A Reason for Hope, Part 1

“Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope…” – 1 Peter 3:15

 “Go out. Go out and share your testimony, go out and interact with your brothers, go out and share, go out and ask.” – Pope Francis

I’ve thought for a bit that I would like to put down in writing what my “conversion”, or, “re-version” experience has been.  I’m under no illusion that this little corner of the internet has any impact.  I do read the statistics in the control panel, after all!  Maybe it’s that I need to do it for myself, to remember and reflect on exactly how I got to be where I am now.  Twenty years ago in May of 1993, I set out to make a pilgrimage to the place that was the impetus for the change in my life.  Remembering that anniversary has probably added to the feeling of wanting to write it all down and share it with whoever stumbles upon this place.

I don’t know why God acts the way He does in one life or another.  I know what happened to me and that is all I know and what I trust in to be true.  It’s a matter of fact that I’m Catholic and that is how my experience took…and takes…place.

As a child, my family went to Mass on Sunday.  I received all the sacraments and went to CCD (the equivalent of Sunday school) right through high school.  Other than that, a crucifix here and there throughout the house and the occasional statue, we really didn’t talk much about the faith.  It just “was.”  Thinking about that now, it’s probably a whole lot more than most people get…especially in this day and age.

I was not the type of teen to rebel.  I pretty much toed the line and kept my nose clean. I cultivated my relationship with God, by reading the Bible, going to Church and prayer.  I passed those years pretty uneventfully.

Something stupid happens to people when they go away to college.  It seems like the new found freedom makes you forget some of the things you were taught and you go a little crazy.  Now for some of us “a little crazy” is a lot less crazy than others, but it was enough for me to slowly but surely lose touch with that life of faith I had cultivated.  After I graduated and moved out on my own, Mass attendance pretty much dwindled down to Christmas and Easter.  The old Bible was on a shelf somewhere collecting dust.  Work, socializing and shopping kept me busy.

The work and socializing did lead to one good thing.  That is where I met my husband.  Even though I wasn’t going to church much at the time, when he proposed, there was never any doubt that I would have a Catholic wedding.  He was marginally Catholic too, not having received Communion or Confirmation.  And in a couple of years when our first child was born, there was never any question that the baby would be taken to church and baptized, as was his brother who came along shortly thereafter.

I was going through a few of the motions, but I wasn’t exactly living it.

I had two happy, healthy little boys and a wonderful husband, however, the feeling that something was missing kept nagging at me.  I knew in a sketchy sort of way that it had to have something to do spiritually.  I felt kind of adrift and I would guess that deep down I felt that if I didn’t get a hold of what it was, that feeling could harm my happy little life.

One day I made a trip to the library and brought home a stack of books all of which had to do with some aspect of what I can only describe as the occult.  Numerology, astrology…what made me gravitate to that aisle in the library I can only guess.  Maybe I don’t want to guess…

I think I picked up one of those books just once.  There was absolutely no “draw” for me to delve into that stack and the books went back to the library pretty quickly.  Then one afternoon while the boys were napping, I did something that I should have done a long time before.

I got down on my knees and prayed.

To be continued…

Family First

The family, as the fundamental and essential educating community, is the privileged means for transmitting the religious and cultural values which help the person to acquire his or her own identity. Founded on love and open to the gift of life, the family contains in itself the very future of society; its most special task is to contribute effectively to a future of peace. – Pope John Paul II

I saw something today that made my mouth drop open as I watched it.  It had to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.  I’ll share it with you:

At first, I was annoyed by this MSNBC hostess.  I mean…it’s MSNBC and I’d be hard-pressed to come up with a time when they haven’t annoyed me.  Their outlook and mine never coincide, so the fact that this “talking-head” made such ridiculous statements didn’t surprise me.

As the day goes by though, it keeps coming back to me and it makes me madder the more I think of it.  The reason being is that I know that there are more people out there than just this “info-babe” who think like this and unfortunately, some of them are involved in the policy-making bodies of this nation.  They have been successful in whittling away at the American family for years and years so that in some communities an intact family is the exception rather than the rule.  The results of government trying to take the place of the family has been a failure and they are by no means finished with their misguided notions.  The voicing of the opinions of this woman shows you that this, as Rush just said, isn’t anything new.

