Monthly Archives: September 2025

Your deeds.

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“The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today” 

— St. Francis of Assisi 

Perhaps it is a smile. 

Some eye contact as you wait or pass.

A pat on the back. 

Your hand on a shoulder. 

A hug, handshake or fist bump.

Opening a door. 

Some kind words. 

“You first”!

“How can I help you?” 

“Can you please help me? I would appreciate it.” 

“How is your day going so far?” 

“Let me get that for you” .

“Thank you for your help.” 

“I really appreciate that.” 

“You did a great  job.” 

“Have a good rest of the day!”

“Take care.”

“See you later!”

At first blush, all of these “deeds” might seem kind of inconsequential. Random encounters and interactions with strangers or those you might have seen once before.

Seemingly irrelevant. 

Wholly trivial. 

Smallish in terms of impact and meaning.

Perhaps.

But most likely, only to you. 

To those on the receiving end? 

Such “deeds” might be the biggest, the best and the most affirming things to have happened to 

and for them in a very long, long time. 

So whatever you do, do not skip your sermon today. Or any other day for that matter. Your thoughts, words and deeds may be the only personal contact they have had in days. Weeks. Months.

Even years. 

So be at the ready to deliver your sermon each moment.

The congregation needs it.

Your deeds.

Semper gratus.

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“Gratitude is far more than expressing a ‘thank you’ or being genuinely appreciative for the things you receive and the opportunities that happen to come your way. The word “gratitude” directly reflects its Latin origin, gratus, signifying a state of thankfulness and good will for things we receive, whether those are acts of kindness or general blessings in life. Delving even deeper into state, you come to find its Latin foundation, status meaning condition or position. 

Thus gratitude comes to be an actual state of being. A mode of conducting one’s life positioned to embrace an attitude of gratitude.  Semper Gratus. To the extent that it may become a sensational status comprising physical, mental, emotional and spiritual elements that evolve to remain within.  This level of belief and conviction serves as a constant, loving reminder of the grace you have been given, not once, but many times and more to follow.  

As much as we try to isolate, none of us is an island.  We are all linked inseparably by our needs to one another.  Not one of us is truly self-made. We all owe our aspirations, advances and accomplishments to the presence of others in our lives, whether ongoing, fleeting or a coincidental happenstance. This is true for those we have come to know through our fellowship here as well as the one we ultimately need of  divine origins.  

In fact, being that His presence is a constant in our lives,  His grace acts to connect us with those we need, who somehow grow into and become a part of us. Whether we want to acknowledge that or not, we should never forget that there have been so many who have helped us along each and every step of the way.  We can never overlook the fact that more will come to do the same. 

Through the grace of His beck and call. 

Always and in all ways. 

Semper gratus.

Listen.

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Luke 8:16-18

“No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light. Then pay attention to how you listen; for to those who have, more will be given; and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away.”

Fitting words for the times we find ourselves in.

Impeccable timing as well.

A faith journey brings with it enhanced and enlightened senses. What might have been simply glossed over before, now seems so obvious, compelling and illuminating. The sentences, the phrasing and the words take on an entirely new meaning.

In the past few days, the lamp has become a beacon. Things hidden away in the dark are becoming known and coming to light.

“Pay attention to how you listen; for to those who have, more will be given;”. When your senses awaken, things sound different. They take on new meaning. Carry a different weight. If you hear it like that once, you will hear it like that again. Again. And again. More of that will be given if only you can hear.

“…and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away.” Those who have not listened. What they seem to have, will be lost. Speaking from experience, truer words were never spoken. I for one did not hear. Chose not to listen. And as a result, so much was lost.

So much.

Perhaps your light simply starts as a candle. So be it. May be it is the only such source in your life. Feed it. Share that glow with the world around you. As the ember grows, make it into a lamp and carry it with you wherever you go. Guiding you forward and others towards that loving glow.

Your other senses will become illuminated.

“Pay attention to how you listen; for to those who have, more will be given;”

Begin to hear what is always being said. You will be given far more to hear.

Truer words were never spoken.

Positively habit forming.

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“Excellence is not a gift but  a skill that takes practice. We do not act ‘rightly’ because we are ‘excellent’.  In fact we achieve ‘excellence’ by acting ‘rightly’.

Plato

Acting rightly is never the result of flipping some internal switch.  You do not wake up one morning to find yourself transformed into the epitome of excellence. 

And yet, you do house some of the infrastructure that can become the mechanisms needed to learn, develop and hone this particular life skills set. As long as you can follow direction, accept input, both externally and internally driven, and handle some of the disappointments that come your way, you should be in a good position to assemble a diverse and deep array of habits.

You see, achieving excellence is all about acquiring habits. 

Habits that can last a lifetime.  Habits that create a positive and lasting impact on you and those around you.  And for a habit to take firm hold in your life, it needs reps.  Not one, two a dozen or a gross.  The habit acquisition process needs to be constant and committed.  Certain and ceaseless. Ongoing and unremitting. 

Self-discipline is an invaluable friend, confidant and ally throughout this process. Enabling you to follow directives, both external as well as internal.  It reinforces the assembly process as you create the personal mechanisms that lead to the creation of excellence. 

Self-discipline keeps you with and on the program.  Finishing “this” before you start “that”. Holding you right “here” in the present while shedding just enough light on what may lay ahead as to keep your head up and eyes down that path. Focused on the here and now, inspired by what is yet to come.  

If you have the right mindset about this venture, then there will be nothing burdensome about the effort and journey whatsoever.  Its purpose is to lead you.  To create the trajectory that will direct you to become what you were meant to be and where you were meant to go. 

In time, your actions will rightly lead you to excellence. 

One of the best versions of self-inducement.

Positively habit forming.

Now that is freedom.

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“Bitterness is captivity.”

― Lailah Gifty Akita

The most compelling thoughts that are conveyed with minimal verbiage, create a telling and lasting impact.   

Like this one from Ms. Akita..  

A subject to which I can speak. 

Bitterness is akin to a never healing sore.  A fixture residing  on and within your soul that invites fixation, picking and obsession.  A nemesis that works to maintain your hostage status.  Guiding one to reject  self forgiveness. 

Bitterness is captivity.  

But only so long as you choose to accept a role of prisoner.  

Now choices take time.  Not so much to make them.  But more so to fully embrace the commitment and make it “you.”

And yet, if you confront that sore, the fixture and see the nemesis  for what they are, then little by little, you can begin to transition them to the bin that is meant to  hold all of those  generators of bitterness.  

Therein lay the challenge.  Removing the lid, saying “goodbye” then closing it back up. 

Never to be reopened.  Because you finally allowed yourself to.

The bins have been laid out.  All that remains is to fully embrace the commitment so I can make it “me”.  

And practice some much needed self-forgiveness. 

Bitterness is captivity.  

Forgiving oneself? 

Now that is freedom.