Who's your momma?

In our society today, we honor all sorts of people. We give special place of honor at dinners for foreign prime ministers. We can't wait to meet President Obama at the next town hall meeting. We cheer and shout at football games. And, we're salivating even just thinking about getting the chance to see Justin Bieber on stage.

Today we also celebrate the feast of the Queenship of Mary. And, as I sit here in my Regina Caeli uniform shirt (which, in Latin, means Queen of Heaven), I was thinking, "Why do we honor Mary?"

It's not worship, by they way. That's for God alone. But, even God has honored Mary. He chose her, out of all women and out of all human beings throughout all of time, to be the mother of His Son. When God entered Time and became a living, breathing human being, He lived in the womb of a certain young woman. And, what mother doesn't know and love her child with all her might? She probably knows Jesus better than anyone; she nursed him as a baby, helped him learn to walk, knew him from head to toe. This is why she is the premier example for us: how to know, love and serve God.

If you look at the Bible, we know that it was through her "Yes!" that God became flesh in her womb (see Luke 1:26-38). Then, when she went to visit with her cousin Elizabeth, Elizabeth cried out, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb" (Luke 1:42). Sound familiar? Those are some of the exact words from the Hail Mary prayer!

The ending of the prayer is: "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death." We know that we can ask Mary to ask God for things for us, because she did it here on earth, too. At the wedding of Cana, in John 2:1-11, we learn that Mary noticed that the host of the wedding needed more wine, so she turns to her Son and asks Him to do something about it. At first, He says no. "Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come" (John 2:4). And, yet Mary knows that He can help and that He will. "Do whatever He tells you," she tells the servants. And, sure enough, after a little more water, Jesus makes more wine for them! She interceded for them when they needed help.

In another dramatic example of Mary being chosen by God for us, Jesus, while He is hanging on the cross, sees His mother and John the Beloved Disciple standing there. He tells His mother, "Woman, behold, your son." And, to John, "Behold, your mother." From then on, John took Mary into his home (John 19:26-27). In that moment, Jesus is giving the whole church His mother. She is our mother and we should treat her the same as John, bringing her into our home and life.

And, of course, we don't honor Mary because of what she might be able to do for us. She isn't even really special on her own accord, but because of who God is and what He did through her. God needed a beautiful, sparkling, holy place (Mary's womb) in which to live and that is why He made her special. Now, we seek to be the same: a beautiful, sparkling holy place fit for Christ live in.

So, when you see a picture or image of our Blessed Mother, think of her and tell her thank you for saying yes to that angel so long ago. Ask her to help you become closer to Jesus. I'm sure she'll oblige. And, take heart: we cannot love Mary more than her Son already does.

Tilling the Soil

This is the second year for our garden. We have carrots, cantaloupe, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and bell peppers. But, it's not going very well. Many of the leaves are turning yellow, the tomato plants have only reached about 5 inches in height, and the pepper plants are about an inch high. My friend's garden, on the other hand, is AMAZING! It has so much life to it that she has a giant sunflower that almost reaches their second story roof.

I know what the problem is. I forget to water it, we're too cheap to buy more soil so that it's deep enough, and it doesn't have enough fertilizer over the course of the summer. Not to mention, it is blazing hot every day. And, quite frankly, I don't have the energy or the motivation to do much about it. So, it continues to limp along and maybe we'll get a couple of little squashes and mini-tomatoes out of it in a couple more months. But, it would be awesome if we could get more to eat from it and really enjoy all that a garden can be!

The same is true of our hearts and our relationship with God. Last Sunday's Gospel was the parable of the sower and the seeds (Matthew 13:1-23). At the time that Jesus originally told this story, the people in His audience would have known a lot about farming and working the land.

