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Walking the Talk

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This is my note to myself at the beginning of 1 John. John is making a point. The community that John is writing to is under attack from false teachers. There were those who denied Jesus was the Christ and those who denied he was a true man. By denying Jesus is the Christ, they deny his humanity in order to ensure his divinity which is docetism, or they viewed Jesus as a mere stepping stone to a higher knowledge of God, which is Gnosticism. While we don’t know the specific heresy that John is speaking against, we do know that for John, true doctrine wasn’t just a point to be discussed or a lesson to be taught; for John, doctrine is to be visible in our conduct.

It’s all there is the beginning of the letter. “What was from the beginning”, Jesus was from the beginning. He is God without beginning or ending. He also is what the apostles have heard, seen with their eyes and touched with their hands. He is true flesh, true man. If we believe both those things, then everything else has to revolve around that belief.

I wasn’t raised in the Catholic Church and I remember going to Vacation Bible Schools or other events that would end in an altar call. I used to go up every time because as much as I wanted to be God’s child, I couldn’t see the evidence in my own life. I expected that when I accepted Jesus as my Savior that somehow, all my character flaws would melt away and I would be kinder, more patient, more loving. I took literally, “No one who remains in him sins.” My logic was I was definitely a sinner, therefore I must not have seen or known him. So despite my mother’s explanations that I didn’t need to go up every time, I did. I kept hoping that it would “take” and I would suddenly be the kind of person I so wanted to be.

What a relief to know now that conversion is not a once and done event. That every day I can experience conversion to living as the saint I am called to be by baptism. Every night, I can examine my conscience, ask forgiveness for where I have failed to live out the doctrine I profess and continue the process of conversion in the new day.

Jesus came to be flesh like us so that like him, we can be children of God. In all our sinfulness, in all our brokenness, in all our misery, God wants us for his own. To do that, he sent Jesus to show us the way. He sends the Holy Spirit even now to guide and comfort us along that way.

So as the Christmas season comes to a close this Sunday with the arrival of the Magi, let us still take time to celebrate, to cherish our status as adopted children of He who created us.

Let us remember too, that we are all called to be saints, children of God. That means that my grumpy neighbor, the person who cuts in front of me in the check out lane, the person at work who just gets under my skin, that one lady who always sings too loud and off-key at Mass, they too are God’s children, even if they don’t know it yet. Living out the doctrine of Jesus Christ, true God and true man in my conduct, means I need to treat them with the dignity they deserve as a child of God, whether I like it or not.

Like John, my conduct needs to speak my doctrine and my doctrine needs to inform my conduct. In other words, dear Lord, please help me to walk my talk.

Merry Christmas!

If you catch Sheryl sitting still, you are most likely to find her nose stuck in a book. It may be studying with her husband, Tom as he goes through Diaconate Formation, trying to stay one step ahead of her 5th and 6th-grade students at St Rose of Lima Catholic School or preparing for the teens she serves as Director of Youth Evangelization and Outreach in her parish collaborative. You can reach her through her through www.youthministrynacc.com.

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Bigfoot, the Boogieman, and the Antichrist

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When I heard a passionate televangelist use the word “antichrist”, my first thought was: “Whoa, calm down, bro. You’re a little too angry for an invisible boogieman.”

 I think the contrast between the vibrant approach of Protestant preachers and the priests at my home church, who normally deliver their homilies in a more reserved and measured fashion, certainly affected my perception of the word… let alone that I have no recollection of any of my local priests saying the word in or outside of the Liturgy.

“The resurrection was the ultimate victory, right?!

If I believe Christ has competitors, does it mean I don’t believe in the power of His resurrection? Are these Protestants just trying to make people scared?”

 That’s the best I could surmise as a young, practicing Catholic. I actually thought it was a word that 20th century zealots created to be combative towards those who are not a part of their church or movement.

But… it appears that John used it before televangelists.

Realizing that there was a big gap between my understandings of the word’s etymology and meaning, I looked in the dictionary of my “Fireside New American Bible” to learn the actual definition:

“(The antichrist) refers to the ruling spirit of error, the enemy of the Gospel, and the opponent of Christ who will precede His Second Coming and the end of the world” (11).

Ok, well… that actually isn’t such a far-fetched idea… Or at least doesn’t seem as incredible as saying there is a boogieman or Bigfoot.

