Showing Reverence in a Catholic Church

How did we, as Catholics, get to this point? People coming into Mass dressed as though they just stepped off of the tennis court. People coming into the Nave as if they were entering a social hall without genuflecting or even acknowledging Jesus' presence before sitting in the pew. People walking into the Nave speaking in a loud voice, regardless of whether there is anyone else in the church. 

Jesus is Waiting

In a Catholic Church, the Sanctuary is our "most holy place". This is where Jesus is in the Tabernacle on the Altar. Even though He's not exposed, He is there. He waits for us. He waits to be revered. He waits to be worshiped. He waits to be glorified. Not just during Mass...every single moment of every single day He waits.  Tom Nash (Catholic Answers) writes: Church tabernacles located in sanctuaries, and often behind altar rails, are a New Covenant analogue to the holy of holies in the Old Covenant Temple in Jerusalem. How do we know Jesus is in the Tabernacle? Look for a red candle. Anytime Jesus is present, a red candle should be lit near the Tabernacle. The Code of Canon Law 940 cites: A special lamp which indicates and honors the presence of Christ is to shine continuously before a tabernacle in which the Most Holy Eucharist is reserved.  

The first thing any Catholic should do upon entering a church is to look for the tabernacle. Having found it, before entering a pew or approaching the altar, one should genuflect. In my opinion, we are becoming lazy with bowing instead of genuflecting. Obviously, if the person is unable to bend the knee, then bowing should be done. St. Thomas Aquinas is attributed to saying Satan doesn't have knees because he genuflects to no one. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal No. 274 states A genuflection, made by bending the right knee to the ground, signifies adoration, and therefore it is reserved for the Most Blessed Sacrament, as well as for the Holy Cross from the solemn adoration during the liturgical celebration on Good Friday until the beginning of the Easter Vigil. 

When the Nave isn't Used for Mass

At my Parish, there are times when the Nave is used for things other than Mass, like retreats or the Parish Mission. I've noticed that there are people who don't seem to know (or remember) that Jesus is waiting in the Tabernacle, that this is the place where bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, and that the reverence should still be there even if there isn't a Mass being celebrated. It saddens me that people aren't being educated in reverence. It may be okay in a Protestant Church, where the real presence of Jesus is, well, absent. But not in a Catholic Church. Before anyone comments or thinks about why I am looking around instead of focusing on Jesus let me say this: It's hard not to notice if it happens right in front of you. 

Then there's the "gum issue". The first time I went to a Protestant Service was in college. A roommate invited me home for the weekend and we went to this small Southern Baptist Church in Northeast Tennessee. Just for point of reference: this is the same place where an elephant was hung. But I digress...We went in and sat down, and my friend immediately asked if I wanted a piece of gum. I asked, "You can chew gum at church?" which had the family in stitches.  The difference is that Jesus isn't present in a Tabernacle in a Southern Baptist Church. Quoting Tom Nash again: God is indeed present everywhere (omnipresent), and yet he manifested his presence most intimately in Old Covenant times in the holy of holies. 

Last Thoughts

How would you dress/act if invited to a highfalutin banquet? Jesus is calling us to the most important banquet of our lives. There are days when I'm doing well to get to Mass, much less dress up. We've all heard (or even used) the argument that Jesus doesn't care how we're dressed...He's just glad we're there. I'm guilty, but show modesty. I'd much rather see someone in a t-shirt or sweatshirt and jeans than in something resembling a tennis dress or clothes that look like they just got off the beach/lake. 

Make the effort. Show Jesus the reverence He deserves. Learn how to quiet yourself when walking into the Nave. In doing so, you also respect those who arrive early to pray and prepare themselves for Mass. Let's bring back the reverence! 

Being Obedient & Giving It All To God

Free Stock photos by Vecteezy

I've always been a pretty obedient person. My siblings may disagree, but for as long as I can remember, I've tried to do the right thing. I'm definitely a rule-follower, mostly because of the fear of getting in trouble and having to pay the consequences! 

Father Burke Masters identified 2 things that are required in order to be obedient: 

1. Listen to God through prayer and Scripture

2. Ask for strength to follow His will. 

His follow-up questions to Samuel 15:16-23 really made me think about my obedience to God's will and if I'm even aware of it as I go throughout my day. I give the first part of my day to Him in prayer and Scripture...then what? Then I'm off to the races, concerned about what I have to do during the day, not paying very much attention to His will and His plan for me. 

