Life-Changing

Posted on February 22, 2015 by + Ann

Peace be with you!

Although Fr. Freeh sent the DVD with the latest series of reflections, I believe the Post Office must have slipped a disk, since it hasn’t arrived in the mail. So I’m flying solo again this week… in more ways than one, since the website for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops seems to be having a problem. For the first time since I’ve begun providing the Sunday readings, it won’t give me a link to this Sunday’s readings.

(This is where I encourage you to go get the Laudate.org app on your smartphone, and get the readings for the First Sunday of Lent.)

This past Ash Wednesday we began our Lenten journey. The ashes on our foreheads called us to repentance, and transformation. In other words, Lent is supposed to be life-changing.

Most of us would prefer to leave things well enough alone. We’d like to believe life is stable, and safe, and we’re in control. But it isn’t, and we aren’t. Change is lurking around the corner, or already here, tipping over our applecart.

If ordinary change is scary, the spiritual transformation of Lent is especially so. Lent calls us to recognize and take on the monsters that lurk within us; to become the people God created us to be. And that’s hard, because we have our own plans. We don’t know where God’s path will lead, and in order to respond to His call we must give up our illusion of control, and surrender to the will of God, trusting our lives to Him.

I know just how hard this is, because as often as I pray, “Thy will be done,” I find myself tacking on conditions, as if somehow I know better than the Almighty. But trust in God is essential to spiritual transformation. According to St. Faustina’s visions, Jesus declared that trust was the key to unlock the riches of His Divine Mercy.

Jesus is ready to give us His immense mercy because He is no stranger to the ordeal of transformation. Before He began His public life, the Holy Spirit drove Him to the desert. I  sometimes wonder how Jesus changed over those forty days. What the people who knew Him thought when they first encountered Him after He returned, what differences they noticed. But having confronted evil and temptation, Jesus emerged from His experience ready to do His work, accomplishing the Father’s will.

During this season of Lent, let’s pray for the grace to respond to the call of the Holy Spirit as Jesus did, the grace to follow Him into the desert. The grace to be transformed, that we might accomplish the will of the Father.

And let us pray for the grace to begin our Lenten journey trusting in the will of God.

+ Ann

Posted in Divine Mercy, holiness, Holy Spirit, Lent, Spirituality, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Revelation of the Holy Spirit (GNS 23)

Posted on February 14, 2015 by + Ann

Peace be with you!

Fr. Freeh and parishioners Vicki Phillips and Pat Henry continue their discussion about the Holy Spirit.

What Fr. Freeh is describing, when he discusses the development of our understanding of God from Old to New Testament, is called “revelation history.”

Extending even back to ancient pagan times, revelation history traces how God has revealed Himself to humanity, preparing the way for the fullness of revelation in The Christ’s Incarnation.

Revelation history traces the threads of timeless truths, written into the human heart by God Himself, that are woven into the fabric of faith throughout history. The earliest pagans recognized the tragedy of sin and the need for sacrifice. But their gods were many, often a strange amalgam of man and beast…and usually petty, jealous of their own bit of turf. Worship and sacrifice were reduced to placating capricious tyrants, or currying favor. In ancient days, nothing less than human blood would suffice on major feasts, or to avert catastrophe.

When God revealed Himself to Moses as “I AM Who AM,” He revealed Himself as the One Who was above mere creation…and as the One Who yearned for a covenant relationship with the people He created. The Jews also recognized the tragedy of sin, and the need for sacrifice. But rather than sacrifice human blood to animal-like gods, they sacrificed the god-animals to the God above all others to atone for sin. (No wonder they weren’t popular with the neighbors. They were slaughtering everybody else’s gods in sacrifice to theirs.) They sought to place themselves in right relationship to God through the Mosaic Law–the term calls up an image in my head of the Jews laboriously piecing together their friendship with God tile-by-tile, never quite getting the whole picture–while placing their hope in The Christ who was to come. And at last, “in the fullness of time,” He came….

Did you ever wonder why we’re supposed to bow (or at Christmas, kneel) when we recall the Incarnation of Christ in Mary’s womb by the power of the Holy Spirit? If we truly understood the thousands of years of yearning; the incredible, miraculous, humility of God to take on human flesh and spirit and enter into time and mortality…I think we’d fall flat on our faces in joy and amazement. All we’re asked to do is give a simple bow.

