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There is a Time for Every Season

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The first signs of spring are a reason for rejoicing in the colder, northern regions. Here in West Michigan, all the snow has melted, the birds are singing as morning dawns, and although the nights are still crisp, the days are growing warmer. There is no telling when that white stuff might randomly fly a few more times between now and early May, but the promise that spring officially starts in just 3 days fills us with hope. 

The sun’s welcome rays warm us longer and longer each day and the kids start asking to get their bikes and scooters out. Just a week or so ago they were complaining that there was too much snow and they wanted to play soccer on the grass, and now they ask, “Can I just wear my sweatshirt today?” when it’s barely 45 degrees out. Yet, mommy is excited too and starts putting away winter gear and getting their Easter baskets ready. 

We celebrated Laetare Sunday this past weekend, so we know we are closer to Easter than we are to Ash Wednesday. In just two weeks, we will be in the midst of Holy Week. And just as the promise of spring brings us hope, so does the promise of Easter, the highest feast of the whole Liturgical Year. 

Perhaps you’re like me and love to anticipate special times and special days. Perhaps you book your vacations months in advance and already have your Christmas presents bought and wrapped by October. But the truth is, we still have work to do. Lent is not over yet. And the most intense days are still to come. 

Today’s Gospel foreshadows Jesus’ death with these words: “Jesus answered the Jews: ‘My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.’ For this reason they tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.”

It is so easy to get angry with the Jews and exclaim, “Don’t they get it?! Why don’t they understand?! He IS equal to God!!” Yet in our own hearts we may still deny him. That little white lie, that burst of unnecessary anger, that silent treatment we gave our loved one, that busyness we allowed when we should have taken time to pray…

Yes, it is tempting to look ahead to the sunshine after the storm, yet we are still called to endure it a little while longer. Let us continue to weed out what prevents us from getting closer to him, remembering all the while that “The Lord is gracious and merciful.” (Today’s Psalm)

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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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Striking a Balance

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I am a child of two very disparate worlds.

My mother grew up in the American South, raised by staunchly Southern Baptist relatives, and she absorbed some odd practices: no drinking, no dancing, church services lasting for hours twice on Sundays. 

My father grew up Catholic in Angers, France, a medieval city with a cathedral dedicated to St. Maurice; his family had been part of the fabric of the city and of the cathedral for, literally, centuries.

It was an odd space in which to grow up, even after my mother’s conversion and my going to a Catholic school. Because every parent carries baggage their children must make sense of. Both my parents’ religious backgrounds came with rules. Sometimes the rules overlapped, and sometimes they diverged. For my father, it was about strict adherence to Catholic practices; for my mother, it was about behavior (no idleness, no activities without a moral purpose, no pleasure for the sake of pleasure).

When I was ten or eleven, I did what many girls of that age do: I fell in love with horses. My family had the means to indulge me, and I spent every free moment around stables. I started riding, getting good at it, competing in horse shows. And then an opportunity came along to be in a really significant show. On a Sunday.

My father shrugged it off. Sundays start with the vigil; all I had to do was go to Mass on Saturday evening. My mother was deeply shocked; she carried with her the indelible memory of sermons that lasted for hours, and we’d always as a family gone to Sunday Mass. 

They argued about it. And I was thinking of those arguments when I read today’s Gospel story, in which Jesus dared to cross the line, cross the boundaries, do something he wasn’t “supposed” to do—out of love and caring.  

There was good reason for the Jews, then and now, to keep the Sabbath. God had ordained it. It was a day of refreshment, of recollection, a day unlike the other six days in the week. A Jew himself, Jesus knew the value of such a practice and its connection to his Father.

So why did he heal on the Sabbath? He must have known he was crossing a line. He must have known his action would come back at him in some way.

What we can see clearly throughout Jesus’ life and ministry is a call to being genuine. His message was simple. Whereas the Hebrew Bible is filled with specifics—measurements, times, what is and isn’t acceptable—the New Testament is notable for its simplicity. Love your God and your neighbor. Return good for evil. Turn the other cheek. Feed the hungry. And it all comes back to one thing: love. Through love of humanity God sent his son. It’s all about love.

God’s laws were given to help people love him with all their hearts and minds, but centuries of history tend to create distortions. By Jesus’ time, religious leaders had turned the laws into a confusing mass of rules. The point of the rules—a loving relationship between God and humanity—had been lost. By example, then, Jesus is showing that the rule of keeping the Sabbath only makes sense insofar as we don’t lose that point, as long as it does not exclude love. The sick man needed love and help, right then, right there, not when it was more convenient. 

When Jesus talked about a new way of understanding God’s law, he was actually trying to bring people back to its original purpose. Jesus wasn’t challenging the law itself. It’s a matter of striking a balance—or, perhaps, of perspective. If the greatest law of all is to love, then taking risks to put that love into the fabric of our daily lives is what we’re called to do. He showed it was better on the Sabbath to help someone in need than it was to stand around looking holy.

Because it really is that simple. It’s about love.

I ended up going to that horse show, where I ignominiously fell off after the third fence. And my parents were both there to support me, having overcome their differences… out of love.

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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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Actually, I Have a Better Idea

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Does it seem like your prayers are unanswered, or your petitions are tossed into a void? Do you weary of asking for things because it seems you will never receive them? Do you ever wonder whether Christ’s Heart can be moved toward you?

What moves the Heart of Christ?

In today’s Gospel, a royal official who is concerned for his dying son travels 20 miles to ask Jesus to come and heal him. Jesus seems to brush him off, but the official is undeterred and asks again. Then Jesus tells him that he can go, his son will live. What moves Jesus to grant this healing? Perhaps the answer is found in the next line: “The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.” The man believed. Clearly, he believed from the beginning or he would not have left his dying son to find Jesus. He would not have insisted when Jesus seemed to dismiss him. He would not have headed back home without Jesus, if he did not believe that Jesus’ word is also ACT. He must have also had a level of humility, as his traveling to find Jesus would have been ridiculed by many.

On his way back, the man’s humility and faith were rewarded when his slaves met him with the happy news that his son was recovering – and had begun to recover at the precise hour of Jesus’ word to him. This miraculous healing was the catalyst for conversion for the whole household!

So, is Jesus’ Heart moved to act for you?

What do you have to do to make sure God hears your prayers?

It’s important to remember that this is the oldest temptation on record! In Eden, the Enemy convinced Adam and Eve that God was not really FOR them, that He was holding something back from them, and so they reached for something that was not meant for them. They seemed to forget every good thing God had poured over them, and grasped for more, letting trust in God shrivel up in their hearts.

This Lent, we again have the opportunity to focus with the whole Church on the many and great gifts God has given us in Christ, and to see anew that Jesus really loves us and gave himself FOR US. This should feed our loving trust, strengthen our faith, and embolden our prayers, knowing that God gives us everything we need and more. But He does not simply give us everything we think we need; He gives us everything He knows we need to fulfill His will for us.

So it can be helpful to remember that God has three answers to prayer:

  1. Yes!
  2. Not right now.
  3. Actually, I have a better idea.

How is the Heart of Jesus answering your faith-filled prayers right now?

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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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Basketball Evangelization

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Is anyone old enough to remember the guy that traveled from pro basketball and pro football games around the country for many years with his favorite sign: John 3:16? One thing he did was to raise awareness of that Bible verse. People around the country talked about him a lot. And most of the conversation was not very complimentary. Anyone that speaks openly about God or Jesus Christ is looked at as it’s being way outside the box. I am speaking here about conversations with friends and family members, not about giving talks at places of invite. 

I am sure you remember Saint John Paul II’s words on the “new evangelization”. I believe that he knew how much it was needed around the world. We can write all sorts of books on the subject but, are we as Catholics really evangelizing? The man at the basketball / football games was doing what he felt he was supposed to do, promote John 3:16. 

