The Path to Calgary

He taught with mirth and showered with love,
Preached to all about the one above,
Performed miracles, healing body and soul,
And pray to the Father, His name to extol.
But still, they would not listen!

He healed the leper, cured the blind,
All earthly possessions he left behind,
Forgave them all, both Sinner and Saint,
But still, they could not escape the taint
Of their collective sin from long ago.

He rode triumphantly through Jerusalem's gate,
And set in motion what was forever his fate,
He built a whip with a leather thong,
Upturned the carts, chastised the throng.
But they would not repent.

He prayed in the garden that his cup would pass,
But the Father told Him to show them at last,
So he carried the cross up Calgary Hill,
God's mission in mercy he had to fulfill.
And after he had arisen, some listened and believed,

The Master Upstairs

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I wrote this poem upon my brother’s passing. May it bring comfort as we remember all the saints and souls who have gone before us.

The poem tells the story of what the dogs my Brother David and his wife owned were thinking about in his absence.

Dogs Looking For their Master — Where is my Master?

Zooey looked at Sis,
in that mischievous way,
Where is our Master?
I want to go out and play.

Our yips are a little less yippee,
Our yaps a little less yappy,
What happened to our Master,
Who always made us happy.

He gave us kisses and never fleas.
He let us do our business on his trees.
What happened to him? Where did he go?
And what happened to our Mom,
She is moving rather slow.

Alvin pawed at Jasmine ,
And echoed what Zooey said.
Where is our Master?
who always patted our head.

He gave us snacks,
And it was always a treat,
When he let us wrestle,
At the boots on his feet.

Where is he Jasmine?
Where is he now?
We got to help Mom,
And find him somehow.

Then Sis looked at her siblings,
And said with a sisterly grin.
You can’t look for him outside,
You have to look within.

For like our brother Ranger,
He went to his Master above.
Who entered the world one December,
And showered it with love.

And he waits for us in Heaven,
Again, leading the way.
Where there will be no more sorrow,
And all good dogs get to stay.

Then all four dogs were silent,
As they turned inward and prayed,
And in their souls they saw our Master,
And again with their Dad David,


They yipped and yapped and played!

The True Meaning of Christmas Eve – Love’s Everlasting Kiss

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Picture of Mount Olivet with Philippians 2:5-11

The True Meaning of Christmas Eve

This Christmas Eve, we wait expectantly for God’s Love Incarnate. Not the gooey-eyed love we experience on a porch swing and a first kiss, but rather the long, hard-fought, victorious love that endures past a last kiss at the cross. The love of a God who so loved the world that he gave his only Son. The Love of our Lord who in the dungeons of Caiaphas, the agony of the Garden, and nailed to the Cross loves us, dies for our sins to be resurrected and gain us a path to Heaven.

The Love of Mary agrees to bring God into this world and stands there at the foot of the cross. She takes that hard-won love with her to the house of John, where she leads the apostles until she is assumed into Heaven and crowned its Queen. The love of a God that endures in the church and the sacrifice of the Saints. Despite our faults and sins, the Love is returning to the Mount of Olives!

This Christmas Eve, we wait expectantly for the incarnation. St. Paul in Philippians 2:5-11 speaks to the emptying of God, which in Greek is called Kenosis. For more insight on Kenosis and poetry on the topic, click this link to read Kenosis by Lucy Shaw with insights from Malcolm Guite.

In closing, the poem I wrote a few years back on the passing of a loved one is appropriate today. My brother went on to the next life today during this last week of Advent. I look forward to meeting again and holding him in my heart.

Love’s Everlasting Kiss by Don Grier

Love does not come easy,
it’s built-in trials,
minute by minute,
day by day.
It is built on sorrow,
As much as hope,
Tears and hardship,
As much as laughter.
It does not flit,
It does not float,
It is SOLID,
and it ENDURES!
Why love then?
It is our purpose and mission,
What we were built for,
What God designed!
Because love does not last,
for a minute or an hour.
It lasts a lifetime,
and through eternity.
So, drive on through the pain,
And strive through the sorrow And with one last kiss,
Reach for the tomorrow.
And, remember in waiting,
Not the words left spoken or tears,
But the smile and loving eyes,
That resound through the years.

Yoked to Jesus: Finding Strength Through Adversity

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Plowing the Hills of Calvaro

Introduction

This a parable story suitable for middle school students and above about the following excerpt from Matthew 11: 28-30. Questions follow.

28 “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

The Yoking

I remember the conversation as clearly as yesterday when I was told that Jesús and I would be harnessed together for the plowing season.

