Joyful Trust

          On this, last day of the papacy of Benedict XVI, I can’t but be filled with his words from yesterday’s general audience.  I have truly loved the messages that he has given in his audiences and have learned much.  One of my favorite books by our Holy Father comes from his audiences.  Holy Men and Women from the Middle Ages and Beyond is a compilation of audience from 2010 and 2011.  It is beautifully written with care and love for these men and women who loved God above all else.

          Yesterday, in just over 250 words, this beloved Pope offered a beautiful farewell.  He stated that he is “personally grateful for (the Lord’s) unfailing love and guidance in the eight years since I accepted his call to serve as the Successor of Peter.”  He referenced that “we have all been called to review our joyful trust in the Lord’s presence in our lives and in the life of the church”.  These words are very private and reveal the depth of his love for and reliance on Christ.

          He makes the point that he is not leaving us in that he will be joined with us in his prayers for the church and he humbly asks us to pray for him, the new Pope and the church.  Note that he doesn’t ask only for prayers for him, but his successor and the entire church.

          His retirement is the “fruit of a serene trust in God’s will and a deep love of Christ’s Church”.  He said so much said in so few words.  It was prayer that led him to make this difficult decision serenely.  How often is serenity part of our world today?

          Today, at 2pm local time, the time that the Chair of Peter will become empty, I will be joining colleagues in prayer and then in a champagne toast to our Pope emeritus.  I wouldn’t be surprised if I shed a tear or two.

          If I have learned one thing from the past two papacy’s it is that God, with the Holy Spirit’s guidance will give us just who we need to lead the church.  Joyful trust – that is what I have in our Lord and in the man who is the Successor of Peter.  Thank you Papa Ratzinger! 

Since When is Lust No Longer a Sin?

In the past couple of years, I have become very selective about what I read.  Other than reading the Food Network Magazine subscribed to by my mother-in-law, I rarely read a magazine.  I find the content and visual images of many women’s magazines to be a place of temptation – even in the grocery line.  And so I “avoid the near temptation of sin”.

Recently, as I was waiting for my fingernail polish to dry in a salon, I perused the magazines. I avoided Star, OK, In Touch and even People for an edition of Redbook.  What harm could there be in reading this mainstay of women’s magazines?  As turned the pages and skimmed the copy, I decided to read an article titled the Best Love Stories of 2012. (Note that the article clearly touted love, not sex or erotica.)

The article mentioned the royal couple William and Kate who are sweet in public and have been horrified at having their private moments splashed across the tabloids. I turned the page to find an article on the “Smorgasbord of eye candy this year” avowing that women are “loud and proud in our appreciation”.  There was a photo of a famous male in a skimpy bathing suit and the article suggested another man to “Google if you want to get the home fires burning - but don’t do it at work”. The take away was that “your husband doesn’t care what’s got you so worked up, as long as he reaps the benefits”.  I actually read the sentence twice.  I don’t know about other men, but my husband would not be happy knowing that I am fantasizing about another man while we make love.

The next article about “love” touted the effect a soft porn novel has had on martial sex, stating that the movie version “can’t come fast enough”.  Since when is lust no longer a sin I thought as I slapped the magazine shut and moved it far away from my seat.

This mainstream women’s magazine is promoting activity that not only diminishes the value of the intimate marriage relationship, but promotes sinful behavior as something to boast about.  I closed my eyes and my mind ranted at the outrage of including this material in an article about love.   A Casting Crowns song came to mind.  I can’t remember its name, but the lyrics include “be careful what your eyes see”.

The harms of lust are more far reaching than our current society will admit.  When sex is a form of recreation, not an act of creation or comfort, it damages the love between wife and husband.  And we, the women of today, have bought into the current culture’s theme that sex is far more important than love. 

We do need to be careful what our eyes, the eyes of our husbands, and the eyes of our children see.  How much of the crumbling family structure can be blamed on confusing love with erotica?

Denying Self and Following

Denying Self and Following

               I don’t typically re-blog something that has already been written, but as I was reading before bed last night, this quote from Blosius the Venerable really spoke to me and I want to share it.  Blosius was a Benedictine and Abbot.  He lived in the 1500’s and was a monk and mystical writer. His formal name is Father Françoise-Louis de Blois.  This excerpt was from the March edition of Magnificat on page 194.  For more information about the Magnificat publication you can click on www.magnificat.com.

           

      Oh, when will I perfectly die to myself and be free from all creatures? Oh, would that I were truly meek of heart and humble; truly poor and naked in spirit. Grant, O Lord, that by perfect self-denial, perfect mortification of my vices I may arrive at perfect love of you. You have commanded that I should love you: give what you command and command what you please, Grant that I may love you with my whole heart, my whole mind, with all my powers, with my whole soul. Deign to heal and to reform the powers of my soul, broken and corrupted by sin, by the powers of your most hold soul. Free my soul from all distracting cares; strip from it the images and forms of perishable things. Grant me to dwell with you in the sanctuary of my soul; grant that by steadfast thought, clear knowledge, and fervent love I may always be able to flow into you.

Choosing Life

               On this second day of Lent, the first reading for the mass this morning was from Deuteronomy.  Moses says, “I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the Lord, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.” Many times when I read this reading, I think about the big life issues. Decisions made by men and women to bring a new life into the world, or to abort the infant. Or end of life issues that ignore the individual’s right to a natural death.

               The homily at mass this morning broadened the context. The priest preached on the decisions we make each day to follow the cross, as preached in today’s gospel, or to go our own way.  He made the point that choosing to follow the cross and die to self is seems like an extreme and foolish way of life in today’s culture.  And by following the cross and making decisions each day in accordance with the precepts of our God, we choose life, over and over again.

