Different Looks

I have made a few layout changes to my blog as I continue to try to customize and personalize it a bit more. Below my profile you will see a new link for Catholic Dad's which is a great website that I enjoy. I moved the boxes for following up a little bit. A couple readers told me they didn't see them because they were so far down on the page. If you have a Google account you can follow the blog by clicking on the follow button. If you use one of the myriad of RSS Feeders then you can click on the Subscribe button and the posts will be sent directly to you. I have also added a Facebook button which allows for items to be shared directly to Facebook.

In the Links of Interest section I updated a couple of the links which were no longer working because the web addresses had been changed. Hopefully they are all working now.

And if you scroll down far enough you will see my quotes section which features pictures of famous Catholics and some quotes by them that I enjoy. I have updated that area as well.

As always, I would love to have any feedback you might want to offer on how I can make the blog a better format for you the reader. Also, please feel free to comment on any of the postings if you have thoughts or ideas. If you prefer to not post on a public forum you can always send me an email or fill out a comment and ask me not to post it since I moderate all comments before they are posted.

God bless each of you and have a great Sunday.

Matt

Finding a Way through Temptation

This week has been a busy one as we continue to work towards buying our first home. There is a lot that goes into the process and it has kept us occupied. We are praying that God will continue to guide the entire process.

Most of you reading this blog know that I am in the Navy and I was injured during a training exercise back in August. This injury caused some major adjustments in my career path and also caused me a tremendous amount of mental anguish. In the months since I have found solace in turning my face to God and simply abandoning myself to him. However, this has also been a difficult process and one that I did not anticipate.

I was raised Catholic but for a number of years my faith was rather lukewarm or in some cases not really existent at all. I have tried to make a new commitment to God for about the past year or so. I have had some good times and some more difficult ones. One thing that I have discovered is that evil works against us a lot more when we are seeking God than when we are not.

“For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made him. But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who are in his possession experience it.” (Wisdom 2:23-24)

We are made in the image of God. It is our purpose to be eternal creatures and to live with God forever. Satan is envious. He is jealous of the exalted purpose that man was created for. His envy caused death to enter into the world through temptation and sin. The harder we strive to make ourselves more closely like God, the harder that Satan tries to destroy us.

I can attest that the times in my life when I have been tempted the most are those times when I have made a firm commitment to renewing my relationship with Christ. These past few months have been one of those times. While I was still in Rhode Island it was especially difficult as I was alone, without family or friends for support. It took a lot of effort on my part to remain focused and I was not always successful. Now that I am home the task has not become easier, only different. It is far easier for me to remain determined and to keep Christ in front of my eyes because I have the constant reminder of my wife and children around me. I want to be the example of Christ for them. No, the truth is that I need to be Christ to them. So I am able to keep my goals more firmly fixed but at the same time Satan has turned up the heat so to speak. I find that I must be constantly diligent in thought and action. It would be a very easy thing for me to give in to the despair that hovers at the edge of my soul. I know however that there is nothing good there, only darkness and sadness.

May the God of the Morning bring Light into each of our lives.

Well, I also wanted to share a little bit from the book that I am currently reading which is The Catholic Way by Archbishop Donald Wuerl. In the chapter that I read today he talks about why it is so important for us to know more about our faith. Many Catholics and Christians simply rely on what they learned in Sunday School when they were children. It behooves us as adults to increase our level of knowledge about our faith for two main reasons.

- First is so that we can live our faith more fully.

- Second is so that we can share our faith more effectively.

For a long time I have wanted to become knowledgeable in the area of Apologetics and this chapter has encouraged me to pursue that more aggressively. Apologetics is the discipline concerned with the defense or proof for Christianity. It doesn’t have anything to do with apologizing. It means having the knowledge and the ability to defend our beliefs when confronted by unbelievers or when others are curious about our faith.

For many years I was one of those individuals that I like to call “cafeteria Catholics”. These are individuals who think that they can go down the line of beliefs to pick and choose which ones they want to agree with and which ones they don’t. I have come to realize however that it doesn’t work that way. It’s an all or nothing deal. I want to be sure that I am knowledgeable about what my church teaches so I can live my life in such a manner as to be faithful to those teachings and to the guidance of Christ Jesus who guides his church. All Christians everywhere should be called to this same standard.

