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Be Better

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We are in the middle of Holy Week, people! Less than a week until Easter! Less than a week until we commemorate the greatest gift of all! Is your soul refreshed? Are your hopes and desires getting you a step closer to heaven? Can you feel the deep waves of forgiveness pulling you into God’s great ocean of peace?  

If your answer is without a doubt yes, then please, do tell me your secrets. I feel like I have done my best to be prepared for the memorial of Jesus’ resurrection, but I wouldn’t say that I’m 100 percent heaven-ready. Luckily, God understands that we are not perfect by default and has given us the Bible as a tool to use.

As I read over today’s first reading, it sounds like just the kind of quick guide that I need. I have a tongue, so I should speak to the weary. I have ears, so I should listen to the true word of Christ. My body, though beaten by people that make fun of me and scoff at my beliefs, has the Lord God at my side to hold me up. Going into the responsorial Psalm, we ask, “Lord, in your great love, answer me,” as we admit to being weak, picked on, an outcast, insulted. We praise him because we are thankful, but our thanks must go further than just words. It should be evident in our actions.

As Catholics, we must understand that we will always have more to strive for. Our God challenges us in everyday situations to step up and live out our faith, whether it is with the people around us or in our own hearts. Instead of seeing our faith as a burden or as an annoyance (because sometimes we do), we should instead see it as an opportunity to become a better person. Instead of trying to please our critics, society, or our parents, we should try to become someone our heavenly Father would be proud of.

So if your Lent didn’t go as planned, know that it’s okay because it is a journey. As you attend each Mass this Holy Week, ask God for what you need. Ask Him to bless your body with the skills and strengths you need. He wants you to succeed and is willing to give you the tools because He wants nothing more than to be in communion with Him in heaven. It is a simple matter of who you want to be and if you are willing to work on it. Do you want to be better? Will you allow your Lenten sacrifice to carry on after Sunday and continue to bring you closer to God? Or will you allow Jesus’ Lenten sacrifice be for nothing?

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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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Will You Also Betray Me?

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Recently, I read a quote that states, “Christianity isn’t as much about getting to Heaven as it is allowing Heaven to get inside of you.” In our Scripture readings today, we hear how the Lord created each of us with purpose. He calls us His servants, through whom He will show His glory. Within the First Reading and the Responsorial, we are reminded of the importance of seeking God in our needs. How can we show His glory if He is not our source of everything? It is in Him that we should take refuge. It is in Him that we should draw strength, safety, and hope. When we are not drawing from the wellspring of His glory, we wander into what is not good.

In the Gospel Reading, we automatically hear Jesus say, “Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” The one who does this is not drawing His needs and desires from the One who satisfies them. Instead, he is concerned with things of this earth. He is concerned with selfish wants and greed. We know who Jesus is talking about, we’ve heard the story before. What I previously did not realize is the fact that this Gospel reading seems to focus on not only Judas but Simon Peter. The one whom Jesus loved, the one who would betray Him three times. Both Judas and Peter betrayed the Lord, yet both were created to be servants of God. One is only known for betraying Him and one is known for not only this but for also being the first Pope, the Vicar of Christ.

“Christianity isn’t as much about getting into Heaven as it is allowing Heaven to get inside of you.” This is what sets Judas and St. Peter apart. Both wandered from Christ being the source of everything.  Both were scared, overwhelmed, and betrayed Him. The difference between them is that St. Peter returns to the heart of Christ, with contrition and repentance. He lives the rest of His life as a servant of Christ, which meant opening himself up to the glory of God. When I reflect on the relationship of Simon Peter, the simple fisherman who became our first Pope, I smile in awestruck admiration of this perfectly imperfect human being. He inspires me to be honest in my relationship with Christ, to seek God in all my needs, and to be His servant, through whom He will show His glory.

My friends, let’s be inspired together to be true servants of God this day and this holy week. Are you so open to the Spirit of God that you are truly relying on Him for your every need? Are you so honest with yourself and with God to recognize and admit where you’ve wandered off from Him? Have you betrayed Him in little or in big ways? If so, how can we humble ourselves like St. Peter? How can we come honestly back to His merciful heart with true contrition? These questions are not meant to beat ourselves up or huff and puff in our journey of holiness. They are meant to pull us out of mediocracy and open us to living out the glory of God here and now. This is the opportunity God presents to His disciples and to us today. Let us open our hearts, minds, and spirits up to becoming the servants God calls us to be, opening our hearts to the glory of Heaven within is and shown through us.

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Briana is a Catholic youth minister at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel parish in Cleveland, OH. She is also a nanny and district manager at Arbonne. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Catechetics from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH and is excited to use these skills to bring her students closer to Christ and His Church. “My soul has been refined and I can raise my head like a flower after a storm.” -St. Therese

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Avoiding Hypocrisy during Holy Week

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We are now in the midst of the most important week of the year. The entirety of Jesus’ life and mission leads to this week, which ends with him dying on the cross and rising from the dead. The events of our readings this week will ultimately lead to the cross; the climax of all of salvation history.

Today’s gospel takes place not long after Jesus miraculously raises Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, from the dead. As Martha serves the meal, Mary anoints the feet of Jesus with costly perfume that cost an almost entire years income.

In a culture which women were unable to support themselves or own property, their brother was likely the only one who could support them. When Lazarus died, Martha and Mary were likely to become poor beggars when whatever was saved ran out. But Christ came and raised her brother from the dead, saving them from such a cruel fate.

Mary was filled with overwhelming gratitude to Jesus for giving her back her brother and wanted to acknowledge his Lordship. The perfume was likely the most valuable thing in the house.

Judas, the disciple who would betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, exercising false piety, complains that the perfume could have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor. He, of course, did not care for the poor. St. John makes it clear that Judas was the group’s treasure and was laundering contributions to satisfy his greed.

It is ironic that Judas complains about the loss of a year’s wage when he was willing to betray Jesus for a value significantly less than the perfume.

Jesus dismisses Judas, commanding her to let Mary be. He says the poor will always be among their presence and there will always be an opportunity to serve him through serving them, but they have only a few more days with him before he is to suffer and die.

As we prepare to wrap up Lent this week, take a long and hard look at your Lenten resolutions. Using the example of Mary as she blesses Christ with her most valued possession and dries his feet with her hair, look beyond where you have fallen short and exercise them with greater devotion and love this week as she did.

Ask the Lord to unveil to you where you act as a hypocrite as Judas did, and ask his help to change your heart to better serve him as he approaches his passion and death.

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Hannah Crites is a native to Denver Colorado and a graduate of the Franciscan University of Steubenville. She has written for numerous publications and blogs including the Chastity Project, Washington Times, Faith & Culture: The Journal of the Augustine Institute, and Franciscan Magazine. She is currently working in content and digital marketing for a small web development and digital marketing agency. Connect with her through Twitter (@hannah_crites) and Facebook. Check out more of what she has written at https://hannhcrites.com/.

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A Holy Procession

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Yesterday my beautiful bride and I celebrated our 6 month anniversary of marriage. People say your wedding day goes by so fast that you are lucky to get a piece of your cake. This was certainly true but there were parts that slowed down and are still just as clear in my memory today as when they happened months ago.

One of these moments was seeing my bride for the first time in her dress walking down the aisle. This moment seemed to freeze in time as I knew I was about to marry my best friend, I was about to embark on the most incredible journey, I was about to enter into a lifelong relationship of love.

Fast forward to today, Palm Sunday. I can’t help but think about that holy procession when thinking about Jesus in today’s first reading. Our Lord and Savior processes into the city, all eyes on him, everyone excited with anticipation of what the King of Kings will bring to their city.

The difference, of course, is that Jesus’ wedding to his bride the church does not consist in a beautiful ceremony, delicious food, and friends and family. His wedding to us all consists in giving up his very life for us so that we could have eternal life. When he rode into the city that day he knew full well what he was saying yes to. He was saying yes to suffer the crucifixion out of pure love for us all.

