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What Is Truly Important?

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I have recently taken on a few side jobs. Yes, on top of my full-time teaching position. I have done so as a means of stability. Emergencies and bills seem to continue to pile up and overwhelm me. As I love to nanny after teaching hours, I also found another business I love. It’s a network marketing company called Arbonne. I dived into this business for security, but as I attended events, I noticed how established and successful this business is. Many women are attracted by the grand prize of a new Mercedes car and cash bonuses. When they reach a certain level, they can receive a variety of gifts! This is a big deal and motivating for many people.

As I read Today’s Readings, I heard the word of the Lord speak to me and say, “Beloved, I work in you. I work in you through your desires and duties. Strive in your labor for salvation with fear and trembling. Carry your cross without grumbling and questioning. For if you cannot renounce all your material possession to follow me, you cannot be my disciple.”

The First Reading and the Gospel passage spoke this summary of God’s Word to me. My friends, God is not telling us to be living life in fear and shaking. He is articulating to us the gravity of our life’s endeavor, to love and serve Him. We must have our eyes upward. Yes, striving to do well in your work for gracious rewards is nice, but it is not the end all be all. Over and over again, I ask my students in an examination of conscience if they love their toys, video games, makeup, and slime more than they love God?! If you don’t know what slime is, consider yourself lucky…

In all our endeavors of our adult lives, we need our hearts to be grounded in the foundation of what is truly important. In your job right now; in all your side hustles and possible investments, what is your goal? What are you holding as truly important? Is it a luxurious retirement or a new high tech gadget? Depending on how you spend your money and what your intentions are, it is in this deep part of our hearts that we learn to see. We see whether or not we’d be able to leave our possessions to follow Christ. We see whether or not we’d cling to the materials we’ve possessed. We see whether or not we have placed those things above Christ in our hearts.

If you’re striving in the life of ministry and pay, as I am, be assured of my prayers as we work for His Kingdom. If you’re finding new ways or old ways to bring in extra income, know that if your purpose is out of safety and responsibility, you have your eyes on Heaven. Our vocations require prudence and labor. If your heart is more focused on the desire for “things”, let’s redirect it. Ask yourself, “What is important for my heart, mind, and soul? What is important for the wellbeing of my spouse and children? How does God call me into responsibility and prudence?” These questions help us to gain clarity of our heart’s desires. Things are not bad, but we need to make sure they are not at the top of the list. Loving and serving Him should always come first. If we cannot genuinely leave our possessions to take up our crosses and follow Him than something must change.

Briana is a Catholic Doctrine teacher at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel school in Cleveland, OH. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Catechetics from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH and is excited to use these skills to bring her students closer to Christ and His Church. “My soul has been refined and I can raise my head like a flower after a storm.” -St. Therese

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Sharing Is Caring

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We’ve all heard the term “sharing is caring,” but what happens when it’s someone we don’t necessarily care for?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us a parable of a man having a dinner party. The man invites many of his friends and when everything is ready, all of his guests let him know that they cannot attend. Instead of cancelling the dinner, he asks his servants to go out and bring people in from the city streets. Servants let him know that there is still plenty of room, so he asks them to go to the highways and countryside to invite still more people.

Even though I know this parable describes how we should behave, my reaction was pretty much, “Wow I wish that I could be like this guy, but man, I don’t think I could. Goals, though, am I right?”

This knee-jerk reaction was something that I think people can connect to because it comes easily, almost naturally, to want to help those who we love or who have helped us. Our loved ones have been there for us through so much, so there isn’t much hesitation in wanting to help them. This kind of charity is wonderful, but can we honestly say that we would do the same for strangers?

Do we personally extend our charitable acts to those on the street? The poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame are all Jesus Christ in the form of a stranger. Do we personally extend our charitable acts to the those in the highways? Those we pass on the road, meet in gas stations, stand or sit next to on public transportation are all Jesus Christ in the form of a stranger. Yes, even the person who crossed five lanes of traffic only to cut you off as you’re taking the exit ramp.

