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Steps to Spiritual Growth

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In twelve-step programs, one of the tools used for spiritual growth is the “three A’s”: Awareness, Acceptance, and Action. Each of our readings today highlights one or more of these steps in a spiritual growth process.

Awareness

St. Paul beautifully describes the awareness we need as Christians: that we cannot separate our bodies and souls when it comes to morality and our relationship with Christ. We must have interior and exterior moral integrity, for the Holy Spirit dwells within us. Once we know this, we can move toward accepting and acting on this truth.

Acceptance

In our First Reading, we see young Samuel with some awareness that someone is calling him. Like many of us, though, he goes to the wrong place, with pure intentions, when God calls. With the help of Eli, however, he accepts the call of God and becomes ready to put His will into action.

Action

In our Gospel, we see the first apostles going through these three phases rather quickly They become aware that Jesus is Messiah through John’s word, accept that truth, and spring into action, following Jesus and telling others about Him. 

Our psalm also speaks of this process: the psalmist becomes aware of God stooping toward him, he accepts God’s call, saying, “behold I come,” and he acts on God’s call to announce His justice to the vast assembly.

Sometimes I wish that God’s call for me were as explicit as the calls that Samuel and the apostles received. For most of us, though, the path to awareness of God’s will for us means prayer, to grow closer to God, and quiet meditation, so that we can hear God speaking in our hearts. Once we are aware, then more prayer and mediation come in to help conform our wills to His so that we can accept it. Then, when we act on our acceptance of God’s plan, our prayers and meditation can give us the strength to carry out God’s will.

So then by prayer, meditation, and following His will, we grow closer to God. That is what spiritual growth is all about!

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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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He Knows Me So Well

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There’s an obscure moment in an equally obscure musical during which two women, both in love with the same man, sing a duet titled I Know Him So Well. Oddly enough, this is the song that’s been running through my head as I read today’s lessons—though with slightly changed lyrics. Not “I know him so well,” but, rather, “He knows me so well.”

I seem to spend a lot of time trying to do the right thing, and a lot more time, frankly, falling flat on my face. Every morning I start out with lofty resolutions about how I am going to move through my day in God’s presence, and every evening I do a brief Examen and find how many of those resolutions came to nothing. Do some spiritual reading? Um, nope, didn’t find time for that today. Follow through on my offer to help someone and actually, well, help them? Oops, that will have to be for tomorrow. Not think unkind thoughts about people with whom I disagree, but who are also children of God? Not even close. 

I despair, sometimes, of ever getting it right. And I wonder how it all seems to God, who started the day with me in my resolutions and promises and plans, and to whom I have to admit how much I failed. Failed, yet again, to be the “only Gospel my neighbor ever reads,” as St. Francis urges me. Failed, yet again, to put God first and myself second. Failed, failed, failed.

One of my favorite theologians, Frederich Buechner, writes, “To confess your sins to God is not to tell him anything he doesn’t already know. Until you confess them, however, they are the abyss between you. When you confess them, they become the bridge.” I think about that as I do my nightly Examen: he already knows everything I’m going to say to him. He already knows my failures.

And, as today’s readings assure me, knowing all that, he loves me anyway. St. Paul tells the Hebrews that “No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed (…) For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses.” And St. Mark reminds us of Jesus sitting with people who are despised, with tax collectors, with sinners, and replies to objections: “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

And there it is. He knows me so well. He knows my weaknesses. He knows how often I fail—but he also knows how often I try. He has come to eat with me, to walk with me, to offer me love and friendship, even though he knows me so well. That is precisely why he is here. And why I need to keep trying. Keep resolving to walk more closely with him every morning; keep examining where I fell short and working out how to progress every evening. Keep doing the best I can. Understand in all the trying and failing and trying again that I am a beloved child of God.

And that he knows me so well.

