Putting God on the Sidelines

 This is another post on part of a homily that our pastor gave on Sunday.  He quoted a line from the movie "The Punisher".   Apparently it is a Marvel movie. I have not seen it.  Without trying to go into details about that which I have no knowledge (I did read that the main character is either characterized as a serial killer or a vigilante) I will quote the lines and go from there.  

As the punisher is about to go off on a last quest for justice? vengeance? another character says to him "Go with God".  He responds, "God's gonna sit this one out."

In our own lives we often let God "sit this one out".  Whether intentional or not, it is when we forget or refuse to pray about decisions that we are making, be they big or small. 

How many times have we heard or said, "I've got this."? Apparently it's a very male thing, although women also want to feel like they can handle things on their own. 

The truth is, we are dependent!  We have no control over our own heart beating regularly enough to keep us alive.  We must eat and drink by design so that we have the energy to do what we have to do. We need enough sleep to keep us energized and healthy. 

The decisions we face every day are no exception.  My dear one likes to ask me what the next day looks like before we go to bed.  Apart from having a specific appointment that I have to keep, I usually tell him, "God hasn't told me yet." I have found that making a step-by-step plan for many things is asking for frustration when things change. 

If I let God have my day, He usually lets me know what Mass to go to and where. The homily is usually exactly what I need to hear if I go where he leads me. 

 He reminds me of things I have to take care of and leads me in the way to make them happen, most of the time, easily. 

He puts people on my heart that need a phone call or some snail mail. 

He calls me to prayer regularly and recently He is showing me how to sit in adoration in silence and wait for Him to speak. (Very hard for me to be silent in my head.)

There is an old bumper sticker that read: "God is my co-pilot."  We don't need God to be our co-pilot. We need him to take the controls while we wait for His instructions for us. 

Fear not to let Him have that control.  Is it hard at first? Absolutely.  Society tells us we have to have it all together and be all to everyone all the time.  Not so. 

God says,  "take my yoke upon you and learn from me." (Matt 11:29).  Jesus did not scurry from town to town with a to-do list.  He spent time in prayer and learned what the Father's plan was for Him. He lived to do God's will. 

We should too! 

Remember, God's got this.  Go with God. 

 

Writing Your Autobiography

 This Lent, I am participating in Magnify 90. We participants actually started January 5 and will conclude at Easter.  I was sort of keeping up with the demands of the program but on Ash Wednesday I decided to jump in completely and give up my secular audiobooks, scrolling on SnapChat, and definitely chocolate!  

I turned instead to my School of Reading book: Jesus our Refuge by Matt Fradd (highly recommend) and the Hallow app's 40 day challenge.  In this challenge, on the first Sunday of Lent, Fr. Mike Schmitz posted his homily for the day.  WOW.  Homily here 

I am going to summarize the homily but I encourage you to listen to the whole thing.  

Fr. Mike talked about writing our autobiography.  Not starting with our birth and going through a timeline, but rather by making a decision about how our lives will look starting today. Because is it Lent, we are called to three things in particular: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. 

Each Lent is a time for personal renewal and growth in our relationship with God. Giving up "stuff" just to give up "stuff" isn't enough.  We need to lean into these self-imposed crosses as a way to find more time for prayer, to eliminate the false refuges in our life that lead to overindulgence, sloth, vanity, laziness etc., and to help those in need in a more concrete way.  

In short, it is time for a new beginning.  A new strong start, for our autobiography to make a difference, not just for Lent but for a lifetime, is needed.  

Fr. Mike taught that a strong start  has 4 parts:

    -irreversibility

    -identity at stake

    -risk

    -agency

Once we make a decision it is irreversible.  We dive headlong into that decision and whatever it is,  and it will change us. 

Our identity is at stake: who will we be after we make this decision and stick with it?

It is risky: we don't know what the future holds.

Agency is making the decision to start. 

I won't go through the bad choices we could or already have made. You know your shortcomings.  But I will suggest a great choice that will change everything, one I have made a multitude of times in my life:

Confession! 

Going to confession will absolutely change your autobiography (if you are completely honest with the priest, and you are willing to be made whole.)

When you walk into the confessional and unload your life, the effect is irreversible: God forgives you. He washes you clean and those past sins no longer matter. You are free to move forward in your new holiness.

Your identity is really at stake.  After confession, you are a new creation, but that means things in your life will have to change.  The people in your life may have to change if they are holding you back from drawing closer to God. Your habits will have to change.  Your prayer time will have to change. God wants all of you! 

It is risky for all of the above reasons.  You will have to (truly you will WANT to) start being authentically Catholic. What does that future look like?  It's up to you and God.  Ask Him. He will show you. 

You have the power (agency) to make this decision.  Only you. 

Talk to God.  What strong start do you need to make to change the trajectory of your autobiography into one that delights Him? Are you willing?  

A little note on irreversibility: Every decision leads to consequences, good or bad.  If you have made bad decisions, you can reverse course and make better ones. You already know how the bad decisions have molded you, changed your identity, and affected your future.  The point here is, make a strong start toward a better tomorrow. The homily talks about the prodigal son.  He made some really bad decisions. However, he was able, with a strong start, to begin again and be healed. 

Have a blessed Lent.

The Necessity of Using "Free Time" Well

Turn on the news, open your email, call a friend and chances are  COVID-19 is what is talked about.

The Corona virus is on everyones' minds. You can't seem to get away from it.