Anyone can help a friend or a family member, but it takes someone with true faith in God, true knowledge of charity, and true belief in giving hope to help a stranger. So I challenge you to live out true charity.

As winter approaches, consider making care kits for the homeless. Besides water and snacks, be sure to include a new pair of thick socks and gloves. Most importantly, write handwritten words of Christian encouragement and love to let them know that God has not forgotten them.

For more information on what to include in care packages for the homeless, click here.

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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Finding Inner Peace

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We have 3 short passages from the Bible today. As I sit with them, I realize that I have found my peace, just as our psalm today asks us to respond. Hmmm…That has not been true during most of my life, being at peace. “Something is different about you. You seem at peace,” I have heard only recently, over the last few years.

The responsorial psalm says it well for me, “I have stilled and quieted my soul like a weaned child. Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap, so is my soul within me.”  So how do I get there and stay there?

Something that resonates with me comes from one of my spiritual giants, St. Teresa of Calcutta. Mother Teresa said that peace begins with a smile. Her service to others, being present to them in whatever circumstance, has been a beautiful witness for me to strive for, but don’t misinterpret me here. I will probably never encounter abject poverty as she did in Calcutta. I do, however, have opportunities all around me if I choose to see them.

I seem to have gotten ahead of myself though, (which is usually how I come to most of my understandings, a very circuitous route (like Dennis the Menace).

I have learned I must put into my schedule things which force me to slow down, or learn through much trial and error, that the whole world still continues without me. I don’t have to schedule something during what would usually be personal family time, even if it’s something really good.

One way I’ve learned to make time was finding a spiritual director when I began parish work in the late ‘90s. Having a spiritual director allows me time to sit with, struggle and/or notice movements of God and the Holy Spirit in my life. These conversations have graced me by looking at situations with new eyes. They have been oasis times in the chaos of my daily life.

I offer you the following to think about where you find your inner peace.

The Giving Tree  On Being Useless  Shalom (the peace of the kingdom of God be with you).

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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First Comes Love

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The words in today’s First Reading from Deuteronomy are pivotal in the Mosaic Law and are now known as the Shema, part of the monotheistic profession of faith recited by Jews twice a day and the centerpiece of the morning and evening prayer services: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one.

It is interesting to note that for Jews, to recite this prayer is to reaffirm a personal relationship with God’s rule, and with “receiving the kingdom of heaven;” it is often recited at the point of death. It was well-known to Jesus’ hearers and to the scribe who posed the question. Still, his inquiry about which commandment is the most important is a legitimate one, as the rabbis had enumerated 613 precepts of the Law, 248 commands, and 365 prohibitions; the relative importance of these ritual ordinances, precepts, and expressions of natural law was a common subject of discussion. While the Shema was recited twice a day, its importance could be obscured by the fact that it was immediately followed by rules about temporal prosperity and the wearing of tassels.

This scribe seems to ask the question in goodwill, looking for clarity. Jesus affirms that the commandment of primary importance is to love God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength (every power of our body and soul must be put in service to God!). Then he adds something surprising: the commandment of next importance is to love others as oneself (this comes from Leviticus 19:18, but was often obscured by other texts, like “an eye for an eye,” in Leviticus 24:19-20).

What would be surprising to the original listeners is that Jesus brings this law of loving others to the forefront by setting it beside – and making it inseparable from – the need to love God completely, with one’s whole being. It’s important for modern listeners to note the order Jesus gives these: first we must love God wholly, and then our love of others flows from it.

This sums up all man’s duties to God and to others, and the scribe acknowledges the wisdom Jesus has spoken. He expresses a clear understanding of the teaching of the prophets that the interior disposition of charity and fulfilling the moral law were superior to the external ritual of sacrifice; in many ways, this was obscured by the Pharisees’ emphasis on external expressions. The scribe replies that these laws of love are “worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Love is the goal; ceremonial worship is a means. Jesus responds to this summary by affirming that he is not far from the kingdom of God.

