Keywords for Success

I found this in an ad for Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski's book "Beyond Basketball, Coach K's keywords for Success"

On trust: There are four words that, when said, will bring out the best in your team,
your employees, and your family. They are: I believe in you."

On discipline: "All leaders, whether they be coaches, CEO's or parents, should be wary of
relying too much on pre-defined rules."

On motivation: "There is no specific formula for motivating people-- the key is to be flexible,
to analyze situations as they arise."

Bibles and Cell Phones

What would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?


What if we carried it around in our purse or pocket?
What if we turned around to get it if we forgot it?
What if we flipped through it several times a day?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
What if we gave it to kids as gifts?
What if we used it when we traveled?
What if we used it in case of emergency?
What if we upgraded it to the latest version?

This is something to make you go....hmmmmm.....where is my Bible?

And, unlike our cell phone, we don't ever have to worry about our Bible being disconnected. Jesus has already paid the bill.


Author unknown

LUKE LIVE II

The Mission of the Twelve. (Luke 9:5-6)

Father Diluzio spoke on the passage of the Mission of the Twelve, especially verse 5-6 "And as for those who do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them. Then they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the good news and curing diseases everywhere."

He emphasized that "we are only meant to touch the ones we are meant to touch. To shake the dust off our feet actually refers to our own limitations to influence someone. We should not dig our feet into the soil and try to 'make someone love God', or become angry because 'they' don't 'know' what we know. As a child of God I need to 'Let God be God', accept the fact that I have limitations, acknowledge that I did my best, and know that the rest is prayer. Let Jesus help them, because I can't."

I smiled as I listened to Father Diluzio. I understood the concept. And I knew that it probably was time as a parish to move on. But maybe 'moving on' meant opening up and really sharing with each other what we have experienced these past few years as parishioners. Share our stories openly. Touch those we are meant to touch and then leave the rest up to the Lord. But for goodness sake, we must share. In whatever forums it takes, let's share. We shouldn't be afraid of the light should we?

Luke Live

I did not know if 'Luke Live' was going to be something that I would be interested in. After watching Father Diluzio at mass on Sunday, I thought that it was probably worth going to. And I am very glad that I put some things 'on hold' to attend the mission this week. A breath of fresh air!

It is really hard to write about all the things that went through my mind last week as I attended the mission. I find myself wanting to wait to write until I "have a handle" on exactly what I got out of it. But, that would mean that I would never write about it, so I guess I will just ramble on a couple of points..........day by day?

IDEAS FROM SUNDAY

I wrote three things down when I came home from last Sunday's homily ala Father Diluzio: That a sacrament means the 'sacred manifested'; Unity and forgiveness are linked together; and that God wants us to embrace diversity-- diversity does not hinder community. I thought the description of a sacrament was great and I wanted to use it with the confirmation kids.

The second thought about unity and forgiveness was food for thought. 'Unity' has been the buzzword around these parts for quite a while now. And I think a roundtable discussion about what the word meant to the parishioners would have been time well spent. I have asked many a person these past couple of years to give me three criteria that would show that our parish would finally be "unified". What was the "Holy Grail" of unity that we were supposed to try and attain?

Really, I would welcome some ideas on this subject, because sometimes I think we spent so much time spinning our wheels trying to attain a unity that had no criteria. Did 'unity' initially mean closing all the buildings and building a new church? Did it mean combining all of our programs when the Bishop's office told a parishioner that it really wasn't necesary(in the spirit of the closings) to combine everything? Or did it simply mean an spirit of cooperation to embrace what was working in the parishes, and shore up what was weak?
I watched (ok, and participated in!!) some heated discussions about what was good for 'unity' . And most of the time came away shaking my head. I thought we were basically rather unified. What do you think?

The Spirit in Numbers

Regarding Numbers 11:23-29, one of the readings from a recent Sunday liturgy:

From Navarre commentary on the Pentateuch: "God himself is the source of the spirit and He can give it to whomever he chooses, irrespective of human qualifications. Moses for his part, has absolutely the right attitude: he has no desire to monopolize the spirit or to be its only channel; he seeks only the people's welfare and is delighted to see signs of the spirit in other people; indeed he would like all the Israelites to have it."

Also noted in The Navarre commentary re: Num 11-23-29, this passage from Vatican II: "the holy people of God shares also in Christ's prophetic office: it spreads abroad a living witness to Him especially by a life of faith and love [. . .]It is not only through the sacraments and the ministrations of the Church that the Holy Spirit makes holy the people, leads them and enriches them with his virtues. Allotting his gifts according as he wills, he also distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank. By these gifts he makes them fit and ready to undertake various tasks and offices for the renewal and building up of the Church" (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, 12)

Checks and Balances

In a recent Christian newpaper, an article caught my attention in reference to the upcoming elections.

It was entitled: Last Words.

'If the founders believed that leaders would be inherently good, they wouldn't have set up such an elaborate system of checks and balances.'
--Steven Aftergood

Do you suppose that substituting 'Jesus' for founders and 'He' for they, it would be an appropriate comment for some of our religious leaders?

Food For Thought

Two monks were returning to their monastery when they discovered that the bridge over the nearby river had washed out. At the river's edge was a beautiful woman unable to cross because of the strong current. Because their vows forbade them from touching or even looking at a woman, the younger monk ignored her pleas for help. The elder monk, however, picked her up and carried her across the river on his back. Indignant, the young monk waited until they were alone again, and then asked: "How could you do such a thing?" "Brother," the elder monk said, "I put her down hours ago, but it seems that you have been carrying her all day."