Jesus Christ

Catholic Girl Journey

Cost of freedom

July brings the celebration of the United States as it’s own nation. We come together as family and friends to enjoy a picnic, fellowship, and, if we’re lucky, a dip in the pool to cool off. There may be parades where we cheer the veterans who have served our country. Some may remember those who paid the ultimate price to protect the country by giving their life. Perhaps, the true cost of freedom was paid by the sacrifice on Calvary.

The Declaration of Independence acknowledges three gifts that most know by heart: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Over 240 years ago, the founding fathers released this document that put into action a revolution from which the United States would emerge. They acknowledged God as the giver of these gifts. I’ve heard it mentioned that the order matters. You can’t pursue happiness if you don’t have your freedom (liberty) or your life. In a way, the document reminds us of the creation. God created Adam and Eve — that is He gave them life. He gave them the freedom to choose to do His will or their own by asking them to care for the garden and not to eat the fruit of one tree. Otherwise, they were to pursue their happiness by living in communion with God and the rest of His creation. Instead they put their pursuit of happiness above their relationship with God and thus impacted both their life and liberty.

God did not leave man on his own. He patiently gathered the tribe of Israel to teach them His ways and prepare for His Son to pay the price of that first and every sin. Jesus’ pursuit of happiness was to reconcile creation back to the Father through the forgiveness of man’s sins. This journey brought Him to the cross on Calvary, where He gave His very life for us all. The liberty He chose was to free us from our sins so that we can have a opportunity to pursue a relationship with God, both on earth and in heaven. We always have the freedom to choose: to do God’s will or our own. Now when we are sorry for those times we choose to do our will instead of God’s, we can return to a relationship with Him through the sacrament of reconciliation.

Let us give thanks to our creator, not just for our country, but those three precious gifts He gives to each of us. Let us not take our freedom for granted, but look to do the will of God and thank Jesus for paying the price for us.

Catholic Girl Journey

The purpose of the Church

What did Jesus do when He first met with His apostles after His resurrection? He bestowed His peace on them, sent them out into the world, and gave them the power to forgive sins. These blessings were given to men who ran away when the going got tough, who locked themselves in a room because they were afraid, and who did not believe when Mary Magdalene brought them the great news that Jesus had risen from the dead.

These frightened but overjoyed men were asked to walk the way of Jesus; to proclaim His name throughout the world. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” (John 20:21) They were sent out into the world to bring the peace of Jesus to all. This mission continues to our day and is not just the responsibility of bishops and priests, but all Catholics. We need to receive the peace of Jesus and not only hold onto it, but freely share it with others as it has been given to us.

In today’s world it seems when giving that everything has a price or must be negotiated: I did this for you, you need to do that for me or I gave you this, so you owe me that. Instead Jesus gives without expecting to receive it back. “Not as the world gives do I give it to you.” (John 14:27) He gives His peace willingly, without obligation. It is only by our own free will to receive and respond to His peace that we oblige ourselves to follow His commandments. He sets the example to give of ourselves without expecting anything in return.

“Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” (John 20:22-23) In sending them out with His peace, Jesus expected the apostles to help heal the variously fractured bonds that each person has with God. He just doesn’t want people to know about Him, He wants them to know Him. He wants a relationship with them; one that cannot be achieved unless they willingly turn to Him and ask for the damage that sin has caused to be repaired. By giving the apostles the Holy Spirit, He provided His authorization to these men to do what, up until then, only God could do. So by going to the bishops and priests for the sacrament of reconciliation, we are receiving the peace and forgiveness He bestowed on the apostles. While individual members of the Church may not forgive sins on behalf of God, we can forgive the injuries others inflict on us, just as God has forgiven us.

The purpose of the Church is to go out and meet people where they are, share the peace of Christ with them, and when people willingly want to turn back to God, to forgive them their sins so they can start afresh with their relationship with God.The Church didn’t begin with perfect men, but by fulfilling her purpose, she perfects them.

 

Catholic Girl Journey

For the Father

In a recent homily, the priest asked the parents in the congregation, “What would you tell your children if they said to you, ‘I love you so much, what can I do to show you?’”

