5/9/25-A Guest Post

Hey all.  My name is Wade Wilson.  I am a pupper.  I sit and watch my Dad write in this blog thing all the time so I decided it might be time for me to try this blogging thing out myself.

I have been Dad's best friend for as long as I can remember.  Thinking back, we met outside a pet store a long time ago.  I was not sure about him, but he told me he would take care of me and for some reason I believed him.

We used to go on walks a lot and we even had plans to go on journeys together.  He told me that we could go out and drive somewhere (I love car rides) and explore the new area.  Think of all the new smells!  He said we could spend the night in his car (camping he called it) before we headed home.  I mostly just was looking forward to spending time with him.  Afterall, he is the Dad.

Unfortunately, something happened a couple of years ago.  Dad was always tired.  Our walks got shorter and less frequent.  He stopped talking about car camping trips.

He does his best to take care of me like he said he would.  He does say he is sorry about not being able to go on walks all the time.  And I know that if he could he would go back to the way things were.  But, as his pupper, I know it is my job now to take care of him.

After all we are best friends.  That means Wade is the best and Dad is his friend.

S&F-Apostolic Succession

In my opinion, one of the things that makes the Catholic Church special is the way we can trace our history back to its founder, Jesus Christ.  We can actually create a family tree through the bishops to the original Apostles and to Peter, the first Pope chosen by Jesus himself.  Every one of our Priests can trace their heritage back to someone close to Jesus himself.

Today the doors will be locked and we wait for the 267th Pope to be chosen.  Anyone who claims to know what happens behind those doors lies.  Of the College of Cardinals few have even been electors in a conclave before.  All Cardinals are sworn to secrecy under penalty of excommunication to not discuss any of the proceedings.

What we do know is that the Holy Spirit works through the electors to pick the Pope that Jesus choses to be the leader of his Church.  Just as 2000 years ago when He told a fishman named Simon he would be called Cephas (translated to Peter in Greek), meaning rock.  The rock on which he would build his Church.  And to him he would give the keys to his kingdom.  Whatever he was to bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

So in the next few days near the tomb where the remains of St. Peter rests, again Jesus will choose a man to lead the church.  On him he will bestow a new name, as he did to Simon.  This marks the end of this man's life as an individual and the start of his life as Peter's successor, the leader of the Church Jesus created.

S&F-Peter: The Imperfect Apostle

I think the best way to understand what I need to do to get to receive eternal life in Heaven is to look at the people who came before and are already there.  Who better to look to than the ones that Jesus himself choose, his Apostles.  If we can figure out what Jesus saw in them then maybe, we too, can figure out what to do so Jesus will choose us as well.

Who better to look towards than the one that Jesus choose to lead his Church, Simon Peter.  Afterall, if Jesus choose him to be the rock to build the Church on he must be the perfect example.

A lot is written about him in the Bible, so we do know much about him.  The surprising thing is he was far from perfect.

Peter was one of the Apostles with a family.  I'm sure there were times when he was torn between his responsibilities to his family as to Jesus.  I assume that his wife, whom we know little about, must have known and understood the importance of Jesus to allow Peter to continue in his ministry.  Afterall, behind every great man is an ever greater woman.

The thing I like most about the stories of Peter is his constant struggle with his belief.  You would think that the first Pope was immediately 100% faithful and always ready to defend Jesus.  Based on the bible this was not the case.  Peter was constantly confused by Christ's teaching.  He tried to show his faith, only to fail and to be brought beck by Jesus.  Remember, not only Jesus walked on water but Peter did as well, only to lose his faith and sink into the stormy waters.  Jesus tried to show the duty of his followers was to be a servant by washing his feet at the last supper only to have Peter misunderstand feeling he was unworthy to that treatment from the Christ.  He wanted to be next to Jesus at the Crucifixion, only to deny him 3 times.  Peter was not the perfect follower of Jesus, but he tried.

In the Acts of the Apostles something changed in Peter.  After receiving the Holy Spirit, he, along with the rest of the Apostles became proud of their faith, practicing it in the open.  They, led by Peter, healed countless people in Jesus's name.  And when they were questioned or even persecuted, they were no longer cowered in fear but confident in their convictions, delighted to share in a little of what Jesus suffered.