When we profess and believe that God is one and that we love Him with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, we draw close to Him and are empowered to bring His love to others by self-sacrificing service.

Loving God is first. Loving others must flow from this first love.

Kathryn is married to Robert, mother of seven, grandmother to two, and a lay Carmelite. She has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE, and also as a writer and voice talent for Holy Family Radio. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and presenter, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Faith Formation, individual parishes, and Catholic ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Learn more at www.kathryntherese.com or on Facebook @summapax.

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Baptized Into His Death

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“For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.”

The past few days of readings have been about death. Today we hear that death is gain and yesterday we heard that we are baptized into Christ’s death. All this death talk seems like a lot of doom and gloom, after all, death is not something that we enjoy, so how can it be something that we gain and something we are baptized into?

Do you remember the movie Alladin? At the end of the movie Jafar, the villain of the film, asks to become the most powerful genie in the entire world. Alladin grabs the lamp and reaches it to the sky as Jafar spirals into his new prison because if you have seen the movie, you know that if you are going to be a genie, you have to accept everything that goes with it. It can seem this way with death too.

As human beings, death is now a part of us, and we have to accept everything that goes with it. When we were born, we inherited the death that Adam and Eve brought into the world through sin. We lost our inheritance of perfect love with God and each other. This seems like something that enslaves us and certainly does not seem like a positive thing. So why all this talk about being baptized into Christ’s death?

Well, death can only be seen as a positive thing in this world through the lens of the cross. If we think of Christ as the new Adam who has come into the world to mend our relationship with God, then it makes sense to be baptized into His death. After all, Christ’s death is the fact that He conquered it and rose. This is what we are baptized into.

St. John Paul II once said, “He (man) is called in that truth which has been his heritage from the beginning, the heritage of his heart, which is deeper than the sinfulness inherited.” What he is saying here is that our inheritance of grace and love of God and neighbor goes far deeper than the inheritance of original sin. What Christ has done on the cross is brought us back into this inheritance that we long for, while destroying the inhertiance of sin through His ressurection. This indeed is cause for great joy.

Let us thank God for the gift of the cross, the gift that allows us to live by the original love and truth that we were given from the beginning, before sin and before death. Amen!

“For we are an Easter people, and Alleluia is our song!”
-St. John Paul II

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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Hope Of The Faithful Departed

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“May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.”

It’s something my family has said at the end of every prayer before we eat since I was very young. I suppose I’d never really given it much thought until I was well into college. What a beautiful thing to do: remember and pray for those who have parted from this world at such a communal time. The ‘faithful departed’ are those who trusted in the mercy of God and hoped for life with Him. Saying that little prayer at the beginning (or end) of a meal is a wonderful way to pray for those souls in purgatory as well as remind ourselves that we are not made for this world, we are made for eternal life in Heaven with God our Father.

In the Gospel today we hear of Christ’s promise of redemption. A promise filled with love and with hope. We are reminded that, from the very beginning of creation, it has been God’s will that we spend eternity in communion with Him. He sent His Son so that we might inherit eternal life and He wants nothing more than to share the joy of His Kingdom with us. Christ Himself is saying this! It isn’t hearsay, we aren’t hearing it third-hand, it is Christ’s message of redemption directly to each individual person. As St. Paul tells the Romans, it is love that makes Christ’s passion and resurrection possible; the love that God has for each and every one of us despite our sinfulness. Through our baptism, we are united with Christ and His plan and are given “newness of life”. Those who live their lives with Christ have nothing to fear in death for they will only be truly united with the One for whom they were made. Death is hope, not despair. After death, we find the fulfillment of our earthly desire for unity with Christ and His infinite love.

So let us not distance ourselves from death and forget that Heaven and life with God is our ultimate goal. May we always keep the faithful departed in our prayers and look forward to eternal life with our Creator.

