Daily Mass Readings 05/19/2015 or Methuselah's Keys to Longevity!

"Now this is eternal life,
that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
I glorified you on earth
by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.
Now glorify me, Father, with you,
with the glory that I had with you before the world began." -Jn. 17:3-5

Daily Mass Readings 05/19/2015

This passage in today's Gospel reading struck me because Jesus is showing us how we too should glorify God by accomplishing the work he gave us to do. And he lets us know that we will also be glorified with Him and have eternal life in truly knowing God.

The catch here is.......what is the work that God gave you to do?

I think as men we often think of our 'work' as our jobs, but we forget that for most of us our job is not necessarily in sync with our vocation. Now I am not saying that our jobs contradict our true vocations, just that sometimes we need to see our jobs as simply a tool towards the accomplishment of our vocation. If we orient our work life that way, God is there and He will guide us towards whatever work helps us best to achieve our mission. (Even, as I have been known to do, if we are dragged kicking and screaming). Knowing that we are where He wants us to be and seeing what work He has put there for us can make those tough days seem better by focusing on how our role helps others and how God's love shines through us in our everyday work.

Paul's letter echoes this idea of doing what we are sent to accomplish. He is saying farewell to people he expects that he will never see again and he tells them flat out, 'you didn't always like what I had to say, but I did what I was sent to do and proclaimed the truth, so buzz off, you're on your own from here!' Well, that's not exactly what he says, but you get the idea. He basically says, I did what God sent me here to do, now I am ready with a peaceful heart, to move on to what He has planned for me next, whatever it is, even if it's death.

How great would it be, at the end of your days, when you know you will be moving on out of this world, to be able to say the same:

I have done what God sent me here to do, I have spoken the truth, I have loved, I have served, and I am ready, looking forward to moving on to the joy He has in store for me.

I pray that I may feel that expectant joy! I'm not expecting it for a long time, mind you. I am certain He has much more for me to accomplish and at the rate that I screw it up sometimes, I could live to be as old as Methuselah! Or to put it more eloquently, as the poem my father like to quote so often says, I have

.... miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

God Bless,

P.D.O.

Daily Mass Readings 12/02/2014 or P.D.O. Productions Presents, The Twelve Apostles; A One Man Show!

"Turning to the disciples in private he said,
“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you,
many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” -Luke 10:21-24

12/02/2014 Tuesday of the First Week of Advent

Jesus was telling his disciples that they were witnessing world changing history. They had front row seats to the prophecies that had been anticipated for thousands of years among their people. But in a lot of ways, his words fell on deaf ears with them. You see, even though the disciples believed that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, even their group was subject to some of the same human frailties that we see today.

We hear stories about ambitious disciples jockeying for position around Jesus when he would take his throne as king. I have no doubt that there was gossiping and private conversations behind Jesus' back questioning his leadership in moments of doubt. We hear of an over-zealous Peter cutting off the ear of one of the guards sent to arrest Jesus. And of course, there is Judas' ultimate betrayal in the garden for thirty pieces of silver.

As we prepare our hearts for the baby of Bethlehem's arrival at Christmas, let's use this Advent to clear out the same junk that plagued these disciples. I know I have been every one of them at one time or another. I have tried to exult myself like the brothers jockeying for their place by the throne. I have had conversations that I would not have had if they were face to face with the person I was talking about. I have been so zealous in my defense of the faith that I have injured others. And every time I willingly choose sin I betray Christ. I have a good friend who told me one day that we are the scourging pillar; our sins are the stripes on his back. My friend is very well read so I apologize if he read it somewhere and I missed a footnote, but as far as I'm concerned, I heard it from him. But in those moments of sin we betray Jesus many more times than Judas.

So I will try to be child like and innocent in my belief without the grown-up jealousy, envy, greed and pride. I will enjoy the season for its own sake and savor every moment I can. You try as well, and let me know how it goes.

God Bless,
P.D.O.

Daily Mass Readings 11/26/2014 or Have I Got a Deal for You!

"They will seize and persecute you,
they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,
and they will have you led before kings and governors
because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute." -Luke 21:12-15

11/26/2014 Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week of Ordinary Time

Wow! Does that Jesus know how to sell himself or what?

"Follow me and I can almost guarantee that after being poor and wandering around trying to explain your relationship with me to other people, many of whom don't have time for me or even despise me, I can just about guarantee you that you will die a torturous awful death!" Sign me up!

 Yes, following Jesus was not going to be a bowl of cherries. I suppose he figured he should tell them right off so that they wouldn't be surprised later on. The persecution that Jesus spoke of was not the 'Oh my Gaawwd! Did you hear that the school board put "Holiday" break on the calendar instead of Christmas break?". It was a persecution leading to a slow and a painful death

I sometime think that our culture and the media therein, are set on fomenting so much conflict that it all gets out of hand. And soon people are dying or there are businesses burned down or looted because their faaaaaavorite news station happened to come on the air and that guy.... you know, that guy...... the guy with the awesome hair! He just told us that we should be outraged! Soon, someone gets hurt or someone dies and the next cycle of the outrage factory begins again. In the end, nothing is solved. When our outrage has such a low threshold or is so wildly out of perspective, we only damage ourselves and real persecution when it comes along. Actual issues that need fixing are marginalized as 'those people' just wanting to complain again and in the end, as I said, nothing gets solved.

God Bless,
P.D.O.

Daily Mass Readings 11/25/2014 or Hmm, That's Funny, This Polaroid Looked so Nice a Few Minutes Ago...

“See that you not be deceived,
for many will come in my name, saying,
‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’
Do not follow them!" -Luke 21:8

11/25/2014 Tuesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

We live in a time that is rife with false prophets. Some engage in misleading twisting of God's word (or the Pope's) to force it to fit their agenda. Some merely slap the label of 'Catholic' on themselves and then rally against all that the Church teaches. Almost all of us, to some extent, proclaim our Christianity on the outside and in public, but then behind closed doors or while driving on the highway are the furthest thing from the image of our Lord.

It is important that we do not become that false prophet misleading people. We become false prophets not only in what we say, but also in the times when we keep silent. There are a lot of places in our culture where it is easy for Christians to be quiet and go along to get along. But remember, whatever we intentionally do or intentionally ignore is a type of witness. And if we call ourselves Christian, then it is a witness to what Christians believe. Trust me, there is a lot of misinformation about what we believe (especially as Catholics), the last thing we need to do is to sit by silently letting the distorted perceptions of false prophets carry on.

We are the hands and feet, eyes and ears, hearts and yes, voices of the body of Christ. Let's do our best to image Him with compassion, mercy, strength and love. Only then will our witness to the truth resemble in even a small way, the beauty of our King.

God Bless,
P.D.O.

Daily Mass Readings 11/24/2014 or A Poor Widow Puts in Her Two Cents and Buys Herself a Kingdom

"He said, “I tell you truly,
this poor widow put in more than all the rest;
for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.” Luke 21:3-4

11/24/2014 Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs

Jesus is impressed by the donation of the poor widow, obviously, not for the monetary value, but because of the fact that she sacrificed something so that she could help others. For all she knows the people who were receiving alms were not as bad off as she was, but she gave from her heart to help someone who needed it.

The wealthy were putting in, most likely, more money. But for them it was just extra. They were going to eat just fine that night, they made sure of that. And in other gospel stories Jesus talks about how they would have a horn blown before them, attracting attention as they approached to make their donation.

No doubt, we all know people of both types today. The difference between them comes down to sacrifice. Knowing and trying to emulate Jesus involves sacrifice. As we move through Thanksgiving and head toward Christmas, many of us will be approached to help out charities with different missions and messages. If the only thought you give to the poor is when you're scrambling for write-offs at tax time or when you want to get some good PR for your company to get out of a jam, then you're missing the point of giving to the poor in the first place. Jesus asks us to be like him, to suffer so that others can be saved. Only he was able to do that on a spiritual level, giving up his life so that we could live eternally. To resemble Jesus, the closest that we can come is if we give up some of our "needs" so that others can have their actual, non-sarcastic-quotated, needs met.

