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The Secure Situation Of Sheep

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The “powers that be” keep the pressure on Jesus, trying to ensnare him with questions, catch him in an act for which they can condemn him as a fraud or blasphemer, and taunting him. You can hear their exasperation in today’s Gospel: “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly!”

Jesus is always free, always true, and never allows himself to get “sucked into” their drama; he is always able to maintain his separateness and independence and articulate the essential truth from a place above their desperate convolutions. And here, in response to their demands that they tell him plainly, he says plainly, “I told you and you do not believe…because you are not among my sheep.” Whoa. Poking right back with the Truth in response to their demand for an answer. “The Father and I are one.” Moments later (in the very next verse of this Gospel, which we will not hear), they pick up stones to kill him, accusing him of blasphemy because he claimed to be God. They demanded he tell them whether or not he was the Christ, and when he tells them, they move to kill him.

But Jesus was not only speaking truth to those who wanted to trap him and get rid of him. He was also speaking truth to those who DID believe in him, and would continue to believe in him, to you and to me. And what did they hear?

Not blasphemy; words of hope and love: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” This voice which had brought them so much peace and joy, these words that brought comfort and made sense of things that had stopped making sense, were surely those of the Good Shepherd leading them to verdant pastures and rest and overflowing cups! “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand.” The security and confidence of being in the hands of the One who has the power to save, to give the ultimate eternal freedom – this is what attracted so many to follow him along the dusty roads even in their physical hunger and thirst, this is what they longed to hear and know, this is the loving spark that had been lost in the labyrinth of laws and rules and political posturing with the powers of this world.

And these are the words he speaks to us, above the spaghetti bowl of our own thinking and the confusions of our world and our personal situations: I know you; I give you eternal life, and you shall never perish. No one can take you out of my hand. Let us all walk in the light of this word of life, from the God who keeps his promises. 

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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including Father Rob), and four grandchildren. She is President of the local community of Secular Discalced Carmelites and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 30 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE, and as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio. Currently, she serves the Church by writing and speaking, and by collaborating with various parishes and to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is www.KathrynTherese.com

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I Know My Sheep

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Our practice is to attend 8:30 Sunday Mass but sometimes that doesn’t work out. One Monday after such a time, I ran into my priest and he asked where we were the preceding day. “I know my sheep,” he said with a smile. I knew he wasn’t chastising me. He cares about his parishioners. It feels good to be noticed and known. And missed.

I love the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. St Therese of Lisieux encourages us to be childlike in our love and trust of Jesus but I often feel more like a sheep than a child. Sheep aren’t really the brain trusts of the barnyard. Left alone, they become overly wooly. Their vision is impaired as is their movement. Recall Baarack, the Australian sheep found with over 75 pounds of wool weighing him down. 

This is a metaphor for the spiritual life. Left alone, my gaze shifts away from Jesus. When I am not diligent in prayer, when I wait too long between confessions, it becomes harder and harder to remember where I should be focusing my vision. It’s easy to get caught up in the issues being played out in the news or on social media. I find I am less patient, less charitable, and less nice. Instead of trying to see Christ in those around me, I see the negatives. My eyes become clouded with the wool of sin.  

I also find I am bearing the weight of my sins and stress.  In times of consolation, I can skip through my busy day of interruptions and tasks, and still feel good. I am energized by my life. Again, when I lose my habit of prayer, the stressors of life grow like uncontrolled wool and weigh me down. Everything is harder. I want to sleep.

Jesus is the shepherd who takes care of me. When I drag my wooly, weighted-down self to him, he shears off the sin and shows me the light again. I know his voice and he never ceases calling me to him. He is waiting patiently to help me. He desires to keep me safe. When I surrender to him, he sleeps at the gate of the sheepfold, protecting me from the wolves prowling outside. 

Jesus came so that we “may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). What a wonderful message! As we journey through this life, we have a shepherd who came for the express purpose of bringing us salvation and abundance. We know his voice. We know he wants us to follow him. It is hard and brings its own set of challenges in a world that has turned away from God, but we may be assured that our shepherd will always be there guiding, protecting, and shearing away the excess that gets in our way.

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Merridith Frediani loves words and is delighted by good sentences. She also loves Lake Michigan, dahlias, the first sip of hot coffee in the morning, millennials, and playing Sheepshead with her husband and three kids. She writes for Catholic Mom, Diocesan.com, and her local Catholic Herald. Her first book Draw Close to Jesus: A Woman’s Guide to Adoration is available at Our Sunday Visitor and Amazon. You can learn more at merridithfrediani.com.