In Peter's case, he eventually went to Rome.  He was martyred by crucifixion, but feeling unworthy of suffering like Christ he was hung upside down.  His remains are at the foundation of the Vatican, truly the foundation rock of the Church he built in Jesus's name.

What do we learn from Peter?  The thing I get is that Peter was far from perfect.  He tried to understand Jesus, only to miss the point a lot.  He tried to show his faith, only to falter.  I have these same problems.  I don't understand the teachings of Jesus, my faith wavers at times.  But Jesus kept pulling Peter back, giving him another chance.  Jesus allowed Peter to fail, knowing this would make his faith stronger.  Jesus keeps pulling me back as well.  I just hope that eventually, with the intercession of the Holy Spirit, I can confidently proclaim my faith like Peter and the early leaders of the Church.

St. Peter, keeper of the keys to Heaven, rock of the Church, our first Pope-Pray for us.

5/5/25-See You at the Finish Line

Dad-

On this date 24 years ago we stood together on the grass near the start line of the Spring Sprint Triathlon at South Shores Park in Mission Bay.  I was getting ready to start my race when you told me, "See you at the finish line."  Little did I know you weren't talking about the finish line for that race, but the final finish line of life.

As I can see my finish line getting closer, I hope you are still waiting for me.  I can't wait to hear your special way of saying everything was "Super!"  I can't wait for us to catch up, maybe over a round of golf or something (do they have that up there?).

I hope when you look down on me you are as proud of me as a son as I am to call you "Dad."

See you soon.

Love-Matt

5/4/25-Is There Anybody Out There?

Over the years I have started many blogs.  Some have been for tracking my workouts or races (boy, that seems like a different life).  And when ever I did I would think to myself, What can I do to get more readers?  

Things like changing the look of the blog or the blog platform always came up.  I would think about changing to a photo blog where the posts would just be a daily picture with a quick caption.  I tried that one for a time.  One time I thought about doing a video blog where I would take a camera with me and comment while I worked out on my runs.  I never did that, thank goodness.

But in all my blogs I eventually got frustrated because I didn't have any followers.  Granted, I wasn't publicizing my blog at all, because I didn't know how to do so and didn't want to take the effort to do so.  My friend group was (and is) so small that I really didn't have an easy way to let people know I was even around.  And my best friends couldn't even read, since they are dogs. 

So, eventually, every blog just died.  I would lose interest in just talking to myself and stop writing.

I was thinking yesterday about this blog.  I know how many readers I have.  Is my time worth it to write my feelings down for 10-15 people?

It my not seem like I spend much time on these posts, because I'm sure they are riddled with spelling and grammatical errors, but I do.  I probably spend at least an hour thinking about, composing and editing each of these.  So I ask again, is this even worth my time?

To be honest, I would like more people to be reading these posts.  While I do believe myself to be a pretty humble person (we can debate that separately), I do have some vanity deep in me and would love to think I have people who look forward to reading my little blog.  And over the life of this blog I have seen the number go from small at the beginning to basically insignificant today.

So, what is my point here?  Is this blog going to fade into nothingness like all my past attempts at blogs?  No, I don't think so.  In some ways this blog is cathartic for me in dealing with my mortality.  But I would love some feedback from those few of you out there on the blog itself.  What can I do to make these posts better?  Are they too long?  Is the organization on blogspot to hard?  Is mixing the religious posts turning you off?  Are the posts too frequent?  Are they not frequent enough?  Basically, what can I do to make you want to come back and read my thoughts?

I don't want this blog to disappear like all my other attempts at blogging have.  I need this blog for my well being.  And I am afraid, based on the past blogs, if I don't get some feedback, I might just naturally let it fade out.  So, please, let me know you are out there.

S&F-Waiting for Healing

 

Today is the Feast of James the Lesser, and he is my inspiration for this post.

In my year with cancer, I have prayed harder and tried to become closer to Jesus and the Church.  I have read the Bible and know of numerous cases where Jesus cured the sick and even raised people from the dead.  Even after he rose to Heaven Jesus, through his followers, continued to heal the sick and lame.  There are stories of miraculous healings to this day from all sorts of ailments.

So why does Jesus, not heal me?  I'm a good guy.  At least I think I am.

