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Personal Faith

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Jesus is preaching and healing in Gentile cities, areas that are contemptible to the Jews. He has already offered the Gospel to Israel, and now he is bringing his glorious Good News to those “outside” the Chosen People. All nations are invited into the way of salvation.

In the cure of the deaf man described in today’s Gospel, we see first that the people “begged him” to lay his hand upon the man and cure him, a kind of prayer of petition. Jesus takes the man aside, away from the multitude, and Mark is very specific about what happens when they are in private: “he put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue, and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, ‘Ephphatha,’ that is, ‘Be opened.’”

Again we see that Jesus preaches to the multitude, but he heals people one on one: he speaks to them, touches them, even puts his fingers into their ears and mouth. In another story, he mixes his own saliva with dirt and puts mud in a blind man’s eyes! These events illustrate Jesus’ “incarnational” presence to us. He – the invisible God – became flesh, and he respects the nature he has given us and uses material things to accomplish spiritual purposes as an affirmation of our bodiliness.

How does this apply today? Jesus’ healing still comes to us through words and matter in the sacraments. We sometimes inadvertently reduce the sacraments to “rites of passage” marking our maturing in the Church. They are that, but we miss the essential point when we stop short of seeing that sacraments are Christ’s way of remaining with us throughout time. Through the person of the minister, Jesus is present to us; he speaks to us, touches us, heals us, and calls us into a relationship.

And the sacraments are administered to us one on one. The deacon or priest doesn’t fling water from the baptismal font and hope it hits the right person! We assent to Baptism, and then it is administered to us BY NAME: “I baptize you, Kathryn Therese, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” When we come forward for Communion, there isn’t a basket of bread there and we grab a hunk. We come forward as individuals in need of the nourishment of the Bread of Life; we must personally assent to this Truth by our “Amen,” and then it is given, not taken – we “receive” Holy Communion. There is no rite of “Confirmation en masse”; the bishop anoints each individual by name. We confess our sins individually to the priest, and we are personally absolved of them.

When we see Jesus’ healings in the Gospel, we should not see them as distant events. Rather, let us see them as illustrations of Jesus’ presence to us, right here and right now in the sacraments of the Church, and give thanks.

Kathryn is married to Robert, mother of seven, grandmother to two, and a lay Carmelite. She has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE, and also as a writer and voice talent for Holy Family Radio. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and presenter, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Faith Formation, individual parishes, and Catholic ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Learn more at www.kathryntherese.com or on Facebook @summapax.

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A Humble Strength

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I have always had a deep devotion to my confirmation saint, St. Joseph. We know very little about St. Joseph, but in today’s readings, we hear some of the only written accounts of this great saint. It has just been announced that Mary shall bear a son.

“When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.”

Many saints and scholars have commented on the fact that this verse does not necessarily mean that Joseph was going to divorce her because he believed she had been with another man. This is an understanding that some read into this text. But many have written about this idea that Joseph knew that Mary had conceived of the Holy Spirit and he did not feel worthy, after all, he was chosen to be the earthly father of Jesus, no small task.

To distance Mary from any shame and because he did not feel worthy, he decided to divorce her quietly. But God had different plans.

“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”

And here we have Joseph’s fiat, his yes to God. Though he must have felt unworthy, he was now betrothed to a sinless virgin who was carrying God in her womb; he trusted that God would provide him with strength.

A few days ago I reflected on humility. I think today’s readings keep that discussion going beautifully. I think we often think of humility as something that is weak, we are made small and so we act small. I know I struggle with that sometimes. But here we have Joseph being given the grace to help our Savior through His earliest days. What amazing strength and courage it must have taken Joseph to say yes, a yes that could only come through the grace of God.

So again we see this utter reliance on God, our unworthiness made perfect in God, and from that came pure strength. If we keep in mind that everything begins and ends with God, then we should not be afraid to boast in the Lord. Humility is not hiding the great things God is doing in our lives, but it’s bringing them to light so people can see that it is not just us and our strength, but it is God making us worthy and giving us grace.

Let us ask for the grace of continued humility and the strength to give our important yes to God. Amen!

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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Changed For Good

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Change is hard. Change means switching things up and usually, it means no longer doing what is easy or comfortable. Then again, change can be easy if the ultimate reason is worth it. A coach I had in high school once said that if we weren’t running towards a personal goal, we’d end up walking. He was trying to motivate us for our first cross-country run of the season, but it sounds profound enough to be applied to the rest of our lives.

For example, if you want to “be healthy” and do not set goals, you may struggle with the physical and dietary changes that come with it. This is why it typically takes a doctor’s news or a life-changing realization to make healthy changes. In trying to be healthy, we have to create new habits that align with our goals, otherwise, everything falls apart.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us that change is good. He reminds us that change leads to better things and that once we realize just how good change is, we won’t want to go back. In terms of physical health, he is saying that once we feel the energy from eating healthy/exercise, we won’t want to go back to our bad habits. The goal is worth the change.

So what about our spiritual lives?

Is heaven worth the change? Is everlasting life worth biting your tongue when today isn’t going your way? Is unending love from Our Creator worth giving 100% of your focus to Sunday’s Mass?

I say of course, but have I changed my habits and realigned every aspect of my life to line up with my goals? Probably not. It is easy to do one good thing a day, but it is harder to change your life so that every one of your actions gives glory to God.

Maybe it starts with a prayer as soon as you wake up. Take that sunrise prayer and continue it throughout the day. Pray for your loved ones, the strangers, and most importantly, pray for your enemies. Pray with love. Pray with forgiveness. Pray with peace. Let the change be worth it.

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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Trust In Him

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Today’s Gospel from Luke has so much activity that it can be hard to see beyond the surface: the lake, the boats, the crowd, the nets, the catch, and finally, the fishermen leaving their fishing behind.

It was helpful to me to see this from several perspectives: the crowd, Simon Peter, and Jesus.

The crowd is eager to hear this rabbi standing on the shore, so eager that their movement toward him keeps pushing him toward the water until he decides to get into a boat in order to preach. When he is finished speaking, do some of those people remain, hoping he will begin speaking again? Do some of them go back to the duties of their lives? How many witness the miraculous catch of fish?

Simon Peter is weary from a fruitless night of fishing and catching nothing, but when the Lord gets into his boat, he obliges and rows out a little way, and waits. Then Jesus issues a strange command for him to lower his nets (which Simon had been washing because he was already done fishing) for a catch. This is absurd. Fish are not caught this late in the morning, and Simon Peter, always quick with a retort, tells him that this will be useless; then, perhaps catching himself, says, “but at your command, I will lower the nets.” And the nets are overfilled with fish, so many that the nets are tearing and they need help from others to bring them in. Their boats are so full, they are in danger of sinking! Simon Peter is not weary anymore; every fiber of his being is now engaged! Then, overwhelmed at this inexplicable and exhausting event and regretting his initial doubt, he falls on his knees to confess his utter unworthiness to be in Jesus’ presence.

Jesus, ever the teacher, is teaching as we enter this scene. When he finishes preaching, he is still teaching; he wants to teach these first disciples an essential lesson, not about fishing, but about mission and evangelization. He tells them to do something rather ridiculous – after a night of fruitless labor, Jesus tells them to labor a little more. Then he fills their nets to overflowing and responds to the openness of Peter’s confession with a prophetic word: “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

What can we learn?

  • From the crowds, we learn to keep our eyes on Jesus; everything he does is overflowing with meaning!
  • From Peter, we learn to TRUST Jesus, and obediently continue working even when things seem fruitless; if Peter had refused to put out his nets again, Jesus could not have filled them!
  • From Jesus, we learn that the work is all HIS, so we need not be afraid of what he calls us to do, nor of our apparent fruitlessness; our efforts will bear fruit according to his will, if we are willing to leave everything and follow him unreservedly.

Kathryn is married to Robert, mother of seven, grandmother to two, and a lay Carmelite. She has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE, and also as a writer and voice talent for Holy Family Radio. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and presenter, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Faith Formation, individual parishes, and Catholic ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Learn more at www.kathryntherese.com or on Facebook @summapax.

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Worth and Reliance

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I have always struggled with humility. I think it is because I am such a positive person and for a long time I saw humility as putting ourselves down; we are just measly worms who can do nothing right. I have come to realize through reflection, prayer, and the readings of the saints, that true humility is not about our unworthiness as much as it is about our utter dependence. A mathematician can expound on the smartest equations known to man, and he/she is worthy of doing so, but he/she is dependant on the theories that have come before.

In today’s first reading St. Paul’s words hit hard. “I could not talk to you as spiritual people, but as fleshly people, as infants in Christ. I fed you milk, not solid food, because you were unable to take it.” Immediately my mind goes positive about my worth, “Hey, I am not just a child. I can handle the truth. I went to Franciscan for Theology so, I know my stuff.”

Then reality sets in and I realize that I have complete dependence on my Lord and God. Every movement, every breath, every second of study, is due to God keeping me in existence, holding me in His arms, keeping me in His heart. I am dependent on the God who gave me my worth. As human beings, we are made with the utmost dignity and deserve respect, but we also need to realize that in relation to God and the entire cosmos we are just a speck of paint in the beautiful painting that we know as humanity.

God does not need us, but He sure wants us. He has given us dignity, talents, a heart capable of true charity, and an immortal soul all of which need to be exercised as the gifts they are. Our worth is vast, our dependence total.

This point is hit home by Jesus in today’s Gospel as he performs miracles. We need signs as human beings don’t we? We like proof that God is who He says He is.

We should be able to look at how incredibly we have been created and learn of the goodness of God, but often we don’t. We should be able to admit our reliance on God, but often we want to prove our worth by neglecting the one who created it. Our worth and reliance should be apparent, but we need help to see.

Jesus performs these signs to help us, to love us, but they should also show us that He is in control. This is true humility, seeing our infinite worth, and our complete reliance. Let us pray for the gift of humility and thank God for creating us in His image and likeness. Amen!

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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The Conquering Healer

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One of my favorite books in high school was Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” There was one detail of the story in particular that intrigued me. Dracula, even though he was spectacularly powerful, couldn’t enter someone’s house unless he was invited in. I was reminded of that detail recently when I read Bishop Barron’s reflection on the abuse and coverup surrounding Archbishop McCarrick. Bishop Barron spoke about how sexual abuse within the Church is truly demonic activity before saying:

“Now I can hear people saying, ‘So Bishop Barron is blaming it all on the devil.’ Not at all. The devil works through temptation, suggestion, and insinuation—and he accomplishes nothing without our cooperation.”

The devil accomplishes nothing without our cooperation. A fallen angel of light, a pure spirit that’s unbound by time and space, needs our consent, our freedom, to accomplish his work. In “Theology for Beginners,” the apologist Frank Sheed spoke of Satan and original sin this way:


“The disease admitted into humanity by the choice of self against God was given every chance to run its course, work out its logic. God’s providence did not desert man; those who implored him were not left unaided; but it was Satan’s carnival all the same. He had gained no rights by his success over Adam, but he had gained immense power; he was the prince that this world obeyed.”

It was Adam’s free choice to reject God that gave Satan power over this world, and it’s our free choices to reject God that allow Satan to continue his rule. But God left our original parents with hope. God said that one day a descendant of Eve would crush the head of the serpent. And that son of Eve is who we see at work in the Gospel reading today.

If you look at the ministry of Jesus in all the Gospels, you will see a conqueror, a king returning to reclaim territory from his enemy. Jesus does this by revealing himself first and foremost as a healer. He undoes the effects of sin by bringing peace to the suffering, health to the sick, life to the dead, and freedom to the possessed. Jesus spoke with the power and authority of God to not only heal his people but to glorify them. “For the Son of God became man so that we might become God” (Catechism 460).

After Jesus ascended to Heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit to heal, empower, and glorify his people. I think that we need to forget the idea of going to Heaven after we die. Heaven is union with God, participation in God’s divine nature, and that begins now! As soon as we are baptized, we become members of Christ’s Body, heirs to the Father’s divine life, and we receive God’s supernatural life within us – grace. Every sacrament is efficacious because of the power of the Holy Spirit, and it’s the grace we receive from the Sacraments that transforms us into the likeness of Christ. At every Mass, as he mixes the water and wine, the priest says, “By the mystery of the water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.”

Therefore we are given the same power and authority of Christ. With the name of Jesus, we can do not only the same things He did but greater things. The Act of the Apostles is one account after another of the mere men doing the work of Christ. As Saint Paul says in the first reading today, the Spirit has given each of us “the mind of Christ.”

