Learning to be Quick to Listen

Just back from a vacation with the family and it brought some issues to the surface. Anytime you spend 5-6 days with adult children in close quarters, I think there will be times when tempers will flare. Many times it is because people are tired. Anyway, I encountered a scenario that I want to share with the other fathers (parents). One of my daughters, who has been designated the family’s complainer, had a trying set of days. Our schedule for the trip was very heavy and she was looking for some time to relax. Unfortunately there were few breaks and the pace took its toll on her. Eventually, as it always does, it bubbled to the top and her temper let loose. She said something that was extremely hurtful to me. It was a flippant statement and in hindsight, she did not intend for it to be so hurtful but it was. My reacion was not what I wanted it to be as I was also tired. The entire scenario changes when parent and child become two adults. As a parent, you always have expectations. When ...

Becoming the person you want to be is not an easy job. Being of the world rather than in the world leads us to make many choices that do not assist our spiritual journey. The message is very fuzzy at best when you are operating in the humanistic realm. Should we collect worldly goods? Is my car and house good enough? Why is that person making more money than me? God's message is clear on the other hand. We are to love and honor God. We are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Jesus even gave us beatitudes to give us something to do while on earth. So as we choose our path to become who we want to be, these choices are the very things that turn us into the person we become. That is why it is so important to make our decisions carefully. I suggest you make them in consultation with God. He is here to help us on our journey. I know it is very easy to ignore the Godly path. We are offered so much in our world, especially in the U.S. but not here alone. How often have you found y...

The pelicans are back in Baton Rouge. Passing the City Park Lake this morning was a stunning experience. The gleaming white of the pelicans contrasted against the greenish water of the lake and made for a beautiful start to the day that the Lord has blessed us with. I had to stop and thank our Father God for creating such incredible creatures. Their long golden beaks pecking in the water for nourishment created ripples that made the entire lake come alive. It reminded me that the Church uses the pelican as a symbol and I have seen it used in many churches around the U.S. The pelican is a iconic symbol of the atonement and the Redeemer. Many years ago, people began to realize that the pelican would wound itself in order to feed its young with its blood and to bring to life those who were dead. "Pelican in her piety" in iconic and symbolical art, is a representation of a pelican in the act of wounding her breast in order to nourish her young with her blood, a practice fabulousl...

The Washington D.C. City Council inched closer to allowing same sex "marriages" in the District of Columbia last Tuesday when they voted the legislation out of the Committee on Public Safety and Judiciary. The panel refused to include protections for religious organizations, putting at risk the numerous churches in the region that provide goods and services to the needy. It places a horrifying burden on the religious organizations who would have to decide between their faith or compliance with the district’s demands. One of the largest area provider of relief services, the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, took a stand last Wednesday, just as their counterparts in Massachusetts' had done in that state, and refused to back down to the D.C. Council's bullying tactics. The Catholic Church provides a wide range of direct services for those in need in our nation's capitol, including physical and mental health care, legal care, immigration, employment services, counse...

Father Bill Osborn is pastor of St. Bernard’s Parish in Redfield, South Dakota. He graciously took the time to answer the seven questions and I am thrilled to post his responses below. If you would like to answer the brief survey, simply cut and paste the questions followed by your responses and email them to fellmananthony@gmail.com. I promise to post them. Now get ready for some straight to the point wisdom from Father Bill. 1. What is the biggest challenge to your faith that you have faced so far? People leaving the church. 2. What scripture do you find yourself turning to most often? John 6:53 (“Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.”) 3. How do you think God is revealing his presence to us in the world today? In so many ways through others. 4. Do you have a book that you would recommend to people trying to develop their spirituality? The Bible 5. Why do you thin...

Have you ever felt like a doormat? Jesus tells us that we are supposed to forgive but does that mean we lose ourselves in the process? Are we okay with not being right all the time? Sometimes we think we are just as right as the other person but we are probably just as wrong. I find that taking some time away from the situation helps tremendously. We try so hard to convince the other person that our point of view is right that we forget about God in the process. Sometimes stepping back and letting God work is the best solution. Sometimes God works on us as well. Understanding that what is driving us often is mind garbage. The devil spends a lot of time placing this mind garbage in our brains. The best time to do this is when we are creating the list of bad habits, traits, and quirks of the person that is disagreeing with us. We focus very often so intently on the negative things that we fail to see the positive things. Mind garbage can infiltrate our lives and make us become very negat...

The reading for today was Mark 7:7-9, "In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition." He went on to say, "How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition!" Doesn't this look like it was written today? Doesn't this apply to the humanists of today who put aside all things Godly and want to focus on the world? You have to put aside the commandment of the Lord to allow the murder of innocent babies and have the audacity to call it abortion. You have to put aside the Lord's commandment when you describe the United States as a non-Christian nation. You have to put aside the commandments of the Lord when you force additional financial burdens on a people who are already hurting so badly that they are losing hope. As we move towards the Advent season, it is a good time to reflect on where we are in our spiritual journey. Are we worshiping Go...

If you have ever been to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. you may have seen the Hall of American Saints. They recently installed a new statue, that of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. Everyone knows the story of the saint from Albania who spent her life working with the poor and ill in India. She received a Nobel Peace Prize and many other awards which meant nothing to her. If you read her books, you will know that she was focused on being the hands and feet of God on earth. She was also very hard on herself and never felt as if she was worthy of the praise and adulation she received. Mother Teresa was clearly focused on receiving her reward in Heaven where she joined our Lord upon her death. I have noticed that there are already a number of Catholic schools and churches named for this diminutive nun who cast such a large shadow. She visited Baton Rouge and established a local chapter of her order at St. Agnes Parish in the downtown area. She also formed a...

Do you know someone that has allowed the past to capture them in a jail cell? I am not talking about a literal cell but the kind that creates isolation and depression in their lives. It might even be you. Learning to lead a life that is filled with forgiveness is a very freeing experience. Living for the present rather than in the past allows us to fully experience our Father God's love, grace, and providence. Allowing strife to keep you captured by the events of the past brings delight to the devil. But when you focus on becoming someone who is quick to forgive, the grace of God is allowed to flourish in your life. I have just begun to become acquainted with the writings of Henri de Lubac. He is considered to be one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century. During the Second Vatican Council, Pope John XXIII appointed de Lubac as theological expert to the Council. He later was appointed a Cardinal by Pope John Paul II. de Lubac co-wrote a series known as the Christia...

One of my favorite things to do is attend a wedding. This past Friday, I was able to witness the joining of two young people in holy matrimony. Both of these young adults have been through a dark journey lately. The difference is that the journeys turned out very differently for each of them. The bride recently lost her mother to cancer. To lose your mother at any time is devastating but to lose her to an aggressive and destructive disease when you are planning for one of the happiest days of your life is particularly trying. The good news is that the pair was able to spend the last days of the mother's life planning every aspect of the wedding. It allowed the mother and daughter to focus on the future rather than the present. The influence of the mother was evident in every aspect of the sacramental wedding. I fully expected the bride to be excessively weepy because of her recent loss but she was radiant and beautiful. I think that she was infused by her mother's spirit. The g...