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Love Is Gathering and Rescuing Us

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“You, Father, are in me and I in you… I in them and you in me… that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them…” Today’s Gospel can sound like a logic puzzle and have our minds glazing over at first; it really needs to be read slowly, and several times. Every sentence – every clause – is rich and profound, giving us insight into Jesus’ relationship with his Father, his love for us and for the whole Church, our relationship with one another, and our relationship within the Trinity.

Jesus prayed this prayer out loud for his disciples, so they could glimpse these relationships and enter into them. And they are recorded for us, so that we can do the same.

Jesus’ repeated desire is for ONENESS – deep, true, spiritual oneness based on mutual love. He prays that we will be one just as the Father and the Son are one! In order for that to happen, we need to be united to the Son who is IN the Father, and the Father will dwell in us as He is IN the Son. This is the perfection to which we are all called: “I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as ONE…”

It is Jesus who draws us together, who wants us to enjoy the very love that he himself enjoys in the Father. Jesus expresses this wish explicitly: “I wish that WHERE I AM THEY ALSO MAY BE WITH ME…” Jesus’ deepest desire is to gather us all to himself, so that we can, in him, enter into the very Heart of the Father, to share his love, joy, and glory. And the Father wants this as well, as we – you, me, everyone – are the Father’s GIFT to the Son. The Son wants to respond by winning us back from sin and self, and then giving us all back to the Father.

Why? LOVE. Jesus’ entire life and self-offering is motivated by love. He does the Father’s will because he loves the Father. He offers himself for us because he loves us. He pours his grace and mercy over us because he wants us to be with him to share the “joy beyond words” of the life of the Trinity. Forever. He tells the Father that he does it all so “that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.”

This is the radiance for which we are created! This is salvation! This is heaven! This is the whole purpose of existence! We are made IN HIM and FOR HIM (Col 1:16-17); we come from Love, we are returning to Love, and Love is rescuing us every step of the way. Today, let’s seek ways to walk in this glorious Truth and return love for Love.

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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including newly ordained Father Rob and seminarian Luke ;-), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

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Friend Group

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Think of the personalities in your friend group. Who’s the de facto “leader” of your group? Which person comes up with the plans, gets everyone else excited, keeps everyone connected? Every group has that person. Maybe it’s you.

Jesus’ friend group included a lot of personalities too – the Rock, the Boanerges (“Sons of Thunder”), the doubting one, the young and Beloved disciple. But it wasn’t Jesus’ personality that kept them all connected, it was WHO HE IS, and WHAT HE DID for them. He is God and he gave everything for them. Wow.  The really awesome thing is that WE CAN BE IN THAT FRIEND GROUP TOO!

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is reiterating the most important lesson for his friends: they must love one another AS HE LOVED THEM. In case they might miss the point, he tells them exactly how he loves them; his love is so great that he will LAY DOWN HIS VERY LIFE for his friends. He chose them, he told them everything he heard from his Father, and now he will die for them.

What are they (and we) supposed to do in response? Jesus’ friends are called to love one another in the same way and GO AND BEAR FRUIT, to the glory of the Father. A few verses earlier (Jn 15:1-8), he has explained that without him, we can do nothing, and so we are like branches which must remain firmly connected to Jesus, the Vine, in order to bear any fruit.

These words, spoken just before Jesus actually gave himself over to death for love of his friends and love of his Father, must have resonated deeply with the disciples. The Church built up around this genuine self-giving love and Communion with the very Person of Jesus Christ, defining his followers as those who loved one another and their enemies! This was a profound, sacrificial love, far deeper than “being nice” or any kind of natural human compassion – this is love with an eternal perspective, love that wants what is spiritually, eternally, best for the other. This is love that can only come through us from the One Who IS Love, and only if we remain firmly connected to the Vine, and allow ourselves to be pruned by the Vine Grower. Jesus taught us that we can call God “Father,” because we are IN the Son.

