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Faith in His Mercy

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Today is one of my favorite days in the liturgical calendar, Divine Mercy Sunday, and the readings paint a beautiful picture for how we should receive the mercy of God. These readings are largely based on signs, cures, miracles, and wonders that impart God’s grace on the person.

This is what we would call a sacrament, a physical sign of an invisible grace. Here in the Gospel, we hear Jesus implementing the sacrament of confession. He gives the power to forgive sins, to impart the grace of God on his people, and to restore them into his life. This may have been a little easier to understand if we were actually there, but sometimes we feel like St. Thomas who has trouble believing in something he cannot see. We don’t trust that God would forgive us because of all the things we have done wrong. We maybe don’t feel worthy of forgiveness and mercy.

This is why Jesus instituted the sacrament of confession. He knew we would struggle with things we cannot see, so he gave us a physical way that we can see and be assured of God working, that is through the priest. What happens in confession? We go in, we tell our sins to the priest, and then we say an act of contrition and are forgiven with words spoken. Of course, God can forgive us in any way he chooses, but he CHOSE to do it through the sacrament of confession. He chose to use a priest as a physical sign of his love and mercy.

I remember confessions where I have been scared to death, I remember ones that have been life-changing, I remember ones that I have felt the same afterward, but the thing that was the same with all of them is I had an actual sign and assurance that God did forgive me. I can trust in his words that he gave us so many years ago.

Below is a prayer that has helped me so much to prepare for confession. If it has been a while for you, I promise you won’t be sorry if you go. Jesus is waiting in the person of the priest to give you a physical sign of his real forgiveness. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

“I glorify you in making known how good you are towards sinners, and that your mercy prevails over all malice, that nothing can destroy it, that no matter how many times or how shamefully we fall, or how criminally, a sinner need not be driven to despair of [God’s] pardon. It is in vain that your enemy and mine sets new traps for me every day. He will make me lose everything else before the hope that I have in your mercy.” St. Claude de la Colombiere

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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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You Better Recognize

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Jesus must have been unrecognizable after he rose from the dead. Two-thousand years later, we find it difficult to recognize him in anything other than on a crucifix. People stood right in front of the resurrected Christ and failed to notice it was him.

Lord, let me be you to others so I may lead others to you.

We pray for Jesus to be with us. We pray for him to protect us and guide us. And he undoubtedly does those things for us. What we neglect to think about is that other people are praying for the same thing. And don’t you think that Jesus might be answering their prayers as well? In the recognition of Christ in others, we stir the realization of Christ in ourselves.

Don’t make Christ do all the work! We are responsible for heralding his words and emulating his way.

We used to see Jesus in everything. There are innumerable works of art with him or his mother at the focus. Brilliant pieces of music were composed based on some aspect of his birth or death or the three years leading up to it. Musical theatre, straight plays, and films were written around a character’s battle between Christ and Satan, or adaptions of a portion of the Gospel.  But now we desperately pray for some sort of longevity when a new work of art comes out that is related to Christianity or anything remotely religious. It’s no wonder it’s getting harder and harder to recognize him in the moments and people around us.

We’ve got a job to do. If Jesus is presenting himself to you, don’t look away. If the answer is Christ, don’t choose ignorance. There’s a reason that four-letter acronym is so popular. He gave it all, all for the love of us, so perhaps the better question is “What wouldn’t Christ do?”

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Benjamin serves as the Music Minister at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Branchville, NJ. He teaches Children’s Theatre at the Paper Mill Playhouse and is a Catholic songwriter that has given talks on Confirmation, How to Keep the Faith in College, and The Courage to Choose Life. He can be reached at benjamintyates@gmail.com.

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Christ Our Light

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We are in the Octave of Easter – the eight days following Easter, leading up to the First Sunday of Easter. All week we sing/pray the Gospel Alleluia verse: “This is the day the Lord has made; Let us be glad and rejoice in it.”  Let us rejoice and be glad! Certainly, from today’s first reading from Acts, we see that Peter and John, under duress from the leaders in Jerusalem, rejoiced and were glad in the works they were able to perform in the name of Jesus and were strong in proclaiming Jesus as the cornerstone and the true means of salvation.

