LOVEPEACEJOY

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COMMITMENT TO A GOAL/ORGANIZTION

"Dogs Chasing the Rabbit "

   Once a monk meets another monk and asks why, all of a sudden, so many monks are leaving the monastery.
   The other monk answered citing the story of a pack of dogs running after a rabbit. One dog catches sight of the rabbit and starts to chase it through the fields, barking and yelping all the way. The other dogs join because they see and hear him chasing the rabbit. And so the whole pack goes off across the fields in pursuit of the rabbit.
   After a while other dogs get tired and one by one they drop out because they do not really see the rabbit. Only the first dog continues because only he has truly seen and understood what he is chasing.
   The second monk concluded his story by saying that's the way it is in the religious. A lot of monks go off following the Lord, but only one or two really see the Lord and understand what it is they are following.

Reflection:
     That's the way it is with other commitments. For instance, some get all excited and invloved about Cursillo, the Charismatic movement, the Couples for Christ, the Basic Christina Community, the KC, the Life in the Spirit Seminar... and they enjoy all this.
     But after a while they drop out because they never really understood what it was all about. So with those who entered Marriage or Religious life or have great dreams in life. Like the dogs in the story, they never really saw the rabbit. Tired and lacking in motivation, commitment, patience, and perseverance, they drop out.

Sunday & Holy Day Homily

  20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Is 56:1, 6-7; Rom 11:13-15, 29-32; Mtrt 15:21-28)

 Story: One day, it seems, a certain curious person in heaven asked St. Peter, “Are Christians only welcome in heaven?” St Peter replied: “No, there are no Christians in heaven.” St Peter goes on: “Heaven is not meant for any particular group of people. Here, there is no distinction between Hindus, Muslims or Christians for all are welcome in heaven.”

That’s the lesson & message of the three Readings this Sunday. There Are No "Foreigners" in the Reign of God. Heaven is not meant for any particular group of people. For Heaven is open to all those whose faith in the Lord is personal, persistent and practiced daily, especially in the service of others.

In the 1^st Rdng, God did tell His chosen people, “Foreigners who have attached themselves to the Lord to serve him & love his name & be his servants… - these I will bring to my holy mountain…” And referring to the Temple in Jerusalem which was a symbol of heaven for the Jews, God said, “My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples” (Is 56:7).

Thus Jesus, in response to the “great faith” of a Canaanite woman, healed her daughter (Mt 15:28) & she became one of His disciples. Although in the first place, Jesus appears to be cold, even callous to her, & insulting her as a woman belonging to the race of “dogs”.

The Israelites looked down upon the Canaanites as foreigners, pagans, and outcasts. We have people today with the same prejudice.

Following his Master, we heard of St. Paul in the 2^nd Rdng who became ‘an apostle to the Gentiles (foreigners or pagans) & took pride in that service’, even ‘arousing envy’ in his own people. (Rom 11:13).

In fact, we ourselves feel envious of the faith w/c the gentile Canaanite woman put in Christ & are compelled to ask ourselves whether our Christian faith is as good as hers. Two things we can learn from her.

(1) Hers was a personal faith: when she cried out, all the disciples went to Christ and entreated him, “Send her away” (Mt 15:23), but the Lord put them off, & when the woman herself personally cried out begging for this favor, He granted it, saying, “Let it be as you desire” (Let your wish be granted) (v.28). Is our faith personal?

(2) Hers was a persistent faith: nothing could discourage her. She first met a wall of silence, but kept asking; then she met a rebuff, but she threw herself at the feet of Jesus & she was rewarded. How persevering is our faith? An old, familiar saying goes, “If at first you don’t succeed, try & try again.”

In our faith-relationship w/ God, sometimes our prayers seem to fall on deaf ears. We should remember, however, that prayer begins w/ the risk of asking or entrusting ourselves to silence, uncertainty & even rebuff. We shouldn’t be discouraged and, as in the example of that Canaanite woman, our perseverance will be rewarded.

What can we do to strengthen our faith? Faith is like a muscle; the more we exercise our muscle, the stronger it grows. So how can we exercise our faith to strengthen it, to make it more personal, alive & persevering?

There are many ways like: attending RCIA, going to Sunday Mass & receiving the Eucharist, taking up the habit of daily prayer, religious readings, attending spiritual recollection/retreats, etc. But there is one way to exercise our faith that seems to be especially powerful & that is the way of loving service. Jesus Christ does not exclude anyone from God's love and mercy; and loving service is the expression of our faith with Heaven as a reward. Loving service calls us not to discriminate against anyone by reason of race, color, religion, economic or social status.

 So, Heaven is open to all those whose faith in Christ is personal, persistent, cheerful and practiced daily, especially in the service of others. God does not discriminate against anyone. He welcomes all who believe in him & do his will.    

Please click here to read previous Homilies...


               Quotes Of The Month       Archives

CREATIVITY

"The most important thing I learned from big companies is that creativity gets stifled when everyone's got to follow the rules." -- David Kelley

"Creativity is so delicate a flower that praise tends to make it bloom, while discouragement often nips it in the bud. Any of us will put out more and better ideas if our efforts are appreciated." -- Alexander Osburn

"Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes and having fun." -- Mary Lou Cook

"Creativity can solve almost any problem. The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything." -- George Lois

"Creativity arises out of the tension between spontaneity and limitations, the latter (like the river banks) forcing the spontaneity into the various forms which are essential to the work of art or poem." -- Rollo May

"Artistic creativity is a whirlpool of imagination that swirls in the depths of the mind." -- Robert Toth

"If we fail to nourish our souls, they wither, and without soul, life ceases to have meaning. The creative process shrivels in the absence of continual dialogue with the soul. And creativity is what makes life worth living." -- Marion Woodman

"In order to have a real relationship with our creativity, we must take the time and care to cultivate it." -- Julia Cameron

"Creativity is our true nature; blocks are an unnatural thwarting of a process at once as normal and as miraculous as the blossoming of a flower at the end of a slender green stem." -- Julia Cameron

"While we have the gift of life, it seems to me the only tragedy is to allow part of us to die whether it is our spirit, our creativity or our glorious uniqueness." -- Gilda Radner

"Success, many times, can be found only in the creative imagination of a person's mind. Perharps no other factor of success contributes more to personal achievement than does creativity." - - Dick Tooker

Quotable Quotes:

"Do not save your loving speeches for your friends till they are dead. Do not write them on their tombstones, speak them rather now instead."
-- Anna Cummins

Chris Widener's  Commentary:
Of course your friends assume that you must like them, otherwise you wouldn't spend so much time with them, right? But isn't it interesting how if that friend has a serious accident or illness, we are all of the sudden compelled to tell them how much we appreciate them and for what we do so? Sometimes they are gone before we know it and we don't have the chance to say as much, except to others who gather together to tell each other how much we all miss our friend. We can be proactive though! We can make sure that our friends know now how much we appreciate them and what we admire about them. We must simply choose to tell them.

Action Point: Think of a friend you think highly of. Now pick up the phone and invite them to lunch or coffee. When you get there, enjoy the time, talk about all the fun things you normally do, but be sure to take the time to let them know how much their friendship means to you. They will appreciate it and your friendship will deepen!

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 Thoughts to Live

Service

There are three types of Christians who respond to the call of service:
(1) rowboat Christians - they have to be pushed wherever they go;
(2) sailboat Christians - they always go with the wind; and
(3) sailboat Christians - they make up their mind where they ought to go and go there regardless of wind or weather.

A Christian worker is good; a worker for Christ is better; but Christ, in a worker, working out His will through Him, is best of all.
                                                                     Archives...
 

        SUCESSSTORE            
(Charting Your Course to Success Articles)
  
Seven Things You Must Give to Others if You Want to Achieve Success! - - by Chris Widener

A major part of the process of achieving success and living the kind of life that you dream of is to give. Many people think that to get what you want you have to take it. There is a universal truth though that the true path to get what you want is to give. When you give, you get. What you sow, you shall reap. If this is true, then what is it we must give? I'll show you the way...

1. Give Others Your Honesty.
The world we live in has a simple rule that most follow: Lie when you have to. Unfortunately, this may make some people wealthy but it makes us humans poor. To achieve success is to become wealthy not only in money, but in character. To be successful, truly successful, is to be able to attain your goals and keep your character at the same time!

"Honesty is the most single most important factor having a direct bearing on the final success of an individual, corporation, or product." Ed McMahon

Mister McMahon is right, though others will tell you otherwise. Some people will say, "You have to bend the truth to get ahead." Not true. Some of the most successful people who have ever lived where honest people. How about you? Are you honest in all things? The problem with little lies is they become big ones. Lies spin out of control. You get caught in one lie and you lie to get out of it etc. In all things and at all times, give others your honesty.

2. Give Others Your Respect.
Most of the time we give people respect based on what they have done or what they have accomplished. We gauge whether or not they are "worthy" of it based on what we know of what they have achieved or who they know or are related to.

But I believe we should have a higher standard: We respect people not for what they have done or for who they are related to or for what they can do for us. Instead, we respect people for simply being. What would happen in our world, in our company, and yes, even in our families if we started with respect for everyone else rather than making them earn it? I think we would see that most people would live up to the respect that we give them!

3. Give Others Your Vulnerability.
We are taught to "be strong." And yes, we should be strong. But we have also embraced something that I think keeps us from having the kind of life that we long for. It is an idea that keeps us from experiencing the kind of relationships that would bring deep meaning to us. It is the idea of vulnerability.

"But Chris, make yourself vulnerable and people will step all over you!" It is true that this will happen. But I have also seen that most people will be drawn to you. They will help you. They will open up to you. You see, we are all broken people inside. We all have secrets. Yet everyone plays the poser. When one let's down their veil, others soon follow - and we all win.

4. Give Others Your Care.
Too many people are running around this old earth not caring about others. The days of "Look Out for Number One" and "Winning Through Intimidation" are over! Let's bring about a new day when we can care about others AND succeed!

Take the time to show people you care. Listen to them. Empathize with them. Love them. Now, I don't mean that you have to go around hugging everyone - that probably wouldn't fly in corporate America anyway - but we can take some time to step back from business and be human! And I have found that when we do so, our business succeeds as well!

5.  Give Others Your Passion.
There is nothing this world needs more than passionate people. And people need passionate people. Living in this day and age can be tiring. The hustle and bustle of it all can wear you down and tire you out. Give your passion to others and fire them up.

Don't just be humdrum - be excited. Give people all the energy you can muster up. And you will find that energy reciprocal. They will get energized and passionate. This in turn will fire you up more when you are already charged and get you going altogether when you don't feel like moving at all!

6. Give Others Your Experience.
We all have areas that we excel in and they are usually areas that we have experience in. One of the things we can do to make our lives more meaningful and be of utmost help to others is to show them the way through the experiences we have.

Sometimes it will be what they should do: Shortcuts to take, people to meet etc. Sometimes it will be what they should not do: Shortcuts not to take and people toasty away from! Whatever it is, we can be of service to others by giving them our experience and ultimately it will make us all better!

7. Give Others Your Help.
All in all, what we want to do is to help others. Zig Ziglar says that if we will "help others get what they want, we will in turn get what we want." If we want to be successful, we should consider ourselves servants of other people. What can we do to help them and make them better? This is the true path to greatness and success, not only in business but in life!

If you want to live the life you have always dreamed of ask yourself if you:

Give Others Your Honesty
Give Others Your Respect.
Give Others Your Vulnerability.
Give Others Your Care.
Give Others Your Passion.
Give Others Your Experience.
Give Others Your Help.

                                  Archives...       

"Success is doing God's will, glorifying his name, serving his people,
and eventually entering his kingdom."
- By Rev. John Zimmerman, Diocese of Charleston, SC 

Meditation: Salt and Light