Over the millenia, the Holy Spirit has led human hearts and minds to a fuller understanding of the Power beyond our comprehension. Without Him, the task would be impossible. With Him, humanity has moved from appeasement of petty man-beast tyrants; to seeking right relationship with a loving Creator; and now, through Christ’s saving passion, death, and resurrection…to participate in the very life of God Himself. There is still the tragedy of sin; still the need for blood sacrifice. But the singular sacrifice on the Cross of the Blood of God Himself has brought about our atonement…and we are called to embrace His sacrifice in the un-bloody re-presentation of it in the Eucharistic feast of the Mass, welcoming the transforming life of God into our heart, mind, soul, and body.

That’s “revelation history”–which fills a library’s worth of learned tomes–in a miniscule and colloquial nutshell of less than 500 words. And it’s all by way of pondering some questions…

What has happened on the grand historical scale is happening right now in our own lives. So we have to ask: Where do we–each of us–stand in our own personal revelation history?

Do we worship other, lesser gods of our own making? Do we sacrifice our humanity to the gods of power, control, and greed? Or do we seek to keep our relationship to God bounded by the minimalism of the Law–going to Mass on Sunday, throwing a token in the collection basket, etc., only because we have to? Or are we reaching for something more…participation in the life of God.

This coming Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent…and a holy day of obligation. (As in, “required” and “not optional.”)

Remembering that we are holy to the extent that we daily wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit, let us pray in a special way for Him to move in our hearts and minds throughout these 40 days. To reveal God’s loving call to us, so that we may celebrate Easter joy committed to entering into the very life of God, the way prepared by the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus, the Holy Spirit guiding our steps along the path.

+ Ann
(Signing these now, to clarify Fr. Freeh does the video, not the blog.)

This Sunday’s readings. (02/15/15)

Ash Wednesday readings. (2/18/15)

P.S. I’m glad to see people are stopping by. I hope you’re getting something out it. I can tell you that even if you’re not, I am. Having become an alarmed and reluctant spiritual blogger, I live life more conscious of the sacred, more open to what God might be asking of me–or telling me–in any given moment. (In other words, I’ve become a lot more aware of how far I have to go!) But this has been such a gift, that I want to share it with you. Stop being a lurker. Stay long enough to become an alarmed and reluctant spiritual blogger yourself by sharing your thoughts in a comment below. Even go so far as to make a Lenten commitment to leave a comment on each post. It doesn’t have to be long. But I hope you’ll share your particular insight with visitors to this blog, enriching us all. God bless! + Ann

Posted in Easter, Eucharist, holiness, Holy Mass, Holy Spirit, Hope, Joy, Spirituality, Trinity, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Holy Spirit (GNS 22)

Posted on February 7, 2015 by + Ann

Peace be with you!

How is Christian spirituality different from other kinds? Join Fr. Freeh and parishioners Vicki Phillips and Pat Henry in a discussion the role of the Holy Spirit.

“We are holy only to the extent that we wait daily for the gift of the Holy Spirit.” — Fr. Freeh

If you just read that sentence about 15 times, slowly, and let it sink in, my work just might be done here this week. I’m still processing it myself…a concrete example of “mystagogy”–the reflection that leads us into a deeper understanding of our faith, the better to live it.

It’s easy to imagine the Apostles and the Blessed Mother in that upper room. Missing the daily presence of the Lord. Fearful of the authorities. Praying as Jesus taught them. Hoping in their seeming abandonment for the promised Holy Spirit…even though they weren’t quite sure what to expect. And in their midst, calm and trustful and comforting, the Virgin Mary.

The only difference between us and the Apostles is that we don’t recognize we’re in that upper room with them. We think it’s something that happened to them, a long time ago and far away. But we carry our upper rooms with us, in our hearts and minds. Filled, like theirs, with anxiety, fear, disappointment, grief, anger, weakness, sins of our own choosing. Too often, we neglect even to ask the Blessed Mother to keep us company.

Against all this darkness, we have Jesus’s promise of His Holy Spirit, if only we should ask.

But what are we asking for? We can easily reel off “Faith, Hope, and Charity.”

If we paid attention in our Confirmation classes, we can add the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit: “Wisdom; Understanding; Counsel; Fortitude; Knowledge; Piety; Fear of the Lord.” (That last is now more commonly known as Holy Awe, or Reverence. Frankly, I think our world needs a little more fear of God….)

The advanced class can name the Twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit. These, I had to look up: Charity; Joy; Peace; Patience; Benignity (Kindness); Goodness; Long-sufferering; Mildness; Faith; Modesty; Continence; Chastity.

But these lists of words don’t really tell us what–or Who–the Holy Spirit is. They do, however, give us a place to start.

Wisdom, it turns out, is the grace to move beyond a simple knowledge of the articles of faith, to penetrate the divine truths in which they are rooted. (Paraphrased from here, which I found by clicking through from this website, which has a basic definition of the Seven Gifts.) As Fr. Freeh might say, mystagogical reflection opens the door to Wisdom. We need to go deeper than mere words on a list. We need to unpack their meaning, so that we have a better understanding of Who we wait for, and why we want Him to come.

Our world is as secular and pagan as it was 2,000 years ago. Rather than decry the world’s lack of faith, we must first look to our own. To change ourselves, we need the Holy Spirit’s transformational grace, the gifts that turned twelve scared men into bold confessors of the faith.

These gifts are not “once and done,” nor “long ago.” They are eternal…which means they are gifts for right now. The truth is, we will live our lives trapped in that upper room, unless we pray with Mary for the gift of the Holy Spirit, today and every day. Daily, we are called to leave the dark upper room to enter the world, filled with the Spirit, to accomplish the Father’s will. To share the gifts of the Holy Spirit with all those we encounter.

As we approach the season of Lent, let us wait for Him in prayer and worship, with the Blessed Mother as our examplar and guide.

Here’s a resource to help us start: Novena to the Holy Spirit.

Readings for Sunday, February 8, 2015.

Posted in Blessed Mother, Catholic Church, Conversion, Cultural transformation, holiness, Holy Spirit, Spirituality, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

“I Believe…” (GNS 21)

Posted on January 28, 2015 by + Ann

Peace be with you!

Here’s a video that I thought I’d already posted, but got lost in the fog of holiday roadtrips. Let’s catch up with Fr. Freeh, Vicki Phillips, and Pat Henry as they discuss faith, belief, and how the Holy Spirit calls us to participate in the purpose and mission of Jesus Christ.

http://youtu.be/RKMDLDaEm3E

At Mass, we pray “I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth….”

Our public prayer is the expression of our personal belief in the faith of the Church. The question is…do we know what we believe?

My family’s dinner table, and the example of my parents and extended family, made up in large part for the gaps in the “feel good” catechism of the post-Vatican II era. (Lots of emphasis on “Jesus loves you” but the doctrinal details were fuzzy to say the least. In eighth grade, one of my classmates was shocked to hear–apparently for the first time–that the Eucharist was truly the Real Presence of Christ, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, and not just a symbol. Yes, after eight years of parochial school, including First Holy Communion and Confirmation.)

Even so, sometimes I am brought up short by what I don’t know. (Which is kind of ridiculous, given the sheer scope and depth of Catholicism.) Today’s video reflection is a great example. My understanding of Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection stopped pretty much at the “taking away sins” part. I hadn’t gone the next step…that taking away our sins was only the “necessary precondition” to our intimate union with God, sharing in Christ’s priesthod and mission.

Sadly, many Catholics lack even a basic understanding of their faith. Their religious formation, such as it was, ended with their school days. Now, they’re navigating the tough issues of today’s world with “feel good” catechism as their only rudder. A teenaged faith, facing adult choices. Marry, or live together? Baptize the baby? What about life-and-death decisions for an aged loved one, or in the aftermath of a tragic accident? And these personal decisions that hit the home and heart quickly balloon out to hot-button topics affecting our entire society. When does life begin? What is the meaning of sexuality and marriage? What is our obligation to the poor? Worse, Catholics who disagree with the teachings of the Church  often do so without really understanding either the teachings, or the principles and values in which they are rooted, instead accepting as gospel the shallow criticism of the secular world. Or, perhaps worst of all, they agree in a superficial way that responds to challenges with anger, rather than charity, driving people away rather than inviting them to dialogue.

