MONDAY DIARY: I FEEL POORLY. REALLY. I DO. YOU SHOULD SEE THE LOOK OF SINCERITY ON MY FACE.

It is winter in Akron.

It is Arcticly cold in Akron.

There's a ton of snow in Akron.

I, however, am not in Akron.

Wait a moment, let me get the water out of my ear. Ah. There.

Every once in a while it is good for the pastor to take the difficult jobs to give the parochial vicar an example of dedication, hard work, and that can-do attitude that makes for a good priest. So I left the comfort of home - and the love of my dog - to go say Mass for a bunch of our parishioners who find themselves eslewhere this time of year.

Not having a lot of time to come up with a post today (I must needs get ready to depart and return to the delights and peacefulness of hearth and home) here is the homily that I gave this weekend.

God bless.


There are a lot of erroneous ideas about what prayer is. Some use words like obligation, a chore – a Godly one but a chore none-the-less, or work. People “get it in,” or “over with,” or “out of the way.” But this idea of prayer will work against the purpose of prayer. It is in the end about building a relationship.

Father Benedict Groeschel, in trying to get this idea across, asks the question, “does your prayer life lead you to more fully call God “Abba?” Abba is a term that is as intimate as daddy but as respectful and full of awe as the more formal father. It is this relationship to which prayer is calling us – it was Jesus’ mission to us.

Both Isaiah and Peter today got a deep taste of that relationship. Isaiah comes before the throne of God and Peter realizes the awesomeness of the God man before him. Their reaction is of shame and embarrassment. “I am a man of unclean lips living amongst a people of unclean lips,” cries Isaiah, while Peter declares, “Leave me Lord for I am a sinful man.”

It sounds a bit like Genesis and Adam and Eve. At first they walked in the garden in the presence of God and after they have disobeyed him they hide in the bushes for shame of being seen by Him because of their sin.

So what exactly is sin? Many people have a vague idea that it means something is wrong. It is like the time I went into a teacher’s room and used the world “Yeah” instead of “Yes.” The teacher had been training the kids not to use that word and they got in trouble if they did. So here I was, the priest, using the word and their eyes got big and they all said, “Awwwwwwwwwwww.” I knew I had done something wrong but what or why was lost on me but I knew something was amiss. So I then learned the rule and played along with the rules of the room. That is not what sin is.

Sin is simply this: It is anything that brings harm into the world. It is something that hurts you personally physically (like overeating) or mentally (like cyberporn) or spiritually (like ignorance of Scripture.) It is something that one does that brings harm to others spiritually, mentally, or physically. Or it is something that harms the relationship with the One that we are to call Abba/Father.

And the thing that this Father wants for us more than anything else is health – virtue, peace, life, “that my joy might be in you and your joy complete.”

Notice in neither of the readings today is God angry. In Isaiah God did not say anything like, “How dare you!” nor with Peter was there any condemnation of his sinfulness by Christ. Rather, I think they saw the great love of God – pure – generous – powerful – complete – extravagant – and like Adam and Eve in the garden they are suddenly aware of their illness – of their lack of love – of their sin.

A relationship with God through prayer is supposed to help to bring a remedy to this – to help us grow in understanding of God and of His love and mercy – to lead us into that relationship that helps us call Him Abba/Father, to begin to weed out that sin which is harmful to us and to others, so that when we stand before Him we are able to understand, withstand, and accept His love. If your prayer is leading you to this then you are praying well.