For those of you who do not attend the Easter Vigil you are missing one of the greatest hymns of praise in Liturgy, only used at the Vigil: The Exsultet: The Proclamation of Easter. It is usually sung, is very long, and follows the entrance procession with the Easter Candle amid proclamations of “Light of Christ – Thanks be to God.” And, it is my favorite part of the Vigil. Because it is sung, it can be hard to catch the words. I am offering you today a very small portion of the Exsultet for your reflection in this Octave of Easter. I hope and pray that you will find inspiration to be at peace, as the Apostles were, in proclaiming Christ as your salvation. Please, light a candle and pray:

“Exult, let them exult, the hosts of heaven, exult, let Angel ministers of God exult, let the trumpet of salvation sound aloud our mighty King’s triumph!

Be glad, let the earth be glad, as glory floods her, ablaze with light from her eternal King, let all corners of the earth be glad, knowing an end to gloom and darkness.

Rejoice, let Mother Church also rejoice, arrayed with the lightning of his glory, let this holy building shake with joy, filled with the mighty voices of the peoples…

This is the night, when once you led our forebears, Israel’s children,
from slavery in Egypt and made them pass dry-shod through the Red Sea.

This is the night that with a pillar of fire banished the darkness of sin.

This is the night that even now, throughout the world, sets Christian believers apart from worldly vices and from the gloom of sin, leading them to grace and joining them to his holy ones.

This is the night when Christ broke the prison-bars of death and rose victorious from the underworld.

Our birth would have been no gain, had we not been redeemed.

O wonder of your humble care for us! O love, O charity beyond all telling, to ransom a slave you gave away your Son!
O truly necessary sin of Adam, destroyed completely by the Death of Christ! O happy fault that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer!…

The sanctifying power of this night dispels wickedness, washes faults away, restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to mourners, drives out hatred, fosters concord, and brings down the mighty. On this, your night of grace, O holy Father, accept this candle, a solemn offering, the work of bees and of your servants’ hands, an evening sacrifice of praise, this gift from your most holy Church…

Receive it as a pleasing fragrance, and let it mingle with the lights of heaven.

May this flame be found still burning by the Morning Star:
the one Morning Star who never sets, Christ your Son,
who, coming back from death’s domain, has shed his peaceful light on humanity, and lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.”

(Excerpts from the English translation of the Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation)

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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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In The Moment

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Christ is risen, alleluia, alleluia! Often times, Catholics and Christians alike forget that Easter is a whole liturgical season spanning 50 days and not just the one solitary Sunday. As we continue through this joyful Easter season, I wish to offer you just a simple reflection.

“The two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” (Luke 24:35)

The risen Christ has just encountered two disciples on the road to Emmaus, which is one of the more recognizable Gospel passages. There are many references of “the way” in each of the four Gospels, comparing one’s faith to a journey. Let’s take a look at the two disciples’ faith at this moment between the initial encounter with Christ on the road and the moment He appears to all of the disciples in Jerusalem, which is the rest of today’s Gospel.

Take a moment to sort through the range of emotions that must be flooding through these two disciples in the retelling of the story. Were they disappointed that they failed to recognize Jesus at the exact moment they met on the road? What about later as He interpreted the scriptures for them, explaining why the Messiah needed to suffer all that He did? There were so many opportunities for recognition and yet it took all the way to the end, to the breaking of the bread, for the two to open up their eyes.

And yet, at the same time, there must have been deep gratitude in their hearts that Jesus chose to meet them and reveal Himself to them at all. What a humbling moment it must have been! As I place myself in their shoes, I struggle to find any other words to describe this possible feeling.

I’m sure they wondered why Jesus vanished at the moment they recognized Him, wondered if they would have another encounter with Him ever again. How long would the risen Christ be around? In their hard-heartedness, did they wonder if He would succumb to death again?

Think about the simple act of recounting the story. Did they argue about who was telling the story to begin with? Were there conflicting accounts? Did one forget details that the other was able to fill in? Are they telling the story over and over again out of gratitude? Out of disbelief? Were they trying to commit their meeting with the Lord to memory?

On the other side of the story, what about the other disciples? The listeners? Did they believe the story being told or were there doubts in their minds and in their hearts? Were the two disciples desperately trying to convince the others the validity of what had happened?

I invite you to take these thoughts and questions to prayer with you throughout this season of Easter as we continue to open our own eyes to the glory of Christ’s Resurrection.

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Bio: Erin is a Parma Heights, Ohio, native and a 2016 graduate of the 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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Finding Jesus in our Neighbor

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In today’s Scripture readings, we are reminded of the fact that Jesus Christ is alive and working. Our First Reading in the Acts of the Apostles speaks of the Spirit of Christ working through His disciples. Peter and John did not heal the man who was crippled and begging at the temple, but it was through Jesus that this man experienced healing. It was an opportunity of prayer and calling upon God’s name to take care of him.

The Gospel story is the beautiful story of the Road to Emmaus. Two disciples of Jesus were traveling to Emmaus conversing about all that had happened in the past few days. Jesus, unrecognized, joined their conversation and walked with them. They invited him to stay the night with them, instead of continuing His journey through the night. They offered their hospitality through their presence and sharing a meal. It wasn’t until Jesus prayed the blessing and broke bread that they were awakened to the realization that he was no stranger. Their eyes now recognized that here before them was their Lord and God, Jesus Christ, risen from the dead.

These two Scripture readings are tied together by the Responsorial Psalm, “Rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord”.

Peter and John were seeking the Lord in their encounter with the crippled man. They were not seeking their own glory, but in a moment of need, they called upon the Lord’s power. The miracle of healing was a miracle of seeking the Lord and they could not help but rejoice in amazement and praise. The two disciples on the journey to Emmaus were seeking the Lord. Whether this was intentional or not, they loved their neighbor as themselves. This is what it means to be a disciple. It calls us to love the stranger next to us and to journey with them. Through their openness to conversation and hospitality, we can see them seeking Christ in each person.

Both of these stories call me out in God’s call to us this Easter season. In the First Reading, I have to pause and ask myself how many homeless people have I not prayed with? Instead of thinking I don’t have anything to offer, I have everything to offer- the Spirit of God. Do you stop to speak to the people of God who are begging at the doors of the temple? Maybe they’re not at the doors of a temple in our everyday lives. Maybe they’re at the corner of the street, when you’re driving off an exit of a highway or at the entrance of the subway. Do we stop like St. John and St. Peter to pray with them or ask them their intentions? In the Gospel Reading, I’m called out in the bad habit of not wanting to get to know the stranger next to me. I can easily keep to myself and not want to put the energy into talking to the stranger next to me. For those who ride public transportation, you know what I mean. Everyone keeps to themselves with their headphones in. This Scripture is calling me on to being more hospitable. Whether it’s actually conversing in a genuine conversation with your uber driver, coworker, or check out lady at the grocery store… these are the opportunities to seek the Lord in the human beings all around us.

Let us rejoice in these moments, even if they may be uncomfortable or push us to get out of ourselves. Let us rejoice because when we are present to the encounter of the stranger next to us, we are intentionally seeking Him, our Lord who is living among us.

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Briana is a Catholic youth minister at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel parish in Cleveland, OH. She is also a nanny and district manager at Arbonne. 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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Beautifully Absurd

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My dad is a pretty big Beatles fan. And like most fans who follow a music group closely, he never requests the hits like “Hey Jude” or “Let It Be” because they have been played a bazillion times.

The Easter Gospel readings are the “hits” of the Gospel. I’ve heard them since before I can remember and they are particularly difficult to reflect upon in a way that isn’t banal.

And quite frankly, that’s how I felt reading today’s mass.

“Ok, what can I say that 1000’s of other saints and brilliant theologians haven’t already said about the Resurrection?”

I’ll be honest; I have nothing… except this:

Continue to journey with Christ. Be ever more joyfully intoxicated by the beautiful absurdity of this season. Trust Him.

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This will be my last reflection with Diocesan. For a kid who struggled to get a B in English classes and didn’t finish college, I am humbled to be able to serve others through the written word. I will continue to share essays through my Patreon page. Sincere thanks to Tommy Shultz for asking me to write in the first place. And again, all glory to God for every good thing my compositions were able to do.
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Fearful Yet Overjoyed

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Think back on a moment of life where everything changed. One of those crystal moments, where you know things will never be the same. Think of that moment when something you had been looking forward to became real; you were accepted at college, got your dream job, the moment your vocation became clear, the day of your marriage, the birth of your child.

