4th Sunday of Easter

This Sunday is also called Good Shepherd Sunday, as well as Vocation Sunday. After reading the latter name, it struck me as a little odd that vocations weren't mentioned. Even in the reflections that I read, Vocation Sunday wasn't mentioned. 

In the First Reading, we see the first Gentiles who were converted. How disappointed the apostles must have been to have the Jews turn against them & not follow them. They were “their people”. It seemed like their job to spread the Word of God was being sabotaged by the very people who should have accepted it.  But the Gentiles heard and listened. Not only that, but they believed.  I’m not a theologian, but it seems to me that these Gentiles are the first Christians as we know them today.  (If you are a theologian and I’ve gotten this wrong, please let me know!) In Acts 13:51, the apostles shook the dust from their feet in protest against them, and went to Iconium.  After being so horribly treated, they were able to just walk away from the situation and move on. They were able to forgive and forget. I don’t know about you, but that’s something with which I have an extremely hard time. At what point do you walk away from a situation and say just forget it, and be able to really forget it?  I’ve said many times that I can forgive, but I don’t forget.  Maybe visualizing the shaking the dust from my feet will help.  The apostles knew the right time to walk away and talk to people who were open to hearing the Word. They seemed to have been pretty persistent up until this point. They were jailed, but continued to teach the Word up until now.  Maybe they had just enough; maybe God said, Enough is enough. Maybe they realized that you can lead the horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.  It all goes back to having free will. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been for them: to feel like they were failing.

During Mass, the Deacon gave the Homily. He said that Jesus is the Master Storyteller, relating his stories not only to those in His day, but also to us today. We only have to hear His voice. This is necessary if we want to exist for Him.  We can achieve eternal life if we listen and follow Him. How can we do this? It can be as simple as being there when someone needs you or being nice to someone you don’t like. It costs no money, just a little bit of time.

What are your views on the Readings and Homily? I’d love to hear them!

3rd Sunday of Easter

As I listened to the Gospel last night, I panicked just a little bit. I kept thinking, "Oh no! He's reading the wrong day!" After speaking with the Deacon after Mass, I still couldn't shake the feeling that I had recently heard the same Gospel. I guess that means that it's good that I'm retaining what I'm reading during the week! After some brief searching, I finally found it on 1 April: Jn 21:1-14. Today's reading: Jn 21:1-19. WHEW! I knew I had already heard it!
Peter decided to go back and do what he was doing when he started following Jesus: fish. He did what was comfortable for him. When fishing, most fishermen (being right-handed) cast their nets to the left of the boat. When the disciples did this, they caught nothing. Jesus appears to them and tells them to do something different: cast the nets to the right of the boat. SUCCESS! After that, they realized the person who told them to cast their nets was Jesus. Jesus asks Peter 3 times if he loves Him, to which Peter tells him "yes". This mimics the 3 times Peter denied Jesus. Did Jesus know what he was doing, or what?
I have to admit, it wasn't until I read the Blessed is She devotion and re-read the Gospel that it hit me:
I thought Peter jumped in the water to get away from Jesus because of his shame or embarrassment for denying Jesus. After I re-read, I realized he jumped in because he couldn't wait to get to Jesus. I've had different times in my life when  I couldn't wait to get to Jesus; I couldn't wait to go to Communion on Sunday. In fact, there have been at least 3 times when this happened: First Communion, Confirmation, and after I went on a Search retreat my junior year in high school. Wow. Has it really been that long that I felt that desire to receive the Eucharist? Don't get me wrong; the times I didn't go to Communion during Mass for various reasons killed me. But, am I just going through the motions at Mass? Do I really see Jesus in the host? Do I long for Jesus as I should?

Second chance. Jesus gave Peter a second chance by asking him if he loved Him. And Peter said "yes". How many times does Jesus give us chances? Even when we turn away from Him, He is always there with outstretched arms, giving us yet another chance. He is always there in the Eucharist, waiting for us to come to Him.

Divine Mercy Sunday

In the first reading, I was struck by "None joined but many followed" as the apostles began their work. I wonder why none joined...was it because they weren't called to join, but to follow? Was that not God's plan for them? I thought of the priests when I read this; they have many followers, but there are few who answer the call to become a priest.

