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Pointing the Way

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“John answered them, I baptize with water, but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”

Each of the four gospels emphasizes John’s assertion that he is not the Messiah. It is helpful to look back historically and understand the Jewish context. While some of the more zealous of the Jews were looking for a political Messiah who would lead a military overthrow of the Roman leaders, the majority of the Jewish people were looking for a restoration of Israel in a new exodus. They were looking for a new Moses who would intercede for them in the making of a new covenant with God and lead them to a new promised land where the temple would be restored.

It was important both while John was alive and for those who followed his teachings even after his execution, that the Jewish people understood that John was not the Messiah. John’s importance was in pointing the way to Jesus. John’s role is just as important today.

Who pointed the way to Jesus for you? What was it about them that helped you to fall in love with Jesus? How did your relationship with them lead you to build a relationship with the one who created you and loves you beyond all understanding?

Just as God, who is love, created us because love desires to pour itself out to another so too, as we grow in love with Jesus Christ, our love desires to pour itself out to others. It isn’t really love if we are content just to hold it all inside. We are called to be like John the Baptist, we are not the way, but we can point to the one who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

So how do we do that? What is it about us, which points others to the love of Christ? What is it about our relationships with others that will lead them to build a relationship with Jesus Christ? How do we help others make straight the way of the Lord? How are we the voice crying out in the desert of our current culture? These are questions we each have to answer for ourselves.

It is the reason that God created you to be you, just as you are. He has a plan for you to be the arrow pointing someone else back to Him. You might be a big, flashing neon light complete with music. You might be a quiet candle in the window. You might be a patched up sign that shows the effects of time and wear. You might be a silent whispered prayer interceding for someone who doesn’t even realize they need intercession. Wherever you are, whoever you are, you were created just as you are for a purpose, and that purpose is to use your talents to build the kingdom of God in a way that one else ever created can.

As we start this new decade, what if we all became a little more conscious of how and where we are pointing? What if we became a little bit truer to ourselves and to who God created us to be? What if we remembered that we are not called to be the way, but only to point to the way? Because Jesus Christ fulfilled the prophecies. He is the new Moses interceding for us to the Father. He leads us out of ourselves into the light of His love. The promised land isn’t some far off place, but is alive and well here and now when we live in His grace. The rebuilt temple isn’t just one place but exists in each of our hearts. Because in the beginning, God created you out of love to love, and life doesn’t get much better than that.

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Sheryl delights in being the number 1 cheerleader and supporter for her husband, Tom who is a candidate for the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Kalamazoo. They are so grateful for the opportunity to grow together in this process whether it is studying for classes, deepening their prayer life or discovering new ways to serve together. Sheryl’s day job is serving her community as the principal for St. Therese Catholic School in Wayland, Michigan. Since every time she thinks she gets life all figured out, she realizes just how far she has to go, St. Rita of Cascia is her go-to Saint for intercession and help. Home includes Brea, a Bernese Mountain dog and Carlyn, a very, very goofy Golden Retriever.

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O Key of David

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The reality of my failure to plan appropriately for this season is beginning to show. The super cute cardboard houses that I just had to paint and cover with glitter so they could decorate our home are still covering our dining room table in varying stages of incompleteness. It seems like with the shortened daylight, by 6 PM, I am trying to find an excuse to head to bed, and my loving husband has to remind me that going to bed so early will just throw my internal clock farther off. I just seem out of sync. Forget my Christmas crafting, just the tasks of daily living seem to be piling up on me. No matter how I try, it seems I am always behind on dishes or laundry or both. Let’s not even talk about the kitchen counter; I really think that stuff multiplies and creates clutter whenever I turn my back.

For the first part of Advent, our reflections guided us to wake up and be aware that the time is now to prepare for the Second Coming of Our Lord. Starting on the 17th, we turned our focus to the Incarnation. We turn to look to the nativity, to Mary and Joseph’s first encounter with their son, and through them to our own encounter with the Son of God. We prepare ourselves for the graces available as we meet at the altar with all the heavenly hosts, with all our loved ones who have gone before us, where we are witness to the re-presentation of Jesus as he offers his body and blood to his disciples.

The O Antiphons lead us through this last week before Christmas by recalling the names given to the Messiah by the prophets.

O Key of David, opening the gates of God’s eternal Kingdom: come and free the prisoners of darkness!

Just like the pink candle on our Advent wreath signals the first light of dawn, just like tomorrow’s winter solstice marks the gradual lengthening of daylight, the cycle of daylight is turning and the days will grow longer once again, and we look to you, Lord Jesus, to free us from the darkness. It isn’t just the darkness of the physical night, but the darkness of all our bad habits, our sin, and from a focus that pays more attention to the created instead of the Creator.

As we travel this last leg of the journey to the nativity, pray for the grace to keep the focus on the one who left heaven to be with us, to the one who returned to heaven but didn’t leave us alone, the one who loves us with love beyond understanding. Remember that when we are in sync with God, sometimes we are out of sync with the rest of the world. When we get in sync with eternity, we are out of sync with the culture around us. Sometimes, being out of sync is a good thing because we can help us to refocus on what is most important and let go of lesser things. The pink of dawn is at the horizon, look to the light.

O Key of David, come and free us, the prisoners of darkness!

May God continue to bless you through these final days of Advent and may His graces cover you as we celebrate together, his entrance into Creation.

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Sheryl delights in being the number 1 cheerleader and supporter for her husband, Tom who is a candidate for the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Kalamazoo. They are so grateful for the opportunity to grow together in this process whether it is studying for classes, deepening their prayer life or discovering new ways to serve together. Sheryl’s day job is serving her community as the principal for St. Therese Catholic School in Wayland, Michigan. Since every time she thinks she gets life all figured out, she realizes just how far she has to go, St. Rita of Cascia is her go-to Saint for intercession and help. Home includes Brea, a Bernese Mountain dog and Carlyn, a very, very goofy Golden Retriever.

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Foundational Wisdom

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So what is the deal with the list of ancestors? In the Gospels, we get Jesus’ genealogy, not once but twice! Since nothing happens in the Bible without a purpose, we can only ask, “Why?”

First, the genealogies establish the historical reliability of the Bible. Jesus didn’t live in a vacuum of time, space, and relationships. In Jewish tradition, people often introduced themselves in terms of family and tribe. The list in today’s reading firmly establishes Jesus as part of the human family; true God, true man.

The genealogies also document the fulfillment of many of the prophecies of the Old Testament. Abraham is promised descendants as numerous as the stars, through Jesus, we are all the children of Abraham, brothers, and sisters in God. Isaiah tells us that the Messiah will spring from the root of Jesse, and the genealogy shows where Jesse and his son, King David, are in Jesus’s family tree.

There are other lessons to learn from today’s Gospel. When we trace God’s creative action from Adam and Eve, the first couple, to Noah, the family saved in the flood, to Abraham from whose family will come a great nation, the common thread is family. We can see the importance of family in God’s plan.

It makes sense; God is love, and love is not passive. Love is an action. Love is actualized when it is poured out in service to another. The love between God the Father and Jesus the Son is so complete, it is the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. God loves us so much, he sends his
Son, his Son loves us so much, he pours out his very body and blood to bring us into the family. Family is foundational.

Today is the first of the O Antiphons. They signal a change in our Advent preparation from a focus on being ready for when we meet Jesus face to face to preparing for Jesus’ arrival into a human family as true God through the power of the Holy Spirit and true man as traced in the genealogy in Matthew.

We find the O Antiphon in today’s Gospel acclamation. “O Wisdom of our God Most High, guiding creation with power and love, come to teach us the path of knowledge!” In his infinite wisdom, personified in Jesus Christ, God chose this path to come to us and to draw us to himself and his foundation is family. With God as our Father and under the tutelage of Mother Church, we are family. In love, we pour ourselves out for one another and to those around us as we strive to follow the path of Jesus.

As we approach these last days before beginning our Christmas celebration, let us open our hearts to one another. Let us open our hearts to the wisdom of God and remember we are all family and that is foundational.

O Come, O Wisdom of our God Most High!

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Sheryl delights in being the number 1 cheerleader and supporter for her husband, Tom who is a candidate for the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Kalamazoo. They are so grateful for the opportunity to grow together in this process whether it is studying for classes, deepening their prayer life or discovering new ways to serve together. Sheryl’s day job is serving her community as the principal for St. Therese Catholic School in Wayland, Michigan. Since every time she thinks she gets life all figured out, she realizes just how far she has to go, St. Rita of Cascia is her go-to Saint for intercession and help. Home includes Brea, a Bernese Mountain dog and Carlyn, a very, very goofy Golden Retriever.

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Hospitality

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When he entered the house, the blind men approached him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?”

There is a beautiful subtlety to this story that often gets overlooked in our desire to see and understand the miracle.

Jesus encounters the blind men on the road, and they appeal to him using a name which defines who they think the messiah will be, not who Jesus says He is. But even though they call Jesus by a name he doesn’t choose for himself, pay attention to what happens next.

“When he entered the house, the blind men approached him.”

“When he entered the house.” Jesus encounters these men on the road. They call him by a name that Jesus chastises the scribes for using, but when Jesus enters the house the blind men go with him.

