Do Not Be Afraid

This world we live in is a tricky place sometimes. The barbaric acts that human being are capable of inflicting on other human beings is beyond comprehension. Certainly the recent attacks in Paris showed us that. It is not just France either. Many places throughout our world face violence on a regular basis through war and acts of terror. How are we to react in such times?

Any time there is a major attack on innocent civilians it tugs at the heart strings of nearly everyone. People from around the world came together in this last week to pray for and support Paris during this time. Prayer is so very powerful. Especially when it does not seem like there is much else we can do. How do you fight a terrorist group? How do you wage war on an organization that does not have a specific location? How do you reason with a group that could commit such heinous acts?

Terrorist. The word may have been new at one point. But having grown up in the midst of the 9/11 attacks, the term is certainly well-known. It describes a person or group whose purpose, truly, seems to be to inflict terror. They show no remorse at killing and do so without regard as to who these people might be. They have allowed evil into their hearts and souls and now try to inflict this terror on the rest of us. To make us think we need to be afraid. Perhaps to frighten us into becoming like them.

I am not a politician. And in times like these I am certainly glad that I am not the one making the tough decisions. But I do know of one way we can all fight back. And that is to resist the temptation to give in to that fear. That is exactly what they want.

Instead, we should continue to live our lives. Maybe hold our loved ones a little closer and spend some extra time in prayer for peace in our world. But we should still live our lives. Still travel and go on vacations and go to the mall and go see a movie or attend a sporting event.

And then we should take it one step further.

As Christians we are called to help those in need among us. Whether they look like us or not, regardless of where they come from. For in the poor and needy among us, we can find Christ. Jesus tells us that when we help those in need among us, we are helping Him. And that when we refuse aid to the least of His people, it is as though we are refusing to help Jesus Himself.

The recent attacks in Paris made our world seem smaller somehow. It brought the threat of terrorism again into the spotlight. And in the wake of these attacks, many have reacted harshly towards those who are in desperate need of help. The attacks of these terrorists have left literally millions of people displaced. Millions of people have lost their homes, their livelihoods, their loved ones. Millions of people have left everything they have ever known to get on a rickety boat in hopes that where they land will be better than the horror they are facing in the land they used to call home.

And it is our responsibility to help them in whatever way we can.

To close down our borders to certain groups of needy people solely out of fear that a terrorist may be among them? This is to let the terrorists win. This is a highly emotional topic and passions run high. But I believe that if we truly look in our hearts, if we read the words of Christ, it becomes clear that there is only one answer. Refuse to give in to fear and reach out to help. We cannot live in fear of a potential terrorist in our midst. And we certainly do not have the right to refuse assistance to so many people so desperately in need simply because they come from a similar geographic location as the terrorists try to call home.

We are called to welcome the strangers. And for those truly concerned about our national security? Our nation has measures in place to look into the background refugees. You can read about the process that these people go through in order to come to America here.

St. John Paul II at the beginning of his pontificate famously said “Do not be afraid. Open, I say open wide the doors for Christ.”

It is time for us to live those words. To refuse to be afraid because we know that our God is bigger than any threat we might face here on earth. To refuse to live in fear of attack because we know the One who gave His life so that death is not the end! Death holds no power over us because Jesus has conquered death! To open the doors to our hearts so that we may be filled with the love of the Lord and the Holy Spirit within us. And to open the doors of our nation to those in need. For by serving them, we serve Christ.

Pray for Paris.

Pray for Peace.

Do not be afraid.

Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

Today we celebrate the feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary.  Last year on this feast day I shared some beautiful words by Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen on Our Lady.   Today I wanted to share some beautiful words from Saint John Paul II from his 2002 Apostolic Letter ‘Rosarium Virginis Mariae’:

Against the background of the words Ave Maria the principal events of the life of Jesus Christ pass before the eyes of the soul. They take shape in the complete series of the joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries, and they put us in living communion with Jesus through – we might say – the heart of his Mother. At the same time our heart can embrace in the decades of the Rosary all the events that make up the lives of individuals, families, nations, the Church, and all mankind. Our personal concerns and those of our neighbour, especially those who are closest to us, who are dearest to us.

