Ken Untener > Quotes

“On April 4, 1980, John Paul II instituted the practice of hearing confessions in St. Peter’s Basilica on Good Friday, apparently becoming the first pope in history to hear the confessions of ordinary Catholics.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2014

“Simon was blindsided. He was on his way in “from the country” minding his own business, when all of a sudden the soldiers seized him and made him carry the cross. He didn’t volunteer for the job, and this wasn’t part of his plans when he got up that morning. Some of the toughest crosses are the ones I don’t expect or volunteer for. Why this? Why now? Why me? There’s no answer this side of the grave. I just do what Simon did: Put my shoulder to the cross as best I can, and walk behind Jesus one step at a time, just trying to get through a day.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for 2015: Six-Minute Meditations on the Passion According to Luke

“I’m familiar with “covenant” – that’s what marriage vows are. I can catch the implications of the eucharistic covenant if I picture God speaking vows to me: “I, God, take you, [your name], to be my own, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse [this includes sin], for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health . . . and when you die, my Son will walk with you through death and bring you safely home, to peace and joy and life . . . forever.” Remember. A covenant involves both parties. We have to speak our part. “I, [your name], take you, God, to be my own . .”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for 2015: Six-Minute Meditations on the Passion According to Luke

“Good Lord, how it must have felt to have that awful truth twisting inside his stomach as Judas tried to look normal. Too bad he didn’t know he was normal. He was a sinner, as I am. But there was still time. He could confess the awful truth. Why didn’t he? Telling even an awful truth is better than living a lie. Maybe Judas lost his nerve, or didn’t know how to say it, or to whom to say it. So he lived the lie that killed him. Perhaps I’ve had things inside me I didn’t know how or whom to tell. The sacrament of reconciliation began as a kind provision to enable sinners to tell the truth and find peace. That’s still what it is.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for 2015: Six-Minute Meditations on the Passion According to Luke

“Earlier, when Jesus sent out the 72 disciples, he spoke of “a money bag, sack, and sandals.” Now he speaks of “a money bag, sack, and sword.” He is speaking symbolically, referring to a new time of persecution. The disciples miss the point, take him literally, and produce two swords. His response amounts to: “Enough of that.” We’re sometimes taught to be quick with the sword, and we’ve all got our own “swords” – glaring daggers at someone, making cutting remarks. Throughout this Lent, I’ll watch Jesus face some “swords:” Mockery, manhandling, torture. The early Christians applied a passage from Isaiah to him: He was led like a sheep to the slaughter and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opened not his mouth. (Is 53:7) How did he do that? How could I do that? Ask him.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for 2015: Six-Minute Meditations on the Passion According to Luke

“Tips about prayer Just because you have more time to pray doesn’t mean you will pray more. It can be hard to carve out time for prayer. But when you have more time, it still takes some effort to move into prayer. Talk straight to God, and talk about everything. This is similar to “pray your feelings.” No subject is inappropriate for prayer. Talk about everything – everything. When we die, we come to the Lord as we are, the good and the bad. We would not want to have too many difficult things that we have to talk over for the first time with the Lord.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2017: Six-minute reflections on the Passion according to John

“After the resurrection, when Jesus gets Peter aside, he doesn’t ask him, “Do you believe in me?” He asks, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” And he repeats the question three times. I need to take some quiet time and hear Jesus address me by name and ask me the same question: “(My name), do you love me?” Take it from there.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2017: Six-minute reflections on the Passion according to John

“The question “What would Jesus do?” can be misleading because of the would. It could seem as though Jesus were not part of the here-and-now situation. There’s a big difference between “What would Jesus think I should do?” (in theory) and “What does Jesus think I should do?” Asking myself what Jesus actually thinks about a given situation can change my perspective. Pick any issue – killing the unborn, using/storing weapons of mass destruction, retaliation . . . What does Jesus think right now? I might be more likely to deny that I am a disciple of Jesus by waffling on those kinds of issues. And waffling is definitely not what Jesus does.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2017: Six-minute reflections on the Passion according to John

“It isn’t a matter of liking Jesus. Of course I do. It’s a matter of following him. This is the decision for which I cannot shift responsibility to others. It is mine to make, and only I can make it. Admirer? Or disciple?”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2017: Six-minute reflections on the Passion according to John

“...the Word was with God, and the Word was God. That's where God is from, and knowing that changes everything. And, where am I from? I am from God. ...not easy to believe.”
― Ken Untener

