Blessed are those who persevere

This was from the first reading today:

Blessed is anyone who perseveres when trials come. Such a person is of proven worth and will win the prize of life, the crown that the Lord has promised to those who love him. James 1:12

Something to remember when life is hard.

How do You Listen to God?

Guest Post by Janet Cassidy:


It was a brisk morning with a fog laying over most of the yard. I couldn't resist stepping out of my warm house to breathe in the fresh smells of nature. For many families, mornings are so rushed, I wonder if they ever have time to enjoy all that God has to offer in those early quiet moments before the birds start making their din.

Admittedly, you have to get up before, say, 5:30ish, to take it in; most people I know aren't particularly interested in anything at that time of day. But, I am. For some reason, my biological clock has changed and I routinely wake up around 4:30 a.m. I don't particularly want to wake up that early, but, I figure, if God wants to talk . . .

If you have been struggling lately with a decision, take some time to really listen to God. If I am trying to listen to God, I'll read something inspiring and meditate on it. As I do this, my concerns seep in and very often a hint of an idea will take shape. The more I consider it, the stronger the impulse to act on it. I have found that this path to God's wisdom has never failed me. Not once.

How do you listen to God? Is it working for you?

God bless,
Janet


Please visit my website at http://www.janetcassidy.com for more news and commentary, including my blog!

Understanding Four Marian Doctrines

May has long been considered a month devoted to Mary. As such, it is a fitting time to explore the four main Marian doctrines promulgated by the Church: Mary as Mother of God, The Immaculate Conception, Mary's Perpetual Virginity, and Mary's Assumption into Heaven.

Mary as Mother of God
In 481, the Council of Ephesus declared Mary to be the Mother of God (Theotokos). This was proclaimed to confirm Jesus' dual nature as both human and divine. This tradition is based on the first chapter of Luke's Gospel, when the angel tells Mary “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son.” Mary responded with her willingness to take on the task. “Let it be done to me according to your word.” The “Catechism of the Catholic Church” teaches the following: "Called in the Gospels 'the mother of Jesus,' Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as 'the mother of my Lord.' In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly 'Mother of God' (Theotokos)" (495)

Pope John Paul II both confirmed and expanded that teaching in his 1987 encyclical, “Redemptoris Mater.” He understands Mary's motherhood as also being one of faith. Not only was she the physical mother of Jesus, but she was also the first believer, the mother of the Church. “Mary as Mother became the first 'disciple' of her Son, the first to whom he seemed to say: 'Follow me,' even before he addressed this call to the Apostles or to anyone else.” (RM 20)

The Immaculate Conception
The Doctrine of Mary as the Immaculate Conception was officially promulgated by the Church by Pope Pius IX on December 8, 1854. He wrote, “From the very beginning, and before time began, the eternal Father chose and prepared for his only-begotten Son a Mother in whom the Son of God would become incarnate and from whom, in the blessed fullness of time, he would be born into this world. Above all creatures did God so lover her that truly in her was the Father well pleased with singular delight. Therefore, far above all the angels and all the saints so wondrously did God endow her with the abundance of all heavenly gifts poured from the treasury of his divinity that this mother, ever absolutely free of all stain of sin, all fair and perfect, would possess that fullness of holy innocence and sanctity than which, under God, one cannot even imagine anything greater, and which, outside of God, no mind can succeed in comprehending fully.”

This declaration was confirmation of a long-standing tradition in the Church. In the time of St. Augustine (354-430), the Holy Virgin was already considered free from sin. In 1546, the Council of Trent confirmed this teaching when they declared that all men (and women) were born with original sin, but they exempted Mary from that designation.

Mary's Perpetual Virginity
The Doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity is perhaps the one that garners the most debate. While most, if not all, Christians accept that Jesus was born of a virgin mother, what happened after that birth is not so easily agreed upon. After all, the Biblical record seems to imply that Jesus had brothers and sisters. The Catholic position on this has always been that the terms used for brothers and sisters did not mean an exclusive relationship as we take those terms to mean today – being born of the same mother and father. Rather, in Hebrew at that time, there were no terms for cousin, nephew, or uncle. The terms simply meant relatives or brethren. The individuals referred to could have been Joseph's children from an earlier marriage or cousins.

The earliest record of Mary's perpetual virginity goes back to 120 AD in the “Protoevangelium of Jesus”. This is a noncanonical work whose main purpose was to illustrate that Mary was a consecrated virgin. It was written early enough in the Christian tradition, however, that had Mary had other children, that fact still would have been remembered and the document would have been deemed worthless. Jason Evert, writing in “This Rock,” states that “consecrated virginity was not common among first century Jews, but it did exist. According to some early Christian documents, such as the Protoevangelium of James (written around A.D. 120), Mary was a consecrated virgin. As such, when she reached puberty, her monthly cycle would render her ceremonially unclean and thus unable to dwell in the temple without defiling it under the Mosaic Law. At this time, she would be entrusted to a male guardian. However, since it was forbidden for a man to live with a woman he was not married or related to, the virgin would be wed to the guardian, and they would have no marital relations.”

The Assumption of Mary into Heaven

The Doctrine of the Assumption of Mary proclaims that at the end of her earthly life, Mary was brought up to heaven body and soul. It was declared by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950 and, like the Immaculate Conception, was a formal declaration of a belief that had long been held by the faithful. Pope Pius XII states that “So then, the great Mother of God, so mysteriously united to Jesus Christ from all eternity by the same decree of predestination, immaculately conceived, an intact virgin throughout her divine motherhood, a noble associate of our Redeemer as he defeated sin and its consequences, received, as it were, the final crowning privilege of being preserved from the corruption of the grave and, following her Son in his victory over death, was brought, body and soul, to the highest glory of heaven, to shine as Queen at the right hand of that same Son, the immortal King of Ages.”

While nowhere in scripture does it state that Mary was taken up to heaven body and soul, there are scriptural references that are used to support it. Genesis 3:15 which puts “the woman” in direct opposition to the devil is used to show that she conquered death. “Other passages include Revelation 12:1, in which Mary.s coronation implies her bodily assumption, and 1 Corinthians 15:23 and Matthew 27:52-53, which support the possibility of a bodily assumption. And lastly there is Psalm 132:8, which provides: Arise, O Lord, into your resting place: you and the ark which you have sanctified.. Mary is the new ark of the covenant (cf. Rev. 11:19-12:1), who physically bore the presence of God in her womb (cf. Lk. 1:42) before bearing Christ to the world.” (Faith Facts, 1999)

One of the earliest proponents of the tradition of the Assumption was St. John Damascene (675-749), one of the last of the Fathers of the Church. He wrote that “It was right that she who had kept her virginity unimpaired through the process of giving birth should have kept her body without decay through death. It was right that she who had given her Creator, as a child, a place at her breast should be given a place in the dwelling-place of her God. It was right that the bride espoused by the Father should dwell in the heavenly bridal chamber. It was right that she who had gazed on her Son on the cross, her heart pierced at that moment by the sword of sorrow that she had escaped at his birth, should now gaze on him seated with his Father. It was right that the Mother of God should possess what belongs to her on and to be honored by every creature as the God’s Mother and handmaid.” Already in the sixth century, there were liturgical feasts dedicated to Mary.

In "Redemptoris Mater," Pope John Paul II reaffirms that tradition, “Preserved free from all guilt of original sin, the Immaculate Virgin was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory upon the completion of her earthly sojourn.” In heaven, she continues to serve, sharing in the kingdom of the Son (RM 41).

When Your Child Has Been Abused

Heidi Hess Saxton has written a very informative article on a very difficult subject for Catholic Exchange: When Your Child Has Been Abused. As the Child Advocate for my own parish, I am responsible for making sure that every volunteer and employee has training in recognizing the signs of child abuse. It is such a difficult situation for all involved. In this article, Heidi has provided some concrete ways to deal with the unfortunate tragedy of child abuse.

Book Review: The Gift of Years

The Gift of Years: Growing Older Gracefully
by Joan Chittister
New York: Bluebridge, 2008

When The Gift of Years: Growing Older Gracefully by Joan Chittister made its way to my mailbox for me to review, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Was I really the right person to be reviewing this? After all, I am in my thirties, transitioning from youth to middle age. I'm not quite ready for senior citizen status yet. As it turned out, “The Gift of Years: Growing Older Gracefully” is a wonderful lesson in how to live, regardless of our chronological age.

Chittister, a Benedictine sister, is 70 years old. She suggests that she may actually be too young to write this book because life still has lessons left to offer. She “reserves the right to revise this edition when she is ninety.” Chittister views how we life at any age to be a choice. We are each given the gift of today. It is up to us what we do with it. She counters the idea that old age need be a time of isolation and loneliness and uselessness. Rather, it can be a time of great connectedness and joy and purpose. It is a time for looking back, not with the pain of regret for opportunities lost, but with understanding of how the life that has been lived has meaning for who we are right now and what our future holds.

Chittister maintains that senior citizens have so much to offer to the world at large. Their wisdom and their stories and their experience are a great gift. They also have the time to get involved. Without the pressures of a 9-to-5 job or raising a family, they can volunteer more, make more of a difference. They have the chance to do all the things that they always wanted to do that there was never time for before. “Age does not forgive us our responsibility to give the world back to God a bit better than it was because we were here.”

Of course, there are special challenges that come with the transition to later adulthood and Chittister does acknowledge that fact. It can be difficult to be older in a world that so values youth. It can be hard to reclaim a sense of self with everything that defined that self is now gone. It can be a struggle to cope with physical ailments and disabilities. As Chittister states, however, “there is no such thing as not coping. . . The only issue is whether we will choose to cope well or poorly.” We do have a choice. We can adjust our way of thinking and our way of being or we can give up.

Mostly, though, being older brings freedom. “We are free now to choose the way we live in the world, the way we relate to the world around us, the attitudes we take to life, the meaning we get out of it, the gifts we put into it. And all of them can change.” “The Gift of Years” is a gift in itself. It provides the opportunity to reflect on what it means to grow older and provides hope for a time of life that holds great promise.

Catholic Writer's Conference Winding Down

Today is the last day of the "Catholic Writer's Conference" sponsored by The Catholic Writers' Guild" and Canticle Magazine. It really was a great conference. I presented on "The Art of the Blog" and enjoyed conversing with the attendees very much. I also attended many other workshops and got some great ideas for my own writing. I would like to say a very public Thank You to all who were involved in this project from its inception to its final day.

Fr. McGivney named "Venerable Servant of God"

I was just reading the May 2008 issue of "Columbia" magazine, and learned that Fr. Michael McGivney has passed the first step en route to sainthood. This comes 10 years after his cause for canonization began in October 1997.

Fr. Michael McGivney (1852-1890) was the founder of the Knights of Columbus. For those of you who haven't done so, I would encourage you to read Parish Priest: Father Michael McGivney and American Catholicism by Douglas Brinkley and Julie Fenster. It is a wonderful story of Fr. McGivney's life as well as a look at American Catholicism at that time.

The title "venerable" means that Fr. McGivney can be held up as a role model of what it means to live a Christian life.

We are God's "Skin"

My spiritual director shared this story with me:

A little girl woke up with a bad dream. Her mother attempted to comfort her by reminding her that there was nothing to be afraid of because God was with her. The young girl replied, "Oh, I know God is with me, but I need someone with some skin!"

This is true for all of us, isn't it? We know God is there, but we also need the signs of God's love that come from other human beings. We, too, need someone with "skin" to offer encouragement, to give us a hug, to physically help us when we are struggling, to hold the door open, to help us carry a burden (both literally and figuratively.) By the same token, we need to be a sign of God's love for those we encounter on a daily basis. We need to be the one offering our help and support and our concern.

A Church I pass on a regular basis has the words "I have no body now but yours" written on the outside. How true that is! We need to remember that we are God's "skin" in the world.

The "Secret" Behind Getting Google Ads Free

For those of you who publish blogs or websites, you may have seen the ads for a new system promising that you can make millions of dollars by getting Google Ads free. It sounds too good to be true, right? Yet, it is tempting. The "secret" is being offered in different places for prices ranging from $60 - $100 - not too much of an investment if you figure that you can make millions off of this idea. I admit, I was tempted. It took quite a bit of searching but I was finally able to discover what the "Secret" is. It isn't so much a scam as it is misleading. You don't get the ads for free. Instead, what you do is offset the cost of your ads by selling advertising on your own site. If selling advertising on your own site was that simple, there would be no need for Google Ads in the first place.

There really isn't any foolproof way to make money on the internet. It is a business like any other, but there will always be people willing to fork over their money for a chance at easy money, especially when they are desperate. I thought I would save you the trouble.

Jesus has conquered the world

In the world you will have trouble,
but take courage, I have conquered the world. John 16:33

This verse from John's Gospel for today is so comforting. Jesus knows that this life is not always easy. It often seems as if evil is winning. But Jesus reminds us that while battles may be won or lost, the triumph of good over evil is certain.

A Time for Miracles

Spring seems to be a special time for miracles. After the cold and desolation of winter, everything comes to life again. We are surrounded by miracles and, yet, we so often don’t stop to appreciate them. Daffodils and tulips are blooming in my garden. Planted in the fall, they are my act of hope each year that I believe spring will come. As winter is just drawing to a close they begin to poke their heads up out of the snow, holding such promise. Then, one day, they begin blooming and it is breathtaking. Each flower is so beautiful. It lives for only a few short days, but God cared enough to put such care into its creation. The same goes for all the other green things that are pushing their way through the earth, reaching up for the sun. My children love to collect the dandelions and present them to me so that I can put them in vases. I did the same thing when I was a little girl. Even the so-called weeds are made by God!

This morning at mass, the children of our parish took part in the crowning of Mary, a special tradition in the month of May. The 2nd graders who made their first communion this weekend were dressed in their special first communion clothes, a symbol of their purity as they received Jesus for the first time. Each child was given a blue carnation which they placed at the feet of a statue of Mary while “Hail, Holy Queen” was sung by the congregation. It was so touching. Each of those children is a gift from God, each one created for a special purpose, each one a walking miracle!

This afternoon, my children were playing with the little girl who lives next door. They were all blowing bubbles and having a wonderful time doing it. I watched the bubbles as they sailed away. The light was streaming through them and making little rainbows. They only lasted a few moments but they brought such delight for that short period of time. We have a God that made rainbows!

It amazes me that anyone can look at creation and not believe in an intelligent, loving God. How could all this be random? From the tiniest part of a cell to the expanses of space, such care was put into creation. So often we are in a hurry. We get caught up in the busyness of life and we walk right by. We get mired in sadness and discouragement. We see all the darkness. But we are surrounded by beauty. Our world is overflowing with miracles! Somehow they are all that much more noticeable in the spring. Each flower, each insect, each sunny day, each time our children laugh playing outside is a reminder to take notice and to thank God. Today is the day to pay attention to the miracles that surround us.