I think you can be a rational believer and affirm that there are legitimate enemies to Christ and the Gospel. There are real competitors to pursuing the fullness of life that is promised to us by subscribing to all that the faith demands and cooperating with grace.

John’s first letter, though written to a different audience, remains germane to the ‘religion’ conversation today. According to a study done by the Pew Research Center, the fastest growing group in the United States is those who claim no religious affiliation. Today, the greatest competitor to the full message of the Gospel is not just a warped version of it, but in fact, an apathy that asserts it is arcane and obsolete. I’d be remiss to not mention that the recent revelation of the Church’s heinous secrets may have also played a part in the decline of membership, but that wouldn’t explain why mainline Protestants suffered an even greater decline.

The question remains:

What do we do?

We encounter each person right where they are and love them, scars and all.

Live the Gospel.
Proclaim Christ with your life.
Radiate the joy of Truth.

During the week, Matthew Juliano is a mentor for individuals who have developmental and intellectual disabilities. He has started a Youtube Series that explains and raises awareness about the work he does, which can be found HERE. On the weekends, he is a drummer for Full Armor Band. You can find more content by Matt and his band at www.fullarmorband.com.

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Do You Even Love, Bro?

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My younger brother is easily 20 lbs. heavier than I am. Pure muscle. His gym is considering changing his billing from a monthly membership to a living-space rent.

By his physique time dedication to exercise and his diet (which sometimes includes putting peanut butter in a blender, yuck), any person could tell that his personal health is of the utmost importance. Even his friends introduce him to others as “G.I. Joe” because of his action-figure-shaped build.

At community events, friends and family will often mistake me for my brother or vice versa because of our facial resemblances. However, there is no mixing up names when we go to the beach because my brother looks like Superman and I like Fred Flintstone.

I love the first reading because it spells out very simply how to recognize a Christian.

“Whoever says he is in the light,
yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness.”
(1 John 2:9)

Now, I go to the gym… pretty regularly. I’ve been enough times to earn two free t-shirts. But I’m not nearly as invested as my brother is (which is plain to see). I haven’t changed my diet. I still eat my ice cream and drink my coffee with loads of sugar. I also only do about 10 minutes on the stationary bike… which pales in comparison to my brother’s workout routine.

I do go to the gym, I do exercise, but is it bearing any good fruit? It is tempting to avoid the work of worship like I do exercise.

“Yes, I’m a parishioner. Yes, I say my Our Father before bed. Yes, I show up to mass.”

Great. Good. Keep doing all of the things. But how is your spiritual health? I like to think the measure of a person’s hate is akin to corporal excess weight;

it is unhealthy and it impedes you from true freedom.

Furthermore, isn’t it an absurd sight to see a lifelong member of a gym for like 40 or 50 years and they are still unhealthy?

I’ve listened to many an atheist and apostate, and a number of them have referred to a particular person or experience, which has turned them away from the church.

Hate is antithetical to the Christian lifestyle.

We cannot be Christian and hate just as my brother cannot maintain his physique and eat a pint of ice cream each night (but maybe on his cheat day though).

Just as my brother is easily recognized for his physique, so too should we Christians be recognized by our love.

If you have hate in your heart… turn to Christ to have it transformed.

Don’t stay there.
Do the ‘work’ of worship.
Live in the light.

During the week, Matthew Juliano is a mentor for individuals who have developmental and intellectual disabilities. He has started a Youtube Series that explains and raises awareness about the work he does, which can be found HERE. On the weekends, he is a drummer for Full Armor Band. You can find more content by Matt and his band at www.fullarmorband.com.

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In Christ, All Will Be Well

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A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be consoled,
since they were no more.

One could have mixed feelings on today’s Feast of the Holy Innocents, the children slaughtered by Herod in an attempt to eliminate the Christ child, whom Herod believed was a threat to his throne. Herod did this out of fear and greed. He was so obsessed with the possibility that anyone might overthrow him as king of the Jews, that even a child had to be killed.

Why so much bloodshed? Not just then, perpetrated by Herod, but even today in the many children killed by famine, by dictators, by poverty and neglect, by abortion, by terrorists and gun-wielding perpetrators of our mass school shootings. These children are lost because of fear, greed, mental illness, indifference, selfishness, or pure evil.

We are just three days past the celebration of the Incarnation of our Lord. Only three days into the joyous season of Christmas when we honor this Feast of the first martyrs for Christ. In the midst of our lights, glitter, presents and family gatherings, music and dancing, scripture reminds us of such sorrow. I find the words of today’s Gospel, recounting a passage from Jeremiah, some of the most heart-wrenching words: “…and she would not be consoled, since they were no more.” It can be said of any of the situations described above.

And how do we make sense of it?

We need to remember who is in charge. God is in charge. We cannot make sense of any of the suffering of this world if we do not have faith. Faith that God will, in the end, make it all right. It may not seem like much consolation, but it is a great consolation. We don’t have to make things OK in our world or anyone else’s. We need only to live righteously, and to turn to Jesus, to intercede for us to heal our hurts and give us the strength of faith to remain strong in the truth that God is in charge, and that, in the end, he will right every wrong ever committed. That is the essence of his mercy, as well as his justice.

In this season of beauty and charm, joyous hope of peace and love, unite any hurt and pain you carry with you today; unite it with the sorrow of the loss of these little ones and take it to the Lord. Through his Incarnation, death, and Resurrection, he has given us the path to peace. In Christ, all will be well!

God Bless.

Jeanne Penoyar, an Accounts Manager here at Diocesan, is currently a Lector at St. Anthony of Padua parish in Grand Rapids, MI. While at St. Thomas the Apostle, Grand Rapids, Jeanne was a Lector, Cantor, Coordinator of Special Liturgies, Coordinator of lectors and, at one time, chair of the Liturgy Commission. In a past life, secretary/bookkeeper at the Basilica of St. Adalbert where she ran the RCIA program for the Steepletown parishes. And she loves to write! When relaxing, she likes reading and word puzzles. You can contact her at jpenoyar@diocesan.com.

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Jesus is Alive

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“For the life was made visible; we have seen it and testify to it…we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; for our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.” [Jn 1: 2-4]

Today’s readings call to us, charging us to rejoice and proclaim the glory of God the Father and God the Son! St. John the Apostle could not have a better feast day to recognize his dedication, faith and calling to the Way. John proclaimed to all the world that Jesus is alive and among us.

I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture…I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Jn 10:9-11

The gospel today takes us to the scene at Jesus’ tomb. It is the profound reminder of the good shepherd laying his life down for each and every one of us. Jesus came into the world as the ultimate gift and sacrifice; all manifested through the unconditional love of God for humanity.

On this third day of Christmas, I feel like singing Hallelujah from the rooftops. My kids advise me otherwise. Instead, listen to the Royal Choral Society or a gospel version by Quincy Jones sing Hallelujah. May your celebration of Christmas continue to be blessed.

Beth Price is a Secular Franciscan (OFS) and spiritual director who has worked in several parish ministry roles during the last 20 years. She is a proud mother of 3 adult children. Beth currently works at Diocesan. You can contact her at bprice@diocesan.com.

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St. Stephen’s Martyrdom

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After celebrating the glorious day of Christ’s birth, the liturgical calendar remembers Saint Stephen, one of the first converts to the Catholic faith and first of many to give their lives in the name of Christ. It’s a sudden and stark contrast between the two feasts, but in that, we see the divine power of Christ and his ability to transform even the hardest of hearts. In the narrative of St. Stephen’s martyrdom, we are introduced to Saul, a ruthless persecutor on a mission to destroy the young church.

However, a few chapters later, we see Saul’s dramatic conversion on the road to Damasus, which was a launching point for him to eventually become one of the most influential saints in all of Christianity. There is no question that Saint Stephen’s Martyrdom had a profound impact on Paul, not only in the fact that he witnessed his death first hand but because of the grace and forgiveness that Stephen asked of God for his executioners.

Saint Stephen is a perfect imitation of Christ. He, like Christ, died praying for his executioners. He did not compromise his faith out of fear of being rebuked and killed. He stood firm in his faith and shared the gospel until his last breath. He didn’t do it because he knew that Saul’s heart would change; he didn’t do it because he knew that his name would forever be known by generations of Christians after him. He did it because he had a profound and deep love for Christ and understood in the depths of his soul that Christ is where salvation is found.

We are fortunate to live in a time and place where we are not killed for proclaiming the name of Christ, but how often are we hesitant to even mention his name for fear of social martyrdom? How often do we fear our family and friends turning their backs towards us because we spoke the truth of the gospel and our culture’s failure to live it?

We know the church’s teaching on marriage, sexuality, life, immigration, and more, but we avoid telling those we interact with about the truth of these issues for fear of being called “intolerant” and “judgmental.” Little do we know that even when we stand firm in our beliefs, God could be working in the hearts of our persecutors just like he worked in the heart of Saul.

Pray today for the intercession of Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Let him be your guide as we approach the new year to stand firm and true to the teaching of Christ and the Church and remember to continually pray for those who persecute you because you stood firm in the name of the Lord.

Saints Stephen and Paul, pray for us.

Hannah Crites is a native to Denver Colorado and graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville. She has written for numerous publications and blogs including the Chastity Project, Washington Times, Faith & Culture: The Journal of the Augustine Institute, and Franciscan Magazine. She is currently working in content and digital marketing for a small web development and digital marketing agency. Connect with her through Twitter (@hannah_crites) and Facebook. Check out more of what she has written at https://hannahcrites.wordpress.com/.

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The Unprecedented God

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My oldest son, Simon, turned six earlier this month. I remember the afternoon we were getting ready to take him home from the hospital. I stood there holding him, absolutely terrified that the nurses would actually let us leave the hospital with this baby. My wife and I had no idea what we were doing. Simon was so helpless, so vulnerable, so dependent on us for everything, and they trusted us to take care of him!?

Christmas was especially meaningful for me that year. The God who made space and time became as helpless as my baby son. He had to learn to walk and talk and feed himself. He got hungry and tired. God became that vulnerable.

In the Garden of Eden, right after they sinned, Adam and Eve saw that they were naked and then made clothes for themselves. They looked at each other’s vulnerable bodies and realized that the other person could be used, and as they thought this they realized that the other person could use them. So they protected their vulnerability.

Our God so humiliated himself that he allowed himself to be beaten, flogged, stripped naked and hung on a cross. All of the crucifixes we have depict Jesus in a nice loincloth, but that is for our own sense of modesty. The God who made the entire universe died with a vulnerable, naked body.

And this prompts the question, why would God do that? Why did God take on our humanity and die for us? The Catechism says, “The Word became flesh for us in order to save us by reconciling us with God” (Catechism 457). Jesus entered into our suffering, sin, and death – and defeated them. He undid all the effects of Adam’s sin. But that’s not the only reason that God became man.

God doesn’t intend to just simply restore us back to the Garden of Eden. He intends to give us far more. “For the Son of God became man so that we might become God” (Catechism 460). God’s original plan was to make us like himself. God made us so that we may participate in his divine nature. Jesus wasn’t God’s “Plan B.” God becoming man wasn’t simply a response to Adam and Eve’s sin, he always planned on becoming one of us in order to make us like himself.

Jesus has two natures, his divine nature and his human nature. God partakes of human nature completely so that you and I might partake of the divine nature. This means that the cross, Jesus’ sacrifice, was a means to a greater end. God didn’t become man just to die for our sins. Rather, Jesus saves us from our sins, restores our relationship with God, so that he can make us like God.

In his letter to the Philippians, St. Paul recites a hymn that captures the humility of a God who would become one of us:

“Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:6-8).”

This is how good God is. This is how much God loves us. This is how desperately God wants to reconcile us back to himself. Why? So that we can share in his divine nature. So that he can transform us and make us like himself. Today at Mass, the Church gives us this beautiful Collect prayer:

 

O God, who wonderfully created the dignity of human nature
and still more wonderfully restored it,
grant, we pray,
that we may share in the divinity of Christ,
who humbled himself to share in our humanity.

Christmas, as Pope Francis said last week, means celebrating the “unprecedented things of God,” or rather, “the unprecedented God.” The pope continued, “Take some time, stand in front of the manger and be silent.” Take some time today to contemplate the mystery of our God who only desire is to make our mind like his mind and our heart like his heart, to make us like himself.

Paul Fahey is a husband, father, and a parish director of religious education. He can be found at his website, Rejoice and be Glad: Catholicism in the Pope Francis Generation.

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Preparation

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Have you ever been to a concert of your favorite band?

You stand in a mass of people waiting for the band to come out. Everyone just wants to get to the front, to be closer. Some are chanting the band’s name while others are quiet in anticipation.

The buzz of excited conversations about where they first heard the band, how much they love this band, and all the facts they know about them. You overhear, “I can’t believe I’m finally going to see them,” as you squeeze through the crowd to get closer to the front.

