The Rudder

Isaiah makes a compelling case for regular reading of the word of God in Chapter 55, verse 10 - 11:

 

"Thus says the Lord: just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there will they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my work be that fores forth fro my mouth; it shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end form which I sent it."

 

 

For many years, as a Catholic, I didn't think I needed to read the Bible.  I was getting "fed" though Sunday mass.  Of course I didn't go back during the week to reflect on those readings. As I began going more frequently to daily mass, I enjoyed getting to know the Bible again. (The daily mass readings take you through most of the Bible in two years.)  Yet recently, I realized that I needed more than the  daily short passages from mass and now read the Daily Office, which includes a fairly lengthy reading from the Bible and then a second reading from a Church father or saint.  The longer readings give me a better sense of the context of the scripture.

 

In the Daily Office this morning, St. Cyprian calls the commands from the Gospel "nothing else than God's lessons, the foundation on which to build up hope, the supports for strengthening faith, the food that nourishes the heart. They are the rudder for keeping us on the right course, the protection that keeps our salvation secure."

 

He also makes a compelling case for reading and pondering the sacred Word give to us by our Lord.

Missing the Chair of St. Peter

Ash Wednesday fell on February 22nd this year and we missed the great feast of the Chair of St. Peter.  This time last year, the feast did not seem significant to me.  But in October, I had the great prevlidge of participating in a mass in St. Peter;s Bascicilla in Vatican City at the Altar of the Chair of St, Peter. The mass celebrated the deaconiate ordination of men from the North American College. 

The reliquary, created by Bernini, contains a relic of St. Peter's chair.  St. Peter's chair represents the authority by which Christ gave authority to Peter.  The man who sits in St. Peter's chair has the authority of Christ.

And by willing ourselves to that authroity, we can turn away from the world, and center our lives on Christ and His will for our lives.  Only by yielding to that authority can I even begin to fulfill the Lenten observances that I had set for myself. 

My Friend Edith

I want to introduce to my friend Edith.  She in known by a number of names.  Born Edith Stein, of Jewish parents in Germany in 1891, she was a revered philosopher.  As a teenager, she no longer practiced her Jewish faith, in spite of admiring her mother's dedication to it.  She considered herself an atheist.  Throughout her studies, she was always searching for the truth.

She was visiting friends and one evening picked up an autobiography of St. Teresa of Avalia.  She read it through the night.  She had found the truth in the Catholic church.  She was baptised in January 1922 and eventually became a leading Catholic speaker and writer in Germany.  As a leader in the Catholic Women Movement, she was well known as Hitler rose to power.

She had wished to enter religious life, and did so in her forty third year.  Entering the Carmel of Cologne,she became Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.  For five years, she joyfully participated in community life while she continued her studies.  For her safety, she was moved to a convent in Holland.  Eventually, she was arrested by the Nazi's, along with her sister.  She was executed at age 50. 

Blessed John Paul II  canonized her in 1997.  It must have given him great joy, since is was a pupil of this saint.

 I am reading her essay titled, ""Spiritually of the Christian Woman" and want to share a little of it with you.  "Woman's destiny stems from eternity. She must be mindful of eternity to define her vocation in this world.  If she complies with her vocation, she achieves her destiny in eternal life."  These are compelling and sobering words from a true disciple of Christ.

In a world that has no view to eternity and a woman is most interested in the next pleasure, or how much she is worth, or what she owns, it is not a wonder why women are so lost today.  But looking at life in the context of eternity, all of those worldly things seem as not.

Thanks for letting me introduce you to Edith.  I hope you take time to read her works.  She is a great friend to have for now and eternity.  I want to leave you with more of her wisdom:
 
"God is there in these moments of rest and can give us in a single instant exactly what we need. Then the rest of the day can take its course, under the same effort and strain, perhaps, but in peace. And when night comes, and you look back over the day and see how fragmentary everything has been, and how much you planned that has gone undone, and all the reasons you have to be embarrassed and ashamed: just take everything exactly as it is, put it in God’s hands and leave it with Him. Then you will be able to rest in Him -- really rest -- and start the next day as a new life."

Self Restraint

                The opening prayer for Mass today, Ash Wednesday, is especially compelling:

                Grant, O Lord, that we may being with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.  Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.

                 Anyone who spends much time in the confessional understands that self-restraint is a major weapon in avoiding sin and the evils that result from sin. How often would I not have to confess a variety of my sins if I would simply use self restraint?

                As I enter this desert that will last forty days, I ask for the grace to be faithful to my Lenten observances, that my suffering will benefit others, that I rejoice in my time of prayer and that I gladly give to those in need.  Let my faith become stronger, my prayers more robust, as I move closer to our Lord.  Let me know that I cannot complete my commitments without relying on my Lord.

                May I understand that I battle against evil each day and my prayers, fasting and almsgiving will strengthen my resolve to choose good.  May I be ever grateful to God the Father for the loving gift of His Son.  May I be thankful to Mary for her willingness to said, “I will”.

