Witness 

by Pete Tysdal

Lord Jesus, give me the grace to think of you every hour, just for today, so that I may live in your presence.

Lord Jesus, empty my heart of all sadness, hate and spite, just for today, so that I may love without criticizing and serve without complaining.

Lord Jesus, help me to follow your footsteps just for today, so that following your example and Mary’s I may be, every day of my life, an element of peace.

Five things happy people do before getting out of bed in the morning, by Paul Lenda, a guest writer for Wake up World.

1. Forgive yourself for Yesterday’s Mistakes:

Can anyone say they have lead a perfect life? Hardly. We all make mistakes……actions or reactions we come to later regret because we feel it would have been better if we didn’t do them. Forgiveness benefits us more than anyone else. Through forgiveness we stop holding on to the cause of suffering and let go. Acknowledge that we made a mistake and while we can’t change the past we can create a new present.

Everything is in a constant state of change……it’s the only constant in existence. We change all the time whether we realize it or not. We are not the same person we were yesterday, a year ago, or a decade ago. We shouldn’t forevermore hold something against ourselves since that will only create more suffering. We have all suffered enough for one reason or another. Let’s not add any unnecessary suffering to our lives. Look at our shadows, acknowledge their transient nature and let them go, give them to Jesus. 

(If you are interested in the other four get with me – or, send a message, below, to me and I’ll get them to you.)

When Steve asked me to talk at this retreat, my first thought to myself was why would anyone want me to talk. Then he sent me the topics: when did I first meet Jesus; when did I get to know Jesus; what are obstacles to having a relationship with Jesus; and, when was Jesus real to me. These topics made it impossible to say no, especially since I will be witnessing to those who also believe in Jesus Christ.

Before we get into those questions I think you should have a little of my background. First as many of you know I had 17 brothers and sisters. The ranch we lived on was 60 miles east of Sturgis, SD. We did not know we were poor growing up.  I was lucky, my next older siblings were sisters, so I always got new jeans and shirt for Easter and start of school year. My younger brother usually got my old clothes. I always slept with one of 3 younger brothers. Our room was at the west end of the house with two double beds without heat. One stand-on furnace grate was located in the middle of house.

When I was going into 4th grade at 11 ½ years old I drove my younger brothers to one room grade school (1st thru 8th grade, always taught by one of my two Aunts), three miles one way. I was the oldest boy at home, so most of my time was in the fields or riding on cattle. By the time I was 14, four of my brothers had passed away -- Mike at 5, Russell at 22, Rudy at 22 and Jerry at 25. Complications from polio and 3 auto accidents. 

The church we attended every Sunday and Holiday was a mission church with 5 pews on each side that could hold 6 people each. We kids always sat in the front row until we were altar servers, where we received $5 for serving. That was our primary source of money. By the time I hit 16 I had saved $600 as a server, and working month-to-month for another family. I realized that God was teaching me that money was a gift. As a family we prayed the rosary every night on our knees, and we always had summer bible school.

When did I first meet Jesus?

As you can imagine, our family was and is still very close. I always had community at our home, and then at 14, I was taken 192 miles away and dropped off at St. Mary’s catholic boarding school in New England, ND. I stayed in the dorm on weekends, which means we cleaned and polished the dorm rooms and bathrooms, which were barracks style. Here is where I was introduced to Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. I will always remember Jesus asking me if I can watch for one hour. What I learned from religion class and life was that God was not merciful and that we are always sinners. Then my mind was fogged and like Peter, I started following Jesus from a distance.

Getting to know Jesus?

The Knights of Columbus – learning to be a Catholic Gentleman – The Order of the Knights of Columbus, is a brotherhood that is shaped by virtues of faith, integrity, fidelity, hard work and generous concern for others. A practical Catholic gentleman is one who lives up to the Commandments of God and the Precepts of the Church. The Precepts of the Church are (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2041-2043):  To assist at Mass on all Sundays and holy days of obligation. 