These are such happy spots in our earthly lives! We are overcome with joy and delight. And, often, then reality sinks in. Can I cut it in college? What if I can’t? What if I am not as good at this job as I think I will be? Can I really spend the rest of my earthly life this way? Am I willing to give everything to get this person to heaven? What if I fail as a parent? How does this change tomorrow? Will anything in my life ever be the same?

The same can happen as we experience the joy of Easter. Christ is risen, Alleluia! Something so minor as death cannot overtake our Lord!

But the questions come, what does this mean to me? Is Easter simply the ending of my Lenten penance? Can I now go back to eating chocolate and putting cream in my coffee without giving it another thought? Can I pick up that weekly grande latte again rather than giving to someone in greater need? Do I just pick up where I left off on Mardi Gras like Lent (and Easter) never happened? What has to change in my life because Jesus has risen? How does this change tomorrow? Will anything in my life ever be the same?

The Church, in her infinite motherly wisdom, again provides. Easter is not a single day after which we put away the bunnies and baskets and go back to our daily routine. Easter is a season which begins with the rising of Jesus and ends with the descent of the Holy Spirit as the grand finale! Lent was 40 days. Easter gives us 50 days to soak it all in. We have time to meditate on the reality of Easter, not to be fearful but to let our senses, honed by abstinence and penance, truly consider what it means to serve a risen Lord. Our Lenten penance isn’t a thing of the past, it is now the prepared bedding where our Easter joy takes root. Our hearts and souls are ready to turn back to God for this time of grace and joy.

My prayer for you is that you are able to spend this Easter, all of Easter, not as a “getting back to normal” but as a time to find a new normal. To integrate in new ways, what it means to serve the One who overcame death through love. Like Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, may your joy at Easter so fill your heart that you run to share the news of Christ’s love with all you meet.

Easter blessings!

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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 www.youthministrynacc.com.

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Love Revealed and Made Real

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I have been writing a lot about marriage in my posts recently, partly because I was recently married and the realities and beauties of marriage are fresh in my mind and experience, but also because marriage is the sign Saint Paul uses in Ephesians to explain the relationship between Christ and the Church.

This analogy can go both ways, in looking at a proper and holy marriage we see a sign for the relationship between Christ and the Church, and if we look at the relationship between Christ and the Church, Christ giving his body for his bride on the cross, we see an example of what a holy marriage should look like.

This sign, the cross, is what Satan will try to attack vehemently because it reminds him that he lost. Satan knew on Easter morning that Christ conquered sin and death, he literally rose above it. The only thing that Satan can do now is try to attack the sign of Jesus’ love that he showed 2,000 years ago. But the cross was not just a sign of his love. It was not just a revelation of God’s plan, but a realization of it as well. God’s plan was revealed on the cross and made real on the cross, in the sense that redemption is now a reality in all of us.

So it is with the sacraments of the Catholic Church. When Christ ascended into heaven he sent the Holy Spirit to be with us through the seven sacraments. These sacraments are not just signs of God’s love to his people but they also give grace. They not only reveal God’s love but they make real God’s love. They go beyond the sign to change reality itself.

Now think back to marriage. We hear in scripture that the two shall become one. This verse does not mean man and woman literally become one body, for they are still separate. If the husband dies, the woman remains. So they are not biologically one, or one in their being. But they are morally one, meaning that their thoughts, wills, and actions should form a oneness so they are no longer “me and you” but “we”.

However, the primary end of that “we” relationship is where two bodies create one. This happens when a man and a woman become a mother and father. Their bodies unite in such a way that a new creation is made that is of both the man and the woman.

Why is any of this important to Easter? Well, on Good Friday we just experienced Jesus giving up his body for his bride the Church in such a real way that Christ becomes the father and the Church becomes the mother of a brand new creation, through baptism.

“Whoever is in Christ is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold the new has come.” -2 Corinthians 5:17

What Christ did on the cross allows us to not only enter into a “we” relationship with Christ but to be born again through this relationship. His love is not just revealed, it is made real. It is revealed and realized through the sacraments. With this realization comes responsibility. Now we can no longer use our humanity as an excuse for sin. “Well, I am only human.” It is precisely because you are human that sin should no longer hold sway in your heart because Christ has made you a new creation. So go praise the Lord this day. Thank him for his love. Take that love out to the world. Soak up the graces of the sacraments. Be a sign to the world of the love of Christ. That is exactly the sort of thing a human would do. A human who has been redeemed. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

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

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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.