March 30, 2012

Well March is going out like a lamb and I believe it came in like a lamb. Maybe the lion got shot out in the Hills.

Anyway, what a beautiful day and evening once again. We have been able to gather as a family for the past several Friday nights. We had a bonfire with a family rosary around the fire again tonight. How often can you do that on March 30^th in South Dakota? What a beautiful gift this weather has been.

We had been to the Stations of the Cross at St. Michael earlier. This has made a nice way to journey through at least a portion of Lent as a family together. We had a couple of loving cousins bring over some non-meat lasagna tonight for us. The food was delicious. These Friday nights around the bonfire, praying together are creating memories that will last for a long time.

It was a great week, and now we get to swing into Holy Week next week. It will be special. My touched by God for today is definitely the rosary around the bonfire. It doesn’t get much better than that. Have a nice weekend.

March 29, 2012

 

We had a pretty good day again today. Radiation treatment went quickly and well. Margaret and I got to tour Central Fire Station’s remodeled areas, and had lunch with the A Shift crews. It was nice to see those guys again.

I made a short visit to the Adoration Chapel at St. Michael Church while Margaret did some classroom things at school. I also cleaned out a few office things after my afternoon nap. It was a pretty good day overall.

We went for a walk around the circle today several times, hearing the cardinals sing along the one swing each trip. I think my best God touched moment today was the time I spent down at St. Michael today. It is always nice to kneel in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Those times are special. Let’s all get ready to have a great Holy Week next week leading up to Easter. Make it a good one!

March 28, 2012

A nice day. Margaret and I started out with the School Mass at St. Katherine Drexel Parish. It is always nice to go to those liturgies – I think I connect with those children’s sermons sometimes more than when I am supposed to be listening as an adult! Father Joe told us we needed to do three things each day to know that God loves each of us -   1) Be silent and listen  2) Imagine yourself crawling up onto God’s lap, 3) Put your ear next to His mouth, and you will hear Him say “I Love You”. I do not think one can be more touched by God than that for the entire day!

We had lab work done and a visit with the radiation doctor. My blood levels are all within normal ranges yet, one week into the chemo therapy, which is good. I will get labs done weekly now. Feeling good, great day, livin the dream! Make it a good one. 

March 27, 2012

Another great day to be alive. A bit windy, but hey, we live in South Dakota. We had a good day – radiation, Mass, lunch at the Falls Park Café, and a nice little walk. Got a few errands done as well.

I have been blessed to date with feeling good. I have been dwelling a bit on how this disease will progress and affect my abilities to function. I am concerned about becoming a burden to people and being bound in a wheelchair. I realized at Mass today that I really cannot do much about those things anyway, and if Jesus could carry a cross, suffer, and die for me, I should be able to sit in a wheelchair for a short time and do what I need to do. Also, my little sister did it for her entire life without a complaint, so I need to buck up. I decided to take it as it comes, and accept whatever my journey becomes as a part of God’s plan for me.

Tonight as I was grilling on the deck, the red cardinal was sitting in the neighbor’s tree singing away for me. Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral was especially nice today for me as well. Thank you God, for another beautiful day on this beautiful earth. Do you ever realize that he could have made everything gray, and we wouldn’t have known the difference? God colored this world for you and I to enjoy, so get out and enjoy these great spring days! God Bless.  

Faith – It’s Blowing In The Wind

Faith means believing in something you cannot see. After Jesus’ resurrection, the apostles were gathered in the upper room when Jesus first appeared to them. Thomas was missing for that first meeting, and did not believe his fellow apostles when they told him that Christ was risen and had visited them Thomas said, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." -John 20:25.

A short time later when Thomas was with the rest of the apostles, Jesus appeared to them again and asked Thomas to put his fingers in His wounds and to put his hand into His side. Thomas immediately responded, “My Lord and My God.”

"Jesus said to him, 'Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.'" -John 20:29.

         Those of us who live in South Dakota know about the wind. The wind can remind us of what faith is all about. We cannot see the wind, but we can see it move the prairie grass or the leaves on the trees. We can feel the wind on our face, but we cannot see the wind. We can see what the wind can do, move things, and stir up dust, but we do not see the wind itself - we just know it is there. So it is with our Faith in God – we have to believe and we do see His work in our lives if we look for it. Next time the warm South Dakota wind brushes your face, remember that God is smiling on you! Make it a great day!

March 26, 2012

A bit cooler today, but still a keeper for sure. We got a lot done today, radiation treatment and got the stent out. Good to be rid of that. For some reason, I am pretty tired tonight – I wonder if it has to do with getting up at 04:30 AM and feeling wired all the time. Steroids.

Margaret stopped at St. Michael School today and caught up on a few things. She brought back many cards, all hand made by the school kids of St. Michael. We even got two large and beautiful Prayer Bouquets. They are large poster boards with the green stems going up the poster. The blossoms of the flowers are each a colored piece of paper with the name of a prayer that person pledges to say for us. They are just overwhelming and very colorful!

Thanks to all of the students and teachers at St. Michael School for helping us to make this journey a peaceful one. Your prayers, thoughts, Mass intentions, and kind words are overwhelming to me, to Margaret, and to our family!

Touched by God today – the beautiful cards, letters, and the prayer bouquets from the students! Thank you God!

