St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church at 232 South Broad St, Buena Vista, GA 31803 US - A Deep Peace

The following was the witness talk for the November Ultreya of the Columbus, Phenix City and Fort Benning Cursillo Community. A witness talk is supposed to tell you what you received from your Cursillo weekend. I had to write this talk all the way to the end before I knew what I was talking about. I stewed over it for two months. I began at least a dozen times. I had the basic talk a couple of weeks ago. I prayed about it and thought about it. I finally realized as I was doing my final rewrite this morning what I had to tell you about. What I got from my Cursillo weekend was a deep peace. A peace like few have ever known. I attended Cursillo in the spring of 1986 in Holy Trinity, AL. There, I was taught the tools that have carried me forward since then. You know what these tools are. We all know about them and sometimes we even use them. They are prayer, the rosary, the bible, etc. In order for these tools to work for us we must use them and use them consistently - that is, they must become a habit. We are all slaves to habits, the problem is most of them are bad habits or at least not positive habits. I have worked in television since 1966. Yes, for you younger people, we had TV in 1966. In fact it was even in color (at least some of it). One of my primary functions is to train the master control operators. The master control operator is the heart of a TV station. That is the person who actually puts the programming on the air and keeps everything in its proper order, starting the programs and inserting the commercials at the correct time, etc. It is an endless task (we’re on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.) And must be executed to split second timing. He or she must plan out and time everything so that it flows in a comprehensible sequence with each component starting and ending at precise times. I work in a room that contains at least a dozen computers controlling and monitoring various systems. There are two transmitters (one standard and one HD) and cable system hookups. 10 satellite receivers. Two 1 inch videotape machines, six 3/4 inch tape machines, 6 DVD recorders and players, six computer servers, and about 18 TV’s. While you are watching “Law and Order” that person is not only transmitting that program to you along with inserting the local commercials, but is also monitoring the two transmitters and recording syndicated programs for playback at other times. That’s just a little of what that person does. In the master control environment you often have “down time” when everything is running quietly and you can actually sit back and watch some of the programming. Then there are times such as a station break where you may have your attention divided among several things occurring simultaneously. So what does this have to do with Cursillo? Well there is a life lesson here. The first thing I teach to a new master control operator is about habits. To live and work in this environment, you must develop proper habits. You will live or die by your habits. When so many things begin to happen at one time (especially if something goes wrong), you do not have time to stop and think about what to do next. If you do, its already too late and the problems cascade. Just as when you touch a hot object, your automatic motor response is to jerk your hand away, so must a person in this environment respond automatically by developing the proper habits. Now are you getting a idea of where I am going? It is a life lesson that applies to all of us, Cursillistas or not. In moments of challenge we will respond according to our habits. So how can I develop those good habits? A habit is a learned response to stimuli. You learn them by doing them. An act repeated for 21 days will become a habit. Just as we respond with a curse word when injured, so can we respond with a prayer. Many people have made such a habit of foul language that they are not even aware of what they have said. Your learned response can just as equally be a prayer. Try this. Make it a point to designate an easy chair in front of the TV for Jesus. Voice it. Say “this is where Jesus is sitting.” Does that sound silly? Don’t tell God that it is silly. Remember, he said, ”I will be with you always.” Remind yourself that Jesus is there with you watching TV also. You don’t think Jesus would have watched TV. Why not? Maybe He would not watch what you watch, but I think he would watch TV. The Bible has him at a wedding feast (that’s a party). God did not create the world to trap us. He loves us and wants us to be happy. Anyway, Jesus is there with you watching TV. Will you watch the same programs as you normally do? I think he would be dynamite on Jeopardy. But would he watch “Inside Edition”? When you go to the movies remember that he is along, but you don’t have to buy him a ticket. But he will be watching what you are watching. Will you see the same movie? What you put into your head is what is in your head. That is the first thing I took away from my weekend. That is habit #1. Jesus is here - now - always. Many of you have heard me say that the first thing I do every morning is read a little from the Bible. Recently I commented that I keep a Bible in the bathroom. Someone commented that it is sacrilegious to have a Bible in the bathroom. Remember, God is everywhere. You can’t hide from Him even in the bathroom. So cultivate that mindset. Jesus is with you. Talk to him. Include him. He is with you always everywhere you go and everything you do. When you have 7-10 split do you pray to pick up the spare? Then remember he is there for the easy shots, too. Good times become even better when you include Jesus in your mind and difficult decisions become much easier when Jesus becomes part of the process. The second thing I took away from my weekend was a Bible. Yes they gave me an NT. Habit #2. Read the Bible. Make it a daily habit, even if only a couple of paragraphs. I never fail to find something to carry with me throughout the day. I read the New Testament. Then go back and read the entire Bible starting with the Old Testament. Then the NT again. So I read the NT twice for every time I read the OT. Some parts of the OT have long sections of genealogy. After reading the OT through once, I generally skip a lot of the genealogy stuff. The third thing I took away from my Cursillo was a Rosary. (SHOW ROSARY) Habit #3. Say the Rosary every day. It works the same way. Do it for 21 days straight and it will become a habit. Caution! This habit must be part of your daily routine. If you don’t set a specific time in your day for your Rosary and Bible reading, it will slip into a crack and be lost. I have a 25-minute commute to work. I drive 99% of it down a 4 lane divided highway. It is a very easy and routine drive. This is my Rosary time. On days I am not working I plan a specific time for my Rosary. You can’t leave such things to when I get around to it. The discipline of specific routines in life is a necessity for an orderly life. Habit #4. Surround yourself with that which sustains you. Music has always been a large part of my life. I was in the boy’s choir in grammar school. I have been involved in the music for church for most of my life. Debbie and I were members of one choir or another throughout our marriage. St. Thomas Aquinas said that “A hymn is a prayer said twice”. Music has been my refuge, my inspiration and my solace. I don’t listen to the music stations on the radio. I have a number of CD’s that I listen to. There is a lot of very good music out there; you just have to look for it. You cannot sing a hymn and be depressed at the same time. Habit # 5. Learn to say yes. Yes to God’s call. No more excuses and doubts. When I am unsure about a task placed before me, I use the 4 habits above. When faced with a life challenge I use the 4 habits above. It is easy to do the right thing when you are aware that Jesus is there with you and hears your decision. When I shaped my life to these principles I experienced a deep peace. It is a peace that permeates you body and soul. Satan will try to destroy that peace. Difficult times and troubles will come, but the peace and comfort will triumph if you will learn these habits. You will be humbled, but you will know peace. You will be hurt, but you will know peace. You will at times feel very alone, but you will know peace. You will find yourself standing out as a target for everyone around you, but you will know peace. You will know sorrow, but you will have peace. And you will know great joy and still will have peace. That is just a little of what my Cursillo has given me. And that is what I hope that I have been able to share with you - Peace.

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