Driving and Snowing and Praying

So I've been in Buffalo now for nearly 3 months and it's beginning to feel like home. Don't worry New York City friends, we still miss you, but people here are so hospitable that we are able to enjoy the thrill of returning to the big city and yet still long to be back in Buffalo. Here's what home looks like when it's not covered in snow.

I've put nearly 400 miles of daily commute miles on my car and driving is seemless for me most of the time. I did sideswipe our business manager's bumper in the parking lot about a week ago (I just turned into the space a bit too quickly) but it was just a tiny tap, not enough to cause any damage and he was understanding about it. (I'm sure he'll make fun of me for the next oh, year or so). The funny thing is on the open road I feel very comfortable, but when I head into a parking lot I get very uneasy for some reason. I think people lose all their sense when they head into a parking lot. They dart out from between cars with no regard for cars or pedestrians. I have taken to finding the closest space as soon as I turn in and not caring how far I have to walk.

Everyone warned me about the snow. We had an easy month of December with very little snow (I missed the only really heavy snowfall while I was in Milwaukee) but January has been rough. It never seems to stop and because it is rather cold here and there is less foot traffic the snow just seems to pile up for days. Now, it IS a nice white color and gives the place a serene look so that's a major plus over New York City slush. So to my NYC and Washington, DC friends who claim that I have jinxed myself for making fun of y'all when you had your gigantic snowstorm, I have only one thing to say:

Buffalo laughs at the snow. We're well able to handle it.

My major complaint about the snow is the constant cleaning of the car windshields. I forget to factor into my morning commute the time it will take to clean the snow off of the car and that turns an 8 minute commute into more like a half hour depending on the amount of snow that has fallen.

So today let us pray for those who have no home in the winter months. For those who we find freezing without coats and gloves. We pray for those who are unable to heat their homes and who can't make ends meet in this still harsh economy. We pray that the cold and gray winter months that keep some people depressed who suffer from mental illness will soon lift their spirits with the joy of spring.

And we pray for your prayers...whatever they might be today.

Cloudy and Mild

For those concerned, I want to let you know that the situation in question has resolved somewhat. Not greatly, so ongoing prayers are needed but for now, it seems as if not more headway can be made. Suffice it to say, that while this was not a great resolution, for now, things are restful as we head into 2010.

Thanks for all the prayers and good wishes and even a few phone calls from close friends. Those went a long way with us.

For the coming year---I wish you peace.

Upcoming: A look back on a decade!

Prayers Continue as my Patience Grows Thin

Blogging may be light in the next few days, although I will try to continue to keep things on pace. The aforementioned situation has not resolved as nicely as I would have preferred. In fact it is still a horrendous situation. Sorry to be so mysterious, but it's a private matter.

For today, I ask that prayers continue for my wife, for family and for the situation in general and all those involved.

For now, I'm praying for patience and wisdom and today's gospel has provided me with at least a small moment of solace:

There was a prophetess, Anna,
the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.
She was advanced in years,
having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage,
and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.
She never left the temple,
but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.
And coming forward at that very time,
she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child
to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

While we wait with much prayer for a hopeful resolution may we be blessed with Anna's patience and rewarded with the joy of witnessing that redemption that Christ brings to us all. We pray especially for this situation that we find ourselves in and ask that it be resolved safely and swiftly. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Today, I Need Prayers

OK folks, as many of you know I'm pretty naked on this blog and share a lot of personal information here. I try not to be inappropriate in my self-disclosure but at the least, I let you know what I'm going through and hope that you, dear readers, will empathize and perhaps even feel some resonance with the things you deal with in your own life. From where I sit, it is like a small group on a retreat without the confidentiality part. I share, you respond in the public square that is within this space.

Today however, I'm simply going to ask for prayers. The situation that I'm facing is a family issue and in the interest of privacy I'm going to withhold what the issue is and who it relates to. I will say that it does not involve my wife or I directly (or our dog!) but it is seriously worrisome for us and for our family. Suffice it to say, we're hoping for a good result to a situation tomorrow and so I'm asking for prayers for that today.

Today's Gospel speaks of Simeon who waited years for a situation to come to pass. May today we have that kind of patience that allows us to bear all things and like Mary, who has her heart pierced, as Simeon predicted, may we be able to bear any pain associated with this situation with humility. It is Jesus who saves both Simeon and Mary with the redemptive love that only God can bring.

And so, we pray:

Lord, if it be your will, allow this situation to resolve itself tomorrow. May our family trust in your love and care for us and through the intercession of all the saints and holy people that I have come to love and regard as partners in prayer (Fr Isaac Hecker, St. Ignatius, St Dymphna, St. Joseph, and St Paul the Apostle) may you help us through this difficult time for our family. For those who read this blog, I only ask that you hear their prayers and give to them what they truly need in their lives. We ask all this in the name of Jesus the Lord who can do all things for those who ask for His assistance. Amen.

And Protect us From All Anxiety...Even by using Facebook

This past week my wife, Marion received word of a small nodule that was found on a recent mammogram. It's tiny, less than a millimeter, but obviously it has shaken us up, especially since her mother died of breast cancer when Marion was in college. She had the needle biopsy on Friday and now we wait. Three to five business days of waiting.

Anxiety-filled waiting.

Friends and relatives have been praying and sending their best wishes for a clean bill of health for her. Even our dog has been nuzzling up to Marion more than me lately, which is unusual for him as he is very attached to me.

At mass today the words that are read after the Our Father ask God to "protect us from all anxiety" which I often find comforting, but today they took on new meaning...as we wait, we realize that anxiety is something that does indeed occur with life's many travails. The following line is the one that really is more important:

"As we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our savior Jesus Christ."

There's nothing like a medical scare to make you realize that indeed we all need God, that we are not God and therefore we are not in control. Try as we might to protect ourselves from anxiety, it often still finds us and those restless hearts will only rest easy once they rest in God.

Recently, I reported that a Bishop from Great Britain mentioned that Facebook was a considerable factor in the rise of teen suicide. He cautioned that all this technology keeps us alienated from one another. While the Bishop makes a good point about how technology can certainly alienate us greatly, it also connects us as well. With my wife's permission I asked my facebook friends to pray for her on my status update. Within a half hour something amazing happened over 30 people quickly jotted a simple word and maybe a few extra sentences as well. That simple word was "prayers" and it made me feel connected to people that I know well and to many that I haven't heard from in awhile. Friends from retreats and ministry circles, high school, college, family and even my old radio colleagues all weighed in with their own prayers. Some simply said "prayers" and that one word is more than enough to connect me and my wife to them in union with the whole church. Perhaps that's an experience that the Bishop hasn't had but it is one that is worth noting.

And it would not have happened without this technology.

As different as many of us might be religiously (even some of us who share a Catholic faith), nobody ever seems remotely offended when another asks for someone to pray for them or for someone they care about. Even those who might not believe in God don't find it an awful exercise to send a good wish or thought someone's way. We all like and need to pray for each other.

And quite often we don't. It often takes a tragedy for me to remember someone else in prayer or to even pray with someone else. A priest friend of mine always mentions names of people who have asked him to pray for them when we have a shared prayer of the faithful. That impressed me, so much so that I started keeping a log of people to pray for on my blackberry.

So God asks much of us when He asks us to be mindful of Him in prayer. We note how out of control we are and how we need God's help. But we also know that we need the help of others to show us God's care for us as well. It is in the others who become the face of God for us in our toughest moments...those moments of anxiety, that we often seek protection from ...it is in those others that indeed God helps us to find gratitude, when fear can easily take over.

I'm fairly confident that my wife will be fine. Whatever this is, it is tiny...less than a millimeter. So even in the worst case, this should be easy to defeat, especially for a strong woman like my wife. Others face things far worse and far more daunting than we are this week.

But perhaps it is in the others who have touched our hearts this week with their simple prayers where God is calling me to be most mindful.

And to become more like them as a person of prayer...who helps God protect us from all anxiety.

For What Else Shall We Pray?

I'd like to start a daily regimen of prayer on the blog and hope that y'all will add your prayers in the comments section so we can all pray as a blog community.

I'd like to ask prayers for:

A friend's sister who recently went through a divorce.
All the couples on our recent retreat.
People with mental illnesses.
Fr. James Keenan, SJ
Joe
Abigail
Healing from a broken relationship with a colleague.
Understanding and patience
Our Jewish brothers and sisters
Fr. Frank Diskin, CSP

Oh God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, has instructed the hearts of the faithful grant that by the same spirit we may come what to know what is right and rejoice with the truth. May this same Holy Spirit allow me and all of us to seek peace without our own prejudices blocking our minds. Amen.