While I may not be a parent, I can imagine that the responses would be things like: do your chores without complaining, don’t fight with your brothers/sisters, listen when I tell you to do or not do something. For young children, these answers reflect the fact that parents have their children’s well being in mind when they give them boundaries and responsibilities as they are growing up.

The priest’s question piqued my interest. I realized that  young parents want their children to listen to their advice, to follow their example, and obey them, so that they can be molded into responsible and loving parents as they become adults. It reminded me of the 10 Commandments. For example,“Do your chores” is like “Keep holy the Sabbath.”

As we grow up, we have a responsibility to nurture our spiritual life and, among other things, by going to Mass, and reflecting on the readings and homily, we are learning to be responsible for the growth of our faith. To be asked not to fight with our siblings is much like the commandment “do not kill.” While it may seem like a leap from fighting over the TV remote to killing, any anger and violence is like a plant seed that grows with each fight. God the Father gave us the 10 Commandments, through the Israelites, to serve as a guideline for living,  similarly to what any parent would give to their children, for their own good, the good of the community and the good of the relationship with God.

“Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” (John 14:21) At the end of the Last Supper, Jesus tells His Apostles that it is by observing His commandments, that they not only show their love for Him, but how they can keep a relationship with Him, even if He is not physically present in the world. The time spent keeping the commandments makes up the building blocks of the relationship with Jesus.

The actions we take, the choices we make all reflect our love for God, as we chose to — or not to — observe and obey His commandments.

 

Catholic Girl Journey

In the world

Living in a tangible world, we experience our surroundings by seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting and touching. In His infinite wisdom, God knows this so He has given us the ultimate tangible gift, Himself in the Eucharist!

I’m blessed that my parish has a Eucharistic adoration chapel where I can drop in from 8:30 AM to 10 PM any or every day for a visit. I can go and offer all my fears, questions, petitions and thanks to Him in His visible presence. Seeing the Eucharist displayed in the monstrance gives me focus. That sacred host is, after all, the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus which allows me to tangibly see Him. It also allows me to be open to His love and peace. When I am there sitting directly in front of the Blessed Sacrament, there is a sense of His love washing over me and time seems to stand still.

While the chapel provides the opportunity to encounter Jesus at a time that fits into my schedule, it is when I take time for Mass that I can fully experience Jesus. At Mass we are given the opportunity to not just see Jesus, but to touch and taste Him by receiving Him in Holy Communion. Through this sacrament, He wants to be a part of us and wants us to be a part of Him.

After the Last Supper, Jesus prayed to God the Father: “And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me.” (John 17:22-23) This oneness that Jesus prays for is found in the Eucharist. He also prayed: “I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one.” (John 17:15) Being part of the world is to experience it through our senses.

God gives us multiple opportunities to encounter Him through His creation, but none so intimate as to be in the presence of or to receive the Holy Eucharist. He comes to us so that we can have a relationship with Him that goes beyond the tangible world into the spiritual.

Catholic Girl Journey

Pondering the mystery

I’ve always been fascinated by mystery stories. Growing up I read Trixie Belden and Encyclopedia Brown.  I enjoyed trying to figure out what happened as the story unfolded. As an adult, it seems my search for mystery stories leads mostly to murder mysteries.  While  I’m not fond of reading about a character’s demise, the who-done-it clues from the story do get my mind thinking.

It seems that people like mystery stories of many kinds because there are numerous subcategories in the genre. But with all the creative and varied stories that are out there, are we missing the chance to ponder the greatest of all mysteries: God? While we can enter into a personal relationship with Him, that doesn’t mean we know or understand Him completely. For example, take the Trinity; we can do our best to explain it in human terms, but what is it really and how can it be? Have we ever thought about how a simple petition we make is received by the Trinity? We may pray to any one person in the Trinity, but since all are one, do they need to consult one another?

If the topic of the three persons in one God is too overwhelming, how about pondering something more down to earth: Jesus; specifically His incarnation, death and resurrection. It’s very easy to say that since He is God, that’s how He was able to become man, suffer, die and rise again. But if we chalk it all up to His divine nature, are we missing the opportunity to go deeper into His humanity? In my simple brain, I wonder what He was thinking while His body was developing in Mary’s womb; did he know as each organ and body part was being formed? As a child, did He have to be taught how to read and write, or did His divine nature allow Him to bypass those little adventures? And as for His resurrection, how did he know when it was time to rise from the dead?  After all there is no time and space when we die, right? These may seem like trivial questions, but they are human questions — mysteries to consider.

Do we shy away from pondering the mysteries of God because it’s too overwhelming, or is it that we, as humans, will not be able to solve them in this lifetime?

 

Catholic Girl Journey

Empty and full

On Good Friday, the church is filled with people who come to commemorate the Passion and Death of Jesus. The tabernacle door is open wide and it is empty. The sanctuary candle next to it: extinguished. The familiar visible signs of the presence of God are absent.

We read the Passion from John’s Gospel. The leaders of the Jewish community are filled with hate for Jesus. Full of pride for their position as respected officials, these learned men seek the utter destruction of Jesus. The Roman soldiers are filled with violence, finding and outlet in the abuse of Jesus; mocking him as the King of the insignificant local community. Jesus empties Himself completely, not just by dying on the cross, but in the spilling of the precious Blood and water which flowed from His side. In a surprising fullness of courage, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus claim Jesus’ body and where it fills the void of the tomb that awaited a body.

The tomb could not hold Jesus. He would rise and leave it empty for his disciples to find. The tabernacle cannot stay empty for long, as the Easter Vigil Mass fills it with the newly consecrated hosts. The church is filled with Easter decor of flowers and incense as she welcomes new members to God’s flock. And the song of Alleluia fills the building and echoes off the walls.

The starkness of the Good Friday liturgy heightens our awareness of the Eucharistic presence of God. In the emptiness and fullness it exemplifies the destruction of sin in our lives when we choose our will over God’s will for us. The fullness of Easter fills the empty places, even that of the tomb, with joy of God’s presence among us. The light of Jesus’ example is not merely like that of a candle, but rather like that of the sun on a cloudless day. It reminds us that even if we have to suffer to do God’s will, we can rejoice because Jesus rose from the dead and in the fullness of time, He will come to take us home to heaven with Him.

Catholic Girl Journey

Believe

“Let’s see him come down from that cross and then we will believe in him.” (Mt 27: 42) Why do we challenge God to make us believe in Him? Would those who hurled that comment to Jesus really believe if He did come down?

“Presently, Simon Peter came along behind him and entered the tomb. He observed the wrappings on the ground and saw the piece of cloth which had covered the head not lying with the wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the disciple who had arrived first at the tomb went in. He saw and believed.” (Jn 20:6-8) John did not see Jesus, but he believed. He did not need to see a body alive and functioning to believe, rather it was knowing Jesus during His ministry, being in a close relationship with Him, that allowed John to believe after seeing the remains of the wrappings.

So how do you determine your belief in Jesus as the Son of God? As Bishop Robert Barron puts it, we need to decide for ourselves.  Is Jesus a liar, a lunatic or the Son of God? Logic can only take you so far. Do we, like John, journey with Jesus and see the miracles and hear the kingdom of God proclaimed? Do we get to know Him so that we recognize Him in the details, like the way Jesus left  the head covering cloth rolled up to the side? Are we open to allowing Him to prove He is God on His terms rather than ours?

To acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God is to open ourselves to change. We each have our own faith journey to make, with lots of bumps and rugged terrain along with way. A mustard seed of belief in Jesus is step one towards the heavenly destination. God never forces a belief in Him or for us to change more than we can. The more we believe in Him, the more we are open to His way, the more we are not merely changed, but transformed. Along the way we may find ourselves questioning why from time to time.  The answer is simple: because I believe.

Catholic Girl Journey

Cheers to jeers

They cheered His entry into Jerusalem like He was a king, paving the road with palm branches. Days later they jeered at Him as He was brought before them by the secular government. They requested his execution and mocked Him as He hung on the cross.

Sunday begins the most holy week of the year with Palm Sunday. This is one of hardest liturgies for me, second only to Good Friday. Going from the ultimate high of praise to the lowest of disgust in less than an hour is hard to wrap my brain around. And then to read the part of the crowd in the gospel and having to say those horrid words: “Crucify Him!” It is very easy in 2017 to say that we wouldn’t be like the people in that crowd who changed their minds and attitudes so quickly. But in reality, the worst part, is that I do that on a daily basis.  

It’s not nearly as dramatic as the gospel readings, but when you think about it, every prayer that’s praising God, is like the triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Every time we choose our own way and say ‘no’ to God, we call for His crucifixion. The Glory Be is one of my favorite prayers and I often say it, especially when things are going well. But I am human, and for as many times as I try to do what’s right and what God wants of me, there’s at least an equal number of times that I fall short of that.

It often seems that temptations surround me during holy week. Perhaps I am paying more attention to my thoughts, words and actions after participating in the Palm Sunday gospel. Maybe it’s that I’m trying more because I want to celebrate Easter with as clean of a soul as I can. I do take comfort in the words of Jesus in Luke’s account of the passion: “Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing.” (Lk: 23:34). As in all things, the more you put your time/effort/energy into it, the more you will receive.

May you be blessed with His grace as you journey with Jesus through the triumphant entry and along the way of the cross this holy week.

Catholic Girl Journey

Just Him and me

My eyes closed. My head bowed. I was still. It was just Him and me.

During the homily, the priest mentioned that the founder of the Community of St. John wrote we are most ourselves when we are in adoration of God. That was a rather powerful statement; it resonated with me throughout the rest of the Mass.  The Community of St. John has been an inspiration to many, even aiding in conversions. The humility of all the members is evident in  the way they don’t just kneel, but bow down, even to the point of lying prostrate before the Blessed Sacrament. They know they are the created and He is their Creator.

While I do make an effort to concentrate when I attend Mass, it is very easy to get distracted. This time, I just kept thinking that I was there to adore God. It was the one and only reason to be there. Going up to receive communion, the choir was singing, “Lead me to the cross.” As I was waiting to receive, I was thinking the song was more of a Lenten song than one for a communion procession.  After receiving, I came back to the pew with a smile on my face and tears in my eyes knowing I was a vessel containing Jesus. I do often close my eyes when praying after communion; it helps to block out the distractions. This time was different; closing my eyes heightened my hearing to listen to the song. Now, it seemed very appropriate, as Jesus offered his Body for us on the cross. This same Jesus was present to me in the host as I recited the Anima Christi prayer, “…Water flowing from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me.” It was like I was there at the foot of the cross, praying. It was just Jesus and me.

The brightness of the lights as I opened my eyes brought me back to church. A precious moment with such intensity is a rare occasion. I wish everyone could, at least just once in their lifetime, have a similar experience, feeling Jesus’ presence, not just physically in the host, but spiritually in the soul.

Catholic Girl Journey

Would you follow a star?

Would you follow a star? What if it meant going to another country where you have never been? In the Gospel of Matthew, the story of the astrologers, or the three wise men as they often have been named, begins when they arrive in Jerusalem. They were looking for the newborn King of the Jews, and where else should they look but in the palace of the capital city?

While there are many theories and stories about the men and what could have been their journey, the gospel presents us with just enough information for us to ponder what that means for our own lives. These were men who were knowledgeable; they were able to interpret nature to understand that a king was newly born, and not just any king, but one special enough to warrant their attention and gifts. They were also men who either could, or chose to put their life on hold to make such journey. They were also open enough to be directed by a dream that instructed them to go back home via a different route.

When we look at nature what do we see? Leaves strewn on the ground that need to be raked. A sun shining so brightly we need to wear sunglasses. Snow falling so quickly that we can barely keep up shoveling out our cars and walkways. Instead of looking at nature for signs of God, it often seems that nature is just a nuisance to be tolerated. What if we looked at nature as messengers? Would we be able to correctly interpret the signs like those astrologers? Would we be able to put our lives aside to follow their revelation? Or do we need an unmistakable sign from God like the shepherds received, with a host of angels praising God and telling them where to find the newborn?

The narrative of Christmas involves being on a journey: Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, the shepherds to see the newborn and the astrologers to see the king. Each journey is a faith journey and is different based on the person and God’s plan for them. As we begin a New Year, how can we take these Christmas stories and bring them to life in our own faith journey?