What is the antidote to this sad state of affairs? I think the answer lies in Pat Henry and Vicki Phillips description of the youth in their parish: “They’re asking nice questions;” and “they were passionate about it.”

We need to rediscover our sense of curiosity about our faith; we need to care enough about it to pursue answers to our questions. And we need to bring to our seach hearts that are open to the timeless truths embedded in the authentic teachings of the Church.

Our belief is–or should be–shaped by a life-long commitment to discovering the inexhaustible treasures of the Deposit of Faith. No time to begin like the present. Or really really soon….

Lent is fast approaching. Pick out a book now. Maybe dive into an encyclical. Or a book on Church history. Or even the Catechism of the Catholic Church…Pope St. John Paul II’s great gift to the faithful which marked the beginning of the end for modern day catechetical confusion and fuzziness.

If you read even one book a year to learn more about your faith, your “I believe” will become deeper, truer, richer throughout your life. And you’ll be more prepared to live out the vocation of your baptism…participating in the priesthood of Christ by glorifying the Father, bringing God to the people, and the people to God.

Sunday’s readings.

Posted in Catholic Church, Cultural transformation, Eucharist, holiness, John Paul II, Spirituality, Uncategorized | Tagged | 2 Comments

Ordinary Spirituality

Posted on January 16, 2015 by + Ann

Peace be with you!

Once again, we have no video reflection this week. Now Fr. Freeh is afflicted with laryngitis, so it might be a little while before we get the studio sound quality and the voice quality issues resolved. (Hope you’re feeling better soon, Father.)

Christmas is behind us, and we have entered Ordinary Time. Falling between the Baptism of the Lord and Ash Wednesday, and then between Pentecost Monday and the first Sunday of Advent, Ordinary Time is the longest liturgical season of the year. The priest wears green vestments at Mass, symbolic of hope and growth.

As Christians, Ordinary Time is our growing season. Lent and Advent call us to prune away the bad; Easter and Christmas invite us to celebrate our salvation. Ordinary Time calls us to put down roots into the rich teachings of Jesus as we follow His ministry in the readings at Mass, and to live those teachings in the ordinary moments of our lives. To discover that, in living as Jesus taught, we transform our “nothing special” lives into lives of extraordinary grace.

Ordinary Time makes me think about ordinary souls. If you read ahead for Sunday, you’ll find that it’s possible to get confused about God’s calling and His purpose for us. The important thing is to keep trying, with a listening heart and a willing spirit.

I’m a firm believer in the Communion of Saints. And not just of the rockstar, raised-to-the-altars, canonized variety. Don’t get me wrong, I have St. Anthony on speed dial, and send the spiritual equivalent of text messages to a host of heavenly friends.

But I identify most with the Holy Souls in Purgatory. So many Catholics no longer believe in Purgatory, or just simply never think about it. Maybe we just don’t like to think of our loved ones suffering. A lot of people seem to think that upon death, Heaven is like some kind of “come as you are” party. They seem to forget that the Host of the wedding feast insisted we show up in our wedding garments. Purgatory is our chance to be suitably attired to meet our Eternal God, before Whom angels tremble.

Years ago, I read an email about a teenaged evangelical Christian who wrote an essay about what he thought death and Heaven were like. The young man described meeting Jesus in a room lined with card catalog drawers, filled with every moment of his life. Jesus smiled over the good things He’d done. That was the easy part, and over too soon. How hard it was to review with Jesus all his sins and errors. To look in the eyes of Jesus as He wrote in His Precious Blood on the face of each sinful card, “Forgiven.”

I’ve always thought how remarkable it was that a young man who would’ve denied the “Catholic doctrine” of Purgatory had such a clear grasp of its essential character.

Purgatory is for the people who didn’t get everything right, but kept on trying anyway. Who maybe got confused about their call, their purpose, but offered their struggles to find their way to God in an ordinary spirituality of living a holy life as best they could. I think about them quite often, the ordinary people who make up the Church Suffering.

In Hungry Souls — Supernatural Visits, Warnings, and Messages from Purgatory, the author Gerard J.M. van den Aardweg, Ph.D, says that devotion to the Holy Souls is inextricably bound up with devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Who loves them even more than we do. And it’s also a sign of personal holiness.

St. Gertrude the Great is an outstanding example of Aardweg’s assertion. A German mystic and learned theologian in the thirteenth century, she was devoted to the Sacred Heart and the Holy Souls, and experienced a series of visions of Our Lord. In one of those visions, she is said to have received Jesus’ promise that whenever anyone recites the following prayer, a 1000 souls will be released from Purgatory:

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

I say this prayer often. I honestly don’t know that it works as well for me as it did for St. Gertrude. Maybe that promise was just for her. But I have an honest hope that I am relieving the suffering of my brothers and sisters in Christ…and that I am gaining for myself and all those I pray for, lots of friends in high places. I need their prayers, as much as (if not more than) they need mine.

Pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Ask for their prayers in those “ordinary moments” that in reality are fraught with possibility of salvation or damnation. In this way, members of the Church Suffering and Church Militant can help each other on the way to becoming the Church Triumphant.

Readings for Sunday, January 18, 2015.

Posted in Catholic Church, Divine Mercy, holiness, Hope, Prayer, Purgatory, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Spirituality | Leave a comment

The Classroom of Silence

Posted on January 6, 2015 by + Ann

Peace be with you!

And while I still have time to say it: Merry Christmas! The Season of Christmas isn’t over until this Sunday’s Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. So if your Christmas tree is still up…do the happy dance and turn on those lights with joy!

My apologies for not posting last week. Clearly, I have some work to do with regard to keeping track of time in the midst of roadtrips and family chaos. This week’s post is hampered by the lack of the video reflection. Despite an investment in new equipment, Fr. Freeh advised me that the sound quality of the next few installments is terrible. “Just toss ’em,” said he.

While he suffers technical laryngitis, I picked up the personal variety while visiting kin for Christmas. Throat on fire, I started keeping my mouth shut, and saying as little as possible when I had to say anything. It was a revelation, how quiet I could be. (Ask my husband.)

And suddenly…I realized I had a theme for this week’s post: the classroom of silence.

Our culture is bent on filling our lives with noise. And we willingly cooperate. TV, radio, videogames, movies, newspapers, magazines, Twitter, Facebook and, yes, blogs and websites…fill every nook and cranny of our waking moments.

I’m struck by how all of that…stuff…is generated by other people. And by how much of it is entirely irrelevant. Celebrities. Sports. One-day sales. People Whining Because They Can. (Example: Outrage about men with bad manners making wolf whistles at a woman walking in NYC; while the sale of women and girls as sex slaves goes ignored.)

We’re drowning in a sea of Other People’s Ridiculous Stuff. Caught up in the tide, we then go on to generate our own Ridiculous Stuff. We breathe in, and exhale complaints, gossip, sarcasm, pettiness. Our heedless words contribute to the general noise level in the culture at large…and inside our own heads and hearts.

When do we get a chance to know who we are? What we think? When do we get a chance to know ourselves in the light of God’s mercy and grace?

If the world had its way: Never. The world needs access to your home, your mind, to tell you its lies at least three times, so you begin to believe they’re true: profanity and blasphemy are acceptable; fornication a necessity; fidelity an impossibility; faith is illogical and atheism is rational; happiness can be found in power and control. And then there’s just the people who need to sell you something.

Silence is the world’s enemy. Silence gives our souls the room to grow in God’s presence. Time to pray, to study. Time to work with a depth of thought and care. Time to ponder timeless truths. When we come back into the world, refreshed, we live in the world, but we are not of it.

Like the hymn points out, there is an inextricable link between silence and holiness: “Silent night, holy night.”

In this year of grace 2015, be generous to yourself and find silence in your life. Be generous to God, and give that silence to Him.

God’s best gifts come in those silent, holy moments.

May your New Year be joyful, healthy, and filled with God’s best blessings!

Readings for Sunday, January 11, 2015.

Posted in Cultural transformation, holiness, Joy, Prayer, Silence, Spirituality | Leave a comment

A Greater Awareness (GNS 20) 12/21

Posted on December 17, 2014 by + Ann

Peace be with you!

