"What does it profit you to give God one thing if He asks of you another? Consider what it is God wants, and then do it." St. John of the Cross
Monday, February 28, 2011
Time to Collect Favorite Saints' Quotes! Please stop by and add yours to the comment box!
"What does it profit you to give God one thing if He asks of you another? Consider what it is God wants, and then do it." St. John of the Cross
Grace of Grandmothers
Grandma was old school.
She believed in memorizing Scripture. Her children knew more than 300 verses by heart. They entered - and won - their share of Bible quiz bowls.
So, when I spent one week of summer vacation with Grandma, she sent me to the guest room one day with a Bible. "Memorize the 23rd Psalm," she said.
I stretched out on the double bed and stared at the open Bible. I read the passage. Pretty. Kind of like poetry, I thought.
And it was beautiful. Today, however, it is far more beautiful to me.
The Lord is my Shepherd; there is nothing that I lack.
In green pastures, You let me graze...
...to safe waters you lead me.
You restore my soul.
You guide me along the right path for the sake of Your name.
Even though I walk through a dark valley, I fear no harm, for you are at my side;
Your rod and staff give me courage.
You set a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil...
...my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.
And I will dwell in the House of the Lord...
Forever...
It's time we were all like those grace-filled grandmothers. Encourage your little ones to read and memorize Sacred Scripture... and help them to see the beauty of Jesus Christ and His Church! pass it on...
She believed in memorizing Scripture. Her children knew more than 300 verses by heart. They entered - and won - their share of Bible quiz bowls.
So, when I spent one week of summer vacation with Grandma, she sent me to the guest room one day with a Bible. "Memorize the 23rd Psalm," she said.
I stretched out on the double bed and stared at the open Bible. I read the passage. Pretty. Kind of like poetry, I thought.
And it was beautiful. Today, however, it is far more beautiful to me.
The Lord is my Shepherd; there is nothing that I lack.
In green pastures, You let me graze...
...to safe waters you lead me.
You restore my soul.
You guide me along the right path for the sake of Your name.
Even though I walk through a dark valley, I fear no harm, for you are at my side;
Your rod and staff give me courage.
You set a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil...
...my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.
And I will dwell in the House of the Lord...
Forever...
Sunday, February 27, 2011
The Day I Broke Mom's Dryer: and how that helped me to understand Indulgences
This is the second year in a row that I have been a Coming Home Network Helper. For two years, I've had the privilege of helping other women (from a similar faith heritage) to enter the Church. Both years, the women had the same questions. The questions came at about the same point in their journeys, too.
First, grace showed up, in an almost infused way, to lead them to an understanding of Jesus Christ, truly present in the Eucharist. And they wanted to run, full-tilt ahead, straight to Him.
Second, they hit a wall with Mary. Things didn't come to a screeching halt, but they were afraid that it very well might. But they kept asking questions, demanding answers that quelled their fears, and then they regained a sense of rightness and order to even the teachings on Mother Mary.
But now, in this final lap to Lent and the weeks leading up to Holy Communion, the question that has come is always a question about Indulgences.
Maybe you are on the journey (or you know someone who is). Perhaps my answer will help you put the pieces together. You may click on the Facebook or Twitter Share-Button below the post if you'd like to share this with Facebook friends who might have doubts about Indulgences.
Indulgences 101
Yes, “Indulgences” is a tough one because we (former Protestants) have baggage. And that is all we were given with regard to Indulgences. There are two aspects to sin - forgiveness/reconciliation and the fulfillment of the temporal punishment attached to a specific sin. And yes, temporal punishment remains. Like when you broke something in anger as a child and your mother forgave you when you were sorry (which is like true contrition with the Sacrament of Confession), but there was still something more needed. Something more to make it right. The temporal part had to be addressed.
What we struggle with is the scandal of selling Indulgences - that baggage that sticks with us and lingers in the form of uneasiness. Somehow, cradle Catholics find it easier to see the good and true and right even as they recognize the part that was wrong (selling what should be offered without money and received in acts of love and devotion). Sometimes, the Church has had to reform practices that areno t in keeping with what the Church teaches. And this is one of them. Selling Indulgences was a scandal, and it was no t in keeping with Church teaching -- in fact, it scandalized the true teachings of the Church (and scandal always brings harm to the Body of Christ and the Unity of the Church). As an aside, that should be a lesson to all of us to never bring scandal to Mother Church no w that God will never let the gates of hell prevail - even in scandal - and that Mother Church
Indulgences (as something the Church offers to us for the remission of temporal punishment) is a blessed opportunity. It is usually offered to the Faithful as an opportunity to embrace acts of love and devotion - things that build up theKingdom of God through prayer and pilgrimages and the special and unique "yes" that we give to Mother Church
As with all things Catholic, there is order and rhyme to this teaching. And the venues for Indulgences are rightly ordered too. Here's the thing. You don't have to say yes to a single Indulgence. You are given the choice. It isno t required, though the temporal payment for sin will one day be required, and Our Lord will provide you with a way, even if it is during that preparation when all that remains is purged (purgatory) so that you can stand before a Living and Holy God and no t be destroyed upon seeing Him face-to-face. For we kno w, only the righteous will see God.
But the Church is offering the Faithful venues for love and devotion, special ways to seek remission for what remains.
When I was a child, my mother asked me to go downstairs and move the clean laundry from the washing machine and put it into the dryer. I didn't want to do it. I was angry because she had interrupted my free time. I went downstairs and moved the laundry and I slammed the dryer door so hard (in anger) that a piece of the latch broke off. I took that broken part up and had to tell Mom what I had done. She forgave me. But she said that I still had to hand her the replacement part. I remember that all was righted (though I was already forgiven) when I paid for the part and gave the new part to Mom. Strange how this fits, isn't it? Even the allowance which I used to buy the part came from Mom. She simply gave me the idea, the venue, for making amends.
And that is how it is with Indulgences. She (Mother Church no w it isn't a perfect metaphor, but I was still forgiven by Mom; I still had a place at the table; I still had a home in my parents' home. But something more was required for all to be set aside.
What we struggle with is the scandal of selling Indulgences - that baggage that sticks with us and lingers in the form of uneasiness. Somehow, cradle Catholics find it easier to see the good and true and right even as they recognize the part that was wrong (selling what should be offered without money and received in acts of love and devotion). Sometimes, the Church has had to reform practices that are
Indulgences (as something the Church offers to us for the remission of temporal punishment) is a blessed opportunity. It is usually offered to the Faithful as an opportunity to embrace acts of love and devotion - things that build up the
As with all things Catholic, there is order and rhyme to this teaching. And the venues for Indulgences are rightly ordered too. Here's the thing. You don't have to say yes to a single Indulgence. You are given the choice. It is
But the Church is offering the Faithful venues for love and devotion, special ways to seek remission for what remains.
When I was a child, my mother asked me to go downstairs and move the clean laundry from the washing machine and put it into the dryer. I didn't want to do it. I was angry because she had interrupted my free time. I went downstairs and moved the laundry and I slammed the dryer door so hard (in anger) that a piece of the latch broke off. I took that broken part up and had to tell Mom what I had done. She forgave me. But she said that I still had to hand her the replacement part. I remember that all was righted (though I was already forgiven) when I paid for the part and gave the new part to Mom. Strange how this fits, isn't it? Even the allowance which I used to buy the part came from Mom. She simply gave me the idea, the venue, for making amends.
And that is how it is with Indulgences. She (
And we, though forgiven, still have a place at the Table (Eucharist) and a home in the Home.
*Dr. Scott Hahn tells a similar story about making things right after he sought forgiveness for stealing records (many years after the sin of stealing occurred). Scott went to the store and paid for the records - in full. He was already forgiven by God, but justice required something of him, something more, something to heal the wound he'd caused to another. For me, it was a dryer part. For Scott, it was the price tag on a stack of records. The perfect King of Mercy is also the Perfect King of Justice. Forgiveness is ours for the asking. But with some sin, the temporal punishment remains undone. Every kid who's broken a window (and had to replace it) kind of "gets" Indulgences. Everyone who has been wounded by another in a deep, deep way understands that justice demands something more. We leave that part in the hands of God - the One who is Perfect Justice. On some level, we all "get it".
Saturday, February 26, 2011
David Wurst, Evangelical for 50 years
David wrote me this week - just to say thanks for sharing my conversion story on The Journey Home (you can find that show at the bottom of this blog...just click on the JH show below). David mentioned that he had been Evangelical for 50 years. His parish priest, Fr. Bill, interviewed him about a month ago for an audio/podcast for Fr. Bill's blog. I asked David if he might share that link with me. David sent the link. Good stuff. You haven't heard him out there yet, in the Catholic venues, but I wouldn't be surprised if his story is shared for larger and larger groups.
Here's Fr. Bill and David
Friday, February 25, 2011
Lazy Days, Crazy Days, and Ah-wonderful Days
(I'm reposting this because this week has been one of those busy weeks. I'm sure most of you know what I mean. Enough time to breathe. And that's about it. Even so... it's all good.)
“So much depends upon a red wheelbarrow, glazed with rainwater, beside the white chickens.” American poet William Carlos Williams wrote the poem. I happen to like it, but my husband just laughs and says, “That’s not a poem; it’s a sentence.”
John is right, of course; it is a sentence. I am right, too; it is definitely poetry. I guess I just like the simplicity. In my mind, I can see the wheelbarrow as it rests against the chicken coop, and the rain bathes the wheelbarrow like an agrarian version of blessed holy water.
To me, it is the ideal of poetry, which should contemplate life, human interaction, and the complexities of our existence, like a pale imitation of faith and the spiritual journey.
As a Christian, I am that red wheelbarrow, overused at times, underused at times, and sometimes used for fun and frolic. Many times, I feel like I am overworked by the Master. I want to cry out, “Can’t I just go back over there by the chicken coop and rest a bit? Lord, aren’t you driving me a bit too hard?”
Then, I sometimes feel abandoned. Like the wheelbarrow, I am propped up beside a chicken coop and left to wait and wait, as the rainwater drizzles down and the chickens peck at the ground. The dog days of summer or the harsh cold days of winter stretch out before me, and I long for Jesus to take me for a joyride, letting some small child climb aboard, feet dangling as she throws back her head in laughter, and the Master takes us both for a spin around the farm. I am happy to be used in this way. And the opportunities seem all too rare.
That is how it has been for me since my conversion. At times I am at rest – so much time to sit and reflect, time to contemplate God, my faith, and my purpose. But in those moments, I’ve often felt forgotten and even wondered if I would ever be used again for His service.
Other times, like now, I enter seasons in which I feel overworked – rushed about and pushed to the brink of my ability. I look back to the seasons of quiet contemplation, and I remember those days of rest with longing.
When I am most exhausted by seasons of active labor or feel forgotten in seasons of quiet contemplation, I am surprised and delighted when the Master decides that work and rest can wait. I can almost see Him as He gently calls to me and says let’s do something else for awhile. Let’s have a little fun. I smile as He lifts a small child up and places her in my care, and we go for a joyride.
I hear the child’s laughter, and I am glad that so much depends upon a red wheelbarrow. So much depends on letting God use me in the way and in the timing of His great design. And that is the poetry of belonging to Him and submitting to His perfect will. That is the way my little life is transformed into God’s poetry.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Two Interviews This Week!
Yesterday, I recorded an interview with Deacon Tom Fox of Catholic Vitamins and another interview with Terry Barber at St. Joseph Communications. I will keep you posted on how you can listen to these recordings as that information is made available. Terry Barber said that my interview was the first they had recorded with a female convert. That is a tremendous blessing and honor, and I ask Our Lady to use our work to bring more souls to Jesus Christ and His Church!
Please keep both of these interviews in your prayers!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
A Glimpse Into Beauty, father-to-father
And I blinked back a few tears this morning...
I stepped into St. Gianna's parish around 7:30 this morning. It had been three weeks since my last confession, and I was looking forward to getting things set right with God. The morning Mass would come after that.
This Friday morning double dip in Sacramental grace has become a beautiful and welcome experience.
As I opened the door and reached to slip my fingers in the holy water font, I saw Fr. Elliott standing in the front--
to the right of the Altar,
tall...stately looking,
his head slightly bent to one side, chin tilted upward,
as he studied the face of St. Joseph.
I wanted to smile because it was obvious that he wasn't doing what I had once believed Catholics to do.He wasn't worshiping dear Joseph.
Oh, no. He was looking at him and thinking and in a meditation so deep that at first he did not realize that I was standing at the back of the church.
My eyes misted a bit because it was a powerful witness. Even this very holy priest goes to the holy ones to get direction on how to live out his vocation.
I wonder what the foster father to Our Lord inspired him to do or think or pray. What did Jesus' earthly father teach Father Elliott in those few moments before he walked into the confessional and fathered me?
St. Joseph, I love you. I love that you inspire dads and holy priests.
And I love moments like this, when I am given the great privilege of seeing the Catholic Church in all her beauty . . . in all her meekness . . . in simple holiness.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
An Antidote to Fear
I've spent a lot of time thinking about why I'm Catholic. My shortest answer is simply that it is a result of grace moving in my life (hence the name of my column, podcasts and blog).
But I haven't spent much time thinking (or writing) about the reason why most serious fundamentalists and evangelicals are NOT Catholic--
--and why they do not even consider it a viable option or even a possible choice among many choices.
It comes down to this. The Catholic Church does not see herself as a possible choice among many choices.
The fact that the Church states that She is the Church Christ founded makes most (if not all) evangelicals dismiss her completely.
It sounds too much like a cult.
Cults believe they are the Church. The Way. Chosen. Established by God Himself.
So, Catholicism is lumped in with the groups that make this claim. You say that you are the Church Jesus Christ founded. Enough said. I'm out of here.
There is a problem with that generalization. What if there really is a Church that was founded by Jesus?
She would have to be present from the moment of Pentecost forward. She would have weathered the gates of hell and still be standing. She would have to be able to point to a line of holy people that were made holy while in the embrace of this Church. She would have to have a message that touches hearts of people in every culture and time. She would have to transcend time, politics, history, culture, trends, whims, and the theoretical. She would have to be able to set up shop in Calcutta, India and be as valid there as she is in Des Moines, Iowa or New York City or La Paz, Bolivia.
She would have to have a resume.
She would have to have a pedigree.
Both the resume and the pedigree would have to resemble Christ.
History would have to affirm her claim and Christ would have to be present there. Really and truly.
One, holy, apostolic, catholic.
There is only one antidote to the fear that says, "You can't say that! You can't say that you are the Church! Come on. You're sounding like a cult now."
The only antidote to that kind of fear is Jesus Christ Himself.
He is here.
His Body is here, for you.
His Blood is here, poured out for you.
The same Christ.
A perfect love.
And perfect love casts out fear.
Yes, it is a radical claim. It is an absurd claim - unless it is true. John 6. It's true.
Come home. He's waiting for you. In the Eucharist.
But I haven't spent much time thinking (or writing) about the reason why most serious fundamentalists and evangelicals are NOT Catholic--
--and why they do not even consider it a viable option or even a possible choice among many choices.
It comes down to this. The Catholic Church does not see herself as a possible choice among many choices.
The fact that the Church states that She is the Church Christ founded makes most (if not all) evangelicals dismiss her completely.
It sounds too much like a cult.
Cults believe they are the Church. The Way. Chosen. Established by God Himself.
So, Catholicism is lumped in with the groups that make this claim. You say that you are the Church Jesus Christ founded. Enough said. I'm out of here.
There is a problem with that generalization. What if there really is a Church that was founded by Jesus?
She would have to be present from the moment of Pentecost forward. She would have weathered the gates of hell and still be standing. She would have to be able to point to a line of holy people that were made holy while in the embrace of this Church. She would have to have a message that touches hearts of people in every culture and time. She would have to transcend time, politics, history, culture, trends, whims, and the theoretical. She would have to be able to set up shop in Calcutta, India and be as valid there as she is in Des Moines, Iowa or New York City or La Paz, Bolivia.
She would have to have a resume.
She would have to have a pedigree.
Both the resume and the pedigree would have to resemble Christ.
History would have to affirm her claim and Christ would have to be present there. Really and truly.
One, holy, apostolic, catholic.
There is only one antidote to the fear that says, "You can't say that! You can't say that you are the Church! Come on. You're sounding like a cult now."
The only antidote to that kind of fear is Jesus Christ Himself.
He is here.
His Body is here, for you.
His Blood is here, poured out for you.
The same Christ.
A perfect love.
And perfect love casts out fear.
Yes, it is a radical claim. It is an absurd claim - unless it is true. John 6. It's true.
Come home. He's waiting for you. In the Eucharist.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
I'll be on Deep in Scripture Today!
Deep in Scripture is the radio program with Marcus Grodi of the Coming Home Network International. Every week, Marcus interviews a guest - and they discuss the verses the guest "never saw" as a non-Catholic. My verses are from John 6 and John 17.
Today, you can hear the interview. So tune in to Catholic radio. I'll be meeting you in your car, office, or at home--
Today...on Deep in Scripture!
Facebook Friending 101
There's a method to my Facebook page. I have tried to load the feed with people who post things that inspire me to follow Christ more fully. I wake up in the morning and click on Facebook, and dotted here and there, I find an array of things that are good for the soul.
I need all the help I can get.
And I've become deliberate in the voices I add to my Facebook feed for that very reason.
Oh, I still have a running Feed that tells me what everybody is up to and what they're thinking. But mixed in, I have reminders of the Faith. Lest I forget.
Here's today's status from "Catholic Church" -
"Were any one to ask me, no matter at what moment, 'Of what are you thinking?' it seems to me I could reply, 'God alone occupies my mind.' " - St. Paul of the Cross
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
He's still in high school, but WOW can he write and he doesn't mince words (God bless and keep him)
BadCatholic: Disclaimer!: "One of my biggest fears about being a specifically Catholic writer is that people will make the hideous mistake that I am holy, or even remo..."
For the First Time Ever - the women (who came together through the Blessed Mother) share their story!
On the "In Love of Christ" radio show... which is part of the line-up on JMJ 750 AM (WQOR)--
Listen to the first joint-interview between Mary Beth Kremski and Denise Bossert. Part one will air on March 2nd. Part two will air on March 9th.
The interview "Why Be Catholic" can be heard on "JMJ 750 A.M." (officially WQOR) throughout much of the Scranton Diocese: To the North, roughly to the New York border (Binghamton); to the East about 20 miles into New Jersey; to the South a little below Wilkes Barre.
For more about their unusual Catholic sisterhood and the miracle of the Immaculate Conception that brought them together, click here.
Listen to the first joint-interview between Mary Beth Kremski and Denise Bossert. Part one will air on March 2nd. Part two will air on March 9th.
The interview "Why Be Catholic" can be heard on "JMJ 750 A.M." (officially WQOR) throughout much of the Scranton Diocese: To the North, roughly to the New York border (Binghamton); to the East about 20 miles into New Jersey; to the South a little below Wilkes Barre.
For more about their unusual Catholic sisterhood and the miracle of the Immaculate Conception that brought them together, click here.
Free Webinar Through Loyola Press on the Changes to the Mass: get the link here
Webinar found here: http://www.loyolapress.com/roman-missal-webinar-explains-changes-in-catholic-mass.htm
But I don't like change.
(Consider offering it up for a convert)
Click here to learn more about this special prayer.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Awesome God - the story of Rich Mullins' last days
Do you remember Rich Mullins' Awesome God song? Rich was killed in a car accident on Sept 20, 1997... and had arranged to have his first Sacrament of Reconciliation the next day - Sept. 21 (A.M.) - with Fr. Paul Coakley (now the Archbishop of Oklahoma City). It was to be his last step in his quest to become Catholic and receive Our Eucharistic Lord. You need to read this posting by Fr. McGuiness, a close friend of Rich.
February 2011 Catholic by Grace Diocesan Column
When I was a substitute teacher, I had a trick. I set aside precisely three minutes to familiarize myself with the seating chart. As the students were filing in and finding seats, I committed to memory the names of the students who were likely to give me trouble. They were the ones who saw a sub, and something changed. When their attitude shifted, I put their names into short term memory.
At the opening bell, I would put the seating chart down and begin implementing the teacher’s lesson plans- and then when one of the students acted up, I addressed him by name. He would stare at me in shock. Did I know him? Well, that changed everything. Suddenly, things were on a personal level. Anonymity – gone. Incognito no longer.
I could see him thinking. How does she know me? Does she know my parents? Hey, she could write me up with little effort. A name is like a ticket. It gains access to the person. It changes everything.
God disclosed His name to us. He gave it freely. We didn’t wrestle it out of Him, or crack the code, or lift the name from a seating chart. He gave it to us. God knew that, in giving us His name, we could draw closer. Our relationship could get personal. As paragraph 203 of the Catechism says, “To disclose one’s name is to make oneself known to others; in a way it is to hand oneself over by becoming accessible. . . .”
Recently, I traveled to Alabama and Ohio
There was a time when we did not know the name of our God. Once, we were strangers. We were very far from the One who made us. In ancient days, He offered His name to Moses, but for each of us, this name remained a mystery. And then He called to us personally, as He called to Moses. Draw closer. There is something I want you to do. And the key to your success rests in one name. My name. I Am. The I Am is sending you.
This Creator has known your name from the moment you were conceived in the womb. He knows you by name because He made you. It is a lesson I share with confirmation students. The One who made you has also called you by name. When you were baptized, you were given a new name. Every time you have entered the Church, from the moment you were old enough to reach the holy water font, you have blessed yourself in that name.
But when you are confirmed, you will stand before God and before his shepherd, the bishop, and you will renew those baptismal promises. At your baptism, God called you as He did to Moses. He gave you His name. Today, he asks you to claim that name – now and forever. He’s preparing to send you into the world, as He did Moses, to free the enslaved, liberate the captives, and share His good news with others. It is time for you to wear His name publicly. It is time for you to become Christ to the world.
When God gave us His name, He gave us more than a name. He reached out to the created ones and the Creator said, Draw close to me. You are mine. I love you. And I have called you by name.
Go and bear witness to the name you have received.
How is Abel's Offering like the Mass?
Everyone knows the story of Cain's offering of grain and the harvest of the field.
And we remember, as well, how Abel brought forth the first-born of his flock as an offering to God.
Abel's offering was an acceptable offering. But God did not look favorably upon Cain's offering.
I've always felt sorry for Cain. It cannot be an easy thing to feel rejected by God. But I don't see that as the point of the story any more. It wasn't about rejection. It was about perfection.
In the Mass, we pray, May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of His Name, for our good and the good of all his Church.
Today, something really struck me about the Genesis passage. Cain offered gifts of the field. The faithful do this in the Mass. But that's not the end of it. It does not remain bread and wine. God changes it. And then He changes everything.
Abel offered the first-born of his flock. A perfect lamb. A living sacrifice.
And God was pleased.
In Abel's offering, God saw something more. God could see it all - past, present, and future. Sin and Savior. Wrong made right. The horror of the Fall and the triumph of the Redeemer. When He saw Abel's lamb, He saw the Lamb that was slain. The Lamb that would be slain. The Lamb that is slain. A once-for-all-time, most-perfect Sacrifice.
Lord, accept our sacrifice. Our gifts of the field. Change them.
Look down through the ages and change everything by the Power of the Holy Spirit.
Change our gifts. Make them become the living One, the first-born One. The Lamb of God. The perfect sacrifice, made present for all time in the Mass. Calvary-come-to-us. Change the gift, and change our hearts through the Gift.
Do not reject me, Oh Lord. Look kindly on our offering. And look with favor on your Church. And help all Christians to understand that the offering must change. It must be changed. It is the difference between offering Cain's gift.
And that of Abel.
Your Church, like Abel, offering a gift that has been perfected. No longer fruit of the field. Now, the perfect fruit of God. Change the bread and wine. That it may become--
The holy One of Israel.
Jesus.
Our Eucharistic Lord.
And we remember, as well, how Abel brought forth the first-born of his flock as an offering to God.
Abel's offering was an acceptable offering. But God did not look favorably upon Cain's offering.
I've always felt sorry for Cain. It cannot be an easy thing to feel rejected by God. But I don't see that as the point of the story any more. It wasn't about rejection. It was about perfection.
In the Mass, we pray, May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of His Name, for our good and the good of all his Church.
Today, something really struck me about the Genesis passage. Cain offered gifts of the field. The faithful do this in the Mass. But that's not the end of it. It does not remain bread and wine. God changes it. And then He changes everything.
Abel offered the first-born of his flock. A perfect lamb. A living sacrifice.And God was pleased.
In Abel's offering, God saw something more. God could see it all - past, present, and future. Sin and Savior. Wrong made right. The horror of the Fall and the triumph of the Redeemer. When He saw Abel's lamb, He saw the Lamb that was slain. The Lamb that would be slain. The Lamb that is slain. A once-for-all-time, most-perfect Sacrifice.
Lord, accept our sacrifice. Our gifts of the field. Change them.
Change our gifts. Make them become the living One, the first-born One. The Lamb of God. The perfect sacrifice, made present for all time in the Mass. Calvary-come-to-us. Change the gift, and change our hearts through the Gift.
Do not reject me, Oh Lord. Look kindly on our offering. And look with favor on your Church. And help all Christians to understand that the offering must change. It must be changed. It is the difference between offering Cain's gift.
And that of Abel.
Your Church, like Abel, offering a gift that has been perfected. No longer fruit of the field. Now, the perfect fruit of God. Change the bread and wine. That it may become--
Jesus.
Our Eucharistic Lord.
When your heart longs for peace and quiet . . . be still and know that He is God.
I read something this morning about Quakers. My great-great grandmother was a Quaker minister; so I was intrigued when Thinking Faith: an online Journal of British Jesuits posted a book review on Quakers.
Quaker spirituality is rooted in the passage: Be still and know that I am God.
Within minutes of reading that review, I popped over to Why I Am Catholic. And I found a blog entry on the quiet life of hermits.
And this letter from Thomas Merton was posted at the end of the entry. It is worth reposting here.
Thomas Merton's Letter to a 6th Grader named Susan
In 1967, Susan Chapulis, a sixth grader studying monasticism, wrote to Thomas Merton asking for “any information whatsoever” that she could share with her class. Merton replied:
Thanks for your nice letter. You want “any information whatsoever” to help the sixth grade in the study of monasticism. Well, I’ll see if I can get the brothers down in the store to send you a little book about the monastery here. That ought to help.
The monastic life goes back a long way. Monks are people who seek to devote all their time to knowing God better and loving Him more. For that reason they leave the cities and go out into lonely places where it is quiet and they can think. As they go on in life they want to find lonelier and lonelier places so they can think even more.
In the end people think these monks are really crazy going off by themselves and of course sometimes they are. On the other hand when you are quiet and when you are free from a lot of cares, when you don’t make enough money to pay taxes, and don’t have a wife to fight with, and when your heart is quiet, you suddenly realize that everything is extremely beautiful and that just by being quiet you can almost sense that God is right there not only with you but even in you. Then you realize that it is worth the trouble of going away where you don’t have to talk and mess around and make a darn fool of yourself in the middle of a lot of people who are running around in circles to no purpose.
I suppose that is why monks go off and live in lonely places. Like me now. I live alone in the woods with squirrels and rabbits and deer and foxes and a huge owl that comes down by my cabin and makes a spooky noise in the night, but we are friends and it is all ok. A monk who lives all by himself in the woods is called a hermit. There is a Rock ’n’ Roll outfit called Herman and his Hermits but they are not the same thing.
I do not suppose for a moment that you wish to become a hermit (though now I understand there are some girl hermits in England and they are sort of friends of mine because they are hermits, so I send them stuff about how to be a hermit). But anyway, I suggest that you sometimes be quiet and think about how good a thing it is that you are loved by God who is infinite and who wants you to be supremely happy and who in fact is going to make you supremely happy. Isn’t that something? It is, my dear, and let us keep praying that it will work out like that for everybody.
Good bye now.
Within minutes of reading that review, I popped over to Why I Am Catholic. And I found a blog entry on the quiet life of hermits.
And this letter from Thomas Merton was posted at the end of the entry. It is worth reposting here.
Thomas Merton's Letter to a 6th Grader named SusanIn 1967, Susan Chapulis, a sixth grader studying monasticism, wrote to Thomas Merton asking for “any information whatsoever” that she could share with her class. Merton replied:
Thanks for your nice letter. You want “any information whatsoever” to help the sixth grade in the study of monasticism. Well, I’ll see if I can get the brothers down in the store to send you a little book about the monastery here. That ought to help.
The monastic life goes back a long way. Monks are people who seek to devote all their time to knowing God better and loving Him more. For that reason they leave the cities and go out into lonely places where it is quiet and they can think. As they go on in life they want to find lonelier and lonelier places so they can think even more.
In the end people think these monks are really crazy going off by themselves and of course sometimes they are. On the other hand when you are quiet and when you are free from a lot of cares, when you don’t make enough money to pay taxes, and don’t have a wife to fight with, and when your heart is quiet, you suddenly realize that everything is extremely beautiful and that just by being quiet you can almost sense that God is right there not only with you but even in you. Then you realize that it is worth the trouble of going away where you don’t have to talk and mess around and make a darn fool of yourself in the middle of a lot of people who are running around in circles to no purpose.
I suppose that is why monks go off and live in lonely places. Like me now. I live alone in the woods with squirrels and rabbits and deer and foxes and a huge owl that comes down by my cabin and makes a spooky noise in the night, but we are friends and it is all ok. A monk who lives all by himself in the woods is called a hermit. There is a Rock ’n’ Roll outfit called Herman and his Hermits but they are not the same thing.
I do not suppose for a moment that you wish to become a hermit (though now I understand there are some girl hermits in England and they are sort of friends of mine because they are hermits, so I send them stuff about how to be a hermit). But anyway, I suggest that you sometimes be quiet and think about how good a thing it is that you are loved by God who is infinite and who wants you to be supremely happy and who in fact is going to make you supremely happy. Isn’t that something? It is, my dear, and let us keep praying that it will work out like that for everybody.
Good bye now.
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