August 28, 2016

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time C
Sirach 3: 17-18; Hebrews 12: 18-19, 22-24; Luke 14: 1, 7-14
Good questions: ‘What keeps me from accepting others in humility as God loves me and everyone He
created?’ Another one: Why is it that humility seems to be at odds with the standards existent in our
culture? What does humility really mean to a person who has been called and is trying so hard to live
the life of a Christian?
C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity, a wonderful book on what it means to be a Christian, states it very
succinctly and beautifully, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” This brings
the topic much more into focus for my reflection. How big am I in my own world? Do I view myself as
a gift in the world or do I view myself as called to be a gift to others? Or am I both?
The theme of our readings today is obviously humility. It is a very difficult virtue. I can say that I
certainly fall short in being a humble person but probably I am more humble than I think I am. Perhaps
a bigger question to help my focus would be to ask how good a Christian do I feel that I am today? Am
I caring, and helping and loving and forgiving or am I concerned with me? How do I feel about myself
today? Thomas Merton said “A humble person is not disturbed by praise. A person who is not humble cannot
accept praise gracefully.”
The book of Sirach is a collection of proverbs and sayings that are meant to help people leading lives
guided by God’s ways. Sunday Homily Helps summarizes Sirach’s selection today: “Sirach urges his
readers to lead humble lives exhibiting total reliance on God. In so doing, they distinguish themselves as servants
of heaven If they find favor in the eyes of God then they have gained something that this world could never offer
them. The greater people are, Sirach teaches, the more they should humble themselves. Great persons are in a
position to influence others for the better. If they serve God in the things they say and do others may follow their
good example. Sirach says such people will be loved more than ‘a giver of gifts’ because they have given others an
example of faith Sirach also cautions his readers not to pursue what is too sublime for them. Adam and Even
made this mistake in the garden when they sought in their own way to be ‘like God’”
In Luke’s gospel, Jesus has been invited to dine at the home of a leading Pharisee. He was again being
watched and tested. Jesus in turn is evaluating them and seeing how many just think they are so
important they have to sit in the ‘special seats’. He gives a simple conclusion, ‘if I exalt myself, I may
be humbled and if I humble myself I may be exalted.’ Also in looking around, Jesus makes note of the
fact that all the ‘right’ people have been invited. What about those who have no one to care for them?
What about those who are hurting and ostracized: the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind? Am I
caring for them? This is a constant theme in Luke’s gospel, perhaps it comes from his medical
background, caring for those who are hurting. This is his constant challenge for his Christian
community and each one of us. How gifted am I…am I grateful…do I share my gifts…when
convenient…or at all times?
Jesus is constantly teaching me in this matter. In John 14:6 He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
Its all about God…what have I received that has not been a gift from God? Do I make myself the ‘be
all and end all’? In Matthew 11:29 He says, “Learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart.” Jesus is
offering Himself as an example of humility and a model of gentleness. This is a very good reminder for
myself because when I reflect on where I am at, what is happening in my life and where I am going do I
include God in each one of these refections? He is always present, but am I living within His presence?
If I’m not on the road toward Him and with Him he says, “I am the way”. When I prefer to do things my
way and fail to see God in every moment and movement in my life He tells me, “I am the truth.” And as I
am moving and living and climbing, He is telling me, “‘I am the life”. I have to constantly remind myself
that I am loved and have been created in love. That God has envisioned me for all eternity and has a
plan and a purpose for me. He has continued to fill me with the grace and gifts that accomplish His
plan. If I don’t spend time in gratitude and looking at these gifts I am in ignorance. And it is ignorance
that contributes to my pride because I delude myself into thinking that I am better than I am. This is
how sin originates within me, that I am greater in my own eyes that I am before God. St Bernard of
Clairvux, in Love Songs, Wisdom from Saint Bernard of Clairvaux commented on today’s Gospel, “That
is why God wished us to choose neither a middle seat nor the second to the last one, nor even one of the lowest
rank. He said, ‘sit down in the lowest place’ (Luke 14:10), that you may sit alone, last of all, and not dare to
compare yourself, still less to prefer yourself, to anyone. See how great the evil that springs from our lack of selfknowledge—
nothing less than the devil’s sin and the beginning of every sin, pride (Sirach 10:13).