“I can’t believe Farmer Hector yoked me to old Jesús,” I neighed to my friend Buck. “What is the Farmer thinking? Does he want to plow the pasture all Spring? To leave the pasture fallow at harvest time. I thought he would pick someone young and strong like you, Buck, or Diablo since we would get it done quickly. What is he thinking?”

Stumble then Learn

But in hindsight, I was wrong! Jesús slowed me down initially when I was galloping too fast. But I soon realized slower was better in the rocky pasture, where stones can splinter a hoof, as I did one brisk morning when I felt frisky. But to my surprise, old Jesús pulled us long and more than made up for my injury during the days I was recovering.

After I was healed, I was ready and raring to go. Jesús, let me plod on, seeming to take no interest in our work. He let me carry a good bit of the load since I had learned my lesson about the rocks and looked to avoid them. It tested my patience and resilience, but I was determined to do my best.

Jesús’s seeming lack of interest worried me as we approached the Hill of Calvaro. With the end of spring coming, we had just a few days left to get the plowing done. Farmer Hector loved to terrace the hill because the crops grew better in the cooler climate.

Climbing the Hill of Calvaro

Jesús again surprised me as he picked up the pace. It took both of us to pull up that devilish hill. I saw Jesús matching my steps and pulling me forward when I faltered. The last drive took all Jesús had, but he did not complain as he lay panting and heaving. Until, at last, his heart gave out just as we crested the Hill of Cavaro. Farmer Hector buried him there where he fell, on that hallowed hill. Jesús died at 33 years, a ripe age for a plow horse.

The Lesson

A few days later (three, I think), Farmer Hector and I stopped at a lake before returning to the homestead. We looked up and were amazed. In the deep blue sky was one lone cloud shaped like old Jesús. Farmer Hector said under his breath, “Could it be?” He just shook his head doubtfully. But I could have sworn, in the whispering wind, I heard Jesús whinny, “Remember.”

And I have tried to remember! I may not be as patient and as strong as old Jesús. Nor has the harvest from the fields I have plowed ever matched our harvest that Autumn. But I try as best I can to impart the lessons that I learned while yoked to Jesús.

Questions

1. Think of a time when you did something without Jesus by your side. How did that turn out?

2. Now, how about a time when Jesus carried the load for you?

3. Have you ever thought that Jesus was no longer with you? In hindsight, was that a time for growth?

4. What crosses do you have, and how might walking yoked to Jesus help you?

Boost Your Wellness with Body and Soul Habit Stacking

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This second two-part blog series focuses on practices that nurture the body and soul. The first blog of the series, Good for the Body, Good for the Soul, covered five powerful practices that can help you promote your soul and, in turn, improve your health and disposition. This blog will cover how to stack in sequence or, better yet, run body and soul habit combinations in parallel for a double whammy. You can also hear both blogs with additional info in podcast form by subscribing to the Change Well podcast, available at our website link here or on Spotify or Apple Podcast.

The concept of habit stacking, as introduced in Atomic Habits, helps to establish beneficial habits more quickly. Here is a simple example. You need to take medication each day, which is an established habit. However, you also want to institute the beneficial habit of drinking sixty-four ounces of water. A way to develop the new habit is to place a water bottle next to your pill container. Presto! Now, you have a ready-made container with the right amount of water next to your pill box. You need to wash down the pills and, in so doing, start drinking the water you need for the day!

I used this habit stacking idea to benefit significantly during my weight loss journey of losing 150+ pounds in under a year. My physical transformation recovered my body, but my soul was still suffering. I was still sometimes a curmudgeon, and my peace of mind, though better, could still get rattled. So, I decided to piggyback some new soul habits with some of my firmly established body habits. I will provide examples of my body and soul habit stacks and scrums, more on that term later, that relate to my faith practice – Roman Catholicism. However, I will try briefly suggesting how these may be adapted based on my research.

The first stack I tried was what I called the Texas Three Step. I had already established the Texas Two Step method during my weight loss journey. Each Saturday morning, I would get up at 6:00 and work out for an hour and a half before attending my WW meeting. It was good for the body!

Two years ago, my parish established Saturday morning prayers (called Lauds in the Liturgy of the Hours) combined with Adoration on Saturday in the early morning. This led to my new and improved Texas three-step Saturday ritual. I now get up on Saturday at 5 AM and exercise to get as close to my weight target as possible. I then went to my Church and prayed for an hour to clear the weight off my soul. After praying (and sometimes Mass), I head to my WW meeting to share wellness ideas with my friends, now at the 9:30 WW Meeting. In one fell swoop, I shed weight on body, soul, and shared fellowship to start the weekend right!

