Thanksgiving Day: He Gives Food to All Living Things.

Our secularizing society is having a difficult time with those holidays that have religious roots. Christmas is now the Holiday Season and, if some get their way, Thanksgiving will be "Friendship Day." 

Wiping clean any memory of  providence from Thanksgiving would satisfy citizens who resist vestiges of holiness or godliness in our society. To them, I guess religious influence is like crabgrass in their lawn of life.

 Those of us who are religious are going to have an equally difficult time keeping the original spirit of a day like Thanksgiving, but we are going to try.

Thanksgiving is not only a day of being friendly, though it certainly is that. No one wants to be alone on a day when family and friends get together to feast with one another, to rest from work and embrace one another. However, our hearts are made thankful not only by the friends around us but by the seeds of hope which have grown up in us. That hope is a gift from a loving God. We honor and thank Him on Thanksgiving.

Without lifting our hearts and minds to Our Lord, Thanksgiving falls weakly to the ground and stays there breathing silently. Christians, on the other hand, rise from their knees and lift up their hearts in gratitude to Our Lord, even singing praise to Him.

In 1621, Plymouth Planation celebrated harvest time in the wake of a winter season which had taken its toll on the families of the small colony. They found in their harvest feast, a reason to hope for a better future so they bowed their heads to the Father who gives food to all living things.  They were grateful.

Those colonists were Christian before they celebrated the first Thanksgiving Day. Seeds of gratitude to a loving Father were already in their hearts.  On Thanksgiving Day those seeds had developed into
green fields stretching as far as they could see. 

 

Pope Francis meets Vladimir Putin at the Vatican: Round One or, Welcome to the Colosseum.

When Vladimir Putin met Pope Francis this week at the Vatican, it was not the lion meeting the lamb.  Pope Francis exhibits a simple life style and aligns himself with the poor, but he is far from a pushover. 

In September of this year Pope Francis sent an official letter to Putin who was hosting the G20 conference in St. Petersburg.  In strong terms Pope Francis insisted that Putin use the Russian Federation’s  position as an ally of Syria to help end the hostilities of the Syrian government against its own people.

Putin can only be using this meeting with Pope Francis to leverage his standing among world leaders. He was recently listed as the most influential man in the world. Pope Francis is number four--a power to be reckoned with.  These are two heavyweights sparring on the world’s stage.

Pope Francis wants an end to the suffering of the Syrian people and he wants protection guarantees for Christians throughout the Middle East.  He also wants help in securing more acceptance for the Catholic Church in the Russian Federation, a land which up until recently the Orthodox Church considered its own pasture: No Roman Catholic sheep stealing allowed!

Vladimir Putin presented an icon of Our Lady to Pope Francis, but first he reverenced the image with a kiss. That gesture will not be forgotten as the former head of the KGB bows to a greater power.  Was it a sincere sign of hope or a cleverly staged diversion to capture the attention of Pope Francis, if but for a moment?

Putin did not invite Pope Francis to Russia for a visit. I doubt whether this is a snub.  Rather, it seems to me Putin is laying the groundwork for a possible papal visit later on.  I'm not certain that Pope Francis would accept the invitation until Putin begins to act more humanely from his exalted position of influence.

Two Lions circle one another in the ring this week, one a vigorous warrior and the other, an experienced competitor. Let’s see who roars loudest.

 

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Show me a Path, Lord, even in Dubuque, Iowa.

It was a difficult day, overcast, rainy, windy and chilly. Good day to stay in, right? I suppose so but I'm here in Dubuque, Iowa for some R & R, which for me means reading a good book and rambling down a country path.

I drove for miles.  The blustery winds had calmed and the rain had stopped. There was no excuse.  I had to find a path before it would begin to rain again. Where's my path?

I found the local parks closed "for the season" including the botanical garden and Eagle View Park.  I kept driving around for more than an hour thinking: There has got to be a park with a path somewhere in Dubuque that is still open. (Why would you close a public path, anyway?)

For me, walking is a physical and spiritual necessity, not a pastime.  I'm going somewhere and I am praying, too, when I walk.  So, not to find a walking path is frustrating on both accounts.

My fundamental prayer these days is something like: "Show me the path that you want me to walk." As long as I can discern some direction to my life, I'm O.K.  I expect Our Lord to answer my prayer with signs along my life's path. He always has.

Spiritually I've lost my way many times. Then I pray: Where should I go?  What should I do? How shall I handle this issue?  Do you want me to say something specific to help this individual, or is silence better?  Let me know, Lord.

Most often I have to wait...wait for the signs. When I can see that I am fitting in somehow or being able to help in some way, that's all the direction I need.

Here are the signs which Our Lord shows me from time to time: Stop! Slow Down! Turn Here! Pull over! Go on Green Light!  Steep road ahead!  Caution! Have a nice day!

You get the idea.

I was one mile from my hotel and I had given up on walking today.  But, then I noticed that parallel to my four lane highway was a bike path that appeared to go on and on.  I pulled over into a strip-mall parking lot  and spent an hour walking up and down hills with traffic a hundred feet away.

One friendly bicyclist passed me going in the opposite direction.  He knew where he was going and he was getting there fast. He was the only other person on the path. It was overcast and cold but I was warm and peaceful as I walked, grateful for not missing the path that was right in front of me.

 Our Lord's signs are clear, though you have to keep looking. Don't give up!  Watch for the right path and when you find it, take it.

How to Survive Satanic Attack and Common Distractions in Quiet Prayer.

