutting. With the hole saw, we could drill a round hole in the door to fit the lock into.

Now, I don’t quite know what kind of wood that door is made of, but it’s the hardest wood I’ve ever encountered. Even with a fully charged battery the drill labored, slowed down, and came to a halt. We hardly made any progress, and the drill would run out of juice. Nothing’s getting through that, I’m thinking. It’s super-hard wood.

Well, it just so happened that in fishing around, I found an old corded electric drill in the garage. “Let’s give this a shot.” This drill doesn’t have its own battery power – instead it plugs into an outlet. Well, we plugged it in and gave it a few whirls and it started up. So, we put it to the test.

Sure enough, it sawed right through the super-hard wood. Why? Because it was plugged in. It was connected directly to the 120-volt, 15-amp line power supply.

What does that mean? That means that it was plugged into the national power grid. It was plugged into the power source. The drill could draw as much juice from the source as it needed to saw through that rock-hard wood.

We all encounter an insurmountable mountain of an obstacle in life. For this, trying to work through it on our own power won’t cut it. We need to be attached to the power source, Jesus Christ. I can do all things in him who strengthens me. (Php 4:13) Attached to Him, we can draw as much of HIs Spirit as we need.

Then, we can cut through anything.

I will help you, says the LORD;
Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
Behold, I will make of you a threshing sledge,
New, sharp, and having teeth;
You shall thresh the mountains and crush them,
And you shall make the hills like chaff;
You shall winnow them and the wind shall carry them away,
And the tempest shall scatter them.
And you shall rejoice in the LORD;
In the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.(Is 41:14-16)

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The Value Of Bed Bugs

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

Ok, you may be wondering what good can possibly come from bed bugs. This one needs some explaining.

My roommate Tim was telling me about the house we’re living in right now. He owns the house, and he shared with me what happened to make it the 5-guy Catholic men’s house that it is right now.

Apparently, he came back from a lot of work outside the Boston area recently and found that the top 3-bedroom apartment was trashed. The place was left a mess, with even graffiti on the walls, garbage strewn about, and a lot of property missing. He planned that he would clean it up in a few weeks and live in the largest room on the top floor, with another friend of ours living in one of the other rooms.

There was one big problem though.

Bed bugs.

Yes, those little critters had infested a bedroom, and when he brought an exterminator in, he got some news. “All the paneling in the house has to go.” I guess bedbugs can nest in areas behind wall paneling and spread throughout the house. Who knew?

Well, if the paneling comes down, then the walls and the door trims have to be redone and everything has to be painted.

Now, a cleaning job was turning into a whole renovation project.

Tim was telling me, “I’m thinking, why am I doing all this? I know for some reason God wants me to be doing this. I don’t know what it is. I’m out of money and I just want to get started with a job and living a normal life, and I’m stuck fixing this entire house. I don’t have the money for it, and I’m wondering while I’m letting all my frustration out with the sander, what is this all about?”

Well, a short time later, another guy from St. Clement’s Shrine suddenly decided he’d take the third bedroom in the apartment.

And then, suddenly, the tenants in the first-floor unit decided they were leaving in a few weeks. Great, now I need another tenant, he told me. But just then, he heard that I was looking for a place. Tim invited me over, and we began to talk. He started to share some thoughts about maybe connecting the two units together and making one big Catholic men’s house. I liked the sound of it, and after a little time in prayer decided I was in.

A few days later, another guy from the St. Clement’s community called up Tim. One visit and he was in.

So what’s this all about, what’s my point?

When Tim started out, he had the largest bedroom on the top floor of a 3-bedroom apartment. By the end of it all, he has the smallest bedroom on the bottom floor of a 5-bedroom Catholic men’s house called the Sacred Heart House, with four brothers and many more brothers and sisters that visit, two kitchens, a common living room, common dining room for house meals, and a chapel in progress in the basement.

“Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many that are first will be last, and the last first.” (Mk 10:29)

What happened?

Two tiny little things happened:

Bed bugs. And Tim’s yes.

God loves little things. Oh, I tell you, God loves the littlest things. He does all His greatest works with little things, so that we can see His power and love, so we can know Him and be with Him. He humbles pride with the littlest things and raises up the lowly with the littlest things. Little Mary gave Him a little yes, and then He changed the world and all of history with it: “He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly.” (Lk 1:51-52)

If you feel God calling you, remember He only wants something little. He does His greatest works with littleness and He can use anything little to turn lives upside down in a heartbeat.

Even bed bugs.

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Look Up To The Hills

Monday, September 21st, 2009

I played Little League for a few years as a kid, and it was fun for me. I loved playing whiffle ball and baseball in the neighborhood, so playing in an organized league was the next step up.

I paid my lumps and had my share of little successes and failures. So, as I said, it was fun – except for one day.

One day, I had brought my own baseball to the game to play catch with. So, after the game, a few of us were using it, until one of the kids decided that it would be his.

Now, this kid was the class bully – even at 9 years old he had a bad rep. But I wasn’t going to let him have it.

We began to tussle over it, you can picture nine year olds, and I was probably going to get my little noggin knocked around a bit. I am not the toughest guy in fistfights, as you might guess.

But just then, all of a sudden, I heard a shout. Down from the hill next to us came my father.

He stepped in between us, pulled us apart, got the ball for me, and sent the other kid away. I was very thankful and proud of my father that day.

So many times in the Gospels, Jesus was cornered in arguments and debates and people who tried to stop His mission. But, up until the Passion, He was freed from all the predicaments.

How did he escape?

His Father freed Him.

“And he who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him.” (Jn 8:29)

If you choose to follow the Lord Jesus, the Father will always be with you. That means that you will have nothing to fear from bullies and their traps in life. If you’re ever drawn into traps of vindictiveness and anger and bossing, only look up to the hills.

He is coming.

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From whence does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved,
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is your keeper;
The LORD is your shade
On your right hand.
The sun shall not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all evil;
He will keep your life.
The LORD will keep
Your going out and your coming in
From this time forth and forever.
(Psalm 121)

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Becoming A Treasurer

Friday, September 11th, 2009

A month ago, my friend’s father came by my father’s house to help me with some electrical work. We were updating all the electrical outlets and switches in the house. He’s a master electrician – I was the apprentice.

One of the things he gets to do, being a master, is change the outlets without turning off the power. Now that can be a very dangerous thing, right? A good zap of 120 volts through the body on a hot and sticky summer day and I could end up in the hospital. But I trusted him, and after a little teaching session, I was off to change outlets and switches on my own without the power turned off.

The first one went fine. The second one was a little different. I first knew something wasn’t going right when I got a little zap from the metal box in the wall. Then, while I was trying to move a wire around, all of a sudden there was a big spark, a loud smack, and switch came out of my hand.

I was OK. The switch was OK. The outlet was OK.

But after that, I made very sure that the power was off before I touched an outlet.

So, later on, his wife Mary came by to bring us some food. She had just the meal that he liked, with a thermos of tea that perfectly hit the spot. She came by again later with some low-sugar pudding for a snack, just what he was looking for. Low-sugar because he’s diabetic. “Are we going to have some dinner?” I asked with my belly grumbling. “Oh no, this is all he needs. Just this snack,” Mary answered. She seemed to know exactly what he wanted, just what he needed, and she got it for him.

So, as we got to talking, my friend’s father joked that he may not have enough gas in his car to make it home. Now, in the language of their 50-year marriage, that really meant that he didn’t have any money on him.

So Mary opened up her purse, took out a few bucks, and gave them to him.

I’m thinking, what this guy does is amazing with electrical work, and here he is, this master electrician who can change electrical outlets without turning the power off, who risks his health doing it, and all the fruit of his work, all the pay he receives from it, all his money, is his wife’s. She holds everything and she decides where it goes.

Why does he hand everything over to her?

Because she knows just what he wants and she gets it for him. She loves him and listens to him.

God does amazing things, right? He does things that we could never do, He is the Master. But, for all that, His wife holds all His treasure. Mary holds all the fruit of his works. She keeps all God’s treasure in her heart. She holds everything and she decides where it goes.

Why does God hand everything over to her?

Because she knows just what He wants and she gets it for Him. She loves Him and listens to Him.

“Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to your word.” (Lk 1:38)

God desires to give us His gifts, His treasures. They are ours to have. If He trusts us. If we love Him and listen to Him. “If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (Jn 14:23)

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The Lord Will Give You The Seat You Really Want

Monday, August 31st, 2009

A month ago, I had the opportunity to go to a concert to hear my friend Clare play. She’s a world-class cellist, and it’s a great privilege to hear her play.

The concert was outdoors in a local park, and when I got there, I realized I had made a big mistake. I looked around and noticed everyone else had something that I didn’t have: a place to sit. Some people had blankets, some people had lawn chairs, some even had towels. Otherwise, there was fresh, green grass. That wouldn’t get along with my very light-colored khaki pants. “Big mistake,” I thought to myself. The only spot I could see was a little bench way off in the distance, outside the whole performance area.

I wandered about a little forlorn, looking around at all the blankets and chairs, hoping there might be a spot. No luck.

Then, all of a sudden, I noticed a clump of chairs right at the front. Except for a man and a woman, they were completely empty, and it was starting time for the concert. They looked like they were reserved for important people, but, see, I really wanted to be at the very front to hear Clare play. Hmm, I wondered who they were for. I decided to go and ask.

“Excuse me, are these seats reserved?” “We’re not sure what they’re for. But please, have a seat.” “OK.” I figured I’d sit there until I found out what they were for, in other words, until someone kicked me out. Anyway, this friendly guy seemed to enjoy my company. “Well, they’ll kick me out if they’re reserved.” “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that. I’m the composer.”

This guy was a world-class composer of the first music piece of the evening, and he was there because tonight was the world premier. We chatted about his music, he told me about his frustration with having to re-write the music after the lyrics were changed by the author only several weeks ago. I told him I was a friend of Clare, the soloist. “Oh, then you belong here.”

Somehow, I got to spend the concert with him and his wife and friends. After his music, he was invited up on the stage and received an ovation. I got to sit with the guest of honor.

And I got the front-row seating to hear Clare.

Now, see, I’m not a regular at these things, I’m clueless about the classical music scene in Boston. I’m sure there were many people there who would love to have those seats. But it all happened because I really wanted to be at the front for Clare’s concert. It all happened because she is my friend.

The Lord’s big event is His wedding feast. We can make the big mistake of showing up unprepared. When we do, it can look like we’re going to miss out and be on the outside. But if you really want to be there in the front row, if He’s really your friend, if it really means that much to you, don’t give up. Don’t hold back. Look, seek, and ask.

The Lord will give you the seat you really want.

“Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” (Mt 7:7-8)

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The Victory Of His Resurrection Is Ours

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

Today was the inaugural Mass for the return of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration at St. Clement’s Shrine in Boston. It was a great, great day. There were so many incredibly beautiful and powerful aspects to the day, it was just a great privilege to be there.

But I have to say, my favorite part was when Cardinal O’Malley placed the monstrance in its resting place, for all to adore the Lord in the Eucharist. It’s the spot from which He will be perpetually adored for the first time in 40 years in the city of Boston, the very ground zero of the sex abuse scandal. I couldn’t hold back the tears. I can only describe it as the victory of the resurrection.

Tonight, in the wee hours of the first Sunday morning of His perpetual adoration, I’ll be at the Shrine adoring Him. Tonight, Saturday night, I’ve got a 3-6am night shift. There’s a reason why that’s special for me.

St. Clement’s is right near Fenway park. Now, I grew up loving the Red Sox. Even as a young kid, I used to beat my father to the morning paper and read the sports page every day, to see the final Red Sox score and read about the game. By the time I was twelve, I had learned all about decimals and fractions and formulas from reading all the Red Sox stats in the paper.

And then, later in my life, how many times I was drunk in the bleachers with my buddies, yelling at Yankees’ players, and then hitting the bars afterwards to drink more, inhale a bunch of cigarettes, and chase women. And then there are the nearby bars on Boylston Street, where I used to spend many late hours doing the same thing. You know, there may not be a bar in all of Boston that I haven’t had a drink in.

Those late night hours were a time for me to spend in other traps, too. If I wasn’t “fortunate” enough to find a willing woman, it was a time to give in to an internet pornography addiction.

Six. That’s how many addictions the Lord has taken me out of in 4 years. Most people have to struggle and labor for their whole life to get out of one of them. But He has taken six addictions from me, without my seeking it. Sports, two sexual addictions, drinking, smoking, and, yes, caffeine. All because I gave in to His voice, to His Love.

So tonight, in the middle of the late night shenanigans, I will be with Him. In the very hours when I used to be doing those same things, I will be with Him, in His glory, being perpetually adored for the first time in 40 years. Whether I am sitting there or kneeling there, I don’t know how well I’ll be praying for the revelers. I don’t know what I’ll be saying, or if I’ll be able to listen to the Lord. I hope I can stay awake. But when I hear the partiers outside I will know that I don’t belong to that life anymore. I’ll know very clearly that He has taken me from all that.

Now I’m with Him. Now I belong to Him.

You see, in His own resurrection to glory, in His greatest moment, He’ll show me my own resurrection.

His resurrection is for mine.

Do you remember Mary Magdalene? The Lord had cast seven demons out of her, and on the morning of His resurrection, He appeared to her first. Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. (Mk 16:9)

Why is she the first one He visited? I think I know.

Because that was the very hour when she used to be most trapped by those demons. That’s the hour that she used to be most separated from God. So, that’s the hour that she adores Him most. He stood before her resurrected and showed her that she doesn’t belong to those things anymore. She is with Him, she belongs to Him. To put it in a nutshell, He showed her her own resurrection, and that her resurrection is the reason for His.

Jesus’ victory isn’t to be in heaven. The Son has always has been in heaven with the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity is eternal, right? So no, the real victory of His resurrection isn’t His own.

It’s ours.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. (1 Cor 15:20-23)

The Lord comes to free us, He comes to take us out of all the things that separate us from God and hold us back from fulfillment. Nothing is impossible for Him, and there is no trap that His Mercy does not have a release for. If you think you are separated from God, if you can’t find fulfillment in life, go to His Heart. He is the only one able to give us a resurrection, and He desires it the most.

Because His resurrection has its victory in ours.

Happy Solemnity of the Assumption!

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Unlocking The Kingdom

Friday, August 14th, 2009

My friend Nate and I have been working on my father’s house this summer, and one of the tasks on the to do list was to put in some new locks and door handles.

Now, the main front door of the house has a lock that is probably as old as the house. It’s a deadbolt with a key hole on each side. It’s rock solid and has a specialized cut to it. So, because a new lock wouldn’t fit the same way, and because this original is so solid and has the nostalgia factor going for it, it was decided that it would be best to keep the old lock and spruce it up. Nate offered to polish it. And a few days ago, he brought it back.

Wow, did it look good. As long as I’ve been alive, it had always looked dull and blackened, but now it was shiny brass. Great, I thought.

But Nate said there’s one problem.

It doesn’t work.

What? I put the key in and turned. Nothing. It didn’t work.

We tried assembling it on the door, and that didn’t help. I thought maybe the brass cleaner had just clogged it up. So, we tried WD-40. Then we tried WD-40 again. And then again. But whatever we tried, it still wasn’t working. Finally, I said, “Nate, let’s go to a locksmith. He’ll know. There’s probably something simple that we’re missing.”

So we went up the street to the locksmith.

“Hello, I have this lock, and it doesn’t seem to be working. We polished it up, and I think brass polish might have clogged it or something. We used a little WD-40 on it.” I handed him the lock, and WD-40 oozed out of all it’s crevices.

He took the lock and the key and started working it. He flipped it over, rotated it, turned the key, and played with a little piece on the back of it, a piece that we couldn’t figure out. Then he put the odd little piece in just the right position, and viola. “It works,” he said. He took a marker and marked on the lock how the odd little piece should be positioned for it to work.

Can I give you something for this? No.

And that was it. Two minutes, if that, and the key was opening the lock.

Nate laughed, “How embarrassing. I feel this big.”

“This is great!” I laughed. “The lock works!”

Each of us, like Peter, has been given the keys to God’s Kingdom. “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 16:19) In the Church, we are given all the things we need to unlock the Kingdom and enter. But what happens if you’re confused by them? What happens if you struggle to put things together and use them?

What happens when your key doesn’t open the lock?

Then it’s time to go to the Locksmith. If you try to do it yourself, it becomes a mess. But the Locksmith will know. A few twists and turns, and He’ll get the key working. You have to be little, you have to be ready to feel “this big”, but it’s worth it.

You get the Kingdom of heaven.

“Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 19:14)

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