“ Waste Time With Jesus”

I find it interesting that some last names are common first names. What if their last names were also their first name. For example, Lebron James would have been James James … or Kirk Douglas would have been Douglas Douglas. Actually it may not be that interesting, but just show that I have too much time on my hands. Hmmmmm.

I also find it interesting when I discover that famous people are related.  For example, Peter Graves (star of T.V.’s Mission Impossible) and James Arness (star of Gunsmoke) were brothers. Moe, Curly and Shemp of the Three Stooges were actually brothers…their poor mother. And did you know that Fr. Bob Oliver and Mary Healy are cousins? By the way, Bob Oliver could have been named Oliver Oliver.

Well the reason I brought this up is that Mary Healy had a wonderful article in Magnificat today on “Apostolic Intimacy”. She mentioned that the first secret of fruitful ministry is to spend time with Jesus. “The apostles spent time with the Lord… wasting time with him, loving him and being loved by him, learning his ways, allowing their hearts to be more and more aligned with his. Only then did they get sent out for ministry. On our part, we need to do the same…spending time with him in prayer, adoring him, thanking him, talking with him about our joys and struggles, warming in the rays of his love in Eucharistic Adoration, receiving him in Holy Communion, repenting when we sin, going to the sacrament of reconciliation… all of this leads to a greater desire to go forth and give away the love we have experienced.” (Magnificat, Oct. 28, 2021)

We should never put the cart before the horse. We must have a relationship with the Lord, before we can give it away. If we don’t pray we are not going to have much to say to the world around us. And it’s not just “putting my time in and doing my duty”… we need to grow in our relationship with the Lord. We should enjoy this time with God….”wasting time together, sharing our innermost thoughts, asking the Lord to give us peace and joy and happiness, telling him of our desires and our needs and our fears….  asking the Lord to help us, save us, to hear our prayers. It’s even okay to tell the Lord our latest jokes and see if he laughs… Jesus, do you think that’s funny? Jesus did give us a sense of humor…hopefully he laughs with us. Hmmmmmm.

Well, that’s all for today. Even though this BLOG was a bit “discombobulated”, I hope you do remember that God really does love you and delights in you and wants to spend time with you. And that is very good news.