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The Gift of Life

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The mystery of human life is truly amazing. I can’t believe how my kids love to lay on my belly, rub it and give it kisses. They can’t wait for their little sister to come out! Just the other day, my six-year-old said to me, “Mommy, ‘little coconut’ will be out soon, so can we take a picture so I can remember when she was still in your tummy?” So we took turns with all the boys taking pictures of them hugging, kissing or rubbing my (very large) belly.

All during his illness, my son took such comfort in his unborn little sister. Whenever he wasn’t feeling well, he asked me to come over to his bed so he could be near her and give her kisses. He always talks about how she is such a little cutie and tells me 5-20 times a day how he wants her to come out. I keep reminding him that if she comes out too early she will have to stay at the hospital for a long time and he won’t be able to see her anyway, but he continues saying it over and over and over. Now my husband and my other sons are saying it too, but I’m pretty sure, no one wants her out more than mommy!

In the First Reading, the children of Israel were given a whole new life, one free from slavery and oppression, but instead of praising God for His wondrous love, they come to Moses with one grumble after another. Just like my son wants his sister out so bad, they wanted to get out of Egypt something fierce! They prayed and prayed for deliverance, and God heard their prayer.

What confounds me is that even though the Israelites don’t ask nicely, God still listens to them and provides for their needs.

“Here in the desert the whole assembly of the children of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The children of Israel said to them, ‘Would that we had died at the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt, as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread! But you had to lead us into this desert to make the whole community die of famine!’ [ ] The LORD spoke to Moses and said, ‘I have heard the grumbling of the children of Israel. Tell them: In the evening twilight you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread, so that you may know that I, the LORD, am your God.’”

He doesn’t say to them “You bunch of whiny babies, get a grip! I delivered you so I could watch you starve in agony! Mwaaa haaa haaa!” No. He grants them meat and bread to eat. He wants them to live.

In the same way, He wants us to live. And whether we know how to ask or not, He grants our needs. He gives us Bread from heaven (ref. Psalm Response) to nourish us on our journey. He gives us new life to grant comfort and joy. Let us thank God today for the gift of life. 

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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 her parish, 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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Stretch Out Your Hand

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When I prepare to write my blog posts, I usually listen to an uplifting Christian song when or before I read the readings. I put my music on shuffle play and the song Confidence by Sanctus Real came on. I wasn’t really paying attention to the song as I read, but, ironically, when I got to the lines “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and their charioteers,” the first refrain came on:

“Give me faith like Daniel in the lion’s den, Give me hope like Moses in the wilderness, Give me a heart like David, Lord be my defense, So I can face my giants with confidence.”

Something made me stop and relisten to it. “Give me hope like Moses in the Wilderness.”

I switched tabs and turned back to the reading: Stretch out your hand to the sea. Something struck me with that.

I have found that, in the Bible, stretching out one’s hands is associated with healing and deliverance. In Matthew 12:13 Jesus tells the man with the withered hand: “Stretch out your hand,” and it is healed. In Joshua verse 8:18 the Lord tells Joshua: “Stretch out the javelin in your hand toward Ai, for I will deliver it into your power.” Joshua does so; and they end up winning both the city and the battle. 

Stretching out one’s hand is a sign of freedom, whether from illness or oppression. Today’s First Reading from Ex 14:21—15:1 is no exception. God tells Moses: “Stretch out your hand”; he obeys, and not only do they escape the Egyptians, but every single one of the Pharaoh’s charioteers were destroyed. 

I think we underestimate what Moses had to do here. Just put yourself in his shoes. To stop and stretch out your hand, that took guts. Imagine what was running through his head. What if nothing happened, and he just stood there, looking ridiculous as everyone else fled? What if the Egyptians got through the mud and resumed pursuit? What would happen, if he lifted his hand?

It was reckless, it was radical, and it took trust.

It took faith.

It took hope. 

Moses put his trust in God, and they escaped slavery. He had the heart to hope in Jesus, to not give up, even when they were so close to capture.  He had confidence that everything would turn out more than alright because God was in control, and that was what gave him the strength to stretch out his hand. 