• To fast and abstain on the days appointed. 
• To confess our sins at least once a year. 
• To receive Holy Communion during the Easter time. 
• To contribute to the support of the Church. 
• To observe the laws of the Church concerning marriage.

 Other basic truths of the Faith so dear to all Knights:  

• The Apostle’s Creed. 
• The Rosary. 
• The seven sacraments. Grace. 
• The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The past 4 years I have read or listened to the readings for the mass every day, mostly in the morning, and listened to the reflection from the USCCB website. Even when I was out of town. McDonalds has free wi-fi, which allowed me to not miss many days. I was amazed to find out that every page of the Bible is about Jesus.

Then the Holy Spirit awakened me on March 18 of this year. Dr. Tim Gray of the Augustine Institute introduced me to Peter. What an amazing journey. Jesus asked his disciples, “who do you say that I am?” This was the one and only time Jesus was in a city with a pagan temple to Ceasar, and Peter answered him that he was the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. I never knew what that meant until listening to this Bible study on Peter because the temple was to a dead god.

Most folks, when you ask, will say that Christ died to save us from our sins, which is true, but he could have died any time. Such as when Herod killed all the male children, or when they wanted to throw him off the cliff, or when they picked up stones to hurl. He knew He had to be careful. that’s why they cut through grain fields. He was always mysterious about where they would be next to keep Judas from betraying him before the feast of the last Supper. Truly also though, he came to establish The Kingdom of God which he had to establish before his death. He handed the keys over to Peter at Banas, and from there made a B-line to Jerusalem to be crucified.  The Kingdom of God is what Jesus talked about more than any other subject, mostly through parables about the Kingdom. I realized that I heard this before, but I did not listen.

Obstacles to having a relationship with Jesus?

The biggest obstacles in my relationship with Jesus are Fear and Following from a distance. We all have fears that paralyze us from action. Peter sank when he took his eyes off Christ and saw the waves, because of fear. That tells me to keep my eyes on the good news of Jesus Christ and to remember to say Lord Save when I am sinking.

Have you ever followed someone in your car? You have to stay close, or you can get separated when you follow at a distance. If I follow Jesus from a distance, I will end up like Peter and deny that I know Him. Discipleship is someone who is close to Jesus and spends time with Him, for us it is prayer, adoration, generosity and serving His Kingdom.

When was Jesus real for me?

First when I was at the high school in North Dakota. But I took my eyes off him.

In March as I had mentioned, the Bible study on Peter, gave me an understanding of the bible that I had never known. It started to make more sense and I could feel the love of God overwhelm me. I realized that Faith and Hope are only needed here because there will be only Love when we are with God.

I learned that the Holy Spirit had given me wonderful charisms. In my life, I have said yes a lot more than no, I think the Holy Mother Mary was my inspiration. Generosity was taught to me by UPS, as a management person we were evaluated not only on our performance but on our involvement in the community, and what we gave back. Service, Knights of Columbus, and Help the Needy wood yard grew out of that training. I left South Dakota out of high school and worked as a sawyer in the forest, but I believe the firewood work I do today is why God wanted me to get that job as a young man cutting trees.

As most of you know, another charism I have been gifted with is that I am not afraid to ask for money for a cause that is good for others. I realize that when I was young , from six to eight, my dad had me sell raffle tickets at auctions, dances, etc, I got used to people saying no after a couple hundred times. That’s why no is just an answer. It means nothing else.

I believe I am striving to be a disciple though I still find myself taking my eyes off Jesus, letting in the bad news of the world. Jesus only promised us the cross when we follow him, nothing else.

Concluded with prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

Lord make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love, where there is injury, pardon, where there is doubt, faith, where there is darkness, light, and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Oh, what happened in March was logging in and becoming a regular participant at formed.org, I have learned more in 5 months about my Faith than the previous 66 years.