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” I applaud the man who had the guts to promote his God. To promote John 3:16. He was a fool for the Lord. When I heard people talk about him he was looked upon as some kind of Jesus freak. I heard that term for the first time back in the 60’s. It was about the same time the phrase God is dead was born. Also, about the same time that Madalyn Murray singlehandedly convinced the Supreme Court that there could no longer be prayer in public schools. How is that possible?? I was in the 6th grade in 1956 and Miss Mary Ewing read Bible passages to us almost every day! It was wonderful. 

The Church gives us this time of Lent to make sacrifices and to pray more to clear our minds on the state of our spiritual lives. Pray about it. The Lord will tell you what He wishes you to do. Let’s be in eternity together!

Serving with joy! 

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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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Mercy, Love and Knowledge

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The book of Hosea is a beautiful love story full of mercy, faithfulness and forgiveness. Hosea 6:6 says, “For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” Some translations have mercy, not love. Either way, the point is the same. We are to give out love and mercy and know God rather than focus on sacrifice. Which is odd to think about during Lent, as we sacrifice in preparation for Easter.

The key, of course, is told to us in the Gospels, where Jesus speaks. Today we read the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector and their approach to prayer. I ask myself this question, “do I need God’s mercy?” and then, “do I want God’s mercy?”

The Pharisee is certainly not interested in God’s mercy, he’s too busy being self-righteous. I could make a list of virtues the Pharisee needs. And then, I would be just like him! Let’s not indulge ourselves in that behavior, either about this particular Pharisee or the people around us.

Instead, look at the tax collector. He knows who God is, he knows who he is, and he knows who is not God. He is in need of God. His mercy. His love. His forgiveness. He humbles himself out of love (cf Hosea 6:6) not out of obligation or fear or lack of self-esteem. 

This verse, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ (Luke 18:13b) is part of the Jesus prayer used in the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches: “O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”. It is a beautiful prayer to use throughout the day, especially in those moments when we have sinned or need help in making the decision to avoid sin. 

When we acknowledge our need for mercy, it overflows. As we continue our Lenten journey let’s not hesitate to ask for mercy, let’s make our sacrifices out of love and grow in our knowledge of God. That is what my prayer is for all of us today.

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Deanna G. Bartalini, MEd, MPS, is a Catholic educator, writer, speaker, and retreat leader. She has served in ministry for over 40 years as a catechist, religious education director, youth minister, liturgical coordinator, stewardship director and Unbound prayer minister. For all of Deanna’s current work go to DeannaBartalini.com. 

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God has never given up on us and never will

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Hosea represents the heart of salvation history. Despite our wanderings and wailings and wonderings, even after our fickleness, our refusals and our settled decisions to do things our way or to just not do things at all, God has never given up on us and never will. God will not let us go. Our Lover is faithful and his love can be trusted. The marriage holds. We are still his.

We remember that in earlier more tumultuous chapters of the prophet Hosea’s story, he was commanded to go and love a woman who is beloved of a paramour…, even as the Lord loves the people of Israel, though they turn to other gods (3:1). 

Isaiah realizes how useless is its own self-sufficiency in relying on Assyria and the horses of war, their calling god the idols which their hands have crafted. They are nothing without the God who made them and who loves them. God loves Israel, and us, with a love that is tender. The words Hosea uses for this love are emotional words that express a father’s or a mother’s tender affection. 

I too have faithlessly wandered from the One who has loved me, literally, unto death. And tender has been his search for me wherever I have taken refuge to escape the demands of the relationship he has initiated with me. I am weak. I am poor. I am incurable. And I know beyond a shadow of doubt after so many attempts to improve this relationship on my own terms that it is only God who heals me, who loves me, as he revived and reconciled Israel to himself. 

