Tuesday, June 28, 2011

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930s, '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s!!

A good friend of mine sent this to me, and I just had to share.  I don't know who first said this, but kudos! - FM

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE
1930s, '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who may have smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. 
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then, after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets, and, when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps, not helmets, on our heads. 
As infants and children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes..
Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter, and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And we weren't overweight. WHY? Because we were always outside playing...that's why!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. --And, we were OKAY.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes.. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned
to solve the problem..

We did not have Play Stations, Nintendos and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVDs, no surround-sound or CDs, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms.
WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits from those accidents.
We would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping-pong paddles, or just a bare hand,
and no one would call child services to report abuse.
We ate worms, and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls, and -although we were told it would happen- we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just
walked in and talked to them.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! 
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! 
These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers, and inventors ever.
The past 50 to 85 years have seen an explosion of innovation and new ideas.. 
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all. If YOU are one of those born between 1925-1970, CONGRATULATIONS! You might want
to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids before the lawyers
and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good. While you are
at it, forward it to your kids, so they will know how brave and lucky their parents
were.
Kind of makes
you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it ?
 

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Trinity

You know, every time I get to Trinity Sunday I start thinking of how I wish I had paid better attention in class when the subject of the Holy Trinity came up.  I always feel somehow limited in my ability to bring clarity to the reality of the Trinity.

Of course there is the basics:  One God, Three Persons.  That's fact!  But trying to explain all that to an unbeliever, or even to those who believe, is difficult.  Besides, any explanation just pales when trying to understand this mystery of our faith.  So let me make a stab at why I think this is important to our faith.

Trinity is all about RELATIONSHIP!  Can you imagine being so close, so intimate with someone that you find that your mannerism, habits, way of thinking and doing things all start to reflect theirs?  The reality of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I believe (just to clarify) is this type of relationship.  Moreover, if the Spirit is in the Son and the Son is in the Father and they are all one, I have come to realize that because the Holy Spirit dwells in the Church, we are part of that unity of relationship.

The real challenge then for each of us is to assume the mannerisms, habits, way of thinking and doing whatever we think and do in life so as to reflect the reality of God.  That's my take on the Trinity and I'm sticking to it!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Come Creator Spirit


Come Creator Spirit.
Renew me with your strength.
Purify me with your love.
Strengthen me with your hope.
Empower me with your justice.
Cover me with your protection.
Surround me with your compassion
Illumine me with your mercy.
Console me with your fire.
Motivate me with your power.
Humble me with your passion.
Satisfy me with your presence.
Complete me with your grace.
Hear and answer me in my need.
Amen.
-Fr. Michael Pavlakovich

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

24th Anniversary Reflection

Yesterday I celebrated my 24th Anniversary of Ordination.  Today I celebrate my 24th Anniversary of my First Mass.  First and foremost I want to GIVE THANKS to Almighty God and our Blessed Mother.  The day of my ordination, I dedicated my priesthood to the Blessed Mother.  She has been the source of great strength and has managed to guide (and rescue) me through many situations over the years.

I'm always amazed when thinking of these events in my life.  Mass has always been a part of my life.  I can't remember ever "not" going to Mass. It has always been a priority for me in my life.  Moreover, as a kid, I used to come home from Mass and "play mass" in the basement of our house.  So it was never obligatory for me.  Instead it was something I loved and wanted to have in my life all the time...even in my play.

The Eucharistic celebration is the source and summit of the life of the Church, but it is also the source and summit of my life.  It is the place I am most myself and most vulnerable.  It is the moment when Christ has complete control of my life, for which I am truly grateful.  This is the moment in my life when I am in total communion with Jesus Christ and His Church.  You might say, it is the moment when I am most real and most intimately in love.

I pray today for my classmates.  I pray today for all those individuals, living and deceased, who shared that precious moment with me 24 years ago.  Moreover, I give thanks and pray for all those who have shared the grace of the Eucharistic feast with me over the years.  May the Lord bless them this day.

I especially give thanks to God for my parent who gave example by their lives and nurtured my vocation, my family who supported it and my friends who were there through every step of the way.  You are always there with me at every Mass as I celebrate the mystery of faith.  God Bless you.  And, may God be praised!

Friday, June 3, 2011

The Catholic Mass


The Catholic Mass is the most sacred event and act of worship one can participate in on earth.

Its origins are rooted in the Last Supper in which Jesus reveals himself in a new and eternal gift to His disciples.  It is this gift, in which common bread and wine become for us the sacred Body and Blood of Jesus.

The Mass is that sacred moment in time where the human and the Divine come together in a unique and profound way.  You and I have the unworthy privilege to step out of our everyday living and touch the Divine; to look upon the face of God.

The Mass renews the Last Supper, but it is also the continuation of the traditions of God’s people and their experience of God throughout time and history.