So whether by the prompting of your own music or not, look between the lines of the Bible. Get the whole story. Look for the faith, hope, and trust all of these people had. And I pray that you may have the same confidence as Moses, so that when the Lord asks you to, you will stretch out your hand.

Perpetua Phelps is a high school student residing in West Michigan and is the second of four children. Apart from homeschooling, Perpetua enjoys volunteering at her church, attending retreats, studying Latin and French, and reading classics such as Beowulf, The Lord of the Rings, C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy, and Mark Twain’s Joan of Arc. She also spends much time writing novels, essays, and poetry for fun and competition. A passionate Tolkien fan, Perpetua is a founding member of a Tolkien podcast.

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Harden Not Your Heart

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The Gospel Acclamation today is what links the readings for me. ‘If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.’ Ps 95:8

In the First Reading, Pharaoh, the Egyptians and the freed people of Israel had asked for repeated signs from the Lord. Were not the plagues, the exodus from slavery and the parting of the sea enough proof that God exists? No, their ways of looking at situations was too hard to change and their hearts were hardened against the Lord.

The Gospel has the Hebrew scribes and Pharisees part of unfaithful generations seeking signs from God. Jesus is quite direct with them saying, “…no sign will be given…except the sign of Jonah the prophet…in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.” The scribes and Pharisees were blind to the miracles of Jesus. Their hearts were hardened to the teachings and word of God spoken by Jesus.

How often do I tune out what my child, coworker, neighbor, parent, priest or spouse is trying to explain or share with me? Am I aware of what is really the root cause of a situation that is pushing my buttons? Where do I hear His voice? Where do I see His face?

I pray that my eyes are able to see God’s face in my surroundings. I pray for listening ears to hear the Lord’s voice in the sounds of this world. I pray that I recognize where my heart has hardened.  Soften those places so that my heart may be as yours, Lord, Jesus Christ. Grant me the grace to be closer to you. Amen

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Beth Price is part of the customer care team at Diocesan. She is a Secular Franciscan (OFS) and a practicing spiritual director. Beth shares smiles, prayers, laughter, a listening ear and her heart with all of creation. Reach her here bprice@diocesan.com.

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The Comfort of Letting God Lead Us

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Today’s readings provide such comfort to our hurting world! Each of them provides a beautiful description of God’s loving, generous care.

No matter what anyone has done to you to lead you astray, God will care for you and bring you back to your rightful place and dignity.

Through His providence He will lead you where you need to be, regardless of what is going on around you in the valley of the shadow of death.

No matter how far off you have gone, God can guide you back to Him and give you His peace, a peace the world cannot give.

When we seek Him, God will have pity on us and give us what we need.

Because, my brothers and sisters, when we seek God and trust in His care, He may not choose to take away our sufferings or fears, but He will guide us safely through them. He may not change our outside circumstances, but He will change our hearts, if we let Him.

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J.M. Pallas has had a lifelong love of Scriptures. When she is not busy with her vocation as a wife and mother to her “1 Samuel 1” son, or her vocation as a public health educator, you may find her at her parish women’s bible study, affectionately known as “The Bible Chicks.”

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Alive

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“Are you alive in Christ?” There was a decently loud response from the crowd, a rumbling of “Yes.” 

Fr. Agustino Torres wasn’t satisfied with that response, though, and so he asked again, even louder this time, “Are you alive in Christ?” A louder “Yes” resounded through the crowd. Still not good enough, though. 

“ARE YOU ALIVE IN CHRIST?” Finally, a thunderous “Yes” rolled through the field house along with loud screaming and applause. 

This sequence of questions and responses took place last weekend at a Steubenville Youth Conference during the Sunday morning homily. There were about 1,000 people in that field house who, yes, were certainly alive in Christ at that moment. It’s hard not to be after all that had happened over the weekend. 

Fr. Agustino cautioned us, though, as we still needed to be alive in Christ after we left the conference and every day after. 

So what does it mean to be alive in Christ? Each person’s journey, their following of Christ, is going to look a little different so every person’s answer is going to be different and that’s okay. 

Generally, I would say that being alive in Christ has a few main pieces, such as: prayer, Scripture and the sacraments. All of these graces will give us the strength to be in relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ and to truly be alive in Him. 

How does all of this relate to today’s Scripture readings? I look toward the Gospel and I am reminded of some simple truths of our faith. The person of Jesus Christ, the person that we are alive in, so many people in his day sought to put Him to death because what He was teaching was so counter-cultural. Does this fact remind you of anything? As Catholic Christians, most of what we believe and teach is counter-cultural and our culture tries to cancel us – to put our beliefs to death, in a way – for doing so. 

Even as the Pharisees were seeking to put Jesus to death, many people still chose to follow Him. Many people were alive in Christ as they followed Him! 

This is a reality that we must face if we are truly to be alive in Jesus, that people will seek to pull us down. But our strength lies in the graces that we receive and in the person who is greater than all things. Our strength, our life, lies in Jesus Christ. 

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Erin Madden is a Cleveland native and graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville. She is passionate about the Lord Jesus, all things college sports and telling stories and she is blessed enough to get paid for all three of her passions. 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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What Would Make You Sad?

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I’ve been working with a client who is writing her memoir, and it’s got me thinking about the things we keep and the things we discard as we move through the different seasons of our lives. 

As I look at my own life and the lives of others around me, what I observe is how much value—both materialistic and sentimental—we place on things. Western culture encourages that valuation: we’re constantly exposed to ads telling us what stuff will make our lives better, longer, happier. 

Today’s Gospel offers a different vision.

A young man approaches Jesus and asks him how to get to heaven. He’s already doing everything he’s supposed to do, keeping the commandments, living a good life. For a lot of people, that would have been enough; but something in this young man was telling him there was more. Something was calling out to him.

He took his questions to Jesus, and Jesus gave him a very clear answer. It wasn’t the same answer he gave to Zacchaeus, who promised to give only half of his possessions to the poor, nor the same answer he gave others who asked to follow him. Jesus instead identified the one thing this man was not ready to give up–his possessions and the lifestyle they entailed. Jesus knew that was where the problem would lie.

Sometimes when we ask God a question, he gives us an answer we didn’t anticipate, and often, it’s one we don’t like. When Jesus challenges this good young man to let go of the material things he treasures, the fellow walks away, grieving. He had been hoping for a different answer. He’s saddened by the thought of giving up what’s most precious to him. 

And he can’t do it.

I live in a small cottage and keep my materialistic needs to a minimum. I don’t have clutter because I don’t have a lot of things. If God asked me to give up any (or even all) of those things, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. I could do it. 

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t other things I’d find very difficult indeed to give up, and I suspect you might feel the same. 

What I’m hearing in this story is a question: What would be the most difficult thing to give up if Jesus asked me to give it up? Is Jesus asking me, right now, to let go of something so I can be truly free to follow him? Are there attitudes I’m clinging to — grudges, resentments, self-pity, bitterness, judging others, laziness, insensitivity to others’ needs — that I don’t want to give up?

To follow Jesus, we need to shake off whatever binds us: wealth, esteem, comfort. Any “wealth” that I prioritize can be a block to freedom in following Christ. The man who met Jesus in this incident went away sad and unfulfilled, a sure sign that his possessions were possessing and imprisoning him. 

So I’m placing myself in this story today. I am telling Jesus that I keep the commandments, that I go to Mass, that I pray the rosary, and I ask him, “What else should I do?” And I’m almost holding my breath as I wait for the answer.

What answer would make me sad, because it would entail giving up more than I want to give up? 

What answer would make you sad?

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Jeannette de Beauvoir is a writer and editor with the digital department of Pauline Books & Media, working on projects as disparate as newsletters, book clubs, ebooks, and retreats that support the apostolate of the Daughters of St. Paul at http://www.pauline.org.

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True Rest

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Today, the Lord tells us that He can give us true rest, beyond that which the world gives. Christ invites us to take His yoke upon us and learn from Him, but this claim is much more significant in light of our First Reading.

When God reveals His name to Moses in the burning bush, He make a bold claim: “I AM.” At face value, this is somewhat redundant. Deeply examined, it reveals two things. First, God is the only God, and all the “gods” that others worship are either non-entities or demons. They cannot begin to compare to the God of the universe, the only One who is. Compared to Him, they do not even exist. Second, this is a metaphysical claim: God is existence itself, in that there is nothing lacking to Him. He has every possible perfection, fullness of being, life in abundance.

