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The Greatest Gift Of Grace

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If the only Catholic Doctrine question for my students was, “What is Ms. Ciancibello’s favorite word?”, than the majority of my students would get an A+ in their religion class.  As I teach a variety of ages, 3-8th grade Catholic Doctrine, I am confident that my 8 year old students to my 13 year old students know my favorite vocabulary word. We pass through this word in all the grade’s textbooks.  This word is used in cliche quotes on Pinterest, on pillows at Homegoods, and can even be taken as someone’s first name. We see this word in today’s Word, in the Scripture readings. St. Paul mentions this word as he states to the Ephesians that we have received redemption by his blood, forgiveness of sins, “in accordance with the riches of his grace he lavished upon us.” If you haven’t caught it already… My favorite word is “grace”.

Defining the word “grace” is simply the gift God gives to us of His life and love.  When we receive grace we are receiving God’s very own presence of His life and love.  It is through grace that we partake in the life and love of the Trinity! Grace is a pretty big deal and something our hearts should be craving more and more of.  St. Paul articulates to us that God desires to pour out his grace upon us. He wants to lavish us in the riches of His grace. It is by grace that we can receive redemption through Jesus Christ.  It is by grace that we can become a new creation in the forgiveness of our sins and live a life of holiness. It is by grace that we can live without blemish- without sin. Grace helps us to live out our purpose! This gift helps us to love Him and serve Him as we are called to do.

As I’ve gotten older and experienced more and more, I’ve learned what a gift truly is.  When I was a child I would honestly expect my parents to give me a birthday present. Gifts were something that were normally given on special occasions. I did not realize until I matured that no one is due a gift or entitled to anything! The biggest example of this in my own life was the moment my boyfriend (now fiance) got down on one knee.  The biggest gift of my life was symbolized in a ring, but was mainly the question of “Will you marry me?”. An absolute gift. Something I will never deserve, someone I will never be entitled to. A complete selfless gift that was given to me.

In the current preparation of discerning engagement to being engaged, I have learned much. I have cultivated deeply in my heart the understanding of a gift, and therefore a new understanding of grace.  God freely gives us grace as a GIFT. We do not deserve it. We are not entitled to receive it. He just selflessly gives it to us and proposes it to us throughout our lives. He proposes this gift of His life and His love because He simply desires to love us and to be with us forever.

It’s simple and beautiful.  His grace is constantly offered, constantly tangible, constantly a sacrificial gift. Let’s open our hearts to say “YES” to this gift of grace today.

Briana is a Catholic Doctrine teacher at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel school in Cleveland, OH. 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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Set Free

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“For it is on account of the hope of Israel that I wear these chains.”

After Readings today’s First Reading, I can’t help but be captivated by St. Paul’s heroic courage.  Paul was in prison. He was handed over to the Romans from Jerusalem, though they found no reason against him.  The Jews objected and made sure he was imprisoned. He remained in prison for two full years. Paul did not spend those two years of his life in despair.  He did not have a season of darkness or doubt.

Paul lived those two years in prison as a season of glory to God.  He lived in full freedom, even with chains upon him. He preached the Good News and proclaimed God’s Kingdom from this place “with complete assurance” and “without hindrance… he taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.”  If that does not wildly inspire you-you may need to reread the First Reading. When I genuinely put myself in Paul’s shoes, I am not sure I’d be that courageous. Though it may seem that Paul’s freedom was taken away, it is by the Holy Spirit that Paul was truly free in his imprisonment.  He was free to preach God’s Word. “Now the LORD is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom” (2 Cor 3:17). Paul is a witness to this truth.  The Spirit of God was with him. He lived in that freedom and offered his chains for the hope of Israel, God’s people.

Today, if you feel like you are living in chains, look to St. Paul’s intercession.  Ask him to pray for you and with you. Today, if you do not know the freedom of the Lord, ask for the Holy Spirit to bring that freedom into your life.  If you are in a season of hardship that feels unending- offer it in hope for His Body, the Church. The story of St. Paul is powerful, inspiring, and heroic.  It is stories like his that bring me so much hope in my journey towards Heaven. Today, let us radically walk with St. Paul. Let us take his hand as we strive to walk true freedom.

St. Paul, pray for us.

Holy Spirit, bring us Your freedom.