I am from the midwest and it is pretty common for people to invite one another over to their homes for opportunities for fellowship and fun. It wasn’t until I was staying in New York City and someone took me to their apartment and told me that New Yorkers just don’t invite people over, at least partially because no one can afford a place big enough for entertaining. Entering into someone’s home is special, you get invited. There are even social protocols for bringing a small gift or some food to offer in response to their hospitality.

Jesus entered into the house and the blind men entered with him. Before the miracle, before asking if they believe, it all started with an act of hospitality.

The babe, born in a stable because no one had room for his laboring mother, brings them into his home.

What a beautiful Advent challenge for us. What a beautiful and stress-reducing idea! I don’t need to make this the most amazing Christmas ever. I don’t need to make sure that each child attends perfectly to each of my carefully planned Advent activities. I don’t even need to make sure that every meal is Pinterest-photo ready. I am not the worker of miracles. I am not asking people to believe in me. I don’t want them to see me, I want them to see Jesus. My job is to follow Jesus’s example and help people to feel welcomed and wanted. My job is to imitate Jesus where I can. And while I can’t work miracles, I can look at others and see them for who they are in God’s eyes. I can offer small acts of hospitality, living moment to moment and really experiencing the joy of being with the person right in front of me. It doesn’t even necessarily mean bringing someone into my home. It might be just putting my phone down when I am around others. It might be making eye contact and saying thank you to the woman who is finishing a long shift at the grocery store. It might be paying forward a cup of coffee in the drive-thru or coffee shop. It might just be an encouraging word to someone hurting or alone. Those small acts (especially when I don’t feel like being warm and fuzzy) are the window which allows others to see Jesus at home in me.

As we continue this journey through Advent, as we prepare to welcome Jesus into our hearts at Mass and into the world at the Nativity, let’s offer to one another those small acts of welcome that prepare us for the miracle.

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Sheryl delights in being the number 1 cheerleader and supporter for her husband, Tom who is a candidate for the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Kalamazoo. They are so grateful for the opportunity to grow together in this process whether it is studying for classes, deepening their prayer life or discovering new ways to serve together. Sheryl’s day job is serving her community as the principal for St. Therese Catholic School in Wayland, Michigan. Since every time she thinks she gets life all figured out, she realizes just how far she has to go, St. Rita of Cascia is her go-to Saint for intercession and help. Home includes Brea, a Bernese Mountain dog and Carlyn, a very, very goofy Golden Retriever.

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To Be Human

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“And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high because your liberation is near at hand.”

Did you know that “Son of Man” was the name Jesus claimed for himself more than any other? In the 4 Gospels, it appears over 80 times. 80! That’s a lot!

Why would the Son of the Most High, who was present at Creation, who is the Word of God, why would he claim the title, “Son of man” more than any other?

Jesus was fully God and fully man. “…human nature was thereby elevated to a personal union with the Word; and this dignity is given, not on account of any merits, but entirely and absolutely through grace, and therefore, as it were, through the special gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Divinum illud munus, 4) When, through the power of the Holy Spirit, God became man, all of humanity was given a dignity never before present. Simply by the fact that Jesus walked the earth, we, the created, were raised up. No longer mere servants, through Jesus, we become adopted sons and daughters of our Creator.

When Jesus repeatedly acknowledges his humanity, he brings divinity to the world. No longer is God some unknown, unknowable, unseen force. God has trod where we trod, lived where we live, and understands from first-hand experience what it means to be human, to work, to serve, to eat, sleep and do all the things that we humans need to do to survive. Jesus came to humanize us, to take us beyond mere survival, so we can be more fully who we are meant to be.

So too, we who are the followers of Jesus, we are called to continue Jesus’s mission on earth. As the body of Christ, we are his hands and feet, and eyes and ears, his tongue speaking the divine presence of his humanity into the world.

Woo, that sounds good, but what does it mean? In real live practical terms, not just strung together words on a page, what does it look like on the street? It is our vocation to love (CCC 1604). To love our neighbor is to humanize them, to acknowledge their inherent dignity, and to treat them as who they are in God’s eyes. We smile. We make eye contact. We refrain from language that highlights differences or groups of people into “us” and “them.” We talk to people, not about them. We exercise self-discipline when we are driving or waiting in line and not treat others like they are simply impediments to getting to where we are going. We have to work at remembering that they are whole beings created by and loved infinitely by God. We not only provide food for those who don’t have it, but we also work on the systemic injustices in our society that leave people on the fringes. We need to get real about our human rights, and if even one person is deprived of their God-given dignity, we take it as our personal responsibility to right that wrong.

As we sit down to celebrate Thanksgiving today, let us acknowledge that all we have, who we are, and how even the fact that we are breathing is a gift from our all-knowing and all-loving Creator. Because we have enough awareness to acknowledge that gift, we also have a responsibility to lift up the person next to us. We can no longer be okay with just doing our own thing and letting the person next to us to their own thing. We are obligated by our devotion to Jesus to love the person next to us, even to love them so far that our love humanizes them and helps them be more fully who God created them to be.

