Inspirational thoughts

Thy Kingdom Come!

Tips for a Healthy High School Social Life
1. Avoid dating. Better to socialize as a group; most teenagers are not mature enough to enter into an intense relationship.
2. Curfew. Parents should be at the door ready to smell their breath, ask questions and exact tough punishments if they are late or under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Nothing good happens after midnight.
3. Choose your best friends wisely. Look for friends with a stable family background, a strong Faith and firm moral convictions.
4. Only attend parties offered by friends and families who you know very well and can trust.
5. Dances. Ask yourself if you would be comfortable introducing this particular person with whom you would like to dance to your parents.
6. Why not combine fun with service, for example to serve food at a soup kitchen on a Friday or Saturday night with your friends?
I7. f you truly want to excel academically, you need to limit Facebook, social texting and video games to Friday night thru Sunday.

Thy Kingdom Come!

Dear Friends, in Christ,

     “There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless – it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.” CS Lewis

    For many adults that have been hurt through bad relationships, there is the real temptation to shut down and lock out the world from your heart.  Although it may bring temporary protection, it will never allow your heart to mature and develop, and more importantly, you will be shutting out Jesus from loving so many people through your kindness.

Thy Kingdom Come!

Dear Friends, in Christ,

“Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”  John Wooden

Coming from a man who coached his team to 10 national championships and a .804 winning percentage.

Thy Kingdom Come!

Dear Friends, in Christ,

     “Love God, serve God: everything is in that.” — St. Clare of Assisi

    Christ asked Peter three times, “do you love me?”   Christ asks this same question to us everyday.  “Do you love me enough to be kind and patient with your spouse?  Do you love me enough to give up the emotional attachments that might be hurting your marital bond?  Do you love me enough to forgive this person who hurt you deeply?  Do you love me enough to put me on your schedule and dedicate serious time to prayer each day?  This is the key…love Christ intensely!!

God bless,

Fr. Michael Sliney, LC

TKC!

Please see my latest LifeZette Article below: http://www.lifezette.com/faithzette/what-brotherhood-did-for-my-faith/

Thy Kingdom Come!

Dear Friends in Christ,

     “Youth is wild, and requires many governors, teachers, directors, attendants, and tutors; and after all these, it is a happiness if it be restrained. For as a horse not broken in, or a wild beast untamed, such is youth. But if from the beginning, from the earliest age, we fix it in good rules, much pains will not be required afterwards; for good habits formed will be to them as a law.”

St. John Chrysostom

     It started with strict bedtimes that were enforced in grade school and this evolved into a strict curfew in High School on week-ends.  My dad would always be at the door at 1130 PM to analyze my state of mind and ask a few questions to see my level of coherency.  There was a deep Faith, and a loving discipline in our home and I am really grateful to my parents for going the extra mile in “forming” us!  They taught me to respect them and God, and this foundation was fundamental and transformational for my adult life.

God bless,

Fr. Michael Sliney, LC

Thy Kingdom Come!

Dear Friends in Christ,

     “The truly patient man neither complains of his hard lot nor desires to be pitied by others. He speaks of his sufferings in a natural, true, and sincere way, without murmuring, complaining, or exaggerating them.” St. Francis de Sales

     Several years ago, I had the privilege of traveling with one of our priests in Guadalajara, Mexico.  His name was Fr. Morales, and he was dying of throat cancer.  I asked him how he was sleeping at night and he said, “It can be a little difficult with only one lung, but I try my best to get through the night.” Then he asked us to pull over at a snack shop on the road, and he picked out some great Mexican candies, chips and sodas and paid for them…I asked him what he liked best and he said, “Oh no, this is all for you (there were 2 other priests in the car), I cannot each much now, but I thought you would like these snacks.”  Powerful testimony of love and patient suffering…and all with a gentle and kind smile!!

God bless,

Fr. Michael Sliney, LC

Thy Kingdom Come!

Dear Friends in Christ,

     “Violence of the tongue is very real- sharper than any knife, wounding and creating bitterness that only the grace of God can heal.”  Blessed Mother Teresa

     When your passions are boiling, when you have just suffered a terrible injustice, when you “feel” you need to get it all off your chest…stop and ask Jesus for help!  Silence is the better option and “prayerfully” waiting a bit will allow a “calmer” mind to choose “wiser” words.

God bless,

Fr. Michael Sliney, LC

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Thy Kingdom Come!

Dear Friends in Christ,

     “It is necessary to swim against the stream. Faith is no longer taken for granted, as it might have been in other times.  It is a decision in which each of us is required to invest himself with his personal convictions, defying the surrounding environment.”  (Blessed Pope John Paul II)

   During my seminary days in Spain, I made the mistake of jumping into the “Rio Tormes”,  thinking that I could muscle my way upstream with my buddies.  After 20 minutes without progress, I realized the current was simply too strong and I needed to get out.  This is the reality of our culture today, and we need to be prepared for constant battle.  Without daily prayer, frequent Mass and Confession, you simply will not last long.  “Lean into” Christ!  Stand up for your core convictions with prudence and charity, but don’t back down!  Christ needs our help to fight back!

God bless,

Fr. Michael Sliney, LC