Archives for August 2017

Who can really disagree about importance of staying balanced? Living a balanced life promotes good mental and physical health. For example, I am diabetic. Once diagnosed, I read all that I could about this disease. I even took evening classes at Good Samaritan Hospital. I read about a man in one of the articles who said that since learning about diabetes, he has never been healthier. Why is that? Now, for the first time in years, he is living a balanced life. He eats better, being careful about carbs, and certainly being careful about the amount he eats so that his body does not absorb a high amount of calories, in turn causing him to gain weight. And he exercises during the week, not allowing himself to live a sedentary life.

The same is true for living a spiritual life. It too can be unbalanced. If I am not committed, I am off balance. In Scripture Christ is critical of anyone who claims to love God but yet does not love his neighbor. In the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelations, Christ speaks strongly about indifference, going so far as to say that He will vomit out of His mouth those who are neither hot nor cold. (Rev. 3:15-16) He speaks passionately about such behavior as it is characteristic of really unbalanced living. Once again unbalanced spiritual living, as with body, is simply unhealthy.

If I simply look at religion as a way to feel good, I am off balance. The example Christ gives here is his own agony, His suffering on the cross. Christ knew happiness, fun, and joy as revealed in the Scriptures too, but He also knew sorrow. All of the Saints knew the value of carrying their own cross in life. This is without exception. So often, people do not reach out to other people because they do not want to be hurt. Typically this is true because they have already been hurt. So, it is perhaps more accurate to say that they do not want to be hurt again. Nonetheless, people in the health care professions, motivational speakers, etc., encourage people not to live isolated lives because, yes, they may avoid pain but they are also removing themselves from experiencing the joys of life as well, which they can also experience from living a life connected to others. I read in a philosophy book that people who live such connected lives are apt to experience more creative lives, largely because they are more fulfilled. (Baggini, What’s it All About? P.59) Can’t it be said that happier lives are healthier lives? Dr. William Glasser, founder of Reality Therapy/Choice Theory, shared from his many years as a practicing psychiatrist, that one common characteristic among people who suffer from any sort of mental disturbance is the lack of any fulfilling relationship. Reaching out to people is that important.

The spirituality found in the Roman Catholic Church reflects such thoughts as expressed above in its own ideals. To say that Christ is fully God and fully man is the definition of balance. And from this principle the other principles are derived. I cannot just go to Mass on Sunday as a consumer simply wanting something; rather, I participate at Mass in a way that reflects what I am committed to living out during the rest of week, indeed, for my entire life. I receive the Lord in the Scriptures and in the Eucharist. I thereupon reveal Him to others in a heartfelt service. I join a parish ministry; I reach out to others. In balanced living, I find that I am receiving more than I am giving. I may know both happiness and pain; on the deepest level I also know the joy that comes from a fulfilled life. God bless you.

Peace, Fr. Walter

Choosing is a power that we will always have – all of us. Another way of phrasing this is to simply say that all of us have free will. Nobody forces me to sin, or to do something that creates a distance between me and God. I choose it. In past homily, I even suggested that nobody even forces me to stop at a red light in traffic. It may seem that way since I always do. However, the truth is that people run red lights all the time, even though they know it is a law that they must stop. So, in truth, I choose to stop at a red light. Since I choose sin, an experience that would make me feel bad, I can choose to do well, and experience that would enable me to feel better, both toward myself as well as the people around me.

How does this work?

It can be understood to work according to an image that I also shared in a past homily, which is that of a car. This image, just so you know, comes from Dr. William Glasser, the founder of a system of therapy entitled, “reality Therapy/ Choice Theory.” The image is unpacked in this manner. Imagine a car, just the body of a car, naturally with four wheels. The front wheels steer the car and the back wheels follow. The back wheels are entitled, feelings and physiology. The only nuance is that when reflecting on the front wheels, just remember that we are talking about “Positive Doing” and “Positive Thinking.” Continuing with this imagery now, Glasser teaches that if one feels bad, then changing what one thinks or what one does, in a positive way, would change how one feels for after all, back wheels follow front wheels. He feels that this message is important for in his experience with therapy, people who feel bad, due to negative thinking or by doing the wrong things, end up continuing to think the same thoughts and continue to do the wrong things. The ongoing bad thinking leaves them feeling both powerless and helpless. Someone has to help them consider different options. And perhaps that is where we come in as Christians.

A Main reason why people find it difficult to change is because they do not really accept the fact that they can. They do not own the fact that they have such inner power. One can see this lack of ownership in how often people blame someone else for their negative feelings. The reason, in other words, why I may feel bad is because______ did it to me, and here you can just fill in the blanks. Along with this reaction is the concomitant one of trying to change others. “I will change you!” What do we end up with? Glasser lists out what he calls the seven deadly habits and they are: criticizing, blaming, complaining, nagging, threatening, punishing, and rewarding control. These habits are largely biblical, but then again, so are Glasser’s seven caring habits…supporting, encouraging, listening, accepting, trusting, respecting, and negotiating differences.

We move into the deadly habits when we do not own our internal power to change. When I become open to a conversion experience, which means literally a “change of mind.” I inevitably realize that I can change myself and not others. I realize that real change comes from within, and I can in fact change. Goodness! With this model, I have to also realize that I am even choosing the bad feeling that I may have now. Nobody is doing this to me. I’m doing this to me. A realization like this opens me up to real loving behaviors, and once there, I find Christ.

Blessings, Fr. Walter

Sometimes people wonder why God is talked about so much in homilies, as opposed to the political or other situations of the day. I admit that there are other subjects to discuss. I’m sure of it. So why so much talk about God?

The answer is one needs a good foundation to do anything well. Many things can be important, but some things are more important than others. When I was in the seminary, an example was presented to me in the following manner. If I am the greatest believer in God you ever met, but I don’t believe in Purgatory, I am at best a defective Catholic. However, if I am the greatest believer in Purgatory you ever met, but I don’t believe in God, then I am not even a Christian anymore. In a deep sense I just excommunicated myself, and not just from Catholicism but from the entire Christian family. Conclusion? In this case example, although believing in God and Purgatory is important for a Catholic Christian, it is still more important to believe in God.

In like fashion, many themes can be explored and discussed by all of us. However, to understand anything well, we have to have the best possible perspective. And to achieve such a lofty goal as this, God has to be primary in our lives. Understanding God’s ways and being with Him is just more important than our other interests, and yet this takes nothing away from our other interests. They ARE important. It is just that God is more important.

Looking further, once we have this God-oriented perspective and understand it due to our deepening relationship with God, how can we apply this newly gained perspective well, so that our attempt to achieve our goals is successful? Here too, it can only happen with God’s help and by His Grace. With God, so much is possible.

The Bible is filled with stories offering evidence of this reality. Throughout Scripture, we are given many opportunities. If we give ourselves to God and reflect on His Word as the Bible says, “day and night,” (or “always” in other words), the Lord assures success for us. But if we turn away from God, and the Bible offers many examples of these types of bad (ultimately evil) decisions too, we typically come to a bad end.

With these lessons in mind, offered by Church teaching and our own reflections on life, we as clergy decide to talk about God primarily. We know that cementing ourselves in God is a win all the way down the line. Please remember that our God is a living God, and is always with us as a result. So, even as we listen about God in a homily, for example, we are still exposed to the news and the resulting discussions of the day. We are exposed to the news through many formats, e.g., magazines, newspapers, television and radio news broadcasts.

It is more to the point, therefore, that we are encountering the world and deepening our relationship with God at the same time. What this means is that our perspective is widening precisely at the same time we are relating to the world. Our living God continues to inspire, to heal, and to guide. In this way, it is not unrealistic to expect that God will help us to relate to the world and to each other, and in the best possible way. And if we bring God into our discussions about current events with others, we can expect to be blessed as a result.

The people we discuss these matters with will be blessed as well.

Blessings, Fr. Walter