The thing is, all this doesn’t have to be overwhelming. We don’t have to take care of the whole world all at once. We can start small. As St. Mother Teresa said, “Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you.” We can do this, human to human.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Sheryl delights in being the number 1 cheerleader and supporter for her husband, Tom who is a candidate for the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Kalamazoo. They are so grateful for the opportunity to grow together in this process whether it is studying for classes, deepening their prayer life or discovering new ways to serve together. Sheryl’s day job is serving her community as the principal for St. Therese Catholic School in Wayland, Michigan. Since every time she thinks she gets life all figured out, she realizes just how far she has to go, St. Rita of Cascia is her go-to Saint for intercession and help. Home includes Brea, a Bernese Mountain dog and Carlyn, a very, very goofy Golden Retriever.

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Follow the Thread

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When I was studying for my Master’s degree in leadership, I remember one of my professors emphasizing not to get hung up on the complaints that people bring, but to listen behind the questions and follow the thread of what they were saying to get to the real issue.

Jesus is a beautiful example of this style of leadership in today’s Gospel. The Sadducees and the Pharisees approach Jesus to try and trip him up with a question about the resurrection, marriage, and Jewish Law. They don’t like this itinerant preacher who is drawing such crowds and they want to discredit him. They come up with a convoluted “what if” which is intended to trap Jesus into questionable teaching regardless of the answer given.

But Jesus doesn’t get hung up on their question. He listens behind the question to address the underlying issue. You see, the Sadducees and the Pharisees were uncomfortable bedfellows. While the Pharisees were the experts on Jewish Law and insisted on a very literal interpretation, the Sadducees were an elitist type of aristocrat. They also interpreted the law in a very literal sense, but they maintained their position at the top of the pecking order by cooperating with the Roman order. They became so convinced of their place in the scheme of things, that they had lost faith in the resurrection. They believed that the messianic kingdom was already in place. Belief in the resurrection, both among the Pharisees and others, was growing and this belief was motivation to not accept the social order of the day and to look for the kingdom to come. Belief in the resurrection was a threat to the Sadducees’ way of life.

To our modern ears, the whole exchange sounds lengthy and full of odd sounding phrases which can be mystifying. Part of this is because Jesus doesn’t answer their carefully crafted question, he goes behind the question to the real issue. They didn’t believe in the resurrection and their lack of faith keeps them focused on preserving the social order. Marriage has become a means for fulfilling the law rather than a sacramental relationship instituted to image God’s love to the world.

Jesus starts right out by telling them they don’t know what they are talking about. “The children of this world take husbands and wives.” This life is only a preparation for what is to come, the world where “in the resurrection from the dead [they] do not marry because they can no longer die.”

The covenant between the spouses is integrated into God’s covenant with man: “Authentic married love is caught up into divine love.” (CCC 1639) Marriage is an image of God’s unfailing love. “God who created man out of love also calls him to love-the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being.” (CCC 1604) Marriage is not about status or social convention, marriage is the image of “the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves man.” After the resurrection we will no longer need the image of God’s love because we will be finally at home in the actual presence of His love!

Jesus shows them again how little they know, “…being children of the resurrection they are children of God.” Jesus isn’t here to establish a kingdom with a hierarchy of nobles and peasants, Jesus came so that we might be part of the family, children of God.

I think too, we need to be careful to not be modern day Sadducees and Pharisees. Too often (especially on social media) we get into debates about things which may not really matter in the long run. Should we hold hands or keep praying hands during the “Our Father”? Do we kneel to receive communion or do we reverently bow and accept the gift of our Lord and Savior? I am not entering into the fray or claiming one is better than the other, but I do think that if Jesus was responding, he wouldn’t be as worried about the position of our hands as the formation of our hearts. He might also be surprised that we are even paying attention to what others are doing instead of focusing our own heart and attention on Him. Let’s not get caught up in the social order of today, but prepare our hearts for the kingdom to come.

After all we are family, God’s family. And in families there is room for all sorts of ways of doing things. There is room in the Catholic family for quiet worship and loud praise. There is room for hand holding and for holding our hands in prayer. We can disagree on these things but we still come home for the holidays. We still have a need to be in relationship with one another and with the one who created us. So the next time you get a question, try to slow down and listen beyond the question to what lies behind it. Follow that thread and you will find it is the thread of God’s love which ultimately connects and binds us to each other and to Him.

Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, pray for us!

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Sheryl delights in being the number 1 cheerleader and supporter for her husband, Tom who is a candidate for the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Kalamazoo. They are so grateful for the opportunity to grow together in this process whether it is studying for classes, deepening their prayer life or discovering new ways to serve together. Sheryl’s day job is serving her community as the principal for St. Therese Catholic School in Wayland, Michigan. Since every time she thinks she gets life all figured out, she realizes just how far she has to go, St. Rita of Cascia is her go-to Saint for intercession and help. Home includes Brea, a Bernese Mountain dog and Carlyn, a very, very goofy Golden Retriever.

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Tis The Season

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Oh my goodness! We are quickly rounding into the middle of November. All Hallow’s Eve passed in a flash, and immediately the Black Friday Christmas sales started. We are hearing all about how it is a “short” Christmas season. In a culture driven by getting what you want, it seems an entire season has been bypassed in sacrifice to the Christmas shopping list.

Recently I was listening to a friend as she shared how someone was struggling with not being able to forgive themselves for choices they made many, many years ago. As I listened to her, a part of my brain was so grateful to be Catholic. I am so grateful for the confessional and the sacrament of reconciliation and the mercy waiting for me there. I worked hard on just listening and responding with compassion, but I will fully admit, my heart wanted to scream out, “This is why I long and pray for you to find your way to the Catholic Church! Come with me, I will walk home with you.” (She isn’t ready to hear that, but I am confident that day will come!)

It isn’t that Catholics are without fault and that we don’t struggle with the mistakes of our past. Goodness knows we do! But God in his infinite wisdom, though Our Mother, the Church, has given us a structure, a framework to help us step outside our circumstances and become who he calls us to be, who he created us to be, to find forgiveness, and mercy, and grace.

I feel the same intense relief at being Catholic as I witness the current media hype over the shorter Christmas shopping season. Inside Mother Church, we are being reminded of how many reasons we have to be grateful. Our Lord, Jesus Christ is King of the Universe! We recall that when God formed man, in “the image of his own nature he made them.” We live not for this world but for the next. Tis the season now to reflect on the world to come so that we are ready when Advent starts to prepare ourselves for the coming of the babe who will be crowned king. The truth is, there is no shortening of the time before Christmas. Through the Liturgical Calendar, Mother Church preserves the rhythm of the seasons and maintains to each season its own celebrations. So even though to the eyes of the world, we seem foolish and may even appear dead to the latest fad, we are in peace, the peace found in our Mother’s arms at the foot of the Father.

So enjoy this season, continue to pray for those in purgatory, and be at peace knowing that our Mother will make sure that each season happens at exactly the right time.

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Sheryl delights in being the number 1 cheerleader and supporter for her husband, Tom who is a candidate for the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Kalamazoo. They are so grateful for the opportunity to grow together in this process whether it is studying for classes, deepening their prayer life or discovering new ways to serve together. Sheryl’s day job is serving her community as the principal for St. Therese Catholic School in Wayland, Michigan. Since every time she thinks she gets life all figured out, she realizes just how far she has to go, St. Rita of Cascia is her go-to Saint for intercession and help. Home includes Brea, a Bernese Mountain dog and Carlyn, a very, very goofy Golden Retriever.

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Read the Signs and Act

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Bonus Post!

Jesus has some pretty strong words for us in today’s readings. This whole week, it seems Luke is full of the types of readings that we would rather skim over and get on to something more palatable like, “Bring the little children unto me.” Who doesn’t love the vision of Jesus surrounded by a group of cute kiddos?

But today’s reading doesn’t have cute kids or even words that easily morph into a Facebook ready platitude complete with sunbeamed image. Jesus is pretty direct and pretty harsh.

“You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”

St. Augustine said that nature, creation is God’s first book. It is through the study of what He created and how He created it that we can come to better know the Creator, our Creator. God speaks to us in and through nature. In the fall, as a result of Adam and Eve’s attempt to become like God without going through God, this “natural” pathway of communication became jumbled and garbled. We touch vestiges of it when we are moved by a sunset or a baby’s smile. At other times, we look at the clouds and simply try to predict the weather.

I have a mental picture of my guardian angel doing a facepalm. “Seriously, Sheryl, you look at the mystery and grandeur of creation and all you can see is if you can fit in a trip to the beach?”

When we look at creation strictly for how we can use it, we are missing the point of the story written into nature. In nature, we can read of the love of our God. We see the handiwork of our Father, who delighted in creating us and supplying all our needs. Our Father, who we turn away from again and again through our own choice with our weakened will and darkened intellect. It is the same story we read in the other book of God’s revelation, the history of Salvation in the Bible. Man thinks he has a better way, and God calls him back.

Which brings us to the rest of this passage. If we read the signs of the times in God’s creation around us, we need to not just read those signs but act on them. Where there is disharmony or unrest, we need to bring peace and unity. We need to reach out to others for reconciliation. The only sin for which we cannot be forgiven is unforgiveness to others. This is a hard pill to swallow! We say it every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer, forgive us as we forgive others. Do we really mean this? Do we really do this? What if God grants me exactly what I ask for and forgives me exactly to the extent that I have forgiven others? This is not to diminish any hurt or pain that you may have suffered at another’s hands. It is more a recognition that most of the time, what are the grudges, hurts, and pains we hold onto? It isn’t the big stuff! To bend an old saying, unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting it to hurt the other person. Inevitably, if we harbor unforgiveness, we are the ones who die internally and eventually eternally.

That is what Jesus is telling us in such strong language today. We need to read the signs of our own times and then act on them. If necessary, we need to avail ourselves of God’s ever ready mercy in the confessional and let go of our unforgiveness so that we too may be forgiven.

We will all stand before THE Judge one day. Will he hand us over until the last penny is paid, or will he say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant”?

May God bless you today and happy reading!

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Sheryl delights in being the number 1 cheerleader and supporter for her husband, Tom who is a candidate for the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Kalamazoo. They are so grateful for the opportunity to grow together in this process whether it is studying for classes, deepening their prayer life or discovering new ways to serve together. Sheryl’s day job is serving her community as the principal for St. Therese Catholic School in Wayland, Michigan. Since every time she thinks she gets life all figured out, she realizes just how far she has to go, St. Rita of Cascia is her go-to Saint for intercession and help. Home includes Brea, a Bernese Mountain dog and Carlyn, a very, very goofy Golden Retriever.

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Hi, My Name is Jonah

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“Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and preach against it; their wickedness has come up before me.”

And so Jonah’s story begins with a crystal clear message from God about what he was to do next. No need for discernment, God spoke clearly. The message is in quotes, so we assume that God spoke directly, in words, straight from God’s mouth to Jonah’s ears. But is that really the way it happened? This story was handed down as verbal tradition for many generations before it was written down, and many more generations passed before it was codified and declared by the Church to be God’s inspired Word and included in what we now call the Bible.

Jonah’s story is true in the same way some of our favorite family stories are true. What happens when the family gathers, and someone tells about the time that old Uncle Joe attempted to fix the barn roof as the big storm came rolling in? Cousin Bart starts the story, but if he tries to embellish, Aunt Nancy, who used to listen to her dad tell the story every time a storm was coming, may shout out a correction. The story is true, and the retelling is kept honest by family members, but the exact quote of Uncle Joe telling the cow, “Don’t worry, I’ll save you!” may no longer be the exact words said at the moment but rather they convey the truth of what happened.

So it is with Jonah’s story. We read the story and assume God’s command came from God’s mouth to Jonah’s ear, and we wish we could hear God so clearly. Maybe, Jonah did hear a voice, but he didn’t believe the voice was God’s? Maybe Jonah thought he was cracking up because he was hearing voices? Maybe Jonah heard about the people of Nineveh, and the desire to go and teach them about God welled up in Jonah’s heart so strongly because that was God’s will, but Jonah didn’t understand, so he ran in the opposite direction? The story of Jonah leaves out Jonah’s process of discernment in determining how he knew that was what God wanted him to do with his life. How many times do we say, “If I just knew what God wanted me to do with my life, I’d do it? But I am just not sure. I wish God would speak to me more clearly.” And then, like Jonah, we head in the completely opposite direction.

What a beautiful comparison we are given in the Gospel reading! How did the Good Samaritan know that he was supposed to care for the man beside the road? The priest and the Levite, both men who were supposed to be in touch with God’s plan, walked right on past. How did the Samaritan, who wasn’t even one of God’s chosen people, know the right thing to do?

Is it possible, that sometimes, we get so worried about wanting to know God’s will for our lives that like the priest and the Levite in Jesus’s story, we forget to do the next right thing? The Samaritan saw a person in need and helped. How often do we see a person in need, and we make a quick, almost unconscious decision that that isn’t what we are supposed to be doing right now, so we hurry off to figure out God’s will for our lives? How often do we get swallowed up by a big distraction and it isn’t until we get hit upside the head and tossed upon the proper shore by “life” that we figure out what we were supposed to be doing all along? It isn’t flashy, new, and different, and it certainly is counter-cultural to the world around us, but what if we aren’t supposed to discern our whole life path right now? What if we are only supposed to live God’s love right now within the situation we are currently living.