We’ve been reflecting on some “burning questions”: Why aren’t we energized by our belief in the Good News? To what extent can the Good News transform the people and culture of today? What methods can we use to witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ?

Today’s session moves from the “world out there, big picture” perspective to the interior and personal dimension. Please join Fr. Freeh with parishioners Vicki Phillips and Pat Henry.

http://youtu.be/WJq7Hqzue8

As the conversation becomes wider, it can be challenging to distill a session down to one theme. But this week, one jumped out at me right away: Greater awareness of being sent.

I’ve done quite a bit of business training, and one of the key mantras is “awareness is the first step to change.” You can’t fix a problem (or develop a strength) without first becoming aware of the need (or opportunity) to do so. When it comes to growth, ignorance is not bliss.

Spiritual growth is no different. We are called to be aware of Christ’s mandate to us, sending us as the Father sent Him. And as Fr. Freeh reminds us, this is the pathway to peace.

Last week, I noted how Christians used to be able to count on the secular culture to endorse Christian values even when individual Christians lacked them…until the go-along-get-along secular Christianity imploded under the weight of believers who looked to do the least required, rather than promote the best possible.

I might point out that the same can be true of Catholic parishes. People show up on Sunday, expecting to find a going concern…but not really concerned about how to keep it going. And not really expecting that the parish will have an impact on the world beyond the parish grounds.

The only possible solution to both problems begins with us–with me and you–because we have been sent by Jesus Christ Himself.

And yes. I kind of blinked when I wrote that, because I’m just not used to thinking about daily life that way. So I went back and read it again. Hmmmm. Having written it, I can’t really argue with it. John 20:21, and all that.

This awareness isn’t just for the world, for the parish. It is for every moment of our lives. Knowing we have been sent is what transforms the smallest of things–keeping your temper with a family member; fixing dinner; leaving a note in your child’s lunchbox; yielding a place in traffic to someone trying to merge; not flipping off the guy who cuts in line; really listening to what someone is saying; offering an encouraging smile to the stressed retail clerk dealing with the shopping hordes–into an act of love for God.

Loving God, knowing we live in His love, aware that we have been sent…we reject a minimalist approach (Ten Commandments and Mass on Sunday), to make our best contribution, according to our talents and station in life. We step up into the Beatitudes, the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Prayer becomes less a duty, and more of opportunity to touch the Eternal and the Divine.

On this Fourth Sunday in Advent, we’ll remember the “Yes” that brought the eternal, unbounded Son of God into time and space as a vulnerable infant. The Blessed Mother accepted God’s love, and responded by carrying the Messiah into a world that longed for Him, even as they denied and rejected Him.

Now, it is our turn. If Jesus is going to enter our lives, enter our relationships, enter our world…who else can carry Him there, except me and you?

God Himself is waiting for our “Yes.”

Have a blessed Advent!

[P.S. I’m really hoping the next session will finish the story of Pius IX and the doctrine of Papal infallibility!]

Sunday’s readings.

Posted in Advent, Blessed Mother, Catholic Church, Cultural transformation, holiness, Holy Spirit, Parish, Prayer, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

The Way to Prepare the Way (GNS 19)

Posted on December 13, 2014 by + Ann

Peace be with you!

In this session, Fr. Freeh and parishioners Pat Henry and Vicki Phillips pick up the discussion of Pope Paul VI’s apostolic exhortation on evangelization, addressing the third question of the methods we use to transform ourselves and our world.

Our parish just had a marvelous celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Decades of the Rosary before the Mass were said in at least five languages. I’m not sure exactly how many, because the choir was warming up to sing for Mass. But I did get to see Native Americans in full tribal dress process up the aisle during one of the decades on the way to the music room.

All of our choirs sang…the children’s choir, the youth choir, the Spanish choir, the Tongan choir and the Liturgical choir. The Tongan choir sang while the Gospel was carried into the church in solemn procession, with four men carrying a platform on their shoulders holding the girl-child with the Gospel in her hands. Four women led the way, their faces and their hands speaking the language of the Islands, telling us all of the reverence due to the word of God.

What has this to do with our topic, you ask?

For me, it was a powerful and moving demonstration of the power of Christ’s message to speak across cultures, across time. The Catholic Church truly is “catholic”…as in “universal.”

Nonbelievers often characterize the doctrines of the Church as outdated, out of place in this modern world. The truth is, the teachings of Christ were just as out of place when He first proclaimed them 2,000 years ago. And before Him, the prophets were exiled, stoned, and ignored. But these timeless truths still have the power to change lives and transform the world, because they were written in the human heart by the finger of God.

In the era of Christendom, individual Christians could play fast and loose, and have the culture supply the support that was lacking in their faithfulness. Not any more.

In this pagan age, I think we must go back to the method that converted the first Christians from paganism: Witness. We must take seriously, and strive for, the interior change that will change the way we live in public and private. Faithfulness is contagious…but we must catch it ourselves, first.

It’s easy to be discouraged by the sad state of the world. Yet Advent is a time of hope. A time to recognize that God speaks to His people, and renews them. And, as this week’s readings tell us, we can rely on the Holy Spirit in our endeavor to change ourselves, and our world.

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
to announce a year of favor from the LORD
and a day of vindication by our God.
– Isaiah 61:1-2a

and

May the God of peace make you perfectly holy
and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body,
be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who calls you is faithful,
and he will also accomplish it.
– 1 Thes. 5:23-24

Amen!

I hope as you’re counting down the days to Christmas, you’re also counting up the growing light of Advent, preparing for Christ’s coming, not just 2,000 years ago…but in our hearts, and our world, today!

Readings for Sunday.

Posted in Advent, Catholic Church, Conversion, Cultural transformation, Holy Mass, Hope, Parish, Spirituality, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Burning Answer (GNS 18)

Posted on December 3, 2014 by + Ann

Peace be with you!

Why aren’t Catholics energized to evangelize? Why aren’t are parishes on fire with the love of God and neighbor?

Fr. Freeh explores these burning questions with parishioners Vicki Phillips and Pat Henry, for a wide-ranging discussion of Catholic evangelization in the modern age…or lack thereof.  (Once again, we have a slightly different format, and our production values are catching up to our intent.)

If we look at the first reading for this second Sunday of Advent, Christians–the new Zion–are challenged to be heralds of the Good News:

Go up on to a high mountain,
Zion, herald of glad tidings;
cry out at the top of your voice
Jerusalem, herald of good news!

Cry out from a mountaintop? Yep. That’s what it says.

And yet, Catholics are notorious non-evangelizers. We don’t show up on strangers’ doorsteps with tracts and literature, seeking the opportunity to share our faith. Indeed, when those folks show up on our thresholds, we generally encourage them to move along, unwilling to engage them in discussion. And we seldom challenge the values proselytized by our secular culture, no matter how far they drift from the teachings of Christ.

If we are serious about transforming our lives, and transforming our culture…this has to change.

But how?

I believe we have to first recognize the treasure that we have, beginning with the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

Do we recognize the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist–Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity? Do we receive Him worthily, after confessing any serious sin on our souls? Do we welcome Him into our hearts and lives? The Eucharist is the “source and summit” of our Catholic faith. If we don’t get this right, we just don’t get it.

Months ago, I attended a presentation on Eucharistic miracles, and a statement by one of the presenters still haunts me: If we do not recognize Christ in the Eucharist when we receive Him, Satan enters us at the same time. (Think of Judas at the Last Supper, and you’ll get the picture.) Next time you go to Mass, take a look around. How many Catholics believe in this central doctrine of our faith? Some studies show as few as a third. No wonder our parishes are so often lifeless…rather than on fire with the love of God!

Because the more we love the Eucharist, the more we want to share it. The same is true for the gift of our Blessed Mother, and the eternal friendship of the Communion of Saints.

You might have to go back and do some homework. You can’t share what you don’t know, and most Catholics today seem to have little knowledge of their own faith, and are apt to interpret the little they know through the distorted lens of the culture we live in.  (I’ve often said if the Catholic Church really believed what people think she believes…I wouldn’t be Catholic either.)

