On this Solemnity of the Annunciation, we rejoice in the mystery of the Incarnation: that by a maiden's "yes", the Word of God became flesh and dwells among us!
My full reflection for today can be found here.
Showing posts with label Vocation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vocation. Show all posts
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Mini-Interview
A friend recently emailed me some questions on womanhood for a project she's completing, and I thought I'd share my answers here.
How do you feel to be a woman in today's society?
Being a woman in today's society is both a great challenge and a great opportunity. It is a challenge because our society has become a culture of death that does not understand what it means to be a woman. By attempting to eradicate (erase) the beautiful, God-given differences between man and woman, the movement of modern "feminism" fights not for womanhood, but against it. Our current society puts forth a very false image of womanhood, spreading around lots of lies and confusion. All this means that we have a most important call than ever to evangelize through our witness of authentic Christian, Catholic womanhood. As one adage so beautifully says, "The darker the night, the brighter shine the stars!".
What do you value most about being a woman?
I value most my call to bring beauty to the world by reflecting the perfect beauty of God, my creator and Father. And I value the feminine call to motherhood. As Pope John Paul so beautifully explains, we are granted special feminine gifts from God in order to fulfill this call to motherhood -- whether it be spiritual, biological, or both. I am grateful for the feminine capacity to love, to give and nurture life, and to respond to Divine initiation.
Do you have an ideal of what a woman should be like or is there a woman who is a model for you? Who?
When looking for the ideal woman, we of course need look no further than our Mother Mary. I often reflect on how perfectly she reflected the image of God. We are all created in His image, and are called to reflect it by purity and holiness. She did not merely reflect Him, however; she magnified Him! (Magnificat, Luke 1). She shows us what amazing things the Father can accomplish through us if we but surrender our lives and plans to Him. By giving all of herself as a joyful handmaiden, she became the Mother of the Messiah and of all mankind, co-Mediatrix of all graces, and the queen of Heaven and earth. Mother Teresa and St. Gianna Molla are also two big role models for me of beautiful, self-giving womanhood!
What do you think a woman can give to a man?
As women, we are able to give a great deal to man, both individually as a whole. I've learned from personal experience that if I am a real lady, it encourages men rise to the challenge of being real gentlemen. The creation account in Genesis so beautifully shows the Creator's mastery in creating woman as a helpmeet and partner for man. We are equal in dignity, but wonderfully different in design. Both man and woman have a unique call, special gifts, and the ability to complement and build up the other. We women have a "divine assignment": to give man a glimpse of the ultimate beauty and mystery of God through the beauty and mystery of our femininity.
How do you feel to be a woman in today's society?
Being a woman in today's society is both a great challenge and a great opportunity. It is a challenge because our society has become a culture of death that does not understand what it means to be a woman. By attempting to eradicate (erase) the beautiful, God-given differences between man and woman, the movement of modern "feminism" fights not for womanhood, but against it. Our current society puts forth a very false image of womanhood, spreading around lots of lies and confusion. All this means that we have a most important call than ever to evangelize through our witness of authentic Christian, Catholic womanhood. As one adage so beautifully says, "The darker the night, the brighter shine the stars!".
What do you value most about being a woman?
I value most my call to bring beauty to the world by reflecting the perfect beauty of God, my creator and Father. And I value the feminine call to motherhood. As Pope John Paul so beautifully explains, we are granted special feminine gifts from God in order to fulfill this call to motherhood -- whether it be spiritual, biological, or both. I am grateful for the feminine capacity to love, to give and nurture life, and to respond to Divine initiation.
Do you have an ideal of what a woman should be like or is there a woman who is a model for you? Who?
When looking for the ideal woman, we of course need look no further than our Mother Mary. I often reflect on how perfectly she reflected the image of God. We are all created in His image, and are called to reflect it by purity and holiness. She did not merely reflect Him, however; she magnified Him! (Magnificat, Luke 1). She shows us what amazing things the Father can accomplish through us if we but surrender our lives and plans to Him. By giving all of herself as a joyful handmaiden, she became the Mother of the Messiah and of all mankind, co-Mediatrix of all graces, and the queen of Heaven and earth. Mother Teresa and St. Gianna Molla are also two big role models for me of beautiful, self-giving womanhood!
What do you think a woman can give to a man?
As women, we are able to give a great deal to man, both individually as a whole. I've learned from personal experience that if I am a real lady, it encourages men rise to the challenge of being real gentlemen. The creation account in Genesis so beautifully shows the Creator's mastery in creating woman as a helpmeet and partner for man. We are equal in dignity, but wonderfully different in design. Both man and woman have a unique call, special gifts, and the ability to complement and build up the other. We women have a "divine assignment": to give man a glimpse of the ultimate beauty and mystery of God through the beauty and mystery of our femininity.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
His Vessel
The Master was searching for a vessel to use;
On the shelf there were many — which one would He choose?
On the shelf there were many — which one would He choose?
"Take me!", cried the gold one: "I'm shiny and bright,
I'm of great value and I do things just right.