In the second reading, I looked up Patmos and found it is a Greek Isle. You can go on a pilgrimage to the cave where John received his revelation (to write down everything he sees). There are several monasteries on the island. 

Doubting Thomas. I tried to put myself in Thomas' place. Would I have believed the other apostles, or would I have said, "Yeah, right. I won't believe it 'til I see it." In these times of photoshop, I don't think I would have even believed it if I saw a picture of it. I would have to be like Thomas & want to actually put my fingers & hands in his wounds. The apostles definitely had one advantage over us: they could see Jesus to have faith. We may not be able to actually see Him, but we can see him through other people. Just as we would want others to be able to see Him through us.

As I read through other homilies/devotions, these things caught my attention and gave me something to think about:

(From USCCB) Poor Thomas. He's best known for doubting; his doubt overshadows other times he's mentioned. (I have to admit, I had completely forgotten about those times!) He showed courage when he offered to go with Jesus to Lazarus' house. Jesus said to Thomas at the last supper: I am the way, the truth, and the life. 

(From Loyola Press) The apostles found the courage to leave the upper room in order to spread the gospel.

(From One Bread One Body) Fear feeds doubt. It's a vicious cycle, because doubt also "makes us susceptible to fear, which makes our doubts worse, trapping us in greater fears and uncertainties."

In the Homily at Mass (I'll get to more on that in a minute), Father said that church is the upper room. We see people at Mass, but do they/we have the courage to leave the upper room to spread the gospel, or are they/we afraid that it's not "cool", or that they/we will be ridiculed, or even that they/we won't have the right words to say when confronted about their/our faith? Could you imagine if every person who attends Mass would leave there and join the apostles with their work? 

During the Homily, Father said that we are called to be people of Faith. The apostles knew they were in trouble, knew there were people out to kill them when Jesus appears to them and says, "Peace be with you." He sends the apostles out to carry mercy to the whole world. Jesus calls us to that upper room. The church is that upper room. He calls us to the same faith as He called the apostles. 

Faith is what we have when we have no proof. I think it was easier for the apostles to have faith, because they actually had Jesus there with them; they saw Him after the resurrection and saw His wounds with their own eyes. 

We say the words of Thomas when the Eucharist is elevated during mass: My Lord and my God. We say this as a sign of faith. Father asked that we pray to God for courage to stop our unbelief and to put all of our trust in Him.

Father mentioned that Thomas went to India. Later in the homily, he mentioned the Indian priest who was crucified on Good Friday. His name: Thomas. May the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.

Words from Lent

As I reflected on Lent, several key words popped out several times throughout my Blessed is She On the Way Journal. These words/phrases helped define my Lenten Journey and helped me have the best Lent of my life so far.

Do not let my heart be drawn into worshipping other gods. (Deuteronomy 30:17) I defined the gods in my life as social media, as well as my profession (Speech Language Pathology). My goal for Lent was to cut back on social media; not cut it out completely, but reduce the use and use it to profess my faith. Even though I’m in the last phase of my career, I had been spending an awful lot of time on my professional blog, as well as making materials to sell on a teacher website. It was definitely an “out” after my mother’s passing (July, 2014), so it was time to put that aside and delve into reality. I drastically cut back on those things; I closed my laptop and addressed things in the house that needed to be addressed. When my laptop was open, it was used mostly for devotions or checking out Catholic-related sites.

Forgiveness. I was forgiven by a former coworker who acknowledged a letter I sent to her; she accepted my apology and expressed forgiveness. Will we ever be best friends? No, but I think hope that we both will be there for each other should we ever be in that situation.

Free Will. God gives us everything, but we have to decide to take it. We have no control over what someone else is doing; all we can do is pray and ask God to lead him back on the right path. I’m a bit of a control freak, so this is something I have a very hard time with. Around my calendar I have the phrases, Jesus I trust in You, as well as Lord, I give this to you. And I have prayed those prayers every single day since I wrote them around my calendar.

Humility. This word resounded all throughout Lent, and culminated by the washing of feet on Holy Thursday. I felt the humility of the people having their feet washed by the priest, as well as the humility of the priest.

God has a plan. WOW. Just how awesome this is hit home for me while we were at the beach for Spring Break. My husband & I walked onto the beach, looked up, and were amazed at the stars. It makes you realize just how small we are, but for each one of us, He has a plan. We just have to pray that he shows that plan to us, and that we have the awareness and the courage to follow that plan.

Fear. Fear of peer pressure, fear of not knowing the right words to say if I’m confronted about my faith, fear of being persecuted for my beliefs. A couple of weeks ago, we read about Susanna who was falsely accused but faced her fear and put it in God’s hands, and Daniel who faced the fear of being ridiculed for standing up for her. I pray for their courage during those moments when I’m afraid.

Silence. Having come from a family with 9 siblings, there was rarely a moment of silence in our house when I was growing up. Silence is a very difficult thing for me. I have to have some kind of noise in the background during my day. This Lent, I tried going to sleep without the tv being on. The only time I had it on was when my husband was out of town, so I think I did okay with this. I rarely had the tv on during Lent, saving my tv time for certain shows. (My husband would question the quality of one of the shows I watch, but that’s beside the point!)

I learned so much this Lent. As far as God’s plan for me, I’m still trying to listen and do His will. I’m still trying to listen to His word and live every day as He would have me. I’m no theologian; in fact, I think my Catholic education was greatly lacking. I have a lot on which to catch up.

Did you have the same words speaking to you during Lent? How different were the words you heard?

Palm Sunday

I chose to hit the snooze button when my alarm went off this morning, instead of getting up so I would have time to go over the Readings before Mass. My reasoning: I’ve heard the Passion of our Lord at least 50 times; I think I pretty much know what it says. I remember the first time when saying out loud “Crucify Him” bothered me. I remember there were years when I refused to say those words. But, it’s necessary for us to say those words, because we crucify Jesus over and over with our words, actions, and even our thoughts.

As I listened to the Gospel this morning, these words ran through my mind: Humility. Peer pressure. Faith. Every time we say “Crucify Him”, we humble ourselves. Every time we say those words, we admit that we have sinned, sending Him to the cross. We are no better than the crowd that insisted Barabbas be set free while Jesus is doomed to die for us. FOR. US. We don’t want to see how we have sinned. How many times have we betrayed Jesus with a kiss, just as Judas did?  How many times have I been 2-faced with someone? How many times have I not treated someone with respect and haven’t seen Jesus in them…or better yet, haven’t let them see Jesus in me?

While the part of the Gospel where Peter denies Jesus 3 times was being read, I thought about the times that I’m out with friends and the talk turns to gossip. I thought about how I feel a bit uncomfortable, but then I push those feelings aside and listen; sometimes I even join in. I am guilty of betraying Jesus in those moments.

Pilate succumbed to peer pressure, just like we do. And we end up crucifying Him over and over again because of it. Pilate didn’t stand up for what he believed: that Jesus was innocent and didn’t deserve to be crucified. The people insisted that Jesus be put to death, even after Pilate told them more than once that he did not find him guilty of any crime. But then he backed down and gave the people what they wanted. He was scared to stand up for what he truly believed in and let them have their way. There have been many times when I’ve kept quiet about things that I knew weren’t right; times when I should have stood up for my beliefs and for Jesus, but I kept quiet. I wasn’t confident that I would have the correct answers. I wasn’t confident that I’d know what to say and would end up being ridiculed. I didn’t have faith.

We have faith that what we believe is the truth. We have faith that Jesus died for our sins so that we will one day see the kingdom of God. 

"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom" Luke 23:42

Photo by Luis Ramos

{SQT} March Madness

  Every week SQT is hosted at This Ain't the Lyceum, so jump on over there & check out some quick takes.

1.   This has been the looooongest week of my life. Spring Break is next week; I didn’t think Friday would ever get here. I’m so looking forward to just taking it easy next week & getting geared up for Holy Week.

2.    This quote keeps coming up when I least expect it. I ran across it again when I looked at The Catholic CompanySite:

3.    Do you ever feel like there just aren’t enough hours in a day? I’ve made a concerted effort to get to bed earlier so I can get up 30 minutes earlier to read the Daily Readings and some reflecting, as well as prayers. A couple of mornings it’s taken all I have to get up, but I don’t seem to be going to bed any earlier.

4.    I’m thanking God for a very small answer to a prayer. On Monday, the Blessed is She reflection encouraged us to “stretch out your hand in faith, and ask for the thing that you need but cannot get for yourself.” Well, I did, and I saw a sliver of that prayer being answered. I have faith that in time, most of it will be answered.

5.    This week, I’ve read about humility, happiness, grace, and trust. I attended the Stations of the Cross last Friday, and was invited to stay and pray with the Hispanic community. I kind of wish I had stayed, even though I wouldn’t have understand much of what was said.

6.    Have you seen this youtube clip? I just thought it was so cool that these friars were tearing up the basketball court, Rosaries & all!

7.    Have a glorious week!

4th Sunday of Lent

The Readings today had so many good messages. After I read and wrote down my thoughts, I read a couple of reflections. All 3 of them were somewhat different. I was excited to hear what take my parish priest was going to share with us.

My take:

Through our sins, we are like the son who takes everything and leaves. But God will always gladly take us back. He gives us everything and we take. We have to suffer in order to know just what we have. We have to swallow our pride and ask for forgiveness. This is where the Sacrament of Reconciliation comes in. There was a time when I didn’t think I needed to go to confession; I thought I could just confess my sins to God and be done with it. As Catholics, God gave us this beautiful Sacrament so that we could fully feel his forgiveness. It’s so much easier to just say in your head (or even out loud), “Oops. Sorry, God. I sinned. I know I shouldn’t have done that & I’ll try not to do it again.” BUT, how hard is it to sit face to face with another human being and tell them that you’re not perfect, that you’ve sinned and you’ve done things of which you’re ashamed? God allows us to humble ourselves before him and the priest by making a good confession. No matter what we’ve done or haven’t done, God is always there, ready and willing to take us back. Even for those of us who left the Church for a while, he is standing there with open arms. He is ready to give us more than he already has. We just have to be willing to take it.

Reflections:

One of the reflections I read spoke of happiness. The son who stayed and obeyed his father wasn’t happy. He would never be happy until he forgave his brother for leaving and coming back. He obviously wasn’t a parent, or else he would understand the joy his father felt when his brother came back. Bishop Robert Barron said, “When we fall out of love for God, we fall into hatred of one another.” How often do I feel this? During my “dry prayer periods”, I can definitely tell how intolerant I am of so many people; so many things. Yet, when I take time out of the day to read, reflect, and pray, my days go so much better and I’m so much more patient at work and at home.

Pope Francis said, “God’s patience has to call forth in us the courage to return to Him.” It does take courage to come back. The son who came back had to swallow his pride and find courage to go back to his father. He had no idea how he was going to be received. He probably expected to be treated like his brother treated him. How relieved he must have been when his father welcomed him with open arms!

If you’re a parent of grown children, you can probably relate to the father. I know I can. When one of your children goes out on his own, it’s hard for him to ask for help, and there are definitely times when we all need help! When my husband and I were just starting out, we had to ask our parents for help. Sometimes it was over stupid things that I did, like spending too much on Christmas and then needing some extra help with daycare the next month. It’s very hard to swallow our pride and ask for that help. It’s in humbling ourselves and receiving help that we become stronger and more compassionate.

 Homily:

 Unfortunately, I didn’t hear a lot of the Homily. Since I play flute during Mass, I sit with the choir, which was to the Priest’s back today. We had one of our former pastors celebrate the Mass this morning, and he chose to stand at the front of the altar to give the Homily. He is a little difficult to understand anyway due to him being a bit soft-spoken; so with his back to us it was very difficult to hear him. I wrote down 2 things in my Mass Journal: We are called to change to the light of God and Our joy in life comes from Reconciliation. I must have been meant to hear that last statement loud and clear, because when he said that, he actually looked over toward the choir when he said it.

“Our joy in life comes from Reconciliation.” Amen, Father…Amen! By humbling ourselves we will find joy. How wonderful it is that, as Catholics, we are able to truly humble ourselves by receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation and find joy!

How was your Homily today? I'd love to hear how it was different or the same!