Dear Subscribers –
Beginning with the week of Easter, April 20, 2025, the blog you have known for the last six years as “A Catholic Deacon’s Perspective” will no longer reflect only my thoughts but will be renamed as “A Catholic Clergy’s Perspective.”
Added writers will be Bishop Kevin Vann, Ordinary of the Diocese of Orange, California, and Father Glenn Baaten, a former Episcopalian priest, ordained into the Roman Catholic Church as a priest. Both spiritual leaders will author articles on a periodic basis based upon the time they have to devote to the blog. I will continue to offer my weekly articles based on the Sunday Gospels and readings for the three-year cycle of A, B and C along with various current events that challenge us to balance our humanity with our spiritual lives.
As always, I invite you to have an open mind and to offer positive comments from your perspective about what is being offered.
Thank you to those subscribers who have been with me all these years and welcome to new readers that will be added when Bishop Vann and Father Baaten join Easter week.
God Bless,
Deacon Jim Merle
One of the most
well-known Gospels is written by Saint Luke entitled: “The Prodigal Son.” It’s a
great story of God’s love for His people as portrayed by a loving father who
tries his best to provide his two sons with everything he can offer; whether
they live with him in resentment or leave him and return because the pain of
being separated is too difficult to bear.
Last week In St. Paul’s
first letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 10, Verse 12, he wrote: “…whoever
thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.” It could have been written with this week’s
Gospel for the self-absorbed sons who lived charmed lives on their father’s
estate. We often fall into this distracted type of life and find it difficult
to balance reality of what the word offers with God’s call for us.
When we are young, time
seems to move too slowly. We want quicker results so we can advance in the type
of life we believe is best for us. This usually reflects wealth, power and fame
so that we are in control of our life. This is the path taken by the younger
son who squandered his fortune on dissolute behavior leading to a sinful life.
Self-absorption also
can happen to those who seemingly represent the status quo of minding a life
that’s upright in all the basic areas of providing food, clothing and shelter,
but carry a deep-seated resentment because either no one appreciates what they
view as a sacrifice or they are treated unfairly because they are silent about
their perceived injustices. This is the
path taken by the older brother.
Neither of these paths
will lead directly to a fulfilled life unless those on the paths stop to take
stock of where the journey is leading and how to change that which leads one
astray. In the case of the younger brother, tough times brought him “to his
senses” to return home and find relief from his plight. With the older brother,
nothing ever was enough, so we do not know if he ever found himself as a worthy
family member to be loved as he wanted to be loved or ended up in a permanent
separation, distant and alone?
What we do know is that
God has called us by our Baptism to seek not the hollow gifts of a world with
no end-game plan, but one in which the promises of eternal salvation are within
our reach if we repent and have a change of heart towards following the ways of
God in our love for Him and His creation.
We need to remain patient, because God’s life plan for us is one in
which we can reap the benefits over time rather than squander them when we feel
the necessity.
No less important is to live a lie that over time will destroy our very lives unless we receive some type of reward to compensate us for our time. For us, the question is: When is enough, enough? We are going around in circles and nothing gets accomplished.
The answer for both
conditions is to pick another path that will respond with obvious positive
reinforcements toward an end that helps us recognize God’s love for us and how
we are to reciprocate that love to God and all that He has created. God is
always there for us. He never abandons us in either good or troubled times. But
we need to acknowledge how that love can be effective for all who follow God by
being active through our works in tandem with our faith belief in thought and
word.
What ONE THING can we do this week to be
effective in someone’s life? Do you know someone who is sick who could use a
visit to cheer him or her up? Do you know someone who is suffering a divorce
who is confused and needs help to understand the loss of a loved one? This
would also go for people who have lost their jobs, are homeless, poor, or
incarcerated. Being present can help them understand that they are still a
member of God’s community.
Lastly, never give up. If
a path toward betterment is not working, try another one. God has given us all
remarkable talents to use for ourselves and others. Do not stop because one is
not working as well in one situation as it has in others from the past. Collaboration
with God may take trust and time because it needs to be right for the person
being affected. You will find the right road and so will the person to whom you
are helping. That is a promise of God for those seeking salvation who in
discipleship spread the Word about God’s Kingdom of Love.
First Reading: Joshua 5:9a, 10 – 12
Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:17 – 21
Gospel: Luke 15:1 – 3, 11 - 32
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