Easter 2024: Week Six

Happy Easter Day #36: Motivation!

"This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." (John 15: 12-13)

What is your motivation to act? Odds are, there are parameters.

What is your motivation to learn? Odds are, it involves promotion.

What is your motivation to love? Odds are, there are conditions.

Agapé love is a one-way form of love from God to people. This love does NOT have any parameters, nor does it guarantee any promotions. God's love is simply UNCONDITIONAL! (From the article "Agapao Leadership" - Regent University)

Agapaõ is the verb form of love that carries with it a sense of doing the right thing at the right time for the right reason, or in other words, loving someone like a friend. ("Agapao Leadership")

Combining the two allows us to use the motivation of BEING LOVED by God (Agapé) so as to fuel our ability TO LOVE one another (Agapaõ). But the obvious challenge comes with "laying down one's life for one's friend." This takes the unconditional trait of God's love and imposes it on us as we are called to serve one another as well.

So be motivated my friends to "love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." (Luke 10:27)

Credit for "Agapao Leadership" - Regent University:

https://www.regent.edu/journal/inner-resources-for-leaders/agapao-love/#:~:text=The%20Greek%20that%20we%20translate,specifically%20for%20behavior%20between%20people.

Happy Easter Day #37: Mystery!

The call, the mission, the purpose and our place in the world all comes together by the power of the Holy Spirit. Christ unites us in this “great mystery” called Church (CCC 772) and empowers us in a way that can’t be explained, but is ultimately trustworthy.

His mysterious presence is within our hearts, especially when we must witness a Truth that eye has not seen, nor has ear ever heard.

“The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that [I] told you.” (John 14:26)

Happy Easter Day #38: Paraclete!

It’s one of those words that doesn’t get used much in the English language, but in light of our 50 Days of Easter, Paraclete (from the Greek parakletos) is the one thing we need at this point. It means advocate, intercessor, teacher, helper, and comforter; and today we must know that Lord showers all of this down upon us so that we might grow and glorify the Good News!

You see, the celebration of Easter is about to take a turn to get our attention, and hit a dramatic “pre-crescendo” before reaching its triumphant conclusion at Pentecost! Our Lord is preparing us for his departure of sorts.

+ He’s been with us so that we might know that his love is more powerful than death. (cf. John 3: 16-21)

+ He dwelt among us so that we might feed off of him (cf. John 6), and understand what it means to live and serve one another. (cf. John 13: 1-20)

+ He will prepare a place for us as we follow “The Way” back to him! (John 14: 1-6)

For Jesus said to his disciples… “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. (John 14: 16-17) I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. (John 15:11) When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me.” (John 15:26)

Happy Easter Day #39: Presence!

Easter is a time to recognize Christ’s real presence among us! Not only did he promise it in the breaking of the bread, or when two or three are gathered, he also appeared to us in peace as we hid in fear, showing us his hands and his feet… and we touched his side.

Just before he ascended into heaven, Jesus had some one on one time with the Apostle Peter (and each of us), when he asked this question three times: Do you love me? (cf. John 21: 15-19)

Like we might do, Peter answered each time, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you,” with Jesus responding differently to each “Yes” with a challenge on how we should be present to one another:

“Feed my lambs.”

If lambs are the little ones, then let us commit to being present to the younger generation behind us, teaching them all that they need to know, love and serve the God who loves them!

“Tend my sheep.”

If tending sheep means to watch over them with the care of a shepherd, making sure not to lose any one of them, then let us commit to being present to those around us, making sure that they never feel alone or abandoned!

“Feed my sheep.”

If food is the sustenance of life, and Jesus promised to feed us with his body and blood, then let us commit our whole selves to making sure that all are not only fed, but emboldened to truly live!
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“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your kind spirit guide me on ground that is level.” (Psalm 143:10)

Happy Easter Day #40: Rise!

In the tradition of making this Easter journey, it’s Day 40. It’s the Feast of the Ascension. It’s officially time to RISE!

In a previous and very significant journey, the people of God left slavery behind and wandered 40 years, only to emerge from their desert to see and enter the promised land! They rose to the occasion and the journey continued!