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Being a Light to Others

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Do you ever feel like you are in a time of plenty, but simultaneously in a time of drought? We are in the midst of the Easter season, flowers are blooming, the sun is shining, the school year is coming to a close, and yet we are dragging…

My family has been struggling through yet another period of illness. Fevers, incessant coughs, ear infections, pink eye, snotty noses, you name it. We just keep passing germs from one to the other to the other. I just started a new job and have already had to go to the doctor four times. We have missed out on receiving our Lord three weeks in a row because we are hacking up a lung (slight exaggeration).

Yet we are Easter people, and Alleluia is our song. We rejoice through the trials because there is always something positive to rejoice over. There are always milestones to celebrate. The baby is getting her first teeth and standing up. The boys are doing well in soccer and scoring goals. My husband is gaining recognition in his video show. 

But above all I am rejoicing because the people and the mission of my new workplace are bringing me closer to God. We pray together each morning, lift up our individual intentions and praise God for His blessings. Then we each go about our day trying to bring Christ to each person we encounter. It is truly beautiful. 

Each day we can imitate the first disciples, like Paul and Barnabas in today’s First Reading who spoke out boldly: “ For so the Lord has commanded us, I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth.” What a great reminder to us of what we are called to do each and every day! To be Christ’s hands and feet on this earth until He comes again in His glory.

Just as Jesus states: “The Father and I are one” in today’s Gospel, may we also be one with God so as to live with true Easter joy and then share that love and joy with others. 

I leave you with today’s Psalm, that you may rejoice evermore in Him: “Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands; serve the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful song. Know that the LORD is God; he made us, his we are; his people, the flock he tends. The LORD is good: his kindness endures forever, and his faithfulness, to all generations.”

Alleluia!

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Tami Urcia grew up in Western Michigan, a middle child in a large Catholic family. She spent early young adulthood as a missionary in Mexico, studying theology and philosophy, then worked and traveled extensively before finishing her Bachelor’s Degree in Western Kentucky. She loves tackling projects, finding fun ways to keep her little ones occupied, quiet conversation with the hubby and finding unique ways to love. She works at for Christian Healthcare Centers, is a guest blogger on CatholicMom.com and BlessedIsShe.net, runs her own blog at https://togetherandalways.wordpress.com and has been doing Spanish translations on the side for over 20 years.

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The Holy One of God

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The month of May holds much joy in our society. Spring is finally erupting in colors and new life in the majority of the USA. First communions, graduations, baptisms and weddings are being held with a renewed sense of appreciation to gather with family and friends after a long hiatus due to the pandemic.

The seasons of life have continued through the many challenges of the last two years. Personally, I’ve had many members of my family with big life events: a wedding, engagements, surgeries and burials. There are several young adults who have received certificates of study, graduated high school or college, achieved a masters degree and a doctorate (which I look forward to see conferred on this day, woohoo!).

The First Reading today has the apostle Peter performing two healing miracles. His actions, faith prayer, and witness about Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit helped many to believe in the Risen Lord.

The Responsorial Psalm speaks about returning to the Lord, as He has done so much good for me. I believe the journey of my own family is a good example of how much good the Lord has done in my life. I have entrusted all aspects of the family to the Lord, and thanked Him, the Lord God, ahead of time for an answer to prayer as Blessed Solanus Casey was known to do.

In the Gospel, Jesus again tells all who are listening that His words, body and blood are Spirit and life. “No one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.” The apostles say yes,  they believe Jesus is the Holy One of God. The apostles have listened to His teachings, seen the miracles; they know Jesus is the One.

The question that kept coming to me as I prepared to write this: Does the other person know I am an apostle too? Am I a visible face of the invisible God in this world? Does my family, coworker, person in the car next to me, know that I believe Jesus is the One? Do my actions and reactions embody this in my daily life? Do I bear witness that He is the Holy One of God? Do you?

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Beth Price is part of the customer care team at Diocesan. She is a Secular Franciscan (OFS) and a practicing spiritual director. Beth shares smiles, prayers, laughter, a listening ear and her heart with all of creation. Reach her here bprice@diocesan.com.

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Child of God

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My wife, Nathalie, and I welcomed our first child, Gabriel Michael Shultz, into the world on April 4th. As I write this we are in the throes of Gabe finding his personality, watching him grow every day, sleep deprivation, and all the highs and lows that come with this absolutely beautiful blessing of new life. 

