THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE
PRAY FOR PEACE AND RECONCILIATION
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
THE JOURNEY
The only way to really understand someone's journey is to talk about it, yet to talk about something that was so traumatic to your life, happening as a child and for a very long time after, is difficult.
My desire to share is because if people understood what others can go through and still climb up and out of the pit that they were thrown in, they will see that all things are possible.
I give all my credit to God who walked with me through the most cruel and horrible experiences in my life and some of them happened right here within the church.
It is sad to say that in this great big world of ours, those that we look up to, to guide us down the path to Heaven, can be the greatest offenders, pulling people down by their indifference, by their insensativity and lack of understanding.
This doesn't mean that they are bad people or it is the fault of the church but rather it is the human conditions that does this.. that people, no matter how they are called, can fall and they can fail.
If people didn't fail me, I would never have been pulled toward God as much as I have... because I needed Him. So what might seem bad at the time, can really be a blessing. I was depended on God for everything and I used what He gave and turned it around and went out to help thousands of people, even though I was having a very hard time helping even myself.
God seems to work that way. Even though I have done a lot of good, I don't believe I have done much of anything. It is difficult to see any good I have done unless I am reminded.
I am sharing this little piece that was written about me because I believe that in order to understand that God really does help people, you would have to know the story of my Journey. No matter how rough the road for St St Paul, in the end won the race, and you will win the race, no matter what any one thinks of you, no matter how they treat you and no matter if you don't think you amount to much... God is there to help you win the race.
It is no wonder that this one very amazing woman would become the founder of, and leading light for, the rapidly expanding, highly regarded prison dog programs. Her love and compassion for society’s throwaway people, coupled with her deep love for dogs became a formula for healing and change unprecedented in our prison systems.
The direction her life has taken has challenged and changed old paradigms of thinking that previously dictated what is either worthy or worthless in life. Thousands of humans and canines are offered hope-and yes, even redemption in these prison dog programs. Many have met Sister Pauline-most have not—but each human and canine life she has touched directly or indirectly has made the world a better place for them—and us.
I interviewed Sister Paulie extensively and was amazed and moved by her commitment to make the lives of those that most of us would rather forget about a little better. To give them a sense that someone cared.
She is a remarkable woman.
My desire to share is because if people understood what others can go through and still climb up and out of the pit that they were thrown in, they will see that all things are possible.
I give all my credit to God who walked with me through the most cruel and horrible experiences in my life and some of them happened right here within the church.
It is sad to say that in this great big world of ours, those that we look up to, to guide us down the path to Heaven, can be the greatest offenders, pulling people down by their indifference, by their insensativity and lack of understanding.
This doesn't mean that they are bad people or it is the fault of the church but rather it is the human conditions that does this.. that people, no matter how they are called, can fall and they can fail.
If people didn't fail me, I would never have been pulled toward God as much as I have... because I needed Him. So what might seem bad at the time, can really be a blessing. I was depended on God for everything and I used what He gave and turned it around and went out to help thousands of people, even though I was having a very hard time helping even myself.
God seems to work that way. Even though I have done a lot of good, I don't believe I have done much of anything. It is difficult to see any good I have done unless I am reminded.
I am sharing this little piece that was written about me because I believe that in order to understand that God really does help people, you would have to know the story of my Journey. No matter how rough the road for St St Paul, in the end won the race, and you will win the race, no matter what any one thinks of you, no matter how they treat you and no matter if you don't think you amount to much... God is there to help you win the race.
Patricia Kelley
The only way to truly understand the power of these prison dog programs and the driving energy behind them is to understand the amazing and selfless woman who started them. Out of the unspeakable abuse she suffered as a child and young adult, a phoenix has risen. Like a phoenix—Sister Pauline would not be destroyed by her circumstances.
This defines Sister Pauline. Tough, resilient, often outspoken, and sometimes irreverently defiant-she’s not your stereotypical nun. Yet, she is filled with a capacity to love and forgive that would challenge most of us. She rose up out of unthinkable abuse to change her corner of the world, guided by a promise she made to God in her darkest hour.