Our own Lord spent 40 Days in his desert only to leave temptation behind and enter the mission field of bringing God’s promise of love directly to each of our hearts. He rose to the occasion to bring us with him towards everlasting life!

Today we reach our own 40th Day, and we are mindful that even though our Lord ascended into heaven, seemingly out of our sight, he followed through with his promise to send us his Holy Spirit. (cf. Acts 1: 1-11) So today, let us rise and get to the task of living with those promised gifts in this blessed life of ours knowing that his sweet song, the Good News, is with us!

Back on Day #26 I posted a link to a song called “Soul Sweet Song” by Tedeschi Trucks Band. The opening verse and refrain offers this…

“After the tears and the spate of lonely days
After the noon-born shadows slowly faded
After your heavy stone was rolled away (Rollin', rollin') That's when it finally came to me.

Now there's no use wishin' for your sweet return, 'cause I see you in the mornin' sun, and I hear you on the whispering wind, and I feel your rhythm movin' me… 'Cause your soul's sweet song's still singin'”

(https://youtu.be/SLFD135Ot8g?si=QoFzJYVqr93i_bA4)

Happy Easter Day #41: Soul!
Our soul is that mysterious part of us that is always connected with God. It’s the undefinable essence of our existence and our greatest value in being created in God’s image, for as our Lord rose on that first Easter morning, our soul will be “raised beyond all it deserves to communion with God.” (CCC 367)

In the meantime, it is our “heart” that feels and guides our day. It is there, at that the depth of our being, where we decide to act for or against God. It is there where we remain connected with the essential part of who we are (the soul), and it is there where we are in union with our Lord, who “ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.” (Nicene Creed)

So here’s my my simple logic at work again: If you are connected with God, the source of all creation, and I am connected to that same source, then it must be true… We ARE one!

(cf. CCC 362-368)

Happy Easter Day #42: 42!
The number 42 is, in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, the "Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything,” but what is the question?

All numerology aside, and in the context of our discussion over the past six weeks, the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything has to be “God.”

Now, all the “Hitchhiker” fans and math experts out there might argue that my answer misuses or over simplies the point of author Douglas Adams, or even hijacks the intricate work of mathematicians like Drew Southerland. But I might argue that throughout all of history, our collective human brain has always needed that ONE word or entity to define the Creator or the force that moves life, universe and everything that is.

With that being said, God is "WHO IS", from everlasting to everlasting, and as such remains ever faithful to himself and to his promises. (CCC 212) YHWH is the biblical pronunciation of the Hebrew name for God, which is revealed to Moses in the book of Exodus. The name is made up of four Hebrew consonants: yodh, he, waw, and he, which are written and read from right to left. The name may come from a verb that means "to be", "to exist", "to cause to become", or "to come to pass"… The first part of God's name in Hebrew, “Yah,” is feminine, and the last part, “weh,” is masculine. (Encyclopedia Britannia and World History)

And 42 = (-80538738812075974)^3 + 80435758145817515^3 + 12602123297335631^3 (MIT News - 2019)

“My soul thirsts for God, the living God.”(Psalm 42:3)

Easter 2024: Week Five

Happy Easter Day #29: Heart!
To be a Christian is to have your moved by the things that move the of Jesus! When you see the need, note your reaction and let the children of God move your !
“The is our hidden center, beyond the grasp of our reason and of others; only the Spirit of God can fathom the human and know it fully. The is the place of decision, deeper than our psychic drives. It is the place of truth, where we choose life or death. It is the place of encounter, because as image of God we live in relation: it is the place of covenant.” (CCC #2563)
“Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.” (1 John 3:18)

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Happy Easter Day #30: Holy Spirit!

The celebration of Pentecost is but twenty days away, and with it comes the reminder that we have been given every gift we need to act on our movements of the heart. The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in the Lord’s name, will teach you everything you need to know and remind you of all that you have been told. (cf. John 14:26)

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“Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.”


