“Christ could have saved the world by his miracles, but He chose to save the world by his suffering.” Fr. Dave mentioned suffering at daily Mass last week. He pointed to the first verse in the 1st reading from St. Paul: “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake…” Do we rejoice in suffering? Why does St. Paul say this?

Mindless drivel: DEFINITION: That which I waste my time with when I could be doing something useful. You know, something worthy of my time. The countless ways I use to “relax, vegetate, ignore something I don’t want to do or think about”.

“Nunc Coepi, I begin.” It’s September...the ‘start of the year’ EVERYTHING! Summer is over; school, new parish programs, work initiatives, all are starting up anew.

“Do you kiss yo’ mama with that mouth?” This question was said by a friend to a teen who was using profanity of the most vile nature. ​​​​​​​That was years ago, but I have never forgotten the exchange.

ONE MORE THOUGHT….from St. Teresa. Our world is filled with so much beauty and goodness, but turn on tv or your news source, and that is not what we see. Mass shootings, suicides, abuse, trafficking, abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, war, terrorism, the plight of refugees, our wounded warriors, discrimination, sickness, homelessness. I am sure you can add to my list.

“May God protect me from gloomy saints!” (St. Teresa of Avila). One of my favorite saints is St. Teresa. She is one of my “go-to’s” when I just don’t have the words a difficult situation requires.

“Vitae Spiritualis Ianua” is Latin for “the doorway to the spiritual life”. I am quoting the Latin from Bishop Barron and the Catechism, and it refers to and means Baptism. Baptism is the one thing everyone you see at Mass has in common. It is the first thing that connects us to the family of God, and it is the one thing that makes us related to each other.

"Amazing Grace – A Vocabulary of Faith" is one of my beloved books by one of my favorite Benedictine authors, Kathleen Norris.

“I must return to Paradise. I must recover myself, salvage my dignity, re-collect my lost wits, and return to my true identity.” —Thomas Merton

Have you ever…? Have you ever done something you wish you could ‘take back’? Undo, erase, forget? My answer for this is, “You betcha!”, with an added, “Why, did I do that?” and “What was I thinking?!?” to punctuate the desire.

How do I make God the center of my life? That is the question, isn’t it, but isn’t the answer Jesus himself?

That one thing… All of us have ‘it’, that ‘one thing’ that is more important to us than anything else. Sometimes we can name it, sometimes not. Sometimes, depending on how we choose, we can find ourselves in a bad spot, depending on what the ‘it’ is.

The Jesus who spares us nothing. . .Last week I told you to pay attention. Did you? Did you hear today’s Gospel?