How am I letting my world know that God is present in my life and my life is showing God’s love to
them? Do I want to take the credit? My Dad had many sayings to describe certain people. One was, ‘I
used to be humble but now I don’t have any faults.’ The word ‘humility’ comes from the Latin word
‘humus’ which means the ground, the earth. I can ask myself if I am grounded, and down to earth and in
touch with reality? When I do something good, do I realize that I only could do it with God’s grace. If I
want to publicize this fact, I am advertising it…if I don’t, I am grateful.
Sunday Homily Helps lists a few simple ways to exclude myself from being the center of my world: “—
let others take credit for what was originally your idea. —defer to another or others in choosing a TV show, a
movie, a restaurant, a vacation spot, a cake (even if it’s your birthday). —let the other car have the choice, empty
parking space that you saw a few seconds earlier and ‘claimed’ with a turn signal. —do something good and ‘shut
up about it. —frequently say the core of the Alcoholics Anonymous ‘Third Step Prayer’’: ‘Relieve me of bondage of
self, that I may better do Your will.’”
So I reflect on:
• What limitations are helpful reminders in my life that I am not God?
• In my daily interactions, how much of the time am I the dominant person?
• Does putting myself last mean that I am weak; how is there strength in this?
• Who are the people in my life that keep me centered? Do I ask them for help?
Sacred Space 2016 shares:
“How difficult it is to practice the art of humility! How difficult it is not to take the best seat, grab the best bargain and
be first in line for the concert I must see! Jesus asks us to think of others, be more aware of others’ needs, and
step back a bit and allow others to be center stage for a change. Heavenly Father, teach us how to follow in Jesus’
footsteps, how to be compassionate, more understanding, and more generous in our thinking and in our actions.
As I read Jesus’ parable, does it ring any bells with me Do I remember either the elation of being considered more
special than I thought I was, or the deflation of being thought more ordinary than seemed right for me? What do
these memories tell me about my sense of the world and my place in it?”

August 21, 2016

August 21, 2016
21st Sunday Ordinary Time C
Isaiah 66: 18-21; Hebrews 12: 5-7, 11-13; Luke 13: 22-30
So who will I meet in heaven? Will I even get there? Is it something that I really want to think about?
Why does this subject make me uneasy? Mitch Albom wrote a fascinating book on The Five People You
Meet in Heaven. It’s lead character is an 83 years old, Eddie, who is the head maintenance man at an
Amusement Park. He is very close to death and we see the final moments of his life.We follow Eddie
into heaven where he mets five people from his past life (reminiscence of Dickens A Christmas Carol).
The difference is that each of these people is waiting for him in heaven. He then understands the great
lessons that were taught during his life and the life lessons he taught others. A good story that makes our
minds wander to a different view and understanding of heaven. How can I experience the joys of
heaven if I am turned in to the joys that I experience on earth?
So who is in heaven? Isaiah gives his spin: He has been preparing his readers for this final dramatic
ending. From the first chapters he has shown how the people have been drifting away from God but
now they are assembled in offering praise to God. They are no longer waging war with each other but
have come to God’s holy mountain. The list of peoples must have upset his readers, I’m sure they were
saying, ‘Why are they here…they’re bad people…we are the chosen ones of God.’ Today’s reading ends
with verse 21…the last three verses not in the reading says it all: “As the new heavens and the new earth
which I will make shall endure before me, says the Lord, so shall your race and your name endure. From one new
moon to another and from one sabbath to another, all mankind shall come to worship before me, says the Lord.
They shall go out and see the corpses of the men who rebelled against me; their worm shall not die, nor their fire be
extinguished and they shall be abhorrent to all mankind.” The prophet is telling us that the once rebellious
people are now part of this new heaven and new earth This is their home now on God’s holy mountain.
Jesus is on His final journey to Jerusalem where He will be murdered. He continues to use this time to
teach His followers about what it means to be a disciple and how one ‘gets into’ heaven. People want to
know ‘how many’ will be saved or get the prime places. This is a numbers game that Jesus does not
play. Numbers aren’t important, it’s HOW do I live my life to be in line with living forever with God in
heaven?