Asking for the Grace to Accept His Will

When my husband was first diagnosed, I immediately prayed for the grace to accept His will and His plan for us. I have no idea where that came from; it wasn't a conscious thought, for sure. Some time through the year that prayer dropped. It's still in my head, but it isn't a daily prayer anymore and I haven't asked someone to pray for that for me in a while. I think I've fallen into the old routine; he's doing well and we haven't received bad news in months. I know I should pray for that grace every day, in all things I do. I'm ashamed to admit that it isn't one of my daily prayers.

What about "In-Between" Time?

Am I aware of God's will/plan throughout my day? I realize I'm blindly walking throughout my day without much thought to what HE wants me to be doing or thinking. Like I said, I give the first part of my day to Him and I pray intentions as I'm walking the dog. I also have attempted to use BAKER as my daily examen at night, but sometimes I'm just so tired that it doesn't get done. Yet, that's when I need it the most. 

What about the in-between? What about when I'm doing the mundane chores that have to be done every day? How can I give those to God? 

• I am definitely not the most patient person in the world. My job as a school-based Speech-Language Pathologist requires patience. As retirement closes in, I find I'm becoming less patient with my little ones and that's not fair to them. One thing I can do is silently (because it's public school) say a prayer asking God to give me patience before the session begins. 
• When I get home and there are dishes in the sink, instead of grumbling, I can thank God that my husband is here and is able to eat. 
• When the recycling bag is full and needs to go into the bin, I can give God thanks for this earth where He has allowed us to live. 
• While cooking supper, I can express gratitude that we have enough food to eat. 
• Usually, after we eat, I'm the one cleaning up. Every now and then 1 of my sons (who is living with us right now) will help by clearing the table and loading the dishwasher. Cleaning the cooking utensils is usually done by me. This is the time when I can give thanks that our bellies are full, as well as giving thanks that we have running hot and cold water.
• While driving, I can pray for the person in front of me/beside me/behind me. 
• In the grocery store, if there's a line, I can say an Our Father or Hail Mary for the people waiting in line with me.

In addition, Fr. Mark-Mary (Franciscan Friars of the Renewal) suggests a mid-day examen. He calls it the 3x5 examen. You can see him explain it in this YouTube clip:

I think I can take 5 minutes from my lunch time to review the first part of the day. What about you? Do you have any other suggestions for remembering God's will/plan during your day?

Thanking God For My Brokenness

Image courtesy of SundaySocial.tv via The Bible App from YouVersion 

 As I reflected on Mark 2:17 (Jesus heard this and said to them that, "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.") I had the thought that I should thank God for my brokenness...for my sinfulness. Wait...what??? Thank Him for my imperfections? I'm striving to be the person He wants/expects me to be...why would I thank Him for my failures?

Here are my thoughts: Yes, God wants us to strive to be who He made us to be. He also knows our weaknesses and He challenges us to grow closer to Him through exposing them. If we achieve perfection, would we need Him? We might need Him to maintain the perfectness, but if we are truly perfect there would be no need for Reconciliation. 

Only 2 people on this earth were perfect: Jesus & Mary. Even though Jesus is God, He still prayed to God. And you know Mary kept in close contact with Him. God made us with our weaknesses...with our brokenness. He gives us free will to come to Him or not. 

I find such humility in my weakness. When I feel like I'm doing well with living as He wants me to, something happens. It may be a word from my husband or one of my children that reels back into reality. It might be that I let my guard down and say or do something incredibly stupid. I'm reminded that I have such a long way to go, but I'm also reminded how much He loves me. How He allows me to be a sinner and to be broken so I will continue to search for Him. How He teaches me that in my sinfulness He blesses me with His Grace. 

In his book Broken + Blessed, Fr. Josh Johnson relays a vision (if you will) about Jesus coming to his house. When Jesus first knocks on the door, Fr. Josh is reluctant to let Him in. Then, when he allows Him in, he only shows Jesus the "good" rooms; the places in his life where he fed the hungry, clothed the naked and welcomed strangers. When Jesus asked to go into the other rooms, He was told that they were messy, filled with all of the sins of his life. Jesus wants to be invited to those rooms, too. He wants to have a chance to tell us that no matter what we've done and no matter how we'll sin in the future, He still loves us.

We all need to be reminded that we are loved...by our spouse, children, friends. In revealing our brokenness, we are reminded that Jesus loves us and will always love us...especially in our sinfulness. What mercy and compassion He shows us! 

The next time you are humbled by your brokenness/sinfulness, thank God. Yes, thank Him. Thank Him for those messy rooms in your life that allow you to crawl back to Him in shame and humility. Thank Him for not being perfect, for it is in those times you seek Him. Thank Him for your brokenness.

What Has Happened to Respect?

Photo by Ric Rodrigues from Pexels

What has happened to respect with the Church? My parents raised all of their children to be respectful when attending Mass, and to be respectful to the clergy and religious. When did people forget how to act during Mass?

Modesty, Mouthies, and Name-Calling

At a recent Confirmation practice, one of the Sponsors (who I estimate to be in his late teens/early twenties) walked into the Sanctuary with a big cup of soda. I asked him politely if he would take the cup out of the Sanctuary. He did, but I was at the receiving end of some glares. I mean, really? You're going to disrespect Jesus by bringing that in the Sanctuary and by sipping on it? Our Eucharistic Chapel has a sign on the door:

Do people not understand that our Lord is present in the Holy Eucharist? Sure, He may be hidden away in the tabernacle, but check the red candle, people!

A Catholic Priest got slammed (and his account taken down) on Twitter for requesting that women cover their shoulders when attending Mass. Granted, most of the people angrily responding to him probably weren't practicing Catholics. His reasoning could have been communicated differently: Instead of saying it was to "protect the purity of the men", he could have said, " out of respect for the Holy Eucharist". Some tweeters are calling for women to show up to Mass in his parish wearing tube tops. REALLY??? You're going to disrespect Jesus like that? Oh, how the devil is surely eating this up. It's not okay to come to Mass in ripped jeans (no matter how much they cost you), short skirts/shorts, or with half of your upper body/stomach exposed. IT'S. JUST.NOT. Show some respect!

It's also not okay to chew gum during Mass. You may not have technically had anything to eat 1 hour before Communion, but you're about to put Jesus in your mouth. Wrigleys and Jesus don't mix. I was especially appalled to see a grown woman chewing gum while in the line to receive Communion. Did she swallow it, or did she receive the Eucharist with the gum still in her mouth? I was equally appalled to see a later elementary-aged child smacking away on his gum while in line for Communion.

And what is with people calling priests & nuns/sisters by their first names, deleting "Father" or "Sister"? I read an article written by a Sister of Mercy. When the commenters mentioned her name, they left off "Sister". Out of my mother's 7 siblings, 3 were priests and 1 was a nun/sister. My grandmother called each of them "Father" and "Sister". There was no calling them by their given or chosen name. I've spoken with people who have aunts and uncles who are priests and sisters, and they all call them by their name, leaving off their title. The sister at my parish and I have become close friends. She told me I didn't have to call her "Sister" but I told her that I certainly did. Yes, I know some priests have done some horrific things, but that doesn't change the fact that each of those men and women consecrated their lives to Jesus. The Sisters have married Jesus, and the priests have married the Church. That in itself is something to be respected.

Just pure ignorance...

I just don't get it. I don't understand where this is coming from. It has to be a lack of education. People are just ignorant of what the consecrated host really is. They are ignorant about how they should conduct themselves in the house of the Lord. I've heard, "Jesus doesn't care how I come to Church; he just cares that I'm there." True to a point, but would you go to a banquet with holes in your jeans or in a tube top? There are times when I don't wear my "Sunday best" to Mass, and there are times I show up to Daily Mass in a t-shirt, but you certainly won't see me in ripped clothing or with part of my upper body showing. Even when I was a lot younger, I wouldn't have dared to show up to Mass like that. Why wouldn't you be respectful to Him who gave his life for all of us so we will have everlasting life? It's time we started educating people (in a non-judgemental way) to respect the Church.

Book Review: Broken + Blessed: An Invitation to My Generation

The following is a review of the book "Broken + Blessed: An Invitation to My Generation" by Father Josh Johnson. I received no compensation for this review; all opinions are my own.

This book may be designated as an invitation to Fr. Josh Johnson's generation, but don't let that stop you if you are old enough to be his parent or even his grandparent. I heard of Fr. Josh from a podcast and then subscribed to the Ask Fr. Josh podcast. It is so uplifting to see a young priest who just wants people of any age to know God and to have a personal relationship with Him. That is what this book is all about. Fr. Josh intertwines his own experiences with scripture, Saints, and practical ways to get closer to God. The personal experiences keep it relatable, no matter your age.

Perfect for Small Groups or Individuals

I enjoyed the format of the book. First, Fr. Josh identifies a difficulty and then relates it to a personal experience. Each chapter ends with an Invitation to Prayer followed by questions, which makes it a perfect book for small groups. Or, individuals can reflect on the questions and use one, some, or all of them as journal prompts. I found each chapter to be very interesting and came away with ways to increase my prayer life and grow closer to God.

Even though he hasn't been a priest for a long time, Fr. Josh has such words of wisdom. Yet he remains so humble. He talks about his struggles with his own prayer life and his life in general. I saw a lot of myself in situations that he spoke of. Millennials have such an advantage over my generation: They have access to priests on social media that we didn't have.

Breaking Down the Book

In the Introduction, Father Mike Schmitz describes Fr. Josh as "authentic". The reader definitely gets that vibe from this book. Here is a man who understands that his brokenness is just like ours.

In the chapter Intimacy with God, Fr. talks about knowing who God is versus actually knowing God. He puts it in completely understandable language. He is able to use pop culture so it is relatable to everyone, regardless of age. He also brings in the lives of the Saints to drive his message home.

This book hits on so many different topics: humility, truly knowing God, Lectio Divina, the brokenness of the Catholic Church as an institution, divorce & annulment, inviting God into your life completely (despite the messiness), vices, praying the Rosary, suggestions on how to pray, as well as how to make prayer a priority.

In the chapter Breaking the Chains of Sin, we are given excellent advice on how to break out of the trap of envy. Included is the Litany of Humility with the suggestion of substituting the person's name for "other". Also included in the Invitation to Prayer section at the end of this chapter is an excellent examen of conscience using 1 Corinthians:13:4-6.

I often will give a book away after I have finished reading it, telling the person to pass it on. Not this book. I will keep it to refer back to; however, I plan on buying a couple of copies to give to my sons to read...just in case!

Breaking Out of a Dry Spell and Rediscovering God

Photo courtesy of Pexels

I had the most amazing experience during the Consecration at All Saints Day Mass: I felt the presence of God. Since I was in the choir area, I saw the back of the priest's vestments with the host & wine lifted high above his head. You may be thinking "What's so different this time? I feel His presence all the time". The difference is that I have been going through an incredibly dry period. This one seems so much longer and drier than past dry periods. Maybe it's because over the past few years I felt closer to God than I had in a long time, which made the dry period seem longer and drier.
I spoke with my Spiritual Director who urged me to keep doing my daily prayer routine. As I told her, I will not let Satan win. So many mornings I have felt like I've gotten nothing out of the Readings or prayer. No matter how hard I tried, I just didn't get it. How hard must it be for religious and saints to go through dry periods! Oh, but when you feel that presence of God again, what a joyous feeling!

Why the dry period?

Reflecting over the cause of the dry period gave me a couple of reasons why this was happening.
1) Our parish priest recently retired. I absolutely love this man! He is so tender, so understanding, so...HOLY, although he would be the first one to dispute that. He is one of the best (if not THE best) homilists I've ever heard. He can take a reading and in just a few minutes relate it to your life. His homilies were short, sweet, to the point, and relatable. His love for God came through during every single Mass. His enthusiasm for spreading The Word was evident every time he was on the altar. Once he retired, it was like the wind was taken out of my sail. I'm sure I'm not the only one, but it felt like the whole church atmosphere did a 180. I had trouble feeling God during the Mass. I rotely went through the Mass, not really understanding what was being said or being able to apply it to experiences in my life. I took notes during the Homily, but those notes over the past month were so scattered that they just didn't make sense. Having a priest on the altar who genuinely loves his calling (and not seeing it as a "job") makes all the difference in the world.
2) Change. I don't like it. It seems any time I get too comfortable, I have to deal with change. And this was a big one. When I first moved back "home", I was a church hopper. I couldn't find the parish where I felt comfortable and where I felt I belonged. Even in the parish where I grew up, I didn't feel welcome. Every time I thought I found a church home, the priest would leave or be reassigned. Now that I found a home in my childhood parish (the same one where I didn't feel welcome), I was comfortable, and my spiritual life was flourishing.
3) Busy-ness with other things. The beginning of the school year is always hectic but this year seems to be so much worse. On top of that, things out of our control have been happening to the RCIA team so a couple of us are having to take up the slack. And if that weren't enough, in the middle of all of that I presented with a couple of people and had a booth in the exhibit hall for our state speech/language convention.

