I Am Peter’s Shadow

    Year after year as a young man I wondered time and time again, “Why would the Lord pick Peter?  He failed in the hour of need! He was boastful and hot headed!  Then he sinned by inaction no different than Adam!”  After gaining many a grey hair, all I can think of is how I am Peter’s Shadow! 

    Peter was the first Apostle to receive and act on the gift of Faith by telling the Lord he was the Messiah.  Peter wanted to protect the Lord but was called a Devil for trying to avoid the Lord’s death in Jerusalem.  Peter wanted no part in the Lord humbling himself to wash his feet, but when corrected displayed exuberance in saying wash my whole body!  Peter struck the High Priest’s slave in the garden with Christ, but denied Christ three times in the garden of man.  Peter did not come to the foot of the Cross, but ran with abandon to the empty tomb.

    I now recognize Peter is the disciple who’s spirit and temperament is closest to mine.  I can get exuberant, but make mistakes just as brilliantly.  I see the world in ways most others do not, but it does not mean I am always right or can even explain myself!  I know the Lord is my God, but in sinning abandon our Lord in both dark of night and light of the day. 

    This Good Friday, as I attend Stations of the Cross, I will recognize myself as Peter’s Shadow on Good Friday.  I know in my life I often abandoned Christ on the road to Golgotha.  I know when I refuse to participate in Christ’s suffering, I hurt Christ and his mystical body even more!

    So I will do as Peter did after Christ died.  See Peter was hiding in that Upper Room Easter morning, but it does not mean he was slothful!  Peter assembled the Apostles over the two days Christ spent in the tomb.  In that Upper Room he was feeding Christ’s shepherds!  It might have been in fear and sheepishly, but he began doing part of his vocation.  He just needed a cue card for his next steps on when and where to re-enter the world!

   As Peter’s Shadow this weekend I will take a page from his life.  I will look at the family God placed in my care, memorialize my failings since I will see them again at my judgement, ask the Lord for forgiveness, and get back to work serving those in my care while I await the Lord’s next command on Easter Morning.  I know the Lord will expect nothing less.

-ehw

Advent and the Tenacity of the Holy Trinity

In my daily journey’s I enjoy looking for events which could be a great photograph.  One theme recurs to me time and time is the tenacity of life to grow where it just should not.  Life sprouts forth from parking lot cracks, granite rock faces, and dry deserts where you scratch your head and ask how and why?  Each time I see life exist where it should be futile, I am served up a reminder of the tenacity of the Holy Trinity in reaching out to us to join them in our daily and eternal journey.

              On a hot summer day, you stand in a parking lot.  You feel the hellish burning heat reflected off the asphalt.  It is a manmade feature on the planet serving a valid purpose, but comes with its own downside in this fallen man influenced world.  Yet as you walk in and out of that lot you see grass and weeds poking their stems as high as possible despite lack of a deep soil or multiple run ins with car tires.  Is this not a reflection of how God’s love comes through the offering of his son to heal original sin?  He came from what the world calls total insignificance.  Jesus preached the word and then was threatened, beaten and crucified despite his innocence.  Yet the same Jesus rose again to preach some more.

              When climbing a mountain, you see a massive tree on the side of a great cliff as you ascend at great effort to see reach your destination.  You see its massive roots wrapped around outcroppings and separating fissures to reach virgin water and soil deposits.  Is this not like how the word of Christ when preached and evangelized by deeds wraps around our jagged personality flaws perfectly?  Is this not the image of Christ digging into our conscience to build our faith in God to survive a tempest from hell through the sacraments of our faith?  Is this not Christ touching John the Baptist in the darkness of the Elizabeth’s womb, and launching the prophet with zeal on his mission for life?

              In my years in the high desert of Fort Irwin, I saw with amazement donkeys surviving in the wild by constant movement from remote water source to water source.  I could barely fathom how they knew which way to go, yet they thrived in good health on that desert floor.  Now almost twenty years since those days, I can see how this points me to the guidance of the Holy Spirit in my life.  The Holy Spirit held my hand through heights of success to the throws of crushing defeat, through good health and bad for my clan, through valleys of faithless people shooting arrows at me from all sides, through my failures due to my own faults, and into the arms of God filled friends to heal my wounds.

              The tenacity of the Holy Trinity is a blessing for each of us, and perfectly explained in this Advent season.  We have the plan for our salvation created at the beginning of time coming to fulfillment because the Trinity never stops working on this world.  God creates life and a plan to atone for our sins, incarnates the Word of God in Jesus to allow God the Son to physically walk the earth with his cross for our sins, and then God the Holy Spirit leads the Holy Family through dangerous deserts on a Donkey to the safety of a cave to prepare for a birth.  This tenacious Trinity can easily be overlooked in the bustle of our lives.  However, when we embrace the Trinity in the moments it reveals itself in our lives we are directed to eternal life with God.

Just Follow the Light

This tunnel we’re in right now is long and dark. Thankfully there is light even in the darkness we can follow.

-ehw

(This is an access ladder on a grain silo at my son’s workplace.)

The Lights are on...and my Girl is coming Lord

A glorious vigil here tonight. Kellie Marie, our fourth child prepares to receive Christ tomorrow for the first time. I hope soon the whole church reopens fully so we can get back to receiving the food which nourishes our eternal souls. The Lord is lonely for far to long. He calls for us, he searches for us, he nourishes us. We should have never left him so alone. I am so proud to go with our Kellie Marie and take her to meet the Lord.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Pray for us.

-ehw

The Hope of Our Lady of Sorrows

Our Lady of Sorrows your heart pierced seven times yet never flinching in your hope, faith and love for God the Father, his son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit which rested on you bringing Jesus into the world. Pray for us, and intercede for our needs today when your greatest pains only further united you with God. Teach us how to use our suffering to do the same on this Good Friday.

-ehw

Sharing a Passion - Fatherhood

My my first child sketches with pen and paper. My second child is a woodworker and nerf gunsmith. My third child, is the first child of mine to want to make images and videos. It is his second most favorite thing after fishing. It is quite fun to have someone who gets excited if I say we could get up early (like before sunrise) to leave the house to take pictures. (I’m still seeing what #4-6 like to do besides eat donuts).

I’m going to take the moments while I can with him…and savor them. I enjoy talking with him about something, instead of telling him how it is. On cold mornings, I like sharing coffee with him and talking about how Jesus wants us to live. I enjoy seeing his pride as he moves from photo to video…and works proudly in manual mode (which I rarely use….aperture or shutter for me). I love being able to share lenses with him! I love seeing the boy try to become the young man God is calling him to be.

A challenging part of fatherhood is the finding the thing which connects you to your kids. It is hard work to find the connection, but when you find it I think it is the absolute best moments you ever have in the job.

-ehw

Christmas, Good Friday and Easter

On the Epiphany my thoughts came together on the intertwining of Christmas, Good Friday and Easter. In our world we often try to focus on the “hopeful” story. The reality is we cannot get to Easter without the first two, and our God wrote it all into the bible’s imagery for us to know this. I spent all season looking for a photo to capture this, and I finally did last weekend.

On Christmas Mary gave birth to the Jesus, the son of God, second person of the Trinity, in a manger. The infinite became finite The all power powerful became vulnerable. In order to atone for the sins of man, God became both humanities’ High Priest and sacrifice. His first clothes were swaddling clothes. These clothes normally wrapped the dead. His first manger was a feeding trough where animals feed. What grain put in a feeding trough to feed the flock is not already dead? This all foreshadows Jesus’ sacrificial death, and feeding us with his own body in the Eucharist.

On Good Friday Jesus would hang from a man crafted tree called a cross. A tree devoid of life, on which should hang condemned criminals. People who no longer get to live in society. On this dead tree Christ, would complete the ultimate sacrifice foreshadowed at Christmas, and break open the doors to heaven. His body forever broken of its finite bonds, it shatters death, and opens the doors of heaven. From heaven he continues to feed us as the High Priest with the bread of life at every mass, absolve our sins in confession, and await us as our judge at the end of time.

So Christmas supports the total victory of Easter. You cannot have Easter without Christmas. You cannot have the meaning of Easter without the context of Christmas.

Driving on a back road here in Loudoun County, I saw this manger before a cross, graveyard and church. I immediately saw the trough, the cross and its victory it can offer over death and sin if we embrace the full truth of the Gospel in our lives. I hope you do too.

God Bless You!

-ehw

(You can see cross much faster in the black and white, which focuses us on shapes and leading lines. Also a quick thanks to Archbishop Fulton Sheen, who taught me this in the Life of Christ!)

The World Awaits in Silence

Holy Saturday is always a quiet day for us. After two days in church and building up to a crescendo, we fall into a silence and quiet work of preparation for our Lord’s next great move. In some ways I really dwell on the fact that if he did not arise, all I believe is false. My faith would be a flat out lie. I could have no hope, and life would have no meaning. It would pail in comparison to what the Apostles and disciples were thinking, and worried about in that rented out upper room.

Luckily I know what I believe is true. I know it is true by faith, but even science and recovered history is confirming the many strands of the story as being consistent since the beginning of recorded time.

I wish I could hear the church bells tonight at Easter Vigil mass! What a glorious mass it will be.

Joyful Fatherly Moment on the Range

     Time is in very short around here.  It is a constant race against time to get up, feed, cloth, clean, teach, maintain, and then get back to bed before it starts all over again.  It seems at least half of the eight of us are always out of sync with the others....Too often our weekends are merely Groundhog Days.  

    Well in the midst of all this I was able to take advantage of a wonderful opportunity provided by the Cherokee Gun Club.  I was able to spend over four hours with the two big boys on the range learning safety, good habits, and showing them what a fun lifetime hobby looks like under the guidance of an incredibly patient guide and trainer from the club.  Look them up, and if you have kids who want to learn the same...contact them.  You will not regret it, in fact you'll be trying to schedule another visit!  The boys will not let me forget to...and Momma liked the confidence the boys came home with.

    The key to the day was the tutelage of Mr. Richard.  You will not find a calmer and nicer man to enforce safety while displaying the joys of shooting.  He listens, coaches, and keeps the focus of boys in a way I wish I could emulate.  He made my job of being an extra safety and assistant coach a joyous one. In fact he made it easy for me to come home and say I helped my boys grow up a bit today.  So I got as much a gift from today as they did.

    One message I always find myself returning to in this blog is why my photography is important to me...and it so much relates to life.  You have to find the good moments and appreciate them.  Today was one of those good moments to be a Dad.  Thanks God and the Cherokee Gun Club.

-ehw

Divine Mercy Memory

    Today my wife and I had a Sunday afternoon date...to complete our Divine Mercy Novena and Sunday at our church.  While I am still processing all the lessons from the last ten days, I rarely allow myself to miss a nice moment or two with the capture of a frame of electrons, ones and zeros.  The image on the program matches the beauty of the Holy Hour... so I just had to share.

    Jesus I Trust in You!

-ehw

Happiness Comes From....

    St John Paul the Great says: "No one apart from God can give you true happiness."  He calls us to follow the example of Mary, in complete unconditional "yes" with no compromise or laziness. "Humanity is in urgent need of the witness of free courageous people who dare go against the tide and proclaim with vigor and enthusiasm their personal faith in God, Lord and Savior."  This mission is never easy...and is impossible if we rely on the power of man alone.  He quotes Luke to remind us "What is impossible with men is possible with God."

    I am starting to get "it" in the long line of repentant sinners knowing I just need to do what we should.  Tonight I'll pray we can all embrace the power of the supernatural God to be what we are truly called to be in our eternal home.

(Quotes and Lesson courtesy of Lent and Easter, Wisdom from Pope John Paul II, Compiled by John V. Kruse and published by Liguori Publications page 54)

Faith, Hope, Charitas- A Photo Essay

In the darkest of times...where people keep faith in God they will find hope he placed in our hearts by the same God to do the works of charitas needed to build a foothold of his kingdom on earth, and earn entrance to his kingdom in eternal life.

If we loose the faith...the darkest of times becomes a very dark eternity without hope, and a complete isolation of self from others and our creator.

-ehw

When Times are Crazy - Pray for one moment of peace

    The last two weeks were crazy: Long work days, family fighting off various rounds of the December virus, robotics competition, about two cords or more of fallen tree branches in the yard, family challenges that come with six kiddos, we lost a great American soldier I once was proud to call my own, trying to discern God's will for my family, and a dozen other crazy moments and challenges.