Whether you have been married or not, I encourage you to reflect on the thought of standing up on the altar today. Here comes Jesus, processing in. He is here for you. He is willing to give it all, in good times and bad, in sickness and health, until death. What is your answer to him during this holiest week? Will you say, I do?

If you say yes, where do you go from there? As I have learned in the past six months, it’s not enough to say the words, they have to be put into practice. We know that because we are made in the image of a God who is love, we have the capacity to love. But I think we often forget this about ourselves in today’s world. We do not find ourselves worthy of true love, we do not think we can be a good gift to another, we have degraded ourselves into thinking we are no better than the common animal and do not deserve what Jesus did for us.

St. John Paul II would disagree. In his letter to families, he wrote, “Human beings are not the same thing as the images proposed in advertising and shown by the modern mass media. They are much more, in their physical and psychic unity, as composites of soul and body, as persons. They are much more because of their vocation to love, which introduces them as male and female into the realm of the “great mystery”

Human beings are special, we have been created unique, and each of us has a certain way we have been called to love the world, a vocation of love. When we enter into and live out that vocation, according to St. John Paul II, we enter into the great mystery. What is that great mystery? Paul says it himself in scripture, it is the wedding feast of the lamb, the marriage of Christ and his church.

Know that you are worthy, know that you are loved, know that you are called to give that love to the world, and if you ever doubt it, look at the cross. Jesus processed in today to say I do. What will you say back?

From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

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Tommy Shultz is a Solutions Evangelist for Diocesan. In that role, he is committed to coaching parishes and dioceses on authentic and effective Catholic communication. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. Contact him at tshultz@diocesan.com.

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Lord, I Am Not Worthy

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“So from that day on they planned to kill him” (John 11: 53).

I have failed. I have betrayed my Lenten promises. I have neglected to follow through on carefully made plans. I have run from challenges rather than toward them. I have claimed to love you, but instead, I turn to distractions rather than prayer.

The priest walked up to the ambo to preach his Good Friday homily after having read the passion as a congregation. He looked up and said: “We all feel extremely uncomfortable when chanting ‘Crucify him, crucify him. Yet this is exactly what we do each time we sin.” He then walked back to his chair in the deafening silence. 

Jesus reminds us in the Gospels that when we feel despised, we must remember that he was hated first. From even the moments before Christ’s birth, he was hated. After his birth, he was sought after to be murdered by Herod. People laughed at him and abandoned him. One man betrayed him, all men lent a hand.

Lord, I am not worthy.

Jesus carried the weight of the world in the form of a cross on his shoulders. He didn’t arrive to hear adulation when he reached the finish line. Rather, his prize was death on that same cross, and we, the people who put him there, are receiving the gift of the destruction of sin and the hope of eternal life with the man we killed.

Lord, I am not worthy.

Christ was certainly not a failure. He won. And by falling into sin, we are not failures. As Chris Stefanick would say, we mustn’t mistake one bad chapter for an entire book. We are made anew each day. We are made anew each hour. We are made anew each minute. But only if we choose to be. We move on from the sin of despair or presumption, and we build our hope minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. The hope that one day we may be forever with Christ in the Kingdom of Heaven, to which I repeat:

Lord, I am not worthy. But enter under my roof, and my soul shall be healed.

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

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Witness to the Gospel

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As we approach Holy Week and the Passion of our Lord, the Gospels tell us more and more about the tensions that existed surrounding Jesus. In today’s Gospel, we hear that the Jews want to stone Jesus for blasphemy but he responds with “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?” and later says, “If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works”. Christ is telling the Jews that actions speak louder than words and that, if they have such a hard time believing His words, they ought to look to his actions for proof.

I think this Gospel is incredibly relevant in the world and culture in which we live. Jesus is telling us that yes, our faith is important but it is our works that will lead others to believe. Our works are the way we witness to the Gospel. In the same way that Christ’s actions proved that He is God so to do our actions prove that we are part of the Church, that we are filled with hope for the coming of our Lord.

We wait in patient anticipation for the Resurrection of Christ because we know that He is our God and Redeemer. He has shown us that in His words and in His actions.

In one of his homilies, Pope Francis said, “We are not just a religion of ideas, of pure theology, of beautiful things, and commandments. No, we are a people who follow Jesus Christ and bear witness–who want to bear witness to Jesus Christ–and sometimes this witness leads to laying down our lives”. We must be willing to bear witness to the Gospel, even if it’s difficult, even if we must sacrifice our worldly comforts.

As this Lenten season comes to end may our hearts be filled with gratitude for the sacrifice of Christ and may we grow in strength so that we can bear witness to the great joy of the Resurrection.

St. Julius, pray for us!

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Dakota currently lives in Denver, CO is studying for her Master’s in Spanish, and loves her job as an elementary school librarian. She is engaged 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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The Final Leg

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“So the Jews said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.’”

We are in the final stretch of Lent, almost to Holy Week. In just 3 days, we will begin the Mass with Hosannas and palms and then abruptly shift to the cries of “Crucify him” during the reading of the Gospel. We will begin the final steps with Jesus through his passion and crucifixion. We will travel those steps with him through the liturgy, through our prayers, through our own sacrifices, through our desire to love him and quench his thirst on the cross.

A week from today, we shall stay with him in the garden. The next day we will venerate the cross by which he died. Then we shall sit vigil with his mother and his disciples and maintain a holy silence until his Resurrection.

With all of this before us, Jesus reminds us today of who he is. “…before Abraham came to be, I AM.” It is the name spoken by God to Moses at the burning bush. “By revealing his name God at the same time reveals his faithfulness which is from everlasting to everlasting…God, who reveals his name as “I AM,” reveals himself as the God who is always there, present to his people in order to save them.” (CCC 207)

As we prepare ourselves for Holy Week, we are reminded, reminded of God’s covenant with Abraham. Reminded that God will “maintain my covenant with you and your descendants after you throughout the ages as an everlasting pact to be your God and the God of your descendants” (Genesis 17: ) Reminded that God is always there, present to his people.

“So the Jews said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.’ So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.”

As we enter the holiest week of the year, as we walk with Jesus to his passion and death, we can do so with our whole hearts, confident that God is the God who is everlastingly present. We remember they didn’t take Jesus’s life, he gave it as a gift. The impact we feel at the awareness of that gift is one of the graces of Holy Week. As you walk this week, as you participate in the liturgies and prayers, remember that Jesus, the one who is, willingly did it all for you. You are so loved. Can we do anything less than give him our whole hearts in return?

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If you catch Sheryl sitting still, you are most likely to find her nose stuck in a book. It may be studying with her husband, Tom as he goes through Diaconate Formation, trying to stay one step ahead of her 5th and 6th-grade students at St Rose of Lima Catholic School or preparing for the teens she serves as Director of Youth Evangelization and Outreach in her parish collaborative. You can reach her through www.youthministrynacc.com.

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The Face of Truth

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Truth, noun, the property (as of a statement) of being in accord with fact or reality.

Here we have a nice, neat, clinical definition of Truth. Something based in fact or reality. I’ve lived a fairly long time. I’ve seen the “truth” of things change over the years. Facts that once were a given as actually true are now skewed by the changing norms of society, especially special interest groups. Things taught to us as truth by the Church, are today under attack as archaic and obsolete. I believe I need not have to go into a detailed list of what we hear each day, in our relationships, on the news or in TV shows and movies. Society has moved away from seeking the truth of things in the most authoritative of places, and instead, are formulating for itself what the truth is, by listening to today’s false prophets. As Christians, it is a tough world to live in. Lent, especially, brings us back to this reality, as each year we dedicate 40 days to renewing our faith and returning to God.

So, what do we do? Where do we turn? How does the truth, as taught to us by Jesus Christ, again become a timely reality in our lives? How indeed? Well, we look squarely into the Face of Truth, Jesus, and start slowly whittling away at that which erodes our faith in all he teaches.