Going away with God this Lent

                 As I have been contemplating various potential actions for this impending Lenten season, the one theme I keep coming back to is:  How can I (and my family) be closer to our Lord on Easter through our Lenten observances.  With just a few hours to go before Lent begins, I must say that I am still pondering this question.

                A visiting priest at our parish suggested that we begin with a blank slate.  In other words, forget what we “always” give up or offer and begin thinking anew about how the big three, prayer, fasting and almsgiving can give us a new viewpoint.

                The fact is that I need to find time to “go away with God” during this time.  My life is filled with work, family and volunteer activities, so much so that meeting, events and obligations sometime crash into each other.   This Lent, I need to find time to stop and listen to Him.  Ideally, I would go away, physically, but that is not practical in the next 40 days.

                I will commit to beginning my day with a formal morning offering, dedicating each day to the Lord.  In fact, I will memorize this morning offering, so by the end of Lent, I won’t have to find the prayer on paper or on the internet.

                I will not drink coffee for the next 40 days.

                I will blog each day.  This means that I need to find something worthwhile about my relationship with our Lord each day, and then take the time to think and write about it.  Many days, am a struck by a passage of scripture or something I have read, but the day disappears before I have a chance to clearly write about it.

                I will read, with my family, a Lenten book each night after dinner and share thought that we might have about the reading and prayer.

                Each week, I will participate in one act of worship outside of my normal routine.  This may include Stations of the Cross, Adoration or participation in a Lenten prayer service or day of reflection.

                And I will use a meditation on Mary to grow closer to her during this Lenten walk.

                I will reach out to the poor and homeless during this period for almsgiving.         

                I pray that these activities may bring me closer to our great and mighty triune God.  May my will conform to His will for my life.  May I be a brighter light in this world on Easter morning because of the time I spend away from the business of life, in the peace of the Lord this Lent.  

Pure Gift

                I recently heard someone refer to an experience in his life as “pure gift”.  I may have heard this term before, but didn’t pay attention to it.  This time, I halted in my tracks and need to ponder the meaning and search my life for time of pure gift.

                The “pure gift” received by this individual was a vacation.  He was invited to go on vacation by a friend who had been given the use of a timeshare for a week.  Out of the blue, someone offered him the use of airline miles, if he ever had a need. The week was filled with great weather, terrific friendship, favorite activities and joy. 

                Pure gift is the way I now would describe last year for my family, although it was difficult to think of unemployment as any sort of gift.  If you read this blog, you will know that my husband was unemployed for most of 2011, being laid off in early January just three days short of his 21^st anniversary. Although he received a generous severance package, the shock of not going to work was difficult.    

                By early April, it was apparent that this search was going to be much more difficult than originally thought.  We enjoyed the time together as a family.  He attended every one of our son’s basketball, baseball and football games and became involved in a men’s faith group at church.  He also spent much time with his parents, who live with us.  And the two of us had more time together than we have had since early in our marriage.

                In June, the job search took a back seat to my father in law’s failing health.  My husband had to take my father in law to the emergency room on Father’s Day.  We didn’t realize that he would not return to our home.  Weeks of hospital care, interspersed with re-hab in a nursing home, ended in early August when his father died.  Without a job, my husband was able to spend many hours with his father and mother during those weeks.

                September came, and we were hopeful that a job would be just around the corner. Fortunately, my business had picked up considerably, which meant we were able to take a smaller amount out of saving each month.  Although he had a number of interviews, including some second interviews, in early December, we began to look at our savings, to determine where we would take money from to live.

                Then, on a Sunday, he had an interview.  By this time, I wasn’t paying too much attention to first interviews.  It was good to see my husband in a suit as he headed out the door.  He received a job offer the next day.  When he had me listen to the voice mail, I just looked at him.  Just as suddenly as he became unemployed, he was employed.

                He has been back to work for two months.   I am so thankful for the time of unemployment.  We still had some money left over from his severance package, he walk the last days with his father in a way that would not have been possible had he been employed.  His relationship with our son and with me is strong and his relationship with God grew exponentially. 

                Truly this is pure gift.

Tebowing

                        I’m not sure how many hours of broadcasting there were on TV, in preparation for the Super Bowl.   My son was watching some of it and as I passed through the room and there was another story about Tim Tebow.  The analysts were deciding how the “Tebow” phenomenon will continue, or if it will.  One reporter made the point that stories about Drew Bledsoe or Tom Brady would be uninteresting because they are such consistent players. With Tim, he makes spectacular plays, both good and bad. 

 My knowledge of Tim and his rise as a college and then pro football player is slight.  It is hard not to realize that he is a true believer in Christ and that he wants to use his life to bring others to Jesus.   It seems as if “Tebowing” has become a national pass time.  In my estimation, he is very consistent when speaking about his faith.  This makes him a lightening rod.  Those who believe, love his testimony. Those who aren’t sure what they believe, or don’t believe have a variety of reactions

                There are many athletes who make public signs of their faith.  They may cross themselves or point to the sky after a play.  Many talk about their faith and its importance.  Tim is more vocal than most.  He appears to live it every moment of every day. 