    All this made me  have a hard time focusing today.  Very hard!  All that stuff was running around in my head.  Luckily I was able get a good rosary in at church, and then work on that yard doing physical labor for a few hours.  In the rhythm of prayer and breaking down branches I centered myself for a while.  So when Kalen and I came in from the rain, I was able to appreciate this one moment of two boys of mine playing.  

    In that moment of personal peace I was able to catch a photo of two boys secure in a warm house, loving each other, two boys who know they are loved by their parents, and safe from so much evil in the world...for just a moment.  Now at the end of my day a friend lost his son-in-law in an accident, and I know I need to pray for him and his family.  The sorrows and confusion of the world is back on.  They, and so many others, need a moment of peace to begin to work towards healing.

   I'll pray for all those who need their moment, because in my moment of peace I realized again how blessed I am.  Blessings however cannot stay still, they must move on to help others.  So I will do what I can in prayer tonight.  I'll also pray someone who reads this, may just be inspired to join me in looking for moments of peace to share with the world.

-ehw

Living Memories of a Good Priest

    God blesses us from time to time with people in our lives who call us out and inspire us to new heights of growth.  My son, and family, were blessed to know Father Austin Fogarty at St. Thomas Aquinas Church from 2012 until his death.  My Kevin would never allow Father Austin to leave the church without a high five during the procession.  In 2016, two years after Father passed, my son went to cry some more at his graveside.

   It was therefore a great deal of happiness yesterday, we were able to enjoy a good bit of Father Austin's handiwork at St. George Parish in Newnan, Georgia.  Based on what Father did at St. Thomas Aquinas to repair and beautify the sanctuary, we could feel his handiwork all over the church.  We even found notes to the parish sacristan with reminders for care of chalices with his name on it.

    It made me ponder how our material works can still help the living after our passing.  I realize we cannot take anything material with us beyond the grave.  However, if what we build with our hands and hearts is rooted in God's Law we can leave a living memorial capable of inspiration far beyond our death to generations beyond.  I know this was true here, because my Kevin shed no tears yesterday.  He instead marveled at the works of this fatherly priest, and how he urged him to live a life for Christ.

   So today we will pray for our beloved friend and priest, Father Austin Fogarty.  I pray he finds himself wrapped in the love of Jesus, at rest from his pains endured here on earth.  While we miss you, we will not let that selfishness keep us from living as you asked us to here on earth with the people of God.

Vocations Prayers Please!

    This weekend the 9AM needed a volunteer family to take home an older chalice, called the Elijah Cup, and put it in a prominent place in the home.  Every time we see it, we should be praying for an increase in responses to vocation calls from Christ. 

   Well the kids asked and jumped into the isle...as another family further up and on the side also went up.  To make it even more interesting a family up front, good friends of ours, also started to leap up and then stopped.  We did not see the Deacon motion to the family to our right so we kept charging down the isle...so the six of us kept walking to the delight and laughter of the parish on collision course with the other family!

   As we saw the other family come into view ahead of us, we sheepishly turned about.  We were headed back to our pew for the dismissal rite when we heard a booming voice...."Wait we have another one!"  from Father John Bosco Tri.  So we went on up and accepted the cup he held!

   I don't think Father Tri was going to let us go.  See Father Tri and my John Paul already had a little talk.  Father Tri offered John Paul use of his vestments two weeks ago....he seems pretty sure my JP will join him soon.  (JP is only 22 months old right now so they are a little big on him.)

   The serious side of all this is however, we need everyone to respond deeply to their vocation call.  God does not stop issuing vocation calls.  The problem is we just don't respond as we should primarily due to fear. Fear of giving ourselves away totally to God's design, fear of the reaction to our family, fear of the ridicule the world will put on us for being "old fashioned", or even fear of not knowing a safe place to begin the journey.

   The result is a horrible vacuum.  One priest for thousands of families, and the loss of nuns to build social networks of schools and services all mean the Body of Christ does not get the care it needs.  A loss of religious vocations means families suffer as well, because trained religious are not there to nourish with sacraments, knowledge of sacramentals, and caring hands.  The carnage does not end there though with the failure to heed our vocations. 

    How many fathers are afraid to lead their domestic church towards God? How many mothers are not bringing the heart of Christ into the daily routines of family life with courage?  Without true fatherhood and maternal care, the fires of vocation will merely smolder in our souls.  Never will the vocation fire burn bright for either task God could give us.  All this leads to greater pain for the body of Christ as marriages suffer, sacraments go under offered and utilized, and churches close. 

    Recently I read how Mother Teresa understood her spiritual darkness to be her participation in the pain Christ has when we reject his cry of thirst to add our soul to his.  Imagine how we could soothe Jesus suffering if we all began to encourage children to become religious if they receive the call?  On their journey to discernment, we parents would need to grow in our faith as well since we are their first teachers.  A testament to this growth of faith, would be the rejection of the contraceptive movement, and the growth of larger families once again in Catholic households.   From larger families historically come greater the number of vocations.  This occurs since boys and girls do not feel the subconscious need to ensure there is an heir for the family name, or someone to care for parents in old age.

   So pray for a great response to the vocations God sends us at any time in our lives! 

Here is a short prayer for vocations I found:

O Holy Spirit, Spirit of wisdom and divine love, impart Your knowledge, understanding, and counsel to youth that they may know the vocation wherein they can best serve God. Give them courage and strength to follow God's holy will. Guide their uncertain steps, strengthen their resolutions, shield their chastity, fashion their minds, conquer their hearts, and lead them to the vineyards where they will labor in God's holy service.
Amen.

From EWTN: Click here to see the original

The Cross and St. Joseph

     What can you learn from a man who says nothing in the entire Bible?  It turns out we can learn a great deal from his silent example and the symbols of his biblical and tradition based stories handed down from the Patriarchs.  For this reason he is a patron saint of my family and our little Blue Knight Evangelization club.

    St. Joseph was a carpenter, and it is this trade he passed down to his son.  Working with wood is one of the oldest traditions of mankind.  In the Garden of Eden we began this tradition of working with wood through the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge.  Working with first gave us the fruit of unity with God, and the later one's fruit planted inside us the seeds of pride to create our fallen world.

    The Tree of Life required no pruning or sacrifice to care for it or provide for our souls.  Once the world fell though, God needed to send his son to set things aright.  The job required Jesus to use the materials, tools and symbols we humans could grasp.  As partakers of the Tree of Knowledge we humans always look for God to symbolize rewards for good behavior by showing us the "land of milk and honey." Overturning our fall from grace could not however come without sacrifice and correcting the pride from the fruits of Knowledge.

    So enter into this story a carpenter.  A man who sizes up a tree, cuts it down, cures it, and then crafts it with man made tools to provide necessities of life.  A carpenter will build tools, homes, carts, and hundreds of other items to ease our daily burdens to give us a better life.  Yes the carpenter kills a tree to provide us a better life.  It is the way of things in a fallen world.

    It was the carpenter St. Joseph who provided Jesus with the earthly skills and tool set to make the very cross he will carry to Calgary.  In the Jewish tradition it would be St. Joseph who introduced Jesus to earthly scripture (remember Jesus was there when they wrote it in the Trinity), apprenticed Jesus, brought up in the knowledge of Jewish ritual, taught Jesus the culture of the world he lived in when they went to market or met customers, and ensured Jesus had a sound domestic church with his wife Mary .  St. Joseph was responsible for introducing Christ to the complete earthly tool set needed to communicate with the world the message of salvation. 

    Being the faithful and obedient son, Christ learned his lessons well.  This is why Christ took the dead wood of the cross, a barren man formed tree as his greatest tool.  While the Romans saw it as a tool for a public belittlement of men to keep their earthly power over a population, Jesus had other ideas.  Jesus took the dead tree and used it to pass through to eternal life.  Through his death he obtained the glorification briefly glimpsed at the Transfiguration for all eternity.  In this act he corrected the error of Adam and Eve, and showed us our personal path to redemption.

    Through the works of a child, we get a glimpse of the qualities of the parents who raised them.  Although St. Joseph never said a word to us in the Bible, the impact he had a profound impact on the life of Jesus.  Looking for guidance in his example and patronage for our families can greatly advance our spiritual lives towards the Tree of Life.

-ehw

ANCIENT PRAYER TO ST. JOSEPH

Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interest and desires.

Oh, St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So that, having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers.

Oh, St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you, and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him close in my name and kiss His fine head for me and ask Him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, patron of departing souls, pray for me. Amen.

Please visit The Catholic Company to see more about this prayer.

Immaculate Heart Example

        It is the time of year for getting ready to do our lent traditions to clear our hearts and souls for the coming of our savoir Jesus Christ.  This is great!  Being the 100th anniversary of Fatima also lends some urgency down the hearts of many faithful, as one of the primary calls Mary made was to repent and do penance for our sins and those of the whole world.

    In a series of happy God driven coincidences, I opened a book my dear wife provided me for the first time (I just finished two others...she wants me to get spiritually smarter) The SPIRITUAL COMBAT and A TREATISE ON PEACE OF SOUL by Dom Lorenzo Scupoli.  This book is a guidebook for many a religious soul, and a few saints like St. Francis de Sales.  In just a few pages it roped me in, and started answering a few questions I've had.

    Recently several experiences begged me to look for answers to the the proper understanding of a rule based and spirit based path to heaven.  As a law and order type guy my whole life, simply following the rules is a very simple path for my little brain to follow.  Do X and receive Y.  The problem us law and order people have is this still leaves us short, because to obtain heaven we need nothing less than perfection in our souls as well as our actions!

   Rule based paths to heaven are also dangerous to many of us.  When we observe and judge people poorly because they are not as "observant," or will not practice the same extreme forms of asceticism we personally choose to do.  When we do this, we easily fall into sin because we are comparing and showing off our "holiness."  We become modern day Pharisees. 

    Instead we must carefully chose the form of self denials and rigor of our prayer life to draw us closer to the mysteries of Christ.  This type of introspection, combined with strengthening spiritual exercises makes us primed like an soldier for the great battle working in unison with God's commands .   We need all the strength possible for our daily battles with the prince of evil who seeks to turn us from the path of God to his by hook or crook.

    Our example in all of this can be our dear mother Mary.  In the Bible she says but a few words, but attends every major event with our Lord.  She faces every temptation and torture a mother can endure, but never gives in to sin  Mary also was compliant with the old Law she was born under, and the example of the new law of her son.  She silently witnesses and participates in the unfolding of salvation, but never brings the focus to herself.  Everything she does assists the Lord as he completes his mission for the world and all people in every age.  Her Immaculate Heart always complements, and never overshadows the Sacred Heart of her son and our Lord.

    As we go forward into Lent, Mary's Immaculate Heart example should guide us towards heaven.  Accept the hardships of the fallen world, but never waver from following the law of God.  We also will remember to seek greater understanding of God in all things we observe and do, and to bring God's graces to all those we meet.

-ehw

In the Presence

     We Catholics witness today a sad turning point in out church history.  We are looking at a demographic cliff of dying churches, and a youth which overwhelmingly not staying home in the church.  The ability I had to swing into a local church for a Rosary, in a town not my own, in the presence of the Lord in Adoration may not be available to my children.  I saw today a glimpse of hope I  the church I visited today...one sixty plus parishioner, one 50 something, a 19-20 year old young man, and me Mr. Middle Aged man all sat together in the chapel.  This was an encouraging mix to be part of for a Rosary.

    On this trip I did find hope, as I met men living lives full of charitable work (done in God's name not theirs) all searching for better understanding of God's law.  It reminded me, even though in the course of human events matters may appear bleak...if we pray for and believe in the supernatural power of God we may yet be surprised in how the world can turn to hear his word again.  I know this does not avail me of my duties to evangelize, but it gives me faith to redouble my devotion and duty to live the word I deed.

-ehw

The Cheerio and the Sacred Heart of Jesus

   I cleaned up the mess of a 15 month old boy's self instruction in the art of eating, only to find an hour later I missed one more little crumb maker in a corner of the kitchen.  I used to get mad at messes like this, but over the last year I've chilled out a lot.  Somehow this cheerio made it into my rosary meditations last night.  Somehow this little cheerio, my reaction to it and the Sacred Heart of Jesus all came together.

    As I went through the Joyful Mysteries (Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, Presentation and Discovery in the Temple) I thought of the incredible trust Joseph and Mary had in God.  First you have two people who have a plan...got job, get married and live a nice little life in Nazareth with a few kids along the way.  Then an angel appears to each of them and says...God has a different and much greater plan for you!  Both gracefully accept their commission, and they became the gateway for our Lord Jesus to enter the the world and save our souls.  

   After meditating on the first four mysteries I found myself thinking about how each our arrival in our family changed our worldly plans.  Gone were the new cars, fancy house, and two people generating good steady incomes.  I thought of how we prayed over the decision to homeschool our children, and the lifestyle changes it brought on us.  I thought of our acceptance of being open to life in our marriage with the blessings of five children and five miscarriages it brought.  This brought me back to the Cheerio on the floor while Jesus was in the temple as a young man.

    I related to the panic Joseph and Mary had when they could not find Jesus.  I could only imagine the things they wanted to say when they found Jesus calmly going about his father's work in the temple.  In the moment of finding Jesus, Joseph and Mary each were able to view a mini-transfiguration.  Jesus foreshadowed to them his future mission, and how well he would perform it.  Joseph and Mary were able to put all their emotions and order, and enjoy a moment of clarity on what their entire lives were entirely ordered for.  Jesus' parent saw a glimpse of Jesus Sacred Heart on display.

   That cheerio on the floor, one of hundreds I am sure, is one of the many of sins I've committed against God's law in my lifetime.  Jesus may have used that cheerio  to have me peer into his Sacred Heart.  When I saw the cheerio, I quieted my mind and fury about why it was there.  I just accepted it was there.  

    Christ gives constant charity to me for my sins despite the wounds I place on his heart.  In turn I must continue mirroring his charity in my life despite all the changes and challenges the world and my choices put in the way.  This is what his parents did, and this is what I am called to do in living out the gospel through word and deed.

    Well time to go...little guy just finished his breakfast.   Low and behold!   There is a cheerio for me to pick up.

-ehw

Imagine the Love of God if...

    My daughter just finished a very special trip with her grandparents.  Ten days visiting Washington, D.C.; seeing godparents; enjoying some new clothes; but most of all enjoying a different vision of the world she lives in.  She learned a great deal about where she comes from on my side of the family.  My daughter lives a very virtuous life, and is a role model for me her Dad.  Her selflessness for living God's law is impressive.  While she was gone though, her absence let me think about how God's relationship with each of us in the story of the Prodigal Son.  This story is always about the tale of the two sons, but it also gives us a deep insight into the love of God for each of us.  

    In the previous excursions of my children with grandparents I never had a child who was at the age to explore life away from the family.  This time though, my daughter took a trek to the outstanding Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia.  There she met one possible destiny.  She saw shelves and shelves of great books.  She sat in classes where she had more of the Shakespeare memorization complete then the students (recent homework at Regina Caeli), and also experienced a class knowing she was not yet ready for it.  When she was done she found a great college, and felt it could be a home away from home for her.

   My young lady left, and seriously contemplated the next phase of her life.  Thankfully for me, her description of why included the statement "They really try to live out our Catholic faith there dad."  In the story of the Prodigal son, however, the boy wanting to live in man's world chooses to live by his own rules.  He leaves the father, and the father knows he may never come home.   This faithful father also realizes the son may also forfeit a home in heaven for his soul, and this fate would trouble the father even more than a failure to return to the family home. 

    When the father sees his son coming home repenting of his sins, he rejoices. He hugs and adorns his child with all he can.  While the physical return home is good, the father knows a repentant son will be with him forever in the paradise of heaven.  Since tradition teaches us the father is symbolizing God the Father, we know the human joy and love we see pales to the love God has for us.

    So when my daughter returned I rejoiced in having my faithful and true daughter in my care once again.  I also thought of the Father in the Prodigal Son.  Here a son, who was dead to him, returned home.  The son showed repentance, and demonstrated his embrace of the Lord's ways.  If my joy was immense, I could only imagine the joy and love God poured forth into the moment when sinners come home.

    What an awesome God to believe in, and see reflected in natural law throughout history.

-ehw