A Mother's Love

       Have you ever had a thought that really blew your mind, and you just couldn't stop sharing it with everyone you saw?  Well, this week I had one of those mind blowing thoughts.  As it turns out this blog is another place for me to share!  So, fasten your seat belts!

picture via pray for our leaders

       Mary, the mother of Christ, watched her beloved son be tortured, mocked, and killed for our sins.  But wait, here is the mind blowing part, even after all of that Mary is still on our team!  When that hit me I was awestruck!  I mean, honestly, I wouldn't blame her for wanting all of us to burn forever. 

       As I have begun to further understand Mary’s role in my life and in my faith I have been repeatedly impressed and humbled by her.  This woman, who could easily blame us for her greatest pain chooses instead to intercede on our behalf.  She watches over us and has adopted us as her own children.  WOW! Thanks Mama Mary!

       Thank you all for listening to my rant.  I sometimes get really excited when I make a new development in my spiritual life.  Sorry for the short post but I was just so pumped about this I had to share!

     Do you have any mind blowing thoughts you want to share?  Have you ever had similar thoughts about Mary?  Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Drop me a line in the comments below! 

First Name, Greatest. Last Name, Ever.

       I just got back form the first ever 9pm mass with the Catholic Terps at the School of Public Health! (I was told they will write books about that mass, so I wanted everyone to know I was there)  One thing that really got me thinking from the homily tonight was the idea that we are all made for greatness.

picture via Digging the Word

       If you are like me you have spent much your life denying your greatness; whether you truly believe that you aren't that great or you think it is conceited to admit your greatness to yourself.  I think that my life has been a pretty even mix of the two. 

       If you truly do not think that you are great, consider your creator.  God created you.  The same God who created the oceans, mountains, sunrises, sunsets, He created you.  What hit me today while I was listening at mass is that it is really disrespectful to think of myself as worthless or insignificant.  I am a masterpiece, you are a masterpiece, of the Almighty.  God could have just as easily never created us but he has a plan of greatness for each one of us.  Who are we to decide that we or anyone else is worthless?  God knew what he was doing when he created us!

       If you are afraid of admitting your greatness to yourself for fear of conceit you may also be missing opportunities to use your greatness.  I know that for me this fear is very real.  I am scared that admitting to myself I have a gift will lead to one of two things : 1) I will become super conceited and nobody will like me, including God. 2)If I admit to myself that I am great then I am setting myself up for expectations and ultimately failure.(fear of failure is a whole different post).  My point is that these reasons I give myself for denying greatness don’t cut it.  When I refuse to see my gifts I feel useless in The Great Commission.  I am not allowing those gifts to be used for their purpose, I am wasting them hiding behind false humility.

       We are called to see ourselves as God sees us, flawed but great!  We are not great at everything, don’t get too excited.  And yes, pride and conceit are very real temptations but we can resist them if we choose to view our greatness not as our own, but as God’s. 

      What are some of your gifts that make you great?  Do you think that you are great?  Why or why not?  Comments?  Questions?  Suggestions?  Drop me a line in the comments below!

Why Can't We Be Friends

       This week has been a whirlwind!  I have spent the week getting up early and spending the day working with the Catholic Terps.  UMD is welcoming students back this week and we are in full-fledged outreach mode.  Before we got started talking to the new students the leaders at the Catholic Student Center got together and shared a day of learning and planning.

picture via eborg3
(a sweet webiste full of Jesus pics)

       During this “Leadership Day” we went over many Bible stories and verses.  A lot of the verses made an impression on me but one kept returning to my thