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Guys: Is Jesus texting you?
I wish Jesus would just text me! I have so many questions. I ask for so much help, and for His forgiveness. I want to thank and praise Jesus. At times, I wonder if He is in my life. I want to hear Jesus, to sense His presence, to feel His touch. Mostly, I want to hear His call in my life – who He wants me to be. Is it a priest or religious brother? Is it a husband and dad?
Guys: Do you experience some of these questions, thoughts or feelings? I know I do. A turning point in my life was when I asked Jesus that vocation question – Who do you want me to be? Before then, I just focused on “what I wanted to do.” It’s a question of “being” as compared to “doing.” As boys, young men, and older men, we are built to “do,” to achieve, to construct, to excel, to accomplish. Yet, God has a plan for each of us -- who he wants us to be -- that does not depend on any goals or accomplishments. Jesus just wants us.
In March, I visited our three seminaries, and encouraged our seminarians to listen to Jesus’ call in their hearts. In April, I am having dinners with guys in high school, college, and older men, and I will continue other activities this summer. These events will help you to get to know me, your new bishop, and for me to get to know you and your hopes and dreams. We will listen to God’s vocational call together, and trust in His response.
No, Jesus is not texting you guys. But He is speaking with you in your heart. Listen to Him. Jesus loves you more than you can ask or imagine.
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May 8, 2011
Guys: How does Jesus speak to your hearts?
Guys: How does God let you know who he wants you to be, a priest or a husband and dad? I wrote two issues ago that Jesus “doesn’t text you,” but speaks with you in your heart. Just what does that mean? How does He do that? How do I do that? Prayer sometimes seems like quite a mystery.
Prayer is a personal response to God’s presence. We focus on who God is and what God does. Our loving Lord does want to speak and communicate with you, with me, with all of us. And God takes the first step; God first makes His presence known to us. One definition of prayer is: our awareness and acknowledgement of God’s presence. Prayer is what God does to us, rather than anything we do. “We love because He first loved us”. (1 John 4:19).
Father Armand Nigro writes on three steps to prayer: First, be aware of God’s presence, acknowledge God’s presence: We focus on God and what God does (not to focus on things about God). Thus it is very personal, like we are communicating with our best friend. Don’t you like to speak with and listen to your best friend often, personally? Here we sense that God is present to me, God loves breath into me, God loves me into being, God loves all into me. A vocal or silent prayer expressing this: “Yes, God my Father, You do love all this into me. Yes, Jesus my Brother, You do. Yes, God my Spirit, You do.”
Second, thank God, be grateful: In order to be grateful, we must be aware of receiving from someone. Thus, when we are aware of God’s presence, aware that He has given Himself to us, we thank Him: “God, I am thankful, I am grateful, I appreciate all you are, all you have done for me, all you do for me.” We put on an attitude of gratitude. We pour out our grateful heart to our Gentle Jesus.
Third, lovingly respond to God: We are touched when we hear the sincere words “I love you” from a family member or close friend. When we open our hearts to God, we hear him often say to us: “I love you, I love you more than you can ask or imagine.” How do we respond? We return those words in a heartfelt way: “God, I love you too.” We trust in God’s presence; He is with us always!
Guys: I will be writing more about prayer. Try it. Be aware, be grateful, lovingly respond to God’s love. He will give you your vocational call to be a priest or a husband and dad. The Risen Jesus does speak to your heart. Open up to His presence.
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Parents: Do you want your son to be happy?
I hope my son will be happy! When I first held him in my arms, I had so many hopes and dreams for him. I hope he likes baseball, my favorite sport. Will he go to the same school that I did? Will he have a great job? Who will he marry? I hope he has a loving wife. I hope he gives me grandchildren. I feel such joy: God has blessed me with a son!
Parents: Do you experience any of these questions, thoughts or feelings? I, your bishop, do not have children, so I can only imagine these things. These statements and questions look at your son from your perspective. But, how does God see your son? Who does our Loving Lord want your son to be? God may have plans for your son in each of these areas. Or God may have another calling for your son: the priesthood.
Wait a minute! you say. I don’t want that! But let us open our hearts to what God wants, not just what we want. This is called discernment, listening to God’s will in our lives. And being open to God’s will in the life of our son.
The key perspective is the headline of this article: Do you want your son to be happy? God’s calling for your son will make him most happy, most fulfilled, most content, most joy-filled. And if that calling is the priesthood, we rejoice with our son. If that calling is to be a husband and dad, we rejoice with our son.
Yes, parents, you want your son to be happy. Help him listen to God’s call for his life. Jesus will help; He loves your son more than you can ask or imagine.
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May 22, 2011
Guys: Are you giving?
Guys, do you ever ask, “What do I get from prayer?” In many things in life, we want results, we want outcomes, we want to receive something. In sports, we want to win the game or place first in the race. In academics, we want to get an “A” on the assignment, or receive that scholarship to our favorite college. But, is “getting” something all there is?
We “give” much, as well. In sports we give our time and effort to practice, we give our loyalty and fellowship to our teammates, and we give our respect to the coaches.
In academics, we give much: We give our time in completing assignments, we give our concentration in studying for exams, and we give our attentiveness to the teacher who explains a concept.
What about prayer?
At times, we are disappointed in prayer, thinking that we are not “getting something out of it.” Yet, we are called to give to prayer. We give our time, attention, and love to our Compassionate Jesus.
I outlined a way of prayer in my last column: to be aware of God’s presence, to thank Him, and to lovingly respond to Him.
Try this: Give at least 15 minutes each day to this “giving.” Find a quiet place, unplug from technology, close your eyes, and give yourself to our Gentle Jesus, who loves you more than you can ask or imagine.
God will take care of the giving to you. He will give you a vocation to the priesthood or to be a husband and dad.
Trust in Jesus to give this gift to you.
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June 12, 2011
Guys: Are You Afraid?
No, I’m not afraid, not afraid of anything! Well, I guess I’m nervous about a few things. At times, I’m anxious about my future. Where is God in all this?
We males are called to follow the example of St. Joseph, as defenders and protectors. Blessed John Paul wrote a reflection on St. Joseph called The Guardian of the Redeemer. John Paul quotes St. Leo XIII: “Joseph was in his day the lawful and natural guardian, head and defender of the Holy Family.... It is thus fitting and most worthy of Joseph’s dignity that, in the same way that he once kept unceasing holy watch over the family of Nazareth, so now does he protect and defend with his heavenly patronage the Church of Christ.”
This call is one of fortitude, of bravery, to stand firm in difficult situations. Let us embrace God’s gift of masculinity by using the virtue of courage to face challenging circumstances, and to guard, defend, and protect. Yet, we are not alone in this task. We have our families, sports teams, youth groups, parishioners, community and others to assist us in times of fear. Jesus often said to “be not afraid” (Matthew 17:7).
Courage is needed to listen to our vocational call, Jesus’ call to be priests or to be husbands and dads. We listen to this call by reflecting on it with our families, parish priest, vocation director, friends, and me, your bishop. We spend time in prayer, being aware of God’s presence, thanking Him, and lovingly responding to Him (are you trying this way of prayer 15 minutes each day?). When that call leads us to the next step, we follow that step courageously, with Jesus at our side. If you feel God’s nudge toward looking at the priesthood, that next step might be to speak with your parish priest, then with Father Wesley Schawe, our new Director of the Office of Priestly Vocations.
Jesus has a wonderful future planned for you. He will give you the courage to find that future, and to live it as guardian, protector, and defender of your family as a husband and dad, or as guardian, protector, and defender of your parish and ministry as a priest. Jesus will help you, He loves you more than you can ask or imagine.
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July 3, 2011
Bishop, are you kidding me? Obedience?
What’s this about a priest promising to obey his bishop? I’m a grown man, I don’t obey anyone! Well, I guess I follow the directions of a police officer if he asks me to do something, and I do comply with the IRS and pay my taxes. But just what is this “obedience” stuff?
Father Don Bedore, at his ordination to the priesthood in May, answered “Yes” to my question, “Do you promise obedience to me and my successors?” What would motivate Father Don to make this radical promise?
The verb “to obey” is from the Latin root audire meaning “to listen”. My seminary professor described it: to obey is to raptly, carefully listen. A youth carefully listens to his parents, for example, to hear, “I love you and I want you to be safe” when a curfew is set. A husband and dad raptly listens to his wife and hears “I love you, and I want you near to me and the children” when she says, “Honey, you are spending too much time at the office.”
A priest carefully, raptly listens to his bishop. For example, when a priest receives a new assignment, he hears, “After discussion with you, consultation with others, and prayerful guidance by the Holy Spirit, I am appointing you to another ministry, for the good of the diocesan Church.” This takes a leap of faith in God, a trust in His plan of a hierarchical Church, and a love for Jesus Christ, the High Priest who is the priest’s model.
Jesus obeyed the Heavenly Father unreservedly, without counting the cost. We priests are called to do the same. Jesus “became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Hebrews 5:9). Father Don embraced this amazing call from God at his ordination.
Guys, let us carefully listen to -- let us obey -- our Gentle Jesus. Listen to his call to be a priest or a husband and dad, and follow. Jesus will tell you in your prayer. He loves you more than you can ask or imagine.
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