God's Word is like a seed (you can also think of this as His Revelation to all of mankind). Christ is the Sower. When a seed gets sown, it may land in various places: some on the road/sidewalk, some on the ground with a bunch of rocks in it, some in a patch of land that no one takes care of (full of weeds or thorns), and some in a beautifully cared for plot with fertilizer, water, and sunlight (everything a plant needs to grow!). If it lands in the last one, you’re in luck! You’ll end up with beautiful plants, amazing vegetables or gorgeous flowers. And, it will produce more from itself, many-fold.

The question is, what kind of ground is the seed of God’s Word going to land in, when He sows the seed in our hearts?

• Will it land on the sidewalk where the birds come and steal it away? Are we closed off from what God may be trying to tell us about Him? Do we even think God exists? Maybe we’ve been hurt by someone and don’t want anything to do with faith or the Church.
  
  
• Has it landed on rocky soil? Maybe we heard the Word and were filled with joy (SO excited!), but the sun got hot and the soil was too shallow and our excitement died out. Do we take the time each week to worship God? Or maybe we've quickly moved onto something else that catches our attention.
  
  
• Has the seed landed in good soil, but where there are lots of weeds and thorns that choke it out? Is our life too full of stuff, money, anxieties, pride, or envy to take notice of what God wants to do in our lives? Do we receive the Sacraments regularly – Christ in the Eucharist and Confession of our sins? Do we spend time alone in prayer and reading Scripture to get to know God better?

God wants our hearts to be the rich, fertile soil, open to Him and His love for us. When God works, He doesn’t do it half-heartedly, like my sad, little attempt at a garden. He goes all out in beauty, goodness, and love. That tiny little seed, if cared for and nurtured, will be multiplied a hundred or sixty or thirty-fold!

Who really believes anymore, anyway?

Today I want to give a shout-out to Doubting Thomas, whose feast day is today. Oh yeah, and to my good friend Beth whose birthday was yesterday!

I think we ought to give it to Thomas. I mean, who really believes in Jesus anymore, anyway? If he couldn't see Jesus, then he wasn't going to believe that He was alive. I agree whole-heartedly.

Modern man (excuse me, I meant "modern women and men") has moved way past the need to believe in God and to be part of some faith group, especially one that always wants to tell people what to do all the time. We can pretty much do everything on our own now anyway. Heck, we just figured out the actual length of Neptune's day! And, did you know that by 2045, machines are going to be smarter than us anyway?

But let's take the "Father"/Creator-being, just for fun. You don't really think God cares about you, do you? Sure, maybe He made you, every ounce and fiber and knew you before you were even created, but I doubt He cares much about your life now. I'm sure He has much bigger things to worry about, like making sure the planets stay on track or new stars come out of the nebulae. I mean, personally, once my children were born, I'd just as soon leave them to fend for themselves, except that I don't want to end up in jail. I may have been happy that I created them, but I don't really care about giving them what they need, like food and water and their favorite episode of Thomas the Tank Engine. I think it's really annoying to have to give them any rules or consequences so they can learn about life and how to live with others and, of course, respect me, their parent.

And, that Jesus dude? You don't really think God actually became a man, do you? Why would God give up being God? Human existence isn't exactly a walk in the park - if He were God, I'm sure he knew about the less than enjoyable possibilities like hunger, no air conditioning, constipation, experiencing the death of a loved one, to name a few. Why should we trust what people have been saying about what He said and did? Do you really think that story is still straight after 2,000 years?! Who's really going to try to claim that? So what if thousands of people who heard him speak began following Him. And, all those people He "healed"? Yeah, right. Those were just stories to get the people to believe. Oh, and the people who were killed because they believed in the dude, after the dude was killed? They were probably just as crazy as He was. I wouldn't give my life for another human being! I'm enjoying myself just fine, doing what I like. [Thank God I live in America and I can do that! Happy Bday tomorrow, US of A. You're awesome!]

Now, the Spirit I can believe in a lot easier. You know, we're all connected by spirit. We're trying to be one with Nature, too, if we don't kill it first, of course. But, back to the God-spirit thang. Does anyone think that God is still trying to communicate and be with us today? I certainly don't hear anything. But, I got my iTunes on, checkin' out what all my "friends" are doing right now, and then I'm going to play a few rounds of Snood, and that's all a LOT more fun!

So, Thomas, pray for us, if you can even hear us. We want to find the Truth! And, when we do, ask God to help us believe.

Next week . . . my shout-out to Judas!

The Scriptural Spin

What is the connection between Scripture and Tradition? Why can't we just believe what the Bible teaches? Why does the Catholic Church think it has the authority to say what it means?

This article, albeit long, is really a great essay addressing these questions.

Where is Jesus' Body Now?

This week we remember and celebrate the Ascension of Jesus. For some reason, I have an easier time believing in the Resurrection than the Ascension. It seems more understandable to me, as an embodied person, that God would have the power to raise someone from the dead, because that means Jesus became alive again - a living, breathing being like the ones I see everyday. But, when I think about how after that (and after being with His apostles again for a time), Jesus went up into the clouds to return to the Father, I can't quite grasp it. Where is Jesus' body now? Is He floating around somewhere past the edges of the universe? Perhaps hiding at the end of the rainbow?

Part of my problem is that when I picture God and creation, I visualize a spatial relationship. I draw a nice little circle that includes the universe and all created things, and then around that is a bigger circle which is God. How limited is my understanding!

But, beyond understanding the physical event itself, why did Jesus return to Heaven? In John's Gospel, Jesus tells us, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be." God wants us to be where He is, to be one with Him! And that is our hope while we still live on this earth, that Jesus has loved us and has shown us the way to the Eternal Love.

How about you? Where do you think Jesus' body is?

The Mystery Revealed

I wrote recently about the mystery of Christ's suffering and how our (my) sin of pride often puts me in contempt of the suffering that he endured. And, while it's true that He did choose that time and place to be conceived, born, live, minister, suffer and die (and don't forget, rise from the dead!), the reason was not just the suffering itself.

By enduring the suffering, He shows us that He loves us. Jesus did it because He does love us. And, because by doing so, He demonstrates what love is, what it means to love. Loving means to give of oneself, to empty oneself. To love means to will the good of the other. And, love is always sacrificial. Maybe it's waking up in the middle of the night to feed an infant, when all you really want to do is sleep. Maybe it means giving your time at the food pantry when you could be getting things done at your own house. Maybe it means giving your child your own meal when there is not enough for both of you.

And, it's not just Jesus who gave of Himself in His act of suffering and death. God the Father also showed us what it means to love. He sacrificed something (Someone) that we would never dream of. He gave His all when He gave His only son. It would be like us giving up that one last thing that we are hanging onto, the one remaining beautiful thing that is ours, because it is God's will. Because it has a greater purpose to bring glory to God.

The other thing about love is that, by nature, it is a gift. We cannot force someone to accept a gift. They may or may not return the love to you. So, when we try to love someone and they refuse it or take it and never "return the favor" by loving us back, it can really hurt. When this has happened to me, it really does cause pain. But, even the Perfect Lover who gave the perfect gift of love does not always receive love in return. So, it makes me realize that perhaps my love wasn't so perfect after all, when I give and expect to be loved back. When we give without wanting something in return, then we truly free the other to receive our love for what it is - a gift.

God extends the same to us. We have free will. We can choose to accept Him or not. If He only allowed us to receive Him, then it would not be love. He would be forcing it on us, which is not love. Instead, He allows us the will to refuse or receive the gift. And, oh how He delights when we love Him back, just as we bask in the joy of being loved by our own little children, who often do so with reckless abandon.

Lord, may we accept your gift of love, even when it is hard to believe
that your love is for us or when sin clouds our vision. May we learn to
love those around us with the same self-gift that you give us.