Over the last several years I have become engrossed in the series "The Chosen."  It is the story of the life of Jesus and his Apostles during Jesus's ministry and eventually his death.  Admittingly, this is not a retelling of the Gospels, for the sake of the story they have taken some liberties by adding some characters backstories.  They don't refute the Gospel itself, but some of these stories are not in the Bible.  I make an effort to figure out which stories are Biblically accurate and which ones are Hollywood stories.  I do believe that the stories they add do meet the spirit of what Jesus would have done, so I'm ok with those fictional liberties.

One of the people who I really like in the show is the character of James the Lesser (played by Jordan Walker Ross).  He was one of Jesus's original 12 Apostles.  The bible doesn't say much about him other then he was called "The Lesser" to differentiate him from James, the brother of John.  The Chosen made him have a limp (mostly because the actor playing him is disabled).

In one of the season 3 episodes James askes Jesus why he heals everyone but allows him to suffer with his limp.  Jesus (Johnathan Roumie) tells him that he is seen and appreciated by God as he is.  Jesus tells him that having his disability can actually magnify God's goodness in the world's eyes.  It shows God is good even when he doesn't heal us.

Biblically little is known about the life of James.  Tradition tells us he was the first Bishop of Jerusalem, and was the author of the Epistle of James.  He was at the Council of Jerusalem about conversion of Gentiles.  As a witness to the Resurrection he is a pillar of the Church that Paul consulted about the Gospel.  AS Bishop of Jerusalem he was revered for his deep faith and prayer.  He was so respected that his followers took to calling him James the Just.  For fear of his influence he was thrown from the Pinnacle of the temple after refusing to deny Christ.  He miraculously survived only to be stoned and clubbed to death.

I, like James in the show, wish for healing every day.  But I understand that God has a purpose for me and maybe that doesn't include healing.  Maybe it is by my suffering that I can better get his better out.  I don't think my future includes stoning, but I can use him as an example of embracing what Jesus has in store for me.

Little James-pray for me.

5/2/25-The Conclave

If you clicked on this expecting a new series in my blog with movie reviews, I'm sorry to disappoint you.  This is going to be about choosing the next Pope.  I was originally going to label this as a Shephard & Friend post, but choosing a Pope is something that effects everyone, not just Catholics.

In my lifetime there has been four Papal Conclaves.  However this is the first one I really have paid any attention to.  The Catholic Church is facing issues with modern secularity, so this election could be important.  Popes seem to be chosen to respond to what issues are facing the Church at the time. What type of Pope does the Church need when the Cardinals lock the doors to the Sistine Chapel next week?

I looked up the requirements and it appears that any Baptized Catholic male is eligible.  I know someone who meets those requirements, me.  While I would have to take a pay cut and I would have to move to Italy, if I got the call next weekend I would have to do my duty as a Catholic and go.

It's unlikely that I will have to come up with a Papal Name, though Pope Stephen XI would probably be my choice for the first martyr of the Church, so I guess I have to trust the Cardinal Electors to choose the right person.

Through history there have been bad Popes and good Popes.  The Cardinals, guided by the Holy Spirit, choose the person who the Church needs to lead us through the time.  Over the last 100 years there have been Popes to lead us through wars (Pius X, Benedict XV and Pius XII), Popes to reform the Church (John XXIII, Paul VI, and Francis), fight communism and enter a new millennium (John Paul II) and focus on foundational theology (Benedict XVI).  Though every Pope has has detractors, in all cases those were the Popes that were required at the time.

I know the type of Pope I would like to see, but it pride and hubris to think I know better then the Holy Spirit what the Church needs.  Jesus built the Church on the Rock of Peter and it has lasted 2000 years based on that foundation.  It will continue long after I'm gone.

I realize this post may have become a little preachy, but I do think its is important for everyone out there, regardless of their faith, to either pray or just hope for the right person to be chosen in the next week or two.  The Pope is one of the most powerful leaders we have and can influence the world on a scale beyond just the Catholic Church.

I will be following next week when the doors are locked and be looking for the white smoke and listening for the bells of  St. Peter's Basilica.  I will celebrate when I hear the words: "Habemus Papam!" and see who walks out on that balcony.  Maybe it not be the Pope I was expecting, maybe not the Pope I wanted, or maybe he will be, but he is the Pope and I will respect him as the leader of my Church.

Oh-and by the way-there is no way I would ever watch the movie "The Conclave."  So no review coming.