PRESENTATION OF JESUS IN THE TEMPLE

 

Mary, Joseph, Anna, Simeon and Jesus

The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him.

Luke 2:22-40

In the gospel on Monday, February 2, Jesus is brought to the Temple, by Mary and Joseph, to be consecrated to the Lord. While they were there, they ran into two old people, Simeon and Anna, who made predictions about Jesus.

Predictions, those made about us, and those we make about ourselves, are very powerful. In Egypt, a new ruler was given five names, each of which described a virtue expected of him. In the Isaiah reading at Christmas, we see that the future king of God’s people would bear four names: Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-forever, Prince of Peace.  

We tend to believe what is said about us, and said to us! We tend to rise to meet the high expectations or sink to meet the low expectations voiced about us! If people say we are smart, we tend to act as if are smart! If people say we are losers, we tend to act like losers.

Growing up, I was not aware of what the therapeutic community knows today - how damaging or helpful comments from others can be to our self-worth. Children tend to believe negative and positive assessments of themselves from teachers and parents, developing a compromised self-concept when criticized on a regular basis or an enhanced self-concept when praised on a regular basis. I was barraged, growing up, with powerful negative messages and predictions – things like “You will never amount to a hill of beans!” Even when I left for the seminary, most of the adults around me told me I would never make it!

It wasn't till I got older that I understood that I had joined them in criticizing myself.  I can remember making the decision to stop my own self-defeating self-talk and start replacing it with positive and encouraging self-talk. It has been a long hard road because they say positive-to-negative comments need to be at least five to one for success in overcoming the damage. 

I still have a long way to go. I still say things to myself like "I am not good at figuring out electronics," but if I stop, take my time and tell myself that "I can," I usually can!  Negative self-talk increases my stress and it stops me from searching for solutions.        

I have fought negative talk throughout my priesthood - both in myself and others. In almost every assignment I have had, some priest has told me how impossible the situation was going to be! I found that the parishioners in almost every one of those assignments believed it themselves. My job. from the pulpit, was to get them to change the way they thought about themselves and magic happened in every situation. I have spent years practicing and teaching the power of positive self-talk!

My friends! What others say to you and about you is powerful, but you need not be a victim if it is negative. You can choose what to believe about yourself and you can override negative messages by positive self-talk!    As W. C. Fields said, “It ain’t what they call you, it’s what you answer to!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHOICE BETWEEN "GOOD ENOUGH TO GET BY" OR "EXCELLENCE"

 

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Matthew 5:6

One of the things Bellarmine University is famous for is its Merton Library - the official papers of Kentucky's most famous Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, whose religious name was Father Louis.  There is a statue of him in front of Bellarmine's science building. I ought to know! I was the longest serving campus minister in its history at 16 years. The Merton statue was installed during my early years there and moved to its present location right before I left. 

One of my favorite stories about Thomas Merton involves an exchange between him and his friend Robert Lax. Lax asked Merton what he wanted to be. Merton answered, "I don't know; I guess what I want to be is a good Catholic." Robert Lax shot back, "What do you mean you want to be a good Catholic? What you should say is that you want to be a saint!" In defense, Thomas Merton responded, "How do you expect me to become a saint?"  "By wanting to," was Lax's response.

With that, Thomas Merton realized how often people say they cannot do the things they must do, cannot reach the level that they must reach, the cowardice that says: "I am satisfied to do enough to get by, but I do not want to give up my sins and my attachments." 

How many of us really want to be saints, "to be in that number when the saints go marching in?"  Most of us are like St. Augustine when he prayed, "Lord make me pure, but not yet!" Most of us wouldn't mind being a saint, if we didn't have to change anything, especially if we didn't have to let go of our sins and destructive attachments

A "saint" is not a "perfect person." A "saint" is a person who hungers and thirsts for righteousness, a person with a drive for improvement - both in who they are and what they do - a fierce commitment to their own lifelong formation, an unflinching quest for personal excellence. This does not mean we earn our way to sainthood through personal growth and good deeds. It means that we realize to the depths of our being that we are so loved by God that we want to respond to that love by trying to become all that we can be.

In his book, The Pursuit of Excellence, Tom Peters says about himself, "The idea of mediocrity scares the hell out of me!" "The fear of mediocrity" may be the secret ingredient in becoming a saint. Thomas Merton famously said that the "biggest human temptation is to settle for too little."  

We are in truth "saved by grace."  We are called to sainthood and we are given the help we need to respond. We do not come to that help, that help comes to us. We cannot make that help come to us, but we can open ourselves to its miraculous arrival. We can certainly cooperate with God in the process of becoming saints "by wanting to," by "hungering and thirsting for righteousness.”

I started this homily by quoting from one of the most beautiful passages in the Gospels. We call these words “the beatitudes.” What they are, really, are descriptions of a truly “holy person,” a person who truly loves God. In reality, they are a set of talking points on Christian holiness, a checklist of the qualities a person possesses who seriously loves God.

Unlike the Ten Commandments, which stress the things that one who loves God should not do, this is a list of things that a person who loves God does do. It is important to remember here that Jesus is not saying “do these things and God will love you,” but rather “if you love God, these are the things you will do!” We do not do these things to earn God’s love, rather if we love God, we will do these things. So, what then does a serious lover of God look like? How many of them describe you as a “saint in the making?”

