Assaulted...a Praylium Moment

So there we were on a weekend holiday bicycle ride.  We were coming near the end of our trek which promised a couple scoops of custard for our gang; my lovely wife, son, brother, and my wife's sister.  We waited at a rather tough intersection, clipped in to the pedals and ready to move at the green light.  My wife and her sister were on the tandem, the rest of us on singles.  Out of no where comes a big suburban towing a big boat, cutting us off and passing us in the middle of the intersection--not giving us any time or safety to get through.

If it was just me--I would have said a bad word and let it go--but the move endangered my family.
I gave chase.
Yep, a man in spandex on a bike-- chasing a testosterone fueled suv and boat.
They pulled off the road and next thing I knew....
I was on the ground having been pulled off my bike by a rather large man.
Yep--assaulted.
So, cut off at the intersection then pulled off the bike.

My brother was off his bike ready to scrap.  I wasn't so ready physically but at least verbally I started.  My son seized the moment and decided to share his knowledge of some vulgarity...nice.
My attorney sister-in-law had my legal back and added her two cents.
A young lady came out of her house and offered ice...a conservation officer sped past to some other emergency and I called 911.

Here's the funny thing--the man who assaulted me wasn't even the driver.  The driver acknowledged his wrongdoing and laid down in the grass while we waited for the State Police.  The passenger who assaulted me--continued to try to show me how 'right' he was.
Idiot.
My back was torqued and it matched my temper.
Soon calm prevailed and that's when my wife took over.  She convinced me that either I pursue the assault or let it go.
I didn't want to spend time in an emergency room--especially on the weekend of the 4th of July.
I called the State Police dispatch and told them the matter was settled.  Then walked over and told him I am not filing a report.  The man kept trying to talk his way out of it--his ego made me sick.  Cut off people on bicycles and then jump out of your suv and pull a guy off his bike--and you think you're okay doing this?

Where do people get this?  Do what you want, cut corners, save time, tramp on whoever whenever, allow greed and speed to rule your daily way--then if anything or anybody gets in your way--run em over or at least pull them off their bike.


Granted--I should not have rode as fast up the hill towards them after they endangered us at the intersection.  (I should have listened to my wife and 'let them go')  But the world seems to be filled with people like this.  Maybe your family, maybe your workplace--people who seem to think they are entitled to do whatever they want.  For some reason I just had enough.  Maybe it was a PRAYLIUM moment

In the end my wife asked him; "Are you Catholic?"
"Yes I am."
"Then you need to go to confession."
"Okay, I will, I haven't been there in years...but I will."

So hopefully a guy goes to confession and hopefully his soul grows closer to Christ.  Getting pulled off a bike is still easier than being fed to a lion.
In the meantime I will continue the motrin and get some new handlebar tape.

Oh, and be careful out there--cause spiritually there is always someone trying to cut you off and knock you down.

Garage Sale

We need to do them.

And they take work.  First the physical, then the emotional....

There's that whole climbing up in the attic, or to the back of the shed, or down in the basement--all those places we 'store' stuff.

You know--those old pokemon cards that your son stopped playing with, the perfumes your wife stopped wearing, the books that have been read, coffee mugs--and more coffee mugs, and of course you can't forget a 22 by 50 foot solar cover for a built in swimming pool that was hotel size, oh and the engagement ring (my lovely wife said we don't need it).

Then there's a rug--5.00--but it's a cool rug---i grew up with it then it ended in our house for the past 13 years--but it has seen better days.

In its' day it held generations of family and the seasons and life of a family--you know from evenings in front of the black and white tv to naps and dogs and twister and generations of parties, funerals, first communions, and an ordination.  It held about 7 dogs and countless spills and accidents.
The rug went quick.  Thanks be to the rug angels because I was tired of moving it.  It wasn't a bad day because we even got rid of a toilet tissue holder.

We need to occasionally have garage sales for our spirit--we need to get rid of all that stuff that just gets moved around and never used.  We need to get rid of what doesn't 'work' any more--only after careful discernment.
Reconciliation is a chance to get rid of the crap we keep moving around in our life.

I don't want to parallel this garage sale/spirituality thing too much--because i don't want to offend the intelligence of the praylium readership.  But you get the idea.
Oh, one more thing.  Remember satan has a very simple goal--to keep your soul away from God--he will use any way, any practice, any sin, and any inclination, usually congruent with your personality, to achieve his end.  So if having too much stuff in your spiritual life is keeping you from progressing--even if it appears to be 'good' --then it's time to have a moving sale.

Transfer Season

The other day I was standing in line at the grocery store when I overheard a conversation between two people about a priest who was being transferred.

Wow, the season snuck up on me—Transfer Season 2011 is here and in full swing. 

Usually ordinations occur during spring—setting off a series of movements and transfers like dominoes falling.   In the past there would be several new priests all primped and ready to go.  However, today it is a different story in many dioceses.  

None-the-less at least two people were interested in what was going down.

People talking about transfers use to drive me nuts.  It was nothing more than gossip.  For a few days or weeks, priest transfers would take the place of the daily weather in conversations--even among clergy.  Do people talk about the new department manager shifts at Wal-Mart?  Do they talk about new doctors coming into a medical practice?  Well, perhaps—but, let’s face, it there is something mysterious about priest assignments and the whole transfer phenomena. 

The bishop perceives a ministerial need and through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit assigns a priest (In an ideal world).  IF everything (big, big, big IF) goes as planned the priest has about 14 days to pack up, say goodbye, move, and show up.  Some priests thrive on the attention and some buckle under the pressure of transition.  Perhaps the system needs to be changed or tweaked.  As an aside—I don’t buy the “I’m moved” have pity on me cry.  Many of the priests are assigned to parishes where they have a roof over their head, food on the table, and even someone to clean their toilet—free of the worries that many people have.  Right, transfers for a guy aren’t easy—but they certainly are not the end of the world.

Still, why do people chat about this?

Because they are starving.  Starving for spiritual sustenance.  And the priest is their connection.  In our church, our ecclesiology, our sacramental life—the priest is ‘in the person of Christ’.  When I was an active priest I often times forgot that I was always ‘in the person of Christ’.  I believe that the chatter surrounding the arrival or departure of a priest (aside from scandal) is indicative of a much deeper need of the people of God. 

They need a spiritual father—not another fundraiser, program director, or Sunday morning entertainer.  They need someone to model for them fasting and prayer. They need someone who will preach the truth and allow the Holy Spirit to inspire and heal.  They need a priest who will not only spend time in the confessional but will go to confession.  They need a spiritual father who will confront evil. 

So the people talk—out of need.  Either their deep spiritual needs were being met and they hope that the new guy will continue to draw them deeper into holiness—or they talk because they're still on the gossip level and don’t even know they have spiritual needs that have gone unmet for years.  Either way transfer season 2011 is open.