Lenten Mini-Reflection

"We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" (Romans 6:2)

That is why Lent is about death. We have to DIE to our old selves, DIE to sin so that Christ can make us a new creation. Death is always painful. But resurrection is beyond the best we can imagine!

Security

This verse never fails to quiet my heart!

“To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven… He has made everything beautiful in His time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

– Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11

1 Thess 5:17

"You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing, and grace before I dip the pen in the ink."

--G.K. Chesterton

"Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.
In all circumstances give thanks,

for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus."

(1 Thess 5:16-18)

Today: Feast of the Chair of St. Peter

One of my favorite verses:

"Always be ready to give an explanation

to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope,
but do it with gentleness and reverence..."

(1 Peter 3:15-16)

Here's something that is only slightly related, but amusing enough to mention — the two or three times today that I typed "Chair", my fingers automatically added an "e" to the end. After all, how many thousands of times have I typed my own name? :) Similarly, whenever I need to type the name "Tim", it always becomes "time" first... typing autopilot, I suppose!

Butterfly

Thank you all for your prayers! I am doing better. I'd like to share a quote that was timely and encouraging...

Just as the butterfly must wait upon its maker to be transformed, so must we. God is His infinite wisdom has a sovereign and individual plan for the transformation of our hearts and minds. Psalm 27:14 says "Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!" Being transformed is a process, so do not loose heart. "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus."

~from a past issue of the Girlhood Home Companion (Volume 1, Issue 12)

So Amazingly Appropriate

Today's First Reading:
Heb 6:10-20

Brothers and sisters:
God is not unjust so as to overlook your work
and the love you have demonstrated for his name
by having served and continuing to serve the holy ones.
We earnestly desire each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness
for the fulfillment of hope until the end,
so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who,
through faith and patience, are inheriting the promises.

When God made the promise to Abraham,
since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself,
and said, I will indeed bless you and multiply you.
And so, after patient waiting, Abraham obtained the promise.
Now, men swear by someone greater than themselves;
for them an oath serves as a guarantee
and puts an end to all argument.
So when God wanted to give the heirs of his promise
an even clearer demonstration of the immutability of his purpose,
he intervened with an oath,
so that by two immutable things,
in which it was impossible for God to lie,
we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged
to hold fast to the hope that lies before us.
This we have as an anchor of the soul,
sure and firm, which reaches into the interior behind the veil,
where Jesus has entered on our behalf as forerunner,
becoming high priest foreveraccording to the order of Melchizedek.

~~~

I am continually blown away by the poignant relevance of the liturgical readings to current events. This one covers it all:

God is just
He does not overlook our efforts
He is the source of hope
We can't become sluggish
Faith and patience inherit His promises
Oaths are sacred
He is sure, firm...an anchor

There is more on which I could reflect, if I wasn't in the midst of packing to leave at 5am tomorrow for the March for Life! Please keep me in your prayers, and know I will do the same for you. When I return, I'm sure I'll have plenty to share!

Second Sunday of Advent

“A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!”

~from Today’s Gospel

Advent Day 6

Lord, we believe that You can make us see.

~See today’s gospel

Advent Day 5

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’

will enter the Kingdom of heaven,

but only the one who does the will of my Father...”

~Matthew 7 (today’s gospel)

Advent Day 3

(See today's first reading)

Advent Day 2

“Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.”

~Psalm 122 (Today's Responsorial Psalm)

"Hold on to the Word of Life"

Yesterday was a troubling day for America. Many of us weep that the pro-life victory for which we fought and prayed so hard was not reached. Instead, the U.S. swayed and fell for for a leader who may have promised a fix for the economy, but who refuses to fix the deepest injustice in our nation: over 1.2 million unborn Americans murdered each year through legalized abortion.

My dear friend Malori asked a powerful question on her blog last night:

President-Elect Obama, in your acceptance speech you said you stand up for
everyone in America: black and white, male and female, young and old, gay and
straight, disabled and non-disabled. What about the born and unborn?

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Perhaps, after last night's election of a black President of the United States, some think Dr. King's dream has been realized. I beg to differ. Perhaps we've learned to stop judging by the color of skin — and I agree with countless others that this lesson is a necessary one — but we've missed the other important half of Dr. King's dream. When will we learn to judge by the content of character?

Despite the sadness, I am buoyed by the undespairing spirit, prayerful hopefulness, and unyielding determination I see — in the blogosphere and in person — on the part of so many of God's people. And today's first reading was by no means a coincidence...

"For God is the one who, for his good purpose,

works in you both to desire and to work.

Do everything without grumbling or questioning,

that you may be blameless and innocent,

children of God without blemish

in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,

among whom you shine like lights in the world,

as you hold on to the word of life,

so that my boast for the day of Christ

may be that I did not run in vain or labor in vain."

—1 Philippians 2 (emphasis added)

My goddaughter profoundly pointed out that the Obama victory could be our Lord's way of keeping us on our knees, away from the danger of becoming complacent, and on the path of repentance and conversion. Thus may be brought about actual hope and change — not from President Obama, but from the merciful hand of the real Messiah.

And that, my friends, is change we can believe in.

New Every Morning

The pace of my life lately has left me quite weary and worn. This morning, I sat in Church wondering how to maximize the hours ahead of me, trying not to become despondent as I contemplated the deadlines of the day. Arriving home, I was greeted by the sweet, shining faces of the morning glories which cascade over our fence— blue blossoms lifted towards the nearly equally blue heavens.

I longed for the upward gaze and serene loveliness of the morning glories, and with a sigh stepped into the moist grass. The sounds and smells of morning surrounded me, and for a sweet, tranquil moment I drank in its freshness. Its brightness and newness. The Giver of the new day reached down and soothed my soul. And my heart and gaze lifted upward.

"But I will call this to mind, as my reason to have hope:
The favors of the LORD are not exhausted, his mercies are not spent;
They are renewed each morning, so great is his faithfulness."

(Lamentations 3:21-23)

His Thoughts

After Huckabee barely missed the win many of us hoped for in South Carolina yesterday, I opened my Bible during night prayer last night and happened upon the following verse...

"Now many nations are assembled against you...

But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD,

they do not understand his plan..."

And indeed, how frequently we don't understand His plan (though we think we do). This race is far from over. We have our own hopes and evaluations of how things need to "work out". At times, it may seem as though the nation is assembled against us :), but in reality the thoughts and plans of Christ surpass any we have. Our God is a God of suprises. And of mystery. And of twists and turns in the road. And of power... power that will ultimately prevail if we trust Him enough.

Enjoy this beautiful Sunday! (That is, I'm assuming it's as lovely by you as it is here: very crisp and cold, but sparklingly beautiful, with sunshine turning brilliant the little layer of snow on our ground, and clear blue skies overhead. Frigid and frozen, yet magnificent!)

From the Readings for 11/21

"It happened that seven brothers with their mother were arrested
and tortured with whips and scourges by the king,
to force them to eat pork in violation of God’s law.

Most admirable and worthy of everlasting remembrance was the mother,
who saw her seven sons perish in a single day,
yet bore it courageously because of her hope in the Lord.
Filled with a noble spirit that stirred her womanly heart with manly courage,
she exhorted each of them
in the language of their ancestors with these words:
'I do not know how you came into existence in my womb;
it was not I who gave you the breath of life,
nor was it I who set in order
the elements of which each of you is composed.
Therefore, since it is the Creator of the universe
who shapes each man’s beginning,
as he brings about the origin of everything,
he, in his mercy, will give you back both breath and life,
because you now disregard yourselves for the sake of his law.'"

(2 Maccabees)

Oh, what a heart-tugger this reading is! And what a mother! I can never hear or read that passage without a pang of intense sorrow and admiration for her. To see your seven sons killed before your very eyes, and to respond as she did.... what absolute grace, what supernatural strength. This, indeed, was a mother who knew what her life's purpose was: to bring her children to salvation. And her trust was such that she was able to not only endure, but encourage them in the sacrifice of their own lives for the sake of faithfulness. Lord, grant all mothers the same courage, the same trust, the same resolve!

Do I Have Love?

Adapted from and inspired by the quote shared on BiblicalWomanhood.com...

If all of my room is spotless and sparkling
and I have a lace bed quilt and lovely flowers all around
but I can't speak kindly to my family,
I might as well have dust and dirt on all sides.

If I am able to make quilted Victorian table-runners
and set a table fit for a king
but I don't show respect to my father,
I might as well have a stained tablecloth and paper plates.

If I can plan, prepare and cook a six-course meal
and serve it in style with skill and poise
but I'm not thankful to God for my daily bread,
I might as well be eating a microwave dinner.

If I am able to be a gracious hostess to friends,
and love to serve a tea in rosebud teacups
but do not have a heart of compassion for Christ's poor,
I might as well serve tea in styrofoam cups.

If I possess all the powers of charm and manners,
and a closet full of stylish apparel
but cannot get my hands dirty in service of others,
I might as well have a wardrobe of rags.

If I have all in place and order in my room and home,
and appear to all eyes to be organized and confidant
but don't place each day in the hands of my God,
I might as well not have that day.

If I have been given numerous gifts and talents,
and can dazzle all around with my skill
but have not love,
I am nothing.
.....................................

I Corinthians 13: "If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails."