Anyone who does not gather with me scatters.

Friday, 10/10/14

Jesus said, “Anyone who does not gather with me scatters.” He was telling us to get a lot of good things done each day.

As kids we were marched to confession twice a month. Then, as seminarians we had ten minutes set aside every evening for asking for forgiveness for the day’s sins and failings. As well, before lunch we had five minutes set aside on cutting down on whatever dominate fault each of us had.

Those general and particular examines of conscience were daily exercises that Ignatius of Loyola had laid down. But I don’t remember that Ignatius set aside tines for checking on how we were doing at gathering with the Lord.

A fine priest friend of ours, Phil Crosby, would never let us get away with just talking about people’s problems. He’d always interrupt to ask, “Well, what are we going to do for those people?

Eleanor Roosevelt was like that too. She never came on people beset with troubles without setting to work at clearing up those problems.

The Boy Scouts do a good deed every day. Are you going to let those kids be better than you?