Reflections of a beloved son

Every year we celebrate Thanksgiving here in the United States on the fourth Thursday of November.  Families and friends gather together and enjoy one another.  It's a day of conversations, food, entertainment - a day to get away from the busyness of the world and to just be. If we really think about it, there is so much to be thankful for.  Thankful for the gift to see another day.  The gift of our family and friends.  Our blessings.  The gift of forgiveness and reconciliation.  And, yes, even thankful for the gift  of our struggles.  It is easy to see God's hands in the good things and the joys, but sometimes it is hard to see God amidst the difficulties.  However, those are the times when God is closest to us.  Jesus suffered.  He felt alone and abandoned on the Cross. Yet, when He looked up, He must have remembered His Father will never leave Him.  And, when He looked down and saw His Mother, He must have been comfor...

I believe if you were to ask anyone who seems well-adjusted, doing well, and happy if everything in their lives has always been well and easy, I am sure they will tell you no.   It takes hard work to produce good results , in anything.  For a student, to get honestly good grades, one must study and work hard and diligently.  For a teacher, to be an effective instructor, one must do as much, if not more work than their students to prepare lessons and to love them well.  For a parent, to be a loving parent who does his best to provide for his family, he must maintain his career.  For an athlete, to play to win one must practice day in and day out, putting in sweat and tears.   All things worth doing are worth sacrificing for .  The struggles will be there, but if you keep in mind why you’re working so hard, those struggles will become opportunities to respond to grace and let God lead you. St. Paul and Barnabas told the people who were struggling to ...