Putting Our Faith in the Stars

We recently had the opportunity to go to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. We went down there to see the last launch of the Endeavor space shuttle. We didn't have the opportunity to see the launch, because it was "scrubbed" about three hours prior to the launch time, but we had an great time at the Space Center anyway!

One of my favorite parts was seeing an IMAX movie about the Hubble space telescope. It was truly amazing! The film told us about the telescope, which is up in space, and then showed various images which the Hubble has captured. Sometimes, they would speed up the showing of the images, so that it looked like you were moving through space, among the stars. They chose a pink, milky-looking nebulus near the constellation Orion, and began zooming in closer and closer. Keep in mind that this thing is millions of light years away, and we're pretty much looking into the past, since the time it takes for the light at that moment to reach us is so long.

They described that from this nebulus, stars are "born." And, not just the stars themselves, but whole solar systems are forming and coming out!

I left that day thinking about the Big Bang Theory, which is the most widely supported scientific theory about how the universe as we know it began. I've read a little more about it since coming home, and this is my non-astrophysicist, lay-person's version. It makes some assumptions, like Einstein's theory of general relativity (which I am not an expert on!). We have observed that the universe is expanding, i.e. galaxies are moving further and further from one another. So, from that we deduce that at one time all the matter must have been closer together. So, at the moment of the "big bang", about 13.7 billion years ago, the extremely hot and dense state expanded rapidly. The expansion caused the universe to cool and continue expanding in its "diluted" state, even today.

This begs the question: Where did all of the matter in that hot, dense "ball" come from?

Joseph Pearce gave a talk at a conference I recently attended, and he made a great observation: Something cannot come from nothing. Humans can create some amazing things. Think about a beautiful painting that an artist might "create." But, it's not coming from thin air; he uses the ingredients that are available to him: paint, a paintbrush, the landscape that he sees, a canvas. The same holds true for our "recent" ability to imagine, design, and manufacture cars, cell phones, even space shuttles. We're using what we have available to us to make things.

There is only one person who can create something from nothing - God.

In closing, I came across the John Templeton Foundation recently, whose philanthropic mission is to support "discoveries relating to the Big Questions of human purpose and ultimate reality." They try to bring together science, religion, spirituality, etc. to encourage research in everything from "complexity, evolution, and infinity to creativity, forgiveness, love, and free will."

Sir John Templeton observed that we have known so little about the physical and spiritual realities of our world, but that we are in a time of human history that our discoveries and our progress are speeding up. We have learned more about the "furthest" star and the "tiniest" cells in the human body in the last hundred or so years. And yet, we still know so little compared to what is unknown (yet still knowable!).

God has revealed himself over time to us. Perhaps at this time in human history, God is revealing himself to us by allowing us to learn more and more about what he has made.

I will thank you, Lord, among the peoples,

among the nations I will praise you

for your love reaches to the heavens

and your truth to the skies.

O God, arise above the heavens;
may your glory shine on earth!
(Psalm 57)

The Mystery of His Suffering

In our family during this Lenten season and especially during Holy Week, we have been talking with our kids about how Jesus died on the cross. The first time I mentioned how Good Friday is the saddest day of the year because of this, our three-year-old son's eyes got round with distress. I was really moved that he seemed touched by the seriousness of it all.

I said it again last night while we were at the Holy Thursday Mass. I pointed out how all the crucifixes were covered to remind us that Jesus had died. The three-year-old was significantly less impressed this time. Same with our six-year-old.

Now, of course, these children are young and can barely fathom the suffering and agony that Christ endured during his sentencing and crucifixion. And, I don't know that they should be exposed to the real horrors of it all. But what I realized is that I, too, have grown nonchalant about what He endured. I don't want to believe that it was for all for us - and all for me.

There is a novena (praying for nine days for a specific intention), which St. Faustina received and writes about in her diary. It is the Novena of the Divine Mercy, which should be prayed from Good Friday to Divine Mercy Sunday (the Sunday after Easter). In her diary, St. Faustina wrote that Jesus told her:

"On each day of the novena you will bring to My heart a different group of souls and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy ... On each day you will beg My Father, on the strength of My passion, for the graces for these souls."

The different souls prayed for on each day of the novena are:

DAY 1 (Good Friday) - All mankind, especially sinners

DAY 2 (Holy Saturday) - The souls of priests and religious

DAY 3 (Easter Sunday) - All devout and faithful souls

DAY 4 (Easter Monday) - Those who do not believe in Jesus and those who do not yet know Him

DAY 5 (Easter Tuesday) - The souls of separated brethren

DAY 6 (Easter Wednesday) - The meek and humble souls and the souls of children

DAY 7 (Easter Thursday) - The souls who especially venerate and glorify Jesus' mercy

DAY 8 (Easter Friday) - The souls who are detained in purgatory;

DAY 9 (Easter Saturday) - The souls who have become lukewarm.

So, he gave St. Faustina an intention to pray for on each day of the Novena, saving for the last day the most difficult intention of all, the lukewarm and indifferent of whom He said:

"These souls cause Me more suffering than any others; it was from such souls that My soul felt the most revulsion in the Garden of Olives. It was on their account that I said: 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass Me by.' The last hope of salvation for them is to flee to My Mercy."

The full weight of my own indifference is hard to comprehend. I look at the cross and often feel nothing. Perhaps I have heard the story too many times, like our children who answer my questions about what happened like they are in a game show, with a big smile on their faces. Yes, I can give the right answer, too, about the details of the story as they unfolded. But, is there humility in my retelling, in my knowledge? Too often, not.

I often think about why Christ came during the time period he did. He knew that crucifixion was the practice of that time, but He came then anyway, to suffer horribly. I often wonder contemptuously why Christ had to suffer at all. Couldn't he just come to the earth and save us without having to endure such suffering? If God was going to save us from our supposed sins and our sinful nature, why doesn't He just forgive us and let us come back into communion with Him? Why did He have to suffer at all?

It is my pride, my contempt, my selfcenteredness that prevents me from seeing this. I don't allow myself to think about the weight of my own sin, the hurt that I have caused God and others, by thinking myself a "good person," by thinking that I have things under control and that I do not need God. If we could truly understand our nature and our actions, in genuine humility before our Lord, we would fall to our knees, begging for His mercy.

I have grown lukewarm, and that is one of the hardest sins to confess. We have gone through this Lent, with resolutions of prayers, fasting, and acts of charity, and we have, albeit imperfectly, followed through. But, when it comes down to it, have we truly lifted our hearts and minds to the Lord? Have we thanked him for what He did?

Let us pray on this Good Friday, with greater intensity than ever before, that we will understand this mystery of Christ's suffering and death, not just with our minds, but with our hearts. Let us come to know that we owe our very existence and our redemption to God Almighty and that He doesn't owe us either one. They are given to us in Love.

Looking for the Way

I am starting another blog. I've been thinking about it for awhile, because I want to get into the habit of writing more. When you write something, you have to have complete thoughts -- something which doesn't always come easy. It requires quiet time, thinking, praying.

I've titled the blog "Looking for the Way" because we are. We're each looking for a way -- looking for a purpose, meaning, a reason to live. And, this makes sense, because we were created for something: to be in union with our Creator.

I was born and raised and still live in the Roman Catholic Church, and as I delve deeper into our faith, I realize just how much I have to learn. And, that's another reason why I've titled this blog "Looking for the Way." Back in the early, early church, the followers of Jesus didn't call themselves Christians yet. They simply said that they were followers of "the Way." And, I'm pretty sure they were remembering Jesus' words when He said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life."

So, what I write here is a snapshot of what I have experienced on my journey in this life. I believe that things come across our path for a reason, and that we have an opportunity each day to learn more and grow more fully into who we were created to be.

So, come along as we look for the Way. And, tell me more about your journey, too!