And further down in the letter, Saint John Paul II has this to say about the Rosary as a prayer for peace:

The Rosary is also a prayer for peace because of the fruits of charity which it produces. When prayed well in a truly meditative way, the Rosary leads to an encounter with Christ in his mysteries and so cannot fail to draw attention to the face of Christ in others, especially in the most afflicted. How could one possibly contemplate the mystery of the Child of Bethlehem, in the joyful mysteries, without experiencing the desire to welcome, defend and promote life, and to shoulder the burdens of suffering children all over the world? How could one possibly follow in the footsteps of Christ the Revealer, in the mysteries of light, without resolving to bear witness to his “Beatitudes” in daily life? And how could one contemplate Christ carrying the Cross and Christ Crucified, without feeling the need to act as a “Simon of Cyrene” for our brothers and sisters weighed down by grief or crushed by despair? Finally, how could one possibly gaze upon the glory of the Risen Christ or of Mary Queen of Heaven, without yearning to make this world more beautiful, more just, more closely conformed to God’s plan?

I invite you to read the full text of ‘Rosarium Virginis Mariae’ here.   It is lengthy but is a wonderful explanation of the beauty of the Rosary.  If the Rosary is currently a part of your regular prayer life, it will surely encourage you and inspire you to continue forward in prayer with renewed excitement and joy for this beautiful prayer.  And if you are new to the Rosary, this lovely letter by St. John Paul II will not only explain what it is, but how it leads us closer to Christ.  Happy Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary to you all!

Not to Judge, But to Love

Jesus did not make a habit of hanging around the “best” crowds.  He was frequently seen with sinners of all sorts.  He did not gather these sinners together to judge and scold them.  He did not organize protests and rallies to call out their sinful ways. Certainly He did not agree with their actions.  But rather than judging, discriminating, scolding, and ignoring these people, He chose a different method.  One that drew sinners to Him, rather than chasing them away.

When Zacchaeus, a known tax collector, learned that Jesus was coming, “he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” (Luke 19:4-5)  Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus!  There was something that pulled him to go make a fool of himself and climb a tree just to get a better look!

“And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment.” Luke 7:37-38  This woman was not obligated to go see Jesus.   There was something that drew her to Him.  Something in what she had heard about Him that made her need to go to Him.

What is that something that drew these people to Jesus?   What was it that made them actively seek Him out? It was love.

The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them,they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground.When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, sir.”And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.” John 8:3-11

Jesus did not condemn, nor did He approve of the actions of this woman.   He knew she had sinned and did not ignore that fact.  But He did not start out by lecturing her while the others watched.   He looked on her with mercy and showed her love first.  Then, after she had seen the love that He had for her, He tells her “Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.”

What if, when presented with an adulterous woman, He shamed her and brought the people together to rally against her?  What if, upon seeing Zacchaeus up in the tree, He first lectured on the terrible sins this tax collector had committed?  What if, when the woman brought the alabaster jar to Him, He first berated her for her terrible life?  I doubt that these sinners and countless others like them would have sought out the Lord if this was how they were treated.

Zacchaeus may have stayed up in that tree out of shame.  The woman with the jar of ointment would have been embarrassed and probably would feel silly for thinking this man would see past her sins.  The adulterous woman likely would have been stoned.  And I am betting that none of them would change their lifestyle.  Why would they change their way of life if it seemed they were too far gone for mercy?

Back in July, Pope Francis was questioned on homosexuality and famously replied, “Who am I to judge?” The media jumped all over this.  But why is this so shocking?  Pope Francis has not changed any Church doctrine.  And he won’t.  The teachings of Christ and His Church are not meant to conform to the ways of man.  Rather, they are to remain constant despite the changing world around us.

What made his response so striking is that was vastly different in tone than the attitude presented by many Christians in our world today.  We have lost sight of what it is Christ is calling us to do: love.  This does not mean we need to conform and give in to things we disagree with.  We are not called to change our beliefs.  But we can change our focus.

I know I am a sinner.  I do not want to be judged because of mistakes I have made and continue to make.   Although I have sinned, I know that there is something far greater than sin.  It is the love of Jesus Christ whose endless grace and mercy forgives all my sins.  He died for all of our sins.  It is through His everlasting love that we have true joy and true peace.

When we see sin in those around us, let us remember to look at ourselves before we judge.  Rather than focusing on the faults of others, let us instead focus on showing love to everyone, even those we disagree with.  By showing love, mercy, and forgiveness first, we can inspire others to seek Jesus and His mercy.  We are not perfect, but we are loved.  And we are called to do the same.  Not to judge, but to love.

“Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins” 1 Peter 4:8

What the Eucharist Means to Me {Guest Post}

My youngest sister is a senior in High School and was asked to give a witness to her experience with the Holy Eucharist for an adult retreat at their church.  Here is the speech that she gave:

I’m here tonight to talk to you about the Eucharist and how it’s impacted my life. We all know what the Eucharist is; if you’ve ever gone to mass you’ve received it in Holy Communion. But do we really understand? Where it comes from? Why it’s so sacred? How does it affect my daily life? How do we value or measure it? Can it even be valued or measured?

These are all questions that I asked myself as I sat down to write this talk. However, when I began to think about the Eucharist and all that it brings, including forgiveness, my mind wandered to the cross instead. I often think about the cross as a symbol of forgiveness. It appears to be one of the biggest symbols of our faith, and I constantly see it referenced with the saying “nothing but the blood of Jesus can wash away our sins”  however, I must remind myself that the Eucharist provides just as good a symbol of forgiveness and our faith as does the cross. For without Holy Communion, without Christ’s offering of himself to us for eternal life, then the passion lacks meaning. Jesus didn’t just die for us, but he offered himself up for us. The blood that washes away our sins comes from Jesus’ passion on the cross, however, it is in his last supper that he explains to his disciples how he gives them his body and blood and THAT is the new covenant. The Eucharist IS the FLESH and BLOOD of Jesus that saves our souls. It can be so easy for me to just walk up during communion and take it as bread and wine, but instead I constantly remind myself that it is so much more. It is a gift from God, an immeasurable gift, so valuable that I am not worthy to receive it, yet Jesus loves me so much that he will give it anyways.

It is for this reason that the Eucharist is the most powerful part of mass for me. During this time, peace and serenity surround me and I am completely alone with Jesus; able to feel his love and power. Every day I face personal crosses. I must work hard to manage my time with school, sports, community service, church, family, and friends then if there’s time maybe some sleep…I constantly feel that even though I appear to be doing so much for others and for God, I lack personal intimacy in my relationship with him. I’m always striving to do more for God and grow closer to him, yet the more I strive, the more the weight of my cross bears down on me, and causes me to feel unable. When I receive Holy Communion however, I feel relieved of the weight bearing down on me, and it is the one time I can just clear my mind and feel God’s presence. This holy experience affects me so strongly that I cannot find it elsewhere, and so I hold it dearly to my heart. After receiving Communion, I pray and I feel as though I’m right there with God, and he can read everything on my heart. I sometimes just sit in silence and welcome his presence as I begin to feel rejuvenated, healed, and loved by him like I never do at other times.

The Eucharist possesses the ability to affect me so strongly because it is a sacred miracle where we not only receive Jesus but remember him. Each week at mass while receiving Holy Communion, we unite as a community through worshiping him and reliving the paschal mystery. The power of the Holy Trinity grants us the ability to come together as one community in Jesus Christ. I have seen this in my own life with my church friends and my family. I have plenty of friends in my classes or on my team, but I lack depth in these relationships compared to those of my friends who share my faith. Through our faith, we grow closer and recognize that Jesus unites us as a family, and because of this I can come to them with anything. In the same way, I have seen the effects of this sense of community within my family. I have two wonderful parents and three older sisters that I look up to for many things including their faith. We are all faithful Catholics and help lead, teach, and guide each other in our walks of faith. If there was not something we could believe in to unite us, we would not be able to use our different gifts to unite as one, yet in the body of Christ we can do just that; we become not just a family but one body in Christ.  

It is because of this very fact that Communion is so sacred. During communion, Jesus intercedes for us to the Father and it is through him that our sins are forgiven and our prayers are answered. We are not just sharing a meal; we are sharing a mystery–When we say the prayer before communion, “Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” Jesus hears our plea for forgiveness and washes away our sins so that we may reunite with him and accept him into our hearts.

