Risen

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb,
fearful yet overjoyed,
and ran to announce the news to his disciples.
And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them.
They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.
Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid.
Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee,
and there they will see me."

While they were going, some of the guard went into the city
and told the chief priests all that had happened.
The chief priests assembled with the elders and took counsel;
then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,
telling them, "You are to say,
'His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.'
And if this gets to the ears of the governor,
we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble."
The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed.
And this story has circulated among the Jews to the present day. Mt 28:8-15

If you were not risen,
Lord Christ, to whom would we go
to discover a radiance
of the face of God?

If you were not risen,
we would not be together
seeking your communion.
We would not find in your presence
forgiveness,
wellspring of a new beginning.

If you were not risen,
where would we draw the energy
for following you
right to the end of our existence,
for choosing you again and anew?

Brother Roger of Taize

Lent, fasting and my neighbor

Here it is Lent; a time to deepen in our relationship with God.

I'm thinking more prayer, more quiet time to read scripture and meditate on it. Great!
Of course when you meditate on a passage like that of today's reading from Isaiah
it kind of ruins the concept of a nice, peaceful, meditative Lent that in which I can focus on me and God. Once again God pulls me out of myself.

Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits, and drive all your laborers.
Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting, striking with wicked claw.
Would that today you might fast so as to make your voice heard on high!
Is this the manner of fasting I wish, of keeping a day of penance:
That a man bow his head like a reed and lie in sackcloth and ashes?

Do you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?
This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am! Isaiah 58

Self sufficient in Christ

But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 1 Timothy 6:9

How 'wicked' sad I am to hear and read of the Wal-mart worker, Jdimytai "Jimmy" Damour, being trampled to death by a mob of folks pushing to get into the store to buy stuff.

In my checkered Catholic sister career as a teacher, parish and youth minister and social worker, etc. I've seen people in great need for food, clothes and shelter and those who have enough but have this great deep want for? What? More of whatever it is that other folks have. They are not content with their life.
I don't call them savages as some have. I don't believe that any of those folks wanted to kill Mr. Damour for a Wal-mart special. In fact they were probably pushed forward by the great crowd behind them. I wonder about the many motives of the individuals in that crowd. Why did they go out at that 'unGodly' hour to stand out in the cold and wait to get in to buy some thing?

I know I want stuff too. I have the use of things. As a Catholic Sister I don't own things, but I have the use of them for my ministry. So the Community buys me a car, clothes, books, a laptop and printer, etc. Guess what? I want the latest, most powerful laptop going, but I don't get it because we tend to go practical, not the best but something good and hopefully durable.
Some of us are using Windows 95 machines.
If someone were to give me the machine of my dreams I'd be thrilled for the moment. It's enjoyable to have the latest thing, the coolest Ipod or smartphone or widescreen TV.

Does it make me or anyone happier, better, more cool? No.
I think the wants people are trying to fill have nothing to do with possessing things, with being able to give cool gifts. I believe we are trying to fill up a hole within us that no material object will fill. For me I know the One who fills my wants and needs is Jesus Christ, the Lord.
How I wish more people could know this. I am praying this Advent be more than just a season of shopping but a season of hope for the coming of Christ within us EVERYDAY.
I pray we can be like St. Paul who said:

Not that I say this because of need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I find myself, to be self-sufficient.

I know indeed how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance. In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need.

I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me. Philippians, 4,11

The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church

The Catholic Church just had a synod of Bishops on the topic of Scripture. The Synod sent out a letter on Oct. 24th which can be accessed here: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/synod/documents/rc_synod_doc_20081024_message-synod_en.html
There will be a letter called an Apostolic Exhortation from Pope Benedict sometime soon.

While I always try to read and pay attention to letters, exhortations, encyclicals and the like from Rome (it's part of what I'm committed to as a vowed religious) I'm especially interested in this topic. Reading the Bible as a young women of 22, rekindled my faith in God and changed me from a "Sunday Mass Catholic" to a practicing Catholic every day.

Four central points concerning the Word of God were highlighted:

1. The divine Voice. in Creation, in history
2. The Face: Jesus Christ
3. The Home of the divine word, that is to say the Church, which, as Saint Luke suggested
(Acts 2:42), is supported by four ideal columns.
teaching
the breaking of the bread
prayer
brotherly communion
4. The road the Word of God walks upon
The Word of God must run through the world’s streets which today are also those of computer, television and virtual communication.

Here's a piece of what the Synod had to say in their Oct. 24th letter:

Dear brothers and sisters, guard the Bible in your houses, fully read, study and understand its pages, transform them into prayer and witness of life, listen to it with love and faith in the liturgy. Create the silence to effectively hear the Word of the Lord and hold a silence after the listening, because it will continue to dwell, live and speak to you. Make it resound at the beginning of your day so that God will have the first word and let it echo in you in the evenings so that the last word will be God’s.

Peace

September 11th makes me think about peace. It's amazing that some people affected by violence can be "missionaries" for peace like the September 11th families for a peaceful tomorrow, www.peacefultomorrows.org.

Why do they hate us Americans so? We're a peaceful people.
Someone said that today and I remember hearing that said so often after September 11, 2001. To the folks that attacked the World Trade Towers, the Pentagon and crashed into a field in PA, we Americans are akin to the devil. They hate us because they've been taught to hate us by ingnorant teachers who happen to be Muslims who belive a version of Islam which is as far removed from the real thing as a brand of Christianity that would condone killing another for the sake of Jesus.

Also compared to the majority of the world we're rich. Most of us are not rich but compared to the standards of most folks we have money, homes, healthcare, education and stuff, in abundance.

Our government has power and has used it around the world to protect our economic and military interests. The people affected by our government's use and abuse of power don't feel very happy about being pushed around. We wouldn't like it either.
For a good article on why they hate us see:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/20/AR2007072001806.html

Many Americans are ignorant about our government's powerful role in other countries' affairs. Most of us, included many in Congress, swallowed the lies told that led us into attacking Iraq.
We have to pay more attention. For me as a follower of Jesus, I have to do more than be peaceful and be non violent in my daily arena. That's a start but not enough. I have to be responsible for my country as much as I am able. To me it means taking a more active role in contacting legislators and government officials and letting them know my views.

It's troubling that it so difficult to find politicians who values somewhat reflect mine. I might agree with one on my belief opposing abortion, but find that his/her value for human life is only for the unborn. If the rest of his or her values and voting record indicate little value for the lives of the poor, the foriegn, the criminal and the one whose country opposed our government's policy can I support that politician?

This is an ongoing struggle for me and I think needs to be a struggle. It would be easier if it were back and white. Simple. Struggling to do the right thing, the peaceful action isn't easy.

So I pray for peace and to be able to act in ways that lead to a more peace filled world.


World Peace Prayer
Lead me from death to life,
from falsehood to truth;
lead me from despair to hope,
from fear to trust;
lead me from hate to love,
from war to peace.
Let peace fill our heart,
our world, our universe. world.
Amen

Following Jesus: Fr. Damien

Today I've read that one of my childhood heroes Fr. Damien De Veuster has been approved for the final step of sainthood by the Church. I had the habit as a girl of reading biographies of historical characters, saints and the like and Fr. Damien was one whose story left a deep impression. A missionary to a leper colony on the island of Molaki, he did all the works you might expect a missionary priest to do, but more than that he treated the people, despised by the rest of the world as lepers,with respect and love. He and others who followed to work there helped to give the people hope and got them involved in improving their lives. Fr. Damien's life can be read at
www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/DAMIEN.htm

I know realize that his life like each person's involved struggle, temptations and times of great sorrow, pain and discouragement, involved the cross. Love always comes to the cross the points where it's necessary to know we can't do it without the help of God and that the great plans we made for our life and the lives of others in our lives may likely be changed in ways never anticipated.

This past month I had great plans for a month of retreat, attending a great workshop, visiting some sisters at some of our missions and visiting family. Instead, I spent it having a serious infection from a failed root canal that put me in the hospital and necessitating two oral surgeries . Not my plan.

Who knows why? Only God. For me it taught me some little measure of what its like to be so weak, you can barely get out of bed. So I let go and know what really matters is the relationships with Jesus, with the people in my daily path and those He puts in my life. Doesn't matter what gifts of health, wealth and fortune I've got, but that I use whatever I have to love. Like Fr. Damien, he served God and his people in good health and sickness, dying a leper at age 49.

How to forgive

Over my 25+ years of ministry I've had the great privilege of accompanying many people who have suffered great hurt at the hands of others. Forgiveness is so difficult. I believe for some it takes lots of God's grace and lots of time.
Below is a link to a great article on how to forgive.

Forgive - wikiHow