How things are looking up

The new priest who is assigned to my parish (his title is "Parochial Vicar") came a few weeks ago. He's young (early 30's) and his love for God and the Mass is very evident. When he first opened his mouth to speak, I thought "uh-oh" because he has a monotone speaking voice while celebrating Mass. But his homily! While it's pretty obvious he's reading his homily (our previous parish priest never read his homily...it was heartfelt and never read), he has a good message. It's not too long, and it's definitely not all over the place. His first Sunday, he had to talk about stewardship. He managed to direct the theme to the Gospel as well as our every day lives, so he won my approval on the spot. He's also a fellow blogger; he posts his homilies so they can be revisited during the week. On All Saints Day, he had this on the altar:

I've seen this in our Adoration Chapel but had no idea what it was. It is a first-class relic from St. Maria Goretti. According to Mary Rezac in an article for the Catholic News Agency (11/01/2017, "Is it Weird that Catholics venerate relics? Here's why we do"): First class relics are the body or fragments of the body of a saint, such as pieces of bone or flesh.
So far, our new priest is piquing my interest and curiosity so that I want to learn more about my faith. I want to delve into the lives of the saints (specifically St. Maria Goretti) to learn more about her since she is a part of our parish. He also mentioned that he was born on the anniversary of the conclusion of the Fatima apparitions, and now he is at Our Lady of Fatima. Definitely a "God-incidence". I think I can learn a lot from him.
I met with my Spiritual Director a couple of weeks ago and she gave me some excellent ideas to keep plugging away. Several years ago, Jennifer Fulwiler wrote a blog post offering 9 Tips for Spiritual Dry Spells. Most of her suggestions follow what I was told to do.
Things are easing up with work so I can take the time to read and just be silent. I don't feel as if I'm being pulled in 100 different ways. I'm sticking to my routine and it's proving to be effective. Slowly but surely I can feel God creeping back into my heart and letting me know that He is still there.

Rejoicing with Grace in the Middle of Lent

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines grace as favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to be children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life. (CCC 1996) In RCIA this week, someone had a very good question: What is the difference between grace & blessing? The Catechism explains blessing as expressing the basic movement of Christian prayer; it is an encounter between God and man. In blessing, God's gift and man's acceptance of it are united in dialogue with each other, the prayer of blessing is man's response to God's gifts: because God blesses, the human heart can in return bless the One who is the source of every blessing. (CCC 2626) I interpret that to mean that through God's blessing, we receive grace. Please keep in mind that I am not a theologian and have never taken college courses on theology. This is just my simple mind trying to wrap my head around this week's Readings.

Rejoice in the middle of Lent?

The priests and deacons wear pink (or rose...the deacon is adamant that they are rose!) vestments this week. Lent is a time for confession, penance, and reconciliation. Here we are in the middle of Lent, and it's a day of rejoicing. (Enter record scratch here.) Wait...what? Yes, I said rejoicing. In the middle of Lent!  It's time to come out of the darkness to prepare for our risen Lord. To get to that, first, we have to relive his passion.  But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Today is the day to get a breather. Take a deep breath, look back on how you've been doing during Lent with your spiritual health, and get ready for the "heavy week". As I get older, Holy Week takes on more meaning. As I reflect on how my Lent has been going, I have work to do. Serious work. I slacked off this past week and haven't felt myself getting closer to God. I feel like I'm hiding in the darkness.

Coming Out of the Dark

When I was a child, I'm pretty sure if I did something I wasn't supposed to I would sneak and hide. (Getting sweets when I wasn't supposed to comes to mind!) We have a dog (who is actually my son's...she's our house guest until he graduates) who will run and hide under the bed when she's done something wrong. I think those are 2 pretty good examples of hiding in the darkness due to sin. (You might argue that dogs can't sin, but that's a topic for another day.) In the dog's case, once we cajole her and talk sweetly to her, she'll come out from under the bed. As people, once we're told it's okay and we're forgiven, don't we feel as if the darkness has dissipated? During his Homily, the priest said that Jesus came to bring light to the world. Lent is not about darkness so we shouldn't hide but instead come out into the light. As Catholics, we receive grace when we go to confession and are absolved of our sins. What an amazing blessing God has given us!

Just Go

Communal penitential services are a perfect time to prepare yourself to receive the grace given to us through the Sacrament of Penance. Or, go to confession at your parish's scheduled time. If that doesn't work for you, call the parish office and make an appointment for the priest to hear your confession. Just go to prepare yourself for Holy Week.

During the Homily, Father mentioned that as Christians, we continue to be drawn to God. I momentarily got distracted by Audrey Assad's song coming to mind: