GOD'S GREATNESS

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. for he has looked upon his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation."

I feel like I am hearing these words for the first time -- with a whole new challenge.  A person challenge:  does my soul rejoice in the greatness of the Lord?  Am I mindful of all that God has done for me?   How do I daily show the love and respect (fear of the Lord) for all the Lord has done?  These can be difficult times, the pace we maintain is quite fast, and it is easy to lose sight of the basics:

"He has shown the strength of his arm, and has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever.”

MARY'S TRUST

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said,  “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her,  “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,  “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply,  “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born  will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;  for nothing will be impossible for God.” 
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”  Then the angel departed from her.
LUKE 1:26-38

I can't count the number of times I have read this...yet each time I see something new.   Perhaps it was because of Mary's youth that she could say 'yes' and trust in God's will.  A 'yes' that changed human history. Our challenge is to say 'yes' to God's will each day -- to live mindful that everyone is made in the image and likeness of God.  I can't help but wonder, how would the world be - if we lived this way.

ACTS OF CHARITY

"Of all the forms of charity and benevolence seen in the crowded wards of the hospitals, those of Catholic Sisters were among the most efficient. I never knew whence they came or what was the name of their order. More lovely than anything I have ever seen in art so long devoted to illustration of love, mercy, and charity are the pictures that remain of those modest Sisters going on their errands of mercy among the suffering and dying..."
Attributed to Lucius Chittenden in his book "Recollections of President Lincoln and His Administration" (1891)

What can be said of the way I conducted myself today or for that matter this entire Advent? 

COMPASSION

Recently, I was talking with a young man, contemplating entering the seminary.  As the conversation went on, I suggested a new book "Tattoos on the Heart" by Greg Boyle,sj.  After several moments he looked at me and reflected "The book sounds like it is about compassion.  I don't need that; I need to figure out if I have a vocation."  My heart sank, as did my opinion of him, I realize he is young and still has much to see and learn. But all I could think of was who doesn't need a lesson in compassion?  Jesus, our supreme example of a compassionate soul, has shown us the way to live.  “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself." (Mk 12:30)  The 20th century has had many wonderful examples of people like this, Pope John XXIII, Dorothy Day, Archbishop Oscar Romero, Cardinal Joseph Bernadine, Mother Teresa; the list can go on and on.  These men and women lived the message of Jesus "You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate." (NLT Luke 6:35)  I think one of the greatest challenges of our time is to truly be present to those right in front of us, to stand with them where they are and perhaps to truly see them for the first time.

LUKE 10:27

I thought for sure that I had misunderstood what I heard coming from the TV this morning, a Christian pastor, from Florida, was calling on his congregation to commemorate 9/11 by burning a copy of the Koran.  Then I heard it on the radio in my car on the way to work, still I am finding this hard to believe.  Here in the U.S., a country built on the notion of religious freedom, the head of a Christian Church wants his people to burn the holy book of another faith?  In Luke 10:27 we are called to love God with our whole heart and soul and our neighbor as yourself.  If we believe that we are all mad in the image and likeness of God why are we so quick to judge others?  Dr. Cornel West said "Justice is what love looks like in public."  What is needed today is a conversion of heart-we don't need to judge others, that clearly should be left to God.  Our conversion needs us to remember that everyone is God incarnate, and how we treat others is how we treat God in them.

MOTHER'S TAKE HEART -- ST. MONICA

Attention all mothers -- have you every thrown up your hands and looked at your child and thought "who is this alien and what have you done with my child?" Or perhaps, "where did we go wrong?"  If you have, then St. Monica is the one you should call on.  St. Monica son while quite good academically, liked to drink too much, party too long and is said to have fathered at least one child out of wedlock.  Monica prayed and prayed, and spoke to her priest,(St.Ambrose), he told her that he would talk to her son if he came to him.  Well after many discussions at home,you know the ones I mean, her son agreed. He went and listened to St. Ambrose preach---and much to every one's surprise, including himself, he turned is life around.  St. Ambrose would go on to baptize him, today we honor Monica's son, St. Augustine, as a Doctor of our Church.