Briana is a Catholic Doctrine teacher at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel school in Cleveland, OH. 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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Dearly Beloved

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In today’s Second Reading, we are called beloved. Whenever I am called beloved in Scripture, my heart automatically melts. It is within this word that I am rooted in the truth of who I am. I am dearly loved by a God Who is Love. Today’s Gospel reading recalls Jesus’ words for us to remain in this love. The challenging part of our faith is that we have to commit ourselves over and over again to remaining there.

In my 6th grade class, we have covered the topic of sin, mortal and venial. We learned together that venial sin weakens our relationship with God, while mortal sin severs and breaks that relationship.

I picked my 6th grader student, Kailien, to sit before me in his chair. His chair was facing me perfectly. I explained to the class that this a demonstration of what sin does to our relationship with God. I explained that in this context we’re going to pretend that I am “God”. Kailien was sitting before me. We could see one another clearly, we could read one another’s body language, and facial expressions. We could be in full communication and conversation. I told Kailien that he committed a venial sin and he had to move his chair to the right.  We could still see one another and communicate, but we were not perfectly facing one another. Kailien continued to experience sin and his chair turned more and more away from me. He could still see me out of his peripheral vision but lost the ability to see me as clearly as before. Our relationship has weakened. Lastly, Kailien experienced a mortal sin. He turned his chair completely from me. His back was to me and he could no longer see me at all.

This is what happens when we sin- when we miss the mark.  We turn ever so slightly or sometimes, drastically from His gaze. We choose to no longer remain there- to remain in His love. Although Kailien could not see me when he turned his chair, I could still see him. No matter what we do and how we might turn our chairs in life- still he calls us beloved, still, he can see us completely and he looks at us with immense love. Still, we are beloved.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus said, “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy might be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.” When we recognize the reality that our identity lies in being “beloved”, we will remain there. Our identity doesn’t lie in what grades we get, the cleanliness of our home, or the car we drive. Our identity lies in this fact- we are a beloved son or daughter of God. Love is what we are made for as human beings. Love is of God and meant to be shared. If we are truly experiencing God’s love in our own lives, we will love others correctly. “To will the Good of the other”, this is what it means to love. When we love we freely choose the best for another person- we choose Heaven for them. When we are truly loving God and the people around us, it’s impossible to break His commandments.

Today, let’s take a moment to be truly honest with ourselves. Which commandment do we struggle with most? Who are we not loving when we sin? Can we see Him or is our chair turned away? Do we need the Sacrament of Confession to receive and remain in His love again?

Today, let’s remain in His love by freely choosing the best for those around us. Today, let us remember our true identity.

You, my friend, are called beloved. Please never forget that unshakable truth.

You are dearly dearly loved.

Briana is a Catholic Doctrine teacher at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel school in Cleveland, OH. 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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Stop Signs, Roadblocks, and Caution Tape

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When I look back at all the roadblocks and stop lights in my life, I tend to think those situations were not of God. As if anything preventing me from getting where I wanted to be was the opposite of God’s doing.  In our Christian culture, it is common to feel this way and automatically get the response that it’s the opposite of Him- it’s satan holding us back.

When we read today’s First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear how the disciples were prevented from spreading the Gospel message.  This is a time when most of us would react by saying, “That’s the devil preventing them!” or “That’s satan trying to work against them!”. God would never prevent His disciples from traveling to proclaim His Word, right?!

If we read the Scripture closely, we find that it specifically states that they had been “prevented by the Holy Spirit” It goes on to say, “The Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.”  

For some reason, I had to read that over and over again…  The Spirit of God prevented them… The Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.  How often has the Holy Spirit put huge caution tape, blocking, and ginormous stop signs in my own life? And how often did I think it was the opposite of His Spirit? Looking over my 4th graders Unit 3 Test, one question asked, “How can the Holy Spirit be your Helper and Guide?”

Looking back on those moments now, I can clearly see that it was the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of Love- my Helper and my Guide.  This Scripture has taught me how necessary it is to keep my heart and mind open to His Spirit- even in so-called “setbacks”. Those particular setbacks and roadblocks in the end were for my best interest, just as it was for the disciples.

What setbacks and roadblocks have you experienced in your own life? How could some of them have been for your own protection, safety, health? Where has the Spirit of God been leading you by preventing you in some way? And like I asked my dear students, how can the Holy Spirit be your Helper and Guide today? Let Him guide you, redirect you, and prevent you. He is ultimately leading us onto the path of Love- our journey and road to Heaven.

Briana is a Catholic Doctrine teacher at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel school in Cleveland, OH. 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