A Papal Voyage and Profound Mission. By: C.C.

"In her voyage across the ocean of this world, the Church is like a great ship being pounded by the waves of life's different stresses. Our duty is not to abandon ship but to keep her on her course." (St.Boniface)
   To be a part of The Mystical Body of Christ calls us to a noble task. It is a demand that reminds us of our need to be a true reflection of Christ and His love. As Venerable Fulton Sheen once said  "We can't claim to be Christian unless we reflect the Person, the mind, the will, the heart & the humanity of Christ". This demands great things of each member of the Church. These demands are those that rightfully can not be fulfilled by man alone but must be entrusted to our Lord in faith.

To keep the Church on Her course is not a matter of criticizing everything one perceives wrong with Her, but to seek and learn more about everything She truly is and what this means for each of us as followers of Christ.

Our duty above all is to love as Christ loved and to pursue the path He walked in our daily walk through wherever our lives lead us. We carry out the mission of the Church in a powerful way when we personally commit to living our lives authentically in pursuit of Christian virtues. We keep the Church on Her course by keeping ourselves aligned with the teachings of Christ. A true exemplar of this is the Holy Father Pope Francis.

    It is difficult to navigate the internet these days without stumbling upon Pope Francis. Secular media in the western world has imploded with coverage and stories about the recent Papal visit to America. 
   As always there is heated talk and debate about what the Holy Father has said or has not said. We can remain attached to these words and to the absence of those that we wish he said, or we can turn our hearts and minds toward the One that our Holy Father is a reflection of. 

    It is alarming to me how many "devout Catholics" at times can be up in arms with criticism over the actions of our Holy Father. Such animosity toward his living out of the Gospel calls into question the authenticity of one's faith and perhaps exposes some vice(s) that need attention! 

    Pope Francis has repeatedly been misunderstood, poorly translated, and criticized. As too was Jesus. It is not the allure of political power nor a progressive desire that drives the Holy Father, it is the greatness of our Lord and the well being of the Holy Catholic Church entrusted to him. Many may have difficulty accepting the Catholic Church and what She demands through faith, but through a profound witness of living out the Gospel message those of us who claim to be Catholic can gently encourage another to encounter Christ. It can invite people beyond the idealistic and self-centred wants they may have of the Church and lead them to embrace the beautiful reality of what She already is. "Our duty is not to abandon ship but to keep her on her course".

   The witness of Pope Francis this past week is much more than what he did or did not speak about. His actions and his presence reflect the love of the Lord and the truth of joy belonging to the faith alone that no script can proclaim. (CC) 

   

Faithful Action By: C.C.

"The Lord God has given me a disciple's tongue, for me to know how to give a word of comfort to the weary. Morning by morning he makes my ear alert to listen like a disciple.The Lord God has opened my ear and I have not resisted, I have not turned away.I have offered my back to those who struck me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; I have not turned my face away from insult and spitting.For the Lord God helps me; this is why insult has not touched me, this is why I have set my face like flint and know that I shall not be put to shame." (Isaiah 50: 4-7)

   We are not our own. All that God gives to us is not for us. Rather than being a seemingly harsh statement it is meant to lead us toward contemplating the reality that our Lord has made us for Himself. We are not made out of a selfish possessiveness but created by God who is love. His design in creating us for Himself alone is so that we may come to know the fullness of joy and fulfilment that He intends for us in this life and in the one to come. 

    Freely we either deny Him or lovingly turn toward Him so that we may be sent forth in love to others. By faith we can see that all given to us by God is for God. And in His love we come to see how the giving of ourselves away in service to others is a means of showing gratitude to God for the gifts He has given. Despite the receptivity of others to our kindness we are sent forth in love to give unconditionally. As today's first reading reminds us the Lord God is our help and we will not be put to shame for acting with virtue. 

   Thanksgiving to God for the grace that is given to us is manifested in the giving away of ourselves in the service of love to others. This reality can present a great challenge for us as we are surrounded by messages that promote and value self-preservation or personal merit as the ideal. 