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Happy Easter Day #31: Impulse!
May the work of our faith, O Lord, become so much a part of our nature that we are able to act on our gut and always do the right thing! Loving God, do not let our hearts be troubled or afraid, (cf. John 14:27) but make known the glorious splendor of your kingdom (cf. Psalm 145:12) in all that we do! Amen!

*****
Here’s an example of a natural impulse to share the Good News: “They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered around him, he got [back] up and [re]entered the city.” (Acts 14: 19-20)


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Happy Easter Day #32: Individual!
We were created in the image of God to be and work for love, but this does not make us the Lord’s robots. The Church teaches that God created us to be rational beings, conferring on us the dignity of a person who can initiate and control their own actions. God willed that we should be left in the hand of our own counsel, so that we might of our own accord seek our Creator and freely attain full and blessed perfection by cleaving to the Lord. (cf. CCC 1730)
“For freedom Christ has set us free" (Gal 5:1)
St. Joseph the Worker, pray for us!


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Happy Easter Day #33: Life!
God gave us his life, so that we might live!
A life for the world, so that we might give!
“Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all you lands. Sing to the LORD; bless his name. Announce his salvation, day after day. Tell his glory among the nations; among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.” (Psalm 96: 1-3)


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Happy Easter Day #34: Love!
St. Thomas Aquinas said that, “to love is to will the good of another,” and St. Augustine said that, “only the good can be loved.” (cf. CCC 1766)
So, my friends, I would contend that we are called to love one another so that others might be loved and know that there is truly goodness within each of them!
May it be so!


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Happy Easter Day #35: Mission!
Our call to action must be weaved around the imagery of the vine and the branches, offering us everything we need to push forward and share the Good News that when the Lord is in us, the Word is with us.
“Jesus said to his disciples: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. (John 14:27) If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples, [for] as the Father loves me, so I also love you.” (John 15: 7-9)
May God’s love and peace be the fruits of our mission as we simply share the Word!

Easter 2024: Week Four

The Birthplace of Helen Keller 

The Prayer: “Lord, help me see!”

Happy Easter Day #22: Energy!

While I am not the one to be able to accurately reflect upon or compare the significance of “E = mc2” to our faith, I think I’ll give it a try…

(🫣 Warning: First, you’re just gonna have to read through this to get the connection. Secondly, I really don’t know what I’m talking about here, but I do know that I’m pretty darn close to getting it… Enjoy this oversimplification of yet another complicated concept, whittled down to expressing the simple truth that God is love, and that love is meant to be shared! ❤️)

My minimal understanding of physics tells me that matter (and its energy) can neither be created nor destroyed. There’s a finite amount of each, created by God, to coexist forever. Sometimes there’s more mass than energy, and sometimes more energy than mass, but the sum total of the two is always constant. Let’s just say that God has given us everything we need, and that it all exists as the sum total that I’ll just call Love.

Since I never actually took a physics class, I simply have to trust the fact that all of this has something to do with the speed of light and the concept of Kinetic Energy, or the energy of motion. This ultimately evolves into the cool notion that once something starts to move, it produces more and more energy. I’ve come to understand that we were taught this in Driver’s Ed: “If you double your speed, the braking distance is four times longer, so the braking distance is equal to the speed squared.” (See below)

Now the speed of light squared is pretty darn fast, and therefore must be producing a huge amount of energy. Take a drop of water and convert it to pure energy and you’ve got yourself a pretty big bang on your hands…

So (and you could feel it coming), even “little ol’ you” can produce huge amounts of energy to “light the lamp” for the world! Your faith, set into motion, can accelerate the power of peace, love and understanding for all to know! And best of all, that acceleration is very hard to stop. AMEN!!!

