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Show HILLTOP TIMES ilr i liME S 5 Feb. 21, 2013 CHIEF MASTEP SERGEANTS CANDLELIGHT CEREMONY ALEX R. LLOYD/U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Michael Bellerose, the Air Force Reserve Command's first sergeant functional manager, spoke to those assembled at the ceremony. He congratulated the chiefs on their accomplishment and thanked the families for their support. PRAYER From page 1 bishop, "Hi, mister." The bishop replied, in turn. The boy said, "My name is Galvin. I am in the firstgrade. Again." Not quite knowing how to reply, Wester said, "I'm sorry." Galvin replied, "Oh, no. Don't be sad. Life is like that. You have to take the good with the bad." Wester pointed out that undoubtedly the boy had gotten some good counsel from his parents and teachers. "The externals with him, even at that little age, have hit a couple of bumps on the road but deep down inside he's doing all right because of the relationship he has with others, with his parents and others advising him." This is a good analogy for prayer, he said. "No matter what happens on the external level, all is going to be all right. God is at the center." He said that he came across a word of the day calendar — he forgets which one — that said something he really liked, "God never leaves us alone." Wester said, "I like that. God is a pest. God is never going to be just satisfied with waiting on the sidelines." He characterized prayer as not something we do, but instead of an act, it is a listening. "It's hard to do. It's not something we do all the time. It's not polite always to do," Wester said, giving examples of that it is not cornmon in polite groups to suddenly stop and say a prayer. "The point is that if we are really aware of the present moment, the 'now' moment, we will experience God." He said if we aren't listening then we aren't praying. "If we are doing all the talking then we aren't listening." He noted at the beginning of the prayer breakfast everyone was asked to turn off their cellphones and mobile devices. He compared that to the challenges in today's technologically savvy world and Chief Master Sgt. Mark Batzer, 388th Fighter Wing command chief, swears in the new chief master sergeants in a ceremony Feb. 15. They have achieved the rank or will pin it on during the rest of the year. They include (left to right): Chief Master Sgt. Matthew McElreath, 67th Aerial Port Squadron; Chief Master Sgt. Bradley Tippetts, 419th Civil Engineer Squadron; Chief Master Sgt. Arvie McGinnis, 419th Mission Support Group; Chief Master Sgt. Gary Marsh, 649th Munitions Squadron; Chief Master Sgt. Eugene Porto Ill, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center; Senior Master Sgt. Trey Munn, 388th Equipment Maintenance Squadron. "'God never leaves us alone.' I like that. God is a pest. God is never going to be just satisfied with waiting on the sidelines." POPE From page 1 to power, that we need to be humble. That it's not our show, it is God's show. So I think that it is a lesson for all of us. "Really and that certainly ties into prayer because prayer is responding to God's love and humbly recognizing that we are not God. We have one God and that's his role and our role is to respond to God's call. I think that is what the pope is doing, he is responding to god's call in his life as he sees it. "Now it's time. So I think it's a courageous decision and not an easy decision but even I talked to some Catholics and it kind of surprised me. (Some reacted that he should have stayed.) the push and rush of the world that prevents us from being aware. "I think listening takes a back seat," Wester said. He said listening takes sacrifice. It's risky because we might hear something we don't want to hear. "This can be particularly true of prayer," he said. Wester likes to insert the word "life" in for the word "time" because time is really all we have. For example: "I took some `life' today to be here with you. I'm just wasting 'life.'" "Prayer is something that demands time," he said. "Belief is a critical component of our prayers, the deep-seated faith that God is here and will speak," the bishop said. "I have to trust that not only is God communicating but that he is communicating to you and me — that he doesn't relate to us as a mass of humanity, as a number, but as an individual, unrepeatable, unique human being," he said. You can substitute Allah, Yahweh or whatever it might be, he said. "But the point is God loves us." He is always there and God shows up all the time, "So it's funny how everyone has a different take on it but most people I have talked to, most Catholics and most people have seen it as a courageous decision. "People in our society are more aware of medical advancements. People live longer, thanks be to God, but it is a challenge and we are learning as a society how to deal with aging parents and with friends who get older. "But that's a wonderful gift too, because as people age it's a grace for us, not only for them who are aging but for us who journey with them because it teaches us a lot about surrender, about allowing others to help us, laying aside our problems, our pride, and our independence and so there are a lot of valuable lessons that I hope we can learn as a society and rise to that challenge." Above left, The Most Rev. John C. Wester, Roman Catholic bishop of Salt Lake City, addresses the crowd. At left, Hill AFB Chapel Unity Choir members sing at the National Prayer Breakfast. They sang a worship song with the audience and "God Bless America." ALEX R. LLOYD U.S. Air Force Wester said. The bishop gave other examples of analogies he had to pray. Then he got back to little Galvin he met at his family's summer cabin. "I think he is an example of prayer even at his young age. He may have repeated first grade but I believe he is going places. And so are we, if we will just listen." "If we are doing all the talking then we aren't listening." "Prayer is something that demands time." |