All of this comes from one of the great lines of today’s Gospel, which many of us quote:  “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” And I’ll bet each of us can pinpoint at least once in our lives when we adhered to the truth and realized how much freedom we can experience, in mind, heart and spirit. I recall when I was newly divorced, in my early 30’s, and living by the adage given most women in the 70s and 80s, “you can have it all.” I tried that for a bit. I was miserable. Relationships either fell apart or were destructive. My work and all else I did suffered because I was a slave to the “sin” of wanting to have it all, now, when and how I wanted it. I did not, in any way, rely on the good timing and good things God had in mind for me. After all, what did God know? As it turns out – everything.

The turning point for me was when I took the position of secretary/bookkeeper at the Basilica of St. Adalbert here in Grand Rapids. We had a priest in residence who was, at that time, the hospital chaplain for the Diocese—Fr. Donn Tufts. Father has since passed away. During that time at the parish, he would, every Monday morning, bring the coffee pot into my office and we’d sit for a couple of hours in deep conversation. We talked of the times, the news, personal fears as well as joys. Fr. Donn often would say things to me that nearly knocked me off my chair. He had a way of taking my troubles and pointing back to Christ, gently, yet firmly. I remember saying to him once: “Oh, %*$#%, now I have to think about this!” He would laugh. After he left to become a pastor, we continued monthly lunch meetings with great conversation, and the celebration of Reconciliation while sitting in his living room. I honestly have to say that Fr. Donn turned my life around. Not that I still don’t have much work to do, but I am farther along now than I ever thought I would be. Fr. Donn showed me the Truth and how to see it in the Face of Jesus. I often wonder if Pontius Pilot, who looked squarely into the Face of Truth, ever changed after the encounter.

I tell you all this to remind you that the Truth of Jesus Christ and his teachings are ever relevant, no matter the times. Whenever hearts are open to listening, they are changed, and lives are changed. And that Truth will truly set you free to be who you were intended, by God, to be. It comes to you sometimes with hardship and struggle, but it will come. Freedom will come. The world can swirl all around in its craziness, but you will be free.

I’ll leave you with the words Fr. Donn always said to me when we parted: “Strength and endurance!” I wish each and every one of you as you journey this Lent, “strength and endurance.”

God Bless.

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Jeanne Penoyar, an Accounts Manager here at Diocesan, is currently a Lector at St. Anthony of Padua parish in Grand Rapids, MI. While at St. Thomas the Apostle, Grand Rapids, Jeanne was a Lector, Cantor, Coordinator of Special Liturgies, Coordinator of lectors and, at one time, chair of the Liturgy Commission. In a past life, secretary/bookkeeper at the Basilica of St. Adalbert where she ran the RCIA program for the Steepletown parishes. And she loves to write! When relaxing, she likes reading and word puzzles. You can contact her at jpenoyar@diocesan.com.

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Be Strong and Vulnerable

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This past week, I received some emails from readers that thanked me for sharing with y’all. I thanked them kindly and kind of brushed it off at first, but as I got a couple more, I realized just how powerful sharing our own stories can be. It’s one thing to read about something in a book that was written thousands of years ago, and something entirely different to hear your friends, your colleagues, your children, share their little miracle. Still, as powerful as our own stories can be, we can be reluctant to share them with others.

A year ago, I wrote a blog post that was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever written. I shared with you all the fact that I’ve been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, something that I had only shared with a handful of family members and friends. I ended up sharing it, knowing full well that my coworkers and family would read it after having a conversation with my friend, Susie.

I talked to Susie about my reservations. I didn’t want to be seen as “that person,” especially since I’d only been at Diocesan for a few months. I wasn’t sure I wanted my aunts and uncles to know this about me. How would my parents feel, knowing others knew? Would my siblings be ashamed of me?