The images that Hosea uses to describe what God brings about in the life of his loved one are images of nature at the fullness of its beauty and bounty. They are images of the bountiful Giver of goodness, images of freshness, stability, and vigor: 

I will heal their defection, says the LORD,
    I will love them freely;
    for my wrath is turned away from them.
I will be like the dew for Israel:
    he shall blossom like the lily;
He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar,
    and put forth his shoots.
His splendor shall be like the olive tree
    and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar.
Again they shall dwell in his shade
    and raise grain;
They shall blossom like the vine,
    and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon (Hosea 14:4-7).

No god that I craft with my own hands, my mental acumen, or my gifted ability will ever compare with the endless River of living love that is my God. I am the loved one and now my Lover waits upon my word. What will be my response? What will be yours? 

What a perfect reading halfway through Lent. Pope Francis in his straightforward and sincere homily on Ash Wednesday 2021 sums it up this way: “Return to me, he says, with all your heart. Lent is a journey that involves our whole life, our entire being. It is a time to reconsider the path we are taking, to find the route that leads us home and to rediscover our profound relationship with God, on whom everything depends. Lent is not just about the little sacrifices we make, but about discerning where our hearts are directed. This is the core of Lent: asking where our hearts are directed.”

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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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Listen and Move

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“If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.”

Today’s Responsorial Psalm fits perfectly into my life, with yesterday being my last day at Diocesan and saying a scared, “Yes,” to God’s voice calling me to work with Pentecost Today USA, a Catholic charismatic renewal organization. 

So today I sit here, having just moved from Michigan to Pennsylvania and while I have heard His voice and allowed Him to move me where His Church needs me… I’m kinda terrified!

It takes an intense kind of faith and trust in the Lord to be brave, to have the strength and awareness to say yes to God’s wonderfully laid plan, not just your own. It’s the kind of faith that really makes you stop, look at your life, and remember that everything that has led you to this moment of faith, this moment of trembling trust, has been a part of a greater plan for you. 

Looking back at your life, you can begin to see the patterns, the way lost love can help you reprioritize, the way lost jobs can help you grow, the way lost faith can help bring you closer to God. These challenges can often give way to such a greater life and love if we only trust in God. 

This Lent, make the time to hear our Father’s call to you. 

The first step is just silencing your world enough to hear His voice.

Then listen. Truly listen. Hear Him out. 

He has beautiful plans laid out for you, His child.

Join me in praying:

Heavenly Father,

You call us by name from the path you have laid for us.

You know all and invite us to fall deeper into faith, deeper into love.

We ask you to speak to us through others,

Speak to us through the silence, 

Speak to us through the breeze, through the rustling of leaves.

Let us hear your calling out and open, not harden, our hearts to You.

Give me the strength, the faith, the trust, to take the first step to saying yes.

You have such beautiful plans for me,

More beautiful than I could ever know.

Let me hear you, Lord. 

Amen.

Click here to learn more about the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the US or click here to find a group near you! 

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

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Fulfilling the Law

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I love the readings for today because they connect so beautifully. The Church is brilliant with how it pairs readings sometimes. The first reading for today speaks about the importance of the law and statutes and decrees that are given by Moses. Moses must have been a brilliant salesman because he implores the people to follow the statutes and says that if they do, other nations will look at them as an intelligent society. So of course they will want to follow the rules, because they will look intelligent in doing so. Brilliant. But then the Gospel comes in and speaks to us about how Jesus did not come to abolish the law, but fulfill it. Jesus himself says, “Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.”

See sometimes I think we make Jesus into a person he was not because our faith can be much more comfortable that way. We decide that Jesus is too loving for anyone to go to hell, but yet Jesus speaks of hell. We decide that religion is not about rules, but about love. But Jesus speaks at length about the rules. We decide that if we are just a good person we will make it to heaven, but Jesus says to repent and believe in the Gospel. So sometimes we make up a jesus in our minds that there is really no biblical basis for. And I think that happens most when we talk about laws. Now of course, the Catholic religion is not about just blindly following laws for the sake of the law, Jesus condemned this idea too, but he also spoke of the importance of what the law does to our hearts.

Think about the discussion on adultery for example. Jesus says, “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Here Jesus is calling the people out for obeying the letter of the law, they were not committing the act of adultery, but missing the entire point of the law itself, not to lust at all and to learn how to truly love. And notice what happens when we focus so much on the letter of the law as opposed to what it is trying to teach us. Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it was not so.”

When we focus on the letter of the law, when we reject the laws entirely, when we make Jesus into someone he is not, our hearts become hardened. We put up a wall between ourselves and the Lord. So how do we counteract this? I think one of the ways is to read through the Gospels. The more we learn about who Jesus really was and what he taught, the less tempted we will be to make him into someone he was not. Let’s pray for that grace today. From all of us here at Rodzinka Ministry, God bless!

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Tommy Shultz is the Founder/Director of Rodzinka Ministry and the Director of Faith Formation for the North Allegan Catholic Collaborative. 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. Contact Tommy at tommy@rodzinkaministry.com or check out his website at rodzinkaministry.com.

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To Turn

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The verse before the Gospel today is a favorite of mine. “Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart; for I am gracious and merciful.” I actually have a tattoo of a similar verse, “Whoever is in Christ is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold the new has come.” Both verses speak of conversion. Conversion just simply means to turn away from one thing and to another. This act of turning shows a denial of a person, place or idea, and at the same time an affirmation of another person, place or idea. When I was in seminary to become a Franciscan, something that was talked about quite often was constant conversion. Sometimes I think we hear testimonies of people where their entire life changed in one moment and from there they never ceased loving God. But I don’t think that happens most of the time. Most of the time we are called to this constant conversion where every day we have to meet the part of us that doesn’t want to follow God. Our desires, our worries, our fears, we meet these head on and make the choice whether or not to turn.

The first reading from today is one of these moments of conversion. Azariah is crying out with passion for the Lord to have mercy on them. They have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but they are making the choice to turn. We also hear of the opposite in the Gospel. The master forgives the servant who owed a debt, but then that same servant goes and demands the debt from his own servant. He had a chance to start anew, to convert, but instead he went and demanded the debt to be paid.

The bible is riddled with stories of conversion. Abram to Abraham, Saul to Paul, Simon to Peter. But notice that these people, after they converted, still had many things they struggled with and sins they had to face. Peter was already turning to the Lord when he decided to turn away three times. So, I think especially during this time of Lent, the question we can ask ourselves is, are we taking every day to turn back to the Lord? Sometimes Lent can be difficult because we look at it as this 40 day chunk that we have to try to get through. But in a lot of ways, it should be no different from how we normally live. Of course, we are giving up extra things, fasting, and abstaining, but every day we should look at our life and ask, are we turning closer to God, or further away? Let’s pray for the grace today and every day to turn even closer to him. From all of us here at Rodzinka Ministry, God bless!

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Tommy Shultz is the Founder/Director of Rodzinka Ministry and the Director of Faith Formation for the North Allegan Catholic Collaborative. 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. Contact Tommy at tommy@rodzinkaministry.com or check out his website at rodzinkaministry.com.

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Where Do You Put Your Faith?

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We tend to think that material wealth can solve all of our problems, but the trials of everyday life are not resolved with money. In order to build lasting spiritual fortitude to weather the storms of life, we need God. We have to realize that money isn’t everything. 

Naaman thought that money could cure him of his infirmity. That makes me question what kind of god he put his faith in. The God of money or the one true God? We shouldn’t hold onto money as if it were everything. We need God in our lives and we should thirst for our Creator every single day.

A few days ago, I lost my dad. The doctors did everything they could to save him but God had a path for him. I had no choice but to accept the will of God. I never lost faith. In this situation, money wouldn’t have helped anything. Life continues on with God at my side in every moment.

What are the things you continue to hold onto? What could God be calling you to let go of this Lent? Are you holding on to money, possessions, control, negativity, heartache or a grudge? Are you holding on to the health of yourself or a loved one and refusing to accept a diagnosis? What would it take for you to truly let go in order to hold fast to the God who loves you?

God is the only one that can solve all of life’s quandaries. Will you let Him?

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Felix Urcia was born in Lima, Peru. He emigrated the U.S. to complete his college degree in Computer Science at Northern Kentucky University. He is passionate about his faith, his family, education and soccer. When he is not homeschooling and caring for his young children he enjoys personal programing projects and participating in a biweekly soccer talk show. He and wife live in a small town in Western Michigan where they enjoy spending time outdoors with their boys.

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He Understands Us Well

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I’m always amazed when I read Scripture. I can read the same passage 20 times, then the 21st time something that I barely noticed in the past strikes me as meaningful.

Today, it was the end of the Gospel passage struck me for the first time: 

“He knew them all, and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He Himself understood it well.”

It seems a bit strange to include this in the Gospel. It seems obvious that God Incarnate should understand the nature of His own creation, yet I think we need to be reminded of this often.

How often do people complain about “the rules” of Christianity, particularly Catholicism? Yet these “rules,” God’s laws, come from God’s complete understanding of our human nature and what we need. Just as any loving parent, God gives us boundaries for our wellbeing, even though they may seem to spoil our fun.

So many people misunderstand God’s law, seeing it as “foolishness” or “a stumbling block.” When we come to know and love God better, though, we start to see His laws as wise and loving. We can then echo the sentiments of the psalmist, see God’s law not as a burden, but as precious and sweet.

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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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Return To God-His Arms Await You

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I come from a family of exaggerators. (Did you notice I didn’t say “a long line of exaggerators”? See! I’m working on it! ☺) Anyway, we love to tell stories, look for a reaction, get a good laugh out of someone. It would not be uncommon for you to hear something like: “Did you see that?! There were like 50,000 birds on that line!” When really there may have been 50, tops. Or “I was laughing so hard I almost fell off my chair!” When really we just had ourselves a hearty guffaw. 

Isn’t it interesting how our human nature has us seeking attention so often. I, for one, love drama. I enjoy giving lengthy explanations of how I’ve suffered, who has wronged me or how off that person was when they said this or made that decision. It all has to be scandalous. “Oh my goodness! Can you believe it?!”

Now most of this exaggeration is done innocently, in good fun, but in the end, it isn’t completely truthful, is it? That is something I have decided to work on this Lent, sins of the tongue. How often do I complain, criticize, blow out of proportion, look for attention when I could just grin and bear it? 

One year I gave up complaining for Lent, and let me tell you, I spent a lot of time in silence! This year, I have decided to target criticism. Why do I feel the need to talk about others as if they were wrong? Does that mean I am always right? Do I really think I’m always right? Well…maybe… but deep down, I know that’s not true. I have my faults and shortcomings just like anyone else. And if I think I am better than others, that is prideful. 

In the end I am no better than the Pharisees who were grumbling to Jesus in today’s Gospel saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Not only were they criticizing Jesus’ actions and the sinners themselves, they were also revealing their jealousy. They wanted a bit of Jesus’ attention too, and they weren’t getting it, so they began to whine. 

Jesus goes on to share with them one of the most beautiful and beloved parables in the Bible, the Prodigal Son. The Father does not focus on the fact that he was treated as if he was already dead when his son asked for his inheritance. He does not focus on the fact that he was abandoned by his child in favor of a life of sinful pleasure-seeking. He does not focus on the fact that his son only came crawling back when he was in dire need. No. His only concern was that he had returned. “This son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.” He was not angry, he did not chide, he simply welcomed him home. I can only imagine how his eyes must have filled with tears and his heart swelled with joy.

And the good news is that this kind of joyous welcome belongs to each and every one of us when we return to God. Whether you also struggle with sins of the tongue or something completely different, God’s arms are always open in order to enclose you in a loving embrace. 

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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.

Feature Image Credit: Pompeo Batoni, Wikimedia Commons