My son works at a microbrewery and he woke up to an email that told him the brewery has been closed.  My daughter works at a bagel shop and they are open, but only for take out.

Schools are closed and spring break was switched to this week so the teachers can prepare for online learning.  Thus the kids are free, the young adults are a little more free and the parents are not so free anymore.

I don't work outside of the home but I am taking a college course which has been postponed for a week so I am a bit freer but with company.

Because we have more time on our hands we have to choose to spend this free time well.

I used to start my day with Adoration and Mass, but alas that has been curtailed.  However, I thoroughly enjoyed the Mass I watched online this morning that was broadcast by EWTN. The priest was told that his planned homily was 10 minutes too short given the vast increase in viewers that was expected.  Therefore, he spent 10 minutes telling stories about his relationship with a fellow friar.   He was so funny!

After that, his regular homily was great too~though I admit I remember the stories more.

After that 50 minute interlude in my day, I had to decide what else to do to keep busy.

I could waste time on the internet, watch some tv, or bemoan the fact that I'm stuck at home.

I chose none of these.  The thing the world needs more of right now is prayer.   So, I prayed.

I prayed my Rosary while I ironed; I sang praise and worship songs while I cleaned out a closet and I prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy while I took a walk.

I have kept busy doing laundry and dishes and talking on the phone to my mom who is close by but doesn't really want company right now.

I have a bunch of books to read when the work is done.  I plan to make it quality reading. My newest purchase is "Salvation: What Every Catholic Should Know" by Michael Barber ($2 at my church) is calling to me.

I also have two new jigsaw puzzles, one 500 and one 750 pieces.  Those should keep me busy for a few days and the "kids" can help which gives us bonding time.

Speaking of bonding time: Joe is currently dying Claire's hair and they are TALKING!!   Music to my ears.

What are you doing with your free time?

May we all spend more time in prayer and in encountering Christ in those with whom we will be spending a lot of time for the new few weeks.

Stay well.

My other blog

One Mother, Many Titles

The month of October is a special month in which we are reminded to pray the Rosary daily.   October 13 is especially important because it is the anniversary of the miracle of the sun at Fatima, Portugal.  For those who do not know the story of Our Lady of Fatima there is a ton of info on Google and several good movies about it. (I do not recommend "13 Days" however.  I found it very dark and grim.)

Traveling statue of Our Lady of Fatima.  This particular statue has been know to shed tears. 

In short, Mary appeared to three young children on May 13, 1917 in Fatima. She asked them to pray the Rosary every day and to offer their sufferings for the reparation for sins.  She appeared on the 13th of each month through October and on that day 70,000+ pilgrims watched the sun dance in the sky. One of the visionaries, Lucia Santos, lived until Feb. 13,  2005.

Since there are still a few days left in October, I thought I would share some of the many titles and pictures of Our Lady.  In Luke 1:48 Mary tells us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: "from this day all generations will call me blessed."   Not only do we call her blessed, we are blessed to have her intercession for us always.  Thank you, Mamma Mary!

The Our Lady of Good Counsel original fresco from Genazzano.

Our Lady of Good Counsel

"According to tradition, in the year 1467, in the midst of the festivities for the Feast of Saint Mark, the townfolk suddenly heard "exquisite music." A mysterious cloud was then said to have descended and obliterated an unfinished wall of the parish church. In front of the populace, the cloud dissipated and a beautiful fresco, no thicker than a carte-de-visite and no more than eighteen inches square, of the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child was revealed. It was widely believed that it had been miraculously transported from a church in Scutari, Albania." ^(Wikipedia) 

Black Madonna of Częstochowa, Poland.

 There are many legends surrounding the "Black Madonna".  This  image is not as dark as some I have seen.  This is the most important information I gathered: " The Virgin Mary is shown as the "Hodegetria" ("One Who Shows the Way"). In it the Virgin directs attention away from herself, gesturing with her right hand toward Jesus as the source of salvation. In turn, the child extends his right hand toward the viewer in blessing while holding a book of gospels in his left hand." (Wikipedia)

Our Lady of Lourdes.  campus.udayton.edu


Our Lady appeared several times to a peasant girl named Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France from February 11 through July 16, 1858.  When she appeared, Bernadette asked for a name to give to the priest so he would know who spoke to her.  Our Lady called herself, The Immaculate Conception.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mary appeared to Juan Diego on Tepyak Hill near Mexico City.  The year was  1531.  Juan had a difficult time convincing his Archbishop that Our Lady had, indeed, appeared to him.  The Archbishop asked for a sign.  Juan presented Our Lady with this request.  Even though it was December and there was snow on the ground, she told Juan to go pick the roses she had left for him.  He brought her the roses and Mary arranged them in his tilma.  She told him to take the tilma to the Archbishop. When the Archbishop opened the tilma, the roses fell to the ground, but the image of Our Lady, just as Juan had seen her, remained on his cloak.

There are many more titles and many more devotions, and appearances.  Our Mother wants to be near us always.  I will leave you with one last image (ok, two).  It is one of my very favorites.  

The Madonna of the Streets by Roberto Ferruzzi

This is one rendition of the painting, It is very different from the original, but I found this information, again, on Wikipedia: "Although not originally painted as a religious picture, this painting became popularized as an image of the Virgin Mary holding her infant son, and has become the most renowned of Ferruzzi's works."

This is the image that hangs in our home: