YMCA

OK, the "parrothead" in me had to get this one out there. It makes you want to laugh, and cringe at the same time.

Good kids see Santa, Bad kids see this...

Taken from CreativeMinorityReport.com

Help the poor

I was having a discussion with someone whom I admire greatly. We were talking about helping others, when he said, "Even Christ said the poor will always be with us. Why use your resources on those who won't learn and will always be amongst us?" The scripture he was referring to was from Matthew 26:11, "The poor you will always have with you.."

Now I hear what my friend is saying, but still I can't compute it against everything else Christ has said about caring for the poor. This launched me into an inquiry of this passage. First I had to look at the passage as a whole. What was happening, who was this being said to, are their any other passages referring to this event.

This passage takes place when a woman anoints Jesus with costly perfume. Some among them asked why is he letting this happen? We could have sold this for money to give to the poor. Christ knew he was being anointed for his burial, and said to them leave this woman alone. Now, who do you think he was really directing this towards?

I feel the direction of all of this objection to the perfume, and concern of the money came from the money handler, Judas. It was just after this that Judas betrayed him. Was Judas concerned that he would be missing his cut of the 300 days wages this perfume would have brought? After all he always had his hand in the till.

A parallel passage is found in Mark 14:7, "The poor you will always have with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them, but you will not always have me." Now this passage examined as a singular verse sheds seems more inline with the rest of the gospel. Do good to them.

So the point of Matthew 26:11, isn't to say the poor will always be with you no matter what you do. It is saying, although you will have times to do good for the poor who will always be around; I am physically with you now.

We should always serve the poor, we should always seek to to good. Christ commands it. We would all be better off for serving Christ, and not finding "scriptural excuses" to not help the least amongst us. The story of Christ should not be taken as a collection of verses that fit how you see the world.

Let not your philosophy drive how you see Christ, let Christ drive how you see your philosophy.

God hears us, he answers, do we respond?

Last night, I was instructing the Jr. High group, a collection of 35+ kids, the story of Abraham. I had only a few expectations. Namely that I wanted them to know that it is not just enough to believe and love God, we must answer his call. God will send us challenges and tests, and we have the opportunity to show God that we will respond appropriately to his call.

Easy topic to talk about, difficult to practice. As Yogi Beara once said, "In theory there is no difference in theory and practice. In practice there is."

This morning I was wondering about how to proceed on an issue at hand. I heard the answer in the daily readings. Now the real question is, do I respond to God's call? If yes, then to what extent. Do I go all the way as Abraham would, or do I follow along as Judas did until the betrayal?

Diligence, a heavenly virture.

If there is one trait that makes or breaks my success, it would be diligence. A definition would be, "Diligence is a zealous and careful nature in one's actions and work. Decisive work ethic. Budgeting one's time; monitoring one's own activities to guard against laziness. Putting forth full concentration in one's work."

We can all get excited about doing something for a short time. How many projects have we started? What percent of those have we completed? It's easy to get zealous, but diligence carries on well after the initial excitement is gone. To me, diligence is the on going driving movement that makes plans successful.

Be diligent in your work, faith, and family.

Time well spent

Lets say you only work 40 hours a week, that accounts for 23.8% of a week.
The average person sleeps 8 hours a day, that accounts for 33.3% of a week.
The average man spends 1.2 hours a day eating and drinking, that accounts for 5% of your week.
If you exercise one hour a day, three days a week, that is 1.7% of your week.
The average Catholic mass is one hour. It would only take 0.59% of your week.

Can we at least give God less than 1%?

Or is something else a bigger priority?

"President-elect Barack Obama has yet to attend church services since winning the White House earlier this month, a departure from the example of his two immediate predecessors."

It's five o'clock somewhere...

Problem Solving

B.I.B.L.E.

Last night was the final evening of our parish's mission. Deacon Glenn Harmon conducted a wonderful mission about surrendering your life to God. He further emphasized a point that has to made among today's Catholics. Read your Bible. Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. This morning I guess of divine providence, I saw a truck with this written on it's trailer. Thanks God, I got the point...

Leadership

The quote of the day on my National Guard calender is from General George S. Patton.

"We will win because we never lose. I am a soldier. I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight."

One of my favorite movies to watch with my Dad is Patton. Patton loved his men, and was determined to always win. There was no other option with Patton.

The Crucible of Today

A crucible is ceramic cup, that can withstand intense heat in the melting of metals. Today, I feel like I'm standing the crucible, not melting but being tested and purified. Providence, as some may put it, has landed our family a unique opportunity of helping another family. Funny too, that providence, led me to the patron saint of our need. Infant Jesus pray for us.

Please pray for our family as we try to help others. I know we are going to face some tough times, but that's all part of being in the crucible.

1 Peter 1:6-7
"In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

Welcome

Welcome to my new venture. See that the names I wanted (church militant, catholic militant, ecclecia militans, etc...) for this blog were already taken, I settled on two things outside of my family that are dear to my heart. I am proud to be a Roman Catholic, and see the church as the only means for my salvation. I am thankful to be a Parrothead. Born on the Gulf Coast, and reared with virtue, my Parrothead soul is my only vice. More on all these things to come in due time.