Poem: To Whom Do I Belong?

To whom do I belong?

Sometimes I think I know

Some days I am just clueless

Some days I pay no attention

To whom do I belong?

Where do I spend my time?

Is that what I truly love?

Is that where I belong?

To where m do I belong?

Where do I spend my money?

For which I work so hard

Is my blood, sweat and tears well spent?

To whom do I belong?

Where do I use my talents?

Do I use them wisely?

To who do I lend them to?

To whom do I belong?

To whom do love most of all?

Where do my decisions lead?

Is that where I want to go?

Michael Timothy Smith

4/21/2024

Poem: Help Me Hear

Help me hear

I want to see

Help me hear

I want to believe

Help me hear

I might turn away

Help me hear

Even when I am in pain

I don’t want to run

I do not want to hide

But I am a prideful man

I should be so ashamed

I want to learn a new way

I want to change the day

I want to never give up

Even when I am in pain

Someone tried to tell me

Someone tried to love

Someone had some patience

It was give from above

I didn’t understand them

I didn’t want to try

I didn’t know how to start

I just wanted to cry

The first step want easy

The first step was so far

The first step was so different

My excitement was so high

I kept on trying to try

I kept on flying high

I kept on in my worst day

Because I’ve come so far

Michael Timothy Smith

4/18/2024

Poem: Take It All

You can take it all

I don’t care

You can take it all

Rip it from my hands

You can take it all

It’s nothing that I need

You can take it all

You’ll never touch me

How many days you yell

How many days you scream

You swing at me and threaten

Too bad you cannot see

I know you want to kill me

Your face is not kind

You don’t seem to understand

You don’t seem to mind

How are you filled with so much hate

Cause I don’t see your way

You think I’m evil somehow

Because I choose the way

I’ve never tried to judge you

I’ve only shared my heart

Yet you just keep throwing stones

As I walk away

Michael Timothy Smith

4/17/2024

(Warren Zeiders)

2/8/2024 Scripture Reflection

Reading 1

1 Kgs 11:4-13

Responsorial Psalm

PS 106:3-4, 35-36, 37 and 40

Gospel

Mk 7:24-30

So here we have some readings that sometimes are taken out of context, or misunderstood. First we have Solomon, and how the mighty have fallen. He didn’t keep his heart in check. For the record, God does not like polygamy. He allowed it, but if you look at Genesis, God only gave Adam, Eve, not Eve, Sarah, Julie, and… I think you get the idea. With more than one wife you have a divided heart, and a divided heart is easily conquered. Additionally Solomon picked wives for political and probably lustful reasons. Sure you can marry someone of a different faith and have a successful marriage, but if you are not on the same page with your spouse then things get tricky, and marriages have enough stress as there is. In the psalm we see the writer acknowledging faults and asking God for forgiveness and help. How often do I pray when I am in trouble, and that’s good, but it’s more wise to pray everyday about everything to have a better relationship with God. Likewise it is good to read scripture and meditate daily, that way you avoid those temptations that come and if you do fail you repent immediately rather than when you find yourself in a heap of stinking mess rather than a small one. I can attest that life indeed, goes better when you pray, read scripture and meditate daily. In the Gospel Jesus, well, kind of seems like a jerk. Many take it that way, and I can understand. But here is a woman from a people that have left God’s path and way. She realizes that Jesus is a pretty special guy, it doesn’t say, but maybe she even thinks he is the Messiah. Jesus responds (basically) you’re not one of my people. You don’t believe in me or my father/God. Why should I help you. She persists and has great faith. Jesus as does God has a merciful heart and heals her daughter. Question is, does she follow Jesus and his way forward, or does she continue with her sinful ways. I see lots of churches doing amazing things, many of which go untold, unseen and unrealized by the general public. Inevitably I then hear someone complain that a church will not help them in their time of need. They claim that Christians are hypocrites. That might be true, but if someone who is not a member of a particular church asks for help why should they give it. All too often we hear stories of people taking advantage charity. A church is a community, and we love to help people, and maybe this wrong or not, but if someone who is not a member asks for help should we trust them. I guarantee the church is more likely to help when they have a relationship or reference with someone. So what does this all mean for me today? Well I will try and stay vigilant to walk the righteous path home to heaven. I will repent quickly when I have fallen and sinned. I will ask for help when I need it and be persistent. If someone asks me for help and I can, I will, but I will be guarded for their intentions… sometimes. Will I give blindly, sometimes, but not all the time. Does that make me a bad person? I will let God decide, but I will also let God guide me when to give and when not to.

