Look up

A Rosary Meditation: The Second Glorious Mystery, The Ascension.

“And he was taken up into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God.” Mark 16:19.

Can you imagine what it must have been like for the people there, on that day when Jesus left, as he ascended into Heaven? I’m very sure it was a once in a lifetime experience. Beyond that statement, well, honestly its a little difficult to know just what to say given that there’s so much that could be said. So we’ll stand back for a moment and just take a look at the crowd.

One thing is obvious. They all have their eyes on Christ. Now that’s a good example. Keeping their eyes on him they couldn’t go wrong, could they? Keeping their eyes on him insured they wouldn’t miss anything of importance, didn’t it? But what if …

What if, and I’ll use me now so I’ll not be accused of picking on anyone 😉 (most of the time I pick on me just for the fun of it anyway, saving my doctors the trouble … long, and funny, story, covering six and one half years, so just trust me here), I’d been there and I’d had my eyes on, oh, lets say the Apostle James? What would I have seen? I’d have seen James, a follower of Jesus and a good example. Now that’s a good thing isn’t it? Sure it is. Now, by watching James what would I have missed? Nothing if I was really watching James, or a lot if I’m not careful. I could have missed witnessing the ascension of Jesus if I was focused on James in the wrong way. I could have missed watching Jesus, I could have missed the main event wouldn’t I?

We all want to go to Heaven. Our dying in the Grace of God and making Heaven is a kind of personal spiritual ascension, isn’t it? And God gives us good personal examples, like James, to help us get to Heaven. So its OK to watch James so long as I have the right mind set and know WHY I’m watching James. But lets look at me standing there again, with my eyes on James but not paying the right kind of attention. I’m human so for a while I’m so caught up in watching James that I forget WHY I’m watching James. (I should be watching James because he is a good example of JESUS.) I’m missing the Ascension but I am watching a godly example. I’m watching a saint. But am I really? Because if I’m really watching St. James I’d see where it was he was looking and I’d look there too, wouldn’t I? And then I wouldn’t miss anything, would I?

We can watch the people around us. Depending on our intent and their actions watching them is a good thing or its not. Maybe we’re getting a good example out of the deal. We’ll hope so. We’re getting a good example if they’re looking up because we’ll be prompted to look up as well.

“Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these things … ” Isaiah 40:26a, Douay-Rheims.

Just a thought … What ever else we do our primary focus needs to be looking up, looking up to Jesus.

P.S. … I may or may not miss a few days soon. I don’t think I will, but I might. I’m kinda in a rather intense study mode right now and I loose myself and all track of time as well. Short version: I forget everything, eating, sleeping, etc. except study. So if I come up missing for a day or two you can put it down to … A, Extreme focus (being the kind view) ~ or ~ B, Senility (being what’s probably the more correct view) … Once again saving my doctors the trouble of kidding me. (Amongst other things I had at some point, although I don’t remember it, a brain scan. My doctor tells me the results didn’t show any thing. 😉 )

The Blessing

A Rosary Meditation: The Second Glorious Mystery, The Ascension.

“Now he lead them out towards Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed them.” Luke 24:50.

The culmination of 33 years, Christ’s life on earth, ends in a blessing. But then that was what he was all about, wasn’t it? Blessings were his business.

Jesus was always a blessing to those around him. Healing the sick, casting out demons, preaching the truths of the kingdom, offering forgiveness when no one else would. And he was willing to be a blessing to those who hated him if only they’d soften their hearts. It wasn’t Jesus who refused them the blessing, it was them who held it at arms length. God help us all. The crowd that screamed at Pilate, “Crucify him!”, and, “We have no king but Caesar!”, even these he allowed a blessing. They shouted, “Let his blood be upon us and our children!” Without realizing it, meaning to call down a curse upon themselves, they called down a blessing instead. What greater blessing than to be covered by the Blood of Jesus?

Here, in the above scripture, he is about to ascend into Heaven. But before he leaves his faithful few he blesses them one more time and then sends them into all the world to make disciples of all nations. One way of looking at that is this: He blessed them so that they could carry the blessing to others. And then he ascended, leaving them (us) to do his work.

Jesus was a blessing to others and still is. Through his Church. We’re supposed to be like him in all things. And if we’re a blessing like he was? Someday we’ll experience our own ascension, with our own resurrection bodies. Then we’ll be with him for eternity. Which was the plan all along.

“And if I shall go, and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will take you to myself; that where I am, you also may be.” John 14:3, Douay-Rheims.

Just a thought … Looking forward to a resurrection (glorified) body? Me too. I think I’m overdue for a trade in. Yesterday my blood work all looked good. Thank you for your prayers. 🙂

The Two Kinds of Ascending … Saturday, September 7

Makes it look easy, doesn’t He?

A Rosary Meditation … The Second Glorious Mystery, the Ascension. Have you ever considered the power involved in Christ Ascending? It’s not just anyone who can overcome gravity. If you don’t believe me try a simple experiment. Jump up as high as you can. OK, now hold that position. I suppose only the Creator of gravity can control it. In ascending Christ proved His power over creation, proving Himself to be the Author of creation. He proved some other things too. In ascending He rose above the meanness of a sinful world, rose above the pettiness of those with no faith but great jealousy, rose above the pains of death and the grave that would hold those pains and their sufferer. Now, as Christians, we live in Christ. In sharing His life we share in the things of His life. Like crosses. But there’s more to living than carrying crosses. There’s also rising above. We can, if we’ll appropriate it, share in His ascension here and now. We do this by “rising above”. You can rise above meanness, pettiness, jealousy, violence, vulgarity, and ultimately death and the hole it crawls off into, by remaining, abiding, in Christ, living in Him, living with Him, living for Him, letting Him live through you. If you don’t believe me try a simple experiment. Raise your mind and heart to God. OK, now hold that position.

Today …

Saint Regina (Regnia, French: Sainte Reine) (3rd century) was a virgin martyr and saint of the Catholic Church. Regina was born in Autun, France, to a pagan named Clement. Her mother died at her birth and her father repudiated her. She then went to live with a Christian nurse who baptized her. Regina helped out by tending the sheep. She communed with God in prayer and meditated on the lives of the saints. In other words, despite the pagan and uncaring world around her, with the help of another Christian, her nurse, she “rose above”. She was betrothed to the proconsul Olybrius, but refused to renounce her faith to marry him, for which she was tortured and was beheaded at Alesia in the diocese of Autun, called Alise-Sainte-Reine after her. Her martyrdom is considered to have occurred either during the persecution of Decius, in 251, or under Maximian in 286. Either way, she rose above. You’ll recall that she did have help. The good Christian nurse. No log burns alone. One of the tools Jesus has supplied us with, a help in overcoming, is each other. St. Regina knows all about this. The next time you need help in rising above a person, place, or thing you might like to talk with her about it. Experienced friends, and she is one, are great assets.

Think … No log burns alone. But put enough of them (us) together and they can provide a fire that will enlighten the world. And warm cold hearts.

Listen to Saint Pio … Wednesday, July 17

Saint Padre Pio stated: “Through the study of books one seeks God; by meditation one finds him”.

A Rosary Meditation … The Second Glorious Mystery, the Ascension. “Keep your eyes fixed on Him who is your guide to the heavenly country, where He is leading you. What does it matter to you whether Jesus wishes to guide you to Heaven by way of the desert or by the meadow, so long as He is always with you and you arrive at the possession of a blessed eternity?” ~ St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina. When Jesus ascended into Heaven His followers stood there, looking up, looking after Him, watching Him ascend. Jesus is our guide to Heaven, just as Padre Pio said. We can look at the  desert around us and feel slighted, depressed, uncared for, and so take our eyes off Jesus. We can look at the beautiful wonders around us and become so engrossed in them that we lose sight of Jesus. It’s not that we need to be unaware of what goes on around us, we do. It’s just that we need to always remember what’s primary and keep our focus, our priorities, fixed on not the more important aspects of living but on the MOST important aspect of our lives, which aspect is the Giver of Life itself, Jesus. We need to keep looking up, looking after Jesus, with the sure knowledge that this same Jesus will come again. When He comes back what will He find us intent upon? Him or our surroundings? Our priorities matter to Him, they need to matter to us.

Today …

St. Marcellina

St. Marcellina was the daughter of the prefect of Gaul and sister of St. Ambrose. She was born at Trier, Gaul. She went to Rome with her family when she was quite young, and was consecrated to a religious life by Pope Liberius in 353. She lived a life of great austerity, which St. Ambrose tried to persuade her to mitigate when she went to Milan to visit him. It was to Marcellina that he dedicated his treatise on virginity, Libri III de virginibus ad Marcellinam. She obviously had her priorities straight. She’d be a good prayer partner for setting priorities and knowing what those should, and shouldn’t, be.