ST. PIUS X

Pope Pius X had a hard act to follow, Pope Leo XIII, who many call the father of our social teaching.  Pius X forsaw the start of World War I, not that many listened.  What he did do was encourage liturgical reforms and perhaps most importantly encouraged the frequent reception of communion especially by children.  A historian once wrote that  he was "a man of God who knew the unhappiness of the world and the hardships of life, and in the greatness of his heart wanted to comfort everyone." 

ST. BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX

There are those who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge


That is curiosity.

There are those who seek knowledge to be known by others

That is vanity.

There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve

That is love.
—St. Bernard of Clairvaux
 
One of my favorite quotes! Spoken over 800 years ago, and still true today.  St. Bernard, who's feast day it is, knew the importance of using the gifts that God gave us.  Not to boost our ego's but to help all the people of God.  Education is still the most powerful tool and we even today we need to be reminded to use it for the service of others. 

ST. JOHN EUDES

The French saint, John Eudes, was the founder of two religious communities, promoter of devotion to the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart, a missionary and  a priest.  One quote of his always strikes me:

"Our wish, our object, our chief preoccupation must be to form Jesus in ourselves, to make his spirit, his devotion, his affections, his desires and his disposition live and reign there. All our religious exercises should be directed to this end. It is the work which God has given us to do unceasingly" (St. John Eudes, The Life and Reign of Jesus in Christian Souls).


How do we do this, not as a wonderful theory but concretely?  How do we do this day in and day out?  And if we don't why not?  Shouldn't all of our life reflect God with us?  Not just as a pious Church devotion but in our work, in our play and in our rest.  If as we profess all things are possible with God-why not this?

FEAST OF TRANSFIGURATION

St. John of the Cross said "We do not know God by thinking, but by encountering."  Today the Feast of the Transfiguration is the feast of encountering.  We encounter God with us. 

GOOD READS

If you are looking for something good read - do I have a couple suggestions.  From Fr. James Martin,sj, "A Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything." The title itself makes me smile! In Martin’s usual style he brings us in touch with the Jesuit goal of “finding God in all things.” Ignatius’ insights as valid and needed today as they where 460 years ago. Martin shows us how we can find God and how God can find us.

My next suggestion comes from Franciscan, Fr. Richard Rohr. His book “The Naked Now”, helps us to become truly present so we can “know the Real Presence.” Drawing on the work from the Gospels and the great contemplatives of our church. Rohr challenges his reader to slow down and to take stock of that which is essential—our relationship with our God.

In “Water, Wind, Earth & Fire” Benedictine Oblate, Christine Paintner, introduces us to praying with the elements. Her guided contemplative exercises offers us a way to become more aware of the nearness of God in our day to day life

IGNATIUS LOYOLA

What a great feast day we have today- Ignatius of Loyola. So many thoughts come to mind as a reflect on his life.  One quote that stands out your me is "Act as if everything depended on you; trust as if everything depended on God."   How many times in any one day do we feel like the weight of the world is on our shoulders?  And what we have to remember is that God is in charge.

JOACHIM AND ANNE

Today is the feast in honor of Sts. Joachim and Anne, parents of the Blessed Mother,  yet what do we know about them?  Nothing - they never otter  a single word.  So why honor them?  It is because of the Blessed Mother that they are honored.  It was the gentle, faith filled way, that they raised her, which gave her the ability to say yes to the Angel Gabriel. What examples they must have been for Mary.  Do we try to do that for our children today?  Things are much more complicated than they used to be, so perhaps it is even more imperative we to to such examples of the past. 

St. Mary Magdalen

Today is the feast of St. Mary Magdalen - one of our notorious sinners and one who was close to our Lord.  The one, in fact, that Jesus showed himself to after he rose.  Funny isn't it, Jesus was not hesitant to spend time with sinners and more importantly to forgive them, to see their intrinsic worth as a child of God.  It is easy to say that we forgive another, yet do we actually do that in our heart?  Many people today think that to be 'Catholic' means that we all are alike, they fear those that are 'different'.  Young and old alike, want the other to worship in the way they see fit. Yet who is to say which one is correct?  Jesus welcomed saints and sinners alike, people from all walks of life gathered around Jesus. Maybe today is a good day to start gathering around the person and message of Jesus.  Knowing that we are ALL equal in the eyes of God.

IS ANY BODY THERE?

It's funny, when this blog was started, I thought, how hard can this be?  Write my thoughts every few days -- after all every one has thoughts.  Now, as I sit here writing, I realize just how long it has been.  And I must confess, I wonder if anyone even noticed or cared? The Internet has opened up so many opportunities that it is easy to get lost--or as I often think, 'fall into the black hole' of information and ideas.  Like Alice and the looking glass, idea after idea and morph can into more and more ideas, that soon I sigh and wonder what was I looking to find! What should have take just a few moments, now has taken most of the after noon.   Here's the sad thing, can I look in the mirror and say that I spend this much time with my God?  On my top ten list of things that I value, it is safe to say that the Internet is not up there, but God certainly is.  So I now ponder what do I need to do to actively live what I say I believe.  Perhaps I should google, "ways to pray?"

APRIL 29, 2010 THIS DAY IN HISTORY

I find it rather ironic that today the Feast of St. Catherine of Siena, patron of peace and justice, is also the 18th anniversary of the riots in Los Angeles.  These riots took place after the acquittal of the four white policemen for using excessive force in the arrest of Rodney King.  All of this following closely on the heals of the new law in Arizona!  As Archbishop Dolan recently said "And, here we go again! Arizona is so scared, apparently, and so convinced that the #1 threat to society today is the immigrant that it has passed a mean-spirited bill of doubtful constitutionality that has as its intention the expulsion of the immigrant.
What history teaches us, of course, is that not only are such narrow-minded moves unfair and usually unconstitutional, but they are counterproductive and harmful.
Because the anti-immigrant strain in our American heritage, however strong, is not dominant. Thank God, there’s another sentiment in our national soul, and that’s one of welcome and embrace to the immigrant." 
Perhaps we are called to imitate this wonderful saint, to help heal the wounds of division and pain.  Catherine is a wonderful example of a peacemaker.  A task that is not easy and quite often misunderstood, but one which the gospel calls us to daily.

ST. GEORGE AND HIS DRAGON

Today is the feast of St. George, the martyr, who lived around the 3rd or 4th century. The early centuries of our church were filled with countless dangers for Christians and many were killed because of their faith. I think it is hard for people here in the U.S. to imagine people being persecuted because of their beliefs or to have to worship in secret for fear of being discovered. I dare say many take their faith for granted, and yet we have many men and women throughout our history that died for this faith. St. George is most often shown killing a dragon, the dragon symbolizing evil or wickedness. It is easy to see evil or wickedness around us, but what about within us. Those habits we have or comments we make that can be far from Christian! St. George is someone we can pray too to help us overcome these things; maybe that is what we should do today to honor this early martyr.

FIRST COMMUNION

There seems to be something magical about people receiving their first communion.  Young or old, they seem to grasp the mystery and wonderment of the sacrament.  The unfortunate thing is, as time goes on we tend to lose some of this and almost take it forgranted.  In fact, I think many folks walk down to communion without putting any thought in at all.  Our body senses others standing up and moving and off we go!  What would happen if we took a moment and remembered the gift we were about to receive?   Perhaps another question is do we allow ourselves to be transformed after receiving the sacrament? 

ST. BERNADETTE SOUBIROUS

St. Bernadette Soubirous, was a simple peasent girl, nothing extraordinary about her.  To her our Blessed Mother appears, with the message to "pray and do penance".  It's a bit ironic to me that her feast day falls a day after the ruling by a Wisconsin Judge that ends the custom of a "National Day of Prayer."  Started in the 1950's and set as the first Thursday in May in the late 1980's.  The judge is very clear to state that there is nothing wrong with people gathering prayer, the problem comes in the government sponsoring it. Many of the original settlers of this country came fleeing religious persecution.  People wanted the freedom to practice any religion they desired.  Prayer is not a 'national event' but a personal one that takes place between the individual and God.  St. Bernadette did not say that Mary's message was for the nation, rather for individual, perhaps it is time for us to look at positive things we can do to change society, instead of finding fault in others.