Anything we think we can do without Jesus is just self-assertion, self-insertion, self-sufficiency. None of these keep us connected to the Vine so that we can love truly and bear lasting fruit. Today, let’s consider how well our attitude toward God mirrors Jesus’ attitude toward the Father, and how deeply we love the people around us. Enough to lay down our very lives? This is the profound love that can be ours IN CHRIST, if we set our own agendas aside. This is the glorious grace that is ours through baptism. This is the profound commandment Jesus gives his friends. 

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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including newly ordained Father Rob and seminarian Luke ;-), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

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Beginnings Without Endings

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We all love good stories with satisfying endings. But it seems Jesus is the Master at building tension and leaving us to find the conclusion through prayer and reflection – sometimes decades of theological reflection!  Jesus is the fullness of revelation, but sometimes it seems that he holds back more than he reveals. He gives solid clues, but does not lay things out plainly, and the apostles are often left confused and probably discussing between themselves what he meant. So are we.

Today’s Easter reading actually comes from the Last Supper, after Jesus has washed his disciples’ feet and they are beginning to wonder what is going on. He speaks of betrayal, Judas has left early without any explanation, and Jesus begins to talk about going somewhere they cannot come right away. Something is stirring, and there is tension. Jesus knows this, and he cannot soften the blow of what is about to happen.

So Jesus tells them not to be troubled, to lean into their faith. He reminds them of their eternal future in the Father’s house. And then he tells the disciples that they actually already know the way to where he is going. Thomas objects that they don’t even understand what he’s talking about, they don’t even know where he is going. You can sense a kind of confused exasperation in Thomas as he insists they have no idea of the way.

Jesus’ answer (enlightened by retrospect and the Holy Spirit in the Church!) could be paraphrased something like this:

“You DO know the way, because you know ME. I AM THE WAY, and there is no other way.

You also know all you need to know because you know ME. I AM ALL TRUTH.

You can also walk in hope, because you know ME. I AM LIFE – abundant life, eternal life! 

So, FOLLOW ME by imitating what I have done and what I am about to do.

Walk confidently in the truth that I AM and that knowing me reveals the meaning of all creation and the deep desires of every human heart, including your own.

Hope in me, confident that the fullness of life will be yours, now and forever.

Human hope finds satisfaction in happy endings, but the Father loves beginnings without endings!

We are all journeying to an eternity in the Heart of the Father, and I am going before you.

The only way for you to get to My Father is through ME.

Because I AM THE WAY AND THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.”

 Do our lives reflect this? Do our lives demonstrate that Jesus is our all, that we need him, that he gives us all, that our confidence is in HIM?

 Is Jesus our way, our truth, and our very life?  

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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including newly ordained Father Rob and seminarian Luke ;-), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

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The Eighth Day?

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Alleluia! It’s still Easter!

Every year, I marvel at the reality that we prepare for Easter with 40 days of penitence, and then celebrate the magnificence of Christ’s Resurrection for 50 days! And every day of the Octave of Easter (from Easter through Divine Mercy Sunday) is like Easter Sunday, liturgically speaking. It is one long day of rejoicing, encompassing the “first day of the week” (the day of Christ’s resurrection from the dead) and the “eighth day” of the week (the following Sunday). This “eighth day” after the Sabbath is the new “first day”, the symbol of the new creation the Resurrection has set in motion.

The eighth day as a day signaling sanctity and freedom can be seen repeatedly in the Old Testament, particularly the Book of Leviticus. On this day, children were circumcised, becoming purified and receiving the seal of the covenant (Lev 12:2-3). Even animals were ceremonially unclean before their eighth day, and could not be sacrificed before then (Lev 22:27)!  All people who were unclean for any reason remained so until the eighth day, when they were accounted clean (Lev 14:8-10; 15:13-14). Even the vessels for ministry and the priests went through seven days of purification, and were “clean” on the eighth day.

Today’s Gospel tells us that Jesus rose on “the first day of the week,” which is the same as the “eighth day.” The Jewish people hold Saturday, the seventh day, as a day of rest and worship, as God rested on the seventh day of creation. But Christians acknowledge that Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary fulfilled every Levitical oblation and sacrifice, and the resurrection on the “eighth day” points to the NEW creation and the final fulfillment of all creation.  In the early Church, the baptismal font was often octagonal, to symbolize the truth that it is through this font that the baptized become a new creation in Christ!

Tomorrow is Divine Mercy Sunday, when we see Jesus putting Thomas’ doubts to rest on the eighth day by revealing his glorious wounds, through which he poured out mercy on the world. It is through these wounds that Jesus gave us the incredible gift of forgiveness and proved that Love overcomes every sin and shortcoming. On this “eighth day” of Easter, we glimpse the whole point of creation and hear anew the call to fulfillment of all creation: the final victory over every uncleanness and sinfulness, and our final, glorious rest at the Marriage Feast of the Lamb, celebrating the definitive conquering of death on the mystical eighth day of creation in eternity.

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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including newly ordained Father Rob and seminarian Luke ;-), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

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The Glory

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What is the glory of God? How do we glorify Him? How is God glorified in us?

Here at the beginning of Holy Week, we read in the Gospel of John that as soon as Judas left the Last Supper, Jesus declared, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him…”

This does not seem to correspond to our ideas of glory, which probably include greatness, power, bright lights, and myriads of angels singing polyphonic hosannas. At least, that’s what we see in art and cinema, and our imaginations can be flattened by these ideas. We can also have “flattened” ideas about Christ’s suffering and death! Because the crucifix is familiar, and the truth that we are saved by it is repeated so often, we can lose sight of the reality of the life of the Lord and the way it transformed our lives!

Jesus truly came from the Father, setting aside his glory, to dwell among us and act and teach and willingly suffer to save us! Jesus laid down his life so that we might be truly alive, and so that he could please his Father by fulfilling His will for our eternal life. The Catechism tells us that “The world was created for the glory of God.” Not a glory that insists on its own gloriousness, but a glory that delights in pouring out immeasurable and infinite LOVE.

As we ponder the Passion this week, we must ask for the grace to see anew that God is glorified by Christ’s (and our) loving obedience. As Judas sets out with determination to betray Jesus, the Way of the Cross is set in motion, and it is this Way that glorifies the Father because it demonstrates the Son’s total loving obedience: Jesus passed onto his disciples the living truth of the Father, and then “humbled himself and became obedient, even unto death, death on a cross” (Phil 2:8).

Jesus’ self-gift is more than words; his love for the Father is more than words. It isn’t enough to say, “I give myself completely to you.” Complete self-giving is demonstrated when we pour ourselves out (in time, energy, attention, and love), not when we talk about how generous we are. I can say that I love you, but you know it’s true when I set aside what I want to help give you what YOU want. I can say I would give someone one of my kidneys, but it is only words until I have the opportunity to submit myself to surgery! Words must be proved by action.

Jesus prayed in the Garden, “Not my will, but Yours be done.” On the Cross, Jesus proves that his words are true. It is by his complete immolation on the Cross that Jesus fulfills the Father’s will wholly, without reserving anything for himself. It is this complete self-gift, for love of the Father and for us, that glorifies Jesus, and the Father in him.

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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including newly ordained Father Rob and seminarian Luke ;-), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

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Alert and Aligned

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Did you ever spend a lot of time and energy trying to convince someone of something that seems so obvious you shouldn’t have to explain it? You may have been tempted to say, “What is wrong with you?! It’s so obvious?!” Maybe Jesus felt that kind of exasperation with the ruling Jews.

Jesus is still trying to help “the Jews” see what should be obvious to them. They know the Scriptures inside and out, and so they should easily recognize the One Who IS the fulfillment of the Scriptures. In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks their own language to them, as it were. He “presents his case” in the format they are familiar with, citing witnesses and testimonies. But then Jesus cuts right to the heart of the matter, as he usually does: “You do not want to come to me to have life… (Y)ou do not have the love of God in you.” The true reason that they cannot see Truth before them is that their hearts are closed.

What has closed them off? In the next sentence, Jesus names their blinding fault: “you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God…” Wow. Because their desire is only for worldly acknowledgment and gain (what I call the “5 P’s” of popularity, prestige, power, pleasure, and prosperity), they have closed their hearts to real spiritual gain.

Even as Jesus dialogues with them in a way they should understand, even though he presents “an airtight case,” they cannot see because they are seeking something else and looking elsewhere.

We can be like that too. Our lives are a stream of busy-ness and distraction, scrolling and trolling, so that we forget to seek the ONE THING that matters. And yet the Lord keeps calling us to Himself.

Have you ever been doing something that seems “not religious” and suddenly been moved deeply by something so beautiful or good or true? These are blessed moments in which the Lord is speaking to us in a way that we can hear, getting our attention, and they don’t always happen at church! The Lord is always coming to us in ways that are familiar so that we can hear him: a song, a friend, a prayer, a story, a walk, even a movie. We may be tempted to dismiss it as nothing, or chance, or fatigue! But we should learn to recognize that these are often ways that Heaven breaks through and reminds us that there is more.

“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts!” (Heb 3:7).

During these last days of Lent, let’s work to keep our hearts alert and aligned to God’s will, open to whatever he is calling us to do.

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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including newly ordained Father Rob and seminarian Luke ;-), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

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Actually, I Have a Better Idea

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

What moves the Heart of Christ?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including newly ordained Father Rob and seminarian Luke ;-), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

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The Thought Of Losing Me

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“At the judgment,” Jesus says in today’s Gospel, “the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them….(T)he men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it.” Why will “this generation” be condemned? Because they will not accept him as their salvation! The people of Nineveh and the Queen of Sheba were open to the truth, and so, even though they were not part of the Chosen People, they accepted the wisdom of their God. They recognized Truth when they heard it.

Will they really “condemn” others? Not in the sense of exercising the power of judgment against them (this belongs to Christ alone), but only in the sense that their actions and choices will be seen to be superior to the actions and choices of “the Jews” of Jesus’ time, according to Venerable Bede.

Jesus is again pleading with the people to see and accept the Truth that he has come to proclaim, so he points to familiar events of the past to say, “Even THESE people recognized and were open to the Truth – these Gentiles! Surely, you are in a better position to choose rightly than they were!” And he seems to give a little “clue” that will make sense to them later, if they dare to consider it after the Resurrection: Just as Jonah spent three days in the belly of a whale (during which time he would be presumed dead) and came out alive, so Jesus will be killed and spend three days in the earth and emerge alive and glorified. Will they accept him then?

We might take these words of Jesus to prayer and ask him to show us any hidden or subtle resistance we have to accepting Him fully. Lent is the time set aside each year when we examine our hearts more thoroughly, and ask for the grace to see what obstacles we may yet have to God’s Truth and saving action in our lives.

What distractions do I allow to keep me from spending more time with Jesus?

What am I still striving for, except Jesus?

What do I think I need to remain safe and happy, beyond Jesus?

Where am I still afraid to surrender fully to Jesus?

What do I think I need to do to become my best self, besides Jesus?

Lent is a time to appreciate again, anew, aright, that the overwhelming love that Jesus has for me drove him all the way to the Cross – because he knew that without the Cross, I could not find joy or security or peace, and I could not be with him forever! It is the thought of losing me that kept him going through his long Passion. The thought of losing HIM should keep me going through the little self-denials of Lent.

Let’s let go of all that is not valuable this Lent, so that our hands are free to embrace our Savior fully.

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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including newly ordained Father Rob and seminarian Luke ;-), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

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Caught In The Gaze Of Jesus

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Who was this “tax collector named Levi” in today’s Gospel? How did he enter into this profession? How many hours had Levi sat at the customs post counting and calculating the taxes he collected? What had he purchased for himself with the wealth that he drew for himself? How many years had gone into establishing his reputation and identity as a tax collector?

Then Jesus comes, probably with his disciples. He “sees” Levi.

What would this be like, to have Jesus really SEE us? Well, it would undoubtedly change us, like it changed Levi. Levi, who had built a life as a collector of taxes, who has established a reputation in the community, who has gathered comfortable wealth to himself, is changed under the gaze of Jesus, so that when Jesus says, “Follow me,” Levi DOES. Levi leaves it all – he leaves everything behind – gets up, and follows Jesus!

It’s worth asking ourselves seriously what we would do in Levi’s sandals. Would we be able to leave everything behind, and go wherever Jesus leads? Could I leave behind my job, my home, whatever I have built up for now and for the future, for the love of God? The few words used by St. Luke to express this scene may make this seem like an easy thing, but there is something profound and phenomenal happening here.  There is a seismic change within Levi, who suddenly knows that the “security” he has established for himself is not secure at all, the comfort he has carved out for himself is not satisfying, the plans he has made for himself are not worth pursuing. When caught in the gaze of Jesus, Levi sees possibilities that he could not see before.

Isn’t this partly what Lent is about? We pray to allow ourselves to be caught in the gaze of Jesus, who is always seeking us and always for  us, so that in his gaze we recognize the needs and yearnings of our own hearts more deeply, and are moved to let go of all our own ideas about our lives. When we are willing to set aside our own agendas and open ourselves fully to God’s Plan for us, we receive the grace to “leave everything behind” and follow him.

Not many of us actually have to leave our whole lives behind and start something new – our families and homes and possessions and jobs are gifts from the Lord. But we can receive the grace to really SEE that everything is a gift and to put all our gifts and talents in service to God’s will for us, rather than our own will for us. Our activity becomes directed to the good of others and God’s glory, rather than our own ideas of comfort and security. We learn to trust in the Providence of God, rather than our own providing.

This is the “newness” in which the Lord invites us to walk this Lent. 

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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including newly ordained Father Rob and seminarian Luke ;-), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

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Choosing Not To Choose Is Choosing

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There is a battle going on in today’s Gospel, but Jesus is the only one who speaks! The Pharisees don’t need to open their mouths – in fact, they willfully remain silent – because Jesus is battling for their hearts. But their hearts are hardened. They are not there to hear Jesus teach or even to hear the Scripture.  They are only there to watch Jesus, hoping to catch him in the act of doing something “so that they might accuse him.”

Jesus knows this. He has sparred with them before. He knows what they are about. And so he calls them out, gives them the opportunity to engage, to discuss, to reconsider. He calls up the man with the withered hand and asks the Pharisees one of those brilliant “Jesus questions”; they can make a choice for truth or continue in their untruth. They must choose what is true or say what is untrue! But they know that no matter how they answer, they won’t get their way, because they can’t have it both ways! They are unwilling to make the choice and so they remain silent. They refuse to answer.

Choosing not to choose is choosing.

What is Jesus’ response? He is angry and grieved. The Greek words used to describe his reaction are unique in the New Testament. His anger is synonymous with the wrath of God; but Jesus’ grief is described with the intensive form of the verb “to be sorry or grieve.” Jesus is displeased with their blindness, and filled with sorrow at their willful hardness of heart, because he has come to save them too. But they cannot rejoice with those who have been healed and set free from sin. They cannot see the Messiah restoring all that has been injured by sin, and calling them into his glorious kingdom. They have closed themselves to what is happening right in their midst.

It is not enough for them to ignore him or dismiss him or even talk against him. It is not enough for them to refuse to hear the beauty of his words or the freedom that he teaches. They must destroy him. Rather than allow themselves to be moved by the good, they harden themselves against this thorn in their side and determine to kill him!