Susie told me that my embarrassment and fear was just the devil’s tools to keep me down. He was playing on my pride and my anxieties, making me feel unloved and unworthy. My coworkers would understand. My aunts and uncles would be happy to hear that I’m doing better and working on it. My parents would love me and know my pains. My siblings would support me. More importantly, she reminded me of why I write for the blog: to bring people to God.

I was still nervous, but I knew that God had given me the gift of writing and the gift of being able to rest in Him. I submitted the blog post.

Once the blog post was published, I realized how true her words were. It didn’t hurt my relationships or even my ego. Just like Susie said, everyone was supportive of me. My coworkers and readers appreciate my honesty. You all either sympathize or empathize with me. My parents and siblings were proud of my strength and faith in God’s plan.

The times where I find myself the most anxious occur when I consider just being vulnerable with people. Allowing them to see your struggles and weaknesses. On my journey, I was depressed and wanted to die, and it’s hard to admit that I had even gotten there. Yet, that dark place is one that so many share, thinking that they are all alone.

It was that same dark place that gave me the opportunity to see God’s glorious light and ask how I could serve Him, rather than myself.

That’s why I share this, and all of my struggles, with you.

How is the devil keeping us down and subservient to our pride? How are we letting our ego get in the way of helping others? Is it keeping us from being honest with even our loved ones? Pray with me, for yourself and others:

Oh, heavenly Father,
You have watched us grow and know the true contents of our hearts.
Help us to resist Satan’s quiet temptations.
Remind us to experience your love and acceptance.
Guide us towards honesty and gift of self.
Lend us your strength to rise above our pride.
Grant us the peace to share your saving grace with others.
Amen.

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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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Reliable

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Tim Cooper, my 7th grade teacher, brought Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” to vibrant life. Atticus Finch, champion of language and virtue, dares to defend the innocent without drawing a sword. The pen is surely mightier.

I wonder if Harper Lee was inspired by today’s First Reading. In both “To Kill A Mockingbird” and the passage from Daniel, an innocent, lower class person is convicted of a crime by higher class persons. The major difference between the stories is that Daniel proves to the assembly that Susanna is innocent and the elders are guilty. He does so by questioning them separately and finding the discrepancies in their stories:

“It was under a Mastic Tree.”

“It was under an Oak Tree.”

Oops; should have rehearsed that, elders. Guilty.

In the Gospel, Jesus proves the validity of a profound statement that He says by the same courtroom law:

Jesus: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” 

Pharisees: “You testify on your own behalf, so your testimony cannot be verified.” 

Jesus: “Even in your law it is written that the testimony of two men can be verified. I testify on my behalf and so does the Father who sent me.”
-John 8:12-20

On a literary plane, the first reading from Daniel holds up as a satisfying story. Reincorporating the reading’s motif into the Gospel heightens the message all the more: “The Author of Truth will defend the Truth.”

Together, they are an edifying collection of stories; They’re simply good! But these short stories are not just a “fun read” or for recreation. They are accounts that verify how reliable God is.

Innocent Susanna was saved from death because she cried out to God and the Holy Spirit moved Daniel to defend her. The Son, never without the Father, stands verified against the Pharisees’ test of law.

“Confidence and nothing else is what leads us to love.”

-The Little Flower

How great ought our confidence be if we know that we are never alone? When we call on One, we call on a Reliable/Divine Community Who will support us. Continue to grow in confidence in God’s reliability. Draw deeper into the life of the Divine Community. Return to Him with your whole heart.

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During the week, Matthew Juliano works as a Direct Support Professional with individuals who have intellectual and developmental disabilities. Visit his Patreon page to learn more about his job; there you can also find more reflections on life and faith. On weekends, he travels as the drummer for Full Armor Band to play retreats and conferences.  Most importantly, Matthew is planning and preparing to wed his fiancé this July.

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Neither Do I Condemn

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The Gospel reading today is much richer than the surface understanding that Jesus was merciful. Though his mercy is certainly shown in this verse, there is something deeper going on here that speaks to the level of God’s love and reminds us of Theosis, one of the most central teachings of the Catholic Church.

Here in this verse, Jesus states clearly that he who is without sin should cast the first stone. One by one everyone leaves, knowing they have all sinned. But then Jesus says the important words, “Neither do I condemn you.”

The same words that redeem this woman condemn Jesus himself. In saying he does not condemn her, he groups himself with those who have sinned. He takes on the sin of this woman and the sin of all those around her and though he could not be more different in his perfection, he associates with the sinner. Part of the reason that God became one of us is to take on our sin in order that we might rise above it. But not just rise above it to live according to the law, rise above it to the point that we can become divine.

God’s plan for us from the beginning was to participate intimately in his very divinity. Adam and Eve were set up for this beautiful destiny, but sin got in the way. The only way to pay back a blow against an infinite being is for that being to become one of us, or as scripture says “to become sin,” in order to redeem us.

But not just to redeem us, his love is so deep that he doesn’t just want to wipe away our sin. He wants to get his original plan back on track. He wants us to participate perfectly and completely in his divinity itself. He became sin so that we might become him. Or as the Catechism puts it, “God became man so that man might become God.” Our destiny is not only that of redemption but also of divinization.

When we get to heaven we will not just go back to the garden, we will go beyond. Scripture says there will be a new heaven and a new earth, not a return to the old. That sounds pretty great to me. As we journey through the pains of repentance during this Lent, remember that Jesus himself experienced these pains, even though he was innocent. He paid it all so we might eventually experience all of him. That is cause for rejoicing even through this penitential time. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

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Tommy Shultz is a Solutions Evangelist for Diocesan. In that role, he is committed to coaching parishes and dioceses on authentic and effective Catholic communication. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. Contact him at tshultz@diocesan.com.

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A Generous Heart

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There are many times when I have a friend come to mind. Some friends with whom I’ve not connected in a month or years, while there are others whose latest message I’ve just read. God has placed them in my heart and mind for a reason. I am not always able to reach out and speak directly to these folks, but they are lifted up in my prayers. In many instances, after the fact, I’ve heard that there had been some challenges to navigate. Some marriage strifes, innuendos, false accusations, or illnesses (physical, emotional, mental) to name a few of the situations. Recently, I heard that my friend had reached out to others for support and to help navigate a path for truth and justice, but then was judged or ridiculed because of the situation at hand; compassion and empathy were the farthest things from those to whom they had turned, even though many of them are ‘good, Catholic people.’

Today’s readings mirror these situations. The responsorial psalm pleads, ”save me from all my pursuers and rescue me, lest I become like lion’s prey…with no one to rescue me.” It is so hard to see your way through these types of situations. It’s hard to pray and keep the faith, through and with the grace of God. As the psalm continues, “ a shield before me is God, who saves the upright of heart.”  There is promise in the verse before the Gospel as well. “Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.”

Yet in the first reading from Jeremiah, we hear, “I knew their plot because the Lord informed me…” How many times in the Gospels are we told that Jesus knew their thoughts or what was in their hearts before he spoke to those gathered? In the Gospel, Nicodemus speaks up saying, “Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing” as the Pharisees were ready to arrest Jesus because of his ‘breaking of the law’ through his teachings and miracles. If I am truly honest with myself, I see that I have done these things. I still sit in judgment or leap to conclusions about any number of situations. Am I too much a Pharisee?

Jesus faithfully ministered and instructed those around him who opened their hearts to the Lord God, his heavenly Father, as well as those who didn’t or wouldn’t. The disciples didn’t always understand what he was trying to teach them and they actually lived with Jesus for three whole years. How many times have I read or heard something and not seen the truth or even looked deeper for it? What does this say about the person I am to my friends or peers, to those who are in the media? What about me before the Lord my God?

As I encounter my friends, be it through social media, in person, or as they cross my mind, I need to remember to persevere with a generous heart, continually turning my thoughts and heart to Him.

Please offer the Act of Love prayer with me:

O my God, I love you above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because you are all-good and worthy of all love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of you. I forgive all who have injured me, and I ask pardon of all whom I have injured. Amen.

 

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Beth 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.