February 7, 2024 Scripture Reflection

Reading 1

1 Kgs 10:1-10

Responsorial Psalm

PS 37:5-6, 30-31, 39-40

Gospel

Mk 7:14-23

Reflection: I smile and chuckle when thinking about the readings today. They are all about wisdom, and I have never been acused of being a wise man. I am kind of glad actually. With wisdom comes responsibility. Being unwise I can claim “stupidity” as an out. But seriously, I look to pickup wisdom whenever I can. Anymore I try to shut up and listen so that I can learn from others. In the first reading you see Sheba and how she is impressed with Solomon, but in the long game, for all his wisdom, Solomon fell and fell hard. I guess thats another reason why I shy away from being called wise. I don’t want to get a big head and start to actually ignore wisdom like Solomon. In the Psalm we see that “just” murmur wisdom. This catches me a because you think that the just would shout wisdom from the tree tops. Again, humility in action. With wisdom one is close with God. I have heard that wisdom is truth lived. It makes sense, but with truth so skewed anymore, and how we all have our own truth, I think that definition can be… well insufficient. Actually the idea of personal truth should be reexamined. In the Gospel we see Jesus trying to dole out some wisdom. Unfortunately hard hearts do not hear it, and again ego and humility are left out of place. The disciples who have open hearts pursue and learn what Jesus is trying to say. So today, I will try to have an open and soft heart. I will try my best to put ego and pride aside so that I can learn, and then maybe, just maybe. I may become a bit more wiser. 

Day 31: The Meaning of Faith, paragraphs 222-231

NOTES:   Believing in one God and loving him has consequences. It means making good use of God’s creation. We get to have a relationship with God. God is great and we know him not. We must first serve to get to know him. We have all from God. Our life and all that is in it. We are made in the image and likeness of God. We are to care for his creation. We should treasure everything. It means trusting God, even in adversity. All passes but God is forever. God is enough. We will know God’s greatness and majesty when we follow and love the one true God. As good as we can know you there is always more. God is a mystery. If we love God then we must realize that we are all (humanity) one family and must respect everyones dignity for everyone is made in God’s image and likeness. We should remove everything in our life that takes us away from God. We should substitute anything for God; not pleasure, not money, not power. 

Day 31: Frogs, Gnats, and Flies, Exodus 8, Leviticus 6 and Psalm 48.

NOTES:   The Bible can be a flashlight a mirror or sandpaper. It can show us things, it can reveal things to us that we didn’t know about ourselves and it can help refine us and take off our “rough” edges. Pharaoh is funny, he wants rid of the plague, but he wants rid of it tomorrow. We sometimes are the same way. We don’t change for the better right away, but rather change for the better, tomorrow. Is it not better to change for the better for today? Temptation, the flesh, the world does such a good job to get us to procrastinate. We need to pray to the Holy Spirit to ask his help to give us the strength to do the good thing today. 

2/6/2024 Scripture Reflection

Reading 1

1 Kgs 8:22-23, 27-30

Responsorial psalm

PS 84:3, 4, 5 and 10, 11

Gospel

Mk 7:1-13

Reflection:   It’s funny how things change over time. In the first reading we Solomon before he has fallen, and we see his humility. He realizes that the heaven and earth cannot contain God, so how could this massive temple he had built contain him. He wants to do God’s will. He wants to do his fathers will. He wants his people to have a place to worship. He wants to show is love for God by creating this massively impressive temple. In the Psalm the writer proclaims the might of the temple. All seem to be drawn to the temple, even the birds of the air. The Psalmist proclaims that he would rather live on the doorstep of the temple than in the comforts of a tent of wickedness. But oh how things change with time. In the Gospel we see the Pharisees confronting Jesus… again. They have a legitimate question, “Why don’t you guys wash your hands before you eat?” On he service it seems like a legitimate question, but Jesus can sense what is in their hearts. The Pharisees, are so caught up on tradition that they fail to recognize that, first they are in the presence of the Messiah, and second that they are so wrapped in tradition that they loose sight of the true intention of the law. The law is to teach one to be fair, honest and righteous all the while loving. But that is why Jesus came right? At least in part to teach us to love. I think of myself. There are many times through out the day when I give praise to God. I do my best to study and learn his way so that I can be a better man for my family and all that I meet, but what happens when I am in the middle of a lesson and get interrupted? Do I stop what I am doing and focus on what is important with love, or do I repel and say, “Egad child!!! How dare you interrupt me while I am studying the word and ways of God!” I got to be honest. Sometimes I stop and love. Sometimes I get irritated. Sometimes I down right loose my cool. I am a sinner. I am a work in progress. I am better than I used to be but I still have a long, long, long way to go.

So what will I do? I will go out into the world, I will pray as constantly as I can so that I do not loose focus on what is important. I will focus on God so that I can love him and everyone I meet fairly, justly and righteously.