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The Little Way of Greatness

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“The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of its scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness.”

This is one of my favorite quotes from St. Therese. We celebrate her feast day today.

By all intents and purposes, Therese was not on the trajectory to be a Doctor of the Church. She was a spoiled, youngest child. She got what she wanted, when she wanted. She was raised by, and alongside, literal Saints who adored her and waited on her hand and foot. Yet, little Therese learned too soon what it meant to suffer: she lost her mother at a young age, fell deathly ill, and said goodbye to each of her sisters as they entered the convent. Therese grew up with a holy boldness that women everywhere could learn from: she believed in her vocation and she fought for it, all the way up to Rome.

Therese goes against everything our modern society equates with power, yet she is one of the most revered female Saints in the Catholic Church. She never traveled the world; she never found a cure for cancer or invented a new technological advancement. In her quiet cloister in the sleepy town of Lisieux, before she even reached the age of 25, Therese changed the face of morality. She was simply herself; she didn’t try to be anyone else. She modeled the great paradox: we can accomplish great deeds in our littleness. She paved a way for us to strive for holiness by doing everyday activities with love.

From the Little Flower of Lisieux, we learn the vital importance of rejecting the lie from Satan that we have to accomplish great things (in the eyes of the world) to achieve greatness. We learn to reject the lie that we have to attain a certain degree of social status or age in order to be a Saint. And we learn that, in the end, it matters little what we do, but that it was done in love.

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Sarah Rose hails from Long Island and graduated from Franciscan University in 2016 with a Bachelor’s in Theology & Catechetics. She is happily married to her college sweetheart John Paul. They welcomed their first child, Judah Zion, in 2019. She is passionate about her big V-vocation: motherhood, and her little v-vocation: bringing people to encounter Christ through the true, the good, and the beautiful. She loves fictional novels, true crime podcasts/documentaries, the saints (especially Blessed Chiara Luce Badano), & sharing conversation over a good cup of coffee. She is currently the Coordinator of Young Adult Ministry at St. Cecilia Church in Oakley, Cincinnati. You can find out more about her ministry here: https://eastsidefaith.org/young-adult OR at https://www.facebook.com/stceciliayam.

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Before You Rest Your Head

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 “The Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head…”

I don’t know about you but I am happy when I can lie down in my bed at night. I’m safe. I’m warm. I’ve eaten during the day…. And there is nothing wrong with that.

My heart, however, wonders at these words of Jesus.

“Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.”

Jesus is not sugarcoating his expectations of those who would be his disciples. He asks for everything. To give up every security. Every excuse. To make a complete break with all loyalties and attachments that hinder our relationship with him being total, complete, entire.

“No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.”

To follow Jesus we have to abandon everything that we have put into building up a “kingdom” that revolves around us in order to take up residence and to minister in God’s Kingdom.

What is this “everything” that we need to abandon? If we confine ourselves to the words and events presented in the Gospel today we can feel that we are pretty safe. We probably aren’t going to be asked to be homeless if we follow Jesus. If our parents are sick no one is going to begrudge us time off for caring for them, even if we are in full-time ministry. And as to saying good-bye to our family at home, we have a thousand ways of staying in contact now with them between texting and video calls, and watching their lives play out before us daily on our Facebook feeds. We probably won’t miss a minute of their lives even if we are a thousand miles away.

The call of the “all” woven into this Gospel reading can be unconsciously reduced to a problem that the people speaking to Jesus that day had to deal with.

So what is the “all” that we might be called to abandon in order to follow Christ?

In these days of protests and the struggle for racial justice and harmony Pope Francis gives us one direction where this “all” might actually force us into conversion if we wish to be Jesus’ disciple.

In his encyclical, Joy of the Gospel, he spends over twenty paragraphs reflecting on some of the challenges of today’s world (nos. 50-75). As I read these numbers I could feel Jesus pointing out the stark options I had before me if I wished to follow him:

“You need to say no to an economy of exclusion if you wish to follow me. Think about where you shop. What are your needs. What you can’t do without. Go first and say no to the new idolatry of money and then come and follow me. Those decisions that put money before people….employees, the disenfranchised, the people “in the way” of progress. The one who contributes to and profits from a financial system which rules rather than serves is not fit for the Kingdom of God. Only after committing yourself to counter policies that promote inequality and spawn violence, can you come and follow me.”