Here are the snippets of the article that inspired today’s stretch of a thought:

“Energy (E) and matter (m) are interchangeable. Furthermore, it's essential to remember that there's a set amount of energy/matter in the universe… The “c” stands for the speed of light, a universal constant, so the whole equation breaks down to this: Energy is equal to matter multiplied by the speed of light squared… But why is the speed of light squared? The reason is that kinetic energy, or the energy of motion, is proportional to mass. When you accelerate an object, the kinetic energy increases to the tune of the speed squared. You'll find an excellent example of this in any driver's education manual: If you double your speed, the braking distance is four times longer, so the braking distance is equal to the speed squared. The speed of light squared is a colossal number, illustrating just how much energy there is in even tiny amounts of matter. A common example of this is that 1 gram of water — if its whole mass were converted into pure energy via E=mc² — contains energy equivalent to 20,000 tons (18,143 metric tons) of TNT exploding.” (https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/everyday-myths/einstein-formula.htm#:~:text=A%20common%20example%20of%20this,such%20a%20massive%20atomic%20explosion.)

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Happy Easter Day #23: Enthusiasm!

As we approach the half-way point of the Easter Season, I can understand the feeling that things have settled in and other routines are taking back their place in life. Our enthusiasm for the faith might be approaching a plateau of sorts, and our energy may be waning a bit, but guess what?

He is risen… He has risen indeed!

HAPPY EASTER MY FRIENDS!

Keep enjoying the ride!

“Send forth your light and your fidelity; they shall lead me on and bring me to your holy mountain, to your dwelling-place.”

(Psalm 43:3)

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Happy Easter Day # 24: Essence!

The essence of our existence is an active and forgiving love. Life at its core is rooted in all that has been given and all that has been taken away. It’s an ongoing process of growing, pruning, and growing some more, for the Lord “takes away every branch in [us] that does not bear fruit, and every one that does [God] prunes so that it bears more fruit.” (John 15:2)

Easter brings eternal life, and with it we shall never perish. No one can take us out of the hand of God, and no one person, or “that thing,” can ever stop the process of our growing towards that which is pure love! (cf. John 10:28)

❤️

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Happy Easter Day #25: Excitement!

We’re halfway to Pentecost and life is all around us! What excites you about LIFE? That is, what excites about your life and life in general?

There’s plenty of worry and frustration shared here in the “Meta” universe, but what about life? I’m not talking about politics or a board game, I’m talking about the celebration of life!

Thank you for the lives you lead and the life you live!

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Happy Easter Day #26: Existence!

In the beginning is the breath of God. It is a wind sweeps over the mighty waters, breathing life into everything and everyone. It is the source of our existence and the energy that propels us forward. And on its wings is the Word with a proclamation of hope that nurtures and supports even the most feeble among us.

It’s a sweet song indeed.

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Happy Easter Day #27: Fear!

As I look at my daily attempts to be motivational, I do seem to offer a “Pie in the Sky” model that all is always better with God. That is to say, “If you just do ‘X’ then all shall be well!” And while I do submit that it can be that simple at times, I also have to admit that I’m afraid along the way, and I’m guilty of trying to hide behind the typical “everything is great” theme here on Facebook!

With that said, we know that everything is not always great, and that we all have to do our best to get by and get through the day-to-day grind with healthy and not so healthy amounts of fear that drive us in the right and wrong direction.

Driven by fear can mean being afraid to try or to do what you know you have to do to make things right, and that fear is stifling! But acting with a certain amount of fear, as in the Gift of the Holy Spirit or the old school phrase of “fearing the Lord”, brings a great amount of respect to the picture and it helps us stand in awe of the moments that will loom large in our overall journey. Both types of fear are real, and deserve our constant attention.

- What are YOU afraid of?

- How does fear play a part in your journey?

- How does God bring YOU wonder & awe?

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Happy Easter Day #28: Growth!

I think it’s fair to utilize reflections like this to work on personal growth. In fact, I’ll admit that the goal here has always been to help “you” by offering this opportunity to reflect on how faith can make a difference in converting hearts so as to make individual lives better. I’ll also admit to being a little selfish in prioritizing this time to assist in my own personal growth.

But in light of the various serious issues that we face as a community, and the seemingly constant debates and disagreements over these issues, I also think it’s fair to put aside our own needs and think (and do) what’s best for the world around us.

What ways do we as a society need to grow and how can we help by putting aside our own needs to serve the needs of others?

See the precedent in Acts 2: 42-47