Of course, as Catholics, one of the milestones in the Christian life is the sacrament of baptism, which we were able to celebrate last weekend. Father Adams, who also was the witness to our wedding, gave a wonderful reflection about what it means to be a child of God. He asked a few simple questions to the congregation that I want to ask you to reflect on today. When you are a child of a dog, what are you? You’re a dog. When you are a child of a giraffe, what are you? You’re a giraffe. When you are a child of a mongoose, what are you? You’re a mongoose. When you are a child of God, what are you?

It’s an interesting question to reflect on isn’t it? Naturally we want to say God but then we feel weird that we might be heretical in speaking about a human person as God. The Catechism, however, doesn’t have a problem with this strong language, in fact, it’s kind of the basis of our faith. What I am talking about is the idea of divinization, where we participate in the divine nature of God. If this all seems strange or foreign to you, the Catechism affirms it in saying, “The Word became flesh to make us ‘partakers of the divine nature’: ‘For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God.’ ‘For the Son of God became man so that we might become God.’ ‘The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods.'” -CCC 460

This process of divinization starts here on this earth, specifically through the sacraments, and continues on until we receive the full participation of the divine life in heaven. We got to witness our son on Sunday beginning this process. His smile immediately after the water was poured said it all, that he is a child of God and that his destiny, same as yours and mine, is to participate fully and completely in the divinity of God himself. 

So, of course, we all know that baptism makes us children of God, but what is next? How do we continue in this process of divinization here on this earth? We see the answer in today’s Gospel. Jesus tells us that, “Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.”

The sacraments are the physical signs of God’s love that are so real they literally infuse us with God himself. This should be the teaching we are shouting from the rooftops. If we want more people in the Church, let’s bring them in by sharing the truth that all of this exists in order that we might become partakers in the divine life. We saw it with our own eyes this past weekend. I encourage you to look up the date of your baptism and celebrate this date every year with your family and friends as a sign of what God is doing in your life and how he became man so that you might become God. 

From all of us here at Diocesan, God bless!

Tommy Shultz is a Business Development Representative for Diocesan. In this role he is committed to bringing the best software to dioceses and parishes while helping them evangelize on the digital continent. Tommy has worked in various diocese and parish roles since his graduation from Franciscan University with a Theology degree. He hopes to use his skills in evangelization, marketing, and communications, to serve the Church and bring the Good News to all. His favorite quote comes from St. John Paul II, who said, “A person is an entity of a sort to which the only proper and adequate way to relate is love.”

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Flesh for the World

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In today’s Gospel we hear part of what is commonly referred to as Jesus’ Bread of Life discourse. The imagery Jesus presents is powerful and His words form the foundation of our Eucharistic theology. 

He compares Himself to the manna the Israelites ate in the desert. He differentiates Himself from the manna by saying that even though the manna was nourishing, those who ate it still died. Those who eat of His flesh, however, will not die. Just before this declaration He says, “Amen, amen I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life”.

Reading this, I felt, was a pretty good indication that participation in the Eucharistic feast is really, really important. Christ gives Himself to us in the Eucharist as a way of drawing us close to Him and thereby drawing us to His Father. It is important for us to recognize the sacrifice that is present in every Mass.

As I’m walking up the center aisle for communion, especially on Sundays, I often find myself distracted. My eyes are not fixed on our Lord in the Eucharist, but rather they are searching the pews for friends or cute babies. My heart is not contemplating His great sacrifice, but rather I am thinking about where to go for breakfast or whether or not my outfit is “churchy” enough.

What if, as I walked up that center aisle toward our Lord Jesus Christ, I fixed my eyes and heart on the depth of the Eucharistic mystery. How much stronger would my faith be? Christ’s words are very clear “…the bread that I will give is my Flesh for the life of the world”. Throughout the remainder of Easter, my mediation as I approach the true Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist is going to be “Lord, allow me to recognize Your sacrifice as I receive you”. 

May you continue to have a blessed Easter season and may the joy of the Resurrection continue to live in your hearts.

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Dakota currently lives in Denver, CO and teaches English Language Development and Spanish to high schoolers. She is married to the love of her life, Ralph. In her spare time, she reads, goes to breweries, and watches baseball. Dakota’s favorite saints are St. John Paul II (how could it not be?) and St. José Luis Sánchez del Río. She is passionate about her faith and considers herself blessed at any opportunity to share that faith with others. Check out more of her writing at https://dakotaleonard16.blogspot.com.

