Today, my heart is filled with the joy of the Spirit of the Lord.  Truly, I am very, very grateful for you and your prayers and support for me in my vocation as a priest and as your pastor here at St. Anthony's.  While I was away in Calcutta, I was given much time to pause and reflect, to pray and to give thanks to God.  Your many stories and faces remained in my thoughts and prayers continuously; and, I offered my sincere prayers to God for your intentions under the intercession of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.  I want to thank you personally for the time away.

     Mother Teresa said these words:  "The fruit of SILENCE is Prayer.  The fruit of PRAYER is Faith.  The fruit of FAITH is love.  The fruit of LOVE is service.  The fruit of SERVICE is PEACE!"

     With these words, I would like to remind us that silence is where God speaks; and in our "fast - paced" society, silence is very difficult.  Even when we do find time to be alone and in solitude, oftentimes, our hearts are restless and filled with anxiety.  Silence in the heart is very difficult; but, God waits for us, to speak to us.  For our meditation, therefore, please read 1 Kings 19:9-13.  It was in a still voice, a whispering sound that God revealed His presence to Elijah.

     Lastly, speaking of Silence, Mother Teresa said these words:  "O Lord, set a guard over my mouth, a watcher over the door of my lips (Psalm 141:3).  And Jesus was silent (Mt 26:63).  The silence is meekness:  When you do not defend yourself against the offenses...when you do not claim your rights...when you let God defend you:  The Silence is Meekness.  The silence is Mercy when you do not reveal the faults of your brothers to others; when you readily forgive without enquiring into the past; when you do not judge, but pray in your heart, then, the silence is mercy.   The Silence is patience when you accept suffering without grumbling but joyfully; when you do not look for human consolations; when you do not become too anxious but wait in patience for the 'seed' to germinate, then, the silence is patience.  The silence is humility when there is no competition; when you consider the other person to be better than yourself; when you let your sisters and brothers emerge, grow and mature; when you joyfully abandon all to the Lord; when your actions may be misinterpreted; when you leave to others the glory of the enterprise, then, the silence is Humility.  The silence is faith when you keep quiet because you know that the Lord will act; when you renounce the voices of the world to remain in the presence of the Lord; when you do not labor yourself to be understood because it is enough for you to know that the Lord understands you, then, the silence is Faith.  The silence is Adoration when you embrace the cross without asking 'why', then, the silence is Adoration."

Blessings, Fr. Tim