On Confession. Part 1

As Lent approaches the topic of Confession is talked about more frequently.

During Lent we are called to repentance, hence the purple color associated with the season.  For 40 days we have the opportunity to really dig deeply into ourselves and weed out the weak areas and try harder to work on the side of us that is truly approaching life as Christ has taught us.

Confession is a sore spot for many people. Maybe you've had a bad experience; a priest who was less than kind, or was in a hurry. Maybe you've sinned big time and are too embarrassed to admit it,  or maybe it's been a while and you don't remember what to do.  Whether you've grown up with it, learned about it and experienced it when you came into the Church in adulthood, or are a Christian who has only heard it talked about by friends who are Catholic, there is so much mystery surrounding it that it becomes a scary thing.

I've heard two talks on Confession in the past two weeks.  I'm grateful that nothing in the talks was new to me.  While I may not be as eloquent as the speakers I've listen to, I'll give it a go and try to do some explaining.

The biggest question out there is "why go to confession?"  The answer is, "Jesus said so."

On the evening of that first day of the week, (Easter Sunday) when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

21Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22And with that he breathed on them and said,“Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” (John 20: 19-23 parentheses and coloring mine.)

Two things about these verses:  1) "He breathed on them" is a reference back to Genesis when God created man: 7the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.  (Genesis 1:7).  (A new creation.)

By breathing the Holy Spirit into the disciples, Christ is making them a new creation.  They will no longer be the scared, hide behind closed doors, guys they were. They will go into the world and teach about Christ. 

2) 23If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”  Why would Christ give the disciples this gift if He did not anticipate them using it?  He knew that people would come to the disciples and confess their sins and seek forgiveness.  That was a huge part of the ministry of Christ and it needed to be carried on in the Church Christ established. 

To be continued . . .

Friends in Christ

I have an amazing group of friends that I met when chat rooms were new.  Many of us "gathered" in the chat room named Moms of Four or More.

We'd chit chat about kids and family, what was for supper and who happened to be sick or in need of prayers.

One day Rhonda decided to make it a little easier for us to communicate with each other and she invited us to start an email group.

If I have the count correct, we started with 12 moms and added one at a later date.  We are now down to 8 full time emailers and one who pops in on occasion to let us know she's ok and that she's praying for us.

We are from Oregon, California, Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Massachusetts.
We are moms with kids at home and moms with empty nests. We are grandmas and great-grandmas.  We are The Moms.

Most of us have met face to face.  I've been to Illinois, Pennsylvania and Oregon to Moms Reunions.

We've been the subject of a magazine article. :-)

Most of all, we're friends.  We help each other through the ups and downs of life. We rejoice over graduations, weddings, births and good surgical outcomes.

We lift each other in prayer and {{{{ hugs}}}} through deaths, physical pain, hard times with income and all the rest of what gets us down.

We are Mary, Barb, Sunnie, Kathy, Rhonda, Carolyn, Brenda, Linda and Sooz (coast to coast).

God brought us together as friends and sisters in Christ and I couldn't be more grateful.

Perspective

I read this online the other day and it has been in my brain, almost constantly, since:  (Probably the point!)

"What would your today be like if you had only the things that you were grateful for yesterday?"

That great dinner your husband (or wife) cooked?  Maybe you were grateful for the dinner, but were you grateful you didn't have to cook it? Or grateful for the person who did?

That hot shower that warmed you up and helped you sleep better.

The warm bed and awesome pillow.

The smiling faces of your children, or grandchildren.

Your home.

Your computer.

You.

What would be missing?

Now, let's look at it from a different perspective:

What would your day be like tomorrow if you had everything that you were grateful for today?

How many things can you do without tomorrow that make your life wonderful today?  Do you have a second to be grateful for everything as it comes along?

The smile of a stranger.

The mailman.

Carpet.

Your phone and the people who stay in contact with you, with it.

God.

Jesus.

Your Church.

Your faith.

This could be the longest post in history, but you get the picture.

Just say "Thanks."

A Tradition Continues

First, a little history:

The Infant Jesus of Prague originally came from Spain. The legend tells that the Infant Jesus appeared miraculously to a certain monk, who modeled the statue based on the appearance of the apparition. According to another legend the statue belonged to St. Teresa of Avila, the founder of the Discalced Carmelites, who was aflame with a great love for the Child Jesus. She is said to have given the statue to a friend of hers, whose daughter was setting out to travel to Prague.

When the Duchess Maria Manrique de Lara came to Bohemia to marry a Bohemian nobleman in 1556, she received the statue from her mother as a wedding gift. When her daughter Polyxena of Lobkowicz was widowed, she gave the precious statue to the monastery of the Discalced Carmelites attached to the church of Our Lady of Victory in 1628.

The Carmelites placed the statue in the novitiate chapel, so that the young monks could learn from the virtues of the Child Jesus. At that time the Thirty Years' War was raging through Europe and even the Infant Jesus was not spared when the Saxon army occupied Prague in 1631. It was only after his return to Prague in 1637 that Father Cyril of the Mother of God, originally from Luxemburg, discovered the statue, abandoned in a corner. To his sorrow, however, he found that the Infant Jesus had had both hands broken off. At this moment it seemed to him that the Infant Jesus was saying to him:

Have mercy on me and I will have mercy on you.
Give me hands and I will give you peace.
The more you honour me, the more I will bless you.

Eventually Father Cyril had new hands made for the Infant Jesus. The gold coin invested in this was returned many times over, as the Child Jesus began to bless the monastery, the local people, and the whole of Prague. Miraculous healings were attributed to him, as was the protection of Prague when it was laid siege to by the Swedes in 1639. In 1651 the statue was carried as a pilgrim round all the churches in Prague and in 1655 it was solemnly crowned by the Bishop of Prague. This event is still remembered today on the anniversary feast-day, falling on the first Sunday in May.   http://www.pragjesu.info/en/

Now the tradition:

When my parents got engaged, my mom's Aunt Kitty gave them a statue of the Infant of Prague for an engagement gift.  My mother's devotion to Infant Jesus began when she was six or seven.  She shared a bed with two of her aunts and was in the habit of wetting the bed at night.  Her aunt gave her a tiny statue of baby Jesus which she put under pillow, after praying that she would stop wetting the bed.  In the night, she rolled over onto the statue which woke her up-before she wet the bed.  So began a lifelong devotion.  The engagement gift was an extension of this devotion.

When each of my siblings and I got engaged, our parents made sure we each had our own statue. 

About a week ago, my mom and sisters and I got together for our monthly Ladies Night Out and we had a gown cleaning while we talked. 

Each of our statues was fresh and ready for Christmas.  

This year we continue the tradition. Our second oldest daughter, Caitlyn, got engaged on Christmas Eve.  My dear one and I had a statue ready to be presented, and so, on the day of their engagement they received their own Infant of Prague.

Congratulations to Caitlyn and Jimmy.  May Infant Jesus watch over you and bless you with a lifetime of graces, happiness and peace.