Become A Champion Of Your Soul

I personally was never much of an athlete. I played baseball and basketball as I grew up with my brothers and with friends. We did Pee Wee baseball up through the Legion teams. I was always on the team - there was no cut, but not a big contributor. I never learned how to properly throw a baseball – it looks like my arm is attached to my side about halfway down my shoulder when I try to toss a ball. In fact, I have had my boys laugh when they watched me try to throw the ball to them.  I could not get the timing down to hit a pitch. I imagine that I did not keep my eye on the ball. It didn’t matter a lot to me - I just never had a lot of interest in learning that stuff. The games were something to do, but I never did excel in any of the sports. I played center in high school football. I did like that sport, but was a bit small to do too much damage to any defenders. I could snap the hike and get across the line quickly, but no long touchdowns coming from me.

Why the Good Lord Blessed Margaret and I with four sons is still beyond anything I can begin to comprehend. They each had a natural love of all sports. From their earliest youth, they wanted to play ball. We had many years of watching a lot of baseball, softball, soccer, basketball, and football games. Johnny grew up in a car seat watching Tom play ball games. The boys were fairly good athletes as well – I attribute that to their maternal genetics.  Even when I watch a football game now, I watch where the ball goes, and the boys will talk about who did what in their assignment etc. – they are at a different dimension in watching games than I am.

Through those years of watching the boys play ball we have watched several State Championship teams in Football, Basketball, and even one National Championship Softball team for Tom. It was a lot of fun, and we made a lot of friends watching our kids play sports. Great Plains Soccer Club was great for us for many years as well. The thing that I recall about those championship teams is the work they put into getting to be a championship team.

Take basketball, which is freshly on our minds today. I believe O’Gorman Boys Basketball has had 5 of the last 7 State Championships. We have had sons in that program and know the commitment of the team, the coaches, and of the parents. It is a great group. The expectations are there to work hard on your skills if you want to participate. Open gym to shoot around almost daily when you are not in another sport – summer team camps, summer leagues, many on traveling teams - get the ball in your hands if you want to make a difference on those teams.

Now let’s move that analogy to our Spiritual Lives. Do you think we can have a “Championship Spiritual Life” by only showing up to “practice” once per week for about 50 minutes? We have to be willing to commit ourselves to more time with God and to developing our spiritual relationship with Him. Think about the minimum of probably 12 hours per week spent to be on that basketball team that wins state. Shouldn’t we be willing to commit at least a half hour per day to growing in our faith? If you are not doing anything like this now, make it a priority to start by giving God 30 minutes per day in prayer, meditation, Adoration, reading a spiritual book, reading the Bible, or learning more about your Faith somehow. You will see a difference that you cannot believe after only a few weeks. You will grow in ways you cannot imagine and your life will change forever. Do it for the “Team”! God Bless!

March 25, 2012

A nice Sunday – a bit cooler, but still a great day. We got to do a few things in the garage this morning and spent some down time this afternoon. I had been asked to witness my faith story to the Confirmation Class at St. Michael Church this afternoon. I was nervous, yet I felt I was meant to share my story, so I had agreed to speak. It is far easier to write than to stand up and speak. Hopefully that went well for everyone. Father Chuck started with some nice words and a prayer, I spoke for a time, and we got to end with Eucharistic Adoration for about 20 minutes. What a nice afternoon – thanks to Rhonda and Father Chuck for that opportunity.

Margaret and I went out to eat with the boys and their families afterwards. My brothers and their wives thatched, cleaned the gardens off, and mowed while we were gone. The yard looks great! Thanks, you guys.

I felt touched by God through family again today, and a very special touch during the Eucharistic Adoration this afternoon. It was pretty special. Thank you God!

March 24, 2012

Another gorgeous day. We went out to the Gift Of Hope Concert at the new performing arts center on O’Gorman’s Campus this afternoon. The Selfish Giant story with the music, well the entire concert  – incredible. Very well done, and a pretty touching story.

We also went to our monthly Rosary Club meeting tonight. They are our anchor through all of this. What a group of people. Lots of people to pray for us and we have a lot of prayer needs that branch out from that little group. What a Blessing they have all been to our family and to each other. I’m telling you, if you are not in such a group, start one. It will change your life.

That is two touches by God without even counting the beautiful birds today. The Selfish Giant, and the Rosary Club. Thank you God!

March 23, 2012 Family

Well it is Friday once again. I didn’t say, “Thank goodness it’s Friday!” too much before, and every day is like vacation for me now, so I try to enjoy them all. I have enjoyed being able to have my family around us these past few weekends. Mark, Sara, and Kolbe made the trek once again from Omaha. Kolbe is growing every week! He is pretty busy this weekend, over his sinus infection from last weekend. It is so good to have everyone home – it is like a Christmas weekend every weekend!

My Mom, Dad, brothers, sisters, and their families have been gathering during Lent at the 5:30 Stations of the Cross at St. Michael then coming over for a Lenten meal for the past three weeks. We have had some good visits with a few tears and some great healing! The food is always great, although meatless in Lent. We always have plenty, and nice visits. Tonight was such a beautiful night that we even lit the fire pit. We sat around the fire pit after the meal and said a family rosary together. It a pretty special moment where I think God touched all of us. We visited about how we used to have to say the rosary around the kitchen table, kneeling on the hard floor after the supper meal.

I want to thank Mom and Dad once again for the faith they instilled in each of us, although the instilling took a firm hand at times. We whined about praying the rosary, but look where it has brought us. My parents have set an example to our family about what it means to believe in God and to accept what He gives you in life. You don’t sit around and complain when you get dealt a hand, you do the best you can with what you have been given. God doesn’t ever give you more than He knows you can handle either.

It makes me proud to part of a family like mine. We are only ever one generation away from losing our Catholic heritage and our faith. Remember to pass what you believe on to your children. Do not be afraid to pray with them and to teach them that we all need God. Also teach them to look for God each day in others and the nature around us. He is right there, and He wants to you to know Him.

My touched by God moments today – a nicely embroidered fleece throw from my Mom with a red cardinal on one side and a nice sparrow on the other side (great for nap time!) – a beautiful night around the fire pit with the rosary, family, and the bright shining stars – and the birds were singing all day. Tonight we had several red cardinals sitting in the trees around the house singing away. Thank you God!

March 22, 2012 Inner Healing

We are getting into the routine at the Avera Prairie Center. Pretty quick and smooth. As I was walking down the long hallway to the radiation room, the movie “Green Mile” came to mind. I told the radiation tech that it would probably be inappropriate to say, “Walkin the mile, walkin the mile.” as we strolled along. There’s that twisted sense of humor in me.

That treatment is quick, painless, and easy. We were in and out of there in under a half hour. We sat by the fireplace for a few minutes and got to visit with a retired fire fighter from Mitchell. We went to St. Joseph Cathedral for noon Mass. What a beautiful facility. I was wondering, as I looked things over, if I will get to see some of the great architecture of the world once I am in heaven. I would love to visit some of those old cathedrals and buildings and to see them being built. How about watching the building of one of the great pyramids? I don’t know if we get to do stuff like that, or if we will care to see it, but sounds kind of cool to me now.

After I had received the Blessed Eucharist, as I meditated on the incredible gift that we receive at every Mass, I felt a warmth flow through me as God’s Grace poured into my cells. I thought to myself, “This is the true healing that we all need.” God’s grace does far more for all of us than anything we can do for ourselves, and He offers it to us freely and daily! Deacon John once told us that when we eat anything at all, it takes about 18 minutes for that food to become a part of almost every cell in your body through the digestive process. Now I do not know if that time and info is exact, but think about that. Jesus Christ himself permeating every cell of your body within 18 minutes of receiving the Body of Christ. And sadly, and I have done this too - long ago, many of us are getting out the church door and onto whatever else we have to do right after communion. We do not even take the time to kneel and think about this gift and realize what is being done for us! We need to take the time to be thankful and praise God for this incredible saving gift.

We had several friends stop today – always good to see them. A great meal brought over by some close friends – I will never be able to thank them enough for all they have and continue to do for our family and for me. I received a nice hand-knit prayer shawl – I like naps, prayer, and blankets.

In the evening, as I sat in the chair for a bit, the birds were singing away again. We had a nice rain earlier – we need the moisture badly – things will green up now even faster! I heard that red cardinal singing, and finally had to go out to see him. I even showed him to Margaret. A beautiful red male singing away in the neighbor’s tree top.

Got some sad news from our best friends – we will pray for them and for their family too. Know that we are praying for you and your families every day as well. Thank you for all of your thoughts, prayers, wishes, gifts, meals, etc. You cannot begin to know the grace, peace, and humility it brings to our family. We could not do this without you guys. Make it a great day and have a great weekend. Look for God, He’s right out there!

Great family weekend coming up again. God is good!

Saint Joseph

As scripture tells us, a good Jewish man named Joseph, the son of Jacob, was betrothed to Mary who would become the mother of Jesus Christ. This all came to pass to fulfill the scriptures that foretold of a Messiah coming from the lineage of David. If you read much about David, you have to wonder why God wanted His only Son to come from that family tree, and yet if you read much about David’s Faith in God, you will understand why God chose this family tree. An excellent book on David is by Max Lucado – “Facing Your Giants.” If you read that book, you will better understand this family tree plan of God’s. David did a lot of bad things, as well as a lot of good things. But his heart was with God most of the time, which became his saving grace. We can all relate to David – perhaps another blog on him later.

I have always had a respect for Joseph in my heart. He was the earthly father of Jesus Christ. He knew that Jesus was the Son of God, in fact, Joseph was told what to name the child. Joseph had to have faith that we cannot imagine and trust in God’s plan.

His young fiancé left to visit her elderly relative, Elizabeth and to help her have a baby for about three months. Elizabeth was the sister of Anna, Mary’s mother. The Canticle of Mary are the words Mary spoke when she and Elizabeth first saw each other. There is no way except through the Holy Spirit that Elizabeth could have known that Mary was even pregnant when they first met, yet she says. “How is it that the Mother of my Lord comes to visit me.” Think about that for a minute – no cell phones, no land lines, no telegraphs, no twitter– there is no way except through God that Elizabeth could know that Mary was pregnant at all. Let alone be carrying God’s Son!

When Mary returns home to Joseph, she would have been about four months pregnant – young Joseph is wondering what is going on I am sure. An angel appeared to him and things got worked out. I have pondered that relationship for years, and I found something in the Magnificat on Monday, March 19^th, the Feast Day of Saint Joseph that pretty well sums up what we as Catholics believe, and what I have come to firmly believe. There have been many arguments about this Holy Family over the years – Did Jesus have brothers? Did Joseph have children from a previous marriage? Could Mary have a baby and remain a virgin?

I assume that Joseph raised Jesus in their home and was with Mary and Jesus until Jesus was in his early twenties – there is not much written about Joseph’s death. Joseph was a carpenter and provided a loving and safe home for the Son of God all based on his Faith in God’s plan. Enough of my babble – the good stuff:

Taken from the Magnificat Meditation of the Day on March 19, 2012:

Joseph, Husband of Mary

Virginity is the law of this marriage; a marriage, however, is called to bear fruit. “That fruit,” says Saint Augustine, “God gives in the Person of his own Son taking flesh in the womb of Mary.” In the hidden designs of God, the union of the two spouses prepared for the coming of the Messiah. Now, the Messiah becomes their Child. Yes, affirms the great Doctor, Saint Augustine, Jesus can rightly be called the fruit of the virginal marriage of Mary and Joseph; he is given, not separately to Mary, but to her and to her spouse, to be theirs together.

Saint Joseph was not informed immediately of the Incarnation of the Son of God in his chaste spouse, because she stands ahead of him in election and holiness. Furthermore, the perplexity of Joseph was to serve as witness to the virginal conception of the Savior. Consider the words of the angel to Saint Joseph. He does not give him rights over the Child, rights which he could not have; he simply informs him that Mary has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and that she remains his spouse in her divine maternity. The bond of marriage is not destroyed by the intervention of the Holy Spirit, who gives it its fruit; it is strengthened by the coming of the divine child.

Joseph was the spouse of the Virgin Mary; now he is the spouse of the Mother of God. He is invited to exercise the right of a father over the child by giving him his name, Jesus.

O Joseph, spouse of the Mother of God! What a dazzling greatness is concealed in that matchless title! And that greatness springs from the exquisite purity of your soul. You are the spouse of the Virgin Mother of God, because you are a virgin yourself, a virgin in soul and body. Ah! Obtain for us something of that celestial purity which made you so great, yet which left you so humble.

                                                                   Dom Bernard Marchaux

Father Marchaux was a Benedictine Priest

March 21, 2012 Treatment Begins

We got to start the radiation and chemo treatments today. The facility and personnel at the Avera Prairie Center are outstanding. We had lab work, visits with Nurse Practitioners, set up and received the first radiation treatment, and then got some medicine to take. It takes a log book to track the meds – my gosh. I am glad Margaret is on top of that stuff. I am used to just taking pills, so not a huge deal there, and thank God all of my chemo is in pill form. But the amount and when are now important too. We will settle into a routine for sure.

I feel pretty good – early on yet though. I survived that radiation zapping today, and now it will be just a few minutes each weekday for 6 weeks. Then we are on a break for about a month to recover from that. I believe I am on chemo only after that.

It was a beautiful day, and we got some errands completed. We survived the day and made it to Adoration for at least part of our one hour commitment. That is always a calming time. If you do not do Adoration weekly, try it, it will change your life for the better. Just to sit or kneel in the presence of Jesus Christ is so calming. A good time to read up on something spiritual or the Bible – God will ask you if you have read His Book someday, you know. I have to work on completing that yet.

My friend Marty and his wife stopped by with some homemade ice cream tonight – really good stuff. I had always told Margaret that I did not want to be lying in bed dying wishing I had eaten more ice cream. I just tell people I look puffy because of the steroids now.

Earlier I had a cousin stop to drop off a gift and visit as well. We had a nice visit about our Faith and how God touches our lives each day.

I would have to say I saw God today in a Prayer Shawl, Homemade Ice Cream, and I certainly felt His presence in the Adoration Chapel. Oh, and the birds were singing like mad all day long. Make it a Great God-Filled Day!

March 20, 2012 John 5: 1-16

I had kind of a rough day today. My blogging does not always reveal the true me, as I have bad days, sad days, and angry days too. Today I was put back several times by several things, and by the time I went into Mass at 5:30, I was pretty full of self-pity. It seemed that everywhere I turned today, I got a disappointing answer. My lovely wife and guide even told me I was being mean – can you even imagine that? I was pretty much mad when I entered St. Michael, but then God showed up again.

The reading for today is John 5:1-16 about an ill man in Jerusalem who had laid at the Sheep Gate by a pool called Bethesda. He had been ill for thirty-eight years. Jesus asked him, knowing how long he had been ill, if he wanted to be well. The man said in a reply of self-pity, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.” Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.

But the story of God’s offer of grace did not end there for this man. It was the Sabbath, and the Jewish people saw him carrying his mat. They questioned him and the man said he was told to rise and take up his mat. The cured man did not know who Jesus was, so he could not tell the crowd who had cured him. Later, the man must have gone to live a sinful and ordinary life because Jesus sees him in the temple area and tells him,”Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you.” The guy now knows who cured him, and tells the Jewish crowd, who then start to persecute Jesus.

So this guy has the chance to be filled with God’s grace and forgiveness, but instead uses the opportunity to turn from God, and to even turn God’s Son in to the authorities so his persecution can begin. What a waste! I have heard the story before, but, again, Father Chuck made it stick this time for me.

For each thing today that had upset me, there was a perfectly good solution or answer. I realized that as I sat there in church. I had the graces needed to turn things around, I had just wanted to feel bad about things for a time. Well, we are back on track now. Sorry to any I may have snapped at today. Thank you for the re-direction, God! Make it a great one!

March 19, 2012 – How Did You See God Today?

I got to spend Sunday night and Monday in Avera McKennan having a kidney stone removed. We had a great weekend - lots of things accomplished - family over, and got some really cool haircuts. I had laid down for my afternoon half hour nap - I hate that part - and woke up with what I have come to know as a kidney stone attack. I have had and will have kidney stones my entire adult life. Not a huge deal, although this one was, so I just do what I have to do. I knew this was a good one immediately, as I was kneeling over the stool calling dinosaurs almost immediately, a sure sign of the old stone.

Matt and Jen hauled me in to the ER for treatment, which was timely. I wanted to nip this right away and get it out so I can start treatments this week. They ran a CT scan, confirmed my belief it was a stone, an 8 mm beauty, and admitted me to a room. I spent the night at the hospital on morphine hoping to get in on a removal in the morning. I had morphine as needed every hour – so I developed a pattern of morphine, sleep for about 15 minutes, wake up with pain, pray a rosary, morphine, sleep for 15 minutes, etc.

I prayed to the Holy Family for strength throughout the night. It was actually not too bad, I just settled into the pattern. I have had this stone surgery before. I was scheduled for surgery on Monday, and got to move there around 09:30 AM. I was not the first patient that day, so one has some delays. As I lay on the gurney waiting to get put to sleep, I prayed especially hard to have this stone episode behind me right away. Option number two would have been to blast the stone in a tub with ultra-sound waves if this surgery did not get it out. I did not want to go through that yet too.

To make a short story long, when I came too out of the surgery, they told me they got the big stone out. That was truly a touched by God moment for me. I have become far less focused on what I actually want and trying to go with God’s plan, but I cheated a bit here and wanted this big stone gone. They hurt. God answered that pray, and I was touched. Thank you for that, God. 

The Stone

This weekend I had another in a series of kidney stone attacks, and had some opportunity to pause and reflect on stones.

I have had kidney stones for the past 25 years or better. It is a hereditary thing – all of my brothers, sisters, and mom have had and will have kidney stones. We are just a lucky bunch that way. Urologists tell us different things, but the bottom line is, if you make kidney stones, you will continue to make kidney stones. They may stay in your kidneys, and cause no problems. It is when they want out, that they cause the pain and troubles.

I have about 20 stones left in both kidneys, but they tell me they are the size of tomato seeds, which I can pass without too much trouble. This stone, the mother of all stones, was 8MM in size. You can pass up to 6 mm without intervention, but this one was stuck. This mega stone was lodged right at the opening from the right kidney down into the urethra, which causes Mr. Kidney to back up and hurt like the dickens. They did the CT scan, confirmed the stone location and size, and had me spend the night, pending surgery in the morning.

It was a long night of morphine, sleep for ten to fifteen minutes, pray a rosary, then morphine, sleep, etc. I tried to tough it out on half-dose for the first two hours, then I said, give me the full strength. You still hurt, it just dulls to a feeling like someone punched you low in the back.

I had a long night to reflect on things, I thought of the stones God puts in the paths of our lives. I had blogged earlier about my little sister, Connie, and told you of how she had gallstones for the last years of her life, and could not tell anyone where it hurt. Her living that gave me a lot of strength during that night. She could not even tell anyone where it hurt, let alone ask for help. She was an example of strength beyond anything I will ever face. I know she was praying for me to get through this little ordeal.  I had mine removed on Monday, and am now home. I have a stent in for a stint, but things should be back on track.

We had picked up a small bag of river stones at a world market place last week. Margaret had suggested that we add a stone to a plastic peanut butter jar for every week that we have as a sign of God’s Gift to us (a different spin on the “Ten Thousand Marbles” story I had posted). On Sunday I had added the third stone since the news of our “Gift” had come to us.

I thought that night again of the different stones God puts into the path of our lives. I thought of those river stones, of my obvious kidney stones, of Connie’s gallstones, and also of the stones that may cause us to stumble on our paths in life.

I was even reflecting on how Jesus had stumbled, probably on some stones, as He carried his cross to Calvary for us. We all have stones in our path. We have to either go around the stones, stoop to move them, or stumble on them. We can lay there in the dirt and complain, or we can take the strength that God gives us and get up, dust off, and move on toward our ultimate goal in heaven. We decide, and God helps. The road is rocky, and there will be stones – we only need to decide how we will deal with them. And I almost overlooked the most important stone God has given us – Psalm 118: 22 “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”  Make it a Great Day!

Patience And Humility

This journey is causing me to make several changes in the way I do business and teaching me a lot along the way. I have always been a fairly judgmental person and not too afraid to share what I thought – Why do they not see things like I do? Why do they not care about this or that? Why do they do that to themselves? How could they vote for him? As I had said earlier, one of my Lenten resolutions was to be less judgmental, which has become much easier now for me. I probably would not have made the gains I have without this Gift.

          I have come to see all of us, you included, on a journey towards heaven. I truly do not think you cannot make it unless you out and out turn down God and His love for each of us. He wants us in heaven with Him, and He has given us what we need to get there.

          On to the Humility and Patience topic. I have had to stop driving because of several issues, brain surgery, medications, etc. My wife, Margaret, shortly to become Saint Margaret for putting up with me, is my chief chauffeur. Now you must understand, I always drove everywhere. I have to be in control and I have to do things my way.  I do not like to be a passenger, when anyone is driving. I didn’t even like riding as a Fire Captain and not being the driver at first. But that job is pretty cool and you learn to trust the Fire Apparatus Operator to get you there in one piece. I was so lucky to have been able to be a Fire Fighter…………

          Anyway, I digress – it could be the steroids. When Margaret comes to an intersection, at first, I was trying to tell her when to go, which only made it worse for her. Now I try to close my eyes, realizing that my “help” is only making it harder for her. She is a great driver and very conservative, which is good. I would shoot out and go for it, but I don’t want her doing that anyway. When we come into parking lots, I, at first, tried to point out the best spots for her, but now I am trying to keep the yap shut until we stop. She is doing great. Waiting to go someplace until your chauffeur is ready also can try your patience. I am a work in progress, and doing the best I can.

          I have a few wood shop projects I want to do as well, so my sons will be my main helpers in that area. Today the boys and I were trying to tune up a few things, move a few things I am going to get rid of, and generally pay some attention to a neglected shop area. Now I have a sudden sense of urgency to get things done? I am worried a bit that I am not leaving my sons as well trained as a father should – did I teach them what they need to know about basic stuff? They will do fine, but I am going to coach them along as I can. On their part, they want to learn some stuff yet, so we have a perfect opportunity. Poor Johnny will bear the brunt of being my helper. He said he would bring a notebook next time. He does very well, and it will be good for both of us, but do you know how hard it is to explain to a 16 year old how to choose the proper socket wrench, how to adjust the direction of turn, and then how to use it? This is teaching me patience and humility.

          As a dad, you worry about what you taught your boys, but I know mine will be just fine. We have a lot of good shop days ahead of us yet, and we will make some cool stuff.

          It was a great morning, and we got some stuff done. We will do some more tomorrow. Make it a Great Day! God Bless!

March 17, 2012 – How Did You See God Today?

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day to all the Callaghans and Olearys on Margaret’s side of the family! I was Blessed to marry a lady who is Half Irish with a 50% mix of German as well. She, unfortunately married 100% Luxembourger, which is right up against Germany. I always told her that my ancestry gave us the calm and sensible part of our relationship, while she can tend to be a bit stubborn – or was that flipped around??????

Anyway, what a day again - great day for a parade and the festivities. We stayed at home - kind of low key, but what a nice day. We got to go to Mass at St. Michael at 04:00 PM. Nice service – it is amazing how the Mass hits you when you focus. I spent a lot of years worrying about a lot of other stuff rather than listening to what was going on – we all do that – we are human. Now, for some reason, I am much more focused on the entire Mass. It is incredible! God is right there!

A very nice Irish lady made us a wonderful Irish dinner of corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and Irish Soda Bread. It was great. The boys nearly got all the beef cleaned up. We will need the recipe for that meal. Thanks, Jean. A very caring touch by God.

We had several good friends from Aberdeen at the house today. Katie brought me a special Crucifix that has been with her a long time and it will mean a lot to me. I cannot believe her generosity. Thank you for friends like that, God.

And the final touch today was my second friend from Aberdeen, Becca. She came to see us and climbed up in my chair to sit by me and read me a story about when Dinosaurs Get Sick. She did a great job, and I enjoyed every word. She is a great reader! Thank you for that little touch as well, God.

Cimply Putting It...... By Father Chuck Cimpl

A good friend of ours sent us this copy of the front page of St. Michael Parish's Sunday Bulletin from March 6, 2005. A very well written article that is right on target. We have been so Blessed by the spiritual leadership and the staff we have at St. Michael Parish and St. Katherine Drexel. They are one of the big reasons we are able to forge ahead through this journey in such a peaceful way. Thank you to all of the priest, deacons, and lay staff who strive forward every day to make a difference. It is working!

Cimply Putting it…..
When I was teaching high school, I used to tell my students the same thing that my teachers used to tell me: there are no dumb questions.  Now while that may be true, I wonder if we might sometimes be asking the wrong questions. 

Recently I was visiting with a family who was going through some of the hardest questions of life.  Why do good people get cancer, or any other illness for that matter?  Why can’t the ones we love be assured that they will live to be a ripe old age?  Here’s the situation.  The family has a teenage girl with cancer in her leg.  When she was being tested for the cancer the family prayed that she wouldn’t have cancer, but she did.  They then prayed that she wouldn’t have to have her leg amputated, but she did.  They then prayed that she wouldn’t have to have chemotherapy, but she did.  Then they prayed that she wouldn’t lose her hair, but she did.  Were the prayers doing any good? 

Most of us don’t ask these hard questions as long as life is going normally.  Most of the time we have no difficulty with our basic assumptions about God and life.  We believe that God is good and all-powerful.  God is like a loving parent who wants only the best for us and will do everything in his power to see that it happens.  As long as we are obedient, God rewards us.  If we get out of line, God disciplines us.  He protects us from being hurt or from hurting ourselves, and God sees to it that we get what we deserve. 

But then something happens that doesn’t fit this picture of the way God works in our world.  That’s when we look deeper and ask hard questions.  “Why did this happen?  Why did God do this?  Why did God allow this?”  Maybe we are asking the wrong questions.  What if we asked, “God, see what is happing to me.  Can you help me?”

The God I believe in does not send us the problem; but God gives us the strength to cope with the problem.  God is responsible for the help, not the pain.  One of the Old Testament psalms puts it this way:  “My help comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth.”  Notice the psalmist didn’t say, “My pain comes from the Lord.”

I don’t think God makes bad things happen to us.  I don’t think God decides which families will give birth to an ill child.  God doesn’t decide which person gets cancer today.  God doesn’t single out certain people to be crippled with a bullet or degenerative disease.  But sometimes bad things happen.  When they do, God is on the side of healing.  There is no answering the question, “Why did the happen?”  But I’m sure God didn’t cause it to happen.  The God I believe in stands ready to help me cope with my tragedies if I can only get past my feelings of guilt and anger that separate me from God.  Asking, “How could God do this to me?” is the wrong question.  A better question is, “Now that this has happened to me, what am I going to do about it?”  This question helps to focus my attention not on the source of the tragedy but on where it leads. 