               Today’s reading also brought to mind a friend of mine.  She is one of a dozen or so young people who God has brought into my life in the past few years. We worked together for a short time and have kept in touch over the years.  She and her husband have not been able to conceive a baby.  Although they continued to have hope, I knew that they were also going to try to adopt.

               Last spring, I received a Facebook post with the picture of her little boy.  I had lunch with the two of them on Monday and learned the beautiful story of the adoption.  They brought the baby home from the hospital on his third day of life. They learned only 18 hours before they met the baby that they would be parents.  They spent that evening calling family and friends both to notify them and to ask for help.  They shopped to buy the essentials that night.  While they were at the hospital meeting the birth mother and the infant, friends were assembling the crib at their house!

               They had a number of names for the baby, but first asked what the birth mother had named the baby.  It was not a name on the list, but they liked it and decided to use it as his first name.  The baby is now 9 months old and he is beautiful.  He loves music and seemed enchanted when I sang Itsy, Bisty, Spider to him.  (Or he was just putting up with another crazy lady who was singing to him!)

               How tragic it would have been if he had never been born.  And so each day decisions are made to choose life or to choose death.  Those to choose life, such as the decision made by my friend and her husband can bring great joy. Some may include suffering, or at the very least bending ones will to that of the Lord.   When life is chosen, it keeps us on the path that God has designed for us.

I Love You Pope Benedict!

               I woke up on this Monday morning with a list of things to get done.  Later today, I will see a friend that I have not seen in a year.  But my morning routine came to an abrupt halt at 6:58 am when I received an email alert from the New York Times about the resignation of our beloved Pope Benedict XVI.  How can I not take a few minutes to reflect on the effect that this great man of God has had in my life?

               He is only the second Pope that I have known.  In my senior year of college, John Paul I died just weeks after being elected Pope.  Even as a non-Catholic, I became fascinated with the election process in the fall of 1978.  Being a political science major, the process, which was nearly 2000 years old, was engrossing.  In fact I’m glad there wasn’t anything like CNN as I may have skipped class to watch!

               I was waiting for a flight at O’Hare airport when I learned of Pope John Paul II death.  At that time, my faith life was minuscule and I was curious, but wary of this new German Pope.  The months flew by and soon we learned that Pope Benedict would come to Washington DC. My then 10 year old son immediately asked if we could see the Pope.  My internal reaction was, “We aren’t good enough Catholics to see the Pope”.  However I responded, “We will see.”

               And we were able to attend the mass at Nationals Park.  When our pastor asked for people to submit their names if they wanted to attend, I wrote a letter.  When I got call, I felt like we had won the lottery.  What I didn’t realize was that the Holy Spirit was busily at work over these months, preparing me to be open to God’s call back to him later that summer.

               It was an inspiring day to see priests and bishops cheered like rock stars.  The liturgy was beautiful and the Pope had a message that made me stop and ponder the insignificant amount of time that I gave to God.  Just two months later, God swept me back to him in the most marvelous manner.  During this re-conversion  I have learned much from reading what this holy man of God has written.  He writings will be with the Church for the ages.

               When I was in Rome 18 months ago, we walked to St. Peter’s Square the first night we arrived.  The lights were on in the Pope’s apartments.  I had this childlike delight when his lights turned out and I whispered “Good night Pope Benedict” as I strolled thought the streets of Rome back to the hotel.  I love listening to him speak English with his adorable German accent.  When he met with the young people in England, I was taken aback at the huge smile, reflecting the great love his has the youth of the world.

               I have watched as he has slowed down in the past couple of years.  I have prayed that the Lord give him the physical and mental strength to continue his great work. I admire him even more for making this difficult decision.  After February 28, we will continue to benefit from his continual prayer.  I love you Pope Benedict and you are in my prayers!

Actions of the Holy Spirit

               Last week, my attention focused on events that came together in an interesting way. I stopped and pondered the connection. How often has the Holy Spirit been active in my life when I was not aware of it?

              

                On Thursday, my son turned 16.  Some years I am focused on find the right gift or gifts for him.  Other years, I prepare when I shop for Christmas, since his birthday is in January.  This year, the day arrived without a package wrapped. (Part of the reason is that he is a Baltimore Raven’s fan and he is hoping for Super Bowl Championship clothing this coming week.)

               As his birthday approached this year, I was filled with wonder at the gift of being a parent.  A variety of my favorite memories played over and over in my brain.  I remember those first weeks and my husband and I navigated our new roles of mom and dad.  Visits to the zoo, our vacation to Yosemite when he, as an 18-month old, carried a stick in every picture, reading the entire series of Magic Tree House books as a family and watching him play baseball. 

               As he is on the cusp of adulthood, I wondered at the wisdom of giving my son to God when he was just days old.  At that time in my life, I believe in God, but didn’t have a consistent prayer life.  The first night that I but him to sleep in his room, before I put him in the crib, I held him, said an Our Father in his ear and traced a cross on his forehead. And he I said something like, “God, I can’t protect him from all of the dangers of this world, only you can.   Please protect him, he is yours.”  I kissed him on his forehead and laid him in the crib.  That began a pattern of praying an Our Father with him every night until he began going to bed by himself.

               As I listened to the priest’s summary of Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, I realized that the day I committed my son to God was close to, if not on this feast.  It has its roots in a day of purification and of presentation and consecration.  I had no idea that this feast even existed at the time.  I can only believe that it was the Holy Spirit that encouraged me to entrust my son to God.

               As he begins to drive in the next year, look at colleges and spends more time with friends, I will continue to pray for his protection and for him to have the wisdom to follow God’s plan for him. May the Holy Spirit continue to act in both of our lives, even when we aren’t conscious of his action.