Santa Matt's ramblings

Life is like a really good mystery movie. We start out with no clue as to what is going on. But little by little we learn things and the solution becomes clearer and clearer. As we progress through the movie and more of the plot is revealed we get excited, we want to know all of the answers to our questions. Was the butler really polishing the silver? Was that God that answered my prayers and helped me get that job? Was the poison really in his coffee? Is there a heaven and will I be welcome? Watching the movie we have our theories. We start to pick out suspects based on the revealed clues. In life we have our faith, our beliefs, based on what religion has revealed to us. But right up to the moment the clever hero or heroine gets the confession from the murderer, we are waiting for one more plot twist. And right up to the moment we die, we will have questions. Is there life after death? Did I pick the right church? What will happen to me? What did God mean by that revelation? As we wat...

When we were young we did things to honor our mothers. We would not step on cracks in the sidewalk, etc. Our mother probably enjoyed our thoughts but what she really wanted and how we should have honored her was to clean our rooms. It is much the same with God. We make all kinds of ritual prayers and that is good. But what God really wants is for us to clean our rooms. He wants us to clean the room of our soul. God Bless you and yours

Sometimes special people enter our lives. When I first met my wife's family, there was one person I did not meet, Mary her sister. Mary was only allowed home twice per year and she was never allowed to travel alone. No, she was not a secret agent or a convicted criminal, she was and is a nun, a Sister of Notre Dame. Down through the years visitation rules have relaxed some. I have seen her many times, either at the family or at church functions. Mary taught me many things. Some in her kindly cheerful voice, some just by the way she lives her life. Yeah, I know, she's a nun. She is supposed to live a exemplary life. But sometimes you meet a member of a religious order that shines in a special way. People that even if they were not in a religious vocation would still be holy. Mary is one of those. Mary is one of the people that answered my questions during the years that I was looking for a church. She is responsible for my starting to sing in church. I tell my religious ed stud...

Where I go to church there were two women. They are not related, but you rarely saw one without the other. As they grew older, one of them developed emphysema. Eventually this brought her to the final days of her life and she entered hospice. You may or may not know that hospice is a kind of care, not a facility. Someone may be in hospice in the care center, in a convalescence center or in a private residence. When this woman entered hospice, she was taken in by her friend. Her friend set aside a bedroom, equipped it with oxygen and a hospital bed. She cared for her day and night, only taking a few hours sleep for herself when a hospice volunteer would sit and watch for her. I have someone who will do that for me. I married her. But the loving friendship of these two women is inspiring. "This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:35 God Bless you and yours