A MYSTERY...the question of the day...Updated

A DAILY MEDITATION

WHEN have I experienced the life of the RISEN CHRIST ?

What an Awesome God we have!!! 

If only I am patient enough... 

He does connect the pieces nd finishes the puzzle 

when it pleases Him and everything is in His order.

Let me try to explain...

During our Lenten Novena, which was a special time of daily prayer,

Mass and homilies to Saint Francis Xavier, there was,

 as I now see it, an experience of  the Risen Life in Christ! 

I had hoped to be able to put that experience into words to share with you, 

yet it didn't come into it's own  complete life until today, six weeks after the novena ended!

Our Father,God, Yahweh, is always at work...quietly moving behind the scenes.

Today, while tidying up the clutter on the desk, I decided to put aside one 

of the folders that contained some old poetry, notes and other papers...but... 

I couldn't resist taking one more look at what was therein.

Some thing caught my eye and I will share it here, because it seemed to be a

piece of the 'unfinished picture!"

So here is the article written on Aug. 12,2010 from the Center for Action and Contemplation;

THE MYSTERY OF SUFFERING

                                                                   When have I experienced the life of the Risen Christ?

Our usual definition of God depicts him as omnipotent, infinite, perfect in every way.

Yet if the suffering Jesus is the image and revelation of the invisible God ,(Col. 1:15),

this is totally at odds with all the other philosophical and theological definitions of a supreme

being.

Jesus doesn't fit.Even after two thousand years, it is hard to realize
 what a revolutionary symbol Jesus is. He basically turned theology upside down.
 He said,in effect: "Who you think God is, God isn't"

You can't know this merely by study or theology or religion, but only through painful encounters with the living God where you feel like you are dying, and yet you do not die. Then you experience another kind of life, another kind of freedom.

Christians call this new home "the shared life of the risen Christ".


Here is my  lived experience.

 I have experienced most of my freedom through suffering!
Letting the suffering arise and accepting suffering, is never an easy task.
I spent most of my years suppressing hurt, running busily away from facing the hurt, fear
 and anxiety that was hidden within...
 not even knowing what it was I was running from.
Like Lazarus, wrapped and decayed, dead for days,Jesus patiently kept calling me forward
from the tomb I had built around myself.
Through the years, guided by faith and a loving family, friends, and a loving prayerful
community, Jesus began and continued to unwrap the bindings.
I really don't need to go into many details,we all have our inner sufferings.
What we do for ourselves to heal them is the important story.
Much of my story is in the early writings of these pages.
The bottom line is," staying the course...persevering;" and that is a Grace, a gift given
as an answer to prayer. Much prayer, many years of  receiving the daily Eucharist,
and the quiet prayer of sitting in the Presence of God, allowing Him to sift out
the chaff from the wheat, so to speak.
It is all His work!

As the Novena to St. Francis Xavier continued through the nine days of mass, homilies
and prayer, the sacrament of Confession and Reconciliation was also offered on each day.
The Holy Spirit never rests!...(thank God),  and I was in need of forgiveness and took
advantage of the opportunity. One of our former priests was there and I felt comfortable
to see him.
Well! Great novena, wonderful homilies, the Eucharist AND confession !
Wow! what a terrific few days!
My friend and I went out to eat lunch .
We even had dessert!
All was well!!!

The Holy Spirit NEVER rests!
God is always desiring my healing, which will bring me closer to Him and bring
me more Freedom to love God and neighbor and self !

At home in the quiet spaces, again, something began to stir deep within me.
 In the deepest part of my being... pushed way down in the dark place, hidden under years of debris
arose the big "sunami" of a wave, rising to the surface!
I had come face to face, unexpectedly, with a dark side of self...like looking in a mirror.
Finally, giving it over to Our Lady and every saint I had ever prayed to, I
did SURRENDER and yield, longing to let it go!
It was the right time!

At that precious moment , when the priest said those words of  forgiveness,
"Jean! YOU ARE FORGIVEN  OF ALL YOUR SINS!"...those words echoed within,
reverberating into every fiber of my being!
JESUS was washing and cleansing every cell in my body!
I was being washed clean and given a new Life!
I had received a new Life!
A very alive sense of being!
"Transformed into a new dimension of living!"
I thought that I would die and
GOD gave me new LIFE IN JESUS!

ALLELUIA!
HE IS RISEN!

THE UNKNOWN...and... THE KNOWN...

THE UNKNOWN

Step by step You lead me...

Knowing not what lies ahead;

To see, is denied me;

Yet a plan You construct.

As puzzle pieces interlock

a gesture am I in the picture...

