Being a catechist in the atrium is a gift. I get so much more out of it than I give. This week I am moved to tears at the joy and peace that Catechesis of the Good Shepherd brings me. People are shocked when they find out how much time I spend in the atrium each week. They don't realize that it is completely selfish on my part. I am falling deeply in love with the Good Shepherd with the children. Leading the atrium is my chance to dig deep into the Eucharistic Prayer with the 5th graders, meditate on the Call of Isaiah with the 6th graders and sing the Colors Song with joy with the Kindergarten class.
But the greatest gift is to prepare for reconciliation with the 2nd graders. Sophia Cavaletti was a biblical scholar and a genius. CGS's sacramental prep is truly genius and divinely inspired. When you tie reconciliation to the parables, it is lifted up as an amazing gift that God gave us, not some painful hurdle. The past four weeks we have dug deep into meditations on the True Vine, the Found Sheep/Found Coin and the Prodigal Son. I find myself longing to go to reconciliation too. "While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him." Lk. 15:20 Then the father showered him with fine clothes and jewelry and celebrated with a feast. God, our Father, is waiting to shower us with gifts each time we ask for forgiveness and he offers us the greatest feast of all, the Body and Blood of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
For about a month I have been searching for a prayer for our catechists. I haven't quite found one, but I did find this and it pretty much explains it all.
Falling in Love with God
Nothing is more practical than finding God,
that is, than falling in love
in a quite absolute, final way.
What you are in love with,
what seizes your imagination,
will affect everything.
It will decide what will get you
out of bed in the morning,
what you will do with your evenings,
how you will spend your weekends
what you read, who you know,
what breaks your heart,
and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in love, stay in love,
and it will decide everything.
~ Pedro Arrupe, S. J.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
More thoughts on the Story of the Bread
Why did he choose the bread? Hmm, I wonder.
The bread is not the only thing that requires a cosmic union of the work of human hands and the immense love of God to reach it's highest potential. Nothing else has the potential to become the Body of Christ, but all things need to be in union with God to reach their highest potential.
If we remove God from the most essential elements of life, we see selfishness and egotism rule. This causes division, pain, fighting and death. Every act that is united to God, creates harmony and peace. From Matthew 22:38, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind." and "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." This sets the bar pretty high and isn't very specific. But God gave us other more specific maxims to follow to help us reach our fullest potential. Love your enemies. (Mt 7:7) Pray for those who persecute you. (Mt. 5:44b) Forgive... not seven times, but seventy seven times. (Mt. 18:21b-22) Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn your back on the one who wants to borrow. (Mt. 5:42). Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. (1Cor 6:19). God didn't make up all these rules because he's mean and doesn't want us to have any fun. He wants total and complete joy for us. He knows selfishness and egotism will not fulfill us. Can you imagine a world where all people followed these rules?
When I contemplate the Story of the Bread and the cosmic union of man and God, I think about the seed deep in the womb of the earth, unseen, possibly unknown, but still a gift from God. I see the tiny baby. His cosmic plans calls us to treat sex, not as just pleasure and procreation, but a cosmic union between man, wife and God. Sex outside this cosmic union has great potential for pain and destruction. Betrayal, insecurity, disease, abortion, single parenthood. Life giving love requires sacrifice and selflessness, forgiveness, but the rewards are great. To be in union with God in this most primal way, gives us love, peace and security. Sacrifice and selflessness in marriage is the cornerstone of a peaceful world.
May we all go in haste to spread God's Word, by being living breathing examples of the inner peace that comes from uniting our marriage to God. Choose daily in your marriage to turn from the selfishness and egotism that plagues our world.
"As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live." - Blessed Pope John Paul II
The bread is not the only thing that requires a cosmic union of the work of human hands and the immense love of God to reach it's highest potential. Nothing else has the potential to become the Body of Christ, but all things need to be in union with God to reach their highest potential.
If we remove God from the most essential elements of life, we see selfishness and egotism rule. This causes division, pain, fighting and death. Every act that is united to God, creates harmony and peace. From Matthew 22:38, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind." and "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." This sets the bar pretty high and isn't very specific. But God gave us other more specific maxims to follow to help us reach our fullest potential. Love your enemies. (Mt 7:7) Pray for those who persecute you. (Mt. 5:44b) Forgive... not seven times, but seventy seven times. (Mt. 18:21b-22) Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn your back on the one who wants to borrow. (Mt. 5:42). Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. (1Cor 6:19). God didn't make up all these rules because he's mean and doesn't want us to have any fun. He wants total and complete joy for us. He knows selfishness and egotism will not fulfill us. Can you imagine a world where all people followed these rules?
When I contemplate the Story of the Bread and the cosmic union of man and God, I think about the seed deep in the womb of the earth, unseen, possibly unknown, but still a gift from God. I see the tiny baby. His cosmic plans calls us to treat sex, not as just pleasure and procreation, but a cosmic union between man, wife and God. Sex outside this cosmic union has great potential for pain and destruction. Betrayal, insecurity, disease, abortion, single parenthood. Life giving love requires sacrifice and selflessness, forgiveness, but the rewards are great. To be in union with God in this most primal way, gives us love, peace and security. Sacrifice and selflessness in marriage is the cornerstone of a peaceful world.
May we all go in haste to spread God's Word, by being living breathing examples of the inner peace that comes from uniting our marriage to God. Choose daily in your marriage to turn from the selfishness and egotism that plagues our world.
"As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live." - Blessed Pope John Paul II
Story of the Bread
There is a moment when Jesus said, "This is me. This is my body."
Why do you think He chose bread?
Let's think about bread itself. Bread begins with a tiny seed planted in the fall in barren ground. It seems from the outside that nothing is going on all winter long. The snow covers the land, rain falls. It seems that the poor seed has died. However, in the womb of the earth, something is happening. The slow juices of the earth are being called toward the seed. The rain and sun are called toward the seed. This goes on all winter long until the springtime when suddenly the barren soil looks like a green carpet. The seed matures into wheat and grows all summer until it is ready to harvest.
At this point human hands with machinery work in the fields to gather the wheat, separate it from the chaff and ground it into flour. When the flour is ready, it passes through more human hands. Additional elements such as yeast, water and fire are used to transform the seed into dough. The dough is then baked and brought to our tables to satisfy our hunger and make our meals more pleasurable. This bread is a gift to us from God; fruit of the earth and the work of many human hands.
At this point, both the earth and human beings have completed their tasks. Humans have brought the tiny seed to a high level of meaning and purpose, but at this point, we cannot take it any further. Human beings cannot take the bread any further, but God can.
We ask God to transform the bread into the risen Christ, "And so Father, we bring you these gifts, we ask You to make them holy by the power of your Spirit that they may become the Body and Blood of your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ."
When we ask God for this gift, we are obeying the will of Jesus Christ, the Lord, who on the night he was betrayed, took the bread and said: "This is my body, given up for you." And so, the bread becomes the Bread.
In the Bread, many things have come together, the seed, the earth, the sun, the rain, the diligent work of human hands and the immense love of God. In the Bread, the immense love of God is made present to us in a most particular way.
It is the mystery of our faith. We cannot imagine anything more cosmic; a point of convergence of the universe.
(I have adapted this from a Level III presentation in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program. It has particular meaning to me because I am the daughter of a farmer who as I write this, is probably in the combine harvesting corn in western Kansas. Thank you dad for the opportunity to grow up living the work of human hands. I hope that you all will never look at bread the same again.)
Why do you think He chose bread?
Let's think about bread itself. Bread begins with a tiny seed planted in the fall in barren ground. It seems from the outside that nothing is going on all winter long. The snow covers the land, rain falls. It seems that the poor seed has died. However, in the womb of the earth, something is happening. The slow juices of the earth are being called toward the seed. The rain and sun are called toward the seed. This goes on all winter long until the springtime when suddenly the barren soil looks like a green carpet. The seed matures into wheat and grows all summer until it is ready to harvest.
At this point human hands with machinery work in the fields to gather the wheat, separate it from the chaff and ground it into flour. When the flour is ready, it passes through more human hands. Additional elements such as yeast, water and fire are used to transform the seed into dough. The dough is then baked and brought to our tables to satisfy our hunger and make our meals more pleasurable. This bread is a gift to us from God; fruit of the earth and the work of many human hands.
At this point, both the earth and human beings have completed their tasks. Humans have brought the tiny seed to a high level of meaning and purpose, but at this point, we cannot take it any further. Human beings cannot take the bread any further, but God can.
We ask God to transform the bread into the risen Christ, "And so Father, we bring you these gifts, we ask You to make them holy by the power of your Spirit that they may become the Body and Blood of your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ."
When we ask God for this gift, we are obeying the will of Jesus Christ, the Lord, who on the night he was betrayed, took the bread and said: "This is my body, given up for you." And so, the bread becomes the Bread.
In the Bread, many things have come together, the seed, the earth, the sun, the rain, the diligent work of human hands and the immense love of God. In the Bread, the immense love of God is made present to us in a most particular way.
It is the mystery of our faith. We cannot imagine anything more cosmic; a point of convergence of the universe.
(I have adapted this from a Level III presentation in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program. It has particular meaning to me because I am the daughter of a farmer who as I write this, is probably in the combine harvesting corn in western Kansas. Thank you dad for the opportunity to grow up living the work of human hands. I hope that you all will never look at bread the same again.)
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
1979 Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech
I read Mother Teresa's speech for the first time this summer and I found it again while sorting through my bedside reading material last night. I was again struck that I think this is one of the best things I've ever read in my life. Sure, I've read the Twilight and Dragon Tattoo books, but I also read a lot of heavy stuff. I don't praise this piece lightly.
There is so much in this speech that I could blog about it for days.
When you read it, you have to take yourself back to 1979 and think of her work in India. She denounces abortion as the "greatest destroyer of peace today". This is from a woman who spent a large part of her life caring for poor unwanted children in India. This was an era of feminism, the pill and Roe v. Wade. This alone is amazing and unexpected and politically incorrect.
So simple and profound. Smile. Smile when you don't feel like it. Find the poor in your own family and start there. "I think that if we all look into our own homes, how difficult we find it sometimes to smile at each, other, and that the smile is the beginning of love."
Our lives have to be woven with prayer. As our understanding of Jesus' suffering grows, we become more empathetic to the needs of those closest to us and around the world.
Finally, we have been created to love and to be loved. We hunger for love. God is love, but it's not easy, it's difficult, it hurts. Jesus' love for us hurt. He was obedient to that love to the point of a brutally painful death.
Do you give until it hurts? If you're a parent or a spouse I know you do. Our world today encourages us to inconvenience ourselves as little as possible, to shield ourselves from pain and hurt, to live superficially. We must dig in intimately and give of ourselves until it hurts. This is how God loves us and how we are called to love.
Mother Teresa's 1979 Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech
There is so much in this speech that I could blog about it for days.
When you read it, you have to take yourself back to 1979 and think of her work in India. She denounces abortion as the "greatest destroyer of peace today". This is from a woman who spent a large part of her life caring for poor unwanted children in India. This was an era of feminism, the pill and Roe v. Wade. This alone is amazing and unexpected and politically incorrect.
So simple and profound. Smile. Smile when you don't feel like it. Find the poor in your own family and start there. "I think that if we all look into our own homes, how difficult we find it sometimes to smile at each, other, and that the smile is the beginning of love."
Our lives have to be woven with prayer. As our understanding of Jesus' suffering grows, we become more empathetic to the needs of those closest to us and around the world.
Finally, we have been created to love and to be loved. We hunger for love. God is love, but it's not easy, it's difficult, it hurts. Jesus' love for us hurt. He was obedient to that love to the point of a brutally painful death.
Do you give until it hurts? If you're a parent or a spouse I know you do. Our world today encourages us to inconvenience ourselves as little as possible, to shield ourselves from pain and hurt, to live superficially. We must dig in intimately and give of ourselves until it hurts. This is how God loves us and how we are called to love.
Mother Teresa's 1979 Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Faith Defined
Faith is defined by how it affects the way we live.
Faith is our last recourse when we've reached the end of our own capabilities.
Faith is knowing that some things are a mystery and that's ok.
Faith is hope and trust despite imperfection.
Faith is a sense of purpose.
Faith is being in awe of creation.
Faith is being aware of a love so deep that it is incomprehensible.
Faith is our last recourse when we've reached the end of our own capabilities.
Faith is knowing that some things are a mystery and that's ok.
Faith is hope and trust despite imperfection.
Faith is a sense of purpose.
Faith is being in awe of creation.
Faith is being aware of a love so deep that it is incomprehensible.
Monday, August 29, 2011
PreSchool
Today during daily mass, my 3 year old wouldn't stop talking. I was trying to get him to pay attention, pointed out Jesus in the tabernacle, etc. I whispered to him, someday you could become a priest. He said, ya I want to be a priest. Then he looked up at me and asked, is that why I'm going to "priest" school? (preschool)
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Holding the Rosary
I have been told that Mother Teresa held a rosary in her hand at all times. She said it made her feel like the Blessed Mother was holding her hand. I usually hold mine wrapped around my palm all during church because we say the rosary before Mass and I take the Eucharist on the tongue.
Since doing the consecration I've tried to also hold a rosary during the day whenever possible. It's always my left hand.
One of my favorite things in the world is 630am daily Mass with just my husband and I. One morning, as usual, I had my rosary wrapped around my hand. When we said the Our Father, my husband and I were holding my rosary hand. I was just thinking how powerful it is to have Mary holding both of our hands, together, while we say the Our Father. So beautiful.
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