“Truth + Love. You have to have both. Truth without love can be mean. Love without truth can take you in wrong directions.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2016: Six-minute reflections on the Weekday Gospels of Lent

“It can be difficult to face the truth. And there’s never a “good time” to face a difficult truth. So, I put it off for a better time, and become a prisoner of my own fear. It’s the middle of Lent. There couldn’t be a better time to face whatever truth I’ve been avoiding.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2017: Six-minute reflections on the Passion according to John

“If I start distinguishing between the deserving and the undeserving poor, I’m finished – at least as far as the Gospel is concerned. Who is really to decide if they are undeserving? That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try to help them help themselves. As the saying goes, “Give me a fish and you feed me for a day. Teach me to fish and you feed me for life.” I should always try to help the poor help themselves. But I need to be careful about metering out my help too carefully. Jesus was never overly careful about metering out his mercy. He was criticized for his “reckless” mercy toward undeserving sinners. The undeserving poor remind me that something deeper needs to change – whatever it is that makes them feel hope-less and helpless. I need to address that. In the meantime, I need to help them, and not be judgmental or overly careful. Mental note: If I’m to err, err on the side of largesse.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for 2015: Six-Minute Meditations on the Passion According to Luke

“Don’t let prayers get between you and God. The object of praying is not saying prayers. It is being with God. The different forms of prayer are simply means to open ourselves up to God’s presence. Too often we confuse “praying” with “saying prayers.” The more we pray, the more we want to pray. The less we pray, the less we want to pray.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2017: Six-minute reflections on the Passion according to John

“Regardless of when Advent begins, every year the same Scripture readings are used for weekdays from December 17-24. The Gospels on those days describe events leading up to the birth of Christ: December 17: The genealogy of Jesus (Matthew) December 18: The annunciation to Joseph (Matthew) December 19: The annunciation to Zechariah (Luke) December 20: The annunciation to Mary (Luke) December 21: Mary’s visit to Elizabeth (Luke) December 22: Mary’s “Magnificat” (Luke) December 23: The birth of John the Baptist (Luke) December 24: The “Benedictus” of Zechariah (Luke)”
― Ken Untener, Little Blue Book Advent and Christmas Seasons 2017-2018: Six-minute reflections on the Advent/Christmas season Weekday Gospel

“God, remove all bitterness from my heart and give me the strength and courage to face any disaster that comes my way.’ – Martin Luther King Jr.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2017: Six-minute reflections on the Passion according to John

“In these moments during Christmas Mass when we breathe the air of liturgy, the true colors of Christmas come out. This is what liturgy is meant to do. These songs we are singing, these symbols all around us, these prayers we say, these believing people we are with, all express the heart of Christmas . . . That God would love us so, that God would want to be loved so by us (for who could not love this baby), that God would rescue us from our worst, or the worst that others have done to us . . .’ – Bishop Ken Untener”
― Ken Untener, Little Blue Book Advent and Christmas Seasons 2017-2018: Six-minute reflections on the Advent/Christmas season Weekday Gospel

“I am a daughter, a son of God's, part of God's royal family. In the perspective of eternity, many things of this world are petty, beneath me: Vulgarity, stinginess, greed, grudges.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2016: Six-minute reflections on the Weekday Gospels of Lent

“Lent also looks two ways. I look to my mixed past – joys and sorrows, successes and failures, good deeds and sins. But I also look to my future – the great feast of Easter and the assured victory of life over all forms of death. The ashes on my forehead are not a gloomy symbol. They express my belief that through death I find life. Dying to old ways of sin brings the peace I’ve always wanted. No Lenten penance dead ends in pain. Beneath true penance is always the experience of God’s loving presence. Plus the sense that I’m moving in a good direction. I can spend a lot of time on my past, maybe too much. Maybe I should talk to the Lord about my future. For starters, talk about these next 40 days. Don’t drift halfheartedly into Lent. Plunge into it.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for 2015: Six-Minute Meditations on the Passion According to Luke

“As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” That’s a little more than saying, sort of, in general, “Be nice to people.” He said, “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” I am called by Jesus himself, to live a new commandment – to love as he did. I am to respond to evil with goodness, as he did. I am supposed to do what a mother does when a little child is angry, screaming, in a tantrum. The mother hugs the child and surrounds the child with love and absorbs the anger. That is what I am to do: surround evil and anger with goodness as Jesus did. Am I doing that today?”
― Ken Untener, The Little White Book for Easter 2022: Six-minute reflections on the parables of Jesus

“Helping the poor isn’t always pleasant It’s no picnic helping the poor. There’s often no feeling of fulfillment. It’s work – like a lot of virtue is work. The poor, as fate would have it, are just like us. They’re mixtures of virtues and vices. Like us, they aren’t always grateful. Like us, they don’t always trust. Like us, they don’t always respond. Like us, they’re both generous and greedy. Like us, they’re sometimes wonderful and sometimes awful. Whatever happened to the noble poor? Some are out there, but mostly they are in Charles Dickens’ novels. The “poor” poor aren’t always so noble, and they are the hardest to deal with – which is probably why we don’t. Mental note: When you help the poor, you always receive more than you give – but it may not seem that way at the time. Another thing I learned is that food baskets at Thanksgiving, toys at Christmas are good as far as they go – but they don’t go very far. People easily talk about direct help to the poor on special occasions – clothes, food, money. Those fine things shouldn’t be taken lightly. But that’s the easy part. The hard part is trying to do something about the poor’s state in life. The discussion always slowed when we tried to focus on this. Where do you begin? What do you do? It’s hard when you deal with the causes. How can we give them basic skills to manage their lives? Can we make loans available to them through our own credit unions at considerable risk? Shouldn’t the state make better provision for dependent children? What about health insurance? How do we help them find work? How do we help them find work that pays a living wage? Why are single parents, usually women, abandoned so easily by a spouse? Mental note: Direct assistance is good. Tackling the causes is better.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for 2015: Six-Minute Meditations on the Passion According to Luke

“The cross comes into my life in many forms. But the cross, different for each person, is when I say: “Anything but that.” I cry from the depth of my soul, “O Lord, anything but that . . . anything!” Sometimes I get the same answer Jesus got. And so I take the Lord’s hand and take what I have to face . . . sometimes with none but the Lord who understands how hard it is. And I just hold on to him.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for 2015: Six-Minute Meditations on the Passion According to Luke

“I know where I stand . . . in theory. I’m for Jesus. But I can get around that by leaving Jesus out of some real-life issues. Reality check. Pick an issue – personal or otherwise, large or small. Put Jesus, and all that he taught and did, in the middle of that issue. Am I for Jesus or against Jesus?”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2017: Six-minute reflections on the Passion according to John

“Everything I have comes from God. I am a steward, that is – manager of what belongs to God (which includes my very self). Jesus teaches in this parable that I should manage these gifts with an eye to the future – a future that extends beyond death to a life that lasts forever. With all that in mind, how am I investing the gifts God has given me?”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2022: Six-minute meditations on the parables of Jesus

“Here is part of an ancient Celtic prayer attributed to St. Patrick. I arise today . . . Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me. Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in the eye that sees me, Christ in the ear that hears me.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2017: Six-minute reflections on the Passion according to John

“We need silence to be alone with God, to speak to him, to listen to him, to ponder his words deep in our hearts. We need to be alone with God in silence to be renewed and transformed.’ – St. Teresa of Calcutta”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2017: Six-minute reflections on the Passion according to John

“Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.’ –C.S. Lewis”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2019: Six-minute meditations on the Sunday Gospels of Lent

“The symbol of the Easter season is the paschal candle. Consider having a special candle in your home to light during these 50 days. Symbols help.”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2022: Six-minute meditations on the parables of Jesus

“Tips about prayer There is a good indicator that your prayer is “working.” The indicator is this: You begin to notice more the presence of God in the world around you and in the routine of your day. That’s a good sign. (Besides, it’s healthy because now you are seeing things as they are . . . because God is present in all these things.) When you pray, pray. This applies mostly to “public prayers” – grace before meals, a prayer before a meeting, singing a hymn. Don’t “perform” the prayer for others to hear, or simply to do it because you’re supposed to. Pray it. Consciously remind yourself that you are talking directly to God. Don’t force your kind of praying on someone else, or let someone else do this to you. There are a thousand ways to pray. If it tastes good, eat it. If not, try something else. That is why communal prayer should draw upon the most basic forms of prayer. They have the widest appeal. Planners and leaders should not impose their own tastes upon the group. ‘It’s your Church, Lord. I’m going to bed.’ – St. John XXIII’s prayer after a long day”
― Ken Untener, The Little Black Book for Lent 2017: Six-minute reflections on the Passion according to John

“And that radiating joy is real, for we have no reason not to be happy because we have Christ with us. Christ in our hearts, Christ in the poor that we meet, Christ in the smile that we give and the smile that we receive.”
― Bishop Ken Untener, Little Blue Book for Advent: Spend some quiet time with the Lord