It was 7.30pm on a Saturday night and Rosemary and I were going to a friend’s 40th birthday party. It was a tattoo party. I have none and do not have the svelte figure of so many current sportsman who have their bodies covered in them.

Joel our son was also going out but to a different function. A few minutes before we left he said good bye.

As parents we dread those calls informing us of trouble, an accident or worse.

Just a few minutes later the phone rang. I had my coat in hand and we were about to leave home.

“Hello.”

“Dad, it’s Joel.” I immediately picked something was wrong.

“What’s up son?” I asked.

“Dad I have had a car accident,”

“Are you ok? Are you hurt?”

“No.”

“Is anyone else hurt?”

“No.”

“What happened?”

“I drove into a police car.”

He was about a kilometre and a half from our house.

“What?” I asked again.

“A police car.”

“We’ll be there in a minute son.”

We ran to the car and as we drove around the corner we saw the red and blue flashing lights of police cars flashing in the distance.

We ran to him. Joel was sitting on the ground a few metres from the two cars. He was whiplashed and in shock but he was ok and no one else was hurt. “Thank you God,” I sighed.

His car was a write off and the policeman said his was probably the same.

What had happened was that the police had caught an inebriated motor cyclist and had arrested him ten metres from the road. When Joel had driven past the police car with its lights flashing he saw the flash of a torch to his left and immediately looked left. What he did not see was the second police car parked in front of the first. He drove into it at 60km/h. One policeman said this was the third time when he had been parked on the side of the road that a car had driven into his car.

The police were excellent when we arrived. They were concerned for Joel and immediately calmed us down as well. The ambulance arrived but he did not need go to hospital.

What mattered was that he was ok.

Love.

Love.

Love is what matters.

How we feel about our loved ones is just a fraction of how God feels about us.

What can I say except: “Joel, not a police car next time!!!!!”

Have you ever lost your peace? That inner part of us that expresses itself in our demeanor and the way we interact with others and how we speak to them and even ourselves. Often our peace is lost by circumstances outside of ourselves, some that we have control over or sometimes by our own inadequacies.

Last week I was working contentedly at my desk in my office at home just after 5pm. It was one of those times when I was being very productive. I was just in the “zone” when the telephone rang. It was my son Joel.

“Dad I have left the lights on in my car and the battery is flat and won’t start. I am here in the city, can you come and help me and jump start the car?”

My heart sank because the city is a 30 minute drive away. I looked at the work I was doing and would have to leave behind and thought “how frustrating.”

As Dad’s do I said, “no problem son, I will be there soon.” I heard in his voice equal frustration at having left his lights on and being stuck.

“Where are you Joel?”

“I am in the Convention Centre car park, see you when you get here Dad.”

I replied, “Joel when I get closer I will call you on my mobile phone to find out exactly where you are.”

I finished a couple more sentences at my desk and then went looking for the jumper leads. These would allow the flat battery in his car to connect to the charged battery in my car and “jump” start his car.

I charge my mobile phone beside my bed and the night before in the middle of the night my phone had rung. I disconnected it from the charger and being dark I had not reconnected it to the charger.

As I got closer to Joel I called him on my mobile only to notice that the telephone was dead and had run out of charge. My phone rarely runs out of charge because it is so important to me.

Now here was a second battery flat to add to the story.

When I arrived at the Convention Centre car park I drove around and around this large car park but I could not find him.

Now, being even more frustrated at not re-connecting my telephone to the charger I parked and looked for a public telephone. After walking a long distance I found one only to realise, I did not know Joel’s mobile telephone number.

An hour had now passed since Joel first called. I rang my daughter Cassandra and asked her to ring Joel. She spoke to both of us passing messages between us only to eventually put the two phones together so we could speak to each other.

Just being able to hear his voice I said, “Joel where are you, I am here in the Convention Centre car park?”

“I am not there Dad. I am in the Concert Hall car park.”

My frustration rose higher as he said this. I walked all the way back to my car and drove just one kilometre to find him standing beside his car.

“Thanks for coming Dad,” he said.

We started his car and drove home.

Frustration. It robs us of our peace.

My night had consisted of Joel’s flat car battery, my productive state of mind at the time of his call, my flat phone battery and being in a similarly named car park but not the right one. All of these contributing factors were so annoying.

If anyone had a right to be frustrated and lose His peace it was Jesus.

He would tell His disciples stories and yet they did not understand even though they were with Him day and night.

He told them the parable of the sower who threw out seed on all types of ground and how it grew. His disciples did not understand the story however and He had to explain what should have been quite simple.

Another occasion when Jesus did get a little frustrated was on the night He was betrayed and would be killed the next day. Jesus asks His disciples to stay awake with Him and wait. He is frightened but they cannot stay awake. He had every right to be upset.

Losing our peace is so easy and if we are not careful it can wreck our lives and the lives of those around us.

When we lose our peace there is a sense of losing control deep in the centre of ourselves.  In the past our centre was often referred to as our heart.

Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”

Next time life begins to slip into frustration, take a deep breath and ask God to be with you give and you His peace.

I am currently doing a series of talks titled RADICAL CULTURE, RADICAL LIVES and just met someone who is radical.

Last week we completed a five day Catholic Guy Parish Event at the Mary MacKillop Catholic Parish in Ballajura in Perth Western Australia.

I was moved by the commitment of the Parish Priest Fr John Jegorow.

The media paints priests in a very negative light and why wouldn’t they? Priests hold up to us the radical life of Jesus and stand counter cultural to some philosophies and values found in wider society.

Fr Jegorow loves Christ passionately. He loves his people fervently and he loves the Church which is charged with living and spreading the radical message of Jesus.

Fr Jegorow has devoted his life to this.

He is humble, kind, enthusiastic, hard working and yet he is also frail and in need of God personally and he knows it.

Fr Jegorow is living a radical life and He is the centre around which a community of people live and are called to live radically themselves.

Radical means;

• Of the root or roots, fundamental (of the base, basic)

• Forming the basis of an idea or action; primary.

What is a Radical?

• A radical is a revolutionary. It is someone who takes an issue right back to the base or most basic place and lives it.

• They propose a new basic, a new base line.

Jesus can be described as a radical.

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.

Matthew 5:17–20

This is radical and back to basic language. Jesus says things are going to be done the way they were intended to be done.

Jesus set up a new ‘normal.’

Jesus proclaimed a God of love and a subsequent way of acting which would and does cause all kinds of problems to humanity that is fundamentally self centred and asks constantly, “What is in it for me?”

In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.

Matthew 7:12

Jesus is saying treat others as you want to be treated yourself.

If God is truly a God of love and if God wants a new way of living, a new lifestyle of thinking, speaking and acting to occur, then Jesus teaches this alternate way of life through His teaching. We read in the Sermon on the Mount some radical ideas and ways of living. For example;

Concerning Anger

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.

Matthew 5:21–22

Concerning Adultery

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Matthew 5:27–28

Concerning Retaliation

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; 40 and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; 41 and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. 42 Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

Matthew 5:38–42

Concerning Love of Enemies

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Matthew 5:43–44

These are the words and actions of a radical. Of someone calling people back to the purest form of being a God follower and declaring that this way of living is a Godly way of living. Now we must understand these passages in context, and not interpret them fundamentally and apply them literally, but Jesus is calling us to think differently.

A radical life can be a pain-filled life and yet a radical life can be the most exciting life of all.

At times a radical or extremist might be accused of being counter the normal culture.

• A radical stirs.

• A radical makes others feel uncomfortable.

• A radical cause others to run away because they feel uneasy.

• A radical recruits.

While a radical may cause some people to run away they also cause people to find passion and conviction for their cause as they drive a stake into the ground.

A radical says this is the way it is meant to be done. This value will enhance society and you and others can and will benefit.

A radical is a dangerous person because they will give their life for their convictions.

HOW TO BECOME RADICAL:

Many people cannot live with radicals and reject their message.

Just prior to John 6:60-69, Jesus speaks of being the Bread of Life and that we must eat of Him and draw life from Him meaning that we must partake of Him completely. He must be our one true life source.

This was hard for people to accept.

60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” 61 But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you?

66 Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. 67 So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

John 6:60-61;66–69

Something happened to Peter. He converts to the radical’s point of view and he sees.

This conversion is what causes Peter to give his complete life to God’s call.

Conversion is more than saying I agree with you.

It is a changing of the heart and will.

It captures the emotion and the soul. It is a total overtaking of ourselves.

This conversion does not say make it good for me or make it easy or make it comfortable. It says, “Jesus be my all.”

If we do not experience conversion of our heart and will then following Jesus is a dry exercise or action that does not give internal life and connection with God. It means a dry disconnected life with us feeling as if God is near us without God being within us.

Being a radical follower of Jesus requires passionate followership and even obedience.

• It will take us to the mission fields of Africa and Asia.

• To people lost and lonely from their faith in our communities.

• It will cause us to give unreasonably to the needy of our money and resources and time.

We are called to be different.

Christians are called to be radical because we are passionately and intimately in love with Jesus.

He is our food, our air, our thoughts, our life. Anything less is counterfeit.

I have the amazing privilege of knowing many Catholic priests. I know more today than I have ever known.

They are radicals. They are living a life that consistently keeps them in touch with Jesus and his life changing message.

I feel so privileged that I met Fr John Jegorow and tried to say this to him on Friday evening as we ate a final meal together. I am not sure I did very well.

As I drove away however, I felt disappointed that I had not met Fr John twenty years ago.

To pre-order your copy of the inspirational interview of

Fr John Jegorow On A Conversation with The Catholic Guy

click here.

I know that this can be taken the wrong way but, “I have girlfriends and lots of them”.  Yes, I know some of you might be shocked but it is true. Some are younger than me and others a little older but all are beautiful.

The Catholic Guy Team and I recently went to the Northern Beaches area of Sydney, to the Pittwater Catholic Parish, for a six day Catholic Guy Parish Event. The Parish has two Church buildings, one in Avalon; the other in Mona Vale. Whilst I am tired from the work component of the time there, I was completely invigorated by the people. We had an amazing time with them and because of them, I was disappointed to leave.

It is not uncommon to hear talk about the demise of Parish life and community in the Catholic Church in recent years and, while this might be true for some areas, it is certainly not the case in many of the parishes that we visit. It was not the case in both of these Church communities that make up this one dynamic Parish. Yes, I know that numbers might be diminished in parishes but community does not have to be.

At this event we held both morning and afternoon sessions with some sessions repeated four times to ensure as many people as possible could attend and people came, some travelling large distances to be there.

After one morning session two ladies, named Joanne and Jo; on reflecting upon the talk I had given a few minutes earlier commenced telling me a little of their stories. Both of their stories were very interesting and I wanted to hear what they had to say. At these events however I try and get around to say hello to as many people as possible, so long engrossing stories that I enjoy often have to be finished another time.

I knew I had one free spot left for the rest of the week in my schedule, so I said to Joanne and Jo: Why don’t we catch up for lunch the next day, if they wanted to, and we could keep talking? They said OK, and would let me know where. I stepped away and talked to a few other people. A little while later one of the ladies handed me her business card and said this is where we are having lunch and, by the way, eight ladies are now coming as well.

I was a bit surprised that many women could get invited to lunch that quick.

I rang my wife a few minutes later and said to her, “Guess what, I am going out to lunch with a whole group of women and they are all gorgeous.” She replied, “Well, aren’t you lucky.”

I turned up the next day at the restaurant and had a delightful conversation with these ladies at Whale Beach, a beautiful location in Sydney.

As I drove away I thought to myself: Here I am away from home on this trip for ten days meeting great people. Anyone who travels frequently knows that while you can be surrounded by people, that it is possible to still be very lonely at times. To be able to talk with them and listen to them and converse about life, family, career and hear about some scary moments over the years with their children made me feel wanted.

So many people are not as fortunate as I was that day. All around us are people who no one notices. They might be the mum who stands on the side lines while they watch their children do cross country running; or the man beside you on the bus going back and forth from work; or the girl studying in the library. We live in a world where we are surrounded with people who are lonely.

Jesus seemed to be the master at noticing people.

One day Jesus was walking along and two blind people called out to him to have mercy on them. They wanted to be heard because they had a need. The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quite and stop making so much noise but Jesus heard them, asked them what they wanted and consequently healed them of their blindness.

Jesus did not hear their noise he heard their need.

It has been said the greatest epidemic sweeping the western world today is loneliness and isolation.

People are lost in the hustle and bustle of life.  Sometimes finding true friends can be so hard to do.

Jesus noticed both adults and children and if all you get from this reflection is that He sees you, it has been worthwhile. At the end of every television program I say, “God is never far from you.” There is nothing more true.

A little while ago Rosemary and I wanted to go out for a late night coffee and chat. The only place open that we can find late at night in quiet Perth is the casino. As we walked to a little café in the casino I suddenly noticed people just sitting in various places. I called Rosemary and said, “Look.” There were people everywhere who were by themselves.

Many people are very lonely.

So what do we do? The answer is not easy in many cases, but you can do your part to make our world a less lonely place.

• Next time you are going out, do not just ask those you know closely to go out with you, but, take the risk and invite others you do not know that well.
• Talk to the person you see on the bus everyday. If they do not want to talk then respect their wishes.
• Smile and be friendly and talkative genuinely enquiring how those you meet are. I am amazed how many people come to life when you ask how their day is going.

Remember;

There is a world out there that will talk back if you will talk first.

Finally, why not become a ‘secret pray-er.’ Ask God to come to the lonely, sad and isolated that you meet but most of all pray for you: Ask God to give you eyes to see, words to speak and love in your heart for the lonely. If you do this you will be like Jesus who noticed the children, people who were hungry, those who worried for their troubled children, etc, etc.

Finally, I cannot wait to go back to lunch with all my girlfriends and take Rosemary. I know Rosemary would love them and feel loved by them.

Life is all about seasons. There are times of great happiness and joy, productivity and success and then there are times of struggle and hardship, doors closing and trouble. It seems that the two are very often connected, so much so that just like spring follows winter; success, breakthrough and achievement arrive only if we go through the winters of our lives.

