Looking for my Father

This morning I arrived at Mass and immediately saw my dad’s truck in the parking lot. He always parks in the same place because he arrives early! He usually doesn’t attend daily Mass at the parish we share, because another parish has an earlier Mass, and he likes early.


When I walked in, I didn’t see him sitting in the same place he always sits. Our priest tries to get people to move out of their “regular” seat, and it works maybe once. After that we’re like stubborn children in the desert wandering back to our comfortable places. My dad sits in one of the back pews, and I sit to his right. But he wasn’t there. That’s not unusual because sometimes before Mass he will be in the side chapel praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament. I always stop there before Mass for a brief moment myself, but I didn’t recall seeing him there. So I started wandering around. When I’d say I’m looking for my dad, the response was, “Maybe he is in the restroom.” I chatted with a sweet couple, and they showed me a photo of their son-in-law who is serving in one of our military branches. After that I returned to the chapel to see if maybe I missed my dad. Our priest was coming out of the chapel, and I said, “I’m looking for my dad.” He looked through the glass in the cry room and said, “There is your dad. He’s sitting about five rows from the front. Can you believe it?” I said, “No wonder I couldn’t find him!”

When I reached my dad, I asked, “What are you doing here? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Two ladies sitting behind him were laughing. My dad chuckled too. I crawled pass him and took my place next to him.

After Mass my dad and our priest had a good laugh about this “moving” episode. On the way home, it became a reflection for me. It started by replacing the thought of my dad with the thought of God our Father. The image of our priest pointing me towards my dad became him pointing us to God. My little trip around the church looking for him became our journey towards God and those we meet along the way. However, the most important point was looking for my dad in the place I expected him to be. Unlike my dad, God doesn’t change places. But we find ourselves looking for Him sometimes in the same place or places we expect to find Him. My lesson for today is not to assume, and to keep searching. If we continually look for our Father we will see Him more. God is present in every space we occupy. So why do we look for Him to only be in the same place in our lives and hearts? And most of all, why are we surprised to find Him in the places we least expect?

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Lord, we pray you will open our eyes and hearts to you, no matter where we find ourselves! Amen

For the newly engaged, newly married, still married and everybody else too!

Today, I stopped by a business I frequent from time to time. The two ladies who own and run the place often stop and chat with me. One was leaving, but the other asked me if I knew her husband had died recently. She told me how he’d suffered over the years; she spoke briefly about their life and about his last days. We even found out her late husband and my husband retired from the same police department.

This lady told me an older woman came in one day and told her, “At least your husband died loving you.” The older woman’s husband had left her years ago for another woman. Obviously it still hurt after all these years. When I heard that I told the lady who’d recently lost her husband how true the fact of having a loving marriage through it all was special. I told her one thing my own husband has taught me, through his actions and words, was to say “Thank you.” I have to say his example, even after twelve years, has opened my eyes to the need of sharing appreciation. She smiled and said her husband did the same thing. She said he told her thank you, and he said it often. I left with thankfulness again for the husband God has sent me.

When my husband and I married, our priest said sometimes the three most important words aren’t always, “I love you.” Sometimes the most important words are, “I need you.” We can be independent men or independent women, and sometimes it is hard to voice our needs. It can be difficult to share a new life with someone or old life for that matter. The key word is “share.” However, the key is to acknowledge the need for each other and to say those words of, “thank you.”

On the way home, I started to think about how this relates to Jesus as the Groom and the Church as His Bride. We know our need for Him and why we should continually be thankful. The question is how does Jesus need us? The answer is He doesn’t, but in love He gives us the ability to be needed by Him. He needs our hands, our feet, and our witness to His heart. He has shown His appreciation for us by sacrificing Himself and opening the door to eternal life with Him.

Like the groom for his bride, Jesus’ desire is for our gaze and heart to belong to Him alone. God has the ability to do whatever He chooses, but He gave us free will. Why would He do this? Maybe because He knows a forced love is not true. He could force us to love Him, and we would truly love Him, but it wouldn’t be freely given. By giving us free will, He knows when we come to Him through a relationship of discovery we will find we love Him the Creator of love. Though we may come through much pain, worry, sorrow and life’s troubles, we acknowledge the blessings of joy, friendship and love. No matter our lot in life we have reason to be thankful. The one physically wounded may still be thankful for a whole mind and spirit. The one spiritually wounded may still be thankful for a whole physical life….and the list goes on.

We finally arrive at a thankfulness of not only how God has fulfilled our needs, but even at times our wants. He delights in giving us the desires of our heart even unto the death of His Son. We stand before Him and say, “O Lord how we love you. We love you for being there through it all. We love you for not holding back even a small bit of yourself. We love you for teaching us the meaning of life, even though sometimes it hurt. We love you because you’ve shown us how to love. We are thankful for all you have given to us. We thank you for every breath we’ve ever taken, especially for the one of life you breathed into us. Lord we can never thank you and love you enough.” I envision His response to be one where He stands with open arms and says, “My love has forever existed for you, and my Heart has only ached for your love in return.” His wounds eternally present remind me how He has loved us and does love us. The Lamb slaughtered by our sinfulness bears the marks of a pure One willing to take on what He didn’t deserve. He knows His Bride is not spotless but He makes Her perfect. He presents us to His Father who sees us through eyes of pure love. Jesus not only does this because He loves us, but because He knows we need Him. This is where we should find the vision of love…unselfish and true love.

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Father, we thank you and love you for loving us into existence. Jesus, we thank you and love you for loving us to your death. Holy Spirit we thank you and love you for bringing the fire of your love to us.

We believe Lord, help our unbelief. Amen

Thankful for His Thoughtfulness

This weekend the thought that came to me and stayed with me was the blessings I've received. You've heard the song about thanking God for unanswered prayers! Well this is thanking God for the answer to prayers I've never prayed. That is a testament to the love of our Father. He gives without ceasing, and He gives without request.

Thank God for loving us!

Thankful for the Small Things

This morning I stayed in bed a bit longer than needed. I quickly dressed, hoping I'd make it to Mass on time. The thing is, we had a Communion service because our priest is just now coming home from Ireland. While I miss the Consecration of the Eucharist, I told myself, our Lord is present in the already consecrated hosts.

Jumping in my car, I detoured and entered the highway with about five minutes left to making it to the church. The stop light caught me. When it turned green, I was turning left and did not have a turn signal. I made it to the light before it turned yellow, and I noticed oncoming traffic was very far away. I sailed into the church parking lot. I thanked God for clearing the path for me. He does that so many times in life. He wants to us to have a clear path. We throw the obstacles in most of the time. And when the obstacles aren't of our doing, He still offers us His help to continue on our way. Sometimes He gives us a red light telling us to stop and wait! Other times He gives us a yellow light telling us we can move ahead but with caution and being prepared to stop and wait again.

The added bonus to making it to this Communion service, was I entered the hall to find my son and his wife waiting for me. They are trying to attend Mass before going to work. I didn't know they would be there today, but they assumed I would be there. Of course, God knew all of this already. Isn't He a wonderful Papa? He loves us so much! I love Him too and wish to love Him even more!

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Please remember my son and his wife in your prayers. They are becoming on fire for their faith. Please pray they continue a lifetime of loving and serving God. Also I ask you to pray for my other son and his girlfriend. She became Catholic but neither are practicing. I'm praying the Holy Spirit will ignite their hearts. God bless you, and I'm praying for all of you too!

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

This wonderful feast day is a reminder of the mystery of God. The Trinity has always been a confusing idea for me and others, and I certainly don't pretend to have an inkling of understanding this reality. The three leaves on the shamrock help somewhat, but what my Dad told me once helps me even more. My Dad used himself as an example. He is one man, but he is my father, he is his parent's son and he is my mother's spouse. When we think of the Trinity, hopefully we're focusing on relationship. Not only the relationship of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, but our relationship with each in God.

When we make the sign of the cross we are remembering the Godhead.

Lord, we believe, help our unbelief, and help us to cultivate our relationship with you! Amen