Consider … Satan knows how to set priorities too. “Have courage and do not fear the assaults of the Devil. Remember this forever; it is a healthy sign if the devil shouts and roars around your conscience, since this shows that he is not inside your will.” ― Padre Pio.

Not seeing can be believing if we know how to look … Wednesday, June 12

A Rosary Meditation … The Second Glorious Mystery, the Ascension. “And was taken up into heaven, and sits  at the right hand of God.” Mark 16:19.

      Dear brothers and sisters, the Ascension does not indicate the absence of Jesus, but tells us that He is alive among us in a new way; He is no longer in a definite place in the world as He was before the Ascension; He is now in the lordship of God, present in all space and time, next to each of us. We are never alone in our lives: We have this advocate who waits for us, we are never alone, ​​the Crucified and Risen Lord guides us, and with us there are many brothers and sisters who in silence and obscurity, in their family life and work, in their problems and difficulties, their joys and hopes, live their faith every day and, together with us, bring to the world the lordship of God’s love.  ~ Pope Francis, April 17, 2013 Audience.

      When we think of the Ascension we think of the leaving. We ought rather to concentrate on the coming. Christ is the Light of the world. God doesn’t mean for this Light to be hidden, and when Jesus ascended He became if anything all the more visible. How? Because we no longer think of Him as being in just one place. Because we know He is everywhere assessable we look for Him and find Him in all places, in every corner of the world, in every corner of our lives. If we’re willing we can find Him in every corner of our hearts. We also have a tendency to remember that the Ascension is a kind of prelude to the Second Coming. So we look for Him all the more, and the more we look the more we see of Him. We see Him in the works of a Mother Teresa, in the words of a Pope Francis, in the eyes of a child where the joy blooms when they hold a kitten for the first time. Jesus Ascended, but He never left. For folks who think He did, well, maybe they just need to look a little closer to home.

      Today …

Bl. Lorenzo Salvi

Lorenzo Salvi di Mazzeria was born at Rome on October 30, 1782. He studied for the priesthood at Jesuit-run the Collegio Romano in Rome; his classmates included the future Pope Gregory XVI. He was greatly impressed by the preaching and zeal of Saint Vincent Strambi and soon followed him into the Passionist Congregation. He became a novice at Monte Argentario in 1801, the first monastery of the Passionists. He received the religious name Lorenzo Maria of Saint Francis Xavier and professed his vows on 20 November 1802, being ordained priest on 29 December 1805. The anti-clerical laws of Napoleon saw the Passionist house suppressed and its members dispersed. When at last Lorenzo was able to return to Passionist life he preached missions and encouraged devotion to the Passion of Christ, these two things being the hallmarks of the Passionist life. He was devoted to the Infant Jesus and often wrote about and preached on the wonders of the Incarnation, and ever since he has been depicted in religious art with a picture of the Child Jesus. He was made Rector of the Passionist mother house in Rome, SS John and Paul, but spent much of his time preaching missions. His Vice-Rector was Blessed Dominic Barberi. He died at Capranica, Viterbo, Italy of natural causes. Doesn’t sound like this saint lost sight of Jesus, does it?

Think … There is more to vision than natural sight.

“Don’t worry, be happy” … Saturday, May 25

The Ascension of Christ. Remember that leaving always precedes coming back.

A Rosary Meditation … The Second Glorious Mystery, the Ascension. “And behold, I am with you all days, even unto the consummation of the world.” Matthew 28:20. Has the world ended? Of course not. Admittedly it often looks as if it’s about to, and given all the signs it may not last much longer. But remember history. In 1844 lots of folks were scared to death because, due to a misunderstanding of prophecy, they thought Christ was about to return. Thousands gathered on hillsides. There were some selling white robes, “wedding garments”, so that you could be ready to meet Jesus. In the year 1,000 a.d. there was wide-spread panic across Europe. Everybody thought that year would mark the end. I guess it was another version of Y2K. Y1K in this instance. The world is still here and there’s no reason to fret about the end. Its better to expend that energy on being ready. Then the end will take care of itself and we can get on with living our daily lives. Whenever the end transpires it’s still future tense. Until then? Why WOULD we worry? People often concentrate on the end here and miss the beginning of the sentence. “I am with you all days.” There is no reason to worry about the end if we remain with Jesus in the NOW. Sure He left. But it’s just as sure that He’ll come back. Until then He has not left us comfortless. He is here with us in the Eucharist, He is brought to us and represented by the Holy Spirit, and in a very real way He’s here with us through His Body, the Church. And all of this will last until He returns physically. Its like the song: “Don’t worry, be happy.” With Him to be with now and look forward to later why wouldn’t we be happy?

Today …

St. Manuel Moralez

 

 

Manuel Moralez was a Seminarian in Durango, MX. On July 29, 1929, Manuel was speaking at a rally and was captured by anti-church forces. Manuel was offered his freedom if he denounced the church. He declined. Manuel is considered a Martyr of the Cristera War. Proving that the world ends for some of us early and that, if you just can’t wait  for the return of Christ, the world is more than willing to provide any of us with a one way ticket into the presence of God.

Think … Many people may be only one act of kindness away from meeting a true Christian.

Believing … Wednesday, May 8

“Deliver us from evil.”

A Rosary Meditation … The Second Glorious Mystery, the Ascension. “But he who does not believe shall be condemned.” Mark 16:16. Lends a whole new meaning to phrases like, “I disagree with the Church concerning fill-in-the-blank,” or, “Well, I know the Church teaches such-and-such, but ~ I ~ think & etc.” When Jesus ascended who did He leave in charge? The folks who make comments like these? If you listen to them you’d think so. I think that they probably already think so. I never will forget someone saying, someone who took the Magisterium to task over the “mistakes” ~ THEY ~ saw, “Its my job to keep the Church in line.” Ego. EGO. Since when did the Holy Spirit go on coffee break and designate this guy supervisor til He gets back?! OK, now that that’s out of my system (it’s not really, I just don’t want to bore everyone with my harping), what did Jesus say just before He ascended, and has He been back since then to change or qualify the statement? We have to believe, don’t we? And that’s in force until He returns. But believe what? That answer is simple. Believe the Gospel. The next logical question is, “What is the Gospel?”, followed quickly by, “Who has the authority to tell me what the Gospel, in its entirety, comprises?” Short version, otherwise you’d never read this post because I’d be typing for eternity, the Gospel is the Good News about Christ and His message and the people He left in charge (and NOT the ones who claim authority “just because”), His Church, are the only ones with the authority to explain these truths. Period. There is no “but” anywhere in any of these concepts. And regardless of what some think, do, and teach its going to be that way until He gets back. It’s then that the believers and the non-believers, the sheep and the goats, get separated. It’s then that a condemnation from which there is no escape is proclaimed. Until then however He waits in Heaven to hear the confessions of the non-believers as they pour out their hearts to His priests, the men authoritatively designated as those who share in His Divine Priesthood. Maranatha.

Today … St. Abran. He was a hermit and also called Gibrian. From Ireland, Abran, the eldest of five brothers and three sisters, sailed to Brittany with his siblings. There all of them continued their hermitages and greatly influenced the people of the area. Abran and his brothers and sisters were all declared saints. Have you ever noticed what an effect hermits seem to have on the people around them? They live in seclusion, you’d think no one would see them and that their example would go unnoticed. But the opposite is true. Why? Simple. Because they’re faithful, because they’re obedient, because they know Who the Boss is and it ain’t them.

Consider … People confessing with their mouths that they believe, but not believing in their hearts God’s One True message, aren’t impressing or fooling God. They are however setting themselves up for a fall that they themselves will not be impressed by, neither will they be fooled by it. Now is the time for turning around. Now is the time for confession. Jesus ascended. The point here being that that won’t last. What happens when He returns is what lasts.

If Heaven was empty … Wednesday, April 3

Agape, Chionia, and Irene (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A Rosary Meditation … The Second Glorious Mystery, the Ascension. “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.” Mark 16:16. More last-minute instructions for the ones He’s leaving in charge of His Body, His Church. Instructions meant to help others gain Heaven, avoid hell. Have you ever wondered what Heaven would be like without the angels? Without your guardian angel? Without the saints? Without us? Without … you? Jesus gave lots of instructions, a great many helps, His own self on the cross, so that we could be in Heaven with Him. It must be awfully important to Him that we be there. So what would it be like if we weren’t? What would Heaven be like if it was empty? Oh, I know God would be there. He’s everywhere. But if you set that thought aside for a minute and just ask, “What would Heaven be like if it were empty?”, what answer will we get? Put yourself in Jesus’ place. He’s as truly human as He is truly God you know. What would Heaven be like for you if YOU were the only one there? Alone. Would it still be Heaven? Would being alone for all eternity be Heaven? Or would it be another kind of hell? Our being there is one thing, our being there with Him is another thing. Togetherness is what matters most here. God’s Church, His people (plural), comprise a family unit. This is obviously one of the things God wants, for us all to be there, together. Its important enough that His last words to the Church’s leadership were instructions meant to help us get there, to help them get us there. There’s a lot more to the seemingly simple words “baptized” and “saved” than first come to mind. Its much more than dictionary definitions. It’s the reality of family, REAL and lasting family. And that is God’s will.

Today … St. Agape (“agape” means “love”) and her sisters Chionia and Irene, family, Christians of Thessalonica, Macedonia, were convicted of possessing texts of the Scriptures despite a decree issued in 303 by Emperor Diocletian naming such possessions a crime punishable by death. We think things like that unheard of today. Not so. It hasn’t been that long ago that, under British rule, it was illegal to own a Rosary in Ireland. And did you ever try smuggling Bibles into the U.S.S.R.? Or have you checked on the freedom granted (denied) to Catholics in North Korea, Vietnam, China? But this family of faithful Christians, after they had refused to sacrifice to pagan gods, the governor, Dulcitius, had Agape and Chionia burned alive. When Irene still refused to recant, Dulcitius ordered her sent to a house of prostitution. There she was unmolested after being exposed naked and chained, she was put to death either by burning or by an arrow through her throat. Happily, having followed the directions left by Christ and taught by the hierarchy of His Church, they are still together, still family, with a multitude of other family members. And Heaven is far from empty.

Consider … “There is only one path to Heaven. On Earth, we call it Love.” ~ Anonymous ~

 

Obedience or Self-will? We have the freewill to choose … Wednesday, March 6

The Exhortation to the Apostles. Jesus gives direction. He has the authority to do this. Who did He pass this authority on to before He ascended? Was it passed on? Are we obligated to be obedient to this authority? What are the consequences of being disobedient?  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A Rosary Meditation … The Second Glorious Mystery, the Ascension. “Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:20. Here we read some of the last words of Jesus, instructions to His Apostles, the men He had chosen to be the earthly leaders of His Church. “Teaching them.” “Them” being everybody else, the world at large, until He returned. “Them” is as much you and me as it is anybody else. Sometimes what isn’t said is just as important as what is. Notice that He said “teach”. How do you teach anyone anything? By word and by example. By the way, those two need to match up. You’ll  notice that He didn’t say “record all that I’ve commanded you”. The Apostles were given the authority to teach making them the teaching authority. That’s not all that hard to understand, even tho some people seem to have great difficulty with the concept. Which is a matter of self-will, pure and simple. With recording it all in mind you might like to stop now and read John 21:25. It goes like this: “But there are also many other things which Jesus did; which, if they were written every one, the world itself, I think, would not be able to contain the books that should be written.” So why waste time trying? Just go about the business of teaching, let other people write the books as needed. Note that the early Church didn’t do what they read in the Bible because the Bible as we have it didn’t exist. It took quite some time for the New Testament to be written, and longer for the various manuscripts to be collected and put together. Decisions had to be made as to which were inspired and which ones weren’t because a lot of people had written down a lot, some good, some bad, some inspired. And who was the judged of what was true and right? The Church as guided by God’s Spirit. So what did believers do without the Book? The did what they were told, not what they read. That’s because there was nothing to read. And those men commissioned to teach? Two things. Number one, not everyone was given the task of teaching. Number two, the men that were given the responsibility to teach passed on that responsibility to others. Many times in the New Testament we read about the original men in authority laying hands on others, ordaining them, and so passing the torch of authority on. And that’s been taking place, all in an unbroken line, for 2,000 years. Want to see a descendant of the Apostles? Go look at a bishop.  There was no question, then, as to who had authority and who it was that was subject to the authority. All of this was set in motion, put in place, by Jesus before He left. There were no loopholes. It’s never been about private interpretation of scripture. “Understanding this first, that no prophecy of scripture is made by private interpretation.” 2 Peter 1:20. So why do people do it, why make their own ideas dogma and claim its of God, that God “spoke” to them in their heart? “The heart is perverse above all things, and unsearchable, who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9. Why make their own selves the authority as to God’s will, God’s plan? Easy. Pride, self-will. And the answer to this problem is as simple as the problem itself. “Let every soul be subject to higher powers: for there is no power but from God: and those that are, are ordained of God.” Romans 13:1. If this is true in the worldly realm how much more in the spiritual? Jesus gave us directions before He left. What we do with them proves to Him our sincerity in following Him. “And why call you me, Lord, Lord; and do not the things which I say?” Luke 6:46. What we do with His last-minute instructions just before His ascension is up to us. He gave us free will. But what He does about our response when He returns is another matter. “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels: and then will he render to every man according to his works.” Matthew 16:27.

Today … St. Colette. Colette was the daughter of a carpenter named DeBoilet at Corby Abbey in Picardy, France. She was born on January 13, christened Nicolette, and called Colette. Orphaned at seventeen, she distributed her inheritance to the poor. She became a Franciscan tertiary, and lived at Corby as a solitary. She soon became well-known for her holiness and spiritual wisdom, but left her cell in 1406 in response to a dream directing her to reform the Poor Clares. She received the Poor Clares habit from Peter de Luna, whom the French recognized as Pope under the name of Benedict XIII, with orders to reform the Order and appointing her Superior of all convents she reformed. Despite great opposition, she persisted in her efforts. She founded seventeen convents with the reformed rule and reformed several older convents. She was renowned for her sanctity, ecstasies, and visions of the Passion, and prophesied her own death in her convent at Ghent, Belgium. A branch of the Poor Clares is still known as the Collettines. She was canonized in 1807. Here is a grand example of someone who followed directions in the right way rather than her way and helped others do the same.

Proverbs 29:2 … “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.“

Have you signed up for your wokers compensation? … Saturday, February 16

Work. Its called that for a reason. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A Rosary Meditation … The Second Glorious Mystery, the Ascension. “Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19. Work, pure and simple. Jesus ascends , He leaves, and He leaves us with something to do. Faith without works is no doubt dead in more ways than one. Have you ever considered what the faith would be like if all it consisted of was believing with nothing more involved? “Thou believest that there is one God. Thou dost well: the devils also believe and tremble.” James 2:19. We’d be in poor company if it was just about believing and nothing else, wouldn’t we? Maybe Jesus has given us things to do in order to keep us away from just such companionship. Idle hands are the devils workshop. I had a priest tell me once that old sayings get to be old because they’re true. The “idle hands” thing is one of those I’m sure. A Christian without work to do would probably end up a flabby spiritual mess. Now that’s a pretty picture, isn’t it? Ever see an angel depicted as fat? And no, I’m not picking on the weight impaired. I am one of those. I’m just saying that with faith there has to be work to do. Without work we’d loss our focus and our faith with it. So the next time it looks like there’s nothing to do look again. Some ideas: Go on-line and blog, maybe try to touch someone else in a constructive way. Get out the checkbook and re-figure, because even $5 can make all the difference in the world to a person in a third world country. If you’re physically able maybe you could mow the yard for the old lady down the street. She lives alone and is on fixed income and would be glad for both the company and the chance to have the yard mowed without having it cost money she doesn’t really have. Maybe you could go to a restaurant and, if you’re blessed to have a little cash, pay the tab for the couple across the room. Just tell the waitress, give her the money and, without their knowing it, get up and leave. All of this boils down to one thing: There’s more than one way to carry the Gospel. There’s more than one way to share good news.

Today … St. Daniel. Died in 309, He and four companions, Elias, Isaias, Jeremy and Samuel were Egyptians who visited Christians condemned to work in the mines of Cilicia during Maximus persecution, to comfort them. Apprehended at the gates of Caesarea, Palestine, they were brought before the governor, Firmilian, and accused of being Christians. They were all tortured and then beheaded. When Porphyry, a servant of St. Pamphilus demanded that the bodies be buried, he was tortured and then burned to death when it was found he was a Christian. Seleucus witnessed his death and applauded his constancy in the face of his terrible death; whereupon he was arrested by the soldiers involved in the execution, brought before the governor and was beheaded at Firmilian’s order. All of this sounds like work, doesn’t it? That’s because it was and is.

You know … Everything worthwhile takes effort. The most worthwhile thing of all is God’s Gospel. We ought not be surprised when it costs time, money, talent, blood, sweat, and tears. So we might as well get used to it. And remember. As Christians we have the greatest of workers compensation programs.