ST. VINCENT DE PAUL

I was speaking with a friend of mine the other day and asked how he was able to take care of his parish (he is the only priest there) and work at a local university.  His response still stays with me "I take a great deal of solace from the quote from Vincent dePaul 'Do the doable, not the impossible.'"  Even as I think of this now, I smile- how often have I tried to do the impossible?  

PASCHAL TRIDUUM -- PAYING IT FORWARD

As I have walked through this season of Lent, there have been so many moments of transformation.  None more than the comment I overheard made by a small child.  His mother was telling him how Jesus suffered, died and rose for all our sins.  After thinking about this for  few moments, he proudly exclaimed to his mother "So, Jesus paid it forward for all of us."   Children have a beautiful way of getting to the heart of the matter!  Perhaps as we go forward from this Lenten Season, we can all remember to 'pay it forward'.

LENTEN REFLECTIONS

SECOND WEEK OF LENT

"This is my chosen Son; listen to him."  What a command!  And still we are struggling with that over 2000 years later.  Why is that?  God has helped us by giving us two ears and one mouth - so we can hear more and talk less - but do we?  All week long we will hear different admonishes of how we need to be merciful, humble, and to be of service to others.  This week we encounter the story of the "Prodigal Son."  Haven't you found yourself being each one of those characters?  Still God invites us home, back to His loving embrace.  God thirsts for us -- can we say the same?

FIRST WEEK OF LENT

As we finish this first week of Lent, how have you done?  During the Lenten season it is easy to spend a great deal of time and energy focusing on what we have 'given up.' Perhaps we should focus on the things that bring us closer to God. Last Sunday's readings challenge us to resist temptation and trust in God's love for us.  God loves us even in our sinfulness the question for us is can we accept this gift?

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What can I stick to for 40 days?

Ash Wednesday's here and of course, time to figure out what I should give up for Lent. Diet Coke? Dessert? Chocolate? Oh, who am I kidding? I'm never successful. I've tried and tried and I've never been strong enough to pull it off. Ok, I admit it. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but yes, I have no will power. I know I should be reflecting upon Jesus and how he gave his LIFE for us, and I seriously cannot give up my diet coke for a measly 40 days? I should call upon his strength to help me, and I have, but I am weak. Therefore, this year instead of beginning again something that I am destined to fail, I have decided to go a more positive route. I’m a busy working mother of three and between the school carpools, sports, homework, housework, my job, well hey- you all know the drill…my time is rather limited. But that being said, I want to use the time I do have to be more meaningful not only for my family and our relationships, but strengthening my spiritual relationship through prayer. Therefore, I have decided to say the rosary everyday through Lent. It’s the greatest blessing to be a mother. I thank God everyday for the blessings he has bestowed upon me and my family. I think at the very least I can carve out time in my day to pray the rosary. I hope the next 40 days of the rosary will give me greater spiritual nourishment and preparedness for Easter than my prior Lenten attempts have provided. So if you're like me and you don't want to fail again this year...consider joining me and pray the rosary. And if you're on the go all the time too- check out a convenient finger rosary (mine shown #10114 $4.95 ) to leave in your car. Have rosary- will travel! Now on the super busy days when I feel more like a taxi than anything else, I can still keep my commitment. Oh, and if you see a crazy lady sitting at the stop light next to you or on the school parking lot---sitting in her car praying the rosary--- well, hey, if you're sitting there too---why not join me? -Lara

MARDI GRAS ---'FAT TUESDAY'

Lent is quickly approaching and a few gentle reminders may be needed.
1. ABSTINENCE: All persons 14-59 years of age are to abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday (Feb.17th) and all on Fridays of Lent.
2. FASTING: All persons 18-59 years of age are to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting is understood to mean eating one full meal and two partial meals.
3. PRAYER: All Catholics are urged to read and pray from sacred Scripture and/or to participate in other devotions. Pray more frequently and fervently, individually, as families and in common with others.
4.CHARITY: Support the charitable works of the church, including the ordinary stewardship within your parish.