Father T's Daily Journal

Bishop Taylor

fathertfanpage — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:03:51 +0000

6/4/2008 11:58:35 AM

*I will be leaving in just a few minutes to drive to Little Rock for the celebration of the installation of Anthony Taylor as Bishop of Little Rock. Please keep him and our Diocese in your prayers as we celebrate this very important moment in the history of our Diocese. May God bless Bishop Taylor with all the gifts he needs to faithfully shepherd us with Christ.

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Finding Fault

fathertfanpage — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 19:59:20 +0000

6/3/2008 5:08:21 PM

*In his second letter, Peter tells us to “be eager to be found without spot or blemish before [Christ], at peace” (2 Peter 3:14). Yet, few of us make it peacefully through any given day! It is so easy to blame everyone else for our lack of peace—for our anger, jealously, lust, pride, hurt, fear, anxiety, etc. Yet, part of our spiritual growth requires us to deepen our self-awareness and take responsibility for our own feelings. Rather than being angry at others for how they have robbed us of peace, we are invited by God to simply look at why we are not at peace. This is precisely what Saint Dorotheus suggests in one of his teachings, writing, “The man who finds fault with himself accepts all things cheerfully—misfortune, loss, disgrace, dishonor, and any other kind of adversity. Certainly if someone examines himself carefully and with fear of God, he will never find himself completely innocent” (Liturgy of the Hours, Vol. III, pg. 299). What wonderful (and challenging) words of advice!

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Campaign

fathertfanpage — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:45:24 +0000

6/1/2008 9:27:06 PM

*This weekend was a special time in the history of our parish as we wrapped up (hopefully) our Capital Campaign in order to expand our campus facilities. During the Masses this weekend, we all had an opportunity to pledge our participation in the Campaign. We won’t know the results of the weekend activities until later in the week. Because of the special Masses, there was no homily this weekend. There will be one next weekend, though! This coming weekend I will be preaching on what the past year of priesthood has meant to me (this is a tradition of mine-every year on a weekend near the anniversary of my ordination I preach on my experience of priesthood the previous year). It is always such an awesome blessing for me to reflect on where God has been in my priesthood each year. Have a blessed Monday and please continue to keep our bishop-elect Anthony in your prayers as he finishes his preparations for installation this Thursday.

Hearts on Fire

fathertfanpage — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:43:48 +0000

5/30/2008 5:20:23 PM

*I recently read that the ancient Jews used to liken the human heart to the burning bush in the Book of Exodus. Like the burning bush which Moses encountered, the human heart is the only other thing in the world that can burn but not be consumed.
*All of the images of the Sacred Heart of Jesus that I’ve ever seen, depict His heart on fire, yet not consumed. This is a beautiful image of Jesus’ love and mercy. His heart is burning for us, yet it can never burn out, be consumed, or die.
*Not only do we celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus today, but it is also the “World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests.” What a perfect day for us to pray that the hearts of all priests will burn with the fire of God’s love and not let their love burn out, be consumed, or die. Let’s pray in a special way today for the priests who have particularly blessed us and our families through their ministry, as well as for those priests whose “fire” has die.

Faith Vision vs. World Vision

fathertfanpage — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:42:55 +0000

5/28/2008 4:45:44 PM

*For the past few months, God has been trying to show me the difference between the world’s view of life and faith’s view of life. The two views are radically different, but we are all so accustomed to viewing life thru the lens of the world instead of faith, that it is not easy to make the transition. In fact, there is a real irony to faith’s view of life. It’s the irony that we see in the Gospel of Mark. The author of Mark was very interested in showing his readers the irony of faith. He wanted his readers to know that following Christ often meant doing things in the opposite way that the world would suggest. For example, to be powerful, one must be powerless. Or, to be first, one must be last; or to live, one must die. Is there a particular situation in our lives right now that we have been looking at with the world’s perspective and have gotten nowhere with it? What does the same situation look like if we look at it through the eyes of faith?

Perservere in Fear

fathertfanpage — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:40:44 +0000

*Today is the memorial of St. Augustine of Canterbury, a bishop in England in early 7th century. He was sent from Rome to England by Pope Gregory the Great to preach the Gospel to the people of England. As he and about forty monks got close to their destination, they heard stories about the fury of the Anglo-Saxons and about the dangers of crossing the English Channel. Saint Augustine abruptly turned around and went all the way back to Rome where Pope Gregory had to convince him again to go to England. On his second trip, he was able to set aside his fears and reach his destination.
*I love this story because it reflects the humanness of the saints. If fear could turn St. Augustine of Canterbury around 180 degrees, then it can probably do the same to us. However, Saint Augustine gives us a beautiful example of someone who perseveres despite his fears. What fear is currently keeping you and I from where the Lord wants us to be?

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fathertfanpage — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 05:13:29 +0000