We are all the same if we were truthful. Achievement follows hardship. The sad thing is that for us, our friends, families, employers, the results we might desire through study or on the sports field, the truth is we often go to tremendous lengths to go around hardship rather than go through it.

It is understandable to want to avoid pain but it is so often the doorway to our success.

This has been the season I have just wandered through. Late last year Impact Catholic Ministry, the organisation that I had led for the past fourteen years closed its doors as it prepared to go through a major transition. This was in part due to the loss of our building where both our offices and our Services and meetings were held. The other part is that God wanted to do a marvelous work in us.

Today we have staff working in two different office locations; our youth meeting in another venue, our Sunday Service in another, and our equipment is in storage in three different locations. Mid-week meetings are held somewhere else again and we have to ask around to find a venue to record the necessary parts to complete our television program each week. All of this used to take place in one location last year, today we are scattered and it is difficult.

Life is certainly harder this year and yet the sun is beginning to shine over us in ways that I have dreamed of for years. Hearts have softened and become more open to God and His ways.

The old Impact Community that has supported the Catholic Guy Ministry is now re-born. The level of faith, prayerfulness, wisdom and strength among the people is something to behold.

Our God is the God who is capable of breathing new life into impossible situations, just like Jesus did when he raised Lazarus from the tomb and saved a woman about to be stoned to death by a group of men with double standards.

The hardship of the past few months has caused me to seek after God with a heart and voice that says “Lord I need you. Will you come to my aid?”

• When we endure hardship there is only one right response – Lord I need you.
• When we feel lost and life seems out of control there is only one right response – Lord I need you.
• When we do not have the resources to go on there is only one right response – Lord I need you.
• When we are alone and isolated there is only one right response – Lord I need you.

When we seek God with a humble heart knowing that we completely need Him, we are in His territory, which is that of the miraculous.

The cyclones, floods, fires and earthquakes of this past terrible summer just in our part of the world reminds us all that we are limited in our capacity and not in control.

If we read the Gospel stories, miracles occurred when trouble, difficulty or the impossible was needed. We do not read of any miracles in the Scriptures that Jesus performed when life was wonderful and everything was already provided in surplus.

Jesus is the one capable of turning five loaves and two fish into a feast with leftovers after feeding thousands. This is the God I have preached and committed my life to and He will provide for me and for you no matter our circumstances.

When I started in this ministry all those years ago I had nothing but just a few books and files along with a group of wonderful young people who believed the impossible was possible. It has been their dream, sacrifice and hard work which has propelled us to the places where we have been and continue to move us forward.

When doors close, and hardship and roadblocks occur in our lives; it is in these times that God is often speaking loudest to us as he shuts the paths we travelling on and directs us along new ones.

God so often wants to take us to new places, but our current circumstances whether it is the way we think or the demands on us, prevent us from being open to the new.

As I have prayed these past months, I believe God has placed desires on my heart. I know it sounds counter intuitive and even crazy to be thinking of more extensive plans and more costly endeavours in terms of finance and people power, but it seems I need paths closed at times, no matter how abruptly, so that I will be open to the new leadings God wants for me.

As I have prayed through this time I believe God has placed dreams and plans on my heart that only He can provide;

• I believe God wants me to invite people to join me in building an organisation that can reach and help hundreds of thousands of people around the world come to know that God seeks to be even more powerfully in their lives.
• God has placed on my heart even more the desire to encourage people in parishes and groups in countries around the world providing leadership training and deeper ways of connecting with God through our parish missions and local events.
• This year we are going to launch ‘The Catholic Guy Radio Program’ to be heard around the world.
• In May the first edition of ‘Inspiring You to Dream’ our Catholic Guy Magazine will be published.
• New resources consisting of books, DVDs and CDs will be released before the end of the year as well.

I believe that God will provide what is required to make these and other activities a reality. In Hebrews 11:1 it says that “Faith is the belief, the conviction in what we do not see, but hope for.”

If we had remained in the same building and the Impact Ministry had not gone through the upheaval it has, I do not believe God could and would have worked in us in the amazing ways He has. Even though life at one level is still not as comfortable as it was last year and we are scattered, people’s hearts and dependence upon God have increased tremendously.

Today more people have the opportunity to be part of our work of reaching the world and helping people than ever before.

The older I get the more I realise that it is only God who can provide for your and my needs.

Where in your life are there roadblocks right now? Ask God if He wants you to move in a different direction in your life in these areas.

Pray for miracles. Pray that God will provide for you in keeping with His riches in heaven, which are unlimited.

Write down what you are convicted about and believing for and share them, not with everyone, but those who will encourage you and build you up.

If you have no one to share with then write to me at TheCatholicGuy@TheCatholicGuy.com and I will pray with you and believe with you for God to work miraculously in your situation.

Let us together be excited by what God is and wants to do in our lives.

Remember God is never far from you.