As I listen to these invitations in my heart, I begin to shift in my seat. This hits home much more than “he who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

The “cost” of following Christ today, the “all” that must be abandoned in order to be fit for the Kingdom of God is, in one way, the whole system we keep propped up—personally and as a society—to make sure that we are taken care of at the expense of others. The cost of being Christ’s disciple is detachment from prejudices, entitlement, wealth, prestige, fixing the system so we get ahead, carrying forward and acting out of polices which imprison individuals and peoples in situations of inequality, poverty, and violence, excluding others, turning a blind eye to those caught in the spiral of poverty so deep that they are excluded from the table….

We all know at least one of these situations. We might find it in our heart, in our families, in our parishes, in our cities, in our schools….

Now is the time to “put our hand to the plow” and make a decision to “say no” to systems that have formed us through our life, perhaps, but which now we know are so totally inadequate for life in the Kingdom. The world needs to take a giant leap forward in respecting the human dignity of each of God’s children.

“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).

So I may still go to sleep tonight, safely in my bed. But my heart has been disquieted by Jesus who calls me as his disciple to be the voice of love in this world, to choose humility, to repent of prejudice, to push others ahead of myself, praying that they will have more than I, determined to address any situation of inequality I encounter in my personal circle.

And you?

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Sr. Kathryn J. HermesKathryn 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 is the director of My Sisters, where people can find spiritual accompaniment from the Daughters of St. Paul on their journey. Website: www.touchingthesunrise.com Public Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/srkathrynhermes/ For monthly spiritual journaling guides, weekly podcasts and over 50 conferences and retreat programs join my Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/srkathryn.

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Angels

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It seems many of us don’t give angels a lot of thought. When we do think about them, we tend to think about them in either a childish way (“Angel of God, my guardian dear…”) or in a superstitious way (as evidenced by most books on angels found on the shelves of your local bookstore). Maybe the scant information about angels causes us to dismiss them as a quaint or useless fiction. But what is true?

Today we celebrate the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the three archangels mentioned in Scripture by name. Based on the Scriptural references, we actually know quite a bit about angels:

  • they are created beings (Psalm 148:2-5)
  • there are many, many angels (Daniel 7:10, Apocalypse 5:11, Psalm 67:18, Matthew 26:53)
  • they are of a higher order than humans (Psalm 8:6)
  • some of them turned against God and fell from grace (Genesis 3, 6, Apocalypse 9:11-15, 12:7-9, Luke 10:18)
  • these evil angels tempt humans to destruction (Matt 25:42, 2 Peter 2:4, Ephesians 6:12, 2 Corinthians 11:14 and 12:7)
  • they minister to God (Daniel 7:9-10; Tobit 12:15; Revelation 8:2-5)
  • they minister to us (Job 1:6, 2:1; Matt 18:10; Hebrews 1:14)
  • they are messengers to us (Judges 13, Daniel 8, Zechariah 1 ,2, 4, 5; Luke 2:9, etc.)
  • they are personal guardians to us (Genesis 24:7, Psalm 33:8, Matthew 4:6, 18:19; Hosea 12:4, Acts 12:7)
  • they are guardians of whole peoples (Exodus 14:19, Baruch 6:6, Daniel 10:12-21; Acts 16:9)
  • there is a hierarchy of 9 orders of angels: Angels, Archangels, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Dominations, Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim (Ezekiel 1, Isaias 6, 1 Thes 4:15, Ephesians 1:21, Colossians 1:16)
  • the names of several archangels: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael (Daniel 8, 10:13, 12; Tobit 12:15, Luke 1:19,  Apocalypse 12:7)

At every Mass, we join with the angels in praying the Gloria and the Holy, Holy, Holy. At funerals, we invoke their assistance for the deceased (“May the angels lead you to Paradise”). This compilation is not exhaustive, but it gives a good summary of what is true about angels: there are myriads of angels ministering before the Throne of God, and they are our fellow-creatures, friends, helpers, guides, defenders, and messengers.

We are each given an angel to be with us on our journey to the Heart of the eternal Father. He has given us each a companion to strengthen us in our weakness, keep our eyes open to God and His will, block for us every wrong way and point out the pitfalls the Enemy has set before us. In Heaven, we will rejoice with this companion forever before the Face of the Father!

So we can pray: Guardian Angel, guide and guard me. St. Gabriel and St. Raphael, watch over us. St. Michael, Friend of the friends of God, protect and defend us!

