Jesus Says. "acknowledge And Accept Who I

The Conversation Of Most Middle-class Americans, We Are Told, Revolves Around Consumption: What To Buy, What Was Just Bought, Where To Eat, The Price Of The Neighbor's House, What's On Sale This Week, Our Clothes Or Someone Else's, The Best Car On The Market This Year, Where To Spend A Vacation. Apparently We Can't Stop Eating, Shopping, Or Consuming. Success Is Measured Not In Terms Of Love, Wisdom, And Maturity But By The Size Of One's Pile Of Possessions.

The Deeper We Grow In The Spirit Of Jesus Christ, The Poorer We Become - The More We Realize That Everything In Life Is A Gift. The Tenor Of Our Lives Becomes One Of Humble And Joyful Thanksgiving. Awareness Of Our Poverty And Ineptitude Causes Us To Rejoice In The Gift Of Being Called Out Of Darkness Into Wondrous Light And Translated Into The Kingdom Of God's Beloved Son.

Grace Abounds In Contemporary Movies, Books, Novels, Films And Music. If God Is Not In The Whirlwind, He May Be In A Woody Allen Film, Or A Bruce Springsteen Concert. Most People Understand Imagery And Symbol Better Than Doctrine And Dogma. Images Touch Hearts And Awaken Imaginations. One Theologian Suggested That Springsteen's 'tunnel Of Love' Album, In Which He Symbolically Sings Of Sin, Death, Despair And Redemption, Is More Important For Catholics Than The Pope's Last Visit When He Spoke Of Morality Only In Doctrinal Propositions.

The Sorrow Of God Lies In Our Fear Of Him, Our Fear Of Life, And Our Fear Of Ourselves. He Anguishes Over Our Self-absorption And Self-sufficiency... God's Sorrow Lies In Our Refusal To Approach Him When We Sinned And Failed.

For Several Centuries, The Celtic Church Of Ireland Was Spared The Greek Dualism Of Matter And Spirit. They Regarded The World With The Clear Vision Of Faith. When A Young Celtic Monk Saw His Cat Catch A Salmon Swimming In Shallow Water, He Cried, "the Power Of The Lord Is In The Paw Of The Cat!