This defines Sister Pauline. Tough, resilient, often outspoken, and sometimes irreverently defiant-she’s not your stereotypical nun. Yet, she is filled with a capacity to love and forgive that would challenge most of us. She rose up out of unthinkable abuse to change her corner of the world, guided by a promise she made to God in her darkest hour.
It is no wonder that this one very amazing woman would become the founder of, and leading light for, the rapidly expanding, highly regarded prison dog programs. Her love and compassion for society’s throwaway people, coupled with her deep love for dogs became a formula for healing and change unprecedented in our prison systems.
The direction her life has taken has challenged and changed old paradigms of thinking that previously dictated what is either worthy or worthless in life. Thousands of humans and canines are offered hope-and yes, even redemption in these prison dog programs. Many have met Sister Pauline-most have not—but each human and canine life she has touched directly or indirectly has made the world a better place for them—and us.
I interviewed Sister Paulie extensively and was amazed and moved by her commitment to make the lives of those that most of us would rather forget about a little better. To give them a sense that someone cared.
She is a remarkable woman.
Her organization is Pathways to Hope.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
CHRIST CAME FOR THE POOR, UNWANTED AND THOSE OTHERS DESPISED
YOU CAN FIND CHRIST IN THE DARKNESS OF THE ALLEY WAYS, UNDER BRIDGES WHERE THE POOR SLEEP. HE IS WITH THOSE WHO HE LOVES.
"Christ remains with us not only through the Mass but in the 'distressing disguise' of the poor. To live with the poor is a contemplative vocation, for it is to live in the constant presence of Jesus"
Dorothy Day
“The poor give us much more than we give them. They're such strong people, living day to day with no food. They never curse, never complain. We don't have to give them pity or sympathy. We have so much to learn from them.”
Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Instead of comparing our lot with that of those who are more fortunate than we are, we should compare it with the lot of the great majority of our fellow men. It then appears that we are among the privileged.
THE GOOD SHEPHERD
In Today's Gospel John 10 1-15
The Good Shepherd
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.
But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice.
But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers."
Although Jesus used this figure of speech, they did not realize what he was trying to tell them. So Jesus said again, "Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came [before me] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
"In the Church Bulletin there was a comment by the pastor and it says:
St John narrates the storyof Jesus the Good Shepherd as part of the sixth sign in his gospel book of signs. Here, Jesus is the light of the world and St John explains this in the story of the man born blind. In this story, the religious leaders are blind but they do not know that they are blind. They are contrasted with Jesus who is the light that has come into the world. Then St. John tells the story of Jesus the sheep gate and Jesus the Good Shepherd. These stories are told to illustrate that Jesus is the one who loves humanity and cares for them as a good shepherd takes care of his sheep.
But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice.
But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers."
Although Jesus used this figure of speech, they did not realize what he was trying to tell them. So Jesus said again, "Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came [before me] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
"In the Church Bulletin there was a comment by the pastor and it says:
St John narrates the storyof Jesus the Good Shepherd as part of the sixth sign in his gospel book of signs. Here, Jesus is the light of the world and St John explains this in the story of the man born blind. In this story, the religious leaders are blind but they do not know that they are blind. They are contrasted with Jesus who is the light that has come into the world. Then St. John tells the story of Jesus the sheep gate and Jesus the Good Shepherd. These stories are told to illustrate that Jesus is the one who loves humanity and cares for them as a good shepherd takes care of his sheep.
The story is told so that those who experience the neglect of their out-of-touch religious leaders and institutions know that Jesus is the one who is enlightened. Jesus understands their dilemmans and like a good shepherd takes cae of his flock, Jesus will take care of them. There is no need to think that God depends on incompetent and corrupt religious leaders. God accomplishes his purpose of nurturing his people and leading them to their destiny. Jesus is the one who knows the way."
This is helpful to reflect on this message because when our church leaders hurt us.. when they neglect the sheep, then often people will start thinking it is their fault and will be crushed by the weight of this cross, but if we reflect that there are times when our religious leaders are not leading us, when they don't care as what happened with the priest sexual abuse and the leaders turned their backs on the victims, then we have to looke to the Good Shepherd Jesus who won't abandon us and will reach out to us with the kindness and compassion of the Good Shepherd.
Never let incompetent and corrupt religious leaders to pull you down. Look to the heart of Jesus and you will find Love.
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