My kids belong to God and our family.  They are not the possessions of some collectivist regime who thinks they know better how to raise, guide and love them.  My husband and I, man and wife, father and mother, made the decisions for them as children.  One of them was homeschooling them to avoid much of this nonsense.  They were raised in church and to know their faith and that God loves them even more than we do, if that’s possible.

Is this a complete guarantee of producing responsible, caring, law-abiding citizens?  No, it’s not.  But…it’s a damn sight better than leaving the formation of my children to strangers who care more about their jobs and getting elected than they do about moral responsibility.  Children raised with values will be better assets to the community, than some vague notion of  ”community” being charged with the job.

“Parents are the first and most important educators of their own children, and they also possess a fundamental competence in this area; they are educators because they are parents.”  Letter to Families – John Paul II

Me, Ms. Harris-Perry…me.  My husband and I get to make the decisions and teach them about life because we’re their parents.  That is the natural way the world was created.  But it seems like these days, everyone wants a piece of the action and wants to manipulate what God ordained.  If people like you and the government want to be helpful, maybe you should come up with ways that would help form the family instead of destroy it.

I have to say that, left to our own devices, hubby and I have done a darn good job too.  I look at my kids, three of whom are adults, and I’m proud.  We didn’t raise perfect people, but they are good people…funny, smart and caring.  I enjoy their company.  I know that when they go out from this house they are kind and respectful to others.  No government program had anything to do with that.

 

 

Alleluia!

Peter and John running to the tomb of Christ, by Eugene Burnand (1850 – 1921 a.d.). John 20:1-8

He is risen!  Alleluia!  Happy Easter!

Most of the family went to the Easter Vigil Mass last night.  I hadn’t been to an Easter Vigil in years and years and I had forgotten what it was like, except I knew that it was long.  But my 14-year-old daughter really wanted to go, which surprised me, so we set out early to be sure that we would have a seat.

There was a wicker basket of candles in the vestibule as we entered and we all took one and went into the church which was darkened, save for enough light for us to find our pew.  It was nice to pray in the darkness while we waited for Mass to start.

When Mass started we left the church to follow Father outside where he blessed and prepared the Paschal candle.  We followed the procession back into the darkened church and the altar boys lit the candle of the person on the end of each pew and we passed the light on until each person’s candle was lit.  There was a beautiful golden glow throughout the church as the Mass began.

When the readings started, we blew out our candles to listen.  All of salvation history was proclaimed with passages from Genesis through Luke.

When the readings were finished, the altar servers lit all the candles, all the church lights came on, the bells chimed, and the choir sang “Jesus Christ is Risen Today.”  It was absolutely beautiful!  We renewed our Baptismal Promises and the Mass proceeded.  At the end of Mass,  the choir sang the Alleluia Chorus!  Our choir rivaled the beauty of this one in our small little parish church!

I think we all made the decision that we would like to continue the practice of going to the Easter Vigil every year.  It really made you feel the joy that Christ is Risen!  Alleluia!

Resurrection

It Is Finished…

So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself,
he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull,
in Hebrew, Golgotha.
There they crucified him, and with him two others,
one on either side, with Jesus in the middle.
Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross.
It read,
“Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews.”
Now many of the Jews read this inscription,
because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city;
and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate,
“Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’
but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews’.”
Pilate answered,
“What I have written, I have written.”

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus,
they took his clothes and divided them into four shares,
a share for each soldier.
They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless,
woven in one piece from the top down.
So they said to one another,
“Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be, “
in order that the passage of Scripture might be fulfilled that says:
They divided my garments among them,
and for my vesture they cast lots.
This is what the soldiers did.
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary of Magdala.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved
he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”
Then he said to the disciple,
“Behold, your mother.”
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

After this, aware that everything was now finished,
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
Jesus said, “I thirst.”
There was a vessel filled with common wine.
So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop
and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,
“It is finished.”
And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

Now since it was preparation day,
in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,
for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one,
the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken
and that they be taken down.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first
and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
they did not break his legs,
but one soldier thrust his lance into his side,
and immediately blood and water flowed out.
An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true;
he knows that he is speaking the truth,
so that you also may come to believe.
For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled:
Not a bone of it will be broken.
And again another passage says:
They will look upon him whom they have pierced.

After this, Joseph of Arimathea,
secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews,
asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus.
And Pilate permitted it.
So he came and took his body.
Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night,
also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes
weighing about one hundred pounds.
They took the body of Jesus
and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices,
according to the Jewish burial custom.
Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden,
and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried.
So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day;
for the tomb was close by.  - John 19:16-42

Remembering the gift freely given…a blessed Good Friday to you.

 

Holy Thursday

 

Holy Thursday…the day of the Last Supper, the day of the institution of the Holy Eucharist.

I am the bread of life.  Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead.  This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.   I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”

Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.  For My flesh is true food indeed, and My blood is true drink indeed.  He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.  As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.  This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?”

When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them,“Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.  - John 6: 48-66

And at the Last Supper He shows his first priests how…

 While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”  Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you;  for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.  I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

 When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. – Matthew 26:26-30

 

St. Joseph, Pray for Us

St. Joseph and the Child Jesus by Charles Chambers

Just a couple of days down the calendar from St. Patrick’s Day we find ourselves celebrating the Feast of St. Joseph today.  Poor St. Patrick has found some dubious practices attached to his feast day…green beer, really?…but St. Joseph’s special day usually passes pretty quietly.  St. Joseph deserves a lot more attention.

I love St. Joseph.  Next to Jesus and Mary, Joseph has to be the most humble and trustworthy person to have walked the earth.  God the Father trusted this man to raise His only son.  Joseph trusted God and the message of an angel to take Mary as his wife, despite her being with child.  I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it must have been for him!  But on the other hand, can you imagine the grace in his life, living with the Blessed Mother and the Savior of the world?

In the Catholic Church, St. Joseph is a busy man!  He is the patron of the Universal Church, families, fathers, and of a happy death, among a long list of other causes.  Why is he patron of a happy death?  Because he died with Jesus and Mary at his side.  So we ask him to intercede for us to pass to the next life in such a blessed fashion.

My favorite causes of St. Joseph’s are as the patron of families and of fathers.  I ask his prayers often for family needs and for my husband.  He has to be the best example of father and husband and I trust that he understands the circumstances in which we find ourselves.  People even go to him to help them sell and find a home.  Please try not to be superstitious and bury his statue upside down in the yard.  Why not just place him by the front door and ask his intercession for your home?  Then, when you’ve sold your home, put him in a place of honor and thank him for his prayers!

One tradition for thanking him for his help is the St. Joseph’s Table.  This originated in Sicily (of course!) when the people prayed to St. Joseph for help because of a famine.  When their prayers were answered, they held a huge feast in the saint’s honor.  It became a tradition that is still in practice in some areas to this day.

If you have a need that could use some extra prayers, especially if they are family related, why not ask St. Joseph to pray with you?  We ask our friends and family to pray for us all the time, how special to have someone already in Heaven to join us in prayer.  Here is a prayer that is said to date back to 50 AD:

An Ancient Prayer to Saint Joseph

O St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in thee all my interests and desires. O St. Joseph, assist me by thy powerful intercession and obtain for me all spiritual blessings through thy foster Son, Jesus Christ Our Lord, so that, having engaged here below thy heavenly power, I may offer thee my thanksgiving and homage.

O St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating thee and Jesus asleep in thine arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near thy heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me, and ask Him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath.

St. Joseph, patron of departing souls, pray for me.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

 

I’ve posted this before, but it really is one of my favorite prayers ever.

The Breastplate of St. Patrick is a prayer written by Ireland’s patron saint.  There are a few versions or translations out there, but I’ve always loved this one that is included in A Manual of Prayers from the Pontifical North American College:

I bind unto myself today the power of God to hold and lead, His eye to watch, his might to stay, his ear to hearken to my need; the wisdom of my God to teach, his hand to guide, his shield to ward; the word of God to give me speech, his heav’nly host to be my guard.

Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort me and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in the hearts of all that love me, Christ in the mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name, the strong Name of the Trinity, by invocation of the same, the Three in One, and One in Three, of whom all nature hath creation; Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:  praise to the Lord of my salvation, salvation is of Christ the Lord.  Amen.

Have a blessed St. Patrick’s Day!