“Eternal Father, I offer you the most precious blood of the Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, for those in my home and in my family. Amen” -St. Gertrude the Great-

Dakota currently lives in Denver, CO is studying for her Master’s in Spanish, and loves her job as an elementary school librarian. She is engaged to the love of her life, Ralph. In her spare time, she reads, goes to breweries, and watches baseball. Dakota’s favorite saints are St. John Paul II (how could it not be?) and St. José Luis Sánchez del Río. She is passionate about her faith and considers herself blessed at any opportunity to share that faith with others.

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Power, Pleasure, Prestige, Position, Possessions

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The Sermon on the Mount. The Beatitudes. We have heard them so often, seen them on posters, Facebook art, Instagram, even our daily planners… maybe we forget how revolutionary these words of Jesus are.

Jesus signals to the crowd that this is serious and official by sitting down. When rabbis sat down to teach, it meant that their words were official and doctrinal (we still refer to this tradition when we refer to the “Chair of Peter”, from which we receive official statements of the Church). Another signal we might miss because of the translation is the phrase “he began to teach them”; literally translated, this would say “he opened his mouth,” a phrase indicating an official declaration in the ancient world. St. Matthew tells us that Jesus went up the mountain – from whence the Law was given – and then sat down and opened his mouth; all this is to help us understand that Jesus is teaching something in a rather solemn way, from his Heart.

Each statement Jesus gives us in the Beatitudes is intended to overturn our very natural way of thinking, to proclaim that God’s ways are not our ways and that the Kingdom is established deep within every human heart and not necessarily obvious to worldly eyes. Unlike the rich and powerful of this world, who maintain their position by violence and treachery and self-will, citizens of the Kingdom of God are often oppressed and yet blessed. They are poor, mourning the present state of life, meek and insignificant to the world, yearning to live rightly according to the righteousness of God, merciful to others, pure of heart, sowing peace in the world. These words of Jesus turn worldly wisdom on its head. In our own world, we might read them as “Blessed are you if you are not driven by the desire for power, pleasure, prestige, position, possessions, good feelings, etc…Blessed are you if you are kind and merciful like the Father.”

Jesus says something else that is revolutionary: he links his teaching to himself. He does not say, “Here are some good rules, and you will be blessed even when you are persecuted for following them.” Rather, he says, “Blessed are you when they insult and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of ME. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” The connection between what Jesus says and his very PERSON is unique in all of history; we must not simply accept his teaching, we must adhere to HIM. To the Jews, these were very strange words. They should not be strange to us! We must know Christ, adhere to Christ and be transformed in Christ so that we can be “other Christs” and bring God’s love and mercy to others.

This is what the Gospel is all about.

Kathryn is married to Robert, mother of seven, grandmother to two, and a lay Carmelite. She has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE, and also as a writer and voice talent for Holy Family Radio. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and presenter, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Faith Formation, individual parishes, and Catholic ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Learn more at www.kathryntherese.com or on Facebook @summapax.

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O Death, Where Is Your Victory?

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Recently my five-year-old and four-year-old sons were having a discussion about how Jesus was born on Christmas and rose on Easter, and at one point they ask, “So what happened to Jesus on Halloween?” Today, the eve of All Saints begins the Church’s annual three-day reflection on death and the afterlife that will end on the feast of All Souls. On this occasion I wanted to change my son’s question around a bit and ask, “What happened to death because of Jesus?”

Physical death is the moment when our soul is separated from our body. This may seem like the natural end of things, a part of God’s design, but the opposite is the case. Death is evil, that is, death ought not be and wasn’t what God had intended. Human beings were not meant to die. Our souls were not meant to be separated from our bodies and our bodies were not meant to decay. The Catechism says, “Death is a consequence of sin…Even though man’s nature is mortal God had destined him not to die. Death was therefore contrary to the plans of God the Creator and entered the world as a consequence of sin” (CCC 1008).  

The original sin of Adam is what brought death into the cosmos, it is where “death makes its entrance into human history” (CCC 400). And while you and I aren’t personally guilty of this first sin we still suffer the consequences of it because all of humanity is mysteriously united together and all of our sins are related to that original sin. As St. Paul says, “Through one person sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all, inasmuch as all sinned” (Romans 5:12).

But just as all of us are mysteriously united to the sin of Adam we are also all united to the resurrection of Jesus, “For just as through the disobedience of one person the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19). The Catechism says that “Death is transformed by Christ” (CCC 1009). Notice that the Catechism doesn’t say that Jesus corrected or undid death. No, he transformed it. “The obedience of Jesus has transformed the curse of death into a blessing” (CCC 1009). For “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20).

Through our baptism, we participated in the death of Christ. Through baptism, God transforms us into “other Christs” (CCC 2782). Heaven isn’t some abstract “being with God.” Rather, heaven is fully participating in God’s divine nature, “For the Son of God became man so that we might become God” (CCC 460). Heaven isn’t some place we go after we die but rather the completion of our transformation into God, a process of transformation that began at Baptism.

Jesus took death, this evil consequence of our sin, and transformed it into the gateway to eternal life. Because of Christ, we are able to pray like St. Francis, “Praised are you, my Lord, for our sister bodily Death.” Or like St. Paul, “Death is swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55).

So on this eve of All Saints Day, I invite you to reflect on the reality of death. What is Jesus trying to tell us as we face our own death or the death of loved ones? What does our Father want to say to us in the face of the profound fear and sorrow surrounding death? When her brother died, our Lord said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Jesus, give us the faith to believe.

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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A Seed And A Sprinkle

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What IS the Kingdom of God like? To what can we compare it?

If you’ve spent any time thinking about the “ends of things,” the “final things,” the end point of existence, you’ve probably wondered about the Kingdom of God. What is it?

Jesus gives us comparisons that are intended to make us think and wonder even more. He tells us that it is like a mustard seed that a man planted in a garden, or like yeast that a woman mixed into some dough. Hardly images we might choose for the very Kingdom of God!

I’ve always found it interesting that Jesus used comparisons that both men and women of the time could understand really intimately. A man would know about leavening, but not in the same way that a woman who has actually made bread with her own hands would; he knows it in general, she knows the working up close, and the timing, and the need for warmth, and the mistakes that can be made. A woman would know something about planting tiny seeds, but not in the same way that a man who had actually planted it with his own hands would; she knows it in general, but he knows the ground clearing, the furrowing with the finger, the burying to the right depth, the watering, the waiting, the possibility that nothing will grow from this tiny seed.

What both of these comparisons have in common is that they begin small and hidden. They both remain inactive and, in a sense, “dead” unless they are placed in the right conditions to take on a new life, and they need these certain conditions to thrive. When they DO take on new life, they grow continually and expand to proportions much larger and life-giving than their original form would suggest: a sprinkle of leavening makes a whole batch of dough rise in grainy glory to feed the life of others; a tiny, hard, hot mustard seed grows into a bush large enough to support the life of birds in its branches.

The Church grew from the small “mustard seed” of apostles and disciples until it reached the ends of the earth. And the Kingdom of God which is planted in the heart of each one of us is likewise small and hidden, and it is for us to provide the right conditions for it to begin to grow interiorly: self-giving love of God and neighbor. When we do this, growing in virtue and deepening our transformation in Christ, the life of God’s love within us flourishes and becomes life-giving to others!

Kathryn is married to Robert, mother of seven, grandmother to two, and a lay Carmelite. She has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE, and also as a writer and voice talent for Holy Family Radio. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and presenter, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Faith Formation, individual parishes, and Catholic ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Learn more at www.kathryntherese.com or on Facebook @summapax.

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Children Of Light

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Within this past year, I have been diagnosed with narcolepsy & cataplexy. If you’re familiar with these diseases, you know that it is a large cross to carry. I’m still trying to figure out how to carry it and it looks pretty awkward. For those of you who do not know, narcolepsy and cataplexy have a variety of symptoms. Narcolepsy symptoms include; excessive daytime sleepiness, hallucinations, sleep paralysis, and disrupted night’s sleep. Cataplexy is a separate symptom of narcolepsy; people may have narcolepsy with or without cataplexy. Cataplexy is when a person experiences an intense emotion (laughter, anger, shock) and the muscles in their body give out. Their body is going into REM, but their mind is still conscious and aware, they just do not have control and become paralyzed at that moment. It can last for a few seconds up to a few minutes.

You might be thinking, okay this is not a medical blog, what is your point? My point is that sometimes we have certain parts of us or certain crosses we must carry for life. Some of us can let those crosses define us and become our identity.

I love sharing about my new cross and all the ways it is changing my future. I try to look at it positively and as a means of sanctification. Some may say that I’m a “narcoleptic”. Yes, technically that is true, but I’m much more than that.

In Today’s Readings, God has a large portion of truth to proclaim to us today. He proclaims our true identity. My identity is being His dear child of light. Your identity is being His dear child of light. Everything else is just minor details. As God’s children, we must always protect our hearts and minds from all things that lead us away from our Father. The First Reading explains what impurity, greed, disobedience, and immortality cannot be a part of our light. There is no place for things of darkness anymore, He has saved us from the darkness and brought us into His light.

The Gospel today soothes my weary narcoleptic heart. Jesus doesn’t just tell us our identity as His children of light, He shows us and moves us into that light. The woman that has been crippled for eighteen years had probably identified herself by her disability. After so many years of physical pain and hurt, it would be difficult not to. Jesus sees His daughter of light. He calls out to her and frees her from her disability, He lays His hands on her and she is healed. He sees His child. He tends to His child. He proclaims our identity as His children of light. He did not look at her and identify her by her sickness, but by the core of who she is.

I’m not sure how you identify yourself. Maybe if someone asked you to describe your identity you’d list off qualities and roles in your life. You may start with your vocation, priest, mother, father, or single. You may go to the title of your position in ministry or work; pastor, youth minister, teacher, or student. You may have a cross of illness and say; diabetic, narcoleptic, addict, etc. Today’s Word reminds us that these are all just details. We must remember who we are, His beloved children of light. Live in the light, live in the foundation of this relationship of love with your perfect Father. He cares, protects, and guides His children always. Be at peace, we are no longer in darkness. My friends, we are now in the light. Let’s live out our identity. Let us live as children of light.

Briana is a Catholic Doctrine teacher at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel school in Cleveland, OH. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Catechetics from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH and is excited to use these skills to bring her students closer to Christ and His Church. “My soul has been refined and I can raise my head like a flower after a storm.” -St. Therese

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Closed Off From The World

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As I was preparing writing this, my sister left me inspiration in a voicemail. Her words were:

“Today in religion class, they told us to put down our phones and interact. The importance of interaction. And I have to admit, that’s something you definitely taught me. When you’re in situations, you won’t hide by taking out your phone. If someone is there, you’ll be polite, talk to them, and allow them to interact with you rather than shutting yourself off.”

As my brother says, I was shooketh. First of all, can we talk about the fact that someone had to force these kids to socialize without a phone? I knew technology has taken over, but can you even imagine? That blew my mind. The second reason I’m surprised is that a recurring conversation that I have with my boyfriend embodies the complete opposite of what my sister said about me. He says that I am becoming the type of person who is always on their phone and needs to constantly be entertained. The worst part was that when he first brought it up, I couldn’t even deny it.

Still, I know both my sister and my boyfriend are right. I AM the kind of person that loves to interact with people. I love the small talk, the heart-to-hearts, the “so what do you do for fun” conversations with strangers. Sadly, I am quickly becoming the kind of person that placates themselves with their cell phone to avoid looking or feeling awkward, and that makes me so disappointed in myself. And disappointment, as we all learned as children, feels a lot worse than anger.

With today’s technological advancements, we are able to connect with more people than any past generation. Yet today’s generation isn’t doing too hot. Just checking social media (yes, from my phone) on World Mental Health Day was enough to make me realize how many of us feel alone, anxious, or depressed.