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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including newly ordained Father Rob and seminarian Luke ;-), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

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Alone Together

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As a Christian, I feel as though it’s easy to talk about Jesus’ suffering and death, but it’s a lot harder to understand my own. What do you do, for example, when you’re doing your best to remain faithful to God, but tragedy strikes and God doesn’t come with healing or seem to come at all? Have we been left behind, like a kid in a park who didn’t make it into the van with his brothers and sisters? Somehow I don’t think so, because the Bible tells another story: that God’s apparent absence can actually be one of the most powerful means of union with Christ. It’s counterintuitive, it’s paradoxical, but it’s scriptural and it’s true; so please, put some milk in the steamer and let me explain.

First of all, in our opening reading, we meet Job, who might as well be the poster child for hard knocks. After many years of faithfulness to God, he is struck down in a satanic attack. This man experiences the death of all his children, financial ruination, and loss of health. Amidst it all, he continues to seek God and justice, even as his “friends” attempt to convince him that he is getting what he deserves. In the heat of the struggle, Job is alone. He doesn’t experience God’s presence or healing in any way.

If we compare Job to Jesus, we see two innocent men enduring great suffering as a consequence of satanic activity. Job was battling for his own soul, while Jesus took upon himself the sin of the world. Shortly before he died, Jesus let out a cry of pain from having entered fully into the human condition: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt. 27:46).

At face value, it can seem as though in that moment on the cross Jesus was despairing, but his words were actually a direct quotation from Psalm 22. At that time, to quote the first line of a scriptural passage was to draw attention to the entire body of the text. The psalmist begins by describing the torture of God’s chosen one—both spiritual and physical—but ends by saying, “[God] has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; and he has not hid his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him” (vv. 23-24). In quoting this psalm, Jesus showed that he maintained tremendous hope until the very end.

In centuries past, Martin Luther and John Calvin, the founders of Lutheranism and the Reformed tradition within Protestantism, believed that Jesus did despair on the cross as a result of the Father venting his wrath onto his beloved son. They referred to this idea as “penal substitution,” because Jesus was said to be the substitute or replacement for the sinner. While having its problems, this concept still has a lot of good elements: We can affirm, for example, that Jesus did replace us on the cross; his was an entirely unique sacrifice made “once for all,” but the fathers of the Church and the Catholic tradition have long understood the cross in terms of Jesus bringing his loving bond with the Father into the dimension of human suffering, thereby transforming it from within (Heb. 10:10).

This transformation is what makes the cross an example for us and the way in which we participate in Christ’s redemptive work (1 Pet. 2:21, Col. 1:24). The Apostle Paul taught that Jesus was the representative of man, the “last Adam,” who restored to a wounded humanity the ability to become sons and daughters of God (1 Cor. 15:45). We mature as God’s sons and daughters in the same way Jesus did: we learn obedience by what we suffer (Heb. 5:8).

This means that through faith in Christ, we can face the same suffering that Job experienced armed with the knowledge that our intimacy with our risen Lord has never been greater. We can meet Jesus in our solitude and know that we are “alone together.” Always together.

(For further reading on the meaning and experience of Jesus’ sacrifice, please see the book What is Redemption? by Philippe de la Trinité.)

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Nikol M. Jones is in her final year at Franciscan University’s Master’s in Theology and Christian Ministry program where it has been her joy to learn how to integrate the tools of modern biblical scholarship with the principles of biblical interpretation set forth by the Catholic Church in the service of the Word of God. She also has a passion for creating artwork and children’s books that honor the life and teachings of Christ. When she’s not studying or painting, she utilizes her writing and organizational skills as an administrative assistant. You can connect with her on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikol-m-jones-4b9893140/.

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What is Your Opinion?

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The Gospel for today basically describes 2,000 years of moral teaching with one simple question, “What is your opinion?” Jesus asks this to the chief priests and elders and gives them a scenario of morality.

Now remember, Jesus knows everything. He knows their hearts, he knows that they have begun to go against the teachings of faith and instead have become hypocrites, and he knows that they have been created with a deep sense of morality coming from God himself.

So even though they are not following the law, Jesus is confident that deep down they know what it is and what they should be doing. He is so confident that he asked them what they believed was right and what was wrong in this scenario. “What is your opinion?”

This is hugely important for bringing a sense of morality into our fallen world today. We all know that our culture right now is not the reasoned and deductive culture that maybe an Aquinas or Augustine grew up in. We are living in a world that is more and more focusing on personal experience and feeling than on objective truth.

