If you would like to receive these daily reflections (written by various parishioners) in your email box each day, contact darcy.wharton@rocklincatholic.org 

They also appear each day on Facebook.  Find us at www.facebook.com/ssppcommunity

Reflections for Feb. 24-Mar. 1, 2020
Monday, February 24, 2020 - Do not be Angry
 
During one summer vacation we young seminarians were invited to assist the Diocesan Vocation Camp for high school students. As we gathered for an evening session, I spotted two boys walking around the campus who did not listen to my plea to go to the session. They just ignored me. Losing my control, I chastised them with a sharp angry voice. Then one of them retorted: “Are you not a seminarian?” “Can you get angry?” I was dumbstruck and called our director to handle them. Since that incident I am always concerned about my short -tempered nature.
 
Anger is a natural human emotion but the problem is what we do with the anger when we feel it. At times anger hurts; it hurts the feelings of others and even the person himself. It may lead to changing or breaking up a relationship. Jesus reminds us that to be angry and hurting others is not Christian. “Do not be Angry at all” (Ref:  Matthew 5:22). It is important that we become aware of how we react when we are angry. Take a deep breath and pray ‘Jesus, help me’ was the advice of my spiritual director. Many times it works and at times I fail to follow this. Forgive me Lord, for the times I hurt others with my anger. 
Bony
 
 
Tuesday, February 25, 2020 - Offering
 
In celebrating Holy Eucharist, we offer bread and wine as it becomes the Body and the Blood of Christ. We are called to be partakers in this Holy Sacrifice. But what else do we offer?  We are both the celebrants and the offerings just as Jesus is. Every Eucharist celebration should be a worthy sacrifice. We should be able to offer our entire being including all of our conduct related to our lives. Jesus said, “Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5: 23-24). We are invited to offer everything about ourselves.
 
It is a courageous act to reach out to the one who hurts one. We need God’s grace to approach that person. It opens the way to living in the mercy of God and being a source of mercy to others. Start writing a forgiving letter to the offender and it will open a path to reconciliation; another spiritual exercise we were asked to do in the seminary. Try it; it may work for you too. Let us celebrate the Eucharist with a full heart.
Bony
 
 
 
Wednesday, February 26, 2020 - Ash Wednesday
 
‘Repent and believe in the Gospel’ we say as ash is placed on the forehead. And with that we begin our Lenten journey. 
 
When we were children, after coming from the church, we used to replace the original ash-cross- marked by the priest (we called it the ugly mark) with a beautiful and artful cross on the forehead mixing oil with the ashes. We wanted to show our classmates that we are not just Christians but beautiful Christians. Noticing this, my grandfather reminded us about the relevance of Ash Wednesday. The ashes on the forehead are not just a mark that we are Christians or the mere sign of a ritual, but they show that we have begun our journey of repentance. Ash symbolizes our ‘nothingness’ and reminds us that we are ‘formed of dust from the ground’ (Genesis 2:7) and we return to dust. What matters is ‘the breath of God’, our spirit – Does it bear the image and likeness of our Creator, our Father?
 
We begin our Lenten journey with an act of contrition, a sorrowful heart acknowledging that we are sinners and we make reparations as Jesus suffered and died for us. Ash Wednesday – Beginning our forty days of intimate togetherness with the Lord!
Bony
 
 
 
Thursday, February 27, 2020 - Taking an Oath on God’s Name
 
‘God promise’! We have often heard children and sometimes even adults saying this. How many times might we ourselves have said this; unnecessarily calling on God’s Name in vain, a sin against the second commandment!  One takes God’s name to impress others or to make others accept their story. Jesus takes us to a deeper level of understanding God and His Name when he said ‘do not swear at all’ (Matthew 5: 34). We fail to understand that in the act of swearing, we empty God of his glory. As a baptized Christian whatever we do, we do it in the name of the Lord and for his glory (1 Corinthians 10:31).  So why do we take God’s name to establish our credibility, transparency and honesty? Jesus nails this act of hypocrisy and reminds us ’all you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’, anything beyond this comes from the evil one’. (Mathew 5:37).
 
Let our expressions in calling His Name be a petition to Him and a thanksgiving and praise.
Bony
 
 
Friday, February 28, 2020 - Prayer
 
We are so busy with our lives: family, work, school, etc. that we do not have time for God sometimes. Lent is a season where we may focus on a prayer discipline. We start it in lent and follow it along all our life. And prayer is nothing but being awake with the Lord, with our whole heart, mind and soul, “Couldn’t you keep awake with me…?” (Mark 14:37) Sadly, prayer has taken a second place in our busy lives.
 
Growing up in a big family it was fun to do everything together as a family. Day began with a short family prayer. And again, before dinner 30 minutes of family prayer was a must otherwise no dinner. Those days are gone; I don’t see this beautiful practice of being together before the Lord in my sibling’s families any more. They are so busy with many things, and have no time for personal or family prayer.
 
This family practice helped in my seminary formation that always insisted on personal prayer time along with communal ones. I confess that there are times I have missed my personal prayers when occupied with many things. But to start the day with a prayer helps me to start the day right.
Bony
 
Saturday, February 29, 2020 - Abstinence
 
Abstinence is an act of disciplining oneself and helps to make reparations of sins. It is to abstain from what one likes the most and finds difficult to avoid when tempted.
 
We are filled with stuff in minds and hearts just like in our closets. Just as we rearrange and clear our closets, we need to rearrange and clear our unhealthy habits to get rid of things that we do not need in our faith life. These could be total distractions in focusing ourselves on our faith life in any way. 
 
A young mother was sharing that her little daughter would take all her chocolates to the slums during lent. She always said, ‘I love chocolates and candies and I always have some but I love to give them to someone that may not always get them’. 
 
Abstinence is not just depriving ourselves of something; it is more of an intentional effort to avoid things that bring pleasure, and thereby discipline one’s mind, and turn one’s desire to personal and spiritual enrichment.
Bony
 
Sunday, March 1, 2020 - Almsgiving
 
Fr. Keith Canterbury, Pastor Emeritus of St. Patrick Church, Weaverville died last Sunday afternoon. He was 90. He was a man of compassion for the poor. He would collect goods, load his truck and take them to needy people in neighboring towns. He would be present at any event in the town helping the poor. He always said that the poor of Christ need help. 
 
Almsgiving is an obligation of Christians to share what we have with the have nots. They are the poor of Christ; we are all one body of Christ having a shared obligation to help the needy members. The perfect example of sharing one’s possession was early Christians who didn’t claim their possessions as their own… they put everything at the apostle’s feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. (Acts 4: 32 – 35)
 
We are able to see the suffering Christ in the needy and poor. The season of Lent is an opportunity to find suffering Jesus in the poor and comfort them (Him) with our generosity.
Bony
 


Reflections for Feb. 17-23, 2020
Monday, February 17, 2020 - What is God Calling You to?
Today is “Presidents’ Day”, a day set aside to honor two of the most revered men in our Country’s history, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.  They were each men of integrity and devoted to the grand idea of union and the preservation of that union.  They are models of self-sacrifice as well as being fallible men.  They followed the examples of the God-fearing men we read of in the Bible: men who were chosen and tasked by God to lead people to Him.  Think of Moses and Peter and Paul and how they struggled with their mission.  They too were not always willing leaders and were, as men are, fallible.  That model and tradition have been evident in other people, men and women, both in secular and religious life, Popes and Presidents who have been and are models to emulate as well as some to avoid.  We are truly blessed to live in a country where we are free to follow good examples as well as to worship or not as each of us chooses.  We Catholics are generally going in the same direction but we sometimes argue about how to get there.  The point is that we have ongoing choices to make both in society and, more importantly, in how we each respond to what our God asks of us.  George and Abraham, Moses and Peter/Paul, Popes and Presidents all have faced the same opportunities.  What will I do with my opportunities?  Ponder, pray and pursue what God asks.  God help me!
Deacon David

Tuesday, February 18, 2020 - Work
This year our parish is celebrating all of our various ministries, and there are many.  Thinking about all that people do puts me in mind of my late mother, Mary.  She, along with my Dad, was a child of the depression and was influenced by the need to work hard, both as a homemaker, wife and mother as well as an employee.  She was not able to be a stay at home mom but never shirked work either at home or in the workplace .  My Dad never seemed to miss a day at work, although I don’t think he ever did the dishes.  Mom taught my sister and me that we were expected and obliged to help around the house so, although she did all the heavy housework we helped with vacuuming, washing dishes and clothes and yard work too.  My home life mirrors what several of the ministries do at SSP&P:  Cleaning, washing, arranging, cooking, greeting, teaching, and on and on.  I’m proud of what my Mom did for our family and I’m proud of what this family community of SSP&P does to maintain and grow what was engendered by Fr. Dillon back in the 80’s and has been carried on by Fr. Bony now.  We rely on our family members to do the necessary work of making this our home away from home.  If I haven’t said it before let me now say a great big Thank You, all of you. 
Deacon David
 
 
Wednesday, February 19, 2020 - More Work
Yesterday I made reference to a few of the ministries in our parish but didn’t really explain about any of them.  A couple of weeks back a couple of the ministries were introduced, as many others will be during this year in which we are celebrating all of the ministries.  The ones I’m referring to are ones that may seldom be recognized but which are necessary to the cleanliness and appearance of the church building.  For example, you may not notice or pay attention to the cloths called purificators used at every mass to wipe the edges of chalices of drops of the precious blood after each person drinks at communion.  Those don’t magically come clean but have to be washed in a special way so that the waste water goes directly into the ground and not into the sewer. We rely upon people who treat this work reverently and after cleaning and drying, iron and return them to use.  Many hundreds are used during the course of a year.  Those ministers labor largely unknown and underappreciated but give their time lovingly.  In the same way parishioners labor to vacuum, dust and polish:  all for our benefit.  The altar is dressed and decorations hung by people who want to make our place of worship beautiful.  All of these people do their work voluntarily for the love of God.  Remember them all in your prayers of thanksgiving.
Deacon David
 
Thursday, February 20,2020-Craving Jesus
Monday through Friday of this week the communion antiphon reads: “They ate and had their fill, and what they craved the Lord gave them; they were not disappointed in what they craved”.  This put me in mind of those in the RCIA who are on their way to becoming practicing Catholics, communicants in the bread and wine, body and blood of Jesus.  While they are learning and waiting to be received into what we Catholics at times may take for granted, they “crave” what we have. 
During this “flu” time of year when we are unable to receive the blood of Christ I have a small inkling of what the RCIA folks, as well as those referred to in the antiphon, are longing for…all the time.  I recall my own anxiousness at that same longing when I was being taught about Catholicism by a very patient priest, Fr. Bouska (RIP).  I could only watch as my bride to be and her family went forward to the communion rail and received.  I had to remain in the pew as there was no blessing offered to non-communicants and the feeling of exclusion was visceral.  It is a different church now in which anyone can approach and be blessed but I think that amongst them the “craving” is evident.  I try to keep them in prayer and know that in a few short months they will be, as we are, satisfied receiving our Lord and becoming a part of Him, and of us.
Deacon David
 
 
Friday, February 21, 2020 - Deny Myself?
Today’s mass Gospel reading is Mark 8:34-9:1 in which Jesus says “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”  I’m pretty sure that as I was being instructed along the way to being baptized I didn’t pay much attention to that admonition.  Now, 59 years later, I can look back and see that Jesus meant what he said to the crowd with his disciples.  My understanding has changed from something like: Oh well, He was just speaking metaphorically to a limited acceptance of what “…taking up my cross” actually means, to nowadays realizing that Jesus means for me, a disciple and follower, exactly what he said. My response over the years has not been taking up a cross (although I pray that when my cross comes I will accept and carry it as He did).  Perhaps the hardest part for me is the denying part.  I’ve not, except during Lent, denied myself much of anything.  Following Jesus in the way He asked demands commitment and here is another difficult part for me.  I want to be a Christian on and in my way and time.  Sometimes it is inconvenient.  Lord , help me to understand what it is you want of me and help me to do it.   Amen
Deacon David
 
Saturday, February 22, 2020 - The Chair of Saint Peter
The weekday mass today is dedicated to the first Pope, the rock as Jesus identified him, upon which the church we belong to is built.  Most probably no one called Peter “Pope” but he was given the “chair” to be a leader, guide, model and example of how Jesus wanted His church to develop and operate.  Of the popes that followed Peter, many have been revered and acclaimed saints, the most recent, Saint Pope John Paul II.  Others have not done as well in contrast to the rock that was Peter.  I am particularly fond of our present Pope, Francis.  He is, in my estimation, not only a rock but a kind of cement incorporating the many, many aspects of the Catholic Church.  He has spoken and acted kindly to people who are often ignored or even disallowed from worshipping with the majority.  I think of him as a progressive conservative and hope for a long papacy for him.  It is an honor for me to realize that both he and I have been addressed as “deacon”, he for only a short time before ordination to the priesthood.  But he has modeled for me how to be one with the people in my community as he is now with all Catholics and, indeed, the world.  Pray for the present “rock” that he have the strength to be the ongoing foundation of our church. 
Deacon David
 
 
Sunday, February 23, 2020 - Opportunity Knocks
Today is the last Sunday before Lent begins.  Yep, this coming Wednesday is the day we have the chance to get the ashes from last year’s Palm Sunday fronds signed on our foreheads to display a part of our belief, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”  I have to say that when I am out in the community and I see someone in a store or gas station with a cross of ashes on their forehead I am happy to see another witnessing as a Christian.  It used to be that only Catholics celebrated this day but other Christian denominations have taken up the practice.  Along with the ashes with which we start out 40 days leading up to Easter we have other opportunities of living what we believe.  Simply put we can make extra efforts to 1) Do righteous deeds such as giving alms; 2) Pray often, especially for those who do not yet know or accept Jesus the Savior; 3) Fast.  Giving up something that may be harmful or excessive is certainly good but suggestions have been made to do something extra with what may have been saved from not buying that frappuchino and dedicating it to a social need.  This is the time of year to again, as in New Year resolutions, renew our better intentions.  Pray for me that I will practice what I preach.
Deacon David