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Finding the Fullness of Faith

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Today’s Gospel reading is from the beginning of Jesus’ Bread of Life discourse. As we will see in the Gospel readings over the next few days, Jesus makes it more and more explicit that eating His body and drinking His blood in a mysterious, yet very real and physical way will bring us eternal life. He also makes it clear that He “will not reject anyone who comes to [Him.]” The Eucharist, which Jesus established in John 6 and at the Last Supper as the sign of the New Covenant, is intended for everyone.

When my husband, Patrick, was a freshman, he attended a college that was faithful to its Catholic identity, though he himself had left the Church. My husband’s radical faith in Christ was clear to everyone who knew him, but the longer he was a part of this dynamic college community, the more he was drawn to the faith of his childhood. Yet, one of the issues he continued to struggle with was believing in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

At one point, he and his roommate had been hosting a visitor to campus, and as the young man was leaving their dorm room to attend Mass, he invited my husband along. Patrick politely declined. After the visitor left, Patrick prayed, “Lord, you know my struggle with the Catholic teaching about the Eucharist. If it is really you in the Eucharist, please show me.” As he prayed, he heard a knock at the door. Patrick opened the door to see that the young man had returned. He asked Patrick, “Are you having trouble believing in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist?” My husband murmured something  non-committal, and the young man simply said, “Just keep praying. God will show you.” 

This compassionate young man, recognizing that my husband had a profound relationship with Christ, could have let my husband continue his faith journey as an evangelical Christian without mentioning the Eucharist. Instead, he stepped out in faith, wanting Patrick to experience all that Christ had for him. 

Perhaps as Catholics we sometimes forget that the Eucharist just the way we “do church.” It is the way that Christ himself desires us to be united with Him.  Our Lord wants everyone to believe in Him, and He invites believers to eat His body and drink His blood, so that we might have eternal life.  This reality shocked the people Jesus was speaking to. It may shock those to whom we speak. Nevertheless, we should not be afraid to invite others to explore the wondrous mysteries of the Holy Eucharist.

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Christine Hanus is a thwarted idealist who, nevertheless, lives quite happily in Upstate NY. She is a wife and mother of five grown children.

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The Face of the Father

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Before Jesus offered Himself to be a sacrifice, He spent time emphasizing with his last teachings what He really wanted us to remember. Anyone who has experienced what it is like to hand responsibility to others, especially children, knows that the last thing you say is the thing you really want them to remember. Since we are Jesus’ beloved, we should hang onto every word He says both in this moment that Jesus is giving us His ‘last will and testament’ and how that connects to the rest of what He has said.

Jesus began his discourse addressing Thomas, the Apostle who would later not believe what Jesus said about having to die and resurrect, did not believe that the other apostles saw Jesus alive, and who made the profession of faith, “My Lord and my God!” “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father.” If you know  me… this is the struggle that all of us face. Phillip, like us, can go through a good chunk of life missing the point or realizing that Jesus is trying to gently prepare us for the trial of life ahead of us. He asks Jesus to show the Father to them and then they will be satisfied. But this is what Jesus was asking of them to pray in the prayer, Our Father… We have to know Jesus, what He desires for us, for our neighbor, our enemy, and for our world in order to pray well “let your kingdom come, your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven.” 

This is the point of faith that we find that having knowledge of the mysteries of heaven means nothing if I do not know what my Father desires. In other words, if I do not see the end goal of what heaven looks like on earth, but I can articulate the mystery of the Eucharist or the Trinity, I have nothing. Jesus goes on to promise that we will do the same works as Jesus “and even greater ones than these”. What that looks like requires the maturing of our minds and souls as we grow to know what heaven looks like and how our Father desires to make that a greater reality. 

I am not living in some fantasy. I see the sins in our culture. I see the disorder, hatred, lust, and self justification that happens. I see the sin in our world… and in our Church. I have seen my own sin and desire to justify myself or go to confession to make myself feel better. I have experienced what it feels like to have prayed in the name of Jesus and felt God’s restraint. I have felt the effects of that, and it hurts. I can still say that I believe that I am not abandoned, and neither are you. Pentecost is coming. Even when we experience what Jesus experienced and can cry out from the heart, “my God, my God! Why have you abandoned me?” Resurrection power is just around the corner. Even when it seems like God is crushing us, He will revive us with greater understanding and strength. 