As Christians we are not exempt from the laws of disease or the laws of nature.  I have found that people who pray for miracles usually don’t get miracles any more than kids who pray for presents or good grades get them as a result of praying.  But people who pray for courage, for strength to bear the unbearable, for the grace to face the tragedies of life very often find their prayers answered.  They discover that they have more strength, more courage than they ever knew themselves to have. 

Once a group of tourists saw a legless war veteran go to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes.  They whispered and asked, “Does he suppose God will give him back his legs?”  The veteran overheard the remark.  Turning to the tourists he said, “No, I don’t expect God to give me back my legs.  I expect him to show me how to live without them.”

Perhaps Lent can help us focus on the right questions to ask.  Maybe we can then discover that God is not in the business of bringing pain and suffering into our lives.  Rather, he gives us strength to live even in the midst of pain and suffering.  Finding the cause of it really doesn’t change anything.  But when we center our attention on the results, we are able to redeem even the worst situation.  That sounds a lot like Good Friday, doesn’t it?
Make it a great week. clc

March 16, 2012 – How Did You See God Today?

Can you believe March 16^th in South Dakota, and 80 degrees with sunshine and no wind outside! The day itself was gift enough, but we can’t stop there. A couple of meetings at the cancer institute today – they went well. I have to say, all of the care and treatment we have had to date is top notch. I can’t think of anyplace better to do what we are doing. We are so blessed to be able to stay in our home town and in our own house through all of this. The facilities and staff at Avera are just unbelievable. Everyone is caring, supportive, and many will discuss the spiritual portion of this process with us as well. That is so healing and such a comfort to us.

A nice lady stopped at the house today and gave me a blessed rosary from Medjugorie. It is beautiful and will be very special to me throughout the rest of this journey. That is a touch by God.

A lot of our family came to St. Michael’s tonight for the Station of The Cross. As I got out of my son’s van to walk into church, I heard the cardinal singing away. I can’t avoid Him!

After the Stations, my family came over for cheese and vegetable pizzas and a few sweets. We always have a nice gathering with food. It was pretty special to be able to sit on the deck with Dad and the family and watch the fourth generation kids run on the deck and giggling and playing. There is a lot of new life in the Jarding Clan! That is another nice touched by God! God Bless.

The Carpenter

Scriptures tell us much of the life of Jesus from his birth until about age 12. Then there are those “hidden years” from 12 until about age 30 when Jesus is baptized, in which we are not told much of what happened in his upbringing. We are told that Jesus’ Foster Father, Joseph, was a carpenter.  We would assume that Jesus spent much of those years learning about carpentry and about His Jewish faith.

          I have been a carpenter at heart most of my life, and I have often thought about what it would have been like to work as a carpenter with Joseph and Jesus. I have had a little sign on my desk for many years that says, “My boss is a Jewish Carpenter.”

          A carpenter in the days of Jesus was a rough, tough job that demanded a great deal of physical strength and endurance as well as great skill. There would have been two aspects to what they built – one would be building parts such as doorways, windows, and jambs, and the other would be smaller furniture and household items. Carpenters would have had to cut down trees to hew out beams for house roofs. They would also make door frames, window lattices, low tables, and chests for inside the homes.

          Using the hand tools of those days would have taken a lot of time, strength, and patience to form what the builder wanted out of his materials. I imagine Our Lord as a young carpenter learning the patience and time it takes to shape His piece of work into what He knows it can become. Those same attributes would serve Him well later as He started to form and shape His people into the church that we are today.

          I know that when working with wood, sometimes you hit a bad spot or a knot, and you have to change your approach. I also know that not all projects turn out like we first imagined they would. I think that each of our journeys to God is similar to this. We hit bad spots in the wood, chips come off now and then, but Our Lord keeps shaping and forming us until we become the beautiful part of his Kingdom that He knows we can be. He usually doesn’t just toss us aside, but rather re-works us until we take the shape we were meant to be.

March 15, 2012 – How Did You See God Today?

We received a nice card from a friend of ours today. She told us that reading our blog allowed her husband to write a letter to his Dad telling him that he loved him. God touches all of us each day, and this is pretty special. We are so blessed to be able to participate in that type of healing. That is a true touch by God. What a beautiful day again. Thank you God!

The Sparrow

Looking back at this story now, in 2012, I realize that this was actually a major turning point in my Faith journey in life. From that point on in 2006, I started to put more trust into God’s hands.

          I will never see a sparrow again in my life and not remember a little message I got from God one cold windy October day in 2006.

          That fall was a busy time for our family. Our oldest son was working with my brother and I in our family-owned construction business. Our second oldest son was attending St. John Vianney Seminary in St. Paul. Son number three was a senior in High School and a varsity football player. Our youngest son was in fifth grade, busy in soccer and starting up games in YMCA ABL Basketball.

          Our senior had been a standout football player since junior high, and he had experienced much success in running the football. He seemed like a natural at it, and he loved the game. What’s more, we all enjoyed being his biggest fans and his cheering section. He had been on the varsity team for the previous two years. That team had been undefeated and had won two state championships in a row. Our son worked hard all summer prior to his senior year, getting ready for what we had hoped would be his biggest and best year yet in football.

          I was a Battalion Chief for Sioux Falls Fire Rescue, and was starting the final 5 years of my career with them. I had been working 24 hour shifts in the fire service for 22 years, and was starting to look forward to being home every night and not having to miss ball games, school concerts, school plays, and suppers at night with my family. Our department had just gone through a change in Fire Chiefs. The Chief had been a true leader and a close friend of mine. It was difficult to see him leave.

          My brother and I were going on our 31^st year in a family-owned construction business. The construction business had always been feast or famine. Either you were way behind, or you didn’t know what you would be doing next month. It took a lot of trust in God to keep your faith. Rising fuel costs and the cost of employee benefit packages were starting to take their toll on our bottom line. We had stubbornly kept our own carpenters for all of those years, doing things our own way and not going the way of subcontracting out all of our labor. We enjoyed building fine houses and working with our customers, so we always found a way, with a lot of faith in the Dear Lord and each other, to keep things going. The market was tight. The spec homes stayed unsold this year, causing the interest expense on those homes to take a huge bite from our already tight budget. The first half of the year was looking better than it had in the previous year. We weren’t buried with work, but we had enough to carry us through until January. As we had always done, we started to be concerned about what we would have to build in the spring. The leads were much scarcer, and the housing market seemed to be pretty quiet. How would we pay the bills come January?

          During the second football game of the season, our senior player broke his left leg, ending his high school football career. He rehabbed and stayed with the team, but he tried to play in one of the playoff games, and ended up rupturing the sac that surrounds his kidney. Now he was truly done with football for the season.

         

          Our son in the Seminary had come to the conclusion that he was not meant for the priesthood, and had decided to try a different school. It was painful to watch him try to make the proper career choice, but it was his journey, so we prayed for his guidance.

          Now I want you to know that we had been one praying family that summer and fall. My wife and I went to adoration of the Holy Eucharist for one hour a week in our church’s chapel. We had been praying a rosary, a Memorarium, and a Chaplet of Divine Mercy together as a family almost every day since late July. I tried to pray a rosary a day myself. I asked for strength and faith in God’s plan for us. I asked for my son to have a good football season and to not get hurt. I asked for my other son to receive the Holy Spirit’s guidance in his vocational search. I asked for our spec projects to sell. I even bought a statue of St. Joseph, buried it on the spec house property, and said the prayers to St. Joseph to help us sell the house. I prayed hard.

          As each week went by, the football games got harder and harder to watch. We sat in the stands and watched our son limping on the side lines and not being a part of the team any more. The first game after his injury he was asked to lead the team prayer of the Our Father after the game. That was pretty special for us to witness. The next game he stayed out on the fringes more, and so his participation as a team leader seemed to drop off. He came home one night and told his mother that he just didn’t even feel like a part of the team any more.

          Everywhere I looked it seemed that God had ignored our prayers. It seemed like he wasn’t listening anymore. I had been raised in a Roman Catholic household and was the third child of seven. My parents had the faith that the pioneers must have had. We went to church every Sunday as a family. We went to Catholic School until it was closed due to the high cost of operating a school in a small town parish. I had a sister who was born with Cerebral Palsy. She could not walk, she could not talk, and she had to struggle to get her arms and legs to do anything that she wanted them to do. We grew up with a disabled child in our family. My parents taught us, through their actions and love, that we were a family and we coped with what God gave us with faith, love, and understanding.

          Six weeks after our senior broke his leg, our youngest son was getting ready to go to school, he came back into the house and told me that there was an injured bird on the driveway. I went outside to see the bird and kept our schnauzer away from the bird. A sparrow lay on its side with its eyes open and taking shallow breaths. It had apparently flown into the garage wall and fell there. There was nothing we could do for the bird, so we let it lay there. I remarked to my son, “You know that God knows that bird fell there.” I did not think much more about the bird and went into the house.

          That night I woke up at 2:00 AM and could not get back to sleep. I was worried about our senior and his football games, our second son and his vocational search, and the construction economy.

          I left the bedroom and went out to watch TV for a while. When I went back to bed, I slept for about an hour before having to get up to face the day. It was a Friday, and our youngest son’s Catholic School has school Mass at 08:15 AM each Friday. I try to attend those Masses as often as my schedule allows. As I set the trash out that morning, I picked up the now dead sparrow and put it into the trash bin.

          I sat in the back row at the School Mass that morning and mused about my feelings and my life. As Father read the gospel that morning, I listened intently. The reading was from Luke 12:6-7 Jesus was telling his disciples, “Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God. Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.”

          The tears started swelling in my eyes as I sat there and realized that God remembers me! He knows what I am going through, and he has not forgotten me! He sent a sparrow to die on my driveway to tell me that He knows I am here and He knows of my prayers and my needs. It felt like a ton of bricks just lifted off of my shoulders! I felt better instantly. God loves me and He knows I am here. He knows I struggle with things, but it will be okay, because He knows I am here.

          I thought about that sparrow a lot that day. It lived its life not knowing what a special job it had. It needed to die on my driveway so it could be a message to me from a loving God! God has it all figured out, even if things do not happen the way we think they should. It doesn’t matter if our business is doing great or struggling through hard times. God knows about it and He still loves us! It doesn’t matter if our son knows his vocation in life right now. God knows our son’s vocation, and He will lovingly guide him to it! It doesn’t matter that our son missed most of his senior year in football. God knows his leg was broken and our plans weren’t necessarily God’s plans! We don’t need to win another State Football Championship to have God love us. He loves us either way!

          That day I made an appointment with a priest, visited with him, and made a good confession. As I drove to another appointment later that day, the sun seemed brighter, the South Dakota autumn fields seemed more beautiful, and things were looking great. My cell phone rang. It was a person calling about setting up an appointment to make plans for building a new house.

          As I drove along, I saw a flock of sparrows flying over a newly harvested soybean field……………………………

          One of my favorite songs now is His Eye Is On The Sparrow.