Deacon Tom Anthony

At any point in our lives we have the opportunity to encounter God. He is present and working continuously throughout his creation. We are encourage to recognize him and engage him through worship, prayer, and Sacred Scripture. The more that we do this, the more we will become familiar with him and feel his love. It was out of love and through love that the entire universe was created. To fully appreciate the implications of this we must react to this love. At first, this can be very difficult. Our thoughts are cluttered with expectations and our focus is upon the physical aspects of creation while the spiritual is easily ignored. Our senses have become accustomed to what we see, hear, smell, and touch directly in front of us while the spiritual is lost in the mist. When we have an interaction with God it can easily be dismissed. When we are touched spiritually, our entire being rebels against it and tries to explain it away. We are encouraged to deny anything has happened and find ourselves furiously fighting against something that should be obvious to us as Children of God. Our fallen nature and our gift of free will are used by Satan to impede our relationship with our creator.

We must remind ourselves that we are spiritual beings and the physical is only a small part of our being. If we do not concentrate on it then it is at risk to be foreign to us. Just like when we eat healthy and exercise our body reacts positively to it and we feel good, we need to exercise our spirituality so as it benefit from the positive results. If we don't do this then we will not understand who we are in relation to God. He will remain distant and foreign to us. This is not his fault but ours. How can we relate to anything spiritual in our lives if we cannot recognize it when it happens? This is what occurred when Jesus walked this earth. For all those who reacted to his message and miracles, there were so many more who explained away who he was and rebelled against the very person who brought them life and salvation. This continues today. As Jesus himself said, “You cannot serve both God and Mammon.”

Sacred Scripture warns us continuously that there will be those who deny God completely and refuse to react to his love. These individuals have completely embraced the physical aspects of the world and have made whatever this world has to offer their God. Worship revolves around self-indulgence and the celebration of everything that is of the flesh. Unfortunately, the flesh is destined to rot away and only the spiritual will remain. If the spiritual if eternal, why should it be ignored. It is illogical to focus on the corporal and dismiss the eternal. Yet, that is what many people choose ignoring that there are implications that go far beyond this world.

Saint Paul tells us that the flesh is in constant rebellion against the spirit because the flesh is of this world. By exercising our spirituality we can actually calm the flesh and unify it at times with the spirit. When we do this, true happiness and the Love of God is experienced. This is contrary to what society and those who have rejected God. We need to acknowledge that there are people who will work fervently against the realization of God and the goodness that he can bring. They can be very convincing and we are all at risk of losing our spirituality and embracing the shallow gifts that they have to offer. We can easily become drunk on the physical allures of this world. But know this: drunkenness and revelry never last forever but the Love of God does. There is no hangover with God or regret.

When we have a spiritual experience it should be recognized and celebrated. God has chosen openly express his love for us through and by his presence. Even though he is all around us and in us, it is as if the presence has been intensified either for a brief moment (like a flash of lightning) or for an elongated period of time. When this occurs, the revelation can be of a private nature or it can meant to be shared. Ultimately, only the individual knows through prayer and spiritual direction. As we mature in our faith, the answers to those questions are more easily revealed.

The other day, a good friend of mine called me. She was distraught over the fact that it was discovered that her mother had an aggressive tumor which had a 95% chance of being cancerous. She was diagnosed with gallbladder cancer and was given 11 months to live with surgery and chemotherapy. We spoke about prayer and faith. She was not ready to lose her mother after losing her father the same way. This became a major challenge to her. She believed in God but was fearful of the future. We agreed that we would meet Tuesday Night before the surgery and pray together.

We all gathered Tuesday Night and her mother was anointed. We all recited the Prayer of Saint Jude and blessed each other. I gave her mother a Saint Jude Card and we all hugged and kissed. Her mother was cheerful and unafraid of the future. She said she knew God would watch over her. Her faith was a beautiful testament to the presence of God in her life.

The surgery and went well and after a few days, her mother was released from the hospital. Late one night, the doctor called. His voice was frantic. He said, “I needed to call you right away. I can't believe it but there is something I have to tell you. The tumor wasn't cancerous. It was just aggressive. There is no sign of cancer! I don't know what happened! All signs and symptoms were pointing to cancer. I don't know what happened!” My friend and I laughed. I said, “I know what happened. God happened.”

Miracles happen every day. God happens every day. We just need to live by our faith and God will take care of everything else.

Deacon Tom