While all of this is what the power of Communion can do for you and the reasons it is so sacred, you may be asking yourself how to reach this level of intimacy and holiness with communion. The answer lies in the word “desire.”…. We must desire to know, love, and receive Jesus so that we may receive eternal life as well. Jesus doesn’t ask the people to eat of his flesh and blood, he tells us to. THIS is the way to eternal life. If we keep this in mind: if we think about the fact that he doesn’t say do this as a symbol of me, he says this is my body, if we can make ourselves picture Jesus himself standing at the foot of the altar when we walk up to receive holy communion—then—we will truly understand the value of the Eucharist. The holiness, the sacredness, if we can cause our minds to realize that Jesus is there—present in mass—then we will grow to desire him and love him. Communion will no longer be something we simply eat but it will become a part of our lives because as we realize that Jesus is there within us, that realization will change our hearts and cause them to desire to live as him, and love him and others with all our heart, mind, and strength.

When we just begin to reach this level of understanding and intimacy with the Eucharist, it creates profound effects on our community life. I have witnessed for myself the effects of this desire. Through receiving communion, I receive Jesus into my hearts and soul, and give him a welcoming home. Accepting Jesus, and recognizing the value and sacredness of the Eucharist however, is not something I obtained over night. I made my first communion in 2^nd grade. As a child, I grew up in a faithful family and I’ve always felt close to God, so I knew my 1^st communion was a very special moment. I can still go back and read my diary and remember how excited I was to make it, I remember pretending our treadmill was an aisle and practicing walking down it to receive communion, yet I didn’t fully understand why it was so special. As I’ve grown over the past 7 years I’ve greatly increased my understanding of faith through prayer and reflection. I started increasing my desire to know Jesus by reading my bible and getting drawn into the mysterious of God, after that I began to pray more, I began reading Catholic books, involving myself in church, praying the rosary, and asking God to deepen my faith. As these changes occurred, I found myself dying to selfishness and instead rising to service. My own worldly desires seemed to slowly fade away as I began to desire to serve only God. I like to think of myself as a dandelion, when I desire to serve only God; I give up my life, my time and precious activities that take up my time to grant God’s wishes just like how when a dandelion dies, you blow the white seeds to make a wish. I’m still growing in my faith, but I now see communion in a whole new light…

As we grow closer to God and live a life of love, we become more united as a community and we begin to share in a life that is loved. We are united by sharing the sacrament of the Eucharist. In 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, Paul says: “the cup that we use in the Lord’s Supper and for which we give thanks to God: when we drink from it, we are sharing in the blood of Christ. And the bread that we break: when we eat it we are sharing in the body of Christ. Because there is the one loaf of bread, all of us, though many, are one body, for we all share in the same loaf.” When we embrace this unity, this oneness in Christ, through the holy Eucharist, as a community we can accomplish great things. We can learn to accept others as they are, to see the poor, the outcasts, the hurting, as the beautiful creations of God that they are. We can come together to love and serve God each with our own special gifts and the community as a whole will grow closer to Christ through his unfailing love and grace. With God guiding us from the inside out, there’s nothing we can’t do! We receive him into our bodies and he uses us, he blows his seeds all around the world to go spread his word and heal and comfort the sick and hurting… The Eucharist is God’s greatest gift because it coincides with his passion, his giving of his life to SAVE OUR SOULS. When we truly accept it, it recreates us into a church of people eager to let the light of God explode out of them, to show the world Christ’s love…

When we walk up the aisle during communion with our crosses, we are walking up to Jesus.

Just as God can take any form, Jesus takes the form of the bread and wine we share. And although we are unworthy it is the blood of Jesus that washes away our sins, and he offers it to us as an immeasurable gift that has been around since Jesus’ last supper. He only says but one word and heals, unites, and accepts us,—in return, we need only to open our hearts and let him in and he will begin to change our lives from the inside out.

 So I pray, as I end my witness, may we reflect on the sacredness and power of the Eucharist. When we walk up to the aisle next time, and for the rest of our lives, we not  see it as bread and wine, but instead see Jesus standing there, smiling, ready to welcome us in.