When Jesus became incarnate, He changed everything. In Jesus, God’s invisible love became visible in the flesh, in the physical world. It is our mission, as priests prophets, and kings by virtue of our baptism, we are to spend our lives making God’s invisible love visible in this world. What would happen if we dedicated ourselves to taking time every day to slowing down for just a bit and really being in God’s presence? Would that change how we live the rest of our minutes? What if discernment isn’t so much about making huge decisions for the future as it is about taking the time in prayer, reading, reflection to recognize and do the next right thing? If we radically make God that much of a priority in our life each moment, so that when the next moment presents itself we are able to do the next right thing, doesn’t it seem like some of the big decisions would take care of themselves?

Mother Teresa said, “What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.” We won’t need to worry so much about hearing God’s voice in our ear, because we will already be living God’s love in our hearts.

The Gospel Acclamation sums it up; “I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.”

Wherever you are, may you live in God’s love today, with the courage and strength to do the next right thing. Amen.

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Sheryl delights in being the number 1 cheerleader and supporter for her husband, Tom who is a candidate for the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Kalamazoo. They are so grateful for the opportunity to grow together in this process whether it is studying for classes, deepening their prayer life or discovering new ways to serve together. Sheryl’s day job is serving her community as the principal for St. Therese Catholic School in Wayland, Michigan. Since every time she thinks she gets life all figured out, she realizes just how far she has to go, St. Rita of Cascia is her go-to Saint for intercession and help. Home includes Brea, a Bernese Mountain dog and Carlyn, a very, very goofy Golden Retriever.

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Who Do You Say I Am?

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Opinion (noun) a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge

We form opinions all the time. What (or who) we like, what we don’t like, what we want to eat and what makes us turn up our nose. We have viewpoints on politics, education, society, gardening, and religion. There is no end to the topics about which we form judgments, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.

What does that mean for us as Christians? Our God and Creator is the Supreme Being. He is primary to all else. He is the source of all that is good, true, and beautiful. His is the source of wisdom and true knowledge.

When Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do the crowds say I am?” He was asking for the prevailing opinion, not necessarily based on fact. The Jews were looking for a political king. Someone to shake up the social order and help the Jews rise in socio-political standing. The opinions of the crowd, “John the Baptist,” “Elijah,” or an “ancient prophet” all were affected by what they thought would happen when the promised Savior arrived. They were looking for their time to be on top, to be the ones with authority.

The fact is Jesus did shake up the social order, but not in the way they were expecting. “Jesus summoned them and said to them, ‘You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.’” (Mark 10:42-45)

When Jesus turns the question and asks the disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” He isn’t asking for their opinion. He is looking to see if they have been listening, have they truly opened up their hearts and their minds to his teachings? Is their answer grounded in the wisdom of the Holy Spirit? Every action Jesus takes speaks louder than the most eloquent of us. From calling fisherman to be leaders of His new Church to eating with tax collectors and women on the fringes of society, Jesus acts in wisdom born of the true knowledge of who people are and who he is.

Isn’t that our goal? When we acknowledge who Jesus is, and we embrace who we are in his sight, then we no longer have need of voicing opinions which may not have any basis in fact. We don’t need to try to control situations or turn things to our advantage. We stand straighter in the knowledge of the Master whom we imitate. We no longer strive for authority or to lord our thinking over others; we desire to imitate Jesus, who came to serve.

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Sheryl delights in being the number 1 cheerleader and supporter for her husband, Tom who is a candidate for the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Kalamazoo. They are so grateful for the opportunity to grow together in this process whether it is studying for classes, deepening their prayer life or discovering new ways to serve together. Sheryl’s day job is serving her community as the principal for St. Therese Catholic School in Wayland, Michigan. Since every time she thinks she gets life all figured out, she realizes just how far she has to go, St. Rita of Cascia is her go-to Saint for intercession and help. Home includes Brea, a Bernese Mountain dog and Carlyn, a very, very goofy Golden Retriever.

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Consecrated in Truth

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“Your word, O Lord, is truth; consecrate us in the truth.” 

Oh my goodness! Did you know there is a wikiHow on “How to Consecrate Yourself to God”? What a hoot! In the midst of a website filled with a myriad of how-to’s from “How to Dress for a Gala” to “How do dry apples” to “How to buy running shoes”, there is an actual 7 step process explaining consecration and outlining steps to Consecrate Yourself to God. Complete with pictures! (Okay, they aren’t great pictures, but there are pictures!) 

Of course, this is nothing new, because in today’s Gospel reading, through a series of three very short and seemingly unrelated parables about blind guides, teachers and disciples, and the totally icky image of a log sticking out of someone’s eye, Jesus continues doing exactly the same thing. 