                 The analysts on this show missed the point completely. In the long run, I do not think it matters to Tim if he is a great quarterback, if he stays in Denver or goes to another team, or even if he makes it to another round of the NFL playoffs.  Success for Tim will not be defined by sports statistics, or by Super Bowl rings. His success is in the number of people he has been able to reach with his message of faith with his current platform.

                My theory is that years from now, it will not matter if he is playing football, is a missionary in a third world country or is selling cars. His success will be in living every day for his Lord.  Something that each of us can also accomplish in the small and big things we do each day.

                In the meantime, sports analysts around the country continue to show video of him thanking God for his success.  He continues to get his message across!

           

 My knowledge of Tim and his rise as a college and then pro football player is slight.  It is hard not to realize that he is a true believer in Christ and that he wants to use his life to bring others to Jesus.   It seems as if “Tebowing” has become a national pass time.  In my estimation, he is very consistent when speaking about his faith.  This makes him a lightening rod.  Those who believe, love his testimony. Those who aren’t sure what they believe, or don’t believe have a variety of reactions

                There are many athletes who make public signs of their faith.  They may cross themselves or point to the sky after a play.  Many talk about their faith and its importance.  Tim is more vocal than most.  He appears to live it every moment of every day.

                 The analysts on this show missed the point completely. In the long run, I do not think it matters to Tim if he is a great quarterback, if he stays in Denver or goes to another team, or even if he makes it to another round of the NFL playoffs.  Success for Tim will not be defined by sports statistics, or by Super Bowl rings. His success is in the number of people he has been able to reach with his message of faith with his current platform.

                My theory is that years from now, it will not matter if he is playing football, is a missionary in a third world country or is selling cars. His success will be in living every day for his Lord.  Something that each of us can also accomplish in the small and big things we do each day.

                In the meantime, sports analysts around the country continue to show video of him thanking God for his success.  He continues to get his message across!

Delightful Findings

There have been times in my life when I have spent frantic moments searching for vital items that have been misplaced. I’ve learned to know where my car keys are on Sunday night to avoid a frenzied search for the keys, that I may not have used all weekend, in order to get my son to his car pool on time on Monday morning.

Then there have been times when I have lost something more valuable. An earring or a favorite book, realizing that the chance of finding them are slim. That is what happened to my favorite Rosary a couple of years ago.

As a convert to Catholicism in the 1980’s, the instruction about Mary was weak and my devotion to her was nearly non-existent. During a conversion phase a few years ago, my penance involved praying the Rosary. Since I didn’t have any idea how to pray this Marian devotion, I did not complete the penance in Church, but came home and opened a dresser drawer.

In side a blue box was a beautiful crystal Rosary that my in-laws had given me several Christmas’ before. There it was, just waiting for me to pray with it. It had a small amount of water from Lourdes in it and I used it faithfully for many months. During that conversion time, I receive two other Rosaries as gifts. The one I used the most was the one that was with me! But my favorite was the Lourdes one.

There was a time when I could not find it. I remember last using it at the gym and check the lost and found. It was not in there. It was so pretty, that I could imagine someone wanting it, even it they didn’t realize its use. I could not find it in any of the usual places. Chalking it up to one of those valuable items that I would not find, I prayed that whoever found it kept it somewhere safe and that Mary was with them.

I continued to pray the Rosary, but was not able to find a favorite to replace the lost item. I looked in Catholic bookstores and searched on the web to no avail. I missed it because it was the one that was with me as I came back to God. As I planned my trip to Italy last fall, the only thing that I wanted to buy was a new Rosary. Perhaps I thought I could find one that looked just like it.

Assisi was our destination on the third day in Italy. I had been to Assisi before, and while I have a great respect for St. Francis, I do not have a great devotion to him. I walked into the lower church and began to look at the fresco’s of Christ’s life. In a place that I would have least expected it, I found myself engulfed in God’s loving embrace.

Once I finished my prayers, I reluctantly left that gorgeous church that so beautifully tells the life of Christ in paintings. I wanted to find something that would remind me of this precious time spent with God. In the gift store, I found a Rosary. It was nothing like the one I had lost, but maybe that was the point.

I kept this new Rosary in my car and used it often. Six weeks after my return from Rome, I was preparing to pack for a trip to Michigan to celebrate Thanksgiving. I needed a bag for the books I was taking. As I peaked into a canvas bag that I had not used in some time, I gasped out loud. There was my Rosary box containing the crystal Rosary that I had thought I had lost! After bowing my head for a pray of thanksgiving, I reached inside the bag, opened the box and kissed the crucifix.

What a delightful finding! This beautiful religious instrument had quietly sat, waiting for me to come across it. It has been several weeks since this discovery and I still get a thrill from praying with it. Finding it has me wondering what other delightful surprises God has waiting for me, if I will just take the time to listen and respond.