May Jesus roll away the stone of our hearts, and pour into us His resurrection power that we may see and know His face, the face of our Father who loves us through the ugly tears and into new life.

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Arthur Richardson is married to his wonderful wife, Gabby Richardson. Most of his work experience is in ministry. He was a retreat missionary in Wisconsin for two years and a youth minister for three years. He is now the Web Project Manager here at Diocesan, and loves it!

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Turning our Attention to Jesus

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I recently read an essay by Simone Weil about the relationship between academic study and our love of God. She wrote the essay in the early 20th century to encourage eighth graders in their studies. Weil promotes the concept of attention in her essay. Namely, that both academic studies and prayer require our attention. While we are tempted, and indeed rewarded, for measuring academic success by grades or other external factors, Weil argues that the quality of attention matters more, both in academics and in our relationship with God. 

Today’s Gospel brings to mind this idea of how we give our attention and how we measure the fruitfulness of that attention. Jesus has just fed the 5000 by multiplying the loaves and fishes. After working this miracle, his disciples retreat across the sea to Capernaum and encounter Jesus walking on the water three or four miles from shore (Jn 6:19).

While we can’t tell from Scripture, the crowds might have witnessed this scene since they knew where to find Jesus even though they knew that he did not initially leave the shore with the disciples (Jn 6:22). The crowd followed Jesus to Capernaum.

John tells us that these people were “seeking Jesus” (Jn. 6:24). They were giving Jesus their attention. But much like our efforts today, the crowd’s efforts were flawed. Jesus told the crowds that they were seeking him “not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves” (Jn 6:27). Jesus admonishes the crowds not to labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life.   

The crowd is so relatable. They seek Jesus, but for a reward or a particular result. How often do we do this too? We pray for the resolution of a crisis. We pray for our families. We even pray for sports games and parking spots! But how often do we pray simply to sit at his feet and give Jesus our attention? 

In Weil’s essay, she reminds us that when we focus our attention on grasping truth, we “acquire a greater aptitude for grasping it, even if the effort produces no visible fruit.” Prayer is a lot like this. Whenever we turn our attention to God, we grow in relationship with him. When we simply give God our attention, what we find is that his attention is fixed squarely on us. So let’s figuratively follow Jesus across the sea to Capernaum today. But let’s follow him there to give him our attention and to spend time simply being in prayer with our Lord.

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Elizabeth Tomlin is the author of Joyful Momentum: Building and Sustaining Vibrant Women’s Groups and contributing author to the Ave Prayer Book for Catholic Mothers. She is General Counsel for the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. Elizabeth is an Army wife and mother of three and currently lives in the DC area. She blogs at JoyfulMomentum.org or @elizabethannetomlin on social media.

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Worthy is the Lamb That Was Slain

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“To the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor, glory and might, forever and ever.”

We owe all we have, our dear souls, to Jesus Christ. As examples of living and dying through Him we must honor his sacrifice. God wants our lives to overflow with mercy and generosity for each other; to share love just as He did with us through Christ’s presence on Earth. Christ is the Gentle Lamb who gave up His life for us. He asks today and every day that we reflect:

“Do you love me?”

“Do you love me?”

“Do you love me?”

Then we must love Christ through our love for each other. As fishers of men, inspired by His Holy Spirit, we have a responsibility to dedicated time to God in prayer which will prompt the conversion of our hearts and strengthen our wills to follow Christ (CCC #2708), to constantly give back and feed His sheep, whether strangers or closest of family. Do you love Him? Then who will you bring with you to meet Him at the gates of Heaven? Who have you modeled His compassion for? Because He offered mercy to us, we should also offer Mercy to one another.

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Dr. Alexis Dallara-Marsh is a board-certified neurologist who practices in Bergen County, NJ. She is a wife to her best friend, Akeem, and a mother of two little ones on Earth and two others in heaven above.

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I’m Tired of Storms

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I must admit that I am tired of storms. I’m worn out trying to find my life story—my Covid pandemic life story—reflected in the apostles’ experience of storms at sea. 

I’m exhausted trying to outsmart an invisible enemy. 

I’m finished for a while with helping people make sense of what has been senseless suffering in their lives for these past two years.

The global consequences of the pandemic are so overwhelming I want to just sit down and cry. I long for the former days that seem in misty memory to have been more carefree and happy.

So the words that attracted my attention in the Gospel reading in today’s liturgy were these: “the boat immediately arrived at the shore to which they were heading.”

The apostles wanted to take Jesus into their boat. They were prepared to take charge and figure out the next best thing to do. Oh, how much of my life I’ve spent doing precisely this. These past two years that have been not only pandemic-riddled but also have been years of great loss on different levels have finally worn me out. I certainly don’t know the next move and I’ve finally acknowledged that I certainly don’t have what it requires to take the situation in hand and plot a way forward.

If you feel this way, just a little, trust in the Lord who brought the boat immediately to the shore to which they were heading. Sometimes we get taken to places in our lives that we would never have gone on our own, places that we would never have chosen, that we still don’t entirely comprehend. Somehow through it all we are taken by God to a shore where we are safe, yet we don’t know how we got there, where we are to go, or how we are to get there. We simply realize that God himself did it for us because he loves us poor storm-weary children.

It is a place of trust and of magnificent wonder: God is taking us somewhere, and he is doing it on his own, surprising us with his power, surrounding us with his love. “Do not be afraid,” he says. “It is I.”

I want to finish this reflection with three lines that perfectly express my prayer in these days. They are from a poem by Marie Noël (The Hours: Prime) found in the book Born from the Gaze of God: The Tibhirine Journal of a Martyr Monk (1993-1996).

Father, carry my soul in its carefreeness
To where you want, and let it sleep in your hand
Without asking the meaning and the goal of the road.

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Sr. Kathryn J. HermesKathryn James Hermes, FSP, is the author of the newly released title: Reclaim Regret: How God Heals Life’s Disappointments, by Pauline Books and Media. An author and spiritual mentor, she offers spiritual accompaniment for the contemporary Christian’s journey towards spiritual growth and inner healing. She is the director of My Sisters, where people can find spiritual accompaniment from the Daughters of St. Paul on their journey. Website: www.touchingthesunrise.com Public Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/srkathrynhermes/ For monthly spiritual journaling guides, weekly podcasts and over 50 conferences and retreat programs join my Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/srkathryn.

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The Soul’s Surrender

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“So let your heart hold back no longer. Let the city of your soul surrender–for Christ has set fire everywhere, and there is nowhere you can turn, physically or spiritually, without encountering the fire of love.” (St. Catherine of Siena)

When first looking at the readings for today, I struggled with what to write because I really didn’t see a common thread. It took awhile for me to finally realize that what the reading from Acts of the Apostles and the reading from John have in common is someone trying to rely on themselves, rather than God, and failing. In Acts of the Apostles, the Sanhedrin claim they know the will of God and they deny the preaching of the Apostles who say that Jesus is the Son of God for whom they have been waiting. It is Gamaliel who warns them that by trusting in themselves not only are they running the risk of failing in their attempts to stop the Apostles’ preaching, but they also might be actively fighting against the will of God. In John’s Gospel, we hear the story of the multiplication of loaves. When Jesus presents the question of where to get enough food to feed the crowd, Phillip’s response is, in short, “We can’t. It is impossible”. It is Andrew who humbly presents what he does have–five barley loaves and two fish–and asks Jesus what to do. Jesus, taking what has been given to Him, provides in abundance for His people.

We see the “fire of love” of which St. Catherine writes when Jesus provides for His people by feeding their physical hunger. We see it more profoundly still in His Passion, Death, and Resurrection when Jesus provides for His people by feeding their spiritual hunger for unity with Him. I think the most powerful line found in today’s readings is from Acts of the Apostles: “So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name”. The Apostles were flogged for preaching and teaching the Good News of Christ. Yet, rather than complain or lament their suffering, they rejoice. They rejoice because it is through their own suffering that they are able to unite more fully to the suffering of Christ and His Passion. This is true understanding of the suffering and the resurrection of Christ: great sorrow followed by great joy.

May we, following the example of St. Catherine of Siena and the disciples, preach the Gospel to all peoples. May our lives bear witness to the love of Christ so that others will come to Him through us.

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Dakota currently lives in Denver, CO and teaches English Language Development and Spanish to high schoolers. She is married to the love of her life, Ralph. In her spare time, she reads, goes to breweries, and watches baseball. Dakota’s favorite saints are St. John Paul II (how could it not be?) and St. José Luis Sánchez del Río. She is passionate about her faith and considers herself blessed at any opportunity to share that faith with others. Check out more of her writing at https://dakotaleonard16.blogspot.com.

Feature Image Credit: GDJ, https://pixabay.com/vectors/jesus-miracle-fish-bread-religion-5786111/