You put this day on your calendar and count down the days to this monumental event. Some people, maybe even you, drove hours to be here, listening to the band’s music the whole way in order to get into the spirit.

When the band finally comes out, everyone screams excitedly and claps. Everyone sings their songs together as they play and for a couple of minutes everyone is unified and smiling. “I love this band.”

Maybe I’m the only one that feels this way about concerts, but I think this is how we should behave as we await the birth of Christ. Yes, that was thousands of years ago, but each year we are asked to ground ourselves in our faith in order to await the birth of our Lord.

We prepare our hearts and countdown the days until Jesus arrives. We sing Advent songs as we wait and celebrate with a Mass, yet… Where is our excitement?

Everyone is excited about the gifts, but when it comes to the actual celebration of Christ’s birth in Mass, we are disinterested. In Christmas Eve Mass, everyone is yawning, falling asleep, or just plain bored. The majority is half listening and half planning when they’ll have time to wrap the Christmas gifts.

Where is the joy? Where is the love? Where is the glorious realization that God gave up his only son to make him human, to go through our mundane struggles so that he could be sacrificed to pay for our sins? Where is our priority?

On this last day of preparation, ask yourself these questions. Prepare your heart. Remember your God. Remember just exactly what the birth of Christ means.

Veronica Alvarado is a born and raised Texan currently living in Michigan. Since graduating from Texas A&M University, Veronica has published various articles in the Catholic Diocese of Austin’s official newspaper, the Catholic Spirit, and other local publications. She now works as the Content Specialist in Diocesan’s Web Department.

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The Joy of Simplicity

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They say that little babies sense a lot in the womb. Studies have even been done to try to determine just how much babies are aware of and at what age they start to hear sound and feel movement. The human person is incredible, aren’t we? Before we are even able to live on our own we are able to respond to sound, movement, touch, and light.

This is where we find ourselves in the Gospel for today, but John was not responding to any physical stimulus, he was responding to pure grace. We know from scripture that Mary was full of grace and that she was carrying God himself, and because of this truth John could not help but leap for joy. He knew even before he was born of the immense role this other baby would play in his salvation and his response is nothing less than complete gratitude.

When was the last time I truly allowed myself to become weak, dependent, small, and defenseless in the midst of the very same grace that Jesus offers me every day? When was the last time I lept for joy from knowing what Jesus will do and has done in my life? When was the last time I allowed myself to have childlike faith?

I truly ask myself this question as Christmas fast approaches and I hope you genuinely ask yourself this question as well. It is easy to get bogged down with the rules and expectations of faith. It is easy to get swept up in the negative talk and publicity circling around the Church Christ founded. It is easy to make prayer into a chore instead of a conversation with a lover.

But the faith is beautiful in its simplicity. If we ever find ourselves overcomplicating things, it helps to focus on this Gospel from today. God is pure grace, pure gift, and our response to that free gift should be a childlike leap for joy. Not because we deserve it, not because we have earned it, but because Christ bought it for us.

Here in this Advent season, let’s practice jumping. Let’s practice leaping for joy in the midst of grace. When the overcomplication and juridical controversies start to swirl, remember the simplicity of the Gospel. Jesus came so that we might have grace, and that should give us more joy than anything. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

“Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.”
~ G. K. Chesterton

Tommy Shultz is a Solutions Evangelist for Diocesan. In that role, he is committed to coaching parishes and dioceses on authentic and effective Catholic communication. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. Contact him at tshultz@diocesan.com.

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Arise My Beloved

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For my young friends, the personal and living God is unknown, someone else’s friend they hear about from time to time from some especially religious person, but someone with whom they have had no personal encounter.

Into this unfortunate and heart-breaking sense of isolation and distance bursts the “lover”:

“Here he comes
Springing across the mountains,
Leaping across the hills.”

Christmas is our celebration of absolute wonder at the awesomely amazing mystery that the Almighty God has stooped down to our creaturely level and reality and become the weakest member of the human race: a baby.

Though for many, their Christmas amazement may end with comments on how beautiful are the manger set and the Christmas decorations, today’s first reading confronts us with the startling words:

“Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one, and come!”

Jesus wants a personal relationship with us on his terms, which are utterly beyond anything we could propose on our own. The other day I sat in a coffee shop and the two women next to me sounded like they were using one of those lists of 20 questions to start conversations with someone new so you really get to know each other. It was a bit comical, and I’m sure since they were carrying on this exchange for a couple of hours or more, they most likely, in the end, did know a lot of details about each other’s lives.

