Lent, Learnings, Loves & Laughs

 Lent

 

            

       

Learnings

      

  

            

Loves

   

      

Laughs

     

Self-less Service

At the CDN, we are being formed to embody the charism of preaching. We have had preaching practicums, where we learn about the “dos and don’ts” of proclaiming and preaching the word.  There have been many opportunities to preach with our lives. We have also been invited to proclaim and preach the word of God from the strategically placed ambo in our chapel. This is intended to help us to further grow in the art of preaching and to build our confidence.

In this blog, I will share my preaching for Monday, March 21^st 2022 of the third week of Lent. It is a short reflection on 2 Kings vv. 1-15 and is entitled “self-less service”. 

 

Self-less service

 

It is challenging at times to forgive those who have hurt us. It is often more challenging to seek their best interests. The little Israelite girl was torn away from all that she knew and cherished. Her faith in God and God’s ability to work miracles were not diminished by her unfortunate life circumstances. She was able to look outside of herself in the midst of her own trials and see another. This little girl was able to empathize with her capturer. She recognized that he too was enslaved. He was enslaved by leprosy. The little girl willingly disclosed the key to his freedom, to those who kept her physically captive. She was spiritually free although she was bound in service to Naaman’s wife. This little girl demonstrated great faith and love. One can infer that she forgave her capturer because unforgiveness imprisons and restrains us from lovingly and generously serving others, especially those who have harmed us. This little one is a model of faith, hope and love. In the midst of her circumstances, she chose to serve in ways that glorified God.

Elisha also chose to serve in ways that glorified God. He could have refused to intervene when he heard that the King of Israel was distressed at receiving the king of Aram’s letter. Elisha could have refused to help those who had caused so much pain to his people. He could have judged them as being unworthy to receive God’s gift of healing. Since it was well known that only God could heal leprosy, Elisha seized the opportunity to evangelize: to lead the enemies of his people to the living God. Elisha allowed himself to be God’s instrument of healing and grace to Naaman.

Elisha and the little Israelite remind us that God’s love and mercy is for all of creation. I am often challenged to respond in love when others hurt or reject me. It is a humbling process, where I present my pain, fear and anger to God and ask God to help me to forgive so that I can love and serve in ways that glorify God. God gives us the graces that we need to remain faithful to God and God’s work of love even in the midst of our trials. We are also invited to demonstrate our faith in the living God by seeking the best interests of all whom God places upon our minds and hearts. 

Please know that I am not suggesting that anyone should accept abuse. If you or anyone you know is in an abusive situation, honour your dignity and life by seeking help from safe individuals or institutions, which protect vulnerable persons. Abuse is wrong and is not to be condoned under any circumstances. We are all made in God's image and likeness and God's desires that each of us is treated with love and respect. 

It is through our life experiences that we encounter God who desires to deliver us from all that imprisons us. It is through our daily routines that we not only encounter God but find opportunities to indiscriminately and joyfully lead others to God. Daily, we are invited to be present to the God of every moment and to be instruments of God’s healing and grace. Let us seize the opportunity today to joyfully serve God by selflessly serving all others.

                        The little Israelite girl: a model of selfless and joyful service to God through others

 

Choose life: Ponderings on death

 

Recently, I received news that my 18-year-old cousin (Tonisha Adams) was discovered dead in her home. Waves of shock, sorrow and concern washed over me. I cried out to God on Tonisha’s behalf. What a hard and short life this precious one had lived. I thanked God for the gift of her life and begged God to have mercy on my sweet girl.

                             Rest In Peace Tonisha

I have often disagreed with the author of 1 Corinthians (15:55) who said, “Oh death where is thy sting?” because the loss of loved ones pierces my heart deeply. The author of Thessalonians 4:13 also cautions that unless we are informed about death, we will grieve like those without hope. Being uninformed about the Church’s teaching on death can also increase the likelihood that we are imprisoned by the fear of our own deaths and /or the deaths of those we care about. So what exactly are the church’s teachings about death? To what extent does the teaching of the church impact the ways in which we grieve?

As Christians, death is supposed to have a positive meaning because of Christ. God made us to be in eternal union with God. Death is an unintended consequence of sin. Jesus, the Son of God suffered death because of His zeal to proclaim the kingdom of God. Through His resurrection, He transformed the curse of death into a blessing for humankind.[1]

Human beings are on an earthly pilgrimage to work out our earthly lives in accordance with God’s divine plan.[2] We have limited time to bring our lives to fulfilment through the grace of God.[3] Each breath that we take is graced. God in God’s loving mercy gifts us with opportunities to accept or reject the divine graces manifested in Christ.[4] In death, our soul is separated from our bodies and God calls humankind to Godself.[5] Immediately, we are received based on our works and faith.[6] Our experience after death is based on the choices that we make each day: the extent to which we chose life or death. Many of us do not know when we will die. As such, each day, we are invited to cherish the gift of time that we have been given by choosing well. In choosing life, we too proclaim the kingdom of God with our lives and can inspire others to do the same.