Follow the Word

I have decided to set The Ascent of Mount Carmel aside for the time being. I got about ten pages into it and realized it was much more than I could handle at this particular moment. Our family has so much going on that spiritual reading time is at a minimum and that is a book that requires some time for thought. I am thinking it might be a great book to take with me when I deploy as I will have nowhere to go and lots of time for reading. Instead I will be starting The Catholic Way by Archbishop Donald Wuerl. This book came highly recommended but is slightly easier reading than John of the Cross’ material.

My little sister started blogging. I think that is exciting. I am not sure what drives others to write but personally it is an opportunity for me to process a lot of things that are going on in my heart and mind that I can’t find another way of processing. I think everyone learns differently and I have always learned best through the written word. I suppose this includes learning from myself by being able to read my thoughts and work through them.

I have started reading the daily mass readings to help me keep in touch with the life of the church throughout the week, even though I am not able to attend daily mass. My mother gave me a really nice book which is a calendar of the year and has all the readings, feast days, etc… in it. I am also making another small thing a part of my daily prayer. My mother also gave me a small book which is called My Daily Bread. This little book is kind of a prayer book except that it is more of a conversation with God. This is really cool because I have always struggled with structured prayer. My own experience of God has always been a very personal one and I have that need to talk, to converse, to listen. My wife will be the first to tell you I am not a very good communicator. Perhaps that is why my relationship with God has also suffered at times. Even though I struggle with it though, the need is still present. I think this is an important lesson for all of our relationships in life but most especially with God. The need to communicate remains the most vital part of any relationship. Prayer is our way to communicate with God and no one learns to pray overnight. Just like any other relationship, this one takes practice.

I was reading the Psalm for today which is Ps 119:89, 90, 91, 130, 135, 175 . The refrain was “Your word is forever O Lord.” As I read it I realized something I had not thought of before. The word “Word” in scripture is used in a variety of ways. Sometimes it means the utterances that come forth from the mouth of God. Sometimes it refers to Jesus as we see in the opening verses of John’s gospel. Sometimes it means both. Scripture is such an amazing tool that God has given us. There are writing styles for every type of reader. There are historical texts, prose, poetry, mystery, romance, letters, and instructions. All written by men, all the words of God. Our “job” as it were as Christians is to follow the word of God. This means to follow both the written instruction left to us in holy scripture and to follow in the example set for us by Jesus Christ. We are to follow him in word and deed. Our hearts and intentions should be aligned to him.

This is really very easy for me to write. It is a far different thing to put into practice. I want so very much to give my all to God and for every moment to be for his glory. Instead I find that most days I am very distracted by the realities of raising children, being a loving husband, maintaining a successful career and all the myriad other things that present themselves to me. I am happy if I find a few minutes at the end of the day to spend with God. Is he pleased with this time I have allotted for him? Wasn’t his death on the cross worth more than my fortunate remembering at the end of the day? I like to think that God understands my situation and doesn’t hold it against me. But I know that he wants more because he always reminds me in little ways.

God bless. Matt

Wow!

So today as I was reading through some of the blogs I follow I came across the following post: http://redcardigan.blogspot.com/2009/11/episcopal-body-slam-alert.html . It was really quite impressive to read the Bishop's letter calling the Kennedy clan to task over their stance on abortion and other issues. Please take the time to read the letter from the Bishop as it takes an important stand on this issue and also on the issue of how we identify ourselves as Christians to the public.

Matt

Life Changes

First I would like to say Happy Birthday to my youngest sister, Celie. She is 22 years old this year which makes me even more acutely aware of how old I am getting. So Happy Birthday Sis. Hope it is a great day.

I have been meaning to write for a couple weeks, ever since I returned home to Washington. Things come up in life though and the days seem to go by so fast. I wish that I could win the lottery. Not so that I could be rich but rather so I would have the freedom from other constraints and be able to do as I want with my time. I am sure though that with all those riches would come further troubles. Well, life has been busy as we have been looking for a home to buy and also just getting back into the routine of family life. I start back to work on Friday which will add a whole other dimension to things going on.

I have decided that trying to maintain several different blogs is just beyond my ability and so I am down to two. This will be my primary writing platform for things going on in my life and also for the spiritual discussions that I want to have. I would really love to start having some feedback and ongoing discussions regarding the spiritual topics that I post about so feel free to make use of the comment button at the bottom of the posts and I promise I will respond so perhaps we can create an ongoing dialogue and learn from one another. My other blog is simply the list of books that I have read so it is very specific to its topic and won’t have any lengthy posts other than perhaps the occasional book review. A link to that site is found in my links section to the right of the main blog. For those of you who receive this blog via email you would have to actually visit the website to see some of the extra details I am talking about.

