The Last and Final Performance

Some 2 years ago, I have started to consider running in a marathon. At my age, physical and health condition I know this is close to impossible. But I have come across a co-worker, a temp I have hired at that time who was into running and in one of our conversations she had mentioned that she regularly participates about 2 or 3 marathons a year. I am probably 2 to 3 years older and so my hope started to come back that maybe it is possible. She started giving me reading materials on how to prepare for a marathon, starting small (5K) and extending it to a full marathon (42K) in a span of 2 years.

I indulge myself into reading and started my own preparation by running on my treadmill and lifting some weights for 30 to 45 minutes every day or as often as my busy schedule would allow me. I started to lose some pounds and some few muscles started to appear. Every day doing that feels like I am dying but as I continuously do it, I notice I began to run longer and faster and lift heavier weight with more repetitions. A twist of fate halted everything I was doing and now still struggling to get into the same routine.

The point of the matter is I do have some understanding on how athletes prepare for their once in a lifetime last and maybe final performance. They will have to endure years of training and disciplined lifestyles to become ready for that final day. In other words, they are ready to make great sacrifices and are willing to do almost anything so they can reach their goal – by making their bodies ready.

As I reflect on the imminence of my own last and final performance, where I will appear before the greatest Judge of all, I wonder how my day to day preparations by living and sharing my faith will eventually measure up on that day. Will I hear the words….come my faithful servant, inherit the kingdom I have prepared for you….or will I hear…. depart from me as I don’t know you….

St. Paul has mentioned something about working out your salvation. He too must have understood the athletes of his time and has reflected that faith is no different. Yet we have such difficult time making the same connection, or even making the same sacrifices for something that is more spiritual and has a far greater consequence on our own soul.

Another example from St. Paul that can be helpful is that he kept asking God for the thorn in his flesh to be removed. While in our case, it may not be a physical thorn in the flesh, we do experience some nagging situations where every day we have to deal with some nuisances in our lives. It could be a spouse or a child or some person we meet and deal with every day or with regularity. We can walk out or decide to severe our relationship with the person in order to stop the nagging situation but where is the virtue here? Pagans do the same and so we are no different from them.

But St. Paul did not give up, he prayed over and over again and by doing the same routine of praying every day and every moment gave him the opportunity to learn the virtues of humility, perseverance and surrender. This is probably he has so much wisdom in all his writings and I am sure in all his undocumented teachings. Eventually, he realized that God has other purpose for that thorn in his flesh that he come into terms and accepted that God’s grace is sufficient for him to endure his pain and that God’s power works best in him in moments of his weakness, only then he understood that he doesn’t feel the need any more to pray for healing.

If we could only see the cross as the positive agent that it is in the faith journey, we could easily and willingly embrace the daily sacrifices that come our way...that we would better understand the concept of discipleship…..that sufferings and trials though we do not want to welcome into our lives are our constant companion not to punish us but to harness us and better prepare ourselves for that one last and final performance.

May this Lent season give us an opportunity to reflect the choices we have made in our lives; turn to Him in the Sacraments and start to truly live out His call to discipleship.  Amen.

Obama Did It Again

---------- Forwarded Message ----------From: INRI <zealous12@verizon.net>To: Undisclosed recipients: ;Subject: Direct attack on CatholicsDate: Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:22:02 -0500

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser Dear CV Friend, Get ready to pay. This morning President Obama called New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan to break the news. Secretary of Health and Human Services and pro-abortion Catholic Kathleen Sebelius just announced that the proposed mandate requiring all insurance plans to pay for contraception, sterilization and some abortion drugs is official -- and Catholics cannot escape. ...and the fig-leaf exemption for religious groups will not be modified, apart from allowing some groups an additional year to comply. Cardinal-designate Timothy M. Dolan responded minutes ago, saying: �In effect, the president is saying we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences.� Beginning August 1, 2012 (less than eight months from today), the insurance premiums we pay, including the insurance premiums paid by Catholics for employees of churches and schools -- will be used to cover drugs and procedures that are in direct conflict with the teachings of our Church. That's right. Our government will now force us to pay for insurance coverage for birth control, sterilization and even some abortion drugs. President Obama ignored the organized efforts of Catholics across the country, including bold statements from the Bishops, university presidents (including Notre Dame's Rev. Jenkins), and even his Catholic allies like Sr. Carol Keehan. Instead, President Obama stood with his real friends -- Planned Parenthood. Make no mistake, this decision is a direct attack on you, our Church, and the religious liberty of all Americans. Just yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the bishops from the United States who were completing their "Ad Limina" visit in Rome. The Holy Father specifically cited the "grave threats" to the freedom of the Church in America, and urged the Catholic community to respond, especially with "an engaged, articulate and well-formed Catholic laity." He's talking to you and me. The Holy Father's brief address is a must read (link below). Finally, today marks exactly one year from Inauguration Day. In exactly 12 months, America will welcome a new president, or usher in four more years of Barack Obama and his assault on our liberties. This irony is not lost on us. We built CatholicVote into a movement to advance the cause of life, family, and freedom. Today's decision is an assault on all three. And it MUST be defeated. You have our pledge that we will do everything possible to educate and mobilize the Catholic vote in 2012. For on a day such as this, we realize that elections indeed have consequences. The Catholic vote must rise up like never before.  Sincerely, Brian Burch, President CatholicVote.org U.S. Bishops Vow to Fight HHS Edict http://www.usccb.org/news/2012/12-012.cfm Read the Holy Father's Address to the US Bishops: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2012/january/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20120119_bishops-usa_en.html Read the text of the HHS Announcement: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2012pres/01/20120120a.html Download the CatholicVote App: http://cvote.to/99  |  Support CatholicVote: https://catholicvote.org/donate   |  Become a fan at: http://facebook.com/CatholicVote   |   Follow us at: http://Twitter.com/CatholicVote This message was intended for: whandsf@earthlink.net You were added to the system September 2, 2011. For more information click here. Update your preferences | Unsubscribe

Right or Wrong

Murder, stealing, cheating are wrong and most people accept these as wrong. But, how do you know if things are right or wrong? Is it because someone told you or you have deduced your conclusion from the dictates of your conscience?

Our Catholic Faith teaches us that in order to determine if things or an action is right or wrong, we must appeal to an authority. This authority is the ‘natural law.’ Natural law is as strong and binding as physical laws such as gravity and energy. They do not depend on our interpretation or feelings, they exist independently.  As the law of gravity was true and it is still true today. We change but truth does not.

Hence, when we define murder as wrong, it is wrong regardless how angry we are, how much higher our status than the victim and it makes no difference if the person “deserves” it or not. Reality is we choose or judge most of the times based on our emotions and feelings. We look at the person and not the issues he/she is saying. We choose one over the other in consideration of our future. We say yes even we know it is wrong because majority says yes and we don’t want to go opposite the tide.

We would even hear from our own ranks words such as: ‘What is true for you is not true for me’ -- ‘Don’t impose your values on me’ -- ‘You have no right to tell me what to do’? These words are very popular. Unfortunately, they have been taught in schools. How many teachers have you heard say, “Come on guys, don’t be scared. There is no right or wrong opinions.”

Pope Benedict XVI said: the belief that ‘the intention’ is the main criterion for judging the goodness of a person’s behaviour is ‘dangerous subjectivism’, present in the culture of moral relativism of our time.

Abortion may be legal but it does not make it morally right. Accepting money from evil sources does not justify your intention of helping and giving to the poor. Stealing office supplies from your places of work is still wrong regardless that all others are doing it too.

It takes courage to stand apart from what is merely current or popular. More than ever as our world turns very secular we need strength to distinguish ourselves and to summon the world to God’s truth.

We may be lacking in terms of knowledge about morality, Catholic apologetics and theology. But we have a God who is committed to help us. He left us a Church whom He commissioned to be the guardian of all truth. If we learn to subject ourselves to Him and His Church in prayer and ask guidance on our everyday life, we will always find ourselves in God’s favor.