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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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The One Who Heals

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If you have spent any time listening to or reading the Gospels, you are aware of the discord between Jesus and the Pharisees. His preaching called into question the status quo and that made them uncomfortable. And yet, Jesus kept preaching and teaching and healing. This healing of the paralytic in today’s Gospel is amazing on many levels. First, the man’s friends are unbelievably persistent. They have faith. The paralytic, too, must have had great trust in his friends to let them lower him down. And then, his faith in Jesus. Faith heals him. But notice that he participates in this healing. He not only has faith, but he moves, he picks up his mat, because of that faith. When Jesus says “rise, pick up your mat, and go home,” he does. There is no question, no pause. He believes, he trusts, he has faith.

Now what about us? Since it is January and many people focus on starting fresh in a new year, let us consider what we have brought into this year that might have been better left behind. What has Jesus forgiven in us, that we are still carrying around? Do we want to get up and walk? Each time we go to confession, each time we go to Mass and pray the Confiteor, each time we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, we are given the grace of forgiveness. We are given the command to rise, pick up and go. Not in those words, but certainly in practice. Do we have faith in the healing power of Jesus? The paralytic, his friends, the crowds, all had faith. The crowd was “astounded” at what happened. 

Are you ever astounded after confession? I am. It usually happens at Mass, after receiving Communion, and I think about how free of sin I am and now Jesus is with me. The Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ is with me. In that moment, I have great faith that I am free of sin, that I can pick up my mat. I realize I cannot be lukewarm in my faith. I am compelled to do something with the gift of faith I have been given. 

Just as the paralytic man was given a gift of healing, we too have been healed. How have you been healed? Pray to see what you have been healed from and what you are healed for and then glorify the One who heals. 

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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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Forgiveness

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“Sorrow for sin is indeed necessary, but it should not be an endless preoccupation. You must dwell also on the glad remembrance of God’s loving-kindness; otherwise, sadness will harden the heart and lead it more deeply into despair”  ~St. Bernard~

In today’s Gospel we hear of Christ’s miracle of the healing of a leper. Lepers were outcasts; they were seen as unclean and were often not treated with the dignity due a human being. Jesus, despite how lepers were normally treated, touches the man in order to heal him. In the same way that Christ heals the leper out of compassion, so too does He heal us from our sins. God’s love is freely given to us. As part of his ultimate plan for us to share in His eternal life, God the Father offered His only begotten Son as ransom for our sins. The same eyes that looked at the leper’s disease with compassion and saw human dignity looks at our lowliness and sees our worth as sons and daughters of God. However, like the leper, we must ask God to cleanse us. By participating in the Sacraments, most especially by receiving our Lord in the Eucharist and by seeking absolution through Reconciliation, we unite ourselves to Him in love. 

Paul’s exhortation to the Hebrews to persevere in faith in the First Reading urges us to do the same. He writes, “Encourage yourselves daily while it is still ‘today’ so that none of you may grow hardened by the deceit of sin”. He reminds us of a warning against hardening our hearts against the love of God and follows with a plea to encourage one another in faith. When we harden our hearts, when we do not seek Him in the Sacraments, we turn away from His love and we distance ourselves from His salvation.  By living the Christian life devoutly, we inspire and motivate others to do the same. Our love for and encouragement of one another is a witness to the love that God has for each of us. By bringing one another to Christ, we open, rather than harden, our hearts and “become partners of Christ”. 

May we live our lives with hearts that are open to God’s love. May we rejoice in the knowledge that Christ’s love covers a multitude of sins.

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Dakota currently lives in Denver, CO and teaches English Language Development and Spanish to high schoolers. She is married to the love of her life, Ralph. In her spare time, she reads, goes to breweries, and watches baseball. Dakota’s favorite saints are St. John Paul II (how could it not be?) and St. José Luis Sánchez del Río. She is passionate about her faith and considers herself blessed at any opportunity to share that faith with others. Check out more of her writing at https://dakotaleonard16.blogspot.com.

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Driven By Desire…For What?

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What gets you out of bed before dawn?

We push ourselves beyond our superficial comforts for things that we value. Some people seem to focus on fun or competition and stay up late gaming. Some value their health or appearance, so they push themselves to get up early and exercise. Some prioritize learning and burn the midnight oil to read or study. Some people see their duty to family or friends as a value, so they push themselves beyond their need for rest or recreation to serve their needs. In each of these scenarios, a different value drives a person to stretch themselves.