This requires faith…believing in all that Jesus has told us…it means living
His life…it means not taking the teachings that I like or are easy for me, but living each and every one.
It’s not ‘if I belonged or was in the same religion or ‘party’ of Jesus rather it’s how I lived and how I
loved. Jesus said that we should enter through the ‘narrow gate’. Sunday Homily Helps explain it in this
way: “a) There is only one way to heaven. That narrow way is through salvation won for us by Christ. No one else
could open the gates for us. He alone was God and human. He alone could pay the debt of our sins
b) Who can enter the narrow gate? —Some individuals would restrict salvation to Christians who were baptized by
immersion as adults. That would leave most of us out who were sprinkled or had water poured on us when we
were baptized as infants. — Other people would assure salvation to Christians who claim to believe in Jesus.
Jesus says that belief in Him is not enough. Our faith must be active.
c) Can non-Christians be saved? -Some folks would say that only those who confess Christ as their personal
savior can be saved. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states otherwise in article 847, quoting Lumen
Gentium: ‘Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, but who
nevertheless seeks God with sincere heart, and moved by grace, try in their actions to do His will as they know it
though the dictates of their conscience —those too may achieve eternal salvation.’ —What about those good
people who died before Jesus was born? After Jesus’ death, our Creed says He descended into hell where the
souls of the just were waiting for Him. He is talking about Abraham, Isaac, King David, and all the rest who tried to
please God but never knew Jesus. He went to bring them to heaven. —Today’s first reading from Isaiah states that
God wants all people from every nation to be brought to His holy mountain. Would our narrow perspective shut out
those whom God would welcome?”
So who is in heaven..all who lived their life and worked on being love and kindness, care and concern,
forgiving and compassionate to each person in their life. Jesus tells us that entitlement doesn’t mean a
thing…nor does ‘being a relative’..not does any position of power or prestige count as anything. In
John’s Gospel (10:9) Jesus said “Come, you who are blessed of my Father, Inherit the kingdom prepared for
you from the foundation of the world.” And in Matthew (25: 34,40) we hear, “What you did to the least brother
of mine, you did for me.’” I have been created in love to be love. How hard can this be? Many days, it isn’t
hard…when I AM the most important person in MY world today, then it can be hard, because it is all
about ME. Heaven is not about me, it is about God. God who is love. So I have this litmus test each
day, am I love?
One of my favorite authors is Carlo Carretto who was born 4/2/1910 in Turin Italy. He received degrees
in history and philosophy and taught and was very involved the Catholic Action for Youth movement.
For ten years he was a Little Brother of Jesus, inspired by Charles de Foucauld. and wrote many books.
I quote from Love is for Living, “My life is worth living if I can learn to ransom everything that happens to me
into love, in imitation of Jesus: because love is for living.
When I meet brothers or sisters of mine who have caused me great pain in the past by viciously calumniating me, I
shall love them and in loving them I shall transform the evil done to me into good: because love is for living.
When I go into a shop to buy something for myself—clothes, food, or whatever it may be—I shall think of my
brothers and sisters who are poorer than I am, of the hungry and the naked, and I shall use this thought to govern
my purchase, trying out of love to be tight with myself and generous with them: because love is for living.
When I see time’s destructive traces in my body and the approach of old age, I shall try to love even more in order
to transform the coldest season of life into a total gift of myself in preparation for the imminent holocaust: because
love is for living.
When I see the evening of my life, or, on the tarmac in a car accident, in the agony of a fatal illness, in the ward of a
geriatric hospital, feel the end coming, I shall reach out again for love, striving to accept in joy whatever fate God
has had in store for me: because love is for living.
Yes, love is God in me, and if I am in love I am in God, that is, in life, in grace: a sharer in God’s being.”
This helps me to realize as St. Teresa, the Little Flower did, “I am to be love!”
How am I doing?
Sacred Space 2016 says,
“Jesus cautions us against being presumptuous about salvation. Let us not be late arrivals at the gates of heaven!
It can be a painful experience to realize that I am not as perfect as I might like to believe. What matters most is that
I should have a loving and forgiving heart that embraces all my fellow sinners Lord, you are not saying that many
will be lost at the End. But You are warning us to depeen our relationship with You and to accept others. Let me
play my small but essential part to ensure that all of us may be gathered safely into Your kingdom

August 14, 2016

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time C
Jeremiah 38: 4-6, 8-10; Hebrews 12: 1-4; Luke 12: 49-53
Interesting headlines:
- Priest throat slashed while celebrating morning mass.
- Priest assassinated while celebrating mass in a hospital chapel.
Do you remember these…I do. The first took place in a Normandy Church in France on July 26,
2016. Two assailants took 5 hostages, an 85 year old priest, two nuns and an elderly couple. The second
account describes the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador while he was celebrating
Mass in a hospital chapel on March 24, 1980. I received an e-mail after the first incident saying that I was
being prayed for and to please be careful. I was told by my students to be careful while I celebrated mass
at Rome Catholic High School. I have thought down through the years would this ever happen to me…I
don’t know…what an honor it would be to go to the Lord while celebrating His Paschal Meal.
What is Jesus saying to all of us today? To be an authentic Christian means that I will be called to suffer…
definitely persecution…definitely ‘dying’ to my own wishes and my carefree attitude and then to take on
the mantle of love. We like to live in a world of love and peace…kindness and forgiveness…compassion
and caring…but we do not. So what are we to do…what are we to be? Connections, the newsletter of ideas
sources and information for homilists and preachers says of today’s readings: “Love does not always make us
feel loved.’ Care is not always appreciated. Seeking what is best for someone we love can become a point of tension
and even resentment. Jesus’ striking words in today’s Gospel are painfully clear: The Gospel is not easy, it is not
comfortable; it is challenging and demanding and it can be divisive and confrontational, putting us and those we love on
opposing sides. But the ultimate hope of the Gospel is the never-wavering love of God.”
What does the Gospel tell us? Jesus is challenging each person who claims Christianity…He says that He
has come to set the earth on fire. He is speaking metaphorically. Now when we see a fire, some cower
away from it…some try to stop it’s advances, putting it out. Some just stay in its warmth. A controlled fire
can cook our meals, be great when we are camping. It can be a cause of fear when uncontrolled. Jesus is
asking each of us today:
• ‘Are you on fire with My message?
• Do you realize that the Gospel is about authenticity in being Holy which means being a person who
Loves?
• Do you realize that the Gospel is not a fuzzy, nice feeling but a radical challenge to authentic discipleship?
• Do you realize that I did not employ violence but that my way of life provoked a violent response?
• Do you realize when I speak of fire, I mean the fire of God’s love and that brings about hatred against Me
and My disciples?’
Jeremiah preached for a long time. He constantly invited the king and his court to depend totally on God for
His protection, security and care. But these people were surrounded by the ‘comforts of the palace and the
court’ so they basked in ‘power, money, armies and alliances with the surrounding countries.’ With this in
mind, why would they need God? They didn’t listen to Jeremiah and threw him into a cistern because he
had been predicting the impending destruction of Jerusalem because of their unfaithfulness to God. Sunday
Homily Helps says, “This image of an empty cistern represents the empty faith of the people. They have turned away
from God, who alone can provide the water the people so desperately need.”
Paul reminds the Hebrews and each one of us that Jesus had to suffer, because life is not about creature
comforts but about being disciples of love. They had been witnessing every temptation to apostasy, giving
up on the faith. Paul urges them to persevere in the midst of temptation and persecution. Look to Jesus, He
realized that the cross would lead to heaven. What is my cross? Do I want my cross to be non-existent…
easy…a real test of my dedication, or one that shows God my way to His peace?
Jesus’ words today are meant to make each of us uncomfortable. So often we feel that in going to Church
on weekends, saying our prayers and devotions and reading the Scriptures we know all there is to know
about Jesus. Am I reflecting on that road outside of Jerusalem with Jesus’ hanging there, bleeding, tortured,
mangled, dying for you and me…and saying, Why? Was this really necessary? God said, “Yes”…am I
disagreeing?
Jesus’ words today are definitely said to ‘shake me up’, “Jesus said to His disciples: ‘I have come to set the earth
on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!…Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I
tell you, but rather division.” His words challenge any notion that each of us could have that His life is meant
to be comfortable, easy and predictable. Jesus had to suffer, Paul tells us…so do each one of us have to
suffer. Jesus suffered persecution from those who opposed His teaching, so do each one of us. The people
in Jeremiah’s, Paul’s and Jesus’ world urged people that the world exists for them. God reminds us that
Jesus is the center and calls each one of us to center our lives on Him.