With this revelation, God is communicating that He is and always will be truly God, truly all-powerful and all-encompassing, and that no other can compare to Him. He is the one we should turn to for all our needs, since He holds all existence in Himself and has every good gift in abundance. He remains so for all time, never able to be hindered. 

Jesus points to this reality at a different point in the Gospel of Luke (20:38), when He uses this passage to prove the resurrection: God revealed Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, even though they were thought to be dead or annihilated. In reality, He remains their God, because they remain alive, even after bodily death.

In our Gospel today, Jesus connects Himself with this same image of God. It may sound comforting to hear that all who come to Jesus will find rest, and it is comforting. However, it goes much deeper than the surface. As Pope Benedict XVI pointed out, this passage comes directly before Jesus’ statement that the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. Coupled with the concepts of “rest” and “burden,” this coalesces to the claim that He is above the Sabbath, not merely as a lawgiver but as the Author of the Sabbath, God Himself.

Only God can give the true Sabbath rest promised in the Ten Commandments and echoed in the Exodus from Egypt. Only He can provide this freedom from both external and internal enemies, from Pharaoh and sin. With this divine claim, Jesus Christ is directly connecting Himself to the “I AM” Who introduced Himself in our First Reading.

We all know that Jesus Christ is God the Son, but it is important to reflect now and again on what this really means. He is the I AM, the one God, the fullness of existence, the giver of every good gift. There is no goodness without God, because there is no existence without God. Jesus Christ, being God, is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. There is no other, and any attempt to place our final hope in another will deprive us of the promised rest.

Today, we give praise to God for His providence, for His loving care that provides us rest from our enemies, both from within and from without.

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David Dashiell is a freelance writer, editor, and proofreader based in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. His writing has been featured in Crisis Magazine and The Imaginative Conservative, and his editing is done for a variety of publishers, such as Sophia Institute and Scepter. He can be reached at ddashiellwork@gmail.com.

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An Attitude of Gratitude

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It’s always interesting to hear the reactions when we have a period of cool days during our short Michigan summer. Some are in seventh heaven, pull out their sweat shirts, stoke the bonfire and enjoy the wind blowing through their hair. Others are saddened that their vacations are ruined or it’s too cold to swim and wish for the scorching sun to return. Others just go with the flow, knowing that the heat will be back soon enough.

This could be a great metaphor for our spiritual life as well. When we feel the warmth of summer in our souls, do we act upon it? When the flame of the Holy Spirit burns within us, do we allow our souls to be caught on fire?

When we are saddened because we are in a period of waiting, and that joyful anticipation has seemingly disappeared, do we lament and wish for things to be different? Or do we live in the moment and take more time for prayer?

Or are we just floating along on a lazy river, steering neither left nor right, up nor down, just letting life take us where it may? Is this really living?

It all comes down to gratitude. If you think about it, the measure of our gratefulness is the measure of our joy. If we are thankful for the warmth and thankful for the chill and thankful for everything in between, we will find ourselves content.

And with joy-filled hearts we will be able to proclaim together with the Psalmist: 

“Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all my being, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. He pardons all your iniquities, he heals all your ills. He redeems your life from destruction, he crowns you with kindness and compassion. The LORD secures justice and the rights of all the oppressed. He has made known his ways to Moses, and his deeds to the children of Israel.”

What an amazing cascade of praise! Many of us struggle to eke out a simple “thank you.” Can you imagine your soul being so full that you could not stop expressing your gratitude?!

So let us strive to shift our thoughts to the positive, remembering all of God’s mercies and all of His blessings, and be grateful for what truly matters. It may be warm today and cold tomorrow, but God’s love is with us through it all. Thank you, Lord, for you are truly kind and merciful!

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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 her parish, 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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Conversion and Courage

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Today, we hear about one of the unsung women who is an absolute hero in the Bible. Think back to the situation that is described in today’s First Reading. During this time in Egypt, all Israelite boys were to be killed, under the order of Pharaoh. You could be put to death for hiding children as well. Enter the hero of the story. This unknown woman conceals the child for as long as she can. 

Now I don’t know about you, but my experience with children is that they do not stay quiet for very long, especially without food or comfort. So this woman is constantly trying to keep her child quiet and well fed in order to save him from Pharaoh’s wrath. I think of the scene in “A Quiet Place” where they just had a newborn and have to try to keep the crying down so they are not heard by the invading force in the movie. 

If you have seen the film, you know that it ends in a sacrifice to protect the children. In the same way, this woman sacrifices her very life for Moses, and look at what God did with this sacrificial love. But notice that Moses is not ready right away to do God’s will. In fact, he even commits murder and has to hide out for a time as God slowly calls him to deeper and deeper conversion. 

I think there are two things we can learn from this reading that apply to our daily lives. First, sometimes God’s will can be difficult for us to follow, but we should be courageous just as this woman was in the Bible, because we never know what our actions will do in the long term. Second, we are constantly being purified and sanctified. When I was in seminary one of the major slogans was constant conversion. 

The word conversion simply means to turn away. Turn away from a certain lifestyle or sin or vice in order to turn back to God. John Paul II in his Encyclical Redemptoris Missio said, “From the outset, conversion is expressed in faith which is total and radical, and which neither limits nor hinders God’s gift. At the same time, it gives rise to a dynamic and lifelong process which demands a continual turning away from ‘life according to the flesh’ to ‘life according to the Spirit’. Conversion means accepting, by a personal decision, the saving sovereignty of Christ and becoming his disciple.”

Conversion is not once and for all, but gradual and daily. It is a lifelong process whereby we accept the love of the Trinity.  If we courageously follow God and open ourselves up to his constant love, it may not be what we expect, but it will be what we need. From all of us here at Rodzinka Ministry, God bless!

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Tommy Shultz is the Founder/Director of Rodzinka Ministry and a content specialist for Ruah Woods, a Theology of the Body Ministry. In these roles, he is committed to bringing all those he meets into a deeper relationship with Christ. Tommy has a heart and 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. 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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The Lord’s Help Amid the Nightmare

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As I was sharing with my sister-in-law all that my son has been through, I told her this felt like the song that never ends. She responded, “more like the nightmare that never ends”. And she was right. It has seemed more like a nightmare, but low and behold, it appears it has come to an end. After two full months including three five-day hospital stays, two surgeries, several procedures, a catheter, blood draws, countless IV’s, a few follow-up appointments, two weeks with an abdominal drain and two weeks on a feeding tube to administer meds, my son is left with a healthy body and 5 or 6 small scars on his belly to show for it. All that remains is to build up his strength and his appetite so he can enjoy the rest of the summer.

In today’s Gospel Jesus proclaims: “…whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

This hit me right between the eyes. I have been focusing so much on my son that my relationship with my God has gone by the wayside. Do I love my son more than my God? Has this trial been a cross that I am called to take up? Have I been trying to find my “normal” life these past two months only to realize I have lost it? Although I don’t think I could ever be worthy of God, I would hate to become unworthy from my own doing…

Bishop Barron’s reflection today held a great reminder: “‘And I will make you fishers of men.’ This is one of the best lines in Scripture. Notice the first part of the phrase: ‘I will make you.’ God is the one who makes us from nothing. To live in sin is to live outside of the creative power of God, to pretend that we can make ourselves. How wonderful that he tells us that he will make us!”

It is God who allows us to walk into the storm and it is God who leads us out of it. He molds us, shapes us, transforms us and makes us with each and every experience we live.

Our Psalm Response echoes this sentiment: “Our help is in the name of the Lord.”

Sure, I have received help from others, from family and friends who have supported me during this time, from doctors and nurses who have done their best to take care of my son, from perfect strangers who have prayed or sent gift cards for a meal, but it has all been the Lord working through them. My true stronghold, my one and only Sustainer is the Lord. I cannot rely on my own power or feeble strength.

So as this season comes to a close and we turn our focus on welcoming our fifth child soon, I pray that you also be reminded that God is in charge of making you and that your help is in His name alone.

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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 her parish, 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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