My beauty and luster will outshine the rest
And for someone like you, Master,
gold would be best!"
The Master passed on with no word at all;
He looked at a silver urn, narrow and tall.
"I'll serve you, dear Master,
I'll pour out your wine
And I'll be at your table whenever you dine,
My lines are so graceful, my carvings so true,
And my silver will always compliment you."
Unheeding, the Master passed on
to the brass...
It was wide mouthed and shallow,
and polished like glass.
"Here! Here!" cried the vessel,
"I know I will do.
Place me on your table for all men to view."
"Look at me!"
called the goblet of crystal so clear.
"My transparency shows my contents so dear,
Though fragile am I,
I will serve you with pride,
And I'm sure I'll be happy
in your home to abide."
The Master came next to a vessel of wood,
Polished and carved, it solidly stood.
"You may use me, dear Master",
the wooden bowl said.
"But I'd rather you used me for fruit,
not for bread!"
Then the Master looked down at a vessel of clay,
Empty and broken it helplessly lay.
No hope had the vessel that the master might choose,
To cleanse and make whole, to fill and to use.
"Ah! This is the vessel I've been hoping to find...
I will mend and use it and make it all mine.
I need not the vessel with pride of itself,
Nor the one who is narrow to sit on the shelf,
Nor the one who is big mouthed and shallow and loud,
Nor one who displays his contents so proud;
Nor the one who thinks he can do all things just right,
But this plain earthly vessel filled with my power and might."
Then gently He lifted the vessel of clay,
Mended and cleansed it and filled it that day.
Spoke to it kindly: "There's work you must do.
Just pour out to others as I pour into you."
~ ~ ~
My heart is often consoled to remember that our Lord does not call the qualified —
He qualifies the called!
He qualifies the called!
Friday, February 29, 2008
The Whole World
"If you are what you should be,
you will set the whole world on fire."
-St. Catherine of Siena
This is one of those "super-quotes" that sends a wonderful shiver of awe right through me. There are few that sum it all up so simply and so powerfully. It is both a soaring promise and an eternal challenge...
Our call is no less than this.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
No One Says It Like Father Corapi
And the other morning as I listened to him on Relevant Radio, I couldn't help but write some quotes down!
"The only way for you to become a saint - and, by the way, that's the only reason we're here, folks - is to do God's will."
"Our Lady led me to one place... to the Eucharist. If you piled up all the other goods of the Church over there, and put the Eucharist over here, that over there would be nothing in comparison... all other power - from preaching or teaching, or anything else, is a speck compared with the Eucharist."
"If we announced that Jesus Christ was coming to visit here tomorrow morning at 10, all the trafficways would be bottlenecked. Folks, He IS coming! If the Lord gave us Himself in the Eucharist, that means we need Him!"
"Why are Catholics who receive the Eucharist every week no different from the rest of the world? Because you receive only what you're ready to receive. The graces are infinite - but you have to be ready to receive them... If you begin to live the Gospel, your channel of grace will be widened."
"I'll tell you one thing that never wears off: the Blessed Sacrament. Get your priests to make a daily Holy Hour. When priests start living the only reason for their priesthood, the Church will turn around."
"Sometimes the last thing in the world we would choose to do is the very thing the power of God can choose to work through us... often the very thing we don't want to do, that doesn't come naturally to us, this is the very path that God chooses for our salvation."
"The lay state is not the absence of a vocation... it is a vocation."
What can I add? That's enough to meditate on for a while!
"The only way for you to become a saint - and, by the way, that's the only reason we're here, folks - is to do God's will."
"Our Lady led me to one place... to the Eucharist. If you piled up all the other goods of the Church over there, and put the Eucharist over here, that over there would be nothing in comparison... all other power - from preaching or teaching, or anything else, is a speck compared with the Eucharist."
"If we announced that Jesus Christ was coming to visit here tomorrow morning at 10, all the trafficways would be bottlenecked. Folks, He IS coming! If the Lord gave us Himself in the Eucharist, that means we need Him!"
"Why are Catholics who receive the Eucharist every week no different from the rest of the world? Because you receive only what you're ready to receive. The graces are infinite - but you have to be ready to receive them... If you begin to live the Gospel, your channel of grace will be widened."
"I'll tell you one thing that never wears off: the Blessed Sacrament. Get your priests to make a daily Holy Hour. When priests start living the only reason for their priesthood, the Church will turn around."
"Sometimes the last thing in the world we would choose to do is the very thing the power of God can choose to work through us... often the very thing we don't want to do, that doesn't come naturally to us, this is the very path that God chooses for our salvation."
"The lay state is not the absence of a vocation... it is a vocation."
What can I add? That's enough to meditate on for a while!
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Glorious Words
"The Most Important Person on earth is a mother. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral -- a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby's body...The angels have not been blessed with such a grace. They cannot share in God's creative miracle to bring new saints to Heaven. Only a human mother can. Mothers are closer to God the Creator than any other creature; God joins forces with mothers in performing this act of creation...What on God's good earth is more glorious than this: to be a mother?"
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