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Accentuate the Positive: Similarities Between Christianity, Judaism and Islam
Sometimes wisdom comes from the most unusual places. I love the old Bing Crosby song, “Accentuate The Positive” by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen. It begins: “You've got to accentuate the positive, Eliminate the negative, Latch on to the affirmative, Don't mess with Mister In-Between.”
Several years ago, I had a meeting with a family friend of mine who was getting married. She and her fiancée requested to speak to me about their upcoming marriage. When we sat down, she asked me: “As you know, I am Catholic. My fiancée is Baptist. Can we get your permission to marry?”
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From Here to Hope: Six Degrees of Reconciliation
Here - Home - Honesty - Hospitality - Humility - Hope - Reconciliation
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| La Salette Province Retreat in Attleboro, MA., June 2010 |
The following is the outline of the Retreat given by Fr. Joe Nassal, a member of the Congregation of the Most Precious Blood, for our La Salette Province Retreat in Attleboro, MA., in June 2010.
Children Need A Place to Stand
In my nearly 40 years of Catholic priestly ministry, I have come to appreciate two important facts: first, that we all need a “place to stand” (a family and a faith community in which we learn about living and believing) and second, we all have the freedom to choose a faith community where we will live out our faith.
Years ago I remember speaking with a psychologist who told me that she didn’t like the fact that some parents chose to bring their children up with no church affiliation. They would tell her: “Then they can choose which religion they will practice as adults.” She felt that this was a fallacy. In a very forthright tone she said: “Children need to grow up in a family, in a faith, in a neighborhood, a town that gives their children a solid and consistent experience of living and believing.” Only then, during adolescence or later, can they choose who they are and how they will live their lives—whether we like it or not.” I agree wholeheartedly.
Grief Is Good, Charlie Brown
In this time of the year when we celebrate family get-togethers such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, it can be very enjoyable. For those whose parents have passed away, these same days can be very challenging.
When I was well into my thirties, my father took a shining to a cute little two year old boy who lived next door. The boy for the next two years would come over to our backyard and “work” in the garden with my dad. Danny was the boy's name and despite the fact that he probably hindered more than helped, my dad just loved to have him around since no other children were in our home. In my dad's eyes, Danny could do no wrong.
Two years later, after a severe heart attack, my father died. Danny didn't know what to make of it. He had lost his “Uncle Jerry” as he has lovingly called my dad.
Busyness
We seem to be living more hectic and less healthy lives despite the technological advances that have made life easier, increased productivity and enhanced our ability to communicate. Ever more driven by our calendars and our to-do lists, we seem to accept busyness as the hallmark of our age.
Busyness is now usual. We are not only ruled by what Charles Hummel calls the "tyranny of the urgent," we are also intoxicated by the array of distracting activities and trivial pursuits available to us. According to a Lou Harris survey, the amount of leisure time for the average American has shrunk thirty-seven percent since 1973. Free time is almost a misnomer; time itself has become a valuable possession. Why are we so busy? Do we have a choice? What are the consequences of living in such a frenetic manner? Is there an antidote to our busyness?
What About Spiritual Direction?
Bro. Bob Russell, M.S., welcomes a relative of another La Salette
As I interview people coming to Saint Luke Institute for evaluation, I discover that their experience of spiritual direction is often limited to their time in novitiate or seminary. “Tell me about your experience of spiritual direction,” I invite a brother priest. “Oh, I have not had a spiritual director since seminary,” I hear more often than not. Our Church's ministers are often on the “giving” end of ministry; infrequently are they on the “receiving” end. Their lives and focus are often about what they need to do for others and how they can be of help in any given situation. This may mean that they do not spend their time focused on their own needs.
However, it may also mean that our official ministers are often bad at taking care of themselves. We all need to be ministered to. We do not lose that need when we take on a role of ministry any more than a person gives up the need for regular medical checkups just because they become a doctor. Spiritual direction is one such ministerial relationship of support. It is a forum where the minister is ministered to and an opportunity to put an often-busy life into perspective; a time to notice what is happening “in the midst of it all.”
Living Out the Blessings of Sunday
Nearly 500 years ago, Martin Luther offered a captivating image of what it means to live as a Christian day to day. He called it “living wet.” Luther was thinking of baptism, the beginning of Christian life in which we have been plunged into the mystery of Jesus’ dying and rising. We come drenched from the font and are called to live the rest of our lives wet, daily living out the reality of baptism. The experience of being wet as we live our baptism can leave us feeling refreshed or frigid.
It can make walking easy or treacherous, depending on the terrain. So much depends on where we are, who we are with and how conscious we are of Christ’s presence and action in our lives and in others’ lives.
How can we cultivate the sense of living wet, conscious of what our baptismal vocation asks of us in our daily lives and loves? Too often we find ourselves going frenetically from one set of responsibilities to another. Undeniably, many of our involvements are important, intrinsic to our lives and those who depend on us. The challenge, however, is to learn to be more conscious of Christ at the center of it all, to walk wet.
No job, No heaven!
Catholic News Service
Work is a path to holiness. There can be no separation between the spiritual life and work life. Some see work as filling time. Certain positions have a high number of boring tasks. Some value work for the financial resources it provides. Sufficient income is certainly very important for us and for those who depend on us. Some use work to avoid our personal issues. The concerns of work can keep our minds occupied and distract us from painful or challenging personal problems.