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From the Pastor&
How do you relax on Sunday? On the weekend? Many of us relax by watching or listening to sports. I remember when I was a student for the priesthood in Chicago. I wasn't making a salary so I had to find inexpensive ways to relax and get away from the books. I'd go to the YMCA, play football with other theologians, and get cheap tickets for Cubs games. When I couldn't afford a ticket, I'd listen to the late Harry Caray on the radio. He is a Chicago legend for the many years he spent as the media voice of the Chicago Cubs professional baseball team. It didn't matter whether the Cubs won or lost. He was enthusiastic. When the Cubs scored a run, he'd let out his trademark "Ho-o-ly Cow!" Both the team and fans didn't want a sportscaster who was disgruntled all the time.
You know what? We all have "sportscasters" in our heads who are watching our every move. Sometimes we are proud of a good "hit" or "run" or "steal", and we say to ourselves, "Holy Cow!" And the we "drop the ball" for a "second time" in the game today...we're clumsy, failures. Why do we get so disgruntled with our little mistakes?
If we treat ourselves this way, looking for errors all the time, do we also become "sportscasters" in the lives of our loved ones, especially our kids? And what kind of "sportscasters" do we want to be? How often do we say to family members, friends, kids, "Holy Cow, that was great!" What positive things can we cheer about this week? As pastor I probably hear more about what parishioners don't like instead of what they do like. All of us need to hear a few "Holy Cows" a few times a week. Even Jesus needed a few: "Holy Cow, Jesus, that was really great that you changed water into wine!"
What kind of "sportscaster" are you? Maybe the best gift you could give a kid this Christmas are some positive words...cheer them on. Do you remember things that an adult said to you as a kid that still brings a twinge of pain years later? Put-downs always hurt, even when we're just joking. They especially hurt kids.
As we approach the new millennium we have to take better care of our kids. Is there too much pressure on kids to excel in school? In sports? Are they exposed to too much violence on the news? In movies? On television? In computer games? Even at school? Are they getting enough attention and love from absent parents? Are they abused emotionally, physically and spiritually? Do too many kids look for love by experimenting with sex at an early age? Why do kids have kids? Why are kids afraid? Do kids and guns belong in the same home? Why do kids abuse alcohol and drugs?
We have this "romantic" notion about Christmas: a beautiful home for the holidays, chestnuts roasting on an open fire, beautifully wrapped gifts under a designer tree, caroling in the neighborhood, and it has to be a white Christmas. But what is really important is our "positive voice." "Holy Cow!" "Holy Cow you're a great kid!" "Holy Cow, I love you, warts and all!" "Holy Cow, I'm glad that we belong to each other!" "Holy Cow, you made this for me all by
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