Archive for the ‘Luminous’ Category

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Get Behind Him

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

A friend of mine Jim is a runner who runs a lot of road races. He came by recently and talked about the marathons he’s run in Boston. Well, during one marathon he was running along and one of those motorcycles with a TV camera on the back of it slowly pulled up in front of him and began filming him. He waves into the camera a little bit, and after he finishes up with his “Hi Mom!”, he puts his head back down and keeps on running. He’s expecting that that’s enough, that the motorcycle will move on.

But it didn’t, it kept on him.

So Jim gives another wave or two, another “Hi Mom!”, and well, this keeps going on. He was wondering why they were so fixed on him. Well, at some point he happened to look over his shoulder to see how far ahead he was of the next guy.

He found out he was only about 5 feet in front of the next guy. And that next guy was Bill Rodgers, the 22-time marathon champion who is probably the greatest American marathoner ever.

Jim told me, “Here I am thinking the camera is on me, and Bill Rodgers is right behind me the whole time. I’m smiling and waving and all that, taking up all the attention. He’s probably thinking, ‘Get out of the way! Get behind me!’”

When the Lord gave Peter his new name and designated him the Rock on which He would build His Church, it was when Peter recognized who He was. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Mt 16:16)

Now what happened right after that, not 3 minutes later? Peter takes the Lord aside and starts telling Him what to do. There’s going to be no going to Jerusalem, no suffering, no death, no resurrection.

What’s going on?

Peter thinks the camera is on him. He’s just got the jackpot, the limelight, the attention. He’s the Rock, the foundation of the Church, he has the keys to the Kingdom. He thinks he’s the leader now. But he missed a very important thing that the Lord said: “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” (Mt 16:17)

So what was the Lord thinking? “Get out of the way! Get behind me!” “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you do not savor the things of God but the things of men.” (Mt 16:23)

Peter went from Rock to devil in 3 minutes because he forgot God. He put himself in front of Jesus.

Our gift of faith is given from God when we get behind Jesus and follow Him. If you’re ever tempted to go out in front of the Lord, if you ever think the good attention you get for being a person of faith is your own doing, remember Peter. And remember the Lord’s words to him.

Get behind Him.

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Our Names Are Written In Heaven

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

A month or so ago I went out to a monastery in Massachusetts to spend the day. I’ll often take a day away like that a few times a month. I can get away from all the distractions – no computer, no email, no cell phone. I also put down all the labor I am doing for the Lord, laboring for souls, for the Church. There is no work, no ministries, no church projects, no responsibilities. Just being with the Lord and recollecting. Total silence.

So anyway, when I got there, I entered the lobby and pushed the button to ring the guestmaster, Fr. Richard. When he came, we exchanged greetings and caught up on what was going on with each other. When we were done, he asked, “So, you need a room?” “Yeah, if you have one, just for the day – I’ll leave this evening.” “Yeah, sure, let’s see … I can put you in room 5.” “Great.”

So, I turned away to take something out of my backpack, and when I turned back around, I saw him fishing through a drawer. He pulled out a pile of name cards, you know, the type you can slide into a holder on an office door. He sifted through a little bit and pulled out one with my name on it: “Jerome”

I thought, “They actually have my name written down. They have a place for me.” I was so happy because my name is written in the place I go to be alone with God.

See, with all the activities going on in the Church, the tending to hearts and the projects and the great things that the Lord is doing, I can get caught up in the works, in what is – or isn’t – happening. I can start to think that I have a home in the activity, and forget what is really important. But there’s only one place where my name is written and hidden away.

It’s in the special place where I go to put everything down and be alone with the Lord.

When the Lord sent out seventy disciples to preach and prepare the way for Him, they came back excited about all the things they saw and experienced, and especially that they had authority over evil and were able to do great works. They were so excited. But the Lord recognized that they could get caught up in the excitement and forget the most important thing:

“Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Lk 10:20)

Our joy, our reward is not in the works we can do when we are with God in our vocation. It is that we are His. That we have an intimate and private and unique place with Him away from everything else.

That our names are written in heaven.

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Our Real Name

Monday, May 18th, 2009

At my brother’s wedding rehearsal last June, we all met in the church parking lot beforehand, talking. I had the chance to meet a lot of new people who were friends of my sister in law, so we were all making some new introductions.

In the midst of it, I went up to one woman and said, “Hi I’m Jerome, I’m the groom’s brother.” She gave me one of those looks, you know, where she can tell I had no idea who she was. She pointed over to her left and said, “I belong to him.” Standing there with a big smile was her husband, who I had just met.

So, anyway, they seemed like best of friends and a great couple. We all enjoyed the wedding. But you know, to this very day, I still don’t know her name. But I do remember what she called herself. I thought, that’s her real name.

In writing his Gospel, John never uses his own name. Instead, He calls himself “the disciple whom Jesus loved” a total of five times in his Gospel. What is he doing? He is telling us that he belongs to Him. He is telling us his real name.

Jesus comes to us as a bridegroom to a bride. “Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.” (Mt 25:6) He seeks to enter into a personal covenant of the deepest union of love with each of us, a covenant that is like marriage, but even deeper. Just like in marriage, He wants to give each of us a new name: and you shall be called by a new name which the mouth of the LORD will give. (Is 62:2)

He wants to give us our real name:

“I belong to Him.”

Posted in Family & Friends, Luminous | 5 Comments »

The Way Out Of The Way

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

A friend of the family, Jake, came by a few months ago to watch a movie with my father, and we all got to talking about my father’s trip back down to Virginia. Jake loves to travel, and he especially loves to drive – he used to be a truck driver. So, he offered to drive my father down to Virginia when the time came. What a gift of a friend he is!

Well, when we started talking about the trip down, we talked about route 95, and how it’s pretty much a direct trip from Boston to DC. Jake started describing the routes he takes. “I don’t take 95, even though it pretty much goes direct all the way down. I’ll take the Mass pike to 84, all the way through New York and into Pennsylvania. Then I’ll take 81 to 83 into Maryland.”

Wow, I’m thinking, that’s way out of the way. I have done lot of traveling from Boston to Pennsylvania, to New Jersey, even some to Maryland and Virgina. I’ve gone 95, 84, 684, 287, 80, Garden State Parkway, New Jersey Turnpike, and other ones. But I never would have thought of taking the route he described.

I said, “No Tappan Zee bridge?” “I don’t even take the Tappan Zee – they’re always doing construction on that.”

He said, “Even though it adds 90 more miles onto 450, it takes an hour less time. It’s because, except for Hartford, you skip all the traffic in Connecticut, and then you skip New York and Philadelphia completely.

I would never take 95 the whole way.”

Jesus has come to us, and He desires each of us to come to Him. But reaching Him is a journey that takes effort. If we look to reach Him directly, we’ll meet many obstacles in the road – traffic, construction, accidents on the side of the road, backups, delays.

But there is an indirect way we can take, and His mother knows it. She knows it because she is it. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. (1 Cor 11:1) This way looks like it’s way out of the way. It looks like a longer way, and it may not even make sense to us at first. But we get there faster and easier.

We skip all the commotion, the back-ups, and delays.

And after taking this way, you’ll never take the direct route again.

Happy Mother’s Day!

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The Lord is Our Life Buddy

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

A few years ago, I had the gift of scuba diving pretty often with my friend Ron. Now, he’s a dive master, which means he can do just about anything under water. That’s good for me, because I’m a beginner. He would help me with the gear in setting up, he would lead me where to go, and he would help me with the lobstering underwater. And, he always gave me the lobsters afterwards!

Well, one day I went out to dive with another friend Keith, who is not a dive master. He brought some of his equipment. “You need a breather?” “Yeah.” “This works pretty well.” Well, sort of. “The compass doesn’t work on this one – you can use this one.” “OK.” So, off we went into the ocean.

We swam out about a hundred yards and were poking around for lobsters. Nothing was really happening. Finally, my air was running low, so I let Keith know it was time to go back. He says no – see he had only one lobster and needed another one for his wife for dinner. So he kept going. I stuck with him, and gave him some more time.

A little later, again I told him it was time to go back, I was running low. But he still needed that lobster. Finally, I made as much noise as I could underwater, and got him to surface.

Here we were, about 150 yards off shore, with the sun soon setting, and no one on the beach. By this time, I was just about out of air. Now, let me explain a few things to help understand. With scuba, it’s easier to travel at the bottom of the ocean than to swim on the surface. But now, I had to swim on top because my air was almost out. And I am not a good swimmer.

So, I aimed toward the shore, put in my breather, plunked my head into the water, and began to kick, trying to keep my eyes on the bottom of the ocean as a guide. Kicking, kicking, kicking … am I making any progress, I’m wondering. I picked my head up to see if I was any closer to the shore.

There was no shore! I had turned completely around and was heading out to sea!

Now, I tell you, I began to get nervous. I’m thinking, this is how people die out here, heading out like dummies, with equipment that doesn’t work, without a plan, staying down too long to get lobsters. This is how divers become fish food.

So, then I decided I would not be fish food. I would go in by brute force. I aimed to the shore, put my back into the water and kicked and kicked and kicked like I’d never kicked before. We both made it back safe. And afterwards, I had the biggest fried clam dinner I ever had in my life. I never dove with Keith again.

What happened?

I went out without my dive master, my dive buddy. I put my trust in someone else.

Jesus is the only One we can trust our life with. If we abide in Him and His words in us (Jn 15:7), then He sets us up with the right gear in life, leads us in the good paths, and leads us in our life mission. But if we put our trust in someone else, we end up lost and in some predicament. “Apart from me you can do nothing.” (Jn 15:5)

The Lord is our Life Master.

He is our Life Buddy.

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Become God’s Mirror

Saturday, April 25th, 2009

Marian apparitions have occurred more frequently in the past two hundred years, and especially in the last century. Some are authentic, and some are a little bogus. But did you notice that, in her authentic visitations, the Blessed Virgin always appears privately to only a single person, or just to a few? These people are always “nobodies”, people who aren’t on the radar screen in society. They are often children. They are always the littlest and humblest. These little ones then deliver her message to the world.

There are St. Juan Diego in Mexico City; St. Catherine Labouré at Rue de Bac, France; St. Bernadette at Lourdes, France; Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta at Fatima, Portugal; Alphonsine, Nathalie , and Marie Claire at Kibeho, Rwanda; and many others.

So, why doesn’t the Blessed Mother communicate to the whole world directly?

In the Old Testament, God shows us that He always communicates directly with a “nobody”, who He then charges to pass along His message to the people. Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, to name a few. Even the Hebrews themselves were nobodies. But this is how God reveals Who He is, by choosing the nobodies to deliver His message.

Now, by doing the same, Mary shows us how she is so bound in love to God and that she does what He does. She never does anything that God is not doing. That is why she is so special to Him. Since he clings to me in love I will free him, protect him for he knows my name. (Ps 91:14)

She is a perfect mirror of Jesus her Son: “The disciple is not above his master: but every one shall be perfect, if he be as his master.” (Lk 6:40)

And He is the perfect Revelation of God: Then Jesus answered, and said to them: Amen, amen, I say unto you, the Son cannot do any thing of himself, but what he sees the Father doing: for what things soever he does, these the Son also does in like manner. (Jn 5:19)

The Lord does not want us to think we’re going to make a big impact in the world. The most important thing we do is not in the results we get, whether it’s in our relations, at our work, or in the Church. No, He just wants us to be with Him, doing what He is doing. That’s all.

He wants us to be His mirror. That’s how He reveals Himself to the world.

Posted in Luminous, Serving Others | 3 Comments »

We Will Get There Together

Sunday, April 5th, 2009

I had the gift and privilege to be at the local Eucharistic Congress last night in Boston. It’s really for young adults, and with my grays I’m past that age, but I was invited in by one of the organizers. Plus, I can’t miss an hour of adoration with the Cardinal and then a Eucharistic procession through the North End of Boston. So I went.

So what is a Eucharistic procession? It’s when the Lord Jesus in the Eucharist is carried by a priest in a monstrance down a path with a bunch of people following in prayer. Yesterday was a beautiful and powerful experience to follow the Lord with the Cardinal and about 300 others through the streets of Boston’s “Little Italy”. At a few spots, everyone would kneel and adore for a short time. We each had a little candle, and we sang as we followed along the way.

But it was a windy night. And candles can go out with the slightest gust, right? It was not a good night for keeping a candle lit.

So, we walk out of the church into the night and turn a left, right away into a steady gale. Left and right, candles were being extinguished. But as fast as they were going out, people were helping each other re-light them. Then came a calm spot. Then we went around a corner, and a sudden burst of wind shot out. Lights going out everywhere. Even my friend Mel, who I thought had his light so well guarded, poof – out it went. It went on and on like that the whole way.

Sometimes I found a light from someone else, sometimes I gave a light. Sometimes I had to search for someone who had a light. Sometimes I looked around to help someone who didn’t have a light. I can’t count how many times my own candle went out and then was re-lit. As we followed the Lord in the way together, we adored, sang – and tried to keep our lights lit. And when we finally got to the last church, our lights were lit. We got there – together.

If you say yes to following Jesus, it will be out into a dark way, where there is a strong wind. There will be distractions and temptations and fears and doubts. And you will have a little light. Now I’ll tell you, even though you guard your light as well as you can, the wind will at some point reach it and put it out. It will be impossible to keep it lit on your own.

Now I bet you’re thinking, this guy’s not a good salesman. How would anyone survive? Why would anyone take up an offer like that?

Here’s why: when you are His disciple, you are not alone.

“By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another.” (Jn 13:35)

For us Christians, it’s our love for one another that keeps our lights lit along the way. Even though the wind is strong and the way is dark, when the journey is ended, your light will be lit.

We will get there – together.

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Be Foolishly Merciful

Thursday, March 12th, 2009

When I was a boy, my brother and friends used to play a game called pickle. In the yard, we’d set up two bases, with a player at each base with a baseball glove. These are the basemen. They would throw a single ball between them. Other players would try to run back and forth from one base to the other. These are the runners. While the runners tried to go back and forth between the bases, the basemen would try to tag them out, like in baseball. The ball would sometimes fly over someone’s head, or be dropped. There was chaos a lot of times. But once in a while, a runner would get stuck between the two basemen, in a run-down. The ball would go back and forth between them, with the runner first running toward one base, then the other, trying to avoid being tagged and to make it safely to any base.

Pickle!

How do you get out of a pickle? You’ve got to be foolish.

What do I mean? …

Today I was on the phone trying to set up a new drug prescription for my father. The doctor’s office was ready to prescribe, so I called them.

“We use a mail order prescription service,” I said, “can you call in the prescription to them?” “We don’t call in prescriptions. If you give us their fax number, we can fax the prescription in.” I replied, “Well, I think they have their own fax form and procedure …” “Well, you can mail the form to us. Or drop it off. Or, just call them up and have them fax the fax form to us, then we can fax the prescription to them. Here is our fax number.

They can do that.”

So I called the mail-order pharmacy. “Hello, can you fax the fax form to my doctor, so his office can fax back the fax form and the prescription?” “Well, the doctor’s office has to contact us directly.” “Could you just fax the fax form to them? I have their fax number right here.” “Well, we have a simple number for them to call. They don’t even have to speak to a person. With only a few button pushes they’re all done. It’s very easy for them.” Silent pause. “So … you couldn’t just fax the form over to them I guess?” “No, that’s not our procedure. Have them call us.

They can do that.”

Pickle!

Now, I could have gotten mad. I could have said, “Look, I’m the one stuck in the middle here. This will be the third phone call I’ve made, going back and forth, when all that either one has to do is make one single call to the other, and everything would be done. Each one wants their way, and won’t cut a break. Fine. I’m not going to cut them a break either.” I could have just given up and gone to the local pharmacy. Or I could have gotten the fax form and mailed it coldly with a huff to the doctor’s office. All of these would be very reasonable. I was tempted to do it.

But then, I would have been tagged out.

I would be doing the same thing they were doing. I would have become the evil I hated.

What did I do?

Something very unreasonable, something that may seem like foolishness. I retrieved the fax form that the doctor’s office refused to get. I personally drove 2 miles with a warm greeting to the doctor’s office to deliver to them the fax form – by hand – that the pharmacy refused to send.

And I was safe. I made it. I was free. No bitterness and rancor, just joy and energy. I had a great, great day after that, I can’t even begin to explain…

Jesus was always in pickles in His ministry. “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places and calling to their playmates, `We piped to you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’” (Mt 11:16-17)

But He was always getting out of them, too: “But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if any one would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” (Mt 5:39-41)

At some point, God puts each of us into a pickle. When you are in a pickle, don’t be afraid to follow these foolish words. Don’t be afraid to be foolishly merciful.

You will have a great, great reward.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Cor 1:25)

Posted in Family & Friends, Luminous, Science & Technology, Serving Others | 4 Comments »

Let Him Make You New

Sunday, February 22nd, 2009

When I worked as a research engineer, I was given the gift of working on new technologies, especially using new “smart” materials that had been developed by some very smart people. This was exciting for me, because it gave me a chance to exercise all the creative juices in my noodle and to use all the things I worked hard on learning in college. I wanted to invent something brand new that had never been done before.

Well, we had one project where we were working with the US Navy to help them with their torpedo shells. If the torpedo makes too much noise, it can be detected and then intercepted. So, the Navy asked us to help them with this problem.

Great. Something that had never been done before.

So, I did some very advanced analysis on the vibration of the torpedo shell, and helped the Navy to understand it. Then, I noticed something very peculiar about how the torpedo vibrated. Then a great idea came to my mind. I thought, “this would a great opportunity to use the new high-tech ’smart’ material. It is a perfect application. This is revolutionary!”

Excited, I presented it to my boss, who was also excited. It was a great breakthrough for using the material. It had all the qualities of an ingenious and simple design. All my awards in college, in grad school, all my growth in the field, my budding reputation were coming to fruition, I thought.

So I went patent searching.

Guess what? After five minutes on the internet, I found that someone had already done the exact same thing, and patented it.

What a blow. It seemed every other time I thought of a “great” idea, a great invention, someone had already done it. And this, I thought, finally was it. I thought, “This is the best I can do.” I thought, “Everything that I do has already been done.”

What has been done, that will be; what has been done, that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun. Even the thing of which we say “See, this is new!” has already existed in the ages that preceded us. (Ecc 1:9-10)

In the world, in our neighborhoods, in our families and our own lives, we live under the sun. Under the sun, we have problems, and there is always the temptation to do something new, something that has never been done before. But there is nothing new that we can do. Under the sun.

But the Lord comes from above the sun. And He leaves His abode and comes to join us under the sun. Why? Why, if He is Creator and can do everything, would He limit Himself and enter somewhere where nothing new can be done?

Because under the sun, He is not making new things. He is making things new. And he who sat upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” (Rev 21:5)

You are precious to God. In your mistakes, failures, and sins under the sun, He is not looking to make a new and improved person to replace you. He is not interested in coming up with a clone, or a genetically modified version of you, or an upgraded version of you. He is not looking to replace you with someone without your outdated weaknesses and your track record. He is not interested in making a new you.

He wants to make you new.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. (Jn 3:16-17)

Posted in Joyful, Luminous, Science & Technology, Work & Career | 1 Comment »

Flip The Switch

Wednesday, February 4th, 2009

Friday here is trash day, so last Thursday I went to go and put out the trash as I usually do. There is an automatic garage-door opener here, and there is a remote control for it in the living room in the house. So, a lot of times I usually use the remote from the living room to open the garage door and then go outside and through the garage to get the garbage and bring it out.

So I picked up the remote for the garage door and pushed the button. Nothing happened. I pushed it again – nothing. Again, making sure I pushed it hard enough – nothing. Huh, I thought, I wonder what’s wrong.

I went down to the basement to explore. I reached the garage and found the control button that is mounted on the wall. I pushed that – nothing. Huh.

Now, so that the automatic opener won’t cause the door to accidentally close on some unsuspecting soul standing in the way of the door, there are infrared sensors near the bottom of the doorway that check to see if anything is the way of the door. They are like friends looking at each other from either side of the doorway – if anything blocks their view of each other, they don’t let the garage door move. Sometimes, I can leave something like a broom or gardening tool blocking the line of vision, or something can fall in the way – then the door won’t operate. So, I checked both sensors – nothing in the way. Huh.

Then I remembered that there are two light switches on the wall, next to the control button for the door opener. One of those turns on and off the power to the opener. I flicked the switch.

Bingo.

I must have accidentally flicked it when I was trying to flick the other one to turn off the basement light.

One little switch, and I was able to open the door get all the garbage out.

We all have some garbage in our house, in our hearts. Now, the Lord wants to get the garbage out. He wants all the junk that’s inside our hearts to come out. But sometimes, our door won’t open. There’s some little thing that needs to be switched.

At the moment when the Lord came to him on the shore of the sea, Peter was not a success-story. Neither was he an especially righteous man. But the Lord wanted him. He was going to get the garbage out of him and live in him and do great things with him and in him. Peter was going to be the rock on which He would build His church. Peter was going to be the first Pope and the leader of the Church.

We can sometimes think that the Lord wants successes and heroes. You know, people who are good at getting results, are multi-talented, efficient and effective at accomplish things. This is the way the world is, and it can sink into the Church, too. But the Lord is different.

He is looking for sinners and failures.

“They that are well have no need of a physician, but they that are sick. For I came not to call the just, but sinners. ” (Mk 2:17)

If you are having trouble opening up to get the garbage out of your heart, forget the world’s way and don’t be afraid.

Remember, the Lord loves sinners and failures.

Flip the switch.

Posted in Luminous, Science & Technology | 2 Comments »

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