Luke, A Devotional Commentary gives us a powerful conclusion, “Fire and division—two powerful images
packed into one brief passage of scripture. Sometimes, it can be difficult not to question God’s compassion when He
speaks to us through such dark images! Our Father clearly has an abundance of peace and unity to bring into our lives,
but even as we stand firm in our faith, there are times when we may encounter strife and disagreement—even within
our own families.
Jesus told His disciples to seek first the kingdom of God , and that ‘the rest would follow (Matthew 6:33). But ‘the
rest’ is not always a life without difficulty. Given the state of our world, it is unrealistic to expect a totally carefree
existence. What is it, then, that will surely follow? It is the promises made in Hebrews 12— a life of discipline and
grace in Christ. No matter what our situation, we can trust that Jesus is always with us, helping us to work through the
difficulties we face in this world.
When He spoke of the fire that He wished were already kindled, Jesus was talking of the Holy Spirit who was to come
after Him to fill every heart. The divisions He spoke of referred to people or ideologies opposing God, and how that
which opposes God will be separated from His kingdom. This message of faith challenges people and their
relationships, even the strongest bonds of love found in our families.
In the face of these challenges, how should we respond to those who may not agree with the word of God? We
should never be reluctant to speak of the gospel’s truths. God will protect us as fifing fire. Let us eager embrace His
word as well as the dividing sword of the Holy Spirit as it moves swiftly to separate ‘wheat from chaff’. (Luke 3:17)
Sacred Space 2016 states, “Jesus is anxious to see the fire of God’s love blaze across the globe. John the Baptist
had promised that Jesus would baptize His disciples with the Holy Spirit and fire. The fire of God’s love was in fact
visibly cast upon the earth at Pentecost, and we thank God for it Lord, that we might experience the fire of Your love in
our hearts today. St. Ignatius of Loyola was ‘ablaze with God,’ and we wish that for ourselves, too Only so will we be
Your true disciples.”

August 7, 2016

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time C ’16
Wisdom 18: 6-9; Hebrews 11: 1-2, 8-19; Luke 12: 32-48
How often do I feel that I am the one in charge in my world? How often am I aware of the needs of the
people I work with…live with…go to school with…play with? It probably is a very universal that each of
us have ‘gotten in trouble’ with loved ones: when we were unaware of their feelings or how my actions
were interpreted by them and how these actions negatively affected them? Words like, ‘Didn’t you know
that I was concerned about you, and you didn’t call?…Why couldn’t you have called and told me you were
going to be late?…You seem to be insensitive to my feelings and my needs?…You didn’t think of me?…So
often these statements take us completely by surprise…true we never did think about the ‘other’. We ask,
‘How can I get in such deep trouble when I was trying to help this person in need?
Do I ever stop and spend time reflecting on what are my priorities in life? Do I ever ask the ‘important
people’ who share their life with me, what is important to them? Or do I just assume that I know what their
response will be? WHAT happens to us in these circumstances? We normally become defensive…we may
pout…or strike back…we feel hurt because we have no intention of hurting or disrupting but my situation
in life is close to ‘another WW III’. I can ask a deeper question…Do I have faith? And I can say YES…
where is my faith…who do I believe…where is the focus of my faith?
The readings are asking me today, Do I believe in God and in His goodness and in His love, care and
mercy? I’m refocusing the readings to talk about my faith in God. If the world was to end today, what
would I be doing for the rest of the day? If I had hours left in my life, what loved ones would I spend time
with and what would I say? Would fear be; the major component of my last hours or would it be
anticipation? God has promised and Paul expresses it so beautifully in verses 35-39 of Romans 8, (I am
using J.B.Phillips translation of The New Testament in Modern English, Msgr Chet Michael’s favorite
translation of Paul’s letters): “Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble pain or persecution? Can
lack of clothes and food, danger to life and limb, the threat of force of arms? Indeed some off us know the truth of that
ancient texts: For thy sake we are killed all the day long; We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter. No,
in all these things we win an overwhelming victory thorough Him who has proved His love for us.
I have become absolutely convinced that neither death nor life, neither messenger of Heaven nor monarch of earth,
neither what happens today nor what may happen tomorrow, neither a power from on high nor a power from below, nor
anything else in God’s whole world has any power to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord!”
Paul is telling the Hebrews that everyone must be prepared for we are the ones who are anxious about our
life and are looking for some sort of a guarantee that all will turn out well. Paul directs our attention to
Abraham who traveled to an unknown land because he knew that the one who made the promise was
trustworthy. He had been promised that he would found a new nation and he trusted in the test that God put
in front of Him. And God fulfilled all His promises. Why did Abraham believe…he believed that God
wanted him to? How was this possible? Faith…we call it faith. Everything in my life comes down to the
fact that God first loved me and each one of us. He wants each one to be with Him forever. He gave us the
way to accomplish this. Each of us is on a journey and our journeys are different, every path is not the
same. God is calling each of us to the path that will lead to Him.
Homilies For Life has expressed this so succinctly and beautifully. “ Faith exists on a whole separate level. If
faith is a journey, and the Lord is the way, then statements of faith —- as in our Creed —- are the signs along the way.
They keep us going in the right direction. They are like protective guardrails keeping us from wandering off the path
keeping us from wandering through mountains deserts, and swamps. So, do we subscribe to the idea that it doesn’t
matter what we believe as long as we’re nice? Or will we allow our lives to be shaped and guided by the great
statements of faith found in the Creed, something we profess every single week without batting an eye? And I can
assure you, if we allow these statements to shape who we are, we will never see the world the same again. Our
whole existence will take on a level of meaning, beauty, and richness which is beyond our wildest expectations.
If we do that our Creed will become more than just words. Then we say:
We believe in the creator of heaven and earth, we will know that the world is basically good, and that true
possibilities exist for it to be a place of love, hope and peace.
When we say we believe in God the Father, we will know that we have a God who cares, who loves us more than we
can imagine, and that we have a home that we can go back to.
When we say we believe that Jesus became man, we will know that the gap between God and humanity has been
closed forever, and that true friendship and love of and with God is possible.
When we say we believe that Jesus suffered and died for us, we will know that nothing in this life can truly harm us,
nothing is to be feared, for Jesus has shown us that He will be with us to help us get through the difficulties of this life
—— even death itself.
When we say we believe that Christ rose from the dead, we will know life is not futile, it has a purpose, and that
eternal life with God is our destiny too.
And when we say we believe in the Church, the Communion of Saints, and the forgiveness of sins, we will know
that we are one family, we are not alone, no mistakes are fatal, God gives us as many chances as we need, and that we
are here to support one another in love.
So how can we say that what we believe really doesn’t make a difference? It did for Abraham, and it does for us too.
This is an incredible faith, an incredible gift, and for it we should be truly thankful. This day, let’s pledge to try to truly
live in the light of what our Creed teaches us. If we do that, anything’s possible.. And if we struggle with some of the
statements —- either believing them or living out their implications —- well, God understands that too. And let’s
especially pray for the grace to be a little bit more like Abraham, a little more hopeful, a little more trusting, a little more
secure in the knowledge that we are in the embrace of our loving God. Believe it or not!
So I reflect on:
• What journey of faith have I been on? What has been my route? Who have been my companions?
• According to Hebrews, Abraham and Sarah’s motto might be ‘Life is short; put God first.’ Do I?
• Tolkien in Lord of the Rings writes, “All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost.
The old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by frost.”
Sacred Space 2016 shares:
The ordinary attitude of the Christian is to be awake, alert, and attentive, sensitive to the prompting of God’s Spirit and
aware of God’s
action in the world. I take some time in my prayer to be quiet so that I may hear the Master’s knock. In all the noise
that surrounds me, where might it be that the Lord is close, ready to be with me more fully?
The role reversal on the part of the Master, who serves those slaves who were awake and alert, says much about God’s
gracious bounty and generosity. In discipleship there is no room for complacency or half-heartedness. The
commitment required is total, and the reward is equally great. The lit lamps symbolize the alertness required of us.
How is my lamp?”