Sliney Central

Fr. Michael Sliney, LC

What matters

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Thy Kingdom Come!

Dear Friends, in Christ,

     “When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.” G.K. Chesterton

     During one of our mission trips to Mexico, our bus load of boys and dads stopped by a roadside house to use their two outhouses in the field.  They used newspaper for toilet paper, their “house” was a shack with a dirt floor and flimsy cots as beds, and corn tortillas seemed to be the staple dish.  But the three Mexican girls and their mom and dad had bright smiles on their faces and a deep peace in their hearts.  They told me that they went to Mass every Sunday, prayed and truly valued their time together as a family.  Faith and family are such huge gifts and I encourage all of the parents out there to make this the priority as well.

God bless,

Fr. Michael Sliney, LC

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Self-control

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Thy Kingdom Come!

Dear Friends in Christ,

     ‘Be gentle in your actions; speak with a peaceful mind and in a calm tone, and you will succeed better.’   St. Paul of the Cross

     Being the youngest of four, my parents learned the “art of parenting” with my older siblings and I reaped the benefits.  Their calm tone and balanced emotional disposition when admonishing, correcting or punishing made it a whole lot easier to stomach the punishment and truly listen to their words.   Nagging, ranting and raving, and “making sure they understand” is never effective with kids.  They seem to take it better when the parents are calm, concise and to the point.  I have no doubt that regular Confession and daily Mass (for my mom) had a lot to do with my mom and dad’s self-control.

God bless,

Fr. Michael Sliney, LC

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Gentle of heart

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Thy Kingdom Come!

Dear Friends in Christ,

     “Blessed are the gentle: they shall have the earth as inheritance.”  (Mt 5: 4)

     Three years ago, we made a stop in New Zealand before going to World Youth Day in Australia.  During one of our outings, I entered a sheep corral with a group of kids and suddenly one of the larger sheep rushed toward us with his head down.  My first reaction was to run, but then I remembered that it was a sheep!   Sure enough, as it approached, it slowed down and gently walked towards us looking for a little affection.

     Christ himself was referred to as the “Lamb of God”, and he was truly meek and humble of heart.  We need to ask Christ for this grace of gentleness and meekness, because for some of us, it can certainly be a struggle!

God bless,

Fr. Michael Sliney, LC

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Christ is the protagonist

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Thy Kingdom Come!

Dear Friends in Christ,

     “He must grow greater, I must grow less.” (Jn 3: 30)

    After making my first Profession of Religious Vows, a very holy priest reminded me, “Remember, Br. Michael, that you are a donkey.  You are carrying Christ in your heart and Christ will always be the protagonist.”  This is so true!  The inspiration to do good comes from Christ, the grace and strength to actually do it comes from Christ, and the positive results come from Christ blessing the effort.  He does ask for our collaboration, and although this is important, we need to always remember who is the protagonist!

God bless,

Fr. Michael Sliney, LC

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Judging others

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Thy Kingdom Come!

Dear Friends in Christ,

     “If you judge people you have no time to love them.”  St. Mother Teresa

   Are we here to judge or are we here to love?  If you could read the soul and history of a really prickly and difficult person, you would feel a lot more compassion than resentment.

God bless,

Fr. Michael Sliney, LC

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