Quiet prayer or meditation is not always easy.  Distractions, temptations, day-dreams and all kinds of goofy ideas can intrude into the prayer life of even the most earnest Catholic.  I meet these good people when they pour out their hearts about their prayer lives in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

“I feel I am being attacked by the devil, Father. I see too much evil in people and I despair because of my fears.  I never feel that God is near to me.  Worse, I think that God is going to let me fall because my sins deserve eternal punishment. This is what I get, Father, for having tolerated evil in my life and even, at times, having embraced sin.

That’s not all.  I feel trapped by the effects of my sins.  I’m not able to get up from my sins and am constantly bothered by temptations.”

No one has confessed to me in those exact words but over the years I have heard this lament about interior prayer many times.  The sinner is tortured by a kind of anxiety and depression which makes it hard for him (It could be a her) to experience God’s love and His grace.

The penitent has come to the sacrament of Reconciliation out of desperation and like an intensive care patient in severe pain, the penitent wants relief, otherwise he wouldn’t be in the confessional.

I think of this encounter with a sick soul (as the philosopher William James would have called him) as an opportunity to give him an injection of spiritual medicine and an I.V. hydration for his soul.

I take control of the situation with strong medicine because it is my job to do that.  I remind the penitent that the Sacrament of Reconciliation is a powerful moment of grace, an opportunity for healing. I encourage the penitent to listen to the absolution and open his heart to the healing movement of the Holy Spirit. 

It’s not me  but Our Lord who cures in the wonderful sacrament of healing.  While I am praying the words of absolution, I am  also praying to get out of God’s way and let His healing waters bring cleansing and refreshment to this soul.

Again, a second type of made-up penitent:  This time, the penitent  says something like this: "I pray, Father, but can’t seem to get anywhere in my prayer life.  Strong temptations upset my efforts at prayer.  I fight them but they just won’t leave me.”

This penitent is like a guy standing on a ladder, painting the ceiling of a kitchen.  He  gets frightened by a tiny spider, loses his concentration and falls. He survives with a scratch on his leg, but is otherwise O.K.  He is still afraid of spiders so he’s going to inspect the ceiling carefully before he goes up the ladder again. He's determined not to lose focus and fall a second time.

Most distractions in prayer, whether temptations or not, cause us to lose focus in our prayers.  We are supposed to be praying, gently moving our hearts and minds to the Lord.

St. Albert the Great counsels us to just brush away these kinds of distractions as if they are house-flies dancing before our eyes.   We don’t have to get out the artillery when all we need is a fly-swatter. Don't fight with yourself to get back to the presence of God.  Acknowledge the nature of the distraction and gently bring your heart back to prayer."

Most people are relieved to learn that even the saints were often distracted in their prayer lives.  The saints remind us that Our Lord simply wants us to be faithful and take time to pray -- often.  If horrifying temptations attack, meet them with courage and the grace of the sacraments.
When common distractions come, gently move your heart and mind back to God.

The NRA, Remington and Designer Gunwear.

Remington, the gun manufacturer, announced today it is coming out with a concealed carry line of  clothes. The company will lend their name to "gun jackets" and a "Double Derringer" line of vests. (Reuters, Nov. 3, 2013)

Greed is good, right? Why not make more money off the gun fad? So what if gun manufacturers sell designer clothes to gun-toters to make them feel even more important?

Handguns kill people. That's what they are designed to do and they do it very well. They are also expensive and make immense amounts of money for gun manufacturers. Now, the manufacturers want even more.

I'm against pointing a loaded handgun at someone and pulling the trigger. I would ban concealed-carry weapons in an instant. I would ban assault rifles of all kinds for the same reason: These weapons are for hunting humans. I don't care about gun manufacturers and their profits.

This is not to say that I am against possession of firearms.  I think hunting with a rifle or shotgun is an acceptable way to harvest deer, turkey and other wildlife. At least, hunting game provides food for our tables and encourages sportsmanship as an outlet.

I believe, too, that  the Second Amendment supports defense of our freedoms by empowering militias and that the amendment was never intended to support individual hand-gun ownership.

Twice I have had handguns pulled on me.  One was by a drunk who showed me a blunt nose revolver which he kept in a handkerchief in his front pocket. The other guy wanted to impress me by the size of the hand gun which he pulled out of a holster which was under his vest.

I showed the door to the drunk. I simply walked away from guy number two. And, in neither instance was I brave. I am not a courageous person. I was just so disgusted that I wanted to distance myself from them as quickly as I could.

I have listened to conversations between handgun enthusiasts who laugh when describing how
important they feel as Americans when they carry their guns and intimidate others. Apparently, they think the rest of us are wimps compared to guys with guns. Those men inspired fear in me not because of their guns but because they were so casual about "carrying."

The National Rifle Association is run by gun manufacturers.  It wants every American to buy a gun and to carry a gun, as if all gun-toters are mature, responsible people. I know enough about good people to know that sometimes they are bad, real bad. Or, are we all supposed to think that all those who carry concealed weapons are good people who would never use an available gun to do anything bad -- the real Americans who own Remingtons?

I'm a Christian but not a pacifist. I can imagine taking arms against someone in self defense or in defense of my family. But, I want the NRA to stop acting as a surrogate for gun manufacturers. I will defend myself as I see fit.

Greed is one of the seven deadly sins.  The others are pride, anger, lust, envy,
gluttony and sloth. I think you'll find all seven wrapped up in the soul of a violent, hand-gun-toting America.