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!

Divine Love

I wrote this as a comment on a friend's blog and thought I would share it here, too.

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What does God’s love look like?

His love is manifest not only to our sight, but each of our senses given to us for the purpose of experiencing and taking in His goodness!

To me, the Divine Romancer expresses His love daily, vividly, enchantingly... in the passionate colors of a sunset... the engulfing power of the ocean... the caressing petal of a rose... the precious face of a baby... the piercing beauty of a line of quality music. Lovers often say, "I'd hang the moon in the sky for you if I could..." well, He can and DOES! :)

How do you know God loves you?

Countless, numerous ways, both big and small. I know that He called me into being from all eternity with a unique, individualized mission for my life. Every skill and talent I possess is a free gift from Him. And the God of the universe loves His people so deeply as to make Himself a prisoner of love in every tabernacle in the world, just to be physically present to us!

To look at the crucifix is the ultimate picture of love (I know a couple that chose to hold a crucifix during their wedding vows for this very reason!). And I am always moved by the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. When He appeared to St. Margaret Mary and she saw His heart aflame and pierced and bleeding, His words were: "Behold the Heart that so much loves man!"

When do you most feel His love?

When I receive Him sacramentally, when I spend time in His presence, gazing at the monstrance holding His body, and when I allow myself to marvel in childlike awe at the majesty of his creation. I know His love and see His smile when I look at the family and friends I've been blessed with, and when He answers very specific prayers! For example, yesterday we had a surprise outdoor 50th birthday party for my Mom. Thunderstorms were predicted, but I knew and trusted all along the the Lord (and His Blessed Mother, whom I often ask for help with details like this) would defy the forecast for us. We prayed with confidence, and the morning's rain gave way to pleasant sunshine in perfect timing for our celebration, which was blessed in every way! As the weather is something that is completely out of our human control, I'm very moved whenever the Lord grants a miracle like that!

I believe that the struggle is not in God lacking expression of His love, but in our failure to recognize it. As the convert, philosopher, and author G.K. Chesterton so wonderfully said...

"The world is not starved for lack of wonders, but for lack of wonder."

Simple Joys

Today I am delighting in the simple pleasures and home joys of life...

...watching four small boys play "battle" as only little boys can

...sharing music (and laughter) with my students

...sending love to my sisters via text (though 700 miles separates us)

...chatting on the phone with my great-uncle and aunt down in Louisiana and being thoroughly entertained by their endearing Southern charm and drawl!

...greetings and hugs to gals at the University choir after not seeing each other all summer

...walking amidst the late summer trees under an azure sky

...watching five beautiful children tonight: giggling over innocent amusements with Miss 9-yr-old and Miss 11-yr-old, cuddling Mr. 4-yr-old and listening to him philosophize

...playing in bread dough with Mr. 7-yr-old and Mr. 4-yr-old, who at one point were constructing a cave and tunnel in it :)

...laying in our new hammock under a round, glowing moon

...just being a child of God.

"...I came that they might have life, and have it more abundantly."

(John 10:10)

Through Him, With Him, In Him

I'm marveling at the greatness of Christ working through His Mystical Body, when its members unite! This is the project I was blessed to be a part of the past two weekends. Nearly 2500 souls were touched with the reality of the Passion. Blessed be God!

Not In Control

I'm a perfectionist. Anyone who knows me well will tell you I am detailed oriented. I try to be organized.

And the past few days have been the kind that makes one feel and look disorganized, despite one's very best efforts. Ever experience a situation when your best-laid plans get thwarted, and you exhaust your resources to remake them but it still doesn't work out?

In a nutshell, a much-anticipated event I'd planned for my R.E. program families to have tomorrow at a local nursing home was cancelled Friday morning by the Home's Activities Director. I had another prospective location that was to take us (hopeful "plan B"), but at 1:30 this afternoon they decided against it, too! I was left with 75 children prepared to come in saints' costumes with music and talks, and no where for them to give the program...

In this midst of this saga, our main computer officially froze up. AND for awhile the laptop wouldn't access the database of phone numbers I needed to notify the 48 families. (Thankfully Veronica was able to procure the file for me).

The temptation to get deflated and frustrated has definitely been present. I mean, Lord, when I'm trying to go the extra mile and more to serve You, why the dump of this stress? When it looked like the plan B location might work, both relief and excitement came in. "Lord, I can see now why the first place cancelled — this one will be better!" Then when plan B fell through today, and I was forced to come up with plan C (having regular class back at the school with kids in their costumes), I had to hold up my hands and say, "Okay, Lord, I truly don't see the better plan in all this, but I still trust You."

These kind of bumps and glitches are a raw reminder that I am not in control. Oh, most of us try to be. It's nice to feel like we are. But it seems to me that if we get a little overconfident, the Holy Spirit likes to stir things up to keep us in our place and to make us trust the One Who is in control.

As I sought out the meaning in all of this today, it came to mind how many times Our Lady dealt with bumps and glitches in her road. Things like getting woken mid-night and sent to Egypt with a newborn obviously were not her plan. Nor was traveling to Bethlehem at nine months pregnant, for that matter.

No, our Blessed Mother did not have it easy. I'm in good company. I'm just working on having her reponse — the one that made her full of grace.

Fiat. Be it done to me according to Your Word.

Silent Night

I know that I've been quiet here since Christmas. Sometimes it seems that when the Lord is working most strongly in my soul, He moves me to silence. I've always been a naturally conversational person (I love words...particularly adjectives!), but in recent months He has been gently prompting me to value silence more. Words can be beautiful, but many of life's most beautiful moments occur in the quiet. So, too, does He choose to come to us most intimately in the quiet...in the tiny, whispering wind (1 Kings 19).

How often do we really notice the words we sing in that beloved carol Silent Night? That's right: the King of the Universe chose to arrive to the world in silence, in stillness. This thought was echoed in a poem I wrote several Christmases ago:

In a hushed and waiting world
Darkness reigns with night
Sin and blackness are unfurled
All wait for the Light

Souls are blinded, no one sees
All search for the One
When blackness splits…darkness flees…

Christ, our Light, has come!

I can honestly say that this Christmas season has been one of, if not the most beautiful I have ever known. Moments of adoration, of wonder, came at unexpected times, as the eternal mystery was continuously within my mind and heart. In the midst of action, hustle, and even talkative parties, I was often blessed to have an "interior gaze"...a warm ongoing exchange between the Christ Child and my heart, like a romance in which the lover and the beloved can be as though the only ones present. No matter what the outside clamor, their glances are full of meaning for them alone, and there is a secret joy.

The Christ Child is waiting to catch you in His gaze, also. Have you acknowledged His eyes of love today?

“We need to find God,
and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness.
God is the friend of silence.
See how nature — trees, flowers, grass —

grows in silence; see the stars,

the moon and the sun, how they move in silence...

We need silence to be able to touch souls.”

(Mother Teresa)

Let us allow Him to touch our souls...in the silence.

For Unto Us, a Child Is Born

A priest recently said to me: "Our Lord comes as a baby at Christmas so that we might find it easier to love him". One has but to watch the enchanting effect that a tiny baby has on everyone within reach to know how true this is. A few times recently when I've had the opportunity to hold a near-newborn while in a group of people, I've noticed anew how magnetic and powerful that tiny person is. Children approach and gaze wide-eyed, young girls and ladies caress and marvel, and even grown men step near to look and smile. A baby — in all his fragile, helpless beauty — has the power to reach even the most distant and hardened of hearts. Facades come down, and an indescribable tenderness overcomes us as we behold this tiny miracle of creation.

A Christmas message sent us from an area pregnancy care center held a quote (credited to this newsletter) which I found stirringly beautiful, summing wondrously this mysterious power of each new life...

"When God wants an important thing done in this world or a wrong righted, He goes about it in a very singular way. He doesn't release thunderbolts or stir up earthquakes. God simply has a tiny baby born, perhaps of a very humble home, perhaps of a very humble mother. And God puts the idea or purpose into the mother's heart. And she puts it in the baby's mind, and then...God waits.

The great events of this world are not battles and elections and earthquakes and thunderbolts. The great events are babies, for each child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged with humanity, but is still expecting goodwill to become incarnate in each human life."

Among the great events of babies, and the accompanying divine message of hope, the Birth which the whole world now celebrates shines as the greatest of all. In the supreme act of goodwill incarnated, the Father sends His own Son in the flesh: not as an imposing warrior in armor or a commanding king seated on a thone, but as a baby. As one of us. Regardless of the chaos, brokenness, or corruption that may be raging around the world, each Christmas reminds us that the Father is not finished with humanity. He reaches down, and places Eternal Light into a darkened world. Let heaven and nature sing!

"For unto us, a child is born;
unto us, a son is given.
And the government
shall be upon his shoulders,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

-Isaiah 9:6

I'm Back!

The 2008 ILCHC last weekend was simply saturated with graces! Sarah and I had two major projects going in the week leading up to the Conference: a new story-coloring/activity book for young boys offered through the Rosa Mystica Modesty Movement, and the workshop we gave together at the conference, titled "The Fruits of Homeschooling: A Graduate's Perspective". (If by chance you should be interested in hearing our talk, it can be ordered on CD here).

What a week it was! A week of many near-sleepless nights as we worked through them together, eating midnight snacks and laughing at our own excessive punchiness. At 2am (or 3, or 4am), nearly anything can drive me to laughter! I would have never been able to finish on my own — the joy and fellowship of sisterhood really comes through at a time like this! We'd chuckle because when one of us started to get really weary, the other would say "no, let's push through!", and by about ten minutes later, it was usually reversed. :)

Going on a few very short hours of sleep each night put my body into such a state of confusion...you know, where you start to mix up hungry and tired? I kept reaching for chocolate because I hoped the caffeine would help! It was only grace that pulled me through the weekend... usually I am an 8-hours-per-night person, or I just can't function very well. Our Lord's goodness kept me going last week on less than half that. There were times that Sarah and I looked at each other's glazed-over eyes and said to each other: "You know, if we weren't doing this for Christ, we'd have quit a long, long time ago." Yes, it was hard, but also so rewarding... and there are a whole lot of dear memories. I've no doubt that we'll be telling each other's children about it someday. :)

Needless to say, I have been more than a little exhausted this week. It all caught up to me rather abruptly yesterday when I came down with a fever, sore throat, and a whammy of a sinus headache. The hardest part of being sick for me is that I simply don't have time to be sick. I'll lay there thinking, "Lord, You know how many things I needed to get done today!", but He's clearly telling me that my agenda got replaced with His: prayer and suffering, and some "down" time. Thankfully, I'm on the mend today, although I've gone through no end of tissues!

I usually don't like to dedicate such a long post to a personal update, but these few weeks were exceptionally full, and blessed. Despite the exhaustion, and the illness, God is good. All the time.

A Little Girl Again

We took a family "rosary-walk" tonight at dusk — such a tranquil time. All was still. The inky silhouettes of the trees lay against the smooth indigo sky.

Dad likes to for us all to stay near each other as we pray the rosary, so he has us walk in two lines of three, holding hands. For a time, I ended up between Mom and Dad. It's been a long time since I've had one of my hands in each of theirs. It was comforting and secure...for a bit I felt like a small girl again.

I am infinitely blessed with parents who are selfless, wise, and so present. Any gifts and strengths that have been cultivated in me have been largely from their loving training. From the haven of a home filled with Faith and growing in love by the grace of God working through and despite our human struggles.

This kind of home is recognized by many, including our Holy Fathers, as crucial to the growth and health of society.

“Many people ask: why are families so important? Why does the Church so insist on the topic of marriage and the family? The reason is simple, even if not everyone can understand it: the future of the human person, his happiness, his capacity for giving life meaning all depend on the family… As the family goes, so goes the world.” (John Paul II)

“The family is a kind of school of deeper humanity. But if it is to achieve the full flowering of its life and mission, it needs the kindly communion of minds and the joint deliberation of spouses, as well as the painstaking cooperation of parents in the education of their children.” (Gaudium et Spies: The Church in the Modern World)

“Today, if they are to give a truly human face to society, no people can ignore the precious good of the family, founded on marriage.” (Benedict XVI)

Let us pray for the healing of the family. For the restoration of homes where prayer, work, play, and service foster the kind of unity that in turn, strengthens all of society!

Secrets of the Eucharist

Let's just continue our Sacramental theme, shall we? :) We hosted a meeting tonight for the parents of our First Communicants at St. Joseph's, and so last week I searched around for a Eucharistic "teaching" film to show them. I found Seven Secrets of the Eucharist by Vinny Flynn.

All of us really need to make sure we are continually re-energizing our understanding of what and Who the Eucharist is. If we don't, it can all too easily become thoughtless monotony.

This talk, based off of Mr. Flynn's book by the same name, does just that: wakes and shakes us up to profound reality of this gift! He highlighted how the effectiveness of the Sacrament is directly proportional to our participation in it. He takes what may sound at first like simple or even obvious points and completely lights them up. For example: the Eucharist is alive. When we receive our Lord, it is not the dead Jesus but the living one! We receive the presence of the whole Trinity as Father and Holy Spirit come to us with Jesus! We receive the presence of all of heaven, angels and saints, as they come to us with Him!

I especially loved Mr. Flynn's explanation of Spiritual Communion. Wow... it's so much more than most of us think! He shares a beautiful prayer: "Jesus, lock me in the tabernacle with You." There is a lot to be meditated on in that tiny little prayer...

What I most appreciated was how everything he explained was based off of writings of the Popes, Saints, and Divine Revelations such as Our Lord to St. Faustina. So solid. So good.

At the very end, he mentions how a whole chapter of Pope John Paul's Eucharistic Encyclical was dedicated to Our Lady. He then goes on to share some of the most beautiful titles for her... such as the First Tabernacle, the first Eucharistic procession (when she bore Jesus and went to Elizabeth!), and the Living Monstrance.

He also drove home how crucial it is for us to enter into communion with Our Lord, not just passively receive Him. It really struck me when he said that one could receive Holy Communion every day of their life, but remain unchanged if they're not desiring and working toward and praying for closer union with Christ!

The summary of it all is this: we can transform both our own lives and life of the Church through the life and power of the Eucharist... if only we desire it.

Sealed in the Spirit

Tonight, the twenty-one students of my Religious Education Class at St. Joseph's in Joliet received the Sacrament of Confirmation at the hands of our Bishop J. Peter Sartain. Preparing them the past two years, and being intimately involved in the Liturgy and celebration has in a very tangible way been somewhat of a "reliving" of my own Confirmation eight years ago. The articles, stories, quotes, and teachings that I've looked up and prepared for my students have been just as much a blessing for me.

I especially love this excerpt which I found in an article on CatholicCulture.org (that website is a gem!):

Confirmation marks one's spiritual growing up. With Confirmation he is launched on the social aspect of his spiritual life, with which goes an even greater obligation to pursue his own sanctification. But self-sanctification is now dependent upon his relationship with all men. With Confirmation, he is equipped, by the strengthening in him of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, to look at the world with new eyes, to desire its conquest for Christ with new love. He sees more clearly (if he is helped to see by his parents and teachers) what it means to be a member of the Mystical Body. Like a cell in his own body, he is a cell in the Body of Christ. Each cell is important, a part of a whole. Without it, the whole would be less whole. If one cell is sick (in sin), the whole is less well. Now he begins to see that it is up to him, as well as to the other members of the Body, to work for the total health of the Body; not only that — but to work for the further growth of the Body.

The absolute beauty of the Mystical Body of Christ is something that has, and continues to leave me awestruck — especially in the last year or two. Recently a seminarian friend coined a phrase that I thought summed it up perfectly: the interconnectedness of the Body of Christ. It is so, so much more connected than I think any of us realize. It's incredibly powerful to realize the truth of the above text: we literally and directly affect the life and health of the whole body. Amazing!

It was truly bittersweet to watch my spiritual children receive this Sacrament tonight. It's near the end of our time together so far (only 3 more classes before the school year ends), but I hope and pray that much more than an end, it is a bright new beginning for them. One of my students' mothers asked me tonight if I was nervous. And while I wouldn't describe myself as that, there were plenty of other emotions swirling around my mind and heart this evening.

And oh, but I so love our bishop. I was cheering (silently, of course) from the choir loft as he gave his final message to the youth. With authority and yet tenderness, he said some of the very same key points I've tried so hard to drive home for them this year: Confirmation is not the same thing as graduation. This doesn't mean you are done learning the Faith. This doesn't mean Religious Education is done for you!

Forgive me if I my reflection here is somewhat disjointed tonight. I wish I could summarize here somehow the culmination of graces for me the past few months. I feel as though I've had greater contemplation, and less spoken words than typical for me (perhaps my family wouldn't agree, but it seems so to me!). I am usually one to whom words come fairly easily, even about relatively awkward or in-depth topics. There are plenty of times lately, however, when I'm caught up in a kind of interior thought and find myself not saying much... or it's almost difficult when I do.

It might sound strange, but at times like these there is such a strange mixture of emotion when it comes to writing (at least, to blogging). My head and heart are simply brimming with things about which I wish to write, but interestingly, I'm almost reluctant to do so... as if I'm fearful that I won't have the time to do justice to the beauty or depth of the topic.

The Holy Spirit was indeed present in a very real way tonight. And He has been in many of our classes. There are days when I can stand up in front of those twenty-one seventh and eighth graders and know that He has taken over the words coming out of my mouth. And then I wish the clock would stop moving! I just hope that I have given these young people a glimpse into the treasure chest (rather, the gold mine) that is our Faith.

Father, grasp them in the palm of Your Hand. Son, encircle them in the abode of Your Heart, Holy Spirit, inflame them with the all-consuming fire of Your Love!

It is no coincidence

that Danielle Bean's lenten challenge for today includes the following:

Do you have talent? Remember to give God the glory. “The sole thing in myself in which I glory is that I see in myself nothing in which I can glory.” – St. Catherine of Genoa

...So timely and fitting, as the Little Flowers Catholic Dance and Theatre Troupe's second performance of the Seven Last Words of Christ was this evening for an audience of over 1,000. There was, indeed, a great deal of talent. But it was all for Him. And to Him be the glory!

My heart is very full, but as it is late I must leave it at this. Perhaps I shall have the chance soon to reflect in greater detail on the overwhelming grace-filled events of the past few days.

In the meantime, make sure you don't miss the incredible daily Holy Week mediations over at Homeschooling with Joy, featuring magnificent snapshots from the above performances!

Let us surrender our hearts to Him this Holy Week!

Conservative vs. Liberal

With all the election-goings-on, I thought it would be timely to re-share this reflection that I wrote over a year ago...

Conserve on pride;
Be liberal with humility.

Conserve on anger;

Be liberal with gentleness.

Conserve on selfishness;

Be liberal with generosity.

Conserve on thoughtlessness;

Be liberal with graciousness.

Conserve on gossip;

Be liberal with charity.

Conserve on slander;

Be liberal with genuine praise.

Conserve on complaining;
Be liberal with gratitude.

Conserve on resentment;

Be liberal with forgiveness.

Conserve on self-gratification;

Be liberal with sacrifice.

The Sound of Laughter

I'm sitting in the basement at the laptop, working, and can't help but smile at the sounds filtering down to me through the vents from upstairs. Sounds of laughter. Happy, maiden laughter from a number of young ladies who happen to be here at the moment. A few minutes ago when I greeted them upstairs, I was surrounded by bright eyes, rosy cheeks flushed from the cold, excited voices, and warm hugs. How thankful I am that in a world that is increasingly broken, twisted, and troubling, there are still young girls that can know what it means to be young, wholesome, and innocent.

Young girls who know how to laugh.

My Beloved's Bouquet... to Me

Last year for Valentine's Day, I reflected on a dozen roses from my Prince. This year, I've felt as though He's showered me with gifts the past few weeks. They may seem small or insignificant to some, but they are very real and very powerful to me!

...He's brought me toward a discipline which I've desired for a long while but really, really struggled with; namely, early bedtime and early rising! Dad's work schedule recently adjusted, so our schedule did too (this was big for us). The 9:30 bedtime and 5:30 rising time for 6:30am Holy Mass have been such a blessing!

...After a several-month unintended sabbatical from my own violin lessons due to busyness (though I continued teaching and quite a bit of playing), I was able to start back this week.

...He's sent bright, beautiful sunshine! After lots and lots of gray skies, the past two days have been gloriously sparkling! The white blanket all around is turned to glitter under its rays...

...This season of Lent. No, I'm not jesting! Unlike many other years, I actually welcomed Lent this year with much anticipation. I wrote in my journal, "I was so ready for Lent this year". This time of cleansing and growth is indeed a gift. If the remaining weeks are as blessed as this one, I will be more joyful at Easter than ever!

...He has brought much peace into my soul. For a long while I was overwhelmed and over-stretched. In recent weeks I've been able to bring order into a number of areas of my life that have caused me struggle and exhaustion for months. This order that I have longed and strived for in my daily life has finally started to take hold this Lent. For this, I have only His goodness to thank. And that, indeed, is a fragrant bouquet.

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

Remembering the Little Ones

A year ago today I blogged from a computer in Washington, D.C. the day after the March for Life. What a blessed experience that was for our whole family! I very much wanted to go again this year, but it seems our Lord wanted me praying from here. And praying I've been, as I plug away at plenty of duties!

The splendidness of the March is as fresh in my mind as if it were a few weeks and not a year ago that I was there. It was invigorating and exciting... so many of us united for the sake of the innocent voiceless. It is indeed a day to let our voice be heard. And yet, it is also a day to interiorly remember and mourn for these littlest ones with silence.

I've heard it rightly said that a mother's womb should be the safest haven on earth. And, in the name of choice, it has become one of the most dangerous.

Let us never cease praying the working for a day when all life will be revered and protected, from the very littlest to the very oldest.

Stillness

The last few days have been rich... so rich. Full of Advent grace. A seminarian and friend of ours has been visiting our family, and we've enjoyed some great fellowship, powerful prayer times, and I have particularly found deep peace in the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) that we have joined him in praying. Although I have experienced this universal prayer of the Church at times before, never before has the richness and beauty of it struck me so deeply.

There is a silence in my soul at the moment, and it is only enhanced by the pristine stillness of the winter wonderland outside. Snow has been gently falling for some time, and a glance out the window reveals a scene not unlike the tranquility hovering over me by grace just now. The world is hushed, and serene, and still. Emitting a certain glow. And yet, waiting. Waiting in silence.

"Rejoice, Jerusalem, let your joy overflow;

your Savior will come to you, alleluia."

(from tonight's Evening Prayer of the Divine Office)

Reflections on Hope

As we are in the Advent week of hope, I thought now would be a good time to share some recent reflections I gave at Little Flowers Club. We used to always do acronyms of the virtues in our "younger years" in the Club, so I decided to revisit the approach in my reflections...

Honesty and Humility – with ourselves and God. We must always be honest about our own sinfulness and need of Christ’s mercy, but at the same time must hope in His ongoing work within us – even on days when we can’t see or feel it happening.

“Two criminals were crucified with Christ. One was saved; do not despair. One
was not; do not presume.” ( St. Augustine)

And the same with our world: it is easy for us, I think, to become so focused on and concerned about the great evil and darkness all around us that we forget to remain hopeful about humanity. "It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness..." In the midst of all this confusion, there is evidence of a Springtime of Faith, a "New Pentecost".

“The last word of God on the human condition is not death, but life; not despair, but hope. To this hope the Church invites the men and women of today as well. She repeats to them the incredible but true proclamation: Christ is risen! Let the whole world rise with Him. Alleluia!” (Pope John Paul II)

Optimism is another word that reminds us how to practically apply this virtue. Can we recognize, or at least look for, the hand of God in every situation? Do we believe He can bring greater good from evil? Our God is One Who can bring beauty from brokenness, life from ashes, healing from frailty, strength from weakness. What a consolation. (I've reflected on this often: here, and here, and here.)

"It is our part to seek, His to grant what we ask; ours to make a beginning, His to bring it to completion; ours to offer what we can, His to finish what we cannot." (St. Jerome)

Promise. We are the children of a Father Who keeps his promises. Always. The movie Love’s Enduring Promise comes to mind… I love that title, and how Missy’s father reminds his daughter: “Remember love’s enduring promise! He is faithful”.

“…those who hope in me will not be disappointed.” (Isaiah 49:23)

“For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth.” (Psalm 71:5)

Our youth is a unique time of learning to hope, to trust. Especially as many of us near adulthood, the paths of discernment can be at times frightening, or at least confusing. The human desire to “have it all planned out” is constantly there. Yet most of us will probably don’t know our life’s vocation yet. Some of us many not know what it is for some time… each day we must renew our desire to simply hope, and trust, and be a handmaiden of the Lord, ready to say “Fiat”.

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'Plans
to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"
(Jeremiah 29:11)

Eternity is why we are here. Hope is what keeps this foremost in our minds and hearts. How bleak, how empty life would be if we had only 70 or 80 or 90 years here, and nothing more. But we know that this time is but the blink of an eye in light of eternity.

Bl. Juliana of Norwich (14th-15th Century English Mystic, Visionary,
Writer):

“He did not say: You will not be assailed, you will not be belabored, you will not be disquieted, but he did say: You will not be overcome.”

“All shall be well
and all shall be well
and all manner of things shall be well.”

(I had always loved that last quote, which Bear uses in Regina Doman's first book, but it was not until I prepared the above reflection that I learned who first said it! I thought that was pretty neat!)

~ ~ ~

More on Hope...

- Words for hope, from the online Thesaurus:

Anticipation – Expectancy – Longing – Security – Trust

- Think about it: To hope in vs. hope for something is different: the first ("hope in") means we know with certainty that what we hope is in true, but the second ("hope for") means we only long for it.

- From the Holy Mass: “In your mercy keep us free from sin, and protect us in all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”

Other quotes:
“Love means to love that which is unlovable, or it is no virtue at all; forgiving means to pardon the unpardonable, or it is no virtue at all; faith means believing the unbelievable, or it is no virtue at all; and to hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all.” (G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy)

“Love is faith’s flower, hope is its stem. Grace comes into us by faith, like water through the roots of a tree. It rises in us by hope, like sap rising through the trunk of a tree. And it matures in us by [love] as fruit matures on a tree’s branches, fruit for the neighbor’s eating.” (Peter Kreeft, The God Who Loves You)

“Faith is the root, the necessary beginning. Hope is the stem, the energy that makes the plant grow. Love is the fruit, the flower, the visible product, the bottom line. The plant of our new life in Christ is one; the life of God comes into us by faith, through us by hope, and out of us by the works of love.” (Peter Kreeft, Fundamentals of the Faith)

“Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” (Romans 5:3-5)

“But we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” (Romans 8:23-25)

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)

“Since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” (1 Thessalonians 5:8-9)

“But sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts, being ready always to satisfy everyone that asketh you a reason of that hope which is in you.” (1 Peter 3:15)

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!

I've wanted to write this post for a long time

It was several years ago that a friend first lent me Eric and Leslie Ludy's books When God Writes Your Love Story and When Dreams Come True. I immediately fell in love with their engaging, entertaining style and the beautiful depth of their message. When God Writes Your Love Story put into words, and took to a new level, much of what was engrained in my heart thanks to the goodness of God and the wisdom of my parents. And as anyone who's read the Ludy's own story in When Dreams Come True will agree, their God-scripted romance surpasses that of any fairytale! I must say, it's wonderful and encouraging to read beautiful, pure fictional romances, but even so much more uplifting and convicting to read a true one. It leaves you exulting in the fact that cherished relationships don't only happen within the covers of a good novel, but that by the masterful Divine hand and plan, they actually can take place in reality.

Lately, I've been blessed anew through the Ludy's ardent work. I must admit that the depth of their passion for a life completely and utterly centered around Christ puts me in awe. Their desire to share the joy of this conviction has enabled them to touch and bless so many souls. The email update I received from them the other day included an invitation to visit their newly redone website, and when I re-visited Leslie's site for girls (an extension of her book Authentic Beauty; also wonderful!), I eagerly checked out her rather new online audio series. I haven't listened to all of them yet, but her "Sacred Design" session was so good for me the other day. She speaks straight from her heart about being Christ's "set apart princess", and the personal stories she shares were very moving and convicting for me. I came away meditating on a phrase she used often, and which I love: what it means to be captivated by our Heavenly Prince. I will admit in a heartbeat that I am in love with words, and this one recently was stamped on my "favorites" list... those words that, in and of themselves, make for some beautiful contemplation. Especially since listening to Leslie's talk, I have found myself praying to become completely captivated by my Jesus. And nothing else. Just whispering, reminding myself, "He is enough for me. My Jesus, You are enough."

He is enough. And He is everything. And that, indeed, is captivating.