A link, a breeze, unseen, unnoticed

to bridge a gap!

Life within me is You!

You, Jesus, in my soul, are Guide.

Speak, Lord! Your servant listens...

To be transformed, I come...

Evolving endlessly into YOU.


VICTORY
Lord, share with us
the Fruits of
Your Victory!!!
Make us witnesses of
Your Risen Life...
"The Body of Christ"
Amen.


THE WELL
You   are    the   Well,
   JESUS..
You - the Water!
You are the Bread...JESUS
          You - the Wine;
You are the Altar...JESUS
              You, the Sacrifice!
You are Priest...JESUS
      You,   the  Word!
You open the Heavens...JESUS
               You lead us through,
    You,our Hope...JESUS
                     our  SAVIOR  true !
                 

DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY: Come !

 DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY

Today your gate stands open,

And all who enter in

Shall find a Father's welcome

And pardon for their sin.

The past shall be forgotten,

A present Joy be given,

A future home be promised,

A glorious crown in Heav'n

O' all embracing MERCY,

O'ever open Door,

What would I do without you

Who lead the way before?

When joy seems all too distant,

And all too near, despair,

I know one Gate is open,

One ear will hear my prayer.

           anonymous

"You were once a slave
now you are freed
Free to worship in Spirit and Truth
COME!...once again receive My Spirit...
a deepening of Truth, Wisdom,
 Knowledge and Understanding-

Be not afraid!
You are Mine now
within the Trinity is your being-
My child, My body; My home!
We are One!"

LISTENING TO THE RADIO...Emmanuel 1230

A MOVIE CONVERSATION

As children in Grammar School, my brother and I would walk home from school at lunchtime
and then back to school for the afternoon. So there was time  for me to turn on the radio in the kitchen
and tune in for those 15 minutes. This was a treat to have these moments
 to listen to music or hear the Boston Braves when they had a ball game.

Today the radio is turned on to a local station for a  Catholic viewpoint on
just about everything, from a news perspective to advice for parents and help with relationships,
including a local interest in our Diocese  and a daily mass each morning at 8 a.m.
Jerry and Debbie were hosting TAKE 2 on Emmanuel radio at 970 AM or 1230 AM coming
from our diocese in Worcester,MA.

As I listened, there was an open line discussion on religious themed movies.
 Questions about the messages put forth and what effect the movies may
 have made on those who saw them.Were they well made and understood,
were they well attended, well produced, did they get a message across,or
even were they entertaining and enjoyable, or did they make any profit?...
 ...in particular, "PAUL THE APOSTLE".
 That grabbed my attention!

 I was trying to clear off the desk where the radio sits.So I sat down to listen.
There had been a question brewing in my mind after seeing that movie...
 about the last scene. Exactly what was the take-away message for me?
It was not quite formed in my mind.
Maybe this would help me see it clearly.

 What did others  see and think?
What was their impressions of the message?
How did the intense brutality of the Christians affect them?
Does anyone see a resemblance in today's treatment of the Christian
 communities in the Eastern Nations?
Could we, today,as Christians, be living parts of the Acts of the Apostles?
What is our responsibility as brothers and sisters in Christ?

Of course, each individual had their own way of absorbing the movie, it's
message and how the scenes affected them, personally. This was
clearly an interesting conversation on many levels.
As I listened, within, something was forming!

Time was passing quickly and the end of the program was near!
 Do I make a call? Am I prepared? "
Knowing that  for me "words and thoughts are formed easier when writing,
and these newly formed thoughts coming into my mind are coming
so quickly that ...ugh!!!...
Jerry and Debbie just finished their time on the air!!!

My answer was "SEND AN E-MAIL!"
"Yes! Our Pope Francis asked us to use every form of media
to get the message of Jesus Christ out there into the Universe!"
The following message is what was sent as the e-mail. Not even knowing
whether it would be received after the program ended,at least
there was more clarity in my mind...to a degree.
 Oh! before it was sent,the word "Martyr"was investigated .
The info on it is in the book of the Catholic Catechism.
MARTYR: A witness to the truth of the faith, in which the martyr
endures even death to be faithful to Christ.

TAKE2@EWTN.COM
To: Jerry and Debbie

Thank you for the conversations about movies!
I came back to the movie theaters only because there are religious-themed stories
and something to be learned or gleaned from what they have to offer.
My approach begins with prayer to the Holy Spirit,  asking what He may
teach me, in order to bring me closer to my faith in God.
What was my "take-away" from this movie? It had to do with"martyrdom"!
It took much  time and space pondering on my part AND listening to your program today!
The message of the movie was very subtle within the strong message and actions of the sufferings
and brutality put upon the Christian community! Only at the ending scene did
a glimmer of what was to become a teaching come to me .
The "instant" of Paul's beheading brought him into ETERNITY, where he beheld
all the faces of the souls he had persecuted...the souls that he saw and agonized over...
the souls that brought him so much pain and anguish in life... they were there with him in ETERNITY!
Were they "the martyrs" that gave their lives so Paul would be converted?
... they were welcoming, smiling happily to see him...
and he was forgiven ,by and in the Blood of Christ !!!

We don't always get the happy ending the way we think it may be...could
the answer be something we needed to understand...something that would "enlighten" us
to a new reality?!
Jerry was so right in saying not "to over estimate or spiritualize the devil"s work...
our own humanity, the flesh, is what may need a transformation...and we,
our ego self, cannot stand to take a look at our selves!
JESUS has a way of healing our blindness,and we need to ask to be open to
the healing and pray to accept however He chooses to apply the healing.
Prayer is an essential element in growth!
Blessings to you and your ministry ,
Jean in Charlton, MA
Listening from: radio Emmanuel (ewtn),1230 and 970 am
 in Worcester, MA

PRAYER OPENS DOORS....ask, seek, knock

MY QUEST

To ask, to seek and to knock at the door to find the answer to that question Archbishop

Banach challenged us with... 

"What Grace does God want to give you this Lenten Season?"

God is so Good and knows exactly what is needed, and shows up on time with the answers!

Sharing with my friend from Maine about this challenge, Ginny said "I've got  some thing for you

that spoke to me and part of the reading from the Magnificat article may be for you."

I had decided to do something more challenging than "giving up chocolate", so to speak;

and I didn't give up chocolate but knew there was something that the Spirit was 

calling me to, just didn't know, until I read what Ginny sent...

written by Father Leonce De Grandmaison S. J.

"Mortification in this case consists in acting against our timidity by forcing ourselves

to come out of our shells, exposing ourselves to blows, and speaking as if we had some

self-confidence. We  must be ready to risk small failures; to step forward when it is fitting;

to let others know our faults (which is far better than hiding them).

Above all, the mortification of timidity is a matter of cultivating a great, courageous,

apostolic soul, so that Christ may reach his full stature within us and not be

circumscribed,as it were, in our pettiness.

The secret of success here is to think less of ourselves and more of God and of 

His mother."

I knew immediately that this was to be my walk... not only for Lent...

this would be a challenge that may take a long time...baby steps...

a few steps forward and a couple steps back. Sr. Marie Dugas always said "that's how 

we get to heaven!"

I gave my Amen!

So the walk began, a few steps forward...okay, I acknowledged that all the Graces were 

needed and God showed up for me in His abundance...

the first being a nine day "Novena of Grace" to honor St. Francis Xavier, held at St. John's

in Worcester with my friend Marie.
There was so many more occasions of Grace that were experienced during the novena
that need sharing...
more to come! 

ASKING, SEEKING, KNOCKING

"Lord Jesus, open the doors that need to be opened,

and close the doors that need to be closed!"

Archbishop Michael Banach, in his challenge to us through the 

"Call to Holiness" presentation,and as a Lenten homily,left us to

ask the question, "What Grace does God wish to give me this Lent?"

A friend, new to the actions of the Holy Spirit, asked "what is Grace?"

"Oh Brother!," I thought..."I am supposed to be prepared to give an answer

to what I believe!" and not wanting to lead her astray, all I could  answer

at the moment was,"Grace is a gift from God by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Was that enough? No!

 There was more conversation and another question! So it seemed I

needed more certainty as to what was the answer to her query. I said,

 "The Catechism of the Catholic Church will have the best answer and I will

get back to you."

You will find a succinct explanation listed under the Life of Christ #1996 

in the Catechism, very easy to read...as follows, simply put...

GRACE...

"is a free and undeserved gift that God gives us to respond to our vocation to

eternal life, to become His adopted children!"

As "Sanctifying Grace"God shares His divine life and friendship with us in 

a "habitual gift,"a stable and natural disposition that enables us to live with 

God, and to act by His love.

He prepares us to receive these graces, which is already a  gift.

 As "Actual Grace,"God gives us help to conform to His will.

"Sacramental Graces" are special graces, gifts or (charisms from the Holy Spirit)

gifts proper to the different sacraments...meaning favor...and may be extraordinary,such as gifts 

of miracles,etc. to be at the service of charity to build up  the Church.   Romans 12:6-8

A CALL TO GROW...

GRACE
A CALL TO HOLINESS

Archbishop Michael Banach graciously joined us at St Joseph's Parish Church

and after the celebration of Mass we received a Lenten reflection on 

the Call to Be Holy!

His heartfelt talk focused upon five elements of approaching the Lenten season.

His approach was lighthearted and easily received.

He let us know that the child within each of us will be met by God wherever

 we happen to be in our walk with Jesus!

"Our only obligation in loving God is to grow!," he said.

To my mind, that meant constant growth all the way into eternity.

"Growth" he said "is the call to holiness!"

#1. What Does Lent Offer Us?

 A PAUSE... for a little while... to see what is...

To listen to the words and voice of the other...

to look into the eyes and faces of the others...

to see and sense, in that pause, the presence of grace...

to feel the breath of God...

to return to the Father of all Graces...

#2. What Does Lent Mean?
To be washed clean,

A chance TO REPENT...to 

To Renew our faith...

To prepare for a Joyful Resurrection!

#3. TO RETURN with your whole heart!

"But now, now---it is Yahweh who speaks---

come back to me with all your heart,

fasting, weeping, mourning"

Joel,2:12

God is full of love!

Let negligence be washed away!

#4 THE CROSS is the Universal call to holiness and Life!

He said,"Do not be afraid of the Cross he gives us,

discover that cross and carry it with Him"

#5 "KNOW that you are loved!"

"Experience the Joy by offering yourself to others!

Find someone more miserable than yourself...come out

from your own sadness and find Joy!"

SEEK and ASK, he said," What is the GRACE God wants to give me?"

Let God "open the doors to the Grace and the Joy He has in store for you!"

"This day I have given you two choices set before you,
life or death, blessings or curses;
therefore, choose Life that you and your seed may live!"
Deuteronomy 30;19,20

THE ANAWIM.. the remnant...little ones

THE REMNANT

Fr. Larry trained our group from St.Joseph's Church with the methods of how to teach children

the Catholic Catechism.  In the 1980's, some of us  were new and learning as we went along,

 others were there for the new certification that was required, as the Bishop requested.

Fr. Larry was actually explaining some of the biblical background that he thought we needed. 

This was all new to me!

Our pastor had put a book in my hands with the lessons to teach the children, and simply said,

"Just keep a week ahead of the kids, and come to me with any questions."

I needed this help!

Fr. Larry was talking about the "anawim". They were the littlest fish... the remnant people

faithful to God, living His precepts as best they could.

Something struck a cord and I was listening intently... he said that they  were the "little ones"

who could and did make a difference.

I have always loved and cherished the thoughts of God's "remnant" and the "anawim," Those

faithful few that He could count on to help Him to try and save a town like Sodom and Gamorra! 

They were begging for those souls to be saved! 

And that brought me to believe that there always exists those in every generation, those

 that please God's favor enough to appease His Justice.

I can honestly say that I have prayed that prayer of salvation at times, but I didn't consider

myself as part of the "little ones", the anawim, who could make such a difference...

until recently, when some thing very remarkable happened !

 PUT ON THE MIND OF CHRIST!

We have spoken about our "mind" being the battleground, and that the evil one would like to

  take over the mind and seed the thoughts of rebellion, pride, and control, denying God's will.

We know and understand that God's Word is alive and active when spoken in the 

Light of the Holy Spirit and His WORD  has power to guide, convert, heal and /or convict us gently.

And scripture warns and teaches that we need "to bring every thought  captive 

into the obedience of Jesus Christ."(2nd Corinthians 10 : verse 4.)
It is a big battle that needs to be faced and may take lots of perseverance in prayer
before experiencing results.

IT HAPPENED!

One day recently, while washing the dishes, a concern for one of my sons entered into my mind,

 and it brought me into a thoughtful conversation with God the Father. In my thoughts,

 I asked the Father for a blessing upon Don, my son, this day and in this moment.

In the space of a heartbeat...my phone texted me a message,"Thanks for the prayer, mom!"

HOW AWESOME IS  OUR GOD !

I continue to wonder in awe...in the face of that happening...

the sheer enormity and scope of the MAJESTY of GOD!

His loving existence throughout the Universe!!!

That He hears each voice, answers each plea...

He is here... and He is there...at the same time Present everywhere!

 GOD'S THOUGHTS, so far above our thoughts,

 GOD'S ways, so far beyond our ways.

Silencing our small and ego minds, we must attempt. A loving God
 comes to our aid when we decide to take the first step.

The battleground is the mind...
Silencing our "ego"minds we must pray to do!

How else can we become the anawim, 

the little ones, that can make a difference in this world ?
How else could we pray and ask to "put on the mind of Christ?"
And if we don't ask... how will we receive?