According to wikiHow, “In a general sense, the term ‘consecration’ refers to the act of dedicating oneself to a specific purpose or intention. To ‘consecrate’ yourself essentially means to wholly dedicate yourself to something of greatest importance.” (https://m.wikihow.com/Consecrate-Yourself) 

…wholly dedicate yourself to something of greatest importance… What does that look like in action for the Catholic Christian? In the first one-line parable, Jesus is speaking to those in the Jewish community who consider themselves arbitrators of the truth. It is a repeat of a calling out from the Gospel of Matthew on the Pharisees for claiming to have cornered the market on how to be holy and follow God. They saw themselves as the only ones who were really consecrated to God and others just didn’t measure up. We get the same call out when we consider ourselves superior to others because of how we live our faith. If we are consecrated in the truth, we know the truth about ourselves and who we are in relationship to God. We live in humility. 

Jesus jumps to a comparison of teachers and disciples. There is a subtlety to this statement that seems to be weakened by our language. (Sometimes English just doesn’t seem to have the proper words to explain nuances or at least my grasp of our language doesn’t, but that is another story.) Jesus is our Master, not our school teacher. Students learn lessons from teachers who come and go with specific learning goals. A Master lives with his students who are not merely pupils accumulating knowledge, they are disciples striving to live the same life as their Master. When we place knowing, loving, and serving God at the center of our lives, we don’t simply learn the stories of Jesus, we dedicate ourselves to living in the same manner as the one who is the Truth. It isn’t as much about what we can repeat as how we live. 

Finally, there is the parable about trying to remove the speck from your neighbor’s eye without removing the beam from your own. This seems pretty straightforward, doesn’t it? Step 7 of our wikiHow on Consecration states, “Consecration is not a single, one-time-only decision. It is a way of living. When you make the decision to consecrate yourself, you must be prepared to continue pursuing God for the rest of your life…your consecration will never be ‘complete.’ You will never achieve perfect righteousness. God does not demand complete perfection, though. You are only asked to make the commitment and to actively pursue it. You can stumble as you walk the path, but you must choose to keep walking even when you do.” I love this! It is so Catholic in approach! Each day, we make our commitment to God anew. Each day, we renew our dedication to living as Jesus lived, loving as Jesus loved, serving as Jesus served. When we are doing this, we don’t have time to criticize our brothers and sisters, we are too busy living out our own consecration. We aren’t blind guides, we are partners on the path to living out our call to heaven here on earth. We are disciples together of the one who is the Truth, the Beauty, and the Good. 

May your day be consecrated in Truth. May you see Him in the Beauty around you and may His Goodness pervade every aspect of your life. 

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Sheryl delights in being the number 1 cheerleader and supporter for her husband, Tom who is a candidate for the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Kalamazoo. They are so grateful for the opportunity to grow together in this process whether it is studying for classes, deepening their prayer life or discovering new ways to serve together. Sheryl’s day job is serving her community as the principal for St. Therese Catholic School in Wayland, Michigan. Since every time she thinks she gets life all figured out, she realizes just how far she has to go, St. Rita of Cascia is her go-to Saint for intercession and help. Home includes Brea, a Bernese Mountain dog and Carlyn, a very, very goofy Golden Retriever.

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Seeds of Gratitude

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“I gave you a land you had not tilled and cities that you had not built, to dwell in; you have eaten of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.” -Josiah 24:13

Josiah is addressing the people of Israel, standing in ranks before him. From the chief priests to the judges, to families. Josiah is reminding them of God’s mercy. He is telling them to be grateful for all God has done for them.

How much do we need that same reminder today!

For most of us, we worship in churches that we didn’t build. We eat food that we have not tilled and live in cities that we couldn’t begin to conceive of building.

I attend Sunday Mass at a beautiful little mission Church in West Michigan. When our Church was first started over 150 years ago, 3 families mortgaged their farms to buy the land. I have told this story 100 times, but it wasn’t until I read today’s passage that it started to sink in. They mortgaged their farms. At that time, farms weren’t just the roof over their head; their farm was their livelihood; it was their source of income, of food, and their shelter.

This is more than just a story from the past; it is a challenge for the future. What am I willing to mortgage to further the kingdom of God? What am I planting for the next generation? What will I be leaving behind? Am I planting seeds of gratitude? Am I taking care of my little corner of the world so that it is in good condition for those who will come after me?

I feel challenged today to stop and say extra thanks. To live in a heightened awareness of just how much I am given. That God’s mercy doesn’t only extend to my the state of my soul but also to every breath of the life I live.

God is good. May you, to plant seeds of gratitude today.

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If you catch Sheryl sitting still, you are most likely to find her nose stuck in a book. It may be studying with her husband, Tom as he goes through Diaconate Formation or figuring out a new knitting or quilting pattern. Since every time she thinks she gets life all figured out, she realizes just how far she has to go, St. Rita of Cascia is her go-to Saint for intercession and help. Home includes Brea, a Bernese Mountain dog and Carlyn, a very, very goofy Golden Retriever.