Ash Wednesday

Man is a duality
of mysterious grandeur and pompous aridity,
a vision of God and a mountain of dust,
It is because of his being dust
that his iniquities may be forgiven
and it is because of his being an image
that his righteousness is expected.
(Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel)

 On Ash Wednesday we are marked with ashes as a reminder of whence our bodies came and to what they will return.  These forty days are a reminder of to what we aspire: Easter resurrection and union with God.  Wishing you a blessed Lenten season!

Be Still

"The Lord himself will fight for you. You have only to keep still." (Exodus 14:14)

You have only to keep still...how hard that is for us to do!  We feel we must do something when we have a problem but in reality we sometimes make it worse by doing what we think will "fix" it. 

That doesn't mean to be passive.  It means seek God's will and do it.  For there would have been no miracle if the Israelites didn't go forward into the Red Sea.

What a scary scenario: an army rushing at you from behind. Moses yelling at you to walk into the midst of what used to be a sea.  The wind howling.  Chaos!  So "be still," God says.  Quiet your heart and go forward in God's will knowing that he, himself, will fight for you. Deo Gratias!

150 Years

On January 7 we are celebrating the 150th birthday of our Co-foundress, Mother Mary Michael. Mother was not "romantically" minded when it came to the spiritual life but extremely practical and yet very cheerful. She emphasized the importance of being faithful in the little things of our life. The hidden "little fidelities" please God greatly and enable us to be faithful in bigger matters as well. Every Christian can use this idea of little fidelities as a way of deepening their relationship with God.

May our imitation of Mother Mary Michael who did ordinary things extraordinarily well and extraordinary things in an ordinary fashion help us grow in our love for God.

(for more about Mother Mary Michael, see our website.)

Merry Christmas!

 

And the Word was made flesh...

 and dwelt among us...

  

And we have seen his glory.

 

Merry Christmas!

One of Us

Kissing the Face of God

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...

We've heard this so many times that I think we have become immune to what this means.  It means God could now experience hunger, fatigue, emotions, temptations, etc. For he was "like us in all things but sin." Amazing!

Let us rejoice this Advent and Christmas season that the eternal Word "leapt down from heaven." From the bliss of heaven to become man (while remaining completely God: mystery indeed!), to know what it is like to be human—to show us what it means to be human for "Man revealed man to himself" (Lumen Gentium 43) and to save us. Praised be Jesus Christ now and forever!

Our King, Our Shepherd

The liturgical year closes with the Solemnity of Christ the King. The readings use images of Christ the Good Shepherd to describe his reign. What kind of a king would compare himself with a shepherd? Only one whose power is so great that he has no fear of losing it and can thus humble himself greatly. In Ezekiel God describes how he tends his sheep: "I will rescue...I will pasture...I will heal, I will look after and tend my sheep." Compare that with the religious leaders of Ezekiels' time who "pastured themselves" and not their sheep.

As God shepherds us, so he asks us to do for others. In the Gospel parable, Christ the King comes at the end of time to judge. He separates the goats from the rams or those who "...gave me food, gave me drink, welcomed me, clothed me, visited me." For whatever you do for the least, you do for the Shepherd. May Christ our King teach us such compassion.

Burning Lamps

"The Wise Virgins" by James Tissot.

Recently I read the Gospel parable of the ten virgins awaiting the Bridegroom with burning lamps. Something struck me: the five wise virgins also fell asleep. Whenever I hear this parable I always hope that I shall be one of the wise virgins who had enough oil to keep their lamps burning.  But what does that mean? I know what it doesn't mean—perfection.

We seem to think the saints were perfect, but they were far from it! They too, like the five wise virgins, fell asleep at times.  This All Saints Day is a day to realize that there are more saints than those canonized by Mother Church. They are the ones who had enough oil—love of God and neighbor—to keep their lamp burning until the Bridegroom came at their death. They are friends, family members, and even people who we could never get along with!

We are all imperfect and that is alright. God alone is perfect. He does not desire that from us but only fidelity and a constant striving to be ever more faithful to Him in our vocation (whatever it may be) as a Christian.  Happy All Saints Day! May we be counted among them one day.