A Higgs-Boson particle goes into a church and the preacher says, "Higgs-Bosons aren't allowed in here. You call yourself the God particle; that's sacrilegious!" The Higgs-Boson particle says, "If you don't allow Higgs-Boson particles, how do you have mass?"
Have you been in an airport lately? Most everyone is busy with an iphone, ipad, blackberry or such techno device. Wouldn't it be marvellous if as many people were Theo-nerds and in touch hourly and daily with our Dad in heaven? That family is going to be around longer than the one we text from the airport.
What is the call of the Christian steward in today's world? What amazing results might we expect from the Year of Faith and the New Evangelization in the Catholic Church which comprises approximately half of the 2.1 billion Christians today?
The call for you and me is to grasp our Faith, to pray for Faith, to rediscover our Faith so that we can take the love of Jesus to our families, our fellow Christians and the world.
Fr. Ron Rolheiser says: "We are not only called to service by Godwe are consecrated by circumstance and need."
Ron uses this scenario: You are on your way to a restaurant to meet a friend for dinner when you witness a serious car accident. At that moment your own agenda is put on hold.
You are conscripted to urgent service. You cannot even call your friend to explain why you will be late until help is summoned. The Christian call is just as urgent! "No one who sets hand to the plough and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God" (Luke 6:60, 62).
God has given us special gifts to use in our lives. "Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God," Sudha Hemnani.
God's call is personal to each of us. "Only in the unfolding of the history of our lives and its events," Pope John Paul II said, "is the eternal plan of God revealed to each of us."
Being a disciple of Jesus Christ leads us to stewardship, to living each day in an intimate, personal relationship with the Lord. It is a key realization that we know of God's presence in our lives. Carl Jung had a sign in his house that said: Invited or not, God is present.
In our choices of personal vocation we need to safeguard our life and health, our intellectual and spiritual well-being, the well-being of others, material goods and resources, the natural environment, and the cultural heritage of mankind.
Jesus said, "If you wish to come after me, you must deny yourself and take up your cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23). Dietrich Bonhoffen speaks of "costly grace", what is required of us to be selfless, condemn sin, and put aside the craving for domination, possession and control.
We need to imitate the Saints. The cost is high, but the rewards are great: "I came so that they may have life and have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). Our mandate is to go out to all nations and spread the good news.
Remember, it is good news. The Resurrection trumps death and pain and suffering. It inspires us, like it did the disciples at that first Pentecost, to proclaim: We have seen the Lord!