What drives you?

What drives Jesus?

 “Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.”

We are all busy, and prayer can seem like “one more thing” that we can’t find time to do. Can we be as busy as Jesus was? He had just taught in the synagogue, left (maybe hoping for some rest) and healed Simon’s mother-in-law, and found himself faced with many people in need – some ill, some possessed, no doubt some who just wanted a word of encouragement. This began after sunset, so it seems he did not get a full night’s sleep.

And yet, he rose before the sun to seek out some silence and solitude. Why?

Jesus is always driven by the same thing: the Father. He does the will of the Father (Jn 6:38). He says what the Father tells him to say (Jn 12:49). He does the works he sees the Father doing (Jn 5:17-19, 14:10). He needs to be in communication with the Father, in solitude, to know the Father’s will and to do it perfectly (Matt 14:23, 26:36; Mk 1:35, 6:46; Lk 3:21, 5:16, 9:18, 11:1) .

Surely, his whole life was prayer, because he was always seeking to please the Father. And yet it is recorded for us in the very Gospels that Jesus went away from the work in order to pray. It’s stunning, isn’t it? The Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, the Word Incarnate, as man, must seek out actual times of solitude to PRAY, to be in union with the Father, to listen to the Voice of God.

When do you pray? Before dawn? At mealtimes? When you can? Can you never?

Does seeking the loving Face of the Father drive us to set aside times of prayer each day? Each year, I resolve to be more faithful to my daily prayer, and this year is no different! How well will I keep this resolution this year? How about you? No matter how well you are able to walk with Jesus and spend time with him each day, it seems certain that this world would benefit from an even greater commitment to prayer in 2021.

May God bless you abundantly.

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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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Childlike Awe

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As a working mom, I make it a point to spend individual time with each of my kids as often as I can. They take turns having mommy “dates” and treasure their time with me just as much as I do with them. And although our one-on-ones often include a trip to the grocery store or the thrift shop, they get to chatter away telling me about whatever suits their fancy. These days, it’s usually either Legos or soccer. 

It’s so refreshing amid life’s calamities to spend time with children. No matter what stresses are thrown your way, you can’t help but smile at their antics, their silliness and even their mischief. Just the other day, I was fretting about some ongoing issues we are dealing with and my son just started singing his own version of “Fa-La-La-La-La” in the back seat. His words were more like “Fa-La-La-La-La-Dah-Doo-Dee-DOWN!” After we sang that together for a while we changed it to “Fa-La-La-La-Dah-Doo-Dee-UP!” and had ourselves a good laugh.

I wonder if we saw things through the eyes of children we would be more astonished at Christ’s teachings as the people were in today’s Gospel… “for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.” As parents we have authority over our children, but do we truly comprehend the authority of God? I think many times we don’t or perhaps we simply don’t think about it. 

Where is that sense of awe and wonder at reading His word? Does His fame spread everywhere this day in age because we, those who believe in Him, are speaking with others about Him in sheer amazement? Do we believe that he can drive out any “unclean spirits” that might plague us, whether they be unfortunate events, impure thoughts or unkind words?  

I find it interesting that the unclean spirit was able to proclaim with such certainty that Jesus was the Holy One of God. What about us, those of us who try our best to live good lives and grow in our faith. Can we proclaim with certainty “I know who you are – the Holy One of God!”? Do we know who God is? Can we even fathom His holiness? 

With prayer and quiet time we can definitely experience glimpses of these concepts this side of heaven. When we allow child-like simplicity instead of adult complicatedness to enter our souls we can begin to grasp His grandeur. When we turn our hearts to praise and gratitude we can begin to know who He is. 

Today let us exclaim with the Psalmist: “O Lord, our Lord, how glorious is your name over all the earth!”

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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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Come Follow Me

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 Today we read about the day that Christ called to Simon and Andrew, saying: “Come after me, and I will make you into fishers of people.”

Christ called to these men, and they immediately dropped what they were doing to follow Him. His command was that compelling. 

Imagine looking upon the face of Jesus as He beckons you. Imagine hearing His voice tell you to come. What an immense gift those men were given.

We don’t have the benefit of a flesh-and-blood Jesus standing in front of us commanding us to follow Him. We cannot hear His voice directly tell us what He wants. Yet, His command to us is the same as the command He gave to those men 2,000 years ago. He calls us each by name to follow Him. He tells us we are His. Why? Simply put, He loves us. And His love for us is so immense that we can only fathom it. God longs for us to drop everything and to run to Him, proclaiming His goodness and vowing to give everything we have to serve Him. He longs for us to show this joy to others so that they, too, can see His glory.

However, we know that this is easier said than done, especially in today’s world. Sometimes we find that life gets in the way. Our jobs, the little things we must do to keep a household running, even our families—all these things are blessings in and of themselves, but they can also serve as distractions. These things can keep us from dropping everything and running to the arms of the Lord—even metaphorically. And they can keep us from teaching others about Christ’s goodness and mercy. 

Yet God is always there gently reminding us that He has called us and that we are to be fishers of men, just like the Apostles. He wants each and every one of us to bravely and proudly follow Him and to lead our families, our neighbors, and those in our community to Him. 

We must always remember that being a fisher of men is an important part of our faith, for we were not meant to hide our faith away. We were not meant to pray in isolation. We were not meant to simply go to Mass once a week and do nothing else for God. We are called to model Christ’s love and to be examples to others. It is by these actions that we will lead others to Christ, and it is our inner joy that will attract others. When we heed the call to truly follow Christ and to serve Him in all we do, we will indeed fulfill His calling to be fishers of men. 

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Susan Ciancio has a BA in psychology and a BA in sociology from the University of Notre Dame, with an MA in liberal studies from Indiana University. For the past 17 years, she has worked as a professional editor and writer, editing both fiction and nonfiction books, magazine articles, blogs, educational lessons, professional materials and website content. Eleven of those years have been in the pro-life sector. Currently Susan freelances and writes weekly for HLI, edits for American Life League, and is the editor of Celebrate Life Magazine. She also serves as executive editor for the Culture of Life Studies Program-an educational nonprofit program for K-12 students.

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Baptism Equips for Mission

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Today we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. Confusingly, this happened when Jesus was an adult, and not as a child. So why does the church celebrate it here at the end of the Christmas season?

Before Jesus began his public ministry (his preaching, miracles, gathering disciples, etc.) he went to the Jordan River. His cousin John was there baptizing many people. Baptism was a ritual of repentance, and a ritual of death and new life. You cleanse your body with water on the outside, and commit to a new life on the inside. There were also many examples in the Old Testament of the whole people of Israel being “baptized” through the actions of the Lord himself (Noah and his family surviving the flood, the Hebrews crossing the Red Sea out of Egypt, Joshua leading the people over the Jordan into Israel, etc.). This time, John was preaching for people to prepare themselves for something big. There was a Messiah coming, a savior for their people. 

Along comes Jesus, who wants to get baptized too. Needless to say, John knows who Jesus is. In the account from Matthew’s gospel, John the Baptist tells him, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” Jesus replies, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Mt 3:14-15 NABRE). 

What does he mean? Why would Jesus want to get baptized, if he doesn’t need to repent of anything? I think we need to look at Jesus’ mission. To sum it up briefly: God the Son became man, that man might become God. So, in order to fully unite himself to humanity, in order to be like us in all things but sin, Jesus undergoes this ritual. Jesus humbles himself, and fully embraces his humanity. And this, friends, is why we celebrate this feast in the same season as Christ’s birth. Both the feast of the Nativity and the Baptism of the Lord highlight the humility of Jesus. In both places, he clearly displayed his desire to become one with us, so that he can raise us up with him.

So how can we live out this feast day? I think the key is to remember that Jesus is one with us now! We are the body of Christ. The equipping and the anointing that He received at His baptism is ours now as well! Jesus actually received two things at His baptism: He received the anointing of the Holy Spirit AND he received the love of the Father. “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased”. In our lives, we need to humble ourselves like Jesus did, we need to know and acknowledge the love of our Father (and therefore know our identity as sons and daughters of God) and receive the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit. And as the second reading in 1 John says, there will also be a baptism of blood. The Lord will call us, like Christ, to sacrifice. All of these will equip us for OUR mission and public ministry on earth.

Songs for Reflection:

I See Heaven – Bryan and Katie Torwalt

Open up the Heavens – Meredith Andrews

Holy Spirit – Bryan and Katie Torwalt

All Who Are Thirsty – Brenton Brown

Glory in the Highest – Chris Tomlin

Prepare the Way – Charlie Hall

Joy (Unspeakable Joy) – Chris Tomlin

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Brendan is just your average Millennial hipster: He likes playing guitar, throwing frisbees, sipping whiskey, and grooming his beard. But he also has a passion for walking with teens and young Christ-followers, hearing every person’s story, and waking up the Church. Brendan works at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Lenexa, Kansas (near Kansas City) as a Youth Music Minister, fusing together his two loves of sharing Christ and sharing the power and need for good and beautiful contemporary praise. https://www.instagram.com/brendanbeardo/

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Do We Trust?

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I always like to read through the entire reading for the day and pray through it a little before writing a reflection. Well today, the line that stood out the most was right at the beginning. “We have this confidence in Him.” I immediately thought to myself, do I?

Do we have confidence in God? Through all the things that have happened in our world do we still have confidence that God has a plan, or do we want to try to forge our own path. I know there were many times in 2020 where I wanted to take over the driver seat and do my own thing because things didn’t seem like they would work out any other way. But then I heard that simple line from the First Reading and am faced with the question. Do I really have confidence in him?

As 2021 begins I think this is the most important question we can ask ourselves. We have no idea what is going to come our way in 2021 and although we should be smart and plan as much as we can, we also at some point have to put down the reigns and trust that God loves us, that he wants what is truly best for us, that he has a plan to get us there, and that he has power to get it done.

If the past couple years has shown me anything about the world it has shown me that we tend to think we can get through everything on our own and God is only petitioned when it’s the really big stuff. And then we put him back in the closet of our hearts and try to endure through life until the next big thing comes. What would happen if we trusted him with the big and the small? Not just one moment but with every moment? I think this has the power to change our year for the better.

I would encourage you to take just a few moments to ask yourself that important question. Do I have confidence in him? And then be bold and ask great things and expect miracles. 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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Love is the Victor

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The First Reading today begins, ‘the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God, is indeed, victor over the world, through the Spirit, water and Blood of Christ.’

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states,  “The Word became flesh to be our model of holiness: ‘Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me.’ ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.’74 On the mountain of the Transfiguration, the Father commands: ‘Listen to him!’75 Jesus is the model for the Beatitudes and the norm of the new law: ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’76 This love implies an effective offering of oneself, after his example.”77(ccc 459)

It is through and because of God’s love, Jesus’ love, that the man with leprosy was healed in the Gospel. Love is the victor over the disease! This conviction is echoed in the reading from Isaiah in the morning office , “Turn to me and be safe, all you ends of the earth, for I am God; there is no other!” Love is the Victor of the world!

The Catechism goes on to say in ccc 872: “In virtue of their rebirth in Christ there exists among all the Christian faithful a true equality with regard to dignity and the activity whereby all cooperate in the building up of the Body of Christ in accord with each one’s own condition and function.”  It is through the Holy Spirit, the water and Blood of Christ that healing has been shared with all humanity.

The Victor of the world is love, God’s love. Fr. Casey Cole, ofm offers this perspective:

“In the way we love one another, work for justice, and offer sacrifice—doing as Jesus did—we can actually make a difference in our world because it is in these moments that Christ dwells in us and the Holy Spirit is sent forth from us. What is it that we always pray? “Send down your Spirit and renew the face of the earth!” If we want to follow after Jesus, we must let go of our cynicism and bleak outlook on the world, and instead believe with all our hearts that Christ is in control of this mission. We must look beyond what is not yet redeemed and open our eyes to the overflowing torrent that is God’s love in our world, transforming and renewing the face of the earth. We must realize it is through us, those whom Jesus has called as his disciples, that this work is being accomplished.”

Listen to the song from Friz Love, Heal the World Jesus . My hope is that God’s love transforms our world this year through faith, prayer and that which is each of ours to do in His kingdom on earth. Shalom

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

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He First Loved

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“We love because he first loved us.”

Think about that for a second and really let it sink in. God loved us first. I know for a lot of my life, especially in high school, it sometimes felt like I was constantly chasing after God. As if the sins I had committed increased the dark and spaceless void between myself and God and I was the subject who had to do everything I could to bridge the gap and win him back.

Have you ever felt that way? The good news we hear in the First Reading today is that God is the one who longs for us. He starts the whole process and sees it through in a loving and consistent manner. Think about a romantic relationship for a second. Typically there is one person who is initiating the love. Something about the other draws them out of themselves and gives them the courage to make that first move. Well with God we don’t have to wait or wonder. 

Since the very moment of our conception, God has been chasing after us, longing for us, loving us first. He looks at us and since he is the perfect gift he not only gives himself, but he becomes one of us in order to save us from our sin. This reality should blow us away. It changed my whole perspective on life. I no longer needed to feel like God was lightyears away from me, a sinner, but when I look up he is already there. He is helping me, guiding me, giving me grace and love.

We are now a week into the new year. Maybe a focus of this year can be to stop throughout the day and become aware of how God is loving us in each moment. We can forget if we don’t actively engage in the things he is doing in our life. It’s the same in a relationship as well. If you stop being intentional with one another then you start losing the sense that the other person is even there for you. Let’s be intentional with God this year. This can be as simple as stopping a few times a day and saying, “Jesus, I love you.” It doesn’t have to be hard. Wherever we are, God is there. 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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Weathering the Storms with God

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As we come to the end of this Christmas season, the readings today remind us of the Good News the season brings. The news of the birth of a Savior; the news that God loves us so much that He Himself became man in order to save us from our sins; the news that there is indeed hope for eternal life with our Maker! 

Despite the overwhelmingly good news of the Christmas season, we may not feel as though all is good. We will still weather storms. In fact, many of us may have weathered brutal storms during the Christmas season. Today’s readings remind us that no matter what storms we face, God is with us and He loves us. 

In today’s Gospel we hear the story of Jesus walking on water during a storm. He sees the disciples in a boat on the stormy sea and walks toward them intending to pass them by. However when the disciples see Christ walking on water, they fear He is a ghost and call out to Him. His response is “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid”. In the midst of their storm, the disciples did not recognize the love of Christ Himself enveloping them and ensuring their safety. Seeing their fear, Christ enters the boat with the disciples and He calms the storm. How often do we, in the midst of our own struggles and storms, fail to recognize Christ’s presence and love? Do we invite Him into our boat and ask him to calm our storms? In the First Reading, John tells us that “God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him….there is no fear in love but perfect love drives out fear.” When we fully allow God into our lives and give Him control, we have nothing to fear because His love will drive out that fear.

Of course, that’s much easier said than done. It seems to be an impossible task to place our full and unconditional trust in God and allow Him to take control of those things we cling to so closely. Perhaps we can begin by praying to Him in the small storms and that way when the big storms come, and the big storms will come, we will know exactly where to go because we will recognize God’s immense love for us. 

May we follow the example of St. André Bessette who said “There is so little distance between heaven and earth that God always hears us. Nothing but a thin veil separates us from God.”

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Dakota currently lives in Denver, CO and teaches English Language Development and Spanish to high schoolers. She is married to the love of her life, Ralph. In her spare time, she reads, goes to breweries, and watches baseball. Dakota’s favorite saints are St. John Paul II (how could it not be?) and St. José Luis Sánchez del Río. She is passionate about her faith and considers herself blessed at any opportunity to share that faith with others. Check out more of her writing at https://dakotaleonard16.blogspot.com.

Feature Image Credit: GDJ,https://pixabay.com/vectors/jesus-christ-miracle-5000359/