You don't need a Xanax to keep from biting off someone's ear.

Today is January 26, 2017.   My son is obsessed with Trump jokes.  The internet pulse from the aftermath of the election is almost palpable.  The discord is real.  On the news last week two guys got into a political (Trump) argument and one guy bit off the other guys ear . . .  Right here in Pittsburgh.
Actually I think that is kind of symbolic.  We are not listening to each other, just waiting to interrupt.

This Sunday, the gospel is the "beatitudes" or Matthew Chapter Five.  How appropriate!  The beatitudes give us a sort of pattern for our lives.  None of which include taunting or biting (or grabbing).    All of which include living in a way that is Christ-like.  Why?   Because that is the path that we need to follow in order to be blessed or in modern translation HAPPY.  Who doesn't want to be happy?   We chase down a cornucopia of self help trends promising happiness but ignore the one that is 2,000 years old.   Jesus says, "Try this. . it really works!."  We say, "um I'd rather see what Ellen or Dr. Oz has to say."

Anxiety is at an all time high amongst teenagers.(According to the October 27 edition of Time Magazine).  Church attendance is at an all time low.   I see an inverse correlation.  If teens are not being taught how to be happy from the Bible, then who are they being taught this learned skill from?  Their peers?  TV?  Netflix?  Their parents?  This Sunday,  take out your ear buds, turn off your screen and get your butt to church.   Don't just sit there and daydream and look at your watch.  Listen.   Journal what each beatitude means to you.   Not sure?   Ask.
Overall they are about doing the right things for the right reasons.  Seeking peace and treating others with respect.  Still not sure. . . google them.  Even if you can only take one beatitude at a time and absorb it, live it then own it.  That is a great start.  You don't need a Xanax to keep from biting off someone's ear, you just need to be a peacemaker.

Today is Thanksgiving Eve and I am wondering. . .. what makes something "Thanks" worthy?  It is because it is new?  Expensive?  Much needed?  Much wanted? Given with love?  Maybe.   

OR maybe we should see what things are we NOT thankful for?   Illness?  Financial worries?  Rough times?   Relationship failures?  Employment or education failures?  

I think that we would better serve our spritiual growth if we could be thankful in all things:  good and bad.  The good things are nice and welcomed.  The things that we deem as bad may not really be bad at all. . .. maybe they are just misunderstood.  These are things that we should be thankful for because they help us grow.

Tomorrow be thankful for all things.  Because in the end, may it is all good.

Lemonade

Today is a cold day in New York.  I am here with the youth group on a ski trip.  It is ideal; for most of us. The skiers are in paradise, but only after standing in line to get tickets and rentals.  The ones that don't ski are swimming, but only after some debate as to what to do in this winter wonderland that doesn't involve strapping something to your feet.  One of us has a stomach virus, but is doing her best to keep a smile and avoid food.  I have a torn hamstring so I have a choice to either watch the skiers with my nose pushed up against the glass and whimper or blog, shop and go to the weight room.  My choice is obvious.

It occurs to me that often life is less than ideal.  Often television portrays such a romanticized version of life that we fall in to deep depression when our life does not turn out like it does on tv.  We don't have the house, the car, the clothes or the friends that our tv heroes have. We expect the same of love.  We see these romances that are beautiful and lovely, passionate and picture perfect, but love is not that way.. . .in the real world.  Love is stepping out of yourself to give to the other, and they do the same for you.  Love is more.  Love is more than flowers and candy.  Love is more than hopping in to bed.  Love is more than having a picnic in a field of wild flowers.  Love is praying for each other as they dive into their day.  Love is listening before offering an opinion.  Love is not trying to fix, but allowing to heal.  Love is covering them with a blanket when they fall asleep in the chair or offering to take this leg of the carpool because it's really snowing.
That is the kind of love that sometimes takes your breathe away but more often than not, allows you to catch your breath.

Yesterday we celebrated Valentine's Day.  Saint Valentine was a martyr because he believed in love, real love, true love, lasting love.  He performed Christian marriages even after the Romans forbade it.  His weddings were not ideal.  His life was not ideal.  But he took what he had, and made the most of it, enriching as many lives as he could.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  When life gives you snow, ski.  And when life gives you love, breathe it in and be glad that it is imperfectly real.

Angela Merici

Today my son and I drove into the city.  It is unually cold here in Pittsburgh, even for January.  I believe that they are calling this a "polar vortex".  The kids don't have school tomorrow because the wind chills will be somewhere around minus 30. Everyone is complaining.  They complain about the snow.  They complain about the cold.  They complain that their cars are dirty.  They complain that the kids are off.  They complain that heating bills are too high.  I saw a man today that was not complaining however.  He was standing bundled and huddled on a corner holding a styrofoam cup with a gloved hand and pleading eyes.

One of the reasons that St. Angela Merici is a saint is because she saw.  She saw what God needed her to do, she went to see the holy relics, she went out and saw the needy on the streets.  . . .and she was blind.  She did not see with eyes, but with her heart.

Maybe this is a time to see with our hearts.  As we sip our hot chocolate and see what is on Netflix, maybe pick up your Ipad and make a donation to Operation Safety Net or Catholic Charities, shovel a driveway for a neighbor, call a lonely relative, spend some extra time in prayer or even play a board game with your kids.

Maybe a polar vortex is not just a lack of heat, but also a lack of heart.