I need to re-evaluate some of what I consider needs. Because when I'm going to buy a sub for lunch and it's going to cost me $10, maybe I could give more to the New Hampshire Food Bank and bring a peanut butter sandwich from home. It's a start, right?

God Bless,
P.D.O.

Daily Mass Readings 11/21/2014 or Too Bad Paganini Signed a Contract With the Devil, He Could Have Held out for a Covenant With God.

"I gasp with open mouth
in my yearning for your commands.
How sweet to my taste is your promise!" Ps. 119: 131, 103

11/21/2014: Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Responsorial Psalm for today juxtaposes praise for God's commands with the repeating line that His promise is sweet to taste. It is an interesting interplay between the two because so often we see God's word and commands as an arbitrary list of rules. Do good or else you get punished! But the truth is that God's commands are a covenant. Christopher West often points out in his talks about marriage and the Theology of the Body that people often talk about marriage as 'dating (or living together), with a contract'. He then goes on to say that marriage is not a contract, but a covenant and the difference between a contract and a covenant is that a contract is all about what you GET OUT of it and a covenant is all about what you PUT INTO it.

God's word has always been given in the sense of a covenant where He is our God and we are His people. His commands have been put forth as an example of what we put into our relationship with Him to become closer to Him. What God promises to put into the relationship is peace, comfort, strength (when needed) and, in His covenant sealed with Jesus' blood, mercy and everlasting life.

So of course I am yearning for His commands. I want to know what I need to put into my relationship with God to grow ever closer to Him. The opportunity to put my all into that covenant is what makes His word more precious than any treasure.

"Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

 -John 6:68

God Bless,

P.D.O.

Daily Mass Readings: 11/20/2014 or Sometimes Jesus is a Self-centered Arrogant Jerk! And We Need to Love Him Then Too.

"They will smash you to the ground and your children within you,
and they will not leave one stone upon another within you
because you did not recognize the time of your visitation." -Luke 19:44

Thursday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

So I don't want to make a big deal about writing again and say I swear that this time I will try to be more consistent, blah, blah, blah. But at the same time I don't want to ignore the fact that it's been a while since I posted. So, there it is. I know it's been a while since I posted and in an attempt to improve my prayer life (again), I am going to try to be more consistent.

Today's Gospel reading from Luke paints a picture of Jesus approaching Jerusalem, just outside of the city, when he stops and is struck with grief for the city itself. He warns that because they do not realize the gift that is coming to their city, the people will not find the peace that they are seeking.  Remember, Jesus came into their city and taught. He spoke to the crowds, exercised authority in the temple and he was a hero to them. At least he was at the beginning of the week.

But the people of Jerusalem didn't realize that they were being visited by the Messiah. They didn't recognize Jesus and peace eluded them.

How often does Jesus come to us and we don't recognize him? For Jerusalem, Jesus walked their streets in person and the consequences of not recognizing him were dire. But Jesus tells us that what we do to the least among us, we do unto him. He is present to us in everyone we meet. Do we treat everyone that way? Of course we don't. We don't see Jesus in everyone. They may be ragged, homeless or struggling and we marginalize them because they make us uncomfortable. This is the example we are familiar with when it comes to seeing Jesus in everyone. Let's not forget that everyone means.... well, everyone. So that guy in a business suit coming off as self-centered and arrogant, we need to show him love too. That person who just got in your face and went up one side of you and down the other showing no love or compassion to you....yup, we need to show her love too. For me, I don't have so much trouble seeing Jesus in people who need help, they are usually humble and asking for compassion. My biggest challenge is the people who trigger my anger or try to make me feel small. Those are the people I have a hard time seeing Jesus in, and sometimes, I am one of them.

God Bless,
P.D.O.