There’s a reason why our first duty is “to know God”–because only then can we love Him. And loving Him, we are led to serve Him in this world. And serving leads us to the most powerful form of evangelization: witness.

We just have to keep our hearts and minds open to the possibilities of evangelization. We don’t have to show up on our neighbors’ doorsteps with tracts and literature. But we could lend them the book we read. We could leave behind in the airplane, the doctor’s office, or barber shop last month’s issue of Magnificat, or even a simple prayer card. And when we do show up on our neighbors’ doorsteps, we can bring the service that speaks more loudly than any tract or leaflet.

Advent is a good time to remind ourselves of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy…and ask ourselves how many of these show up in our lives, and how often. If they’re missing, it’s a sign that we have not made the love of God our purpose in life.

The world is drowning in a sea of lies and half-truths, every “ism” that leads people farther from the peace of God. Catholic hearts should burn with the answer to every ill of the human soul, every ill of the age.

The Catholic faith isn’t welcome in many places, in many hardened hearts. But the world is so needy, that the door is open for faithful Catholics to live their lives in witness to a God of love and mercy. People welcome anyone who offers help. And only later, with the grace of God, notice the source.

As G.K. Chesterton said: “A man must love a thing very much, if he not only practices it without any hope of fame or money, but even practices it without any hope of doing it well.”

God calls us to act, and trust the outcome to Him. Because the way we live may be the first Gospel, the first Good News, that someone ever reads. And this is the time, and we are the people, who are to prepare the way of the Lord.

Readings for Sunday.

Posted in Blessed Mother, Catholic Church, Confession, Cultural transformation, Divine Mercy, Eucharist, G.K. Chesterton, Holy Mass, Joy, Parish, Sacraments, Spirituality, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Too Human To Be Holy? (GNS 17)

Posted on November 28, 2014 by + Ann

Peace be with you!

With Advent upon us, here’s a timely discussion, challenging us to step out of our comfort zone.

The first Sunday of Advent is all about preparing for Christ’s Second Coming, the day for which we “wait in joyful hope.” The day His kingdom really will be on earth as it is in Heaven.

As I write this, we’re hours away from Black Friday, or as I like to call it, “Mall Meltdown.” Some people are already out there on the hunt for bargains.

Truth is, most of us spend more time during Advent busy with Christmas shopping, baking, and decorating than we do preparing our hearts for Christ. And maybe that’s because we’re not comfortable with the idea of holiness. Conscious of our sin, we think we’re unworthy to be any better than we are.

If St. Peter had this problem, and St. Francis de Sales was writing about it 1600 years later, it seems the “unworthiness syndrome” is an all-too-human failing.

And yet, holiness is all about being truly, fully human, and becoming the best possible person we can be. Because when we are transformed according to grace, our best self transcends our self.

It seems to me this might be the flip side of the proposition that Christ had to become human in order to become more fully the Son of the Father: In order to become fully human, we need to transcend ourselves, and become like God. (And yes, it still makes my head hurt to think about this.)

And God is eager to be our partner in this endeavor. This Sunday’s second reading from 1 Corinthians says it well:

I give thanks to my God always on your account
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,
that in him you were enriched in every way,
with all discourse and all knowledge,
as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you,
so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift
as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He will keep you firm to the end,
irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful,
and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

I’d planned to bold face the most relevant parts of that quote. But really, it’s all relevant. Go back and read it again, this time slowly. Listen to St. Paul tell you–not just those ancient Corinthians, but you, today and now–how God has called you to be his partner in holiness, and endowed you with spiritual gifts. See how he calls us not just as individuals, but as a community of faithful disciples enriched in every way, working together.

God wants to be our partner in holiness, because He needs us to be His partners in action here on earth. In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus tells us: He has left us in charge, each with our own work.

Being the best version of ourselves, pursuing our work not for our own reward but dedicating the outcome to God’s purpose: this is the daily, humdrum, monotonous…utterly transformational and transcendent gift that God desires from us.

God’s desire for us makes us a worthy gift to Him. Giving ourselves, we give Him the present He most wants. And we don’t even have to buy it, wrap it, and put a bow on it.

The Advent challenge: Give God the gift of your time. Use these four weeks to truly prepare the way of the Lord.

Sunday’s readings.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment