He ain't heavy.....

Being a kid in the 70’s was a special time. I’m the youngest of six kids in my family – 4 sisters and 1 brother. The summers always consisted of Indian ball, building forts, kick the can, swimming, building a golf course in our yard, bottle rocket fights (not recommended), catching tadpoles and keeping them until they turned into frogs, playing Jarts (also not recommended), ringing doorbells, truth or dare, etc. The winters were all about hockey. Remember the ugly black leather roller skates with the steel wheels? We had some great games in our neighborhood.

On Thanksgiving Day in 1971, in the words of Gus Kyle, we had a “barn burner.” I was wearing my #4 Boston Bruins jersey (you better know who that is) while my older brother Jimmy donned his typical Blues #5 Bobby Plager jersey. Jimmy always made sure we were on the same team. I was always looking to score. Jimmy was always looking to hip check his next victim. Near the end of our game, I had a breakaway with that stupid red plastic puck that bounced more than it slid. One of the older Slattery boys knocked me flying on the cold concrete. I cracked my elbow and was seething in pain. I held my big brother’s hand as he helped me up, crying uncontrollably. What happened next went down in St. Francis of Assisi School lore. Jimmy walked over to that Slattery kid, picked him up off his feet and threw him in his own front yard. The gloves dropped and a brawl broke out. Everyone got involved. One of the parents had to come out and break it up. The game quickly ended, but the message from Jimmy was crystal clear – you mess with my little brother, you mess with me. It was always like that for me growing up with Jimmy.

On October 8^th 2014, I once again held my big brother’s hand and was again crying hard - only this time the circumstances were much different.  Four weeks earlier, Jimmy was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. My big brother was dying, and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it.

Parables in Life

Often, I witness the parables in action in my life and in the life of others. People have their favorite authors and hopefully some of those authors are reflective individuals of faith and spirituality. I find that extensions to scripture are written in quality works of fiction and nonfiction as well as in plays and motion pictures. Each morning, I start with a reading from the day’s scripture. As I place myself in the setting and environment of the passage, I roll time forward to present day and attempt to incorporate my story into the reading. Parables, limitless in possibilities and timeless in nature, are favorites. Frequently, I find them in literature and life. Because parables are so rich with possibilities, they were not meant to be fully understood, but to be engaging with everyone immersed!

Jesus telling stories was and is an attractive way to capture people’s attention. Jesus used parables for their universal, timeless appeal using the ‘familiar’ with people while also adding contrasts to their experiences. He was able to teach from parables while inviting people to invest themselves more fully than if he’d lectured them on values, morals, or ethics. He did not present a world of escapism from a power-driven, material world to some idyllic spiritual dimension. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son …” (John 3:16). Jesus walked the earth seeing everywhere the signs of His heavenly Creator. He saw evil in the world, but He would overcome it.

The Annoynance of the Gospel

By Fred Vilbig


In 1972, there was a movie about St. Francis called “Brother Son, Sister Moon.” Basically, Francis was portrayed as a hippie. After returning from an unsuccessful military campaign, he becomes a nature lover. He rejects his father’s materialism and begins to sort of float through life. I get the impression that St. Francis lived according to the philosophy of self-fulfillment where you do what comes naturally. It’s wrong to resist those feelings.

The problem with this image is that it is a lie. Francis fell in love with Jesus. He was a true son of the Church. In order to control his passions, he fasted seven times a year for 40 days. That’s right; he had 7 Lents a year.

The annoyance of the Gospel is that Jesus did not only say, “Believe in the good news.” That would have been easy. Just believe. How simple!

But Jesus said, “Repent, and believe the good news.” Mark 1:15. Repentance and faith were intricately connected.

You really can’t have one without the other.

Get off the Sidelines

Did you now that since embarking on this endeavor, this playground for sharing ideas and thoughts, that there have been 42 blog posts.  I'm the lucky one who gets to read all of these before anyone else!  I want to specifically thank Ben, Fred, Tim and Sean for their dedication and perseverance in continually producing great material that always gets me thinking and focused again on the spiritual side of my journey through this world...

{Pause and wait for the applause to die down}

 There have been some very personal and vulnerable pieces shared, like this one from Sean, or this searching piece from Ben.  I love the imagery Tim creates in this piece, and we can always count on Fred to stir the pot!

But the post that has garnered the most interest - the one that still gives me chills when I read it - focuses on One Man and His Awakening.

Talk is Cheap

by Fred Vilbig

In the Epistle of James, the author criticizes those who say they are saved by faith alone. He points out that even the demons believe that there is only one God, but that does not save them. Rather, they shudder at the thought. He states clearly that man is justified by faith and works, and not by faith alone. James 2:31-46. Even Jesus talked about judging people based on what they have done. Matt. 25:31-46.

Luther hated the Epistle of James. He called it the “epistle of straw” because it conflicted with his doctrine of “sola fide” or “faith alone.” He felt that it was only by faith that we are saved. Works seem to be irrelevant to him.

As Catholics, we side with Jesus and James. Talk alone is cheap. You have to live your faith to make it real; otherwise, it’s just imaginary. We are known and will be judged by our actions. It goes without saying that our actions proceed from what we believe, but our beliefs alone are not enough.

So the question to all of us is, “What am I doing to make my faith real?”