Today, take a moment to pray the Sorrowful Mysteries in the wake of this horrifying scandal.
Pray for fortitude. Pray for the victims of abuse. Pray for healing.
Pray, and then act in the way that God's calling you to act.
Whatever it is He's put on your heart to do in the face of such evil, do that today.
Below is an excerpt from the meditation on the Crucifixion.
Oh my Jesus, today, Your Church hangs on the Cross. She was hung there by those she trusted to lead her flock to You. Those leaders who turned away from Your love and attacked Your very flock.
Now, Your Holy Church is laid bare to the world, like a criminal.
But still, She thirsts for souls. Still, she holds out hands filled with grace for all the hurt and all the suffering. Still, she calls for repentance of sinners.
God, give us the fortitude to stand by Your One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
Help us as we suffer a pain as strong as death in these dark times.
And bring us, through it all, to the Resurrection on the other side.
Amen.
Head over to my blog to meditate through all 5 mysteries with me today.
#catholicsonline #prayforchange #protectourchildren #nomore #catholicchurch
#MyMassTakeaway - The Bread Of Life
I set dinner out on a table surrounded by playful screams and dirt-caked hands.
The noise couldn’t cut the fog engulfing my brain. I added my own shouting to the cacophony: “I can’t do this! I just can’t!” Every day of my encounter with depression was a mountain to be climbed.
All the bumps of daily life were insurmountable obstacles. By the time I slogged through the day and made it to dinner time, I lost my will to eat. No matter how delicious (or basic) the meal before me, my appetite was gone. I didn’t want to eat, and I didn’t want to be with people.
No matter how much sleep I got, it was never enough. I would wake up in the morning, bone-weary. I fought to keep my eyes open all day long. And ironically, when night-time rolled around, my eyes would suddenly refuse to shut.
I hear you, Elijah. “This is enough, O Lord!” Elijah’s cry to God brings me right back to those difficult days. It reminds me of how overwhelming life felt to me. How drained I was by even the smallest tasks. How inadequate I felt.
I didn’t want to move. Didn’t want to face life. Didn’t even want to eat.
Just let me escape it all.
Give me sleep.
Today’s readings remind me of all the necessities of life. Not just for staying alive, but for being fully alive. Full of life and joy, and fully present in the moment.
We have physical and spiritual hungers that need to be fed.
Head on over to the blog (link in profile) tho read the entire post: Bread of Life: what Am I Hungry For?
We went to daily Mass, my four kids and I, and we were 30 minutes early.
The kids wanted to do the stations of the cross. I told them to be quiet and walk, don't run, and off their devoted little hearts went.
I cherished a few minutes of quiet prayer while I kept my ears tuned for any sign of misbehavior.
They made it more than halfway. Then, there it was. The pitter patter of running feet.
I didn't lose a moment bolting out of my pew and speedwalking towards the offender. It was my 3 year old, Fawn.
As I approached, she pattered past the wrong pew. The upset parishioner inside let her have it. "Go! You go back to your mom! Go on! Get!" She whisper-yelled as she waved her finger.
Fawn froze in her tracks and made eye contact with me. I held her shocked gaze and closed the gap between us.
I gently held her arms, knelt down, and whispered, "Remember, walk, don't run. People are praying and we need to be respectful. Would you like to finish the Stations walking? Or sit in the pew with mommy?" She chose to finish. She walked. She behaved all through Mass.
Then in the car on the way home she broke down and cried.
She felt sad and scared from being yelled at by a stranger. So I hugged her. And held her. And reminded her she's a good girl and Jesus loves her and she deserves respect. "Let the little children come to me." Please, don't turn the little children away from Jesus.
Please, be gentle. Help them learn what to do instead of just telling them to stop.
Please, understand that moms sometimes desperately need a few minutes of quiet prayer.
Please, know that children aren't always perfect. But they're still good.
Please, don't discipline someone else's child unless you have the authority and the right to do so.
And even then, please please please discipline with gentleness and love to the best of your ability.
Please, don't break our children down. Build them up. Don't scare them away, lead them closer with love.
Please remember, children are people too. They deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Their thoughts and emotions and experiences are valid and real.
Please, help our children learn to love Jesus.
Don't. Drive. Them. Away.
#MyMassTakeaway - Put on Your New Self
I know I should have been thinking about the Bread of Life discourse. But I couldn't get past that second reading.
St. Paul tells us to "put away the old self... and put on the new self." He's calling us to work for change in a very radical change.
Not just to improve this or that about ourselves.
Not just to act differently.
But to put on a whole new self.
Like I get up in the morning and take off my jammies and put on my outfit for the day. I don't keep my old sweaty tanktop on. Or my wrinkly pants. It's a complete transformation. A 100% change.
I can get up and put my old self aside. Entirely.
Nothing stays.
And I can replace it with my new self. The me I want to be. The fresh start.
Guys, I can *choose* this. I can choose it right now.
It makes me think of the book "Rachel and Leah" by Orson Scott Card. It's a Biblical / Historical fiction. (A must-read). In the book, Old Testament Leah falls in love with Jacob, her sister Rachel's promised husband. As she gets to know Jacob and he teaches her about God, Leah undergoes an amazing transformation.
She puts aside all her anger and frustration. All her grudges and disappointments. And she chooses to be a loving, cheerful, daughter of God.
For a while she feels like she's faking it. But then she realizes it's no deception. She has the power to choose how she acts, how she responds. She has the power to choose to BE who she wants to be, with God's word and grace upholding her the entire time.
And the transformation in her personality is astounding. Her choices make her so beautiful.
I can do this.
I can put on a whole new self. I can transform into the Saint God is calling me to be. Through His grace, I can leave the old me behind. Right now.
I can put on a new self.
A self full of love and hope and joy and peace.
God, let Your will be done in me. Help me put on the new self You desire me to be. Amen.
