The Deacon Dave & Layperson Lisa Show

Denial can serve a purpose especially when we are first faced with difficult news. Often, we need time to process what has happened while we figure out how to move forward. Over time, we need to move out of denial so that it does not block us from God’s grace or cause us additional suffering.

What struck me the most about this reflection is where Cardinal Sarah says “silence is a divine liberation that unifies man and places him at the center of himself, in the depths of God’s Mysteries.” The depths being the depths of God, because when you become one with Him, the things of this world do not matter. Jesus died to liberate us from ourselves. We are our own worst enemy, and when we turn...

Jeff Cavins in his book When You Suffer describes a beam which is 25 feet long, 1 foot wide and 1 foot tall. He provides several scenarios for the placement of this beam and what might motivate us to walk across this beam. It brings up questions about fear, faith, trust, and sacrifice.

When I reflect on this paragraph, I hear Cardinal Sarah express the great gift of the Eucharist. I immediately thought about the video “The Veil Removed”. If you have not watched it, I encourage you to do so. I see Jesus on the altar reciting the Words of Consecration as He offers Himself to us in the form of bread and wine, notice the drop of blood that falls into the chalice from the cross. In t...

Day 4: Why Me? Why This? It is natural to ask why me and why this, especially when we are blindsided by the difficult circumstances in our lives. It is OK to ask these questions and to take these questions to God. It seems impossible to make sense of suffering and in particular of evil – suffering that is the result of something that someone else has done to us. Looking to Jesus and his own questi...

Cardinal Sarah talks about devoting time with Jesus to be nourished ABUNDANTLY. Meaning in large quantities/plentifully Mt 6:21 says “where your treasure is, that is where your heart is” I have mentioned in earlier episodes that I was not always so devoted to prayer. My time was spent being a taxi for my children driving them from activity to activity and when not doing that I was working. Not a g...

Why does an all loving, all powerful and all-knowing God allow suffering? While God is not the cause of suffering, He did allow suffering to enter the world. God is love and He wanted to share that love with us. In order for us to respond to that love, we need the freedom God gave us in order to choose love. Through that freedom, sin entered the world. According to St Pope John Paul II, suffering...

Today Cardinal Sarah narrates a visit that St. Teresa of Calcutta had by Angelo Comastri who is now the Cardinal Archbishop of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. When the priest first called requesting to visit St. Teresa, he was told no, because she did not have time. He went anyway, was again told that St. Teresa was too busy to see him. He was persistent and eventually St. Teresa came out to see him...

Today Cardinal Sarah talks about being swallowed up in God. And boy, how I sure fall short, I find myself being swallowed up by the world around me. I picture myself walking into a dark cave or falling into a dark pit and there is no way out. But the more time I spend with God the more I feel his presence surround me. We have talked about adoration many times since we began but not enough! Sitting...

Day 2: Forms, Causes and Reactions to Suffering Suffering comes in many forms and there is so much suffering where we feel we have no control. However, there are causes of suffering in which we do have some control. For example, the way we respond to our suffering can easily cause us additional pain. If we are able to effectively process our pain and work through the natural responses of anger, de...

Cardinal Sarah talks about St. Teresa of Calcutta and describes her humility and devotion to prayer. In the Missionaries of Charity chapel is inscribed “I thirst”. What does it mean to thirst for the love of God? For me it means not being able to get enough, to keep wanting more. The saints are great examples of what is meant to be completely in the presence of God. She was filled with God in her...

All of us suffer and all suffering matters. At times we may feel that our suffering is not significant compared to what others might be enduring, but the pain caused by all forms of suffering is real. Whether our suffering is internal (mind/soul) or external (body), we can use that suffering. Saint Pope John Paul II endured many forms of suffering throughout his life and gave us an example of how...

Today I hear Cardinal Sarah talk about the fact that if our hearts rest in Jesus, we would relieve ourselves from our “miserable human sentiments” and “and have the sentiments of Jesus”. Philippians 2:4-5 says “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interest of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus”. With Jesus in our hearts, we can love li...

On this day, Cardinal Sarah talks about a mysterious journey that leans to silence. Journey – an act of traveling from one place to another. Often when we hear mystery, we think of something scary, but I don’t think that is what Cardinal Sarah was talking about. During a mystery movie you often hear eerie music, and everything is quick when the detectives are getting closer to find their answer. I...

Cardinal Sarah describes how St. John leaned into the heart of Jesus.  He allowed God to work in his heart and their hearts beat as one. 1 Cor chapter 3 says “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” If God dwells in you, then his heart is in your heart they are one. Jesus calls us to do the same, to lean into Him, to allow Him to hold on to us, to...

Through our Baptism we receive the same ability as Jesus had.  His divine powers live within us.  Often, we allow them to lie dormant, not aware they even exist.  The heavens are open above us, we have the ability to be vessels for signs and wonders, just like the Apostles.  When we graft our hearts to God’s, we become more aware of His Presence around us, within us.  We hear His voice more consis...

Have you ever had to travel away from home, maybe to a country that did not speak English and you found yourself not being able to communicate with the local people? Even in the same country words and symbols may not represent the same thing. This can cause confusion and disorientation. Effective communication and patience are key in situations such as this. The same can be said for the communicat...

Cardinal Sarah quotes Isaiah, Seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand…For this people’s heart has grown dull.   The influence of the world, struggles that we try to take care of ourselves can all cause our hearts to be hardened and dull.  This has happened to me.  I was going through a period of time when I felt very angry.  I didn't understand what was go...