But Christmas is the invitation for us to “arise,” because we are “beautiful” to God, and he wants us to come with him into the Father’s embrace, the Trinity’s life, and eternal joy.

Today’s readings show us that Christmas is a human and very personal event. In the Gospel, Mary sets out in haste to visit Elizabeth, to bring the Christmas message of joy to her elderly relative. We too, when our Christmas celebrations are over, or maybe before we enjoy the holidays, are called to personally reach out to another human being and share Jesus with them. For Jesus depends on you and me to reach others personally so that they too will hear the amazingly wondrous invitation: “Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one, and come!”

Kathryn James Hermes, FSP, is the author of the newly released title: Reclaim Regret: How God Heals Life’s Disappointments, by Pauline Books and Media. An author and spiritual mentor, she offers spiritual accompaniment for the contemporary Christian’s journey towards spiritual growth and inner healing. She draws from the spiritual tradition and her own lived experience to lead seekers deep within themselves and through their personal history to deepen their intimacy with and trust in God; live with greater joy, peace, and interior freedom; and encounter the Lord in their past and present life experiences to find healing, grace, and newness of life. She is the director of My Sisters, where people can find spiritual accompaniment from the Daughters of St. Paul on their journey.

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The Unsung Hero of Advent

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My eyes lit up when I saw today’s Gospel reading: the Annunciation. I could talk about Mary forever. For the sake of your attention span (and mine as I sit here and write), I won’t. Or, at least, I’ll try not to.

For the longest time, I didn’t know that having a relationship with Mary was even possible. Yes, I knew that she is the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, Queen of Heaven and Earth and all that good stuff. What I was really focused on, however, was cultivating a relationship with God. I didn’t realize that the two could go hand-in-hand until I got to college.

While attending Franciscan University of Steubenville, I joined a Marian household, started praying the rosary at least once a week, did Marian consecration twice, took a Mariology class for one of my electives and so much more. Basically, Mary “stalked” me all throughout college and I couldn’t have been more grateful. She became the perfect model for me in being the ultimate beloved of the Father, in spiritual motherhood and true womanhood, in purity and in obedience to God’s will. I strove for her constant intercession and my faith life as a whole hit a new peak.

Growth didn’t just stop in college, however, as my relationship with Mary actually reached an all-time high this past October. In personal preparation for teaching a youth group lesson on the Blessed Virgin, I felt called to pray a daily rosary. Fitting since October is the month of the rosary, right? During that four-week span, I experienced such indescribable joy and consolation as I grew closer to the Lord through His mother.

What goes up must come down, though, and I fell into a period of spiritual desolation shortly after. Since I was in the midst of such a spiritual high, the desolation felt much deeper, prayer was nonexistent and the Lord seemed so far away.

I knew I wasn’t going to get out of this funk without some help so I went to go see my spiritual director. In the middle of our most recent session, he stopped to ask if I minded praying a decade of the rosary with him, right then and there. After we prayed together, we sat in silence for a few minutes until he asked what the Lord had put on my heart. I told him that those few Hail Marys ended up being the most meaningful prayer I had offered since, well, my daily rosaries and I had no explanation as to why. Looking back on that afternoon, now I know. The peace and the small stirring I felt in my heart was all because of you, Mary. It hasn’t been easy to climb out of desolation but I know I can do it with the help of my mother, your mother, our mother.

Now, you might be thinking, “All of that is great, but what does Mary have to do with the season of Advent?” Everything, really.

Think about it. We celebrate two Marian feast days during this liturgical season – Immaculate Conception (December 8, Holy Day of Obligation) and Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12). We hear the Annunciation passage today on December 20th and, if we are in Cycle B, we hear it again on the Fourth Sunday of Advent. If you look into the Christmas season, we also celebrate the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, on January 1. Another Holy Day of Obligation. None of these feast days, solemnities and readings, etc. are coincidences.

Mary embodies so much of what the Advent season is about – that waiting and hoping and longing. From the moment of original sin in the Garden of Eden, God prepared for the coming of the Messiah starting with Mary’s Immaculate Conception. She would be preserved from the original sin that her Son would save us all from. All throughout her life, she pondered what was in her heart, the heart united to her Son, patiently endured His sufferings and obeyed the will of God to the fullest.

If you need help preparing for the coming of Jesus during these final few days of Advent, I urge you to fly unto Mary. Entrust your heart to her this season and every season. We can learn a lot from her.

Come Holy Spirit, living in Mary.

Erin is a Parma Heights, Ohio, native and a 2016 graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville. She uses her communication arts degree in a couple of different ways: first, as an Athletic Communications Assistant at Baldwin Wallace University and, secondly, as a youth minister at her home parish of Holy Family Church. Although both of her jobs are on complete opposite spectrums, she truly enjoys being able to span the realm of communications. You can follow her on multiple Twitter accounts – @erinmadden2016 (personal), @bwathletics (work) and @HFVision (youth ministry).

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Miraculous Through the Ordinary

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When we receive our writing assignments, we “sign up” by putting our names by the dates for which we want to reflect and respond to the readings. I’d love to be able to say that I thoughtfully and prayerfully choose the readings I will write about, but the reality is that the spreadsheet for signing up usually arrives in the midst of a myriad of other tasks which are all demanding my attention and so I usually send up a quick prayer and try to choose two readings about 2 weeks apart, simply to make it easier to hit the deadlines.

But today, I have hit the reading lottery jackpot! This is one of my favorite, favorite stories in the Bible! I love Zechariah and Elizabeth because they remind me that God works amazing things through perfectly ordinary people. And I love the reminder that God is funny, I mean God is really funny.

Zechariah and Elizabeth are a devout Jewish couple, just going through life trying to do their best. Unfortunately for them, they are not blessed with children. For those of us who have lived through a multitude of people pressing you to have children, asking (what you thought were private and intimate) details of why you don’t have children, and explaining how their third cousin once removed finally got pregnant, we have some small insight into the deep disappointment with which Zechariah and Elizabeth lived. Childless women of Elizabeth’s time were not just interrogated, they were mocked and ridiculed. So it is at this late stage in the game, that we meet Zach and Liz, ‘righteous in God’s sight’ living outside of Jerusalem in the hill country. Not only are they childless, but they are also country folk! My people!

Zechariah is a priest and it is time for his division to head into Jerusalem to perform their regular duty in the Temple-liturgy, he is just doing his job. Zechariah draws “the lot” and is appointed to go into the inner sanctuary to offer incense while the others remain praying outside. Zechariah’s regular duty provides the setting for something extraordinary.

Gabriel shows up. There, standing to the right of the altar of incense is not just an angel, but one of the archangels. Zechariah gets scared.

Just as with Mary, Gabriel tells Zechariah not to be afraid, that his prayers have been heard and a child will be born. However, Zechariah takes a different approach than Mary. Zechariah argues with the angel. How can this be? I’m old and have you met my wife? (How many times do I argue when I should probably just be quiet!?!)

Can’t you just picture Gabriel sighing and taking a deep breath before answering? (I wonder if angels when appearing to us can roll their eyes?) “Listen, Zach, I stand before God and HE sent me to give you this good news, but since you have decided to just give me wordy arguments, you will now be without words until the child is born.” (I’ve taken the liberty of paraphrasing but, see, I told you God was funny!)

One thinks immediately of Abraham and Sarah, and how when Sarah laughed at the news she would have a child in her old age, God named the baby, Isaac which means laughter. Again, pretty funny, God.

From today’s first reading, we think of Manoah and his wife, who though childless, also conceived after a visit from an angel. Their child, Samson was consecrated to God, just as Zechariah and Elizabeth’s child would be. Having a child long after child-bearing years is not a stretch for God, nor is it even something new. In this way, the story of their child, John, takes its place in a long-standing sequence of events all for God’s purposes; the fulfillment of God’s promises.

The stories of these sons; Isaac, Samson, and John all prepare us for the coming of The Son. It also reminds us, that in the midst of the big things, and one could argue that the Incarnation was the biggest of the big, God responds to the smallest of hopes and desires as well. It is in the midst of ordinary people, doing their best to live out their faith on a day to day basis, that God resides and moves. Ahhh, that means there is hope for me yet.

See why I love this story?

Sheryl O’Connor is happiest in her role as wife to Tom. Together, they are discerning Tom’s call to the Diaconate and he is in his Aspirancy year with the Diocese of Kalamazoo. She is the Director of Youth Evangelization at her parish collaborative.