You see, when we are constantly on our phones, we close ourselves off to the world. Our phones, literally communication devices, cut off communication before it can even begin. Even when we put it in our pockets, we know we aren’t giving others 100% of our attention because we are thinking about checking our phones.

So we have to ask ourselves: How can we feed the hungry or shelter the poor or clothe the naked or invite the stranger or look after the sick when we are too engrossed in our phones to even see them around us? How can we call ourselves a proper disciple of Christ if we cannot even give the people in our lives the love and attention that they need?

We can’t.

So if you are reading this on your phone, finish this paragraph then put it down. Put it away. Yes, there will be a brief panic, but I encourage you to embrace it. Embrace the silence of your life. Embrace the stillness of your life. Just breathe. Give yourself 15-30 minutes without the worry of emails, of missed calls, and of texts. Give yourself freedom from the constant stress of missing out. Moreover, take this time to experience the world that God set in front of you. Talk to the people made in his image. If there’s no one around, then talk to God. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.

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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Cultivating A Life In The Truth Of Love

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Standing in front of a class of students for 8 hours a day is one big test of humility it seems. I really did believe I was good in that department. I didn’t need any more circumstances to grow in that virtue, but of course, God usually has different plans. When explaining St. Paul’s teaching of the Church as One Body, I decided to do a really fun project. I had each student draw themselves on gingerbread men cutouts. I was very excited for how I envisioned this project to look at completion. I had them write their name and their greatest talent somewhere on their masterpiece. The class period is over and every student cut out their mini- person. The masterpiece I envisioned was to place each of these little cutouts together to form a big puzzle. The cutouts were specifically passed on to me with that purpose from another teacher… Sadly, I laid out each piece and shook my head.  There was no way this was going to work. No pieces fit together AT ALL. Trust me, I tried a variety of ways.

In a tiny moment of humility, which in teaching can also be referred to as humiliation, I decided to put their mini people together “holding hands”. In the hallway outside the 3rd-grade class, we have our poster hanging with the title, “One Body & One Family”. Even though it did not go as planned, my students saw the purpose and the unity. The poster was covered with words that describe a relationship of one body and family. They wrote words such as; respectful, loving, fair, trustworthy, honest, hardworking, accepting, and faithful. It wasn’t what I envisioned, but it definitely was beautiful.

Today’s First Reading reminds us of the call to build up this Body. The Body of Christ is not one to just be in and not do anything. Being baptized sons and daughters of the King requires us to dive deep. This reading tells us that we all have different roles, different vocations and gifts that we must use to build up His Body. It goes on to say that we should not be tossed by the waves. We should not be blown and swept away by the wind that arises, but “rather living the truth in love”. Living the truth in LOVE! This is our call. This is our vocation no matter what part we play in the Body of Christ. Living a life that is proclaiming His truth in love.

Whether you feel you are the heart, the mind, the strength or the arms, or sight of the eyes, whichever part your gift lies must be rooted in love. When we commit ourselves to living this life of love, “the proper functioning of each part, brings about the Body’s growth and builds itself up in love.”

In the Gospel today, Jesus gives another example for us to receive. He compares the working of the Body of Christ to the cultivation of a fig tree planted in an orchard. When it is not bearing fruit, the ground must be cultivated and fertilized so that it may bear fruit.

I look at my “masterpiece” in the hallway of our One Body and One Family. In it, I see my student’s cultivation and building of His Kingdom. Each talent and characteristic they are striving for requires much work. This is the work of our hearts and soul, which lay the cultivated and ready soil for us to bear fruit. What is a talent you have that you overlook? What is one characteristic of a family that you may need to work on? Let’s cultivate our soil, gloves on or off. Let’s be rooted in good soil, dive deep into that water so that we do not stay close to the shore. The Church, the Body of Christ, grows when we commit to cultivating our lives in living out the truth of love.

Briana is a Catholic Doctrine teacher at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel school in Cleveland, OH. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Catechetics from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH and is excited to use these skills to bring her students closer to Christ and His Church. “My soul has been refined and I can raise my head like a flower after a storm.” -St. Therese