Therefore, everyone, EVERYONE who comes to this holy place is seeking GOD in their life.  We have only to respond to that need by opening our doors and our hearts in welcome.  They must be provided with an environment, free of chaos, disorder, corruption, and sin in order that they might BEHOLD the majesty and mystery of God.

Does my demeanor bespeak the presence of God?  Does it invite someone in or close them out?  Do I reverence the very blessedness of this man, woman, teen or child, created in the image and likeness of God? 

As the faithful gather, the presence of God and family becomes evident.  God visits his people; we know him and he loves us.  The music swells our voices ring out.  Our spiritual father calls us together and leads us to the throne of God.  God’s mercy is desired and His glory is acclaimed.  We are in His holy place and ready to meet him.  Jesus himself, when entering the synagogue opened the scroll and read the words of the prophet Isaiah and tells us the word he speaks is fulfilled in our hearing.

God speaks to us in His word, written through those chosen ones who would speak of God by His very inspiration.  Those words have been and are spoken through history.

In the proclamation of the Word…those who proclaim it, bring to life the very words of God.  The assembly does not merely read along…but is allowed to have the voice of God ring in their ears and grasp at their heart, so holy and powerful is God’s word.

In the proclamation of the Gospel, Jesus himself speaks to us and instructs us for our life journey.  This moment of grace causes us to make those three small gestures, signing our self with the cross on our forehead, mouth and heart, so that we might UNDERSTAND his word, PROCLAIM his word and LOVE his word…so that we might LIVE his word!  Do I believe what I proclaim?  Moreover, do I try to live it?

The homily, a Greek word meaning conversation assists us in understanding the word and its meaning for our daily living.  In our own family our parents teach and instruct us as children; nurturing within us love and faith.  So too have we been instructed throughout the ages by our Fathers in faith and the holy women of ages past.  Now, our spiritual father breaks open the word and instructs us in faith, so we too might grow in holiness.

Christ himself chose to spread his kingdom by preaching.  St. Paul teaches us that if people are to believe they must hear the faith preached.  God knows our needs so well that he wants us to have some words from a father-figure within our faith family who knows our lives and our struggles so that we might understand and live the gospel more deeply….in the world.

Jesus Christ came into this world to bring all humankind back to the Father.  His whole life from incarnation through resurrection is for our redemption.

At Mass the culminating moment comes NOW when the priest repeats Jesus very words and gestures at the last supper.  The priest carries forward the priesthood Jesus instituted that Holy Thursday night, he acts in persona Christi, in the person of Christ.

Common and simple gifts of bread and wine become for us the actual, real Body and Blood of Christ.  This reality we call transubstantiation.  Its form may remain but its reality and purpose has changed.  Now we are one with Christ as he comes into us!

When God delivered the people of Israel out of bondage in Egypt, he commanded that the people sacrifice a lamb and sprinkle its blood on the doorpost.  This would be a sign that the angel of death should Passover their household; hence the feast of Passover.

But it was not enough for them to sacrifice the lamb…they had to consume it.  The meal ended with a final cup of wine and the pronouncement, “it is finished.”  On the cross Jesus expressing his thirst for souls asked for one final cup and said, “It is finished.”

Holy Communion is the very same meal Christ shared with his disciples.  We all consume the same Lamb who is Christ himself.  It is also a sharing in his sacrifice on the cross.

But Communion means more than receiving…it means UNITING!  We receive Christ in his body and blood, soul and divinity.  We share his very life.  He becomes the very food of our soul; the life of our life.

Words fall short for the depth of this mystery.  This union is the closest and most intense we can have with God on earth.  The innocent victim embraces his executioners.  The Lord becomes the food of the servant.  Heaven comes to earth!  We are changed!

Do I believe this mystery I behold?  Can I as a minister of the cup and a minister of the body of Christ say “Amen” to the statement of faith in which I invoke for the response of the communicant?  Do I allow myself to be properly disposed in order to receive this mystery?  Do I allow it to change me? 

In this great celebration when earth and heaven unite for one splendid moment of grace, what we do and how we do it matters! 

Some may remark there are too many rules and regulations that govern the Mass; that there should be more freedom; that it’s no big deal.  God is pleased that we just showed up!  In this day and age, I’m not sure we’d feel the same about God…just showing up!

The fact remains, the guidelines we are given, the rules that govern how we do what we do are the boundaries by which we can more fully enter into this mystery of our faith, free from distraction and worry in order that we might fully enter into this moment…not just as ministers, but as receivers of Gods grace. 

The Church draws her life from the Eucharist.  The Mass is the source and summit of our life of the Church.  We draw from the life of Christ that we may become more like him.  What we do and say, how we move and gesture, when we respond and sing, all matters because we do it in union with the whole Church.  And not any one of us has the right to change it or even participate in it…but everyone of us has the responsibility to reverence and preserve this mystery we celebrate and to do so with great love!