Episode Transcript
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We are called today
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to show and live our faith
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and to express love in real ways,
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to be people with an attitude of love.
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A walk in the shops these last few days
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and we've seen many Valentine’s greeting cards.
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I hope someone wished you a Happy Valentine’s Day.
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If not, from me to you, Happy Valentine’s Day!
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We are all called as people of faith
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to be people of the heart,
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to be those for whom love takes form,
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not in the Valentine form, but in the real stuff of life.
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Saint Francis of Assisi was drawn to the heart of Jesus
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he wanted in a real way to imitate Jesus
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and show love to all
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so much so, he called everything and every one brother or sister!
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During the week I visited a man who had been married for 66 years.
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His wife died last year
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and I was connecting with him to see how he was.
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After this man’s wife died, he was rather lost.
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He had planned to go first.
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A diabetic.
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Every night at 10pm, he and his wife
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shared a snack that helped regulate his blood sugar through the night.
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Every night at 10pm, they broke bread, literally,
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they ate toast.
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We were talking for some time the other day,
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and I was asking him does he still have his toast at 10pm?
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He shook his head with definitive clarity,
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“No. No toast Father.”
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He was teary eyed and getting more emotional.
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But Jim, I said,
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"you had toast every day with Betty!"
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“No” he said,
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“Because I hate toast.”
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I was baffled and leaned back in the chair and said,
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“Wait. For 66 years, every night you ate toast and you don’t like toast?”
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He said, “Yeah, that’s right”.
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“Oh boy, you did that for so long”.
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There was a pause as we sat across the table.
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"That’s amazing" I said.
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"How come you did that?"
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I queried.
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And Jim said “Because Betty loved toast Father. That’s why I ate toast.”
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That’s what it means, for me, to dwell in the heart of God.
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It is not soft or luxurious.
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It is to be so willing
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to step outside the ego of self
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that we are drawn into the heart of another.
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We are drawn into the heart of God.
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Sometimes we are the one who makes the toast for another
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and sometimes we are the one who eats it
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because that’s what love calls us to do.
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It is never one or the other,
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it is always both/and.
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We are called to live our faith with action,
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to really show our care,
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love and compassion to others.
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We are called to move beyond lip-service.
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You can model this in your life
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and show your beliefs are real.
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I dream
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in these days after Valentine’s day
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that we not be afraid to show our love.
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I dream where we will each have the chance
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to make the toast
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and to eat the toast of love.
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May you do all you can this week to be motivated by love.
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Do all you can to be motivated by your heart.
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Be a person of love!
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What is love asking of you today?
