"Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset." Saint Francis De Sales

Friday, March 2, 2018

Character, Abraham & Beth




Matthew Kelly promotes being “the-best-version-of-ourselves.” On Saturday morning, his “Best Lent Series,” series provided the answer of how we can accomplish this task. Character and Virtue.

“Character is something that tends to be made up of habits. You know, if somebody lies to you all the time, you tend to think of that person as being of low character. We tend to discount what they say to us. We dismiss what they say to us, very often, because they lie to us so much that we just can't even listen to what they've got to say.

And the reality is that God wants you to become a person of great character. And the building blocks of that character are virtues. The building blocks of that character are patience, kindness, generosity, humility, courage, and all the virtues that are at the core of Christian spirituality and are belittled and despised and demeaned, very often, in our modern culture.”

And so, becoming the-best-version-of-yourself means, in a very real and practical way, becoming a woman of character; becoming a man of character. And it's that character, that deep, strong, well-grounded, rooted character, that God wants to fill us with so that when life's difficult moments come along—and they come along . . . It's in those difficult moments of life where our true character is revealed, where who we are at the core, is on display for the whole world to see.”

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Deacon Steve provided some thought on the first Reading from Sunday the 25th. Genesis  22:1-2, 9A, 10-13, 15-18. His Homely always involves deep thought and today’s was no different. The question he asked is one that I have often thought about. Why would God test Abraham by having Isaac offered up as a holocaust? More importantly, why did Abraham obey without question? Abraham had an unusual connection with God, They spoke to each other on numerous occasions. Deacon Steve suggests that Abraham knew that God would not let him take the life of his son Isaac.

Genesis 22:5, “Abraham said to his servants: “Stay here with the donkey, while the boy and I go on over there. We will worship and then come back to you.”

Genesis 22:8, “My son,” Abraham answered, “God will provide the sheep for the burnt offering.” The the two walked on together.

Genesis 21:12, But God said to Abraham: Do not be distressed about the boy or about your slave woman. Obey Sarah, no matter what she asks of you; for it is through Isaac that descendants will bear your name.”

Abraham knew God would not let him offer up his son. First, Abraham tells his servants, that he and his son will come back to them. Second, Abraham tells his son Isaac that God would provide the sheep. Third, God had already told him that there would be descendants through Isaac.

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More about Sunday’s Gospel from Dominick Albano. He talks about the “other nine apostles,” those “who didn’t get to go up on the mountaintop.” Was Jesus “playing favorites a little bit or something.”

Then he brought up a new term for me, a “holy nobody.” 

“A holy nobody is somebody who is striving for holiness, and no one ever notices. They're not some saint in the sense that everyone knows their name and knows what they did. They're not the head of some great ministry. They don't get any sort of attention for what they do. These are the people who just quietly live a holy life and don't ever really get recognition for it.
Now, I always wonder . . . if you're like a St. Bartholomew or St. Jude or one of the other apostles that just doesn't get much attention in terms of hearing about them in the Gospels, were they kind of like the original holy nobodies?”

So, I’m thinking that maybe that’s okay for me. I don’t need to be noticed, just appreciated for what I am.

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Some thoughts from Beth DeCristofaro.

“What is more difficult is to identify the “wealth” we have which causes us to not see the Lazarus’ in our lives.  These “wealths” are not necessarily even negatives.  Some of them might not even seem like “wealth”.  For example:
I live in a good neighborhood with good schools.  Do I look with unease on those who also want to live here because they are different?  I safeguard what is mine.  
My insurance covers my needs but I worked hard for it, I don’t want that to change.  If others don’t have the same insurance they can work harder and earn it.”   

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Dee and I attended a Lenten Parish Retreat at Church of the Epiphany this week. The speaker was Dominick Albano, the topic was the “Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic.” 
Three evenings of listening to Dominic Albano, talk about prayer, study, generosity and evangelization. A vibrant speaker who enlightened me about myself and my faith. 
Thank you Dominic and thank you Tracy for bringing him to our Church family. 

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“Jesus, guide me as I dismiss the constant demands of the ego and build character.”

A prayer from Dynamic Catholic.

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I posted about making creek sections for Briartun this week. Just in case you missed it, check it out here.


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Chris Stapleton - “Broken Halos.”




Go over to "This Ain't the Lyceum," where Kelly is hosting more takes

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