I next created a daily body and soul stack. It was similar to the first stack but less formal without group activities. I had established an exercise habit that followed my morning water and medication discussed earlier. I decided to add a prayer meditation after working out and subsequently stretching. This worked well initially. I got my heart rate up with exercise, then began slowing it down with stretching, and lastly, I established a contemplative prayer. The exercise helped my prayer focus, and the prayer helped me slow down and heal my body. However, I ran into a problem with time management. I skipped exercises if I had a late night the night before. Or if I thought I had enough but limited time, I rushed both. I began to put back on some weight because I prioritized the spiritual aspect. I had to do something to bring them together. That is when I came up with the idea of body and soul scrums while listening to a book on product management!

Scrum is likely known to rugby fans and software developers but may not be as well known to others. Scrum in software development focuses, among other things, on parallel activities. The origin of Scrum as a framework goes back to an article in the Harvard Business Review in 1986. “The New New Product Development Game” by Takeuchi and Nonaka described how first-class products are developed in cross-functional teams with an ‘all-simultaneous approach.’

Therefore, a body and soul scrum is when you simultaneously execute body and soul habits. What is an example? I will use one of the oldest ones, perfect for the beginning of Christian Lent and practiced by many faiths, including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, Judaism, and Taoism – Fasting and prayer!

Intermittent fasting is now all the rage for weight loss. Still, before my Silicon Valley colleagues adapted it to shed pounds, fasting was used by saints and spiritual leaders to deny themselves and develop spiritually. It is the ultimate body and soul scrum, cleansing the body and healing the soul. Today, on Ash Wednesday, I fast as part of my religion. But also practice fasting more regularly to detoxify the body and soul. I have put a link in the show notes to an article from the NIH on religious fasting.

Besides fasting and prayer, I have developed other body and soul habit scrums I use weekly. They help me manage my time while packing a one-two holistic punch of well-being.

Mike and Bike. In these previous blogs, I documented my love of cycling on our companion blog site: Peloton Pandemic Pandemonium, Don’t Stop Believing: A Weight Loss Journey in Three Intervals. My respect and admiration for Father Mike Schmitz are right up there with this love. He was instrumental in my wellness journey, both body and soul. I started listening to his homilies after a Lenten retreat at our parish and would listen to his homilies while using the elliptical training. With the launch of the Bible in the Year podcast, I have taken it to a new level with Mike and Bike. At least three times weekly, I take a 20-minute scenic ride on the Peloton and turn off the sound. I then turn on the daily Bible in the Year podcast and listen to the Lord’s word while circumventing the pathways of Rome, Paris, or the Alps. With each Mike and Bike, I grow in knowing the Lord’s plan for me and building my quads! You can download the Bible in the Year podcast here Bible in a Year if you want to try it.
Marching with Mary. Last May, I participated in a fundraiser to raise money for the mental wellness of veterans and soldiers. The StopSoldierSuicide.org fundraiser called for me to march 50 miles during May while carrying a 50 lbs. ruck. My 60-year-old body does not march fast with 50 lbs. on my back. It was seriously cutting down on my prayer time. I therefore decided to add reciting a silent Rosary while marching. A rosary is a series of prayers and meditations that use a unique prayer bead called a rosary. As a Catholic, I believe this prayer practice was passed on to us from Mary through St. Dominic. Other religious practices have prayer beads to recite prayers, chants, and mantras. This Marching with Mary practice allowed me to add over fifty prayers and meditations on each ruck march. In this way, I was not only able to raise money for Veterans, but I could pray for them, too.
Hinge and Hallow. One of the reasons I ambled while marching was weakness in one of my knees. To help with this issue, I use a physical therapy application called Hinge Health. This application has a set of tailor-made exercises to help strengthen my knee. While doing my Hinge exercises, I listen to the Hallow mindfulness application https://hallow.com/. This application is an excellent resource for all Catholics and includes everything from The Daily Miracle meditation to Gregorian Chants to books from doctors of the Church. I highly recommend it, and you may have seen their ad at the recent Superbowl, but there are other similar applications, such as Calm, that are secular or of a different faith that others can use. This combination helps me fix my knee and my disposition all at the same time!
Exodus for the soul (and body). The last body/soul scrum is the one that launched it all. Two years ago, I participated with a group of men in my church in Exodus 90. This program is a ninety-day spiritual exercise for men based on three pillars: prayer, asceticism, and fraternity. Part of the ascetic practice is daily rigorous exercise, excluding alcohol and sweets, and days of fasting. It also includes daily prayer practice. It gave me the idea for the other four practices previously stated. I highly recommend it for all Catholic Men who need a wake-up call for both body and soul.

I hope these ideas can help you as they help me improve your body and soul.