    If we are given the gift of faith then we are also presented with the responsibility of it's demands. Today's second reading reflects upon faith and works. Our lives should be a living testimony of the faith that we profess. Most of us are called to serve Christ in the active vineyard of the world and are not cloistered in a cave in silent prayer. We can often seek monstrous ministries when the Lord calls us to first minister in the most simple ordinary moments of our lives. The impact of our actions as a reflection of the faith we claim to have does more for another, and in doing so does more to serve the Lord.  

   Our actions speak to ears that have not yet been opened. An act done out of faithful love and service can invite the opportunity for one to listen and come to know the Lord. Our mouths may be busy with prayerful ramblings , but if we do not "walk the talk" then these moments of prayer should be for our own increased faith. (CC)

  “The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today”- St. Francis of Assisi

  

All Knowledge Belongs to God. By: C.C.

"Learning unsupported by grace may get into our ears;it never reaches the heart.But when God's grace touches our innermost minds to bring understanding,his word which has been received by the ear sinks deep into the heart."(St. Isidore of Seville)

  To thirst for knowledge is a wonderful thing. But if we forget the role of our Divine Instructor then our thirst and desire for learning may be rooted in a selfish hunger. The primacy of our desire to know anything must be to know Christ, as to better understand ourselves and our own human condition. The desire to know God is noble and one that will turn one's heart and mind to things that matter most. This seeking should lead us above all toward the heart of our Lord so that we may work to cultivate love for all according to His will (as we hear echoed in today's Gospel reading).

   To know Christ should lead us to serve Him most ardently with great fervour. Yet, many seek the Lord at times only to accredit themselves with knowledge. This knowledge does not belong to them, but most intimately with our Lord. An empty pursuit of wisdom leads one into themselves and not into the depth of Christ. In turn, one serves self violently, becoming disillusioned and only giving rise to their ego. Perhaps, at first this is unintentional and without malice. It is a slow winding path born from an apparent good and leading to the ill of pride. The subtle manner in which sin grasps the heart must be safe guarded by continuous surrender and love of the Sacraments. 

   The authentic desire to know God and love Him will be rewarded with a pure gift of wisdom. Such a gift demands responsibility. It must be embraced by humility, harvested by charity, and always shown through love. The wisdom that God gives to us should cultivate and foster love for His ways. It is not meant for division but for unity. Another's salvation is not to become our business or our pursuit if in doing this work we place ourselves above them and not among them! God has pursued us. It is He who saves. We are to concern ourself most with serving Him. We must recall time and time again our baseness and unworthiness, and His generous mercy!

  The hard hearted man remains in his head and pursues intellect alone, the virtuous man enters into his most inner self to grow in virtue and to gain wisdom. Let us pray to seek and serve with purity of intention so that the fruits may be plenty. (CC)

Praising the Thorns. By: C.C.

"God shows no partiality (Acts 10:34). He does not take account of nobility of birth, length of time in his service, or the number of our good works. What counts with God is a devout soul's increased fervor and more ardent love. He does not consider how you once behaved , but what you have now begun to be."(St. Bonaventure)
   One of my favourite Scripture passages is from a letter St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians in which he mentions the "thorn in his flesh". This thorn was permitted by God in order to prevent St. Paul from becoming too proud or elated in the many consolations that had been sent to him.
  The presence of this thorn serves as a reminder to St. Paul of his humanity and weakness. It leaves Him nothing to boast of except our Lord. In fact, this is where the beautiful gift and grace of his suffering blossoms. As a broken instrument St. Paul shines forth the majesty and works of our Lord through the simplicity of his surrender and the silent shout of his struggles to God. 
  St. Paul, like all of us battles with imperfection and the toil of temptation. The experience of temptation may vary from one person to the next, but there is struggle. We can at times live in the shadow of our past experiences and wounds. Some of our sins can still linger in the corners of our hearts and minds even after many Confessions and moments of repentance. There are wounds that may resurface and still burn. 
   God's mercy and love is unconditional. As St. Bonaventure reminds us God "does not consider how you once behaved, but what you have now begun to be". We can often become so self-absorbed with the difficulties we face and the "thorns in our side" that we overlook the profound grace God has sent us. We can long for the quickest fix to our problems and pain, especially when faced with many messages in our surroundings preaching instant gratification. From fast food to instant communication we can fall into the temptation of longing to have even our deepest hurts healed with the press of a button. Unfortunately, and thankfully thorns remain. 
   If we remain rooted in Christ and honestly seek to follow Him with "increased fervor and more ardent love" we can be assured that our "Divine Physician" will bring about the healing we need in order to carry out the mission He has called us to at the pace that we can handle for His good. Should we be pricked by a thorn or two from time to time let us recognize in these moments the way that this too is for our good and the good of others. We are not polished and perfected because we strive to live in accordance to God's plan. We are broken and wounded and in that we share good company with some of the best! I question the motive of those who claim to have it "all" together as they strive to witness to God's goodness. The truth is we are all as together as we can possibly be because of the goodness of God. The only thing we should claim to hold together are our hands in perpetual prayer. 
    I live with the thorn of my past in my side. Not in a scrupulous way but it reminds me time and time again of God's goodness and mercy in my life. It reminds me of the ongoing journey of conversion. I used to fear encountering those who knew me before I began practising my faith. I was worried about their judgement and truthfully a bit self absorbed in how "they" would see me, or remember me. Over time I began to recognize the amazing way God's transforming grace spoke through in these encounters and eventually brought great joy. Hearing "there's something so different about you" reminded me of the Someone greater than all of us that knocked me off my horse! The memories, not so glorious have been healed by our Lord, but every now and then there is the grace of a thorn prick to remind me Who God is and who I am not. A prick that corrects my judgement and allows me to recognize that being perfect is not important to serve God. The prick of the thorn reminds me to see others through the lens of my own brokenness and not with partiality.
God "does not consider how you once behaved , but what you have now begun to be."  May we strive to remember how we once behaved, so that we may forever live rejoicing to God by the witness of our lives and what we have begun to be by His mercy. (CC)
   

Three Persons One Divine Love. By: C.C.

"It is not just individual man and woman that image the Trinity (in the unity of body, soul, and spirit), but in a yet more perfect way men and women together, because together they form a union of love from which proceeds a third person, their child. Thus all three persons in the human family, mother, father, and child, are wrapped with a bond of self-giving love–and in this way they image the Trinity. (Gretchen- The Catholic Company) 

"Do you pray together?" The question stopped me mid sentence and demanded a response. When the priest asked me this I was forced to silence. The Confessional is one of my favourite places, not because I am a scrupulous person or a 'repeat offender',  but because I recognize my vast sin(s) and my need to reconcile with our Lord and prayerfully reconcile with others.
    God is truly full of surprises and I am amazed at how often the Confessional is the very place where He most astounds me. My last Confession was one of these particular moments when out of no where and in no way relating to the topic of my ceaseless ramblings the priest asked that question. I was almost embarrassed to admit that since the birth of Eliana and throughout my pregnancy it had often been difficult to pray regularly with my husband outside of Mass. This had little to do with him and in fact much more to do with me. My husband prefers night prayer and I prefer the dark solitude of the early morning. He was always willing to compromise and I just fell into my own habit of personal private solitary prayer. I always used the excuse of attending daily Mass (whenever we managed to together) as praying together. In my heart I knew the importance and need for establishing a prayer time as husband and wife. 
   Before humbly answering Father with the right answer I entertained him with a bunch of excuses. Then in the back of my mind I was fully convinced that my husband had been talking to him in his confessions. I was so convinced that I began my response by saying "Well Fr, despite what he'll tell you..." (more on that later)
   The priest began to counsel me on the importance of the Sacrament of marriage and the grace that belongs to us intimately as husband and wife. Admittedly I was almost losing sight of this primary role as wife and was being consumed with my new role as mother. The priest reminded me that the grace to be a mother flows from the sacramental grace on our wedding day.
  As I sat in the Church following Confession I reflected upon the Trinity and how it truly is the icon of family life. I was able to better understand the role that I have in maintaining and nurturing our very own domestic Trinity.It is a continual outpouring of self into the other as the Father pours into the Son and to the Holy Spirit. The fullness of God's love is manifested in the Holy Trinity just as the fullness of family life manifests in the perpetual 'self giving love' of all persons within the family. 
  It is through this realization that the family stays united in Christ. It is by striving to fulfill my vocation as a wife that I am a better mother to my daughter and in being a devoted husband that my spouse is too a better father.  
   I came home from Church on a prayer mission!! I spoke at length with my husband about constructing a routine prayer time together that would be manageable for us. I found out that he actually did not confess to this priest in months, and even though our prayer life had been on his heart he never did share this. 
   "Do you pray together?" was a prompting of the Holy Spirit from the love of our heavenly Father and Son so that our domestic Trinity could grow in love and serve Him more abundantly. Though it is cliché "The family that prays together stays together". May all families strive to live out their vocation of fruitful love and be as an icon of God in the world. (CC) 

Motherhood & Prayer: Ora et Labora by: C.C

I was kindly asked by Stephanie (a dear sister in Christ) to guest blog on her site. Here is a link to what I wrote http://bluebird-songs.blogspot.ca/2015/07/motherhood-prayer-ora-et-labora.html

Enjoy getting to know Stephanie too!

The Birth Story of Eliana Grace & God's Gift of Grace. by:C.C.

" For this child I have prayed and the Lord has granted the desires of my heart" (1 Samuel 1:27)
                                           
                                                Eliana's Baptism Day: Divine Mercy Sunday

    I hesitated to share the intimacies of our daughter's birth story out of the initial desire to  enjoy the sacredness of each moment with her and to allow for everything to 'sink in'. After  some prayerful reflection I felt it was important to share her birth story to bring glory to God.

   Every birth, every beautiful gift of life within the womb of a woman is a testimony of our Lord's majesty and goodness. The experience is full of awe. It is difficult for me to imagine any woman carrying life within her and not contemplating the One who gave us all this precious gift of life--"You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb" (Psalm 139:13). 

   The experience of my pregnancy allowed me to enter more fully into the mystery of our Lord. Not only was I stretched in the literal sense, but also spiritually. My awareness of the unknown was expanded and the reliance on hope and trust in the Lord was renewed and prayed for every day (often many times in the same day). 

   My husband and I decided to keep the gender of our baby a surprise.  Leading up to the  due date of March 18th we often tried to guess what we were having. This too was a test of  my patience! Given that I was due to deliver during the Lenten season I thought that my Lenten sacrifice could be to offer up my labour pains for our Lord's sufferings and mercy. Yes, I was naive at this time to the pains to come, but I was determined. I shared this desire with my spiritual director, who replied without hesitation "You know Catherine, I read somewhere that the pains of child birth are the equivalent of sixty bones crushing simultaneously, or something like that" ...well Father, thanks for the encouraging words! I left there recognizing the need to enter more fully into the preparation with prayer, while also aware of my own physical limitations. 

    St.Gerard (patron of expectant mothers) and I became great friends, but I also decided that I would need to think of more concrete offerings to meditate upon throughout the labour experience. As the due date approached I entered into the Psalms and following the advice of a priest in Confession read and re-read the scripture of Jesus in Gethsemane. I  thought of three intentions (in no specific order) and kept them in my heart.

    My intentions were The Passion of Our Lord and the excruciating pain He endured. I also committed to offering up my labour for the women who have had abortions, for their emotional pains and for our Lord's mercy on them. And lastly, but not least, I chose to offer up any sufferings to come for the 21 Egyptian Coptic Martyrs, as that story truly touched my heart and the images of them kneeling on the beach in surrender left a painful imprint within me. I knew it would take discipline and focus to think of these intentions when my "hour came" (John 16:21).

   And the hour(s) did arrive on Sunday, March 15th, 2015. My water broke at home (thankfully) and the journey to delivery began. I will spare the specifics. Things progressed well and I endured much of the early stages of labour at home before my midwife asked me to come to the hospital to monitor baby and me at 2pm. Baby and I were doing healthily and  she was confident to send me back home as she thought I had much time to endure before it was "Go" time. 

   My husband was truly the hero this day with support, patience, and incredible focus operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of a wife in labour! The agony became more intense as soon as we left the hospital to return home. Once home, I entered deeply into my intentions, plugged into my ipod , which my husband had loaded with audio from my favourite Gregorian Chant  and waited in expectation of more to come.

   By 8:00pm we were on our way back to the hospital, and at this point I was quite sure that if labour had not yet fully arrived then I would not be able to keep going! When we arrived to the hospital my husband dropped me off at the Emergency entrance said to wait there for him and a wheel chair as he parked. I told him I'd be walking right in to labour and delivery and that I had to keep moving ...off I went. This walk up to labour and delivery was truly a  grace. It was during this time of painful walking and stumbling that I was again able to refocus on my intentions. 

   My wonderful midwife (a seriously devout Polish Catholic) was there to greet me with open arms. She gave me a very soothing and maternal hug. Eventually my husband arrived not too long after, carrying multiple bags and on a mission! By roughly 9pm I was checked for the first time and I was 9cm dilated!!! It was indeed "GO" time shortly. My husband placed a crucifix that we had brought from home above my head. By 11:24pm our baby girl had arrived!

                                               

   There is much that remains in the sanctity of silence and experience alone. However departure day on March 17th, 2015 was truly where the most affirming sign from our Lord was made visible. 

  My husband and I were leaving the hospital and he had gone to get the car telling me to wait with Eliana inside as he felt it was too cold to wait outside. I am much more stubborn. I began to leave through the main doors and was stopped for a moment by two men attempting to enter at the same time. These men we robed in black cassocks, one gentleman had a rather long beard and was carrying a small wooden ornate Crucifix. I motioned for them to enter, but they insisted that I depart first. I was intrigued by them. It was rather cool so I walked back inside of the lobby. The man with the beard and Crucifix was seated across from the information desk and I approached him, gazing at the Crucifix in his hand. He held Jesus out to me and I reverently did the sign of our faith and kissed the Crucifix with my hand. I was greatly moved and began to ask him some questions. Embarrassingly the first question was "Are you a Christian?" (yes, it was glaringly obvious, but I'm not sure what overcame me). My next question to him was "Are you Orthodox?" to which he said yes. I then asked him if he was a priest and he replied yes. I told him that I was Roman Catholic and without hesitation he brought his hand to his heart and said " My brothers". 

     The exchange was very emotional. I introduced him to Eliana and he blessed her. I began to weep, and being 2 days postpartum these were quite intense tears! He sat back down and I asked him what type of Orthodox Christian he was, and when he replied that he was Egyptian Coptic my tears and awareness of God's providence and majesty increased. 

   I shared my labour intentions with him....telling him that I had included his martyred brothers in my intentions as I continued to weep. He stood up and gave me two prayer cards and said "Remember St. Paul always". 

   Here below are photographs of the cards. I obviously have no idea what they say, but that  is unimportant. 

                                   

                                   

    My husband then called me and I walked out of the hospital crying. My first words to him in response to his perplexed look were "I'm okay, God is so amazing."! He assumed it was hormonal, but on the ride home I shared the story with him and showed him the prayer cards. He was just as moved. I am so grateful that our Lord gave me the gift of this tangible keepsake to remember the blessing of this day and to share it with others. Should Eliana ever doubt God's presence in her life I will be undoubtedly sharing the story of her birth and leaving the hospital with her!!

   The name Eliana means "My God has answered" and our Lord truly answered me with  her life and affirmed my Lenten offering. May the glory and praise be to God. (CC)