But, remarkably, all of this rests on our free will. Just as it is through our choices that Satan has power in this world, so it is through our choices that we can accept grace and do powerful works in Jesus’ name. In “Mere Christianity,” C.S. Lewis says:

“Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different than it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing into a heavenly creature or a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow creatures, and with itself. To be the one kind of creature is heaven: that is, it is joy and peace and knowledge and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state of the other.”

Will we choose to let Dracula in the door? Will we choose to make Satan prince of our life and prince of this world? Or will we choose to accept the supernatural life that Jesus offers us and let him heal the effects of sin in our own lives and in the world?

Paul Fahey is a husband, father, and a parish director of religious education. He can be found at his website, Rejoice and be Glad: Catholicism in the Pope Francis Generation.

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Openly Humble

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“I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling, and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of spirit and power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.”

Paul is so focused. He is so grounded in his purpose of bringing the message of Jesus Christ, crucified and resurrected, that he doesn’t let anything get in his way. Not even his shortcomings or weaknesses.

Shortcomings? Weakness? Oh, you mean those things about ourselves that we like to tuck away? Cover up? Stick in the back of our closet and try to forget?

As I write this, I have the results show from America’s Got Talent on television. (Yes, it is my summer guilty pleasure.) Simon Cowell was speaking after receiving a star on the Walk of Fame and said, “If anyone says fame is a bad thing, I don’t know what you are talking about, it is the best thing in the world.” So much of how our society functions are about only showing the parts of ourselves that will get us our 15 minutes of fame.

St. Paul didn’t want fame. He doesn’t want to be strong. He isn’t trying to use every tool at his disposal to convince us he is right. St. Paul turns the idea of success on its head and gives us what feels like the exact opposite of the world’s message. St. Paul, who evangelized so much of the world, embraces his weakness, his fear, and openly trembles, for he knows that it isn’t about him at all. If we put our faith in St. Paul, we miss the point!

If our life’s goal is to get to heaven and to take as many with us as possible, St. Paul does so by being so openly humble, so open to God’s spirit and power, that we don’t rely on St. Paul, but can see God working through him and are drawn to God himself.

Satan works in our insecurities and desire to present only a certain version of ourselves to the world. He thrives in the backs of closets, in the tucked away parts of ourselves. It is only through voluntarily bringing all that to light that God can begin to work. God works when we embrace our weaknesses. This is why he gave us the Sacrament of Confession and why we need to go often. Only through grace, can we allow him to be what the world sees when they look at us.

Heavenly Father,

Help me to be like St. Paul and embrace my weaknesses, to live with humility; secure in the knowledge of who I am in you. Help me to remember that true success is about creating spaces for others to fall in love with you.

Allow me to see the world with your eyes, hear with your ears, love with your heart. And when others look at me, may they see only you shining through all that I say and do.

Amen!

While wearing many hats, Sheryl O’Connor is the wife and study buddy of Thomas O’Connor. Not having received the gift of having their own children, their home is filled with 2 large dogs and their hearts with the teens and youth with whom they work in their parish collaborative. Sheryl is the Director of Strong Families Programs for Holy Family Healthcare which means her job is doing whatever needs to be done to help parents build strong Catholic families. Inspired by the works of mercy, Holy Family Healthcare is a primary health care practice in West Michigan which seeks to honor the dignity of every individual as we would Christ. Find out more at https://www.holyfamilyhealthcare.org/.

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Beyond The Law

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In today’s beautiful readings we see Jesus rebuking the Pharisees for following the letter of the law solely for the sake of the law instead of understanding the more profound point, relationship.

“Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:
This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.
You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”

Now at first, this passage looks pretty condemning, but let’s look a little deeper. Jesus is rebuking the hypocritical attitude, but he is doing so because He knows our destiny is so much more significant.

We were not meant to just be human slaves obeying laws and precepts without any real purpose or goal. In the beingning with Adam and Eve, there was no need for such a focus on laws. They understood at a deep level that a human person has innate dignity and is made in the image and likeness of God. They understood and lived this relationship with God and each other perfectly.

And then the fall happened. We started to lose the capacity to look at others with love, mercy, kindness, and charity. We started to act against our very human nature and commit grievances against our own people. It is for this reason that laws were put in place, to protect the common good.

Laws are essential in a fallen world, but Christ in today’s Gospel is calling us to go beyond the law. Instead of doing actions just for that actions sake, digging deep and remembering where we come from and what we are meant for, eternal happines with God in heaven.

We are meant to look at Adam and Eve’s experience and learn from them and start to allow that experience to become ours. Not one enslaved by sin and evil where laws have to guide us, but freedom where we are guided by unconditional love.

This is what Jesus reminds us of today. That He has created us with a purpose that is beyond our understanding and a destiny that is literally out of this world. The only way we are going to get there is by finding the real person behind the commandents and by allowing His love to penetrate into our lives in such a real way that the commandments are no longer a burden but they just make sense because we know that every human person has dignity and worth.

Let us ask for the grace of God because we need it in order to begin to live by the original standards of charity that God gave us from the beginning. Amen.

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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Francis, Reformer Of The Church

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“…God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong,…” 1 Cor 1:27

The readings today are very timely to help address the challenges within our church. Edward Hays’ writings, “Holy Fools and Mad Hatters” came to mind in particular. In his book, Fr. Hays gives many insights as to what it means to be a holy fool. He speaks about early Christian mystics (most notably St. Francis of Assisi) who humbly went about seeking change in the Church and the world’s view of the poor and outcast.

At the time, many thought Francis was a fool for Christ. There were many challenges and corruption in the Church. Francis wholeheartedly and faithfully loved the Church. He went about seeking to reform the Church by loving it more. He preached the Gospels and loving all as Christ would love. He did not ridicule or cast stones at the Church hierarchy, yet loved them more (as he too was a sinner, he could not cast a stone). He prayed for reforms in the Church leaders and abusers of power. He sacrificed and repented for the conversion of the souls of the unjust; for change in the status quo by living through the example of Jesus Christ in the Gospels.

As a professed member of the Secular Franciscan order, I was deeply heartened by my national executive council (representing over 6,000 Secular Franciscans) response to the current scandal in the Church.

Here is the bulk of their message:

“It saddens all of us that a small minority of men who committed to serve the Church betrayed the promises they made to serve and used their positions of being an authority figure to aid predatory behavior; truly we have wolves in sheep’s clothing. (Mt 7:15) If it were only a case of a few parish priests, the trust of Church leaders might be more easily re-established; but when it is demonstrated that our chief shepherds, the bishops, were involved in secrecy, cover-ups and payouts, the trust, respect and moral authority of the Church as an institution suffers great damage. We must all face the truth and make no excuse for those who are guilty of these crimes against the living stones of the Church, the mystical body of Christ; those who have been unfaithful spouses to the Church as the Bride of Christ!

St John Chrysostom, a fourth-century bishop, described pastors as the “salt of the earth.”
(Mt 5:13) He said of pastors, “If others lose their savor, then your ministry will help them regain it. But if you yourselves suffer that loss, you will drag others down with you.” Sisters and brothers, we have witnessed many being dragged down by those shepherds who have lost their savor as the salt of the earth.

Some demons can only be cast out through prayer and fasting. (Mark 9:29) This is our call to action! Our Lord asked St. Francis to rebuild the Church which was falling into ruin. Are we called to do anything less as followers of Francis? Francis lived his vocation authentically as a living example of Gospel Life. We must do the same. Only by living an authentic Gospel life will our light shine and the Church be rebuilt.

We must also stand with our brothers and sisters who have and are serving the Church as good and faithful servants. These men and women who are committed to their call are now called to be suffering servants. They are guilty by association with the Church institution that has betrayed their trust. How difficult it will be for them to preach the Gospel as representatives of a Church that has lost its moral authority in the public square and the pew. We must stand by those faithful servants and help them continue to look after the well-being of others.

We stand in support of the victims and in favor of holding those responsible for these crimes accountable for their actions. We pray for healing, forgiveness, peace, reconciliation and a Church that will be rebuilt and with God’s grace, and the movement of Holy Spirit, one day, will once again be a beacon of light, hope, and refuge. Let us go forth and witness to the light of Christ and rebuild the Church so that it may once again be full of grace and truth.
The National Executive Council of the Secular Franciscan Order USA (OFS-USA) August 26, 2018″

We can use our prayers, sacrifices, and voices to be part of the solution, similar to the two servants with the five and two talents in today’s gospel reading, or we can choose to do nothing and bury our heads in the sand as the servant buried his master’s talents.

Pray with me:

Lord Jesus, the Church, Your Bride, is suffering from a profound confusion. Your people feel betrayed, confused, and are weary of scandal. But You are the same yesterday, today, and forever! We turn to You, the Rock on which we stand in expectation. Shed on us Your light. Give us Your peace. Show us the way that you desire for each of us. St. Michael, friend of the friends of God, protect and defend us. St. Joseph, protector of the universal Church, pray for us. Mary, Mother of the Church, intercede for us!

What are you prepared to do for your church? What can you sacrifice today to make way for grace? Here are some extra words for thought from Fr. Lankeit in Phoenix, his homily from 8/26/18.

Beth Price is a Secular Franciscan (OFS) and spiritual director who has worked in several parish ministry roles during the last 20 years. She is a proud mother of 3 adult children. Beth currently works at Diocesan. You can contact her at bprice@diocesan.com

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His Weakness

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“The cross cannot be defeated for it is defeat.”

-G.K. Chesterton

The first reading is quite the encounter with Christ: explicit yet enigmatic, demanding yet alluring. I frequently go to the movies for work. In the past two years, I’ve seen just about every superhero movie that has been released. Spiderman, Thor: Ragnarock, Guardians of the Galaxy –  you name it, I’ve seen it it.

At the end of every saga, the victor is the person or group of people who has defeated their enemy by outmuscling or outwitting them with greater force and cunning strategy. And I think we like these stories because that’s how wars of the flesh are won; the strongest and smartest take the spoils.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a Marvel screenplay writer or a military officer who’d think that it’s a good idea to freely choose to give the leader to the enemy, allow them to physically torment him and then kill him.

“Yeah boys. No way we can’t win.

Whadaya say? Great plan, right?!”

If I was under the command of an officer who proposed this plan, I’d probably  definitely think he was insane. But that’s exactly what Christ did on the cross. ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

The absurdity of the cross can be lost on many of us who have grown up with Christ’s story.

…But it’s insane!

We commemorate, follow, praise a Man who chose suffering and death. We call Him King. And the image we oft see of Him is the episode of His humiliating death. Jesus’ marketing plan is to show Himself killed on a cross.

Starkly dissimilar to Christ’s initiative to spread His message, Marvel and military posters portray their subjects as strong and capable. These are images that people want to see. Why is it that the centerpiece of the Christian faith is Our Lord and Savior crippled and defeated on a cross?

“For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,

but we proclaim Christ crucified…

…the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”

1 Cor 1: 22-23, 25

Perhaps Christ’s death was so gruesome because He wanted to show us that no amount of force that humanity possesses can destroy His affection for us and desire to be close to us.

“My Love is greater than the whips that, at man’s hand, bloodied My Body,

I am uncompromised by the crown of thorns that pierced My head,

and I am not defeated by the profound torture and mockery of the cross.

I love you.”

 

Jesus, I love You.

Make us more like You.

During the week, Matthew Juliano is a mentor for individuals who have developmental and intellectual disabilities. On the weekends, he is a drummer for Full Armor Band. You can find more content by Matt and his band at www.fullarmorband.com.

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Join Me In Prayer And Fasting For Our Church

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Jesus said to his disciples: “Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.”

What first comes to mind when you read that quote from today’s readings? Fear, shame at the state of our world, hurt coming from those leading the Church? And what should our response be? We are in the midst of corruption and moral depravity and yet it is not nearly enough to just sift through news article after news article or this or that blog post, reading with little action or even thought. How do we stay awake? How do we prepare? Whether the end of the world is coming soon or not, we need to strengthen our relationship with the Lord.

We won’t do that by sitting in anger and fear. We won’t do that by speculating on whether or not this scandal does in fact go all the way up to the top. We won’t do that by giving up on the Church all together. I am reminded of when Jesus says in the Gospels that, “This kind can only be driven out by prayer and fasting.”

I don’t want to sit in anger anymore, I want to do something for my Church. I am committing to a 40 day fast which started on the feast of St. Augustine and ends on October 7th which is the Feast of Our Lady of Victory/the Rosary.

I ask that you join me in prayer and fasting for our Church. I am praying a rosary daily and giving up snacking between meals for these 40 days. What will you decide to do? Please join me in solidarity as we lift up our Church. We may not be responsible for any of this, but we are responsible for what happens next. God Bless!

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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Take Courage, Have Hope

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In Today’s Readings we hear the story of St. John the Baptist. Whenever I hear this story, I can’t help but imagine the gruesomeness of his beheading. I am not one that can handle the sight of blood, surgery, or wounds. AKA I am not and never will be called to any medical profession. Although I struggle to stomach those sights, I’ve realized that it is important to not flinch away. As faithful Catholics, we are being put under a microscope right now. Like John the Baptist, we are being asked for our heads. It’s completely normal in a time of trial, injustice, and serious sin to flinch away- to seriously look the other way out of fear.

How often do we do this? When we hear something tragic and horrible on the news, do we just turn off the tv or change the station? When someone shares with you their hardships, struggles, and sin, do you encounter them or turn away because it’s “too much to handle”. I’ll be blunt with you all. The injustices that have come to light in Christ’s Church today make it seriously hard to not flinch away, to not want to know details, and to look away due to the gruesomeness. But that is not the Gospel message. That is not what Christ would do.

In my fear of all things messy and dirty, my mind wanders to the face of one of the most beautiful women. A face full of wrinkles and compassion. The face of Mother Teresa comes to mind. When I was on a mission trip in Romania we entered the gypsy slums. A place of complete garbage, shacks, and children playing with trash. I remember the serious smell and how hard it was for me to breathe it in. I remember seeing these people in their town of debris and being told how many of them have lice and some have serious diseases.

At one point we were surrounded by a group of young girls. There was one smaller sister who was there and being picked on. She had to be around 4 or 5. years old. We were told not to touch anyone for our own health. I remember seeing this little girl get hit by her siblings and she started to cry. I walked over to the girls and using my body language, tried to tell them to stop hurting her. I clearly did not speak a word of Romanian. The little girl stretched out her arms to embrace me. In a split second I had a moment of fear- a moment of flinching away. But also a moment of grace. Mother Teresa’s face came to my mind and the thought of how many sick, dying,  and contagious people she had helped fearlessly. I automatically embraced this young girl. She cried in my arms as I held her tight and picked her up. I found out from the translator that her name was Esperanza, which means “Hope”.

I’m sharing this story with you because there are two things that are very needed in the faithful of the Church today. We are in dire need of following the example of St. John the Baptist. Following in his complete obedience to the Gospel and to his intimate relationship with Christ.  He is an example of heroic courage in facing one’s martyrdom. We are in need of the virtue of true COURAGE. The second virtue we need to cultivate is the virtue of HOPE. Esperanza embodied that to me. Wiping away her tears, while making the deliberate choice to not mind the strong stench I breathed as I embraced her. Rocking her in my arms as she slowly stopped crying, I made the choice to not care if I caught lice. I made the decision to not care that the nauseating smell would be stuck to my clothing and hair the rest of the day. I saw her and I loved her. Embracing others in the lowest of lows is what we are called to, especially today. We are called to respond to the needs of our Church, to be with those who are hurting and those who have been seriously horrifically wronged.  We are called to listen to them, hear them, and actively love them.
If we do not know these people personally, if we do not know how to handle the gruesomeness or the truth- we are called to pray in hope for their healing, for God’s justice and mercy, and for the future hope of our faithful people.

It is in the darkest and dirtiest places that we see the merciful face of Christ.  It is here that He does not flinch away, He encounters. He embraces His people in the bloodiest, most gruesome wounds and places.

It is going to take true courage and true hope to stay faithful to our relationships, our encounters, and our love for Christ and His Bride, the Church.

Take hope. Let’s love and listen to our hurting brothers and sisters. Let us not be ignorant or absent, but present in the Church’s need. Let us intentionally choose to not flinch away. Let us make the choice to pray for our leaders who have horrifically let us down. Let us pray for those who are hurting and in need of Christ’s healing and peace. Let us choose to encounter our brothers and sisters with true courage and true hope.

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