REMEMBERING 9/11 Today is Monday, September 11, 2023.   I am watching and listening to the televised Remembering 9/11 on CBS.   As I hear the names being read by those who lost loved ones on that day, Tuesday, September 11, 2001.   I hear those reading the list of names give tribute to their own family members they lost on that day; and from those family members born after the 9/11 attacks.   Comments made in honor of family lost on that day recognizing them as heroes, keeping their memories alive in their hearts, expressing how much they are loved and missed, grateful for the short amount of time spent with them, showing their patriotism to their country, expressing gratefulness in family sharing stories and media of those they never met, and reliving feelings and emotions in tears.   Although I did not lose any family, the memory of that day on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, is still etched forever in my mind and heart.   The following is what I ex...

  One of Those “Oh, Aha” Moments The eldest of my sisters sent my middle sister and me text message regarding the deed to her house.   Her comment was that the deed was not signed by the name of our Dad that we knew him by growing up but a different name.   This brought to my attention one of those “aha” moments that prompted an “Oh” response from my sisters.   The following is the information I share via text messages. My sisters are aware that I do research on our family tree, gathering documents and storied from family, especially on our Dad’s side.   Doing so only confirmed information we saw in my Dad’s paperwork as we prepared for his funeral and burial back in July of 1985.   My brother and two of my sisters always knew my Dad’s name to be Virgilio and hearing his family and friends calling him Bello.   Looking through my Dad’s paper work, I found his birth certificate, a recent copy with the name Benigno; when did his name change?   I ...

  Judas Iscariot According to the Church calendar, this week is called “Passion Week,” or “Holy Week,” which began Palm Sunday, Jesus’s “triumphal entry” into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-9). I recently heard a song being sung over Sirius XM on the Enlighten Station which caters to Gospel Country Music.   The song title was called “Judas,” and sung by Joseph Habedank.   I was struck by the chorus: If He could love a traitor A liar and a faker If He could break the bread and share the wine If the humble-hearted Savior Could wash the feet of His betrayer Then surely Hе could love a heart like minе This song brought back to mind a few thoughts about Judas Iscariot about which I still contemplate.   I first heard about Judas from a Sunday school teacher of the Chapel I went to back when I was in high school.   The teacher said that Judas Iscariot would not be in heaven for betraying Jesus.   The Sunday school teacher’s comment did not quite settle with ...

Today, March 19 on the Church Calendar is the Feast of Saint Joseph who was the foster/ adoptive father of Jesus and husband of Mary.  St. Joseph is also the name I chose as my “Saint Name” on the day I made my confirmation receiving a “slap” on my cheek by the Bishop of Philadelphia signifying my receiving the Holy Spirit. I was about 13 years old at the time remembering how impressed I was and why I chose Joseph as my “Saint Name.”  Joseph willingly took Mary as his wife who was expecting a son that he was told would not be his.  I admired Joseph because he was entrusted by God to take Mary as his wife and raise Jesus as his own son; thus God blessed and honored him.  Joseph is the express image of what a foster/ adoptive father should be, loving and caring for the children entrusted to them.  If you have watched the episode on “The Chosen,” season three in which Mary reflects on the “father and son” interaction of Joseph and Jesus, you get a real human experi...

Forgiving - Forgiveness I have read quite a few excerpts from books and articles including Jesus’s words on forgiveness.  Yes, we are to forgive one another for the offenses against us and for the offenses against others….not just because Jesus says or commands us to.  If we do so because Jesus said to then are we being truly honest in our forgiveness. Forgiving should not be just a command but should come from the heart in compassion for one another; that is true forgiveness.  And yes, we won’t forget what was done but we should never bring it up again; reopening the wounds of pain; not true forgiveness either. Who do you need to forgive?

PREGNANCY PREVENTION I graduated from Bible College in 1990 earning a dual bachelor’s degree one in Science of the Bible and the other in the science of Social Work.   I already had a job waiting for me at graduation; an offer I accepted as an intern in Social Work.   The position was a counselor for an agency working with homeless, runaway youth that provided emergency shelter with a goal of reuniting the youth with their families.   One of the tasks to this position was facilitating workshops to high school students.   I was invited to facilitate a weekly workshop to a class of ninth graders; Relations in Society. The goal of this class was to educate the students and make them aware of community based agencies that provided services to youth.   The agency I worked for offered a series of workshops on healthy relationships.   One of the topics was on pregnancy prevention providing an overview of the human anatomy, sexually transmitted diseases and contr...

  I WANT THE CONTROL On Sunday, the indirect message I was hearing was, God is in Control. “God is gonna put you where he wants you,” said Pastor Steve Weygand as we read from Psalm 66. To emphasize God’s faithfulness, Pastor Steve shared a story about his parents traveling across country with the family to a “new job” that was waiting for his father which, when they arrived at their destination did not exist. With no job and no home to move into what was the family going to do? God was in control and the need was to trust God. God took them exactly where he wanted them to be. “All things work together for good, to them that love God,” wrote the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:28.   God saw and met the family’s need, and all was fine – faith and trust. Pastor Steve went on to share his own story, traveling across country to further his education only to discover that none of his credits were transferable. What was he going to do? Remembering the situation his parents were in Pastor...