I finally got around to updating the book I am reading. I have started reading The Ascent of Mount Carmel by St. John of the Cross. I will keep you posted with thoughts and ideas about that. I typically read one spiritual book and one novel at a time. I probably won’t comment on the novels in this blog since I have my book blog for that purpose.

It turns out that a 3600 mile trip across the U.S. by yourself can become an opportunity for reflection since there is not a whole lot else going on. I didn’t realize this until making this trip but there are entire sections of the U.S. where it is impossible to receive even a single radio station. So I spent a good amount of time thinking about my life past and present and how I want to approach the future.

I heard a song on a Christian radio station that really struck me to the heart. I don’t know the artist or even the title of the song but the chorus went something like “You can have the world, just give me Jesus.” I thought long and hard about this line. I realized that I have expended a lot of energy in my life seeking things that are temporal. This doesn’t mean those things are evil. God intends for us to live a happy and productive life. The problem comes up when we live our life solely in pursuit of those things and neglect that which we were really created for.

One of my favorite books is a sci-fi novel by Robert Heinlen called Stranger in a Strange Land. The title is a reference to the biblical book of Exodus. The premise of the story is of a man living in a world not of his own making. We as humans are going through the same phenomenon. We have been created for a world of everlasting life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Our time on Earth is just a side-trip on the path to that place we are destined for. I think we are meant to enjoy our time here and to make the most of it but we need to keep in mind what our ultimate goal is. That goal is to follow Jesus into Heaven and live in peace for all eternity. If instead we make this life on earth the goal of all we do then we risk alienating ourselves from God. To that end I repeat the chorus of that song, “You can have the world, just give me Jesus.”

I encountered a verse in the scripture this past week that I did not remember seeing before. It really touched me and I wanted to share it with you. I think it speaks to the heart of who we are as believers.

“Those who trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love.” Wisdom 3:9

As we draw nearer to the season of advent and the celebration of the birth of the Christ let us all remember to trust in the Lord and remain faithful to him.

As a closing note I would like to ask for prayers for my father. He will be ordained a permanent Deacon for the Diocese of Jefferson City in the spring. May he and all men and women called to a vocation in the church be strengthened by the prayers of the faithful and encouraged by our support of them.

A Thing Of Beauty

Today was my wife's birthday. I was not able to be there with her because my military obligations have kept me separated once again from a family event. I spent the day thinking of her though and of all that she means to me. The realization that I came to is that I am a better person because of my wife. Just as the scripture tells us, a good wife is the greatest of treasures. She supports me, loves me, helps me to see when I am heading in the wrong direction. She has given up more for me than any other person in my life. Most women would have left me by now but not her. I realized that God has used her to help me find my way back to him. My wife is a thing of beauty. John Keats said it best:

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its lovliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o'er-darkn'd ways
Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon,
Trees old and young, sprouting a shady boon
For simple sheep; and such are daffodils
With the green world they live in; and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert make
'Gainst the hot season; the mid-forest brake,
Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms:
And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven's brink.

John Keats

It's in the small things

Today I found evidence that God exists in the most amazing of places. I found God in a bowl of ice cream. Now you are probably thinking that Matt has gone off his rocker from all the stress in his life. You might be right. Then again, maybe I needed to go off my rocker a bit and gain a little different perspective of the world around me. You see, I believe that the biggest problem with man and his relationship with God is that man tries to over complicate the matter. God is the biggest, most intense, most complicated being in all of creation. There is no way that we can wrap our little minds around it. The only way we can develop our relationship with God is to break it down into small things that we can understand. Friendship, family, a smile, a sunset, even a bowl of ice cream. All too often I have found that I try to do some big amazing thing to experience God or I try to make drastic life changes in order to find God more completely. The reality is that the easiest way to find God is relax and let Him find you. I can guarantee that He will. He has been waiting for you for a long time and He is going to bring something into your life that makes you take a second look. Maybe its the sunset or a kind word from the neighbor or maybe its a bowl of really amazing ice cream. Whatever it is, I am willing to bet it is a small thing. Because this really immense God, He likes to hide in the small things. That is the wonderful thing about Him. He doesn't need to draw attention to himself. Every beautiful thing under the sun draws attention to Him without much effort. So don't go to great lengths to find God. Relax and look around you a little closer. He is probably already there.