Gulf Pine Catholic - page 4

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Gulf Pine Catholic
June 3, 2016
Michael, my first cousin, found love
later in life. Julie, a hair stylist, was
to be his soulmate. They set a date for
the nuptials and yours truly was asked
if he might be willing to perform the
wedding ceremony. An affirmative and
plans were set in motion. We commit-
ted July 9, 2016, to our sparse calendar.
A beaming couple had discovered they
were soulmates and prepared to spend
the rest of their lives living out a com-
mitment in marriage.
Then it happened. It was Wednes-
day, March 9, it was a beautiful spring day. For a change, there
was no rain. The buds on the shrubs and trees in my garden
echoed the arrival of spring and hope. Aphone call and all that
changed in the blinking of an eye.
Michael sat in the cab of the truck. He slumped over the
wheel and died of a massive heart attack.
Before now, I was looking forward to celebrating a wed-
ding. Now, instead, I was celebrating a funeral. How cruel
life can be! One moment, you are planning on standing by
the altar waiting for your beaming and blushing bride to walk
down the aisle. The next moment, you are lying in a casket
and the would-be bride cries buckets of tears instead of bucket
of smiles.
Many of us would like to have a peaceful ride through
life - no rollercoaster, no bumps and bruises; no pain and lots
of gain; no crosses and only victories; no rain and lots of sun-
shine. Riding the crest of the wave instead of living in the pits.
Lots of plans and no interruptions.
Our first response in a time like this is “ Why? Why rob
a couple of a special day in July? Did they not deserve some-
thing to look forward to; something to plan for; something to
enjoy for a lifetime? Why rob them of a lifetime of joy and
love? What did they do to deserve love to be wrenched from
their hearts?”
Life isn’t fair, we say. Yet, ironically, death is the fairest
thing in the world. No one’s ever gotten out of it. The earth
takes everyone -- the kind, the cruel, the saints, the sinners.
Aside from that, there’s no fairness on earth.
Each day of human life contains joy and anger, pain and
pleasure, darkness and light, growth and decay. Each moment
is etched with nature’s grand design.
One of the lessons I learned from Hurricane Katrina was
that God has never created a storm that lasts forever. And de-
spite the darkness of the most foreboding storm clouds, the
sun is always shining somewhere. The challenge becomes
adjusting one’s perception of events enough to recognize the
presence of God within the experience.
Life is a collection of moments we would have appreci-
ated more if we had only known they were moments. All of us
have had our moments with loved ones; some may be fleet-
ing moments; others may be lifetime, family moments; some
may be casual encounters; others may be lifelong happenings;
some may be sad moments; others may be moments of joy
and happiness; some may be moments of finally finding a true
soulmates and all the special trips, encounters, plans, prom-
ises made and yet to be celebrated.
I am reminded of something that popular spiritual writer,
Henry Nouwen. wrote: “Life is short in expectation, a time
in which sadness and joy kiss each other at every moment.
There is a quality of sadness that pervades all the moments
of our life. It seems that there is no such thing as a clear-
cut pure joy, but that even in the most happy moments of our
existence, we sense a tinge of sadness. In every satisfaction,
there is an awareness of limitations. In every success, there is
a fear of jealousy. Behind every smile, there is a tear. In every
embrace, there is a loneliness. In every friendship, distance.
And in all forms of light, there is a knowledge of surrounding
darkness. But this intimate experience in which every bit of
life is touched by a bit of death, can point us beyond the limits
of our existence. It can do so by making us look forward in ex-
pectation to the day when our hearts will be filled with perfect
joy, a joy that no one shall take away from us.”
Father Michael Tracey is retired and lives in Ireland.
He can be contacted by email at
. His
website is
Joy tainted with sorrow
Across
the Pond
Fr. Tracey
Never call yourself a bad person, but rather “a saint-
in-training.” That’s the advice of former Director of
The Christophers
Father John Catoir, and it’s a truth he
learned from his years counseling people as part of his
priestly ministry.
Father Catoir led
The Christophers
from the late
1970s to the mid-1990s, and the job was a dream come
true for him. I recently interviewed him on
“Christo-
pher Closeup,”
and we took a short stroll down mem-
ory lane. He recalled being a fan of the Christopher
message since he watched early Christopher films in
grammar school.
On his 18th birthday, his father gave him a copy of
the book
“You Can Change the World,”
by
The Christo-
phers
’ founder, Maryknoll Father James Keller, and that
sealed the deal. Father Catoir described Father Keller’s
ideas as “empowering” and “supernatural” because
they gave you “a sense that God put you on earth for a
reason. You have a purpose.”
When Father Catoir initially heard that the job of
leading
The Christophers
was available, he talked him-
self out of applying because he thought he’d never get
it. Three weeks later, he felt an impulse, which he at-
tributes to God’s grace, to apply anyway. The rest is
history.
It’s ironic that someone as devoted to spreading
a message of joy and positive thinking as Father Ca-
toir was almost derailed by negative thinking. But he
learned from his mistake, and has been sharing his wis-
dom with the rest of the world through TV, radio ap-
pearances, and newspaper columns ever since.
Father Catoir notes that “doctors
have lots of evidence to show that
negative thinking will destroy your
mental health.” Many hours of coun-
seling ordinary people about their
problems, as well as several years
leading a ministry for recovering ad-
dicts called Eva’s Village, allowed
him to see that evidence first hand.
He said, “If you have a belief
that you’re not a good person, even
though you’re trying to be good, that
undermines your mental health -- and it has to be rooted
out. If you can’t say you’re a saint, you can say, ‘I’m
a saint-in-training. I’m a good person, and I’m trying
to get better.’ But there’s no way that you should say
you’re a bad person because God made you, and every-
thing God made is good.”
That divine goodness at the core of everything is a
reason for joy, and Father Catoir has made it a point to
be a messenger of joy -- which is also the name of his
website. He realizes that joy is a choice, so he chooses
to approach life that way despite the problems that have
come with aging.
Father Catoir concludes, “In the past, when I would
get into a dark mood, I would pray to the Lord to lift
me out of it. And as a priest, I’d often go to the hospital
and visit patients. Helping others is a big way to get
rid of the blues. To tell you the truth, I don’t hit any
real dark moments in life [anymore] because I live in
the spirit of joy, so help me God. I’m an old man, I’m
84. I’ve had three knee replacements, I don’t walk too
well. And from the neck up, I’m fantastic every other
day! (laughs) But I’m at a point where I could die at
any time. I have a heart condition, but I’m happy as a
clam! I can’t tell you I’m ready to go, but I’m gonna do
as much good as I can until I am taken.”
Tony Rossi is the radio host/producer for The Chris-
tophers. For a free copy of the Christopher News Note,
GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP, write: The Christophers,
5 Hanover Square, New York, NY 10004; or e-mail:
.
Light One
Candle
Rossi
Call yourself a saint-in-training
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