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Baptized into freedom

As Americans celebrate what’s considered to be the birthday of the United States on July 4, I started to think about the most important freedom we have: free from sin.

The first line of the Declaration of Independence, written 247 years ago, called upon “ Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God” as it set out to describe why this declaration was necessary. Many people are familiar with the first line of the second paragraph of the document, indicating the “unalienable Rights” given by the Creator, namely: Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. Some will take that list and twist it around, interpreting it that they are free to do whatever they want with their lives. Yet the three principles are placed in a particular order and reading through the document illustrates why. In the over 25 objections raised against the British sovereign, many include mentions of actions that were harming the very lives of the colonists, some dealt with false incarceration, and lastly they included constraints on conducting commerce transactions. The rally cry that many now use, was a summary of the injustices of that time. The document essentially was a list of sins from which the American colonists were seeking freedom. 

Most, if not all, of the founding fathers were Christians. They had been baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They understood the ten commandments and how people who had been raised with these basic fundamentals could govern one another. In addition, they not only prohibited a particular national religion, they also allowed for the free exercise of any religion. During that time, religion was not something that enslaved men, but freed them, allowing them to pursue a government by the common people. 

While the world and many of its governments have certainly changed since those days, the opportunity to be free of sin through baptism remains. In the sacrament, we are freed from original sin and made whole in relationship with the Triune God. Jesus didn’t take away the ten commandments, as they continue to be an instruction manual of how to be human. Rather Jesus actually intensified the actions with the Beatitudes. We, who are baptized in Christ Jesus, are called to be holy and to imitate His ways. Although we were freed from original sin in baptism, the fallen world around us never ceases to throw obstacles to prevent us from living freed from all sin. Each moment, however, does give us a freedom of choice: to choose ourselves and what we want, or to choose God and what He wants. First through the Israelites and then through Jesus and the early Church, God provided the guidelines for doing His will. How many times do we hesitate to accept what is captured in Scriptures? How many times do we try to twist things around to suit our needs? 

After the celebratory barbeques and fireworks, let us take a moment to remember our baptisms and the gifts we received from God. Let us refresh our knowledge of God’s will for us by taking time to reflect on the Scriptures. Let the Holy Spirit stir a fire of true freedom in you. 

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Less than best

We all have days that turn into a slog to get through and thus, it seems like the only hope is the promise of a new day tomorrow. The question is, do we offer these kinds of days up to God?

When I have a rough day, I know I’m not performing my best from any perspective: work, home-life, pet parent, and even to myself… not to mention spiritually. I usually have a number of things I want to accomplish during a day and when it turns out that everything is a struggle, I feel like I’m asking God for help more than I am offering up the struggles to Him. Perhaps because I can feel defeated during those times, I also feel disappointed in myself and I find that I project that sentiment as how God feels. Even though logic tells me that is not so, for God IS love and sees the bigger picture of my entire life. He does not focus on the momentary blip that we call a day. If a hard day was a cake, I would imagine it would be a sunken, half-baked one, with burned edges and missing ingredients; tasting so bad that even a dog would not eat it. How does one offer that up to God? 

I know I’m far from perfect, but on a good day, I can find so many things to be thankful to God for and gratitude seems to flow from my mouth for the simplest of things: the sun shining, Vera purring, the ability to help a coworker. I feel thankful when I vocalize these thoughts. Maybe I perceive a lack of similar intensity on bad days that makes me feel that my prayers for help, guidance, and direction are inadequate. The passage that comes to mind during these times is more about carrying the cross one is given on a daily basis (Matt 16:24) rather than God’s yoke being easy and light (Matt 11:28-30). Indeed, the language Jesus uses of a yoke is meant to convey that there are two animals pulling the proverbial cart. If we are one and He is the other, we may be taking more of the load than we should. I wonder if the reason why the weight of the yoke on these trial-filled days is because I’m trying to not only pull the cart by myself, but take it in a different direction than what God has intended. 

We are never alone, in whatever challenge we face, because God is always with us. He never left the Israelites even when they strayed from His commandments for generations. I think Paul summed it up best when in the letter to the Romans he said: “For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present for things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:38-39) While we should always strive to do our best, even the poorest work we perform can still be offered up to God. He knows how much we are capable of, and we need to leave all judgment to Him and try not to compete with ourselves.

No matter what our state in life, we will face challenging days. Perhaps in offering them to God as we experience them, as well as at the end of day, we can make ourselves more ready to spend eternity with God because we have shared the whole of our lives with Him. 

God hug

I don’t believe in coincidence. From my perspective, anything that someone would consider a coincidence is God making His presence known.

Last Friday was the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and one of the churches in my area provided the opportunity for a two hour Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament as a way to mark this holy day. Since it started at 5 PM, I did need to log off of work early in order to make my way over to the church. Even the normal weekly Wednesday Adoration, which they have for an hour and starts at 6 PM, can be a struggle for me to get to on-time based on how work is going. It also has a portion that is private prayer followed by communal evening vespers. At times I miss having a whole silent hour before the Blessed Sacrament like when I lived in Pennsylvania, so the possibility of visiting Jesus in the Sacrament for at least a whole hour in private meditation made me very excited. I felt lucky that there were no last minute surprises at work and was able to power down and arrive at the church for the beginning of Adoration. The seminarian assigned to the parish often leads Adoration and for special occasions prepares handouts that we follow for vespers. As he is also a trained cantor, he took the opportunity to make this Adoration special by chanting the entire vespers (in English) followed by the Litany of the Sacred Heart (in Latin). It seemed like joy was just pouring out of me, I was so delighted to spend the time with Jesus and then sing His praises. It was like heaven on earth for those moments. 

As extraordinary as that experience was, it was what happened on the ride home that really made me feel even closer to Jesus. Driving from that direction, there are a set of train tracks I need to pass over to get to my home. I cross them often enough to get to church, the post office, taking Vera to the vet, etc. This time, as I was going over and experiencing the normal vibrations that crossing over these tracks produce, I caught a flicker of movement from some prayer cards I have tucked in the car’s visor. I put my hand up to prevent anything from falling, but regardless one of the cards did, landing on my chest. As I was very close to my home, I picked it up and held it, so that it would not fall further and get trampled underfoot or forgotten. I have a few cards tucked there and they have never moved, no matter how many times I’ve crossed those tracks so I was surprised that this happened. After navigating through my development and parking, I took a look at the card I was holding. It was one I had forgotten was there, since I had placed other cards in front of it. The card? It was from the Sacred Heart of Jesus Auto League. This card specifically had the words “Sacred Heart,” the one and the same reason I was just at Adoration to celebrate and praise, and landed on my chest near to my heart. No, I refuse to call that a coincidence. That was a hug from God. (If you want to call it a God Wink, that works too.) 

If I perceived what happened as just a coincidence, that allows me to brush it off as an oddity that is unimportant. But I think God communicates to us all the time, and we, myself included, can be deaf to the language He uses or we make excuses so that we can think we are in control of everything. Why did it have to happen then? Why was it that particular prayer card that fell? Why did it land on my chest instead of fluttering to the floor or my lap? There are many other outcomes that could have happened, but God chose that one. For some it may be too subtle to equate to being from the hand of God, yet for me, it was more like a bonk on the head with a foam mallet — gentle enough not to hurt, but too obvious for me to ignore. 

So take a moment and reflect: how has God communicated with you today? Are you looking to dialog with Him? Do you ask for the wisdom to understand His communication? Is your heart and soul open to what God is saying to you? Sometimes He may be guiding you or comforting you. Sometimes He just wants to say “hello” or even “I love you.” But unless we are on the lookout for His communication, we may miss the unique and little ways that God is using to interact with us. 

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.”   

Matthew 6:33

A heart like no other

June is a very special month. During it, for over 300 years, Catholics have been celebrating a special devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. While the Mass for the feast occurs 19 days after Pentecost (this Friday), the whole month of June is dedicated to the contemplation and adoration of a mystery as deep as the Love that God is. 

There have been numerous saints who were devoted to the Sacred Heart, but it was St. Margaret Mary Alacoque that received the unenviable task of promulgating it throughout the Church. According to Catholic Online, “A group of theologians declared her visions delusions and suggested she eat better.“ From the humble beginnings in the French community of St. Margaret Mary, it took almost 200 years for the feast to be extended to the universal Church. However, the revelations St. Margaret Mary received included one of the most iconic images of Jesus today: with a heart surrounded by the crown of thorns, with flames of love and a cross just above it. 

A human heart? God wants us to look upon Jesus’ humanity in the most critical muscle of the body — the heart that pumps life-giving blood throughout all of one’s being. It is central to the Love Jesus wants to lavish on mankind. Christ loves us so much, the heart just isn’t beating, it’s on fire! The Sacred Heart of Jesus burns for you! He reminds us that He died for us on the cross, and it is through the sufferings of our daily crosses that we can deepen our relationship with Him. Love is not a solitary thing. As intimate as the Sacred Heart is to us, we are reminded of the sins of humanity, including ours, that surround the heart with piercing thorns. For all those who reject Jesus, deny Him, and turn against Him, His Heart suffers and is constricted by those who offend His Love. 

Jesus desires a devotion to His Sacred Heart so that those who answer the call can draw closer to Him, enjoying the blessings and consolations that only He can give. He has made many different promises depending on how the faithful honor His Will. There are special blessings for those that display and honor the image of His Sacred Heart within their homes. Other blessings are for those that promote adoration, devotion, and enthronement within a household. Jesus also promised special graces to those who attend Mass on the first Friday of every month for nine consecutive months. These promises are not meant to be a “purchase” or “bargaining” plan, but rather they are set forth to underscore just how powerful Jesus’ love is for us. By uniting ourselves with Jesus’ Sacred Heart and inviting Him to live within us, we welcome His transformative Love to change us more to His image and likeness.  

God has called us to be holy as He is Holy, but we cannot do so by our own merits. He sent His Son, Jesus, to be our Savior and reestablish humanity’s relationship with the Divine. Jesus has provided the Sacraments and the Church as the vehicles we can use to initiate and develop that relationship. Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus allows us to dive into a deeper intimacy, connecting the Sacrament of the Eucharist with the Divine Mercy through the Passion, Death, and Resurrection. As St. Augustine wrote in his Confessions, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” May we take time this month to contemplate, praise, adore, and pray to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and offer our hearts to Him. 

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Reality and mystery

This Sunday is the Feast of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, commonly known by its Latin name, Corpus Christi. I have seen a number of stories in recent years about the decline among Catholics believing in the Real Presence of Jesus in the consecrated Eucharistic host and wine. It is a central precept of our belief that serves for our benefit… if we can be open to the mystery that it is. 

Everyday, in churches all around the world, simple rounds of bread and wine (mixed with water) are transformed into the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus during the Eucharist prayer of the Mass. It has become commonplace enough that we don’t really think of it as a miracle, yet that is exactly what it is. It illustrates the power and love of God to take ordinary, man-made products and sanctify them to the point that it may look and taste like bread and wine, but no longer is. It has become Jesus. It is a mystery and a miracle! Instead of seeing it for the miracle it is, humanity considers it a miracle when the bread and wine are physically transformed into flesh and blood, which the Church has recognized over 100 times throughout the centuries. Some of these miracles have been preserved, which itself can be a miracle, especially as years turn into decades and even centuries. 

The Mass prepares us to receive Jesus in the most intimate way. Yet it is not just something that happens to us, but rather something we participate in. We pray in response to the priest, as well as in communion with all in the congregation. We are the Church, assembling together, praying in unison and consuming  the Body of Jesus, the One Body, in what we call Holy Communion. It is indeed holy, as only God could sanctify the unity of such diverse people. Mass may be at a particular time and place, but in and through the reception of Holy Communion we are joined to all those who have already received, are receiving, and ever will receive the miracle that is the Body of Christ. 

While Mass is the most common encounter with the Eucharist, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is another option Catholics have to worship God through this miracle. I remember my first attempt at adoration; I lasted about 10 minutes. How does one just sit in silence? Especially in this noisy world that is always seeking to gain our attention, the ability to just focus on the presence of Jesus (as a consecrated host) displayed in a monstrance is a practice one needs to build up. Depending on the church or chapel hosting adoration, the surroundings can grab one’s attention more than Jesus. Why would God choose to hide Himself in such a simple thing? It’s one of the questions worth pondering in adoration. It never ceases to amaze me that no matter how hectic and frazzled I am when I go to adoration, while I’m there, even if I am pouring out all my troubles to Him, I feel a sense of peace and serenity that is hard to explain. I wish all parishes would offer regular adoration opportunities, as it does provide a different experience in relating to Jesus and may even help strengthen the faith and respect parishioners have when receiving Holy Communion.

Bread and wine have been around almost as long as civilization. They are a physical reality we can see, smell, touch, and taste. Yet God has chosen these to be vessels of Himself so that we may receive Him. It is a mystery that we can never truly comprehend with our limited faculties. The Eucharist reality is a mystery for all time and in all generations. It may only be when we meet Jesus at the moment of our death that we realize just how important every Mass, every adoration, and every reception of the Holy Sacrament has meant to our spiritual lives. Let us pray especially during this feast that all Catholics realize, appreciate, and return to believing in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. 

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Love better

After hearing a popular song in various places, some of the lyrics made me start to ponder how a person could love “better.” Instead I discovered a different definition for sin.

While I tend to listen to Christian music rather than the mainstream popular music, there’s been a song I’ve noticed in videos on Facebook and Instagram. I had no idea what it was called or who sang it until I happened to watch a YouTube video that was reviewing the quality of popular music from a musical composition perspective. The mysterious song was uncovered to be “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus. It is quite a catchy tune, but the main lyrics give a list of superficial actions that are supposed to equate to love, with the main message/refrain being “I can love me better than you can.”

Earworm is the term used to describe a song or part of a song that keeps repeating in one’s mind. And the chorus of this song was fully entrenched in my brain. It felt like a bad game of whack-a-mole, only it was wack-a-song — everytime it popped up in my brain, I would try thinking of another song, which quickly reverted back to the unwanted one. The more I thought about it, the sillier the song seemed to be. If the writer is only seeing things like flowers, dancing, and holding hands as love, then no wonder the relationship is failing. It is a pop song, so I know I can’t take it too seriously, but some simple songs can convey great meaning; this is just not one of them. 

While I’m not quite sure about the thought process that led me from thinking about the lyrics of the song to a relationship with God, somehow my brain ended up wondering about the attitude of that song as a response to God. That’s when the ton of bricks fell on my head and I realized that’s EXACTLY what sin is! There can be many definitions of sin, most of them from a negation perspective like not doing God’s will or turning away from God. However, sin is choosing ourselves over God, like the song says, we say to God that we can love ourselves better than He can. It’s almost painful to write that and to see it in black and white. It’s totally not possible for us to love ourselves better than God can. We don’t even know ourselves as much as God knows us, as He knows our full story since He exists outside of time and space. We can only know our present and our past, our future is still a mystery for us. Everything we have comes from God: the world around us, our family and friends, our talents and personality, every breath that we take, and every beat of our heart.

Our human nature wants to be in control. Love is risky as we need to open ourselves up and trust another. Yet God has proven Himself over many generations, throughout the Scriptures, through the lives of the saints, and even within our own lives. The only way we can love ourselves better, is when we let God love us. When we open ourselves to trust Him, His will, and respond to that love by showering others with the love He shows us. We can all try to love better, but no one can love better than Love Himself, who came to earth, proclaimed the kingdom of God, gave His life for us, all so that we can have a personal relationship with Him. 

God is the perfection of Love. Perhaps the next time we examine our conscience, maybe we reflect on the ways that we’ve told God either in word or deed, that we love ourselves more than He. It may be painful at first, but through the merciful love of God, we may be able to love better by loving as God does.

Power of the Word

Language is a powerful tool that we take for granted every day. It’s the bedrock of our communication with God, each other, the world around us, and even ourselves. It can be used to divide or to unite. Yet, it is Jesus who IS the definitive Word and the ultimate power of communication.

All creation has a language. Many are vocalized. Others can only be understood after years of study and observation, but even then, we can only guess at what another creature’s language truly means. Human communication can be expressed  through gestures and facial expressions in addition to the spoken word.  Our language has put a label on what something is: a cat, a dog, a table, etc., but the name of something doesn’t  describe its nature or purpose. You can ask another person what a cat is, and they may point to a cat, but if you ask them what is the difference between a cat and a dog, words are needed to convey the differences. We can get philosophical about asserting the differences between two things to the point of arguing about anything and everything. 

As early as the first verse in John’s Gospel, Jesus is identified as the “Word of God.” It is through Jesus that we see concretely that words have the power to heal — physically and spiritually. In forgiving sinners, Jesus often healed their physical maladies as an outward sign of what had taken place internally. The words of Jesus conveyed life, sometimes even in the physical reversal of death. Perhaps most spectacularly, the words a priest uses daily to consecrate the bread and wine into the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus were the single most powerful words He ever uttered. Only God has the power to transform and transubstantiate anything as Divine. Yet Jesus not only did this, but also gave His Apostles the ability to do the same. 

Humanity, in its fallen nature, wants to separate and divide everything. But God’s plan is one of unity. At Pentecost, the birthday of the Church starts with the preaching of the Apostles, who most likely had only traveled from Galilee to Jerusalem, and were heard to be speaking in languages from around the known Roman world. The core of the Good News is meant, not just for a chosen few, but for everyone. Even to this day, everyone has an opportunity to know and worship God in their own language. 

Jesus continues to speak to us today in the Gospels, the sacraments, and in our daily lives. Do we listen for Him? Do we allow His powerful Word to shape and transform us? Or do we use our own language to push Him away so that we can forge a path of our own making, separating ourselves from God as well as one another?

This Sunday as we celebrate Pentecost, let us recognize that the conclusion of the Easter season is not just another day. Let us invite the Holy Spirit into our lives and our very selves, asking for the Word of God to be alive in our hearts, our minds, our words, and our actions. Let our participation in the Eucharistic feast help sustain our relationship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

What goes up

The Easter season does not merely wind down and drift away, rather the celebration is completed with two solemnities that make a glorious exclamation mark to the liturgical calendar.

The Ascension of Jesus from a scriptural perspective, provides a unique expression in the Mass readings. In any of the epistles, when the author quotes Jesus, it is more about referencing a teaching and not a recounting of a narrative that took place. However, the Acts of the Apostles begins, or should I say continues, the Gospel narrative in that it describes the Ascension of Jesus in the first 11 verses of chapter 1. This is the only time the Mass readings contain a narrative with Jesus addressing His apostles in the first reading. When you consider the Gospel is the finale from Matthew reiterating Jesus’ message just as He was about to ascend into heaven, the two readings seem to form a literary bridge between Jesus’ ministry while He was on earth and the mission of the Apostles to spread that same ministry throughout the world. 

Have you ever watched a balloon that has been let go rise up into the sky? Perhaps it is our human nature to be in tune with gravity, that we expect something that has risen up in the air to only go so far before the inevitable happens. And at some point in time, that balloon will, indeed, fall back to earth minus the helium gas that took it high above the clouds. Of course the Apostles would watch Jesus ascending into heaven; they were expecting something fabulous, fantastic, and wanted to see what would happen next. Can you imagine how jarring it must have been when the angels chided them for watching the sky? It’s so very easy to think them silly for doing so, but we have the benefit of what all God has done through those same apostles and their successors. Good things come to those who wait, and the apostles had to wait ten days for the fulfillment of the Advocate that Jesus had promised. 

The apostles had three years of traveling with Jesus to absorb the message of the Kingdom of God. They had 40 days after the Resurrection where Jesus demonstrated His Divinity in a deeper way. Lastly, they watched Him go up into the sky, but now what? He walked on water before His death, He was able to come into a room despite the doors being locked, but the rising up so far that they could no longer see Him was different. The angels directed the perspective of the apostles back to the world around them. The last questions they asked to Jesus seem to have them still searching for an earthly kingdom. What were those ten days like for the Apostles? Did they continue to reflect on Jesus’ teachings or did they start to think about their future and if it was even possible to proclaim Jesus to the whole world? How many times have we had to wait to put into practice what we have learned? 

Like a fireworks show, the last celebration in the Easter season seems to be the biggest, loudest, and most colorful of all the explosions. Pentecost is, indeed, an explosion of faith, trust and courage in God. It reverberates down the millennia in all that the Church does in sacraments and community. Yet it is not an ending, but rather a beginning. A fireworks show in one perspective is a poor analogy, as the light from the fireworks fade into the inky blackness of the night sky. Pentecost is more like divine fireworks that not only stay bright, but continue to increase in intensity until the whole world is bathed in the illumination, brighter than the sun itself. 

We celebrate the Ascension of Jesus going up into heaven. We celebrate the Holy Spirit coming down from heaven and filling the world with the presence of God. What goes up indeed comes down, but when God is the cause, the results are transformed beyond our expectations and comprehension. All we can do is give God the glory and praise for love He showers on us in and through the Trinity. 

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Through the ages

While time travel is still the stuff of science fiction, this past Saturday on May 6, 2023, the world witnessed a rare event that is as close to traveling back in time as it gets. 

The last coronation of a British monarch took place 70 years ago. For the majority of those alive today, this is the first time we have had the ability to see the event live. That in itself makes it a historic event. However, my fascination with the coronation is not just because I do enjoy a bit of royal watching, but because of the Catholic-centric liturgy in which it takes place. The roots stretch way back in Israelite history — back to the anointing of King Saul and King David. Each of these men, though deeply flawed, were chosen by God to be the earthly ruler of the people, not because God wanted there to be a King of Israel, but because the people demanded it. (1 Samuel, chapter 8) When God agreed to allow it, He chose the person who would fulfill the role and requested, first Saul and then David, to be anointed, a physical action that indicates the presence of the Holy Spirit as these men performed their kingly duties. But the kings are just like any other human, capable of both listening to God, or turning away and doing their own thing, which have been captured in the Scriptures for all time. 

In ancient Israel there were three roles that were anointed: priests, prophets, and kings. Jesus is all three combined and thus is referred to as The Anointed. The words Christ and Messiah derive from the Greek and Aramaic (the everyday language of the Jews in Jesus’ time) words for “anointed.” In the Catholic sacraments, we participate in Jesus’ mission as priest, prophet, and king since we, too, are anointed at Baptism and Confirmation. One Catholic sacrament, however, has a parallel to the coronation: holy orders. At a priest’s ordination, they are anointed so they can receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit as they live their priestly vocation. But the similarities don’t stop there. After the anointing, King Charles was then dressed with several layers of clothing. First, he was clothed in a sleeveless, white, linen tunic, which could be loosely be compared to an alb that a priest wears. Next is the “super tunica” which is a golden, long sleeved tunic which is then belted. This could be compared to the priest’s cassock. On top of that is a stole, which is just like those the priest wears under his Mass vestment or when hearing confession. Lastly, at least from a clothing perspective, is the coronation mantle which is also made of gold thread and could be compared with the chasuble of the priest. 

So why all these priestly-type vestments at a king’s coronation? Much like a man who receives the sacrament of holy orders, the king has been consecrated, or set apart, for the duties of a king. Dressed in these special garments, the king now is visibly changed, he is no longer just any other man named Charles, but has become the King Charles III. Every deacon, priest, and bishop after being ordained wear, not the latest fashion trends, but the priestly garments while executing their faculties and celebrating the sacraments. Although the king only wears these garments at his coronation, he will wear a crown at the state opening of Parliament each year, one of his duties as the government figurehead.

I’ve heard a number of commentators refer to the coronation as a ceremony, and perhaps that would be accurate in the terminology of the Anglican Church, of which the king is the head. However, the how-to manual for coronations, the Liber Regalis, dates back to the 14th century, a time when England was very much a Catholic country. While the prayers have been translated into English and tweaked over the centuries to fit the time and culture, the events that take place are mostly the same. In addition, the whole rite takes place within what the Anglican Church calls a communion service, which to me seemed like a pared down version of the Mass. 

In its essence, the coronation is the spiritual investiture of the king as Head of State, Head of the Church of England, as well as being a role model of service to the community. It is saturated in history and historical context while slowly adapting based on the current profile of the time in which it takes place. It is both a time capsule, bringing continuity to the event, and giving a peek at the future as it is refreshed to begin a new king’s reign. After watching the coronation in all its pomp and pageantry, I stumbled upon a video from a Colorado priest who gives an excellent commentary on everything Catholics need to know for the coronation: https://youtu.be/vRDZx6w5qXc. Enjoy! 

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Stay the course

It’s been almost two years since God blessed me with a new job. And while I still believe that there is a purpose for me to be where I’m at, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t challenges that make me question why I am here.

I know that a life of living out the Catholic faith will not be all sugar and sprinkles. Jesus didn’t say that we’re going to breeze through to heaven, but reminded his disciples on multiple occasions that His life on earth is an example for all and that we all need to pick up our crosses to follow Him. A life of faith is not only comprised of going to Mass to meet the Sunday and Holy Day obligations, but permeates throughout my daily activities. Somehow it seems a lot easier to praise God and thank Him for when things are going well, than to trust Him and His guidance when the opposite is true. It’s almost like I’m happy He’s at “the wheel” in good times, but in difficult situations, I want to take control. From a faith perspective it makes absolutely no sense, as God has a better perspective on the rough patches and what’s needed than I do. Somehow I feel like it’s my testing moment and I’m cheating on the test if I ask for His assistance. 

Recently at work I made a recommendation that ended up being passed over. My initial feelings were of anger, as I felt responsible for this particular activity. But when the leadership deemed not to abide with my suggestions, it was a blow to my motivation, trust, and ego. They brought me in because of my familiarity with the system and here they were making judgements as if they knew better than I did. Why should I bother any more? Am I really needed there, if they won’t listen to me? Or am I just being possessive of what I think I’m responsible for and do I need to allow others to “play in the sandbox with me” so to speak? I struggled to get my feelings sorted out and to be rational and reasonable about the whole situation. 

I get emails from different places about different job openings on a regular basis, although very few interest me. I mostly delete the emails without even reading them. Yet during this trial, I did start reviewing them, trying to see if one sounded like a good fit for me. However, I couldn’t help but get a sense that I still have a purpose at my current employment. I started remembering how this opportunity seemed to just drop in my lap, like a gift with a big bow on top, especially since I wasn’t even looking at the time! It can be hard to stay the course when the bumps in the road seem like they’re going to shake the car to pieces. Is it any different from the occasions recorded in the Gospels where the disciples were terrified during strong storms on the sea? In one account Jesus calms the wind and the waves and chides the disciples for not having faith, in another Jesus invites Peter to walk out on the water to Him. In both cases, Jesus does take control and they stay the course to their destiny. 

After much reflection, I realized that while it is important for me to give my recommendations, I also need to let leadership take responsibility for their decisions as well. I may not like it, but it’s one less thing for me to stress about if I let it go. I found it a bit incredulous how easy it was to blow up over one thing that didn’t go my way than to appreciate the many times that I have brought valuable knowledge and perspective based on my experience. 

This time the challenge happened within the realm of my employment, but it could have easily been a situation within a relationship with friends, family or even a complete stranger. Challenges and trials are part of life, but those of faith are called to seek out the assistance of God. It doesn’t mean that the difficulties will go away, only that we will have the accompaniment of God as we move through them. And no, it’s not cheating, it’s a way to get closer to God and see His handiwork close up. What could be better than that?