For those who live in urban areas, seeing a poor person like Lazarus in St. Luke’s Gospel is a normal scenario.  Exit ramps from highways, expressways and freeways are filled with people begging for help due to being homeless or hungry.  Whether it is a lone figure or a family, the cardboard signs with dark writing cannot help but catch the eye of those passing by.  And, most do just pass by without an offer to help.

Have you ever heard the saying: I would rather be clever than smart?  I even used it myself when I was much younger.  It was a trait that peaked my imagination to allow me to be creative.  People seemed to be more responsive when I said or did something either because it seemed to make sense or it made me look like I knew something they did not.

Once a month the clergy of our parish meet for Morning Prayer followed by a light breakfast to discuss what is happening in the Church, our parish and in our lives.  Several weeks ago the topic landed on the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the feedback clergy hear from those who take advantage of this sacred rite.  The consensus was that though the laity initially accepts their forgiveness by God through the priest, they linger with the thought that it may be more of a pacifier for what is happening.  The belief being that God still holds it in His heart when it comes to making decisions about our life and afterlife.

In the realm of relationships each one is unique even though there are identifying traits that psychologist, psychiatrists and scientists have data that often proves the outcomes are consistent no matter the person involved.  The uniqueness comes when we interact with one another and the outcome produces or provides an avenue of action to change something for better or worse.

On the last Saturday of July I received a card from the wife of a man I have known for 61 years.  After four and half years of suffering from stage four colon cancer he passed. Joe, not his real name, was one of my oldest friends and we considered each other as brothers because neither of us had siblings.

I have come to the conclusion that prayer is a life-long process that evolves over time.  None of us awakens one day and says okay I finally figured out this prayer thing.  It is more a time of questioning and trying to ascertain how we should pray to God.

One of the traits I have noticed about people, myself included, is that we have a curious nature that seeks to learn about the world around us; especially as it relates to others.  Initially, it is about looking for things in common.  If we find enough we like about someone, we begin to recognize differences by accident or on purpose.  When we have satisfied our curiosity, we make a decision to continue in relationship with someone or to go elsewhere.

In mid1975 I was hired by a national wholesale nursery company as a regional salesman to represent them in the new territory of southern California and Nevada and all of Arizona.  In addition, I would continue to handle their firm’s public relations.  I closed my public relations/advertising agency and my wife and I sold our home and moved our family of four children under the age of seven from the Chicago area to Southern California.

About every five years or so there is a knock at our front door usually by two young men each nicely dressed in a white shirt, tie, dark colored pants and suspenders.  They always have smile on their face, some pamphlets in their hands and sometimes a bible.  They introduce themselves by name and tell us they are from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

As a baptized believer in the Catholic faith my parents and godparents made a promise on my behalf as a child that I will love God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) with my whole heart, soul, mind and strength and all that God has created as Jesus loves us.  My Confirmation followed up with that by my personal attestation that I will, with the help of the Holy Spirit, continue in that belief and work to bring those in need into the Church. 

All things, good or bad, come to an end in some way, shape or form.  When it happens, we usually have mixed emotions depending on our part in it and our expectations.  That is how the Apostles felt at the end of Christ’s ministry on earth.  All of them started out doing something unrelated to becoming future Church leaders who will expand a faith belief for the world.  We know from Scripture that in their three years with Jesus prior to His demise as a human they wanted to follow in Jesus footsteps.  Following His death, resurrection and visit with them, many initially returned to their former life because they were confused in their future.  After spending an additional 40 days with Jesus ending with His Ascension, they reverted back to the desire of spiritual involvement.

(SUBSCRIBERS AND READERS)

For those who have access to social media, television or the written media, you know that many societies throughout the world are self-centered in their approach to life.  Wealth, Power and Fame are the main catalyst on one side and being downtrodden by multiple circumstances is another.  It almost seems hopeless that we will ever live in a society that not only offers equality, but practices it in all we think, say and do.  That being the case, how can we ever love one another as Jesus loves us?