Base Hit Gratitude

I was watching a major league baseball game on TV recently and saw something that was a bit out of the ordinary. When the batter hit the ball and was safe at first base, he made the sign of the cross. I’ve seen hundreds of batters over the years start their at-bat by signing themselves but never once when they got on base.

It really is a simple illustration of the various kinds of prayer. When you’re at bat, the sign of the cross is a prayer of petition. When you make it on base it’s a prayer of gratitude. Why not do both? Proverbs 3:6 says “in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

When Jesus encountered the ten lepers they cried out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” They were all cleansed but only one of them turned back to give thanks. That’s a ten to one ratio of petitions versus thanksgiving. Certainly God wants us to make our requests known to Him. But He also deserves our sincere gratitude for answered prayer and blessing. Whether we are beginning an endeavor or reveling in a mission accomplished, we need to pray without ceasing and give thanks in all things.

Worship: The first act of justice.

Since “Justice consists in the firm and constant will to give God and neighbor their due” (CCC 1836), the worship of God is the first act of justice. The psalms call us to “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name”. In the new English translation of the Latin Rite liturgy, after the priest says, “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God,” the response is “It is right and just.” He is worthy. To do our Lord justice we offer up our prayers of thanks and praise. In fact, we lift our very hearts up to the Lord. He deserves our all.

And when we are dismissed from the celebration to “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord”, we are being called to live a life-style of worship that includes giving our neighbor their due.

All social justice must flow from this well-spring of worship if it is to be like the house built on rock rather than the sand of strictly horizontal “random acts of kindness”. There’s no randomity in a love of neighbor that springs from our love relationship with God. It is ordered by His providence.

God's New Thing.

This "ancient site of Christian worship" may have been "used as a church by 70 followers of Jesus in the first century after his death". In a culture that refers to worship movements in terms of decades this is a needed reminder of the antiquity of the Christian faith. The Church itself is the timeless new thing that God is doing. Like the Lord's mercies that are new every morning, the New Covenant in Christ's blood is as powerful today as the day He announced it to the Twelve.

See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland. (Isaiah 43:19)

Larry Norman Flys Home.

Larry Norman, the "Godfather of Jesus-Rock" died Sunday at the age of 60.

Larry was a hugely talented songwriter who had an enormous influence on those of us who were won to Christ during the Jesus Movement of the early 1970s. We bought his records, sang his songs at our ragtag worship assemblies and went to his concerts that were full of laughter and prayer. He got us all pointing our index fingers upward to indicate there is "One Way" to heaven ... through Jesus.

Many of Larry's songs show the longing he had for the Lord's return and his homecoming to God. In "Ha Ha World" he sang: "I been sitting here praying and laying up treasures in heaven." It was Larry's winsome way of communicating what St. Paul wrote to Timothy:

"Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:8)

For Larry Norman, "that day" has come. May his soul and all the souls of the faithfully departed rest in God's peace and presence forever. Amen.

Fingers In The Holy Water

One of the many little things I love about being back in the Catholic Church is the holy water fount. It has become an opportunity to thank the Lord for my baptism -- my being joined to Him and His family, the Church. If I stretch that moment to three seconds, I’ll give thanks for my parents who took me to church, placing me on Jesus’ lap so to speak. And I thank God for my godparents, Uncle Harry and Aunt Millie, who truly made me feel special throughout my childhood and even well into adulthood.

The holy water fount is a little sign that preaches a big sermon: For through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. (Galatians 3:26, 27)

It makes sense that the fount is located by the entrance doors of the church because baptism is our entrance into Christ's Church.


For Christians a special gratitude is due to those from whom they have received the gift of faith, the grace of Baptism, and life in the Church. These may include parents, grandparents, other members of the family, pastors, catechists, and other teachers or friends. "I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you." CCC 2220

The Duse is gone.

I was shocked to learn that legendary ad executive Phil Dusenberry passed away last week at the age of 71. When I was on staff with Hummingbird Productions in the 1980s, I composed and produced several radio spots for Phil's agency, BBDO. He always had the best people working on his projects and some of my friends in the business were a little fearful of him. But he inspired me.

Years later I created a scenario to help me order my world. Phil Dusenberry is the central figure in this imaginary scenario and it still exists on my "to do" list:

"Invite The Duse to my studio to hear my reel (an audio sampling of my ad music work) and then have lunch at my condo that would include a tour of our home."

The idea was to lift me out of the murkiness of mediocrity to do the more excellent thing.

So what does Phil Dusenberry have to do with worship? If I knew Phil was going to be attending services where I was directing music I would want to do an extraordinarily stellar job. I know. That is totally bogus. I'm already working in the Presence of Greatness Himself who calls His musicians to play skillfully with a loud noise. But God Himself wants us to encourage and inspire one another. Phil Dusenberry's reputation for excellence did that for me.

May his soul rest in peace.