EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
26 FEBRUARY 2017
Jesus
tells us today that we should not worry about our life, about what we are to
eat and drink, or about what we should wear.
These are basic human needs, and Jesus is not calling us to quit our day
jobs and run around naked! Even birds of
the air have to forage for food and water.
Wild flowers depend on sun and rain.
Instead, he is telling us to make sure that our priorities are
correct. He uses the word “mammon,”
which is not exactly in our everyday vocabulary. His term “mammon” is neutral – neither good
nor bad. It refers to our property or
anything of value. Jesus says that if
mammon is our chief priority, then we will be consumed with worrying about
fulfilling our basic needs and wanting much more. However, if our main priority is God, then we
will not worry so much and trust that our work in providing basic human needs
will not fail.
This
Wednesday, we enter into the Season of Lent.
By voluntarily stripping ourselves through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving,
we renew our absolute trust and abandonment in God. Prayer is the first and most important of
these disciplines, because prayer reveals that everything we have is a gift
from God. Now, you would expect me to
say these things, because that is my day job.
But, please listen to a “normal” person, Rob Lovett, who will speak to
you about his life of prayer. In hearing
his words, please consider the specific ways in which you will renew your
stewardship of prayer during these forty days of Lent.
Rob Lovett’s talk on Stewardship of Prayer
Good morning. I can’t tell you how
honored I am to be asked by Father Bill to talk to you about my prayer life.
But I’m pretty sure I know why he asked me. Over the past few years I’ve had
reason to pray. Let me start by telling you that I’m a baby Catholic. I’m
overjoyed to be saying that I converted just 2 short years ago. And I’m happy I
did. I probably would not have done so (despite years of encouragement by my
wife Janet) had I not attended a Christ Renews His Parish retreat. It was a
life changing weekend for me and I would highly recommend everyone here to
attend a weekend the first chance you get. I should also say 2 things before I
get started. First, I am not one of Matthew Kelly’s 7%. I could do more. But I
know I fit in with this crowd because I feel guilty that I’m not. And second
and this is important to me, I don’t want you to feel sorry for me or my family
after you hear what I have to say. I want you to hear is that God is with us no
matter what life throws at us. As I mentioned, over the past few years I and
many around me have needed help from our Father to get through life.
On June 17, 2012 our family got the
news that no parent should ever have to hear. Our daughter Chelsea had been in
a tragic accident and died instantly. I know I’m not the only one in this room
that knows that horror . . . all the air is suddenly sucked out of your lungs .
. . I felt total, complete emotional devastation. We called our dear friends
the Rectanus’s and Father Bill. They came and helped us get through that
horrible night. At some point that day I began to pray. I prayed for Chelsea,
that she would be comforted by our Lord and all those that had gone before her;
I prayed for Janet, that she could find some peace, her devastation could not
be described nor can it to this day; I prayed for Chelsea’s twin Paige who had
just had a part of her soul torn away; and prayed for her brothers Zachary and
Jacob who loved their sister very much. We had all just lost one of the most
important parts of our lives, way too suddenly!
With time God answered those
prayers. Since those days, calm and normalcy came back into our lives, we began
to cope with that loss and do that pretty well today. The Lord even saw fit to
give us the gift of our grandchild Charlotte. Suffice it to say that she
brightens every day even the gloomy ones. I pray to give thanks for that little
angel! It is pretty cool to live with a saint! I’m thinking that God wanted me
to pray harder.
In the fall of 2015 my son Jacob
bit the bullet and went to college. He really wanted to get a clean break and
chose Northern Arizona University. He was on top of the world, studying
Geology, and living where you could hike and camp practically every weekend.
Communication with Jake at that time was few and far between, he was just too
busy enjoying life. On a weekend near the end of his 1st semester, from a
random phone call Janet found out that he was very sick and had been for over a
week with no relief in sight. He went to the campus infirmary and they told him
to get to the local hospital immediately. After 4 days and many infusions of
blood, they confirmed that he had acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The long story
shortened is that we got Jake back to the area in a Chicago hospital (where he
did his finals for the semester I might add) and it began a long journey
getting him well. That journey included a stem cell transplant that gave him a
new immune system. Believe me I prayed! In this case it wasn’t just me doing
the praying. Thousands of people, all over the world prayed for Jacob and those
prayers worked. My prayers were mostly that Jake would survive but I also
prayed for Jacob to keep his head and get through this ordeal. I prayed that
his doctors and nurses made good decisions for his care. I’ve never seen a person
take all the poking a prodding that he had to take and do it with smile. His
nurses loved him because he was to pleasant and easy going. God answered all
those prayers. Jacob started 2017 back in Flagstaff, back in class, back with
his girlfriend and calling me to vent about getting a B on a math test. (I’ll
take that call all day long) He still has some medical issues to deal with but
he is. In a call to his mom and me one Saturday night a couple of weeks ago he
talked about how happy he was to be working on a life again.
For some time now I’ve prayed every
day. I thank God for all that he’s given me. Our family eats well, we have
clothes on our backs and the best part is that we have each other. I thank him
for the miracles he has done in my life, leading me to Him through the Catholic
Church, my granddaughter and Jacob’s recovery. I ask him for forgiveness for me
being me on a daily basis and ask him to help me work on me. And finally I ask
him for intercession in the lives of people around me that need his help.
Folks, life puts up hurdles and roadblocks in our lives, some bigger than
others. No matter the size they all look huge when they’re happening. We all
need help dealing with them. I personally could not have survived these last
few years without the comfort I got from knowing that God loves me and everyone
around me and He wants the best for me. I strongly encourage you to take time
every day to have a conversation with our Father.
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