Tag: christianity

First Three Weeks of Lent:

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The various podcasts and sermons I have been listening to tell me that is it a time for ‘check in’ with myself about how I am doing with my Lenten disciplines. They also have mentioned that Lent starts to feel ‘hard’ about this time, as we are half way there.

Sometimes, I think I try to do too many different things. When I start on Ash Wednesday, it seems ‘oh, wow this podcast, or this Lenten program, and oh, yes, this looks like good spiritual reading too’. Then I realize that while they are all good and my intentions are good, I need to just pick a couple of things and keep it simple, so I can be consistent. As Father John Tap, our parish priest says: “We engage in these practices in order to grow closer to Christ, during this holy season and for the rest of our lives. So, if you have already fallen short with your Lenten commitments, then simply start over again.’ Good advice.

On the second Sunday of Lent, we reflect on the Transfiguration of Jesus. While Jesus is up on the Mountain with Peter, James and John, the Lord shares with us a little bit of the Kingdom and his affirmation of His Son and the role He will play in salvation history. I can only imagine that the apostles must have been overwhelmed by this experience of Jesus being transfigured and hearing the Lord’s voice.

This past Sunday, the third of Lent, we reflect on the story of the woman at the well. Jesus not only meets her where she is and for the reasons that she is there in the middle of the day, but He also tells her of her sin and explains the ‘Living Water’ to her. She was not afraid to approach Jesus; she listened; and she acted by running straight to her community and sharing with them what she now knew and understood; Jesus is the Messiah they have been waiting for. Just like the woman at the well, understanding and developing our faith takes a life time and it doesn’t happen over night. It’s all those little encounters we experience through prayer, people, things we read and all the other things we see and do in life that bring the fulfillment of faith to us.

May you be blessed as you continue your Lenten journey.

PJP

Third Week of Advent: Gaudete Sunday: JOY

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As we light the third candle, the rose/pink candle, we reflect on the joyful/rejoicing anticipation of the birth of Christ. There is a different feel to this week; the somberness of the first two weeks is changed to a lighter tone of JOY. We are still preparing for His coming in both our hearts and our deeds.

Father John Tapp at Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Florida gave a wonderful homily about the meaning of Gaudete Sunday. I will paraphrase and capture his main points. Title: What things in your life really bring you Joy, that deep sense of amazing joy in your heart? Is it that new car, the latest and greatest new gadget that does everything, the coolest new outfit from your favorite store, something your child or grandchild often does that warms your heart, your financial status, and the list goes on. Certainly, there is nothing wrong with feeling happy and joyful about any of these things. BUT the type of amazing, deep inner JOY and peace comes only from Jesus Christ who lives in our hearts. He is always there, but many times other material things that we think bring us JOY overshadow that feeling in our hearts.

I will share with you one of the closest moments to this JOY we are talking about that I experienced 37 years ago. It was a cold winter night in mid February with a new blanket of sparkling 6 inches of snow. My father had unexpectedly passed away only a few weeks before. After dinner that night, I was feeling sad, so I bundled up and took a long walk all the way to the top of a hill above where we lived. In a few moments, the moon shown so brightly that every flake of snow reflected like a diamond. I stopped, took a deep breath and in that moment through my tears, I felt the amazing JOY of Christ and His peace in my heart. I have never forgotten that type of JOY.

May you leave the material things on the second page and put Christ and the JOY He gives on the first page.

PJP

Feast of Corpus Christi: Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ:

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This most joyful beautiful day is the celebration of the wonderful gift of the Eucharist, which Our Lord gave to us at the Last Supper (Luke 9:11b-17). It places honor in the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Yes, He is truly present, not just a symbol of his presence, but truly the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus……our most precious spiritual life giving nourishment. Just as our bodies must be nourished daily to be in good health to feed our physical hunger, so too, the Eucharist is our soul’s nourishment to satisfy our deep spiritual poverty. Historically, this universal feast in the church was established by Pope Urban IV in 1264.

The above picture was from in front of our altar this past Sunday, depicting bread, wine and the chalice, symbols in Christianity that refer to Christ’s flesh and blood. What a joy it is that we as Catholics can receive Christ’s nourishment for our souls everyday at Mass if we choose.

The second topic for this post is that the month of June is celebrated as the Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Many Christians have a picture of the Jesus and his Most Sacred Heart displayed in their home and there are numerous prayers that can be said to honor His Sacred Heart and to petition Him for our needs. I recently had the pleasure of speaking with a priest about some various things. As I was finishing the conversation, the priest told me to say an Our Father and place this along with someone/or something in Jesus most wounded Sacred Heart……one prayer for each entity I wanted to tuck away in His Heart. I tucked in His Heart each of my children, each grandchild, each sibling, friends I knew that were in need, health issues and a few other things pertinent in my life. Along with several Our Father’s and quite a few minutes later, I had a profound sense of peace. On occasion, I have continued to do this at home.

Happy end of June and my you be blessed by His Most Sacred Heart and His Mercy that flows from His heart.

PJP