But what if we could get people to see the truths of the faith, of morality, and of God, from their own personal experience and feelings? That is to say, what if we could bring people to the same objective truth of God, by way of their personal experience?

Sound like a tall order? Sound like it could easily turn into relativism where whatever we feel or think becomes fact? And yet, Jesus does just this in today’s Gospel. He doesn’t use proofs or logic. He doesn’t come in with an “if this then that” scenario. He appeals to their hearts. “What do you think?” He knows that if we think deep enough, then the truths we were all created with are still shining somewhere deep inside us, even if we aren’t willing to admit it or even live by them.

In this way, Jesus helped them to realize the objective truth of morality through their own thoughts and feelings. If we believe God has created us as good and that he has inscribed laws deep into our hearts, then we must believe that people are still capable of remembering these truths.

So when we talk to people about what we believe as Catholics or what is right and wrong, let’s try hearing of others personal experiences and try to get them to see from those experiences the deeper and objective truths of God and the faith. Then what tends to happen is that people can see morality as welling up from deep inside, instead of being mandates imposed on us from the outside. The objective truths of God are in there, we just have to help coax them out. From all of us here at Rodzinka Ministry, God Bless!

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Tommy Shultz is Director of Evangelization for the North Allegan Catholic Collaborative and the founder of Rodzinka Ministries. In these roles, he is committed to bringing all those he meets into a deeper relationship with Christ. 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. With a degree in Theology from Franciscan University, Tommy hopes to use his knowledge to help all people understand the beauty of The Faith.

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You Are Our Refuge

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We are certainly living in a quickly changing time. When I was in grade school in the 50’s (gulp), adults talked about great occurrences 5, 10, 20 or 30 years prior. These days, something big is happening almost every week. We have an important election coming up and never in my lifetime have there been two candidates that are complete polar opposites. It’s kind of scary! Yet, has anything really changed since Jesus’ time? The persecution of believers began when Jesus started his public ministry. Humanity has changed very little. We have a fallen nature that we need to fight against every day.

If you grew up in a God-fearing family and have strayed away from the faith of your youth, then today’s reading from Ecclesiastes might be good for you 11:9 – 12 – 8.  “Remember your creator in the days of your youth”. I can certainly relate to those words. I was touched by the Lord at four years old in the basement of a Free Methodist Church. I sometimes wonder if I would be a deacon if weren’t for the Pastor’s wife that picked me up for Sunday school. She modeled prayer and love for Jesus. She loved that little guy (me) and taught him well.

I doubt that the disciples in Luke 9:43 – 45 thought much about their childhood. (Remember, Jesus is the one that told them to back off and let the children come to him.) Jesus says, pay attention to what I am telling you. Yes, I know that he withheld its meaning from them, but given time they still didn’t get it. Except for John, where were the others at the foot of the cross? Wasn’t Jesus always their refuge? Yet, in our daily moments of distraction from God due to our sadness, grief, anger, loneliness, being forgotten, self-pity, etc., we may step away from God’s refuge and wallow in our own misery. But wait. Is that really necessary? As Catholics we have the greatest gift in the universe. It is not a symbol or a thought in our minds and hearts. It is truly his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity that has entered into us in the Eucharist. Yes, it is true. If you would like a refresher, go to John 6 and read it several times. It is Jesus himself teaching the universal Church about the Eucharist. And what happened after that? They all left. … except the apostles. Jesus did not soften his words to pacify the crowd. He delivered it as it was, solid truth. And now, 2000 years later, people are still walking away from him, not believing his great gift of the Eucharist.

Yes, our refuge is in him. He gives us what we need. Just imagine being in His arms as John was at the Last Supper as he was giving himself to them (Eucharist).

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Deacon Dan Schneider is a retired general manager of industrial distributors. He and his wife Vicki recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They are the parents of eight children and twenty-nine grandchildren. He has a degree in Family Life Education from Spring Arbor University. He was ordained a Permanent Deacon in 2002.  He has a passion for working with engaged and married couples and his main ministry has been preparing couples for marriage.

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An Appointed Time For Everything

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Time. An interval that constantly ticks forward, one second, one blink, one breath, to the next. There is no judgement or bias, right or wrong. It just continues on.

The lines from Ecclesiastes in today’s reading are lyrical. There is an appointed time for everything. Why then, am I so resistant to something I cannot control? Time moves forward yet I sometimes believe I can hold on to it as a child holds a beloved stuffed animal. There is a time for hugging and also a time for letting go.

As a child who stomps her foot while saying, ‘stop, stop, stop,’ I cannot stop the death of a grandparent or a beloved friend. There is a time to die and there is a time to be born. I cannot stop the rotation of the sun across the sky or how the wind blows over the earth.

The passage goes on to say that God has appointed tasks for mankind to carry out at the appropriate time, into our hearts without our knowing it. We all are called to use the gifts and talents that we’ve been given to do those tasks.

It is a new day. Let us thank God ahead of time, for the gift of this day. Let us do what needs to be done today. Amen.

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Beth Price is part of the customer care team at Diocesan. She brings a unique depth of experience to the group due to her time spent in education, parish ministries, sales and the service industry over the last 25 yrs. She is a practicing spiritual director as well as a Secular Franciscan (OFS). Beth is quick to offer a laugh, a prayer or smile to all she comes in contact with. Reach her here bprice@diocesan.com.

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Seen by Jesus

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“Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening,
and he was greatly perplexed…

…And he kept trying to see him.”

This line always makes me chuckle. I understand there was no possibility of connecting with Jesus on Zoom in first century Palestine. Herod couldn’t jump in the car and drive over to an evening seminar. Or follow Jesus on Facebook or Twitter. But, really, it couldn’t have been that hard for Herod to catch up with Jesus to see him.

If, that is, the king really wanted to be seen by Jesus.

Hearing others talk about Jesus. Thinking about him. Reading about the spiritual life. Attending a Bible study or book club. All these things are wonderful and can be important aspects of one’s spiritual journey. They are ways in which Jesus draws us closer to him, and begins to unify our flighty and fidgety senses and distracted thoughts around his gaze where we bask in a love we could never imagine.

Perhaps Herod was hoping to meet Jesus in order to prop up his own power and protect his own authority. He wasn’t really hoping to encounter Jesus in the way Zacchaeus did, or the Magdalene, or Peter, or the lepers. So maybe he didn’t try that hard. These others were men and women who had the desire and the capacity to enter into a sustained relationship with Jesus that was prolonged and deepened through time, that changed their lives, that taught them that indeed life comes and goes in the blink of an eye, as the Teacher and Ecclesiastes writes. The First Reading helps us reflect on life’s repetitiveness, its elusiveness, the shortness of our days on earth, the way in which things slip through our fingers and in the light of eternity are but a whisper in the wind. And thus to treasure the gift of knowing the Lord and being known by him.

These readings rouse my sleepy and distracted heart. I don’t want to be chasing vanities so that like Herod I miss out on the most important relationship that will be mine now and for all eternity. I want to see and be seen by the Lord.

In a world of enticing and exciting options for diversion and pleasure and power, our hearts have to be capable of true attention and concentration if we are not to get caught up in just trying to see Jesus. Simone Weil, the Jewish French philosopher saw this oneness of vision, the ability to keep our attention on one single task in the moment, as a spiritual practice. This practice gradually opens our deeper consciousness so that we learn to meet the gaze of Christ and live from his presence within. Here are four ways to unify the sometimes somewhat scattered way in which we pursue trying to see the Lord:

  1. Find 20 minutes each day for meditation. Read the Bible or a favorite spiritual book to lead you closer to the Lord.
  2. Practice doing one thing at a time. Put all your focus on what you are doing, staying in the present moment at least a couple times a day.
  3. Find some time each week to unplug from social media and turn off your phone.
  4. Ask Jesus what he’d like from you at this time in your life. Tell him that you want to see him.

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Sr. Kathryn J. HermesKathryn 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 is the director of My Sisters, where people can find spiritual accompaniment from the Daughters of St. Paul on their journey. Website: www.touchingthesunrise.com Public Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/srkathrynhermes/ For monthly spiritual journaling guides, weekly podcasts and over 50 conferences and retreat programs join my Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/srkathryn.

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Pray, Hope, Don’t Worry

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When I taught preschool, we put this phrase to the tune of “Old MacDonald’s Farm.” When I run into the parents of my former students, I often hear about how they are still singing, “Pray, Hope, Don’t Worry.” 

What a great way to live! 

This famous phrase of Padre Pio can ground us in such uncertain times. 

There is so much happening around us which is beyond our control, we need to get real with ourselves about what we can control, and the answer to ”What can I really control?” is very often, “Not much.” We don’t control the world around us, we don’t control much of what happens to us. What we do control is how we respond. 

In today’s readings, Jesus sends out the Twelve to proclaim the Kingdom of God. He tells them to take nothing for the journey. Stay where you are welcomed and if you aren’t welcomed, shake the dust from your feet. In other words, go out and pray, hope, and don’t worry. You are doing my work and that is enough, I will take care of everything else. 

How different my life might be if I could be like the Twelve and focus so firmly on proclaiming the Kingdom of God with my life that even if rebuffed, I could rest in God, shake the dust from my feet and move on? What would happen if I stopped worrying about all the things I can’t change and focused on what I could? What would happen if I let God be God and I just worried about being Sheryl? He created me, and just like the Twelve, he knows how I fit into His plan for His kingdom.

What can I do today to help in building the Kingdom of God? 

Padre Pio had the answer and for that. He is a great modern Saint. Pray, hope, Don’t worry. God’s got this. 

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Sheryl O’Connor delights in being the number 1 cheerleader and supporter for her husband, Tom who is a candidate for the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Kalamazoo. They are so grateful for the opportunity to grow together in this process whether it is studying for classes, deepening their prayer life or discovering new ways to serve together. Sheryl’s day job is serving her community as the principal for St. Therese Catholic School in Wayland, Michigan. Since every time she thinks she gets life all figured out, she realizes just how far she has to go, St. Rita of Cascia is her go-to Saint for intercession and help. Home includes Brea, a Bernese Mountain dog and Carlyn, a very, very goofy Golden Retriever.

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We Are Family

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“My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”

Today’s Gospel is one of the ones that critics use to argue against Mary’s perpetual virginity (I’m talking about the “brothers” part but that’s a topic for another blog post). I believe that today’s Gospel offers us something else – a reminder about the universality of the Church, that all are welcomed into God’s family.

Jesus was surrounded by a large crowd, so much so that the ones whom Jesus loved – his mother and his “brothers” (also used for nephews, nieces, cousins, half-brothers and half-sisters) could not get to Him. Someone passed along the news that Jesus’ loved ones were waiting for Him and Jesus responded with the above.

With His response, Jesus said that all who were in the crowd were his mother and his brothers as they were the ones hearing His word and being moved to action. The crowd wasn’t taking the place of the Blessed Mother and His loved ones but, in essence, the crowd was becoming part of Jesus’ family.

God created each and every one of us to be a part of His heavenly family, and the entirety of salvation history, from Adam and Eve culminating all the way up to the New Covenant and the person of Jesus Christ, is the story of God working to bring us into His family fold.

Here, Jesus is saying that being a part of His family, God’s family, is more than just the physical bond of flesh and blood. Rather, it’s about obedience to God’s word.

This is a constant theme in the Gospels. Just a few chapters later in Luke, a woman calls out to Jesus, proclaiming blessedness on His mother Mary (11:28). Jesus responds here similarly, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in order to fully be a member of God’s family, we must take a hard look at ourselves. Have we heard the word of God and heeded it, obeyed it? Or are we hearing the word of the world and following that instead?

Dive deep into the Word of God in Scripture. Listen to the Word of God in prayer. Take it, internalize it and then proceed to action.

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Erin is a Cleveland native and graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville. Following graduation, she began volunteering in youth ministry at her home parish of Holy Family Church. Her first “big girl” job was in collegiate sports information where, after a busy two years in the profession on top of serving the youth, she took a leap of faith and followed the Lord’s call to full-time youth ministry at St. Peter Church. She still uses her communication arts degree as a freelance writer and statistician, though. You can catch her on old episodes of the Clarence & Peter Podcast on YouTube as well as follow her on Twitter @erinmadden2016.

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Follow Me

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My family just moved to a small town outside the city. My boys now enjoy abundant playtime outside in our expansive backyard, and we sleep better at night without all the cars and motorcycles passing by. We love the house and are settling in. We put up curtains last night, filled the bookshelves the night before, and put down area rugs the night before that. It is starting to look like a cozy home.

Our new location also triples my commute into work. I have a whole hour to take in the huge trees that line the highway and enjoy the silence as I collect my thoughts. At home there is the noise of my rambunctious children and at work there is mental noise with all the “to-do’s”. I don’t even turn the radio on. I just let my thoughts wander or sometimes I don’t think of anything at all.

However, my desire is to utilize the drive as quality prayer time. I want to praise God for the beauty of His creation, ask Him to lead my children to sanctity, beg his mercy for family members who are struggling and ask Him for the grace to be a good example of discipleship throughout my day.

Today is the feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist. Reading the Gospels of the calling of the first disciples quite frankly floors me. Listen to this: “As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.” Just like that! He got up and followed him. No questions asked. No ifs, ands or buts. No looking back.

I would have to take a long, hard look at my soul to discern whether I was capable of such detachment. While I like to think I live simply, if my rage at being without internet for a week is any indication, I have a very long way to go.

I yearn to live out the words of St. Paul and “live in a manner worthy of the call [I] have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love…”, yet those seem to be the virtues I lack most. Sigh…

As we continue to adjust to our new normal in our new town, I hope to work on these virtues through participation in ministry. I love how St. Paul goes on to mention that we all have different gifts: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher, equip-er of others for ministry, builder-upper of the Body of Christ. I look forward to discovering my unique gifts in order to help draw others closer to God.

May we all begin to recognize Christ’s gift of grace given to each of us and become just as willing as Matthew to follow Him.

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Tami Urcia grew up in Western Michigan, a middle child in a large Catholic family. She spent early young adulthood as a missionary in Mexico, studying theology and philosophy, then worked and traveled extensively before finishing her Bachelor’s Degree in Western Kentucky. She loves tackling home improvement projects, finding fun ways to keep her four boys occupied, quiet conversation with the hubby and finding unique ways to love. She works at Diocesan, is a guest blogger on CatholicMom.com and BlessedIsShe.net, runs her own blog at https://togetherandalways.wordpress.com and has been doing Spanish translations on the side for almost 20 years.

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So What’s In It For Me?

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“Have I no right to do what I like with my own? Why should you be envious because I am generous?”

As a cradle Catholic, I’ve found myself getting envious of people who are non-Catholic. Watching non-Catholics get to do whatever they want starts to wear on you if you’re not careful. The devil deceives us to think we are somehow disenfranchised by living a moral life.

At parties we’re the only one out of our friends who feels guilty for drinking too much. We don’t get to use birth control like other couples who “have it together” and get to do “whatever they want.” We must stay chaste while dating (and while married). We’re required to go to Mass on Sunday so we have to take off work or miss the pre-game tailgate. We don’t get one of those juicy burgers that the company bought everyone because it’s a Friday in Lent.

Everything in life has to be fair. As small children, we want our turn on the swing. As adults, we don’t want people cutting in line outside of the Apple Store.

Being a Catholic isn’t a punishment. We are the ones who are free. The rest of the world is a slave to their passions. They don’t get to live the life they want. So many people struggle with addiction, broken families, and habitual sin. Many of them don’t know there is a God who created and loves them. Can you imagine struggling without the Sacraments? We are the ones who are free. The rules of the Catholic Church are a gift, they are a universal Truth and it is when we follow that order that we show God we love him.

It’s a tendency of human nature to begin thinking we are held captive to God’s rules so we check the boxes grudgingly. It might be something small, but before we know it we start to think we’re hot stuff. It’s easy to get into an elitist mindset. We begin to think we are God’s chosen people: Look at all these holy things I do.

From there, our next step in our flawed human logic seems to be: so what’s in it for me? So God, I’ve been good. Now what special thing do I get?

Putting in more “hard time” of following the laws of Christ doesn’t mean we’re the only ones who get to heaven. If we go to Church more than our friends that doesn’t make us holier. We should hope and pray that God’s Mercy showers down upon them and they too are granted heaven in spite of their ignorance and sin.

Love doesn’t expect anything in return. It gives freely. Do we only love God because of what we hope to get out of him or is it because we’re in love with the Creator of the Universe? Do we attend Mass to avoid Hell or because we want to be with Him forever?

We often apply human attributes to God. We turn God into someone like ourselves. Someone who gets jealous or prideful. We are stingy. God is not. It’s a good thing God is as merciful as he is, because we all need it. Especially if we don’t have the Truth of the Gospel.

Having the Truth of the Gospel is a gift and it’s our responsibility to share that gift with others whenever we can. We have no business keeping it to ourselves.

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Patrick produces YouTube content for young Catholics on Catholic Late Night and Overt TV. He loves using humor to share the Truth of the Catholic faith with anyone who will listen. He resides currently in Chattanooga, TN and is a parishioner at The Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul. Patrick graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville with a degree in Communication Arts and a Minor in Marketing.