(1) He or she is first of all “poor in spirit.”  What Jesus is talking about here is not merely economic poverty. Even the dirt poor can be greedy in their hearts. What it means, really, is the deep-down knowledge that when it comes right down to it, we own nothing and everything can be taken away from us in an instant. Every material possession, every blessing we have ever had, is a gift from God that was given to us, not to hoard, but to share. The more we have been given, the greater the responsibility we have to share.” “Poverty of spirit” is a basic knowledge that we are all poor, when it comes right down to it. No matter how rich we are, we are a heartbeat away from total poverty. We can’t take anything with us, when this is all over! As they say, “There are no pockets in shrouds!” A person who loves God, a person who is poor in spirit, never forgets that fact!

(2) A serious lover of God is able to mourn. One who loves God seriously knows that we are interconnected human beings and therefore never loses his or her ability to feel the suffering of others. A cold-hearted, self-centered, disinterested person is not a friend of God. A friend of God shares the compassion of Christ who was moved deeply by the horrible suffering of simple human beings and is never far from “the gift of tears,” as the saints called it.

(3) A serious lover of God is meek. A “meek” person is not a person who lets people walk over him or her. A “meek” person lives with the knowledge that he is never “a god,” but nonetheless always a “child of God.” In other words, he neither inflates his own worth on one hand, nor does he allow others to deflate his value on the other hand.  Being meek means to know who we are in God’s eyes- nothing more, but nothing less!

(4) A serious lover of God hungers and thirsts for righteousness. A serious lover of God does not dabble in religion, placing religion somewhere outside the realm of his daily living and daily choices.  Rather, he or she is a serious spiritual seeker, always trying to align his everyday life with Christian principles.  He or she strives always to close the gap between being a Christian in name and being a Christian in fact, while being totally free of religious fanaticism and doing spiritual violence to others in the name of orthodoxy.

(5) A serious lover of God is merciful. Being merciful means letting God be the judge of other people. It means giving people the benefit of the doubt, giving them a break, wishing them well on their path, knowing that with God, it isn’t over till it’s over, and with God there is always another chance. Yes, it also means living the maxim, “There but for the grace of God, go I!” Thomas Merton said, "The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all livings things, which are part of one another, and all involved in one another."

(6) A serious lover of God is clean of heart. A serious lover of God doesn’t just do good things, he or she does them for the right reason and with the purest of motives.  I tried to remind the seminarians at Saint Meinrad that it is a good thing to want to be a priest, but one must go into it for good reasons – to serve people, not for what priesthood can do for them. It is a good thing to give to the poor, but one can give to the poor, not because they love the poor, but because they will get their name in the paper or will have a building named after them. A serious lover of God always does good things, but he also does them for the right reason.

(7) A serious lover of God is a peacemaker. War is getting more and more irrelevant. We need to become as good at peacemaking as we have been at building sophisticated weapons. There will always be misunderstanding between people. One who truly loves God has the ability and the credibility to prevent disagreements from becoming a reason for violence. We need not think globally only. Families, marriages, neighborhoods, siblings and churches desperately need these peacemakers. When enough of us really love God, we will have enough peacemakers to move us closer to universal peace.  If you love God, you love his people! If you love his people, you will do what you can to bring them together.

(8) A serious lover of God will be persecuted, insulted and lied about. The brighter the light the fiercer the attack! Evil does not like goodness. Evil cannot tolerate the presence of goodness and so it attacks. One who seriously loves God is more than willing to take persecution, insults and lies, knowing that personal integrity is more important than comfort or approval.

So, the bottom line is this – you will know that you are on the path to sainthood if these "beatitudes" describe you! If these eight characteristics don't describe you, make a u-turn while you can, because you're headed in the wrong direction!      

 

 

 

 

 

CHURCH CHAT #13

 

FIDELITY - KEEPING A PROMISE THROUGH THICK AND THIN

 

Every year, on April 8, hundreds of dog lovers gather in one of Tokyo's train stations to remember the loyalty and devotion of a university professor's pet dog, Hachiko.

This dog was only 18 months old when his master died of a stroke while at work. The next day, and for the next nine years, Hachiko went to the station and waited for his beloved master before walking home alone. Nothing and no one could discourage Hachiko from maintaining his nightly vigil. It was not until he followed his master in death nine years later that Hachiko failed to appear in his place at the railroad station. A bronze statue of this dog still stands at his waiting place outside the train station. Inspired by his faithfulness and loyalty, Hachiko was mounted and stuffed and is still on display at the Tokyo Museum of Art.

Fidelity! We have a whole lot of names for it: keeping a promise, carry through, doing what you said you'd do, keeping your word, putting your money where your mouth is, putting up and shutting up, being faithful, to name a few.

When I was ordained a priest, 56 years ago this May, I made a promise to remain faithful to my ministry till death. Let me share with you a few things I have learned about fidelity so far. 

(1) Fidelity is not static, by dynamic. By that, I mean you don't just commit in some ceremony and "puuuf," fidelity is guaranteed. It is always a way of life, rather than a fact of life. Fidelity is something that must be freely and consciously chosen every morning you put your feet to the floor, whether you're a marriage partner, a Sister or a priest. In a day’s time, life offers innumerable opportunities to be faithful or unfaithful. In fact, many of those around us today will actually encourage us and entice us to be unfaithful, rather than faithful. In other words, opportunities for infidelity, as well as some very convincing rhetoric will try to entice us to be unfaithful. Like love, fidelity can often be demandingly harsh, especially when you have to say "no" to things that look good, smell good, taste good and feel good - all for the sake of a higher good.

(2) Those who make commitments to fidelity must count the cost before they make it and be able to pay the price after they make it. In marriage, you must not be able to remain faithful yourself, you have to marry someone else who has what it takes to remain faithful. One should never make a lifetime commitment without having what it takes to keep it. Before one takes such a serious leap as a life-time commitment, one must be able to take baby steps before big steps. Before one makes a lifetime commitment, it is a good idea to see if one can make small commitments and keep them. Nemo dat quod non habet. One cannot give what one does not have. If you never keep your word, never follow through on even small promises, always take the latest best offer no matter what you told someone else yesterday, never finish a project, never can be counted on to show up, then you are not ready to be a priest, Sister or get married. 

It is here that the Church gets a bum rap. Catholic marriages are deliberately hard to enter - and that's because Jesus told us those who enter them, enter them for life. Permanence of marriage is not something the Church came up with. This permanence is something the Church was instructed to uphold. Therefore, the Church makes a big deal in trying to find out whether the two people marrying can not only make a commitment for life, but even more so, be able to keep it over a lifetime! Seminary students and Novice Sisters are brought through an even more strenuous process to find out whether they should be ordained or professed, but even more so, whether they can stay ordained or professed.

(3) Fidelity is often presented as a horrible cross to bear with rewards only in the afterlife. Very little is said about the payoffs of fidelity. I believe that fidelity has pay-offs similar to regular exercise and a good diet. It's not easy, but it is ultimately good for you and for society.  God knows we have seen the pain that uncommitted partners, infidelity, latest best offers, grass-is-greener-on-the-other-side-of-the-fence thinking have inflicted on innocent marriage partners, families and especially children. Fidelity teaches you a lot about yourself. It teaches you to work through problems, rather than run from them. It helps you focus your energy in a more effective way. You learn to be reliable and know that you have others to rely on, in a world that is becoming more slippery by the day. 

(4) One does not just make a promise of fidelity and hope for the best or merely tough it out. One must tend one's garden, pay attention on a daily basis and do all one can to protect one's commitment from compromise and contamination. I have learned one thing from hundreds and hundreds of failed marriages. They were not killed. They simply starved to death, day after day, from lack of care and feeding!

One of my heroes is Father Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a French Jesuit and a scientist. Because of his new ideas, he was silenced by Rome in 1926. He was urged by many to leave, not only the Jesuits, but also the Church. He decided rather to "go on to the end and with a smile if possible." Why? He said, "When I took my vows I committed myself. To break them would be an offense against honor." "One must work from within," he said. "Those who leave no longer have any influence. The ideas now considered revolutionary will be generally accepted...The day will come; there can be no possible doubt about it."

Faithful God, help us develop the inner strength and courage we need to be faithful too!           

THE THREE THINGS NEEDED IN TIMES OF STRESS

 

I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition 

of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power 

and love and self-control.

II Timothy 1:1-8

Paul is in prison when he writes to a very discouraged young missionary named Timothy. It was Paul who had ordained an enthusiastic young Timothy. Now he writes to a young man overwhelmed and drowning in discouragement in his ministry. Things were falling apart. Timothy wants to give it up and come home. The "fire" he once had in him was going out. Paul tells Timothy to "fan into flame once again that gift that God gave you when you were ordained." His advice applies to those of you whose marriages or vowed life have grown lukewarm, as well as those who have lost their enthusiasm for practicing their faith!

Paul tells Timothy that God does not give us a spirit of cowardice, where we back off from life's challenges, give into our lazy streaks, take the easy way out and wimp out when things get tough.

Rather than a spirit of cowardice, Paul tells Timothy that God gives us three qualities that enable us to face apathy, danger, fear or setbacks with self-possession, confidence and resolution.

1. Dunymis - First, the Spirit gives us strength in the sense of adequacy to meet life's challenges effectively, the strength to do well what needs to be done. Some translations use the word power, but the word power has so many bad connotations today that the word strength is more true to what Paul means here. I am reminded here of Gideon's question to God when he was called to lead a vast number of people. "How can I possibly do what you ask?" God answered him, "I will be with you!" When needed, the Holy Spirit has been known to give people super-human strength. People have been known to run into burning buildings to rescue people, lift cars off people and to run great distances in times of crisis that they could never do otherwise. Today, it takes dunymis, strength, to raise children and keep a marriage life-giving. Today, it takes dunymis, strength, to remain engaged, energized and effective in priesthood and religious life.

2. Agape - Second, the Spirit gives us the ability to offer practical helpfulness even under pressure. Our translation today uses the word love, but that is sometimes associated in our culture with warm and fuzzy feelings. What the Spirit gives us is competence to deal effectively with a situation by being able to offer practical help to others. Sometimes we don't know what to do and where to turn, but the Spirit has been known to show us just what to do. Firemen, policemen, flight attendants and emergency room doctors and nurses need to offer more than warm fuzzy feelings. They need to be able to deal effectively with the situations in front of them. Those who care for sick children and elderly parents know that it takes more than warm fuzzy feelings. It takes the ability to function effectively even when it doesn’t feel good.

3. Sophronismos - Third, the Spirit gives us wisdom, but a very special kind of wisdom - the wisdom to know what to do in the face of panic, the know-how to keep your cool under pressure. (SOPHRONISMOS PRESS is the name I have given my little self-publishing empire – 40 books so far!) When we are overwhelmed with tragedy and loss, we often feel that we cannot cope. Those of you facing old age and bad health have days when you don’t think you can cope. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we are able to stand our ground and handle things we never thought imaginable. Parents who lose their children in tragic accidents, married people who lose their spouses through terminal diseases. people who care for elderly parents over the long haul all need to know how to remain calm and what to do, even in the face of panic. A flight attendant running up and down the isle of a crippled airplane screaming, “we goina’ die” is a menace. He or she has to be able to remain calm and tell the people to fasten their seat belts and brace themselves for impact, no matter how bad it looks!” When the Cathedral walls cracked the whole 1852 building almost fell in a rubble. I can remember standing on the sidewalk watching it. I remember saying to myself, “Ron, you do not have the luxury of falling apart. You are pastor of that congregation next Sunday, with or without this building.” That is what “sophronismos” is all about!

A VOCATION: EVERYBODY HAS ONE

          

Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.

At once they left their nets and followed him.

Matthew 4:12-23

What do you want to be when you grow up?” A lawyer? A farmer? A teacher? An actor? A doctor? What do you want to be when you grow up? A scientist? An engineer? A musician? An investment counselor? An accountant? What do you want to do when you grow up? An astronaut? A politician? An artist? A writer? You have heard these questions since you were a child! No doubt, you have been counseled, directed and pressured to choose one. You have been told that certain professions should be considered because they pay well and warned that others should be avoided because they don’t! In making your choice, you are, no doubt, under the gun to please parents, counselors, teachers and peers!

“What do you want to do when you grow up?” I believe that that question is the wrong question! The only question that really counts is the question: “What does God want you to do when you grow up?” I am reminded about a young man from the Bible named Jeremiah who argues with God about his call. God tells Jeremiah: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you." Jeremiah argues back: "Look God, I am too young. I’m not a good speaker!" God snaps back: "Don’t say you’re too young. Don’t be afraid. I will be with you to help you. I will put my words in your mouth."

In the gospel Jesus calls some men to what we call today, “second career vocations.” They were earning their living as fishermen, the same thing their fathers, grandfather and great grandfathers had done for as long as they remembered. Jesus calls them to “follow him” and so they left their nets, left their boat and their father - “at once” - and followed him.

My friends, each one of you is precious in God’s eyes. You are special. You are a unique expression of God’s love and creativity. In all the world there is no other person exactly like you. There never has been or never will be another person just like you! Besides being special and unique, you are not here by accident. You were sent here for a purpose. You have a mission. You have something to do here that can be done by no one else. Your responsibility is to find out what your mission is and then carry it out with all your might. Your purpose here is commonly called “your vocation” or “your call.” Because it is God who calls you to your special task, God will be there to help you carry it out.

With a hundred people pulling you this way and that, saying that “you ought to be this” or “you ought to be that,” how do you hear what God is calling you to do? We hear God by listening to our own hearts. To be able to hear God speaking to us, we must spend some quality time with God and with ourselves. That means that sometimes we need to turn off the TV, the radio, the head phones, the computer, the advice givers and just be quiet! That means you have to leave your friends, you family and your neighbors once in a while, just to be alone in the presence of God. For many people, just being quiet is extremely hard to do and it’s scary! Many people are not used to being without noise and without being with people every waking moment of the day. When we go off and listen to our own hearts, we will hear our call, our vocation, where we need to go.

A very few people hear God’s voice directly like Jeremiah, Peter and Andrew, James and John, seems to have done. More people hear their calls as “a hunch,” “a quiet knowing” or “a small still voice” that never seems to go away. They just know in their guts. Most people hear God’s call through the invitation of others, those who say to us over and over again, “you’d make a good doctor,” “you’d be a great teacher,” “you’d make a good priest,” “you’ll make a great parent.” If you hear people saying one of those things, over and over again, you ought to listen to see if your heart agrees! They just might be messengers from God himself!

What if we listen for God’s call? What if we don’t? God wants the best for us! If we do what he calls us to do, we will be ourselves, we will be what he created us to be. We will feel, and we will know, that we are in the right place. Our life’s work will fit who we are. When we follow our calls, we will be happy, not a “ha-ha” happy, but a deep down satisfaction, in spite of challenges.

However, sometimes people know what they are supposed to do in life, but they don’t do it because they are scared of its demands, scared of what other people will think, scared of failure or scared of disappointing their parents, peers and friends. We pay a price for not listening to God’s call. We pay a price for pleasing others instead of becoming who we are. When people go against their call and do something else, their lives will seem to be out of sync, they will be frustrated, their hearts will not be in their jobs or professions. They will go through life with a low grade depression, a restlessness that will follow them wherever they go! Then, when they are old and look back, they will be filled with regret, anger and frustration that life somehow passed them by!

Everybody has a vocation, a call from God, to do something for him, to help him carry out some part of his work in the world. A call is not so much about what we want to do, but what God wants us to do! The famous Albert Schweitzer put it this way, “The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.” The famous Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. put it this way, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?” Some of you are called to help God carry out his mission by being teachers, doctors, scientists and food producers. Others of you are called to help God carry out his mission by being politicians, lawyers and writers. Others of you are called to carry out God’s mission by being social workers, artists and scientists. Still others are called to help God carry out his mission by having children, by being a good husband or wife or by living the single life. Finally, some of you are called to be priests, sisters, brothers and full time lay ministers. The church especially today needs good priests: people to preach the gospel, celebrate the sacraments and lead our parishes spiritually. According to some recent studies, no matter what the media says, 94% of all priests are happy or very happy as priests. In spite of the tragedy of the sexual abuse scandal, priests still have one of the highest satisfaction rates around, compared to other professions! But whatever your call, you are called to help God carry out his mission in the world in some way! As St. Theresa put it, “Anyone who realizes that he or she is favored by God will have the courage necessary for doing great things!”

Young adults! You have a call! Your job is to hear your call and dare to be all that you can be! Let me end this homily by quoting these words of Marianne Williamson, one of my favorite quotes. It's from A Return to Love.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate,

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous –

actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.

Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people

won’t feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.

It is not just in some of us: it is in everyone,

and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously

give other people permission to do the same.

 

 

CHURCH CHAT #12

 AN IMPOSSIBLE JOB DESCRIPTION

 

TIPS FOR LOSING WEIGHT FOR SINGLES - OTHERS MAY READ THEM

 

Quite a few people make weight loss a central part of their annual "new year's resolution" and then fail after losing a pound or two and then putting them back on before they know it because they lack discipline!  I know this to be true because I have been one of those failures more than once! 

Last year, 2025, may be the only exception! Even though it took me all year to lose 30 pounds, about five inches or more in the waist, I managed to keep it off even through the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays! 

Since I am single and live alone, I understand that my situation is very different from most. None of these suggestions will probably work in most homes unless everybody in the house has decided to make the same "new year's resolution" and attempt to lose weight as a group at the same time! Even then, one member of the group could sabotage any group effort by reverting back to their "old ways" by bringing "junk food" into the house!

So, if you live alone or belong to a family weight loss cohort, here are some suggestions that worked for me - at least last year! Take a couple of weeks ahead as a time to plan your beginning month's strategy. 

(1) Put a treadmill in front of a TV and do not allow yourself to watch TV unless you are on that treadmill.

(2) Stay out of the ice cream, candy and bakery aisles at the grocery store. "Lead us not into temptation!" 

(3) Do not clip coupons for such food items as ice cream, candy and bakery items no matter if they are "half-off" or more. 

(4) Do not even bring such tempting food items into the house.

(5) Don't watch pizza and ice cream commercials on TV especially in the evenings when they are back-to-back! Pause the treadmill and take a short break when they come on! Even the "power of suggestion" may be too powerful, especially if you live near a grocery store. 

(6) Allow room for short breaks like inevitable family celebrations where your presence is required, but severely limit your intake of unhealthy choices and large servings. Do some "self-talk" and planning before you go. Choose wisely and do not use it as an occasion to "pig out!" Just one "pig out" session could break your routine and cause you to break your new discipline patterns!         

(7) As I lost weight and began to reach my goal, I got rid of my old clothes that no longer fit so I would not be tempted into easing back into them one pound-at-a-time. 

(8) Keep a journal so you can track your losses and gains and get back on track as fast as you can! 

(9) Pause for a few minutes before every temptation so you have time to "talk yourself out of it" before you eat! 

(10) Keep a supply of raw carrots, celery, turnips and other vegetables in the refrigerator to snack on, as well as other low fat, low carbohydrate, items in case of "temptation attacks."

ON THE OTHER HAND

“Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals, dying of nothing.”

Redd Foxx

A REVIVAL OF MY OLD IDEA FOR HELPING KIDS IN THE MISSIONS

"A USED PEN AND PENCIL DRIVE" 

For The Children Attending The Soon-To-Be Finished 

CARDINAL POLYCARP GRADE SCHOOL

Diocese of Tunduru-Masasi

Tanzania, East Africa 

Bishop Filbert Mhasi With Two of  His Diocese's Beautiful And Curious School Children 

Toward the end of last year, working through the Father John Judie Ministries Inc operated by my fellow retired Louisville priest volunteering in the missions of east Africa, I decided to help Bishop Filbert Mhasi find the funds to restart and finish his half-built new Catholic grade school. 

This was what the new school-to-be looked like when work had stopped because the funds ran out. 

Miraculously, we reached that goal on Christmas Eve 2025 about 1:00 pm when the afternoon mail arrived. I had promised to call Bishop Mhasi on Christmas Eve to tell him how close we came to our goal of $82,000.00.  When I told him that we had reached our goal on Christmas Eve, not Easter Sunday as I had first predicted, he was truly blown away! We both consider reaching this milestone a miracle to be attributed to Pope Francis's Sleeping Saint Joseph devotion! 

 

Bishop Mhasi was so eager to re-start the school building that he launched the re-start in a day or two after the first half of the new gifts was wired to him! Bishop Mhasi is a man who can get things done! 

The New Concrete Floor In One Of The Classrooms Was Re-started Right Away

The dry-wall ceiling in another classroom has been re-started after the new funding started arriving. 

With this new funding in place, the re-start of this school building is already coming along quite nicely.  However, after raising the funds for three major building projects in the missions of east Africa last year, including finishing the funding for this school, I have sworn off major building projects for a while so I can focus on some smaller mission efforts!

This has led me to revive an old idea I introduced when I was working in the Caribbean missions. I called it a "Used Pen And Pencil Drive." People collected and gave me over 1,000 used ball point pens and pencils they had retrieved from their kitchen, desk and cabinet drawers at home. Most people were surprised to find so many not being used! 

Now that the new school is on its way to being finished and will hopefully open soon, I would like to focus on gathering some used, or even new for that matter, light-weight school supplies (ball point pens, regular pencils with erasers, color pencils, rulers and so on). Father John Judie has agreed to take them with him in a large suitcase when he returns to Tanzania in March. If you are inspired to help with this easy but needed project, you can arrange a drop-off of your collection of used pens and pencils by texting Father Knott at jrknott@bellsouth.net or by leaving them at his door (address listed below) with his name and your name on the package or bag. He trusts his neighbors to secure them for him if he is not at home. Here is Bishop Mhasi's response to this idea. 

"Fr. Ron, thanks so much for this very good idea of school supplies. Some might take it for granted, but in our area and situation, there are many here who are struggling to get these school supplies like pens, pencils, plastic rulers, erasers and so forth. Fr. John will help us so much to carry these with him in an extra suitcase when he returns to Tanzania."

We have decided that it would NOT be wise to accept writing paper, notebooks and writing tablets because of their weight and crayons  because of the intense heat. The paper would take up too much room in a suitcase and shipping it separately would be way too expensive. Melted crayons would probably not be very useful. In fact, it would be much cheaper for them to buy school paper and crayons over there than for us to ship them from here even if we got them for free.  

On the other hand, if you would like to help them be able to purchase writing paper, crayons and other needed heavy weight classroom supplies over there, you can write a check to Father John Judie Ministries, Inc and send the check to Father Knott for deposit in that account (Father Knott's address is listed below).  Put "For Bishop Mhasi's School"  in the blank memo line at the bottom left side of the check. Here is Bishop Mhasi's response to this offer to promote the need for some help with the heavy weight school supplies that they will need to buy or build over there.   

"Fr. Ron, thanks also for making a financial appeal for securing some heavy-weight school supplies. For the heavy weight items like writing paper, any donation might also help us buy or build chairs and tables (desks) for the students."

Rev. Ronald Knott

1271 Parkway Gardens

#106

Louisville, KY 40217

TWO SUGGESTIONS AND ONE OBSERVATION

1. Invite your extended family members to help you collect these used "sometimes-just-laying-around" school supplies for these kids in need.  

2. If your business gives away pens or pencils for advertising purposes, ask if they have a few they would like to pass on to these mission school kids in need.  (Don't just take them without asking!) 

3. I just know that this is going to be another one of those life-changing mission projects that will empower children and families alike for years to come! I was attracted to this project  because I know and trust Bishop Mhasi personally and I hated to see his half-finished school (a dream of his) just sitting there waiting for some more funds to come in after he had worked so hard to raise the first half of those needed funds! I can't wait to see the day when the kids begin to access this desperately needed new Catholic school. This will not only make the kids happy, but it will make me and the other donors proud and happy as well! As the Book of Proverbs puts it, "Those who water others, will themselves be watered!" 

A Half-Full Suitcase of Light Weight Used Pens, Pencils, Rulers and Pencil Sharpeners That Needs To Be Filled Before Being Hand-Carried By Father John

Heavy Weight Paper That Needs To Be Funded From Here and Purchased Over There

Heavy-Weight Desks That Need To Be Funded From Here and Built Or Bought Over There

PLEASE FORWARD THIS POST TO ANYONE
WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED

 

 

 

 

 

ONCE A MISSIONARY, ALWAYS A MISSIONARY?

 One of my twelve trips to the Caribbean Missions in the 32 the islands of the country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.The new airport in Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. 

Isaiah 49:3, 5-6

When I saw this line in our first reading today, I came to this conclusion about myself - "once a missionary, always a missionary!" It made we realize that my past actually prepared me for this part of my future as a priest. Let me explain that a bit!

In my first and second grade of primary school (1950-1951), down in Meade County, I remember helping "adopt pagan babies." It was a popular program for children in Catholic schools, whereby we brought our pennies to school to "adopt" a poor child in some mission area so as to help prepare him or her for baptism. Some of you might remember this program from your own childhood. The program was a bit simplistic, but well-intentioned!

A Typical Certificate Granted To Those Who "Adopted Pagan Babies" 

In high school seminary, I made rosaries to send to "the missions." I learned that I could really turn them out quite quickly! I remember making hundreds of them as a high schooler at St. Thomas Seminary, out on old Brownsboro Road, here in Louisville.

In college seminary, I was a member and even an officer in an organization called the Catholic Students Mission Crusade. I am reminded of that fact every time I look at an old photo of me from 1965 when I was a third year college seminarian at Saint Meinrad Seminary. In that photo, I was in the chapel, wearing my first cassock and my official C.S.M.C. ribbon and membership medal around my neck.

As a theology level seminarian, I thought about joining the Glenmary Home Missioners. It is an order of priests, brothers and sisters who work here in the "home missions" of the US, mainly in the south where Catholics are rare. I later decided against it, but as a newly ordained priest, I actually ended up being assigned to the "home missions" of our archdiocese for my first ten years. In my life, at least, God always seems to "get his way" in situations like these!

As a retired priest, I decided to volunteer in the "foreign missions" of the Caribbean especially in the countries of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados and Trinidad. I also volunteered to present workshops for priests, deacons and bishops in Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, The Bahamas and at an annual Antilles Episcopal Conference meeting in Trinidad with bishops from all over the English speaking Caribbean as well as a session with their seminarians and a dinner at the Apostolic Nunciature with the Bishops and the Pope's Apostolic Delegate to the capital city of Port of Spain.  

All in all, I made 12-13 trips down there before the volcano erupted in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and COVID caused me to back off mission work down there for a while.

Year before last, I got involved in the east African countries of Kenya and Tanzania through the Father John Judie Ministries organization started by Father John Judie, one of our local priests, who is spending his retirement serving in Kenya and Tanzania. So far, I have raised enough money to build a new church in Kenya, build a new house for a single mother of two young children and finish a half-built grade school in Tanzania. I also raised enough money to pay off the outstanding debts of six impoverished seminarians in Tanzania so they can finally advance to their next level of seminary. Now that re-starting the building of the new grade school is fully funded and in progress, I have turned my attention to finding new and used "school supplies" for the students who will be attending that new school. (See my blog post for this coming Tuesday 1-20-2026 for details)

I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

The teachings of Vatican II encourage and remind us that "all Christians are called to be missionaries, each in their own unique way." We might think of “missionaries” as only those brave priests or religious people that travel to faraway lands bringing the Gospel to local tribes. That is indeed one aspect, but not the only aspect for living as a missionary. We are challenged today be attentive to that beautiful and vital call and hopefully find a way to answer it. 

Pope Paul VI, who presided over the finish and implementation of Vatican II, wrote extensively about our call to be missionaries. 

Following him, Pope John Paul II explained even further that all baptized Christians are challenged to become missionaries in their everyday lives. In a general audience on April 15, 1998  he reminded us that 'The missionary task of the baptized, in conformity with their  own vocation, was extensively considered by the Second Vatican Council. In the document, Lumen Gentium, it teaches us that each disciple of Christ has the obligation of spreading the faith to the best of his or her ability. In his own encyclical Redemptoris Missio, he stressed yet again that, by virtue of Baptism, all lay people are missionaries.'

The Catechism of the Catholic Church confirms this “missionary mandate” of the lay faithful where it says, “The baptized must profess the faith they have received from God through the Church and participate in the apostolic and missionary activity of the People of God."

Listening to Pope John Paul II does not mean, however, that everyone needs to travel to a faraway land, or stand at every street corner to share the Gospel. The Church believes that being a missionary can take multiple forms, always in accord with a person’s state in life. For example, a person can be a missionary through their marriage, showing others how a faithful, committed marriage is possible in today’s world. Another example is an elderly person confined to their home being a missionary through prayer, offering each day to God and praying for missionaries around the world. 

Pope Francis, in his 2013 Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, said this in #120. "All the baptized, whatever their position in the Church or their level of instruction in the faith, are agents of evangelization, and it would be insufficient to envisage a plan of evangelization to be carried out by professionals while the rest of the faithful would simply be passive recipients. The new evangelization calls for personal involvement on the part of each of the baptized. Every Christian is challenged, here and now, to be actively engaged in evangelization; indeed, anyone who has truly experienced God’s saving love does not need much time or lengthy training to go out and proclaim that love. Every Christian is a missionary to the extent that he or she has encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus."

Pope Francis wisely said, "Every Christian is challenged, here and now, to be actively engaged in evangelization" and "does not need much time or lengthy training to proclaim the love of God he has experienced." Pope John Paul II remined us that this does not mean that everyone needs to travel to a faraway land, or stand at every street corner to share the Gospel. The Church believes that being a missionary can take multiple forms, always in accord with a person’s state in life, each in his own way. 

Yes, you can carry out your duty to be a missionary in your own way. Some personally go to foreign lands. Others support those who do go. Still others follow the news about missionaries and pray for them. Personally, I got involved because I have always seemed to have been a "missionary at heart."  Lately, it has occurred to me that we owe it to mission countries, to do what we can to help with evangelization, especially in those countries who are now sending missionary priests to us because of our own priest shortage. Rather than starting my own mission organization, I decided to partner with another of our Louisville priests who works in east Africa - Father John Judie and his mission organization Father John Judie Ministries, Inc. 

If you too want to get involved in mission work, each in your own way, follow my blog "An Encouraging Word" at fatherknott.com It regularly has stories, opportunities and photos of what Father John Judie and I are doing in east Africa in particular. We use a tax deductible legal system. We send thank you letters. We keep an eye on every penny and make sure it is used faithfully and legally for what the donor intended. We  pay no salaries. We don't even ask people for money. We just tell them what we are doing and tell them if they want to help us do it, they can call us and let us know!  

Here is a story that is typical of many of the "mission stories" I have witnessed. It is a story about the generosity even of the poor themselves. It is one of the main reasons I am "hooked" on helping with mission work. This story comes from Bishop Filbert Mhasi of Tanzania whom I have helped starting last year. He tells the story in his own words, "I went again to one of the mission churches for the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. After the Mass, one little girl, age 6, came to me and said, "Bishop, will you come again next Sunday? I said, "If I get money for petrol, I will come." She looked at me, and said, "I will give you my sandals, go and sell them and use the money for petrol." She actually gave me her sandals! I was shocked! I said, "No please, don't worry, somebody will give me the money for petrol." She was a bit satisfied! This experience is still circulating into my mind. This poor little angel wanted to give me her sandals! What an amazing and lovely gesture of love and support! So, amazing!"

The great part of doing missionary work is what it does for those who get involved, not just the people they help! As the Book of Proverbs puts it, "Those who waters others, will themselves be watered!" 

CHURCH CHAT #11

 

PLAN IT AND THEN FORGET IT

 

Stay awake! You do not know on which day your Lord will come!

Matthew 24:37-44

 

Have you ever wondered about your own death date? Have you ever let yourself imagine it? Have you made plans for it? I have and I am trying to keep them up-to-date. !  I have a last will and testament and a designated executor. I have a “living will” outlining my wishes about end-of-life issues. Unmarried and childless, I decided against life-insurance. I have a funeral service outlined with readings, music and a priest-homilist (and a back-up) selected.  I have a burial spot ready and a tombstone already erected. Abbey Caskets, over at Saint Meinrad where I used to work, is giving me one of their caskets so I decided against funeral insurance as well. 

 

I have an in-home health care policy that I bought when I turned fifty so I might be spared, for a while at least, going to a nursing home. I have saved all through my ordained life to be able to pay my bills so as not to be a burden to my family, my friends or the archdiocese.  I have gotten annual physicals and monitored my health on a regular basis. Like that old “Ronco Rotisserie Oven” commercial used to put it on TV, I have “set it” and now I want to “forget it.” Having prepared the best that I can for dying, I now want to go on living the best I can, for as long as I can!  

 

Yes, I have my proverbial bags packed. I just don’t know the day or the hour. I have no control over how I will die, but I do have a few hopes about how my life will end. I don’t know if it will be quick and easy or drawn out and painful. I only hope I don't have to suffer. I have never been very good at that! I can’t even handle the flu all that well! Filled with amazement and gratitude, and hopefully free of pain, I pray that I am aware of what is happening so that I can embrace it rather than leave this world kicking and screaming. If it is painful, I pray that I can handle it with dignity and grace, without too much aggravation to those around me.

 

Even though I may have to update these plans every now and then, I plan to go on living with all the passion and energy that I can muster. When I retired, I most certainly did not want to sit in a rocking chair and wait till I died! I did not want to sit around talking about medications, insurance policies, doctor’s appointments and what various nursing homes have to offer. I wanted to “set it and forget it” and have my plans in place so I could forget about them until I needed them! 

I do not want to pamper myself or let myself be pampered! Instead, I want to live simply, recreate myself over and over by doing some things that I have never done. One of those things was to volunteer in the Caribbean Missions where life is hard, where that reality could teach me how good I have it now and how lucky I have been most of my life. After that, I moved on to the missions of east Africa. In retirement, I wanted to keep working so that I could make some extra funds for giving back to others, as I have so generously been given to! So far, so good! I have not pulled out my final plans and looked at them for a couple of years, so now is a good time for a quick review and any needed adjustments if needed. However, a few people do know where those plans are when they will need them! 

 

What about you? Are you brave enough, and have faith enough, to let yourself think about your own death? Are you so in denial that you are willing to stick your family with the burden of what to do with you when you die? Are you wasting the time you have left, just waiting around to die, or are you still reinventing yourself so that you can keep on living a full life as long as you can? Are you doing those things that are necessary to maintain good health or are you still engaged in addictive habits that put your health at risk? Have you talked to your family about end-of- life issues and signed the proper papers that will help them follow your wishes? Are you prepared well enough now to be able to lay your preparations aside and live with passion, intensity and purpose? Are you prepared spiritually to meet your Maker whatever the day or the hour?

 

As we try to live a full and rich life, there are two extremes to be avoided: the failure to think about death on one hand and an obsessive preoccupation with death on the other. Instead of trying to “get ready” at the last minute, or being totally caught off guard, the best approach is to “stay awake,” have "your bags packed" and "keep on living," because you do not know on which day your Lord will come! As Isaiah the Prophet put it to God, "Would that you would meet us doing right and being mindful of your ways!"