Blessings From Above!

The wonders of God's power.

South Dakota, 2010

"Christ's mother carried him in her womb; may we carry him in our hearts The Virgin became pregnant with the incarnation of Christ; may our hearts become pregnant with faith in Christ. She brought forth the Savior; my our souls bring forth salvation and praise. ~Saint Augustine~

My initiation into motherhood happened 42 years ago today!  Our oldest was born.  She has been a delight and a joy!  Her gifts and enthusiasm for life have given me cause to thank God heartily endlessly for her and all her brothers and sister.  Treasures all!!!

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!

Sunday of Celebrations!

Pope John Paul II, a photo by Loci Lenar on Flickr.

In light of Mary, the Church sees in the face of women the reflection of a beauty which mirrors the loftiest sentiments of which the human heart is capable; the self-offering totality of love; the strength that is capable of bearing the great sorrows; limitless fidelity and tireless devotion to work; the ability to combine penetrating intuition with words of support and encouragement.

Pope John Paul II

Redemptoris Mater, 1987

Celebration of many celebrations.  May begins with the month dedicated to the Mother of God.  It's Divine Mercy Sunday.   And finally, it is the dain in which Pope John Paul II is beatified.  

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Thanks be to God!!!

The Truth That Sets Us Free

April 29-Saint Catherine of Siena, a photo by -Sancta Maria, Mater Dei~ on Flickr.

This reflection was offered yesterday in the Magnificat.  To me it is a treasure.  It's here because I don't want to lose it.

Saint Catherine of Siena says:

It is easy to see Christ's patient forbearance...in the face of our sins, how he seems to pretend not to see...  What great patience, that he disregards the wrong done him!  On the cross he hears the clamor of those who first shouted, "Crucify him!" and now challenge him to come down from the cross.  And he cries, "Father, forgive them!"  He does not move when they shout that he should come down, but stays there till the end.

Then he joyously shouts, "It is finished!"  Yes, those seem to be sorrowful words, but they were words of joy to that soul aflame and consumed in the fire of divine charity, the soul of the incarnate Word, God's Son.   It is as if the gentle Jesus  wanted to say, "I have completely fulfilled what was written of me.  Fulfilled too is my painful desire to redeem the human race.  I am happy, exultant, that I have finished this suffering.  I have fulfilled the commission given me by my father, a commission I so longed to accomplish..."

Shame, shame on our human pride, our self complacency, our self-centeredness, when we see how good God has been to us, how many gifts and graces he had given us--and not because he has to but because he wants to.  Obtuse as we are, we seem not to see or feel this love so hot that, if we were made of stone, it would long ago have burst us open!...  Unhappy me!  I can see no other reason except that the eye of our understanding is not focused on the tree of the cross.  For there is revealed such warm love, such gently persuasive teaching has torn open his very body, has shed his life's blood and with that blood has baptized and bathed us.  We can and should make use of the baptism every day with continual remembrance and great love.  ~~Saint Catherin of Siena~~

Saint Catherine of Siena (+1380), Doctor of the Church, was a Dominican, stigmatist, and papal counselor.

Most eye-opening.  A lesson here to be learned by all, especially me!

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Finding Ourselves in Public Worship

Church of the Immaculate Conception

at 

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, IN

In the book Lent and Easter, Wisdom from Thomas Merton, I was called to reflect on this subject, Finding Ourselves in Public Worship.  He says,

Now it is precisely in the liturgy, the public prayer of the Christian Assembly, that the Christian discovers the secret of his own inviolable solitude, and learns to respect the solitude of his brother and sister while at the same time sharing it...

Christian persons find themselves and their brothers and sisters in the communal celebration of the mystery of Christ.  But what is manifested, proclaimed, celebrated and and consummated in the liturgy is not my personality or your personality; it is the personality of Christ the Lord, who when two or three are gathered together in His Name, is present in the midst of us.  This presence of Christ in the liturgical celebration leads to our discovery and declaration of our own sacred and spiritual self.

It struck me as I read this that, indeed, I gather with my Family in Christ as a community.  And though we are all there with the purpose of praising the glory of God through Jesus Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit,  only I know and understand who I am in relation to my Savior.  Though we celebrate together our redemption in the saving act of the Eucharist, I am still truly alone with my Savior in prayer and celebration.   I cannot truly understand someone else and their relationship with the Almighty.  And yet we are called to communion one with another because we do share the same belief in the Risen Lord.  Yes, I am alone with Christ in the midst of others!  

To paraphrase Scott Hahn in his book, The Lamb's Supper, at the consecration it truly is when heaven comes to earth!  Jesus, our Lord and Savior is truly in our midst and again he offers himself to me as always in love.  

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Gathering Together To Meet Christ

The topic of this reflection in Lent and Easter , Wisdom from Thomas Merton is  sacred liturgy.

"Liturgy is a work in which the Church collaborates with the divine Redeemer, renewing on her altars the sacred mysteries which are the life and salvation of mankind, uttering again the life-giving words that are capable of saving and transforming our souls., blessing again the sick and the possessed, and preaching His Gospel to the poor." (page 24)

The question I am asked to reflect upon is, "What do you love about celebrating the liturgy with your faith community?:

My faith community is "family."  We gather to share our life experience.  We offer each other support.  We are on the Journey and we know it.  It is one of life's treasures given and accepted as reality!  For me it is affirming my belief that I have been redeemed, once for all by our Savior Jesus Christ.  It is a celebration of life and eternal life.  I have a "genealogy" that takes me to the root of salvation and I am privileged to share that with other believers in praising God.

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Peter's Denial

Pati de la morera (Morus niger) en el castell d'Olite ("Patio de la morera", "Courtyard of the mulberry tree (Morus niger) in the Castle of Olite") a photo by Bilbopolit on Flickr.

The reflection today comes from The Women of the Passion by Kathleen Murphy. She invites me to enter the courtyard where Peter is asked to affirm his loyalty to Jesus and instead denies him three times. 

All Matthew's Jewish listeners and readers would have understood the deep significance of the fact that the denial was threefold, that it became more adamant each time, and that the final witness to it was a man.  Having been brought up in the Jewish culture, they would have known that the testimony of a woman would have been viewed as implausible.  The word of a man posed no problems.  One man's evidence was believed to be more trustworthy than that of a multitude of women (page 10).

I have chosen to reflect on this short passage not so much because of Peter's denial but because it depicts a reality that even today is true.  It suggests that the marginalized, women, children and even men, have no voice.  And then I am asked, "[Am I] genuinely committed to living the gospel  consciously, not just during the few weeks of Lent but holistically and through the whole  of life's journey?" (page 13)  Am I willing to leave my comfort zone and take a stand for these children of God?

I want to say that I am consciously living the Gospel every day of the year.  I hope that I can continue to be a witness to the values Christ has instilled in me.  I am like Peter though.  I have failed on many levels.  I do enjoy my comfort zone!  It is hard for me to take risks.  I am frightened!  But you know, when I least expect it the Holy Spirit does guide me in the right direction.  There is still a lot of Peter in me.  But, through the grace of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit I am able to reflect on the failure and find solace in the fact that I am love by God as one of his creations and am forgiven.  And being forgiven I will again step forward and do God's will.

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

A Penitent Heart

I read and was amazed by the clarity with which I was able to understand today's reflection. I've been struggling with the reflections until today.

Thomas Merton says in Lent and Easter Wisdom from Thomas Merton :

"The Call to 'do penance' is based not on the fact that penance will keep us trim, but on the fact that 'the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.' Our penance--metanoia--is our response to the proclamation of the Gospel; message, the Kerygma which announces our salvation if we will hear God and harden not our hearts. The function of penance and self-denial is then contrition, or the 'breaking up' of that hardness of heart which prevents us from understanding God's command to love and from obeying it effectively."

I have known that penance is a reparation for my sins...but somehow three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys and a good Act of Contrition just seemed too easy, simple, not quite as demanding as I considered it should be. And then I read, "The function of penance and self-denial is then contrition, or the 'breaking up' of that hardness of heart which prevents us from understanding God's command to love and from obeying it effectively." God's command to me is to love and obey the Gospel. That is not simple, easy and it is demanding.

So when I write about the Journal question today I do so in humility. For God is good and has shown me the true meaning of penance through Thomas Merton. I've been asked, as part of the Journey today, to share my last act of "charity" and why I did it.

Yesterday one of our patients, an elderly lady, arrived to see the doctor in a state of weakness caused by several days of epistaxis (bleeding from the nose). She had been to the emergency room twice for it, the most recent visit that morning. She was exhausted and very anxious. For the first time in 12 years I met her husband. She always came alone for she drove herself. Yesterday she could not. This lady who was always neatly dressed came in her nightgown and robe. Laying her head on the table she looked weary and exhausted. She was frightened and when the bleeding hadn't stopped she took out the packing. It was annoying and she didn't think it was working. When she went back to the ER they put in a drain and made an appointment for her to see a specialist, but not until today. After seeing the doctor, who consulted with another doctor who was the otolaryngologist (ENT) she will be seeing today, he was able to reassure her that with the treatment the other doctor would provide the bleeding would soon stop. Be assured that the patient was not hemorrhaging or having frank bleeding. She was frightened because she was so weak.

As she was getting into the wheelchair, she said, "Cathy, pray for me." A assured her I would. But what she said after that made me thank God for her and her presence in my life. She said, "Thank you. You always offer me such consolation when I come here."

Praying for others is an act of charity. I often forget that because it is an easy way to "care" for others. There is no monetary value. There is no physical labor required no special equipment. But is is the most powerful tool I own! And I did it out of love and concern for this dear lady. It became a time for me when my hardened heart became softer and more tender because of this encounter with Christ. (Matthew 25: 31-40)

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!