This Lenten period is an ideal time to reflect on our choices and the extent to which they are life-giving. Should we be called to our home today, to what extent did our lives reflect the love of Christ? As I spent time praying the aforementioned scriptures, my notion of death was transformed. I still deeply miss my loved ones and I take comfort in knowing that they are in the presence of God, who loves them even more than I. In addition, I am thankful for those who accompany me on this earthly pilgrimage. I am also truly grateful that God closely accompanies us on this journey and gives us all the graces of which we are in need. I am ever mindful of the importance of interceding for all on this pilgrimage as well as for those who have returned to God before us.

Each day, news of deaths, wars, sickness, poverty, injustice and environmental degradation reinforce the urgency of the call to preach and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is crucial that Christians equip people with that which will help them to maximize the time that they have remaining by choosing life for themselves and others each day. This period of formation is providing the skills to help me to continue to choose life in accordance with God’s will for my life and to encourage others to do the same. In living as God calls us to live, we joyfully proclaim the gospel and wait in hope for the final call that will unite us eternally with our beloved God

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[1] Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1009).

[2] CCC 1001

[3] CCC 1007

[4] CCC 1021

[5] CCC 1011

[6] CCC 1021

Call to Overcome the Desert, a reflection on Luke 4: 1-13

 Greetings to all!

As part of the prayer schedule here at the CDN, once a week on Sunday, we, as novices and directors, take turns preaching or sharing our reflection on the Word.  It is one of the greatest blessings for me as I am able to listen to others and to practice deeper contemplation on the Word and listen to God speaking to me in the present.  Below is part of my reflection from last Sunday March 6th, Lk 4:1-13. 

How many of you have experienced God's presence with you and God's help to overcome the struggles when you reached out? How many of you have experienced a time when you felt distance or separation from God and others when you failed to choose the right choice?

Lk 4:1-13 told us about Jesus’ experience in the desert of making choices and how he overcame the temptations by holding tightly to God and the Word of God. Jesus trusted in the love of God who was with him and filled him with the Holy Spirit. He was awake and aware of the temptations and his goal was to overcome them and to strengthen his relationship with God. The love of God and the Word took over and overflowed Jesus’ heart. This was all he had and this gave him the energy, courage, and strength when choosing between God and the earthy power and when facing the challenges of loneliness, hunger, and the desire to turn away from God.  He did not fall over the temptations and he overcame all.

After I listened to the Gospel, I asked, what about me? how about us? Do our daily choices help us strengthen our relationship with God and with others? Do they separate us or draw us together?  During Lent, I also hear God calling me and us to pause and to see where we are in relationship with God and with others.  Let us relook into our lives and examine ourselves.  Are we living out God’s dream and God’s goal for us? Are we living our lives as fully as we can and as God’s intention is for us to be? We can redirect or turn around if we are not, because with God it is never too late.

Dear God, please help us to be awake, alert, and aware of Your Presence in our midst and not to lose focus on You when we must make choices and face the trials daily. Please help us to open the eyes of our hearts to see your guidance in our every step, especially during this Lenten season. Help us not to fall into temptations that separate and cause us to turn away from You and others.  Please help us to overcome our trials as Jesus did and help us to reconnect with You, the source of life, who gives us energy, strength, and hope.

Lent 2022: Following Jesus into the desert

 

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert for 40 days.” Mt 4:1

                
The Desert of Temptation in the Holy Land

Lent 2022 is here and I needed to look at it from a completely different perspective this year. In the past, I would “give up” some food that I really liked and take the money I saved from not buying that food and donate the money to charity. Well, this year, being at the novitiate, I don’t buy nor do I pay for the food I eat, so I needed to find a new way to “give up” something this Lent. Also, in the past, I would give away 40 things I owned, one each day of Lent. These could be clothes, books, house wears, gift cards, shoes, toiletries, etc. But, this August when I came to the novitiate, I only brought with me the bare minimum that I would need for the 10 months I would be in Chicago. So here’s another Lenten practice I needed to change or reimagine.   

For this Lent I realized that I need to do some real “heart work” and hard work to go deeper into my novitiate journey and for my future vocation in religious life.  For me, especially during this Lent, Jesus is saying to me, “Look Cathy, you don’t know everything and you’ve got a lot of interior spiritual work to do!” Only by looking deeply into my heart can I gain insights about this new way of life I am embracing. These insights are really insights into the workings of God in my discernment. This is the heart work that Jesus is calling me to do this Lent.

Timothy Radcliff’s quote from his book “Sing a New Song: The Christian Vocation” really spoke to me about exactly where I am at, in this time of my formation. He says that “Initial formation will entail moments of pain, disorientation, discouragement and a loss of meaning”. He also says that, “If these moments do not happen, then my formation would not be touching me deeply.” I am challenged to look at these hard moments of disorientation and pain as opportunities to grow and change. But that can only happen if I can stop being blind to the changes I might need to make. I need to look for the opportunities to be a better learner and discerner of Jesus’ call in my life. I need to take a hard look for the areas in my life that I need to work on. 

So where do I look to make these needed changes? Possibly by answering the question, how is Jesus calling me into the desert this Lent to work on looking deeply into the areas of my life that I am blind to? Lent 2022 is the time to do my heart work and my hard work. This is where I ask the hard questions and listen for the difficult answers that maybe I don’t want to hear. Jesus is asking me to enter the desert with him this Lent and make the time for us to do this hard work and heart work together. How about you, where is Jesus calling you to go with him this Lent?

Blessings on your Lenten journey!