This is a fitting Gospel for the saint of today: St. Sebastian was one of the many martyrs executed during the persecutions of Diocletian. As a Roman soldier, Sebastian was found to be a Christian and did not back down at the threat of death from those who had hardened their hearts against the truth. Like Christ, he stood firm even as they shot him full of arrows because he was determined to obey God and his conscience rather than men, as the Collect for today’s Mass reminds us.

St. Sebastian, intercede for us, that we might remain open to Good and stand firmly in the Truth, no matter the cost!

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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including newly ordained Father Rob and seminarian Luke ;-), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

Feature Image Credit: Marcos Paulo Prado, https://unsplash.com/photos/Iv0mvJx9uLM

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Driven By Desire…For What?

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What gets you out of bed before dawn?

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

What drives you?

What drives Jesus?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

May God bless you abundantly.

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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including newly ordained Father Rob and seminarian Luke ;-), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

Feature Image Credit: Timothy Eberly, https://unsplash.com/photos/47A2MPzrSi4

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Joys and Sorrows

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Becoming a parent is a profoundly meaningful, deeply moving, beautifully life-changing moment. It also opens up a whole vista of possibilities, uncertainties, and challenges. How will we provide for this child? What will we teach him? What will he become? Even entering into this with strong faith and firm hope, parenthood requires a great deal of prudence, resilience, adaptability, generosity, and self-sacrifice.

Parents cannot help but hear deeply every comment made about their child. “Your baby is so beautiful!” “He’s getting so big!” “He’s so alert!” “He seems a little cranky…” “Is he rolling over yet?” Each word can make a mother’s heart soar with joy, rest contentedly, begin to fret, or ache with pain. Surely this was true for the parents of Jesus as well.

Obeying the Law of Moses, Mary and Joseph travel to the Temple to present the baby Jesus to the Lord, bringing the prescribed sacrifice. God again enters the Temple, but quietly. No one notices anything about this poor, young family. No one recognizes this Child, except Simeon (and Anna, see tomorrow’s Gospel). Simeon is awaiting the Messiah, watching for the Promised One, and the Holy Spirit leads him to this quiet little family. And then he says words that amaze the parents: “This child is our salvation! This child is light! This child is the glory of Israel!” How the parents hearts must have rejoiced at these words, this confirmation that God was powerfully at work already.

But then, Simeon addresses different words to Mary: “This child will be contradicted. A sword will pierce through you too.” It must have felt like the sword was already in her at those words. Why was this necessary? “So that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

I’ve always marveled that the 5th Joyful Mystery of the Rosary is also the 1st Sorrow of Mary’s Heart (see https://catholic-link.org/the-seven-sorrows-of-mary-why-you-should-know-them-and-pray-them-2/ ). In this life, joy is always tinged with sorrow, and sorrows also have their joys. In this case, Mary’s intimate bond with Jesus would mean that her YES to the angel at the Annunciation was a YES to full motherhood and all that being the Mother of God would demand. She would feed him, clothe him, teach him, pray, and suffer with him, all the way to the Cross. She would snuggle him, marvel at him, anticipate his needs, ponder his heart.  She would be his mother, and when Jesus gave all of humanity to her from the Cross (“Behold your mother.”), she would – as the New Eve – be Mother to everyone who becomes brother and sister of Jesus through Baptism.

Mary and Joseph are not just Christmas decorations. They are real Christians, real parents, who experienced real hardship, and lived by real faith and hope and love! And now they are real intercessors who understand our needs and can really pray for us to the Son of God, who was also their son. And a son always listens attentively to his parents.

Contact the author

Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including newly ordained Father Rob and seminarian Luke ;-), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

Feature Image Credit: dodo71, https://pixabay.com/illustrations/mosaic-scene-people-jesus-parents-5265359/