Sliney Central

Fr. Michael Sliney, LC

Inspirational thoughts

Details of Love

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Thy Kingdom Come!

Dear Friends in Christ,

     “An egg given during life for love of God is more profitable for eternity than a cathedral full of gold given after death.”  (St. Albert the Great)

     I had the privilege of marrying my mom to her 2nd husband (who also died 2 years ago, My dad died in 1995…).   On the day of the wedding, I walked to St. Hugo of the Hills Church, to prepare my homily and pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament.   Thirty minutes before the Mass, I heard a loud crackling of thunder and lightning and it soon began pouring rain.  I forgot my umbrella back at the house and I still had to walk another 1/4 mile down the hill to the chapel…not a good situation.  Within minutes my mom came into the chapel with a large umbrella and a warm smile, quietly saying;  “Michael, I have to finish getting ready, but I thought you might need this umbrella…it is raining awfully hard out there.”   How could she think of this on the day of her wedding?  This is love!!

Satan’s snares

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Thy Kingdom Come!

Dear Friends in Christ,

“Like a good chess player, Satan is always trying to maneuver you into a position where you can save your castle only by losing your bishop.”  CS Lewis

    Sophisms, justifications, excuses, giving yourself a pass…often lead to trouble.  Big sins don’t just happen out of nowhere.   You make small concessions here and there, losing a few pawns and before you know it, you have a major “issue.”  Daily prayer, frequent Mass and Confession give you the wisdom to make the right moves and read the devil’s traps.  Don’t play this game without Christ, you will eventually lose!

God’s plan

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Thy Kingdom Come!

Dear Friends in Christ,

“The Supernatual is not remote and abstruse: it is a matter of daily and hourly experience: as intimate as breathing.  Denial of it depends on a certain abscent-mindedness. But this abscent-mindedness is in no way surprising.” CS Lewis

    God truly cares and he acts continuously in our lives, but we need to be attentive to read the signs.  One day, I was going for an early morning jog and I had a lot on my mind.   Suddenly, as I turned a corner, I passed a jogger with only one arm.   He had a big smile on his face and gave me the thumbs up…a simple gesture but it helped me put my small problems in perspective.  So many signs and moments of God’s mercy…thank you, Lord for being so involved in our daily lives!!

Unfurl the sails

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Thy Kingdom Come!

Dear Friends in Christ,

“Unfurl the sails, and let God steer us where He will.” – St. Bede

    My older brother, Jim, invited me once on his catamaran sailboat when I was in 8th grade.  I was a little intimidated and afraid, but he assured me that he had everything under control and that it would be amazing…and after a few minutes of cruising along, we caught a big gust of wind, and we were airborne like this picture above.   This is my life as a priest,…I unfurl the sails each morning, knowing Christ is at the helm, and the adventure begins!

Worry about yourself

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Thy Kingdom Come!

Dear Friends in Christ,

     “It is a lesson we all need – to let alone the things that do not concern us.  He has other ways for others to follow Him; all do not go by the same path. It is for each of us to learn the path by which He requires us to follow Him, and to follow Him in that path.”  St. Katharine Drexel

     How much time and energy do we waste analyzing or speculating about our neighbor’s or friend’s conduct?  Most of the time, we do not have sufficient information to make a mature and balanced judgement and even if we did, our focus should be on following the path that God wants us to walk.

Don’t run away!

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Thy Kingdom Come!

Dear Friends in Christ,

     “Faced with today’s problems and disappointments, many people will try to escape from their responsibility. Escape in selfishness, escape in sexual pleasure, escape in drugs, escape in violence, escape in indifference and cynical attitudes. I propose to you the option of love, which is the opposite of escape.” (Blessed Pope John Paul II)

     The solution is not to walk away.   The storms will pass and the winds will subside…stick it out with love!  Christ is there to accompany you and he is the one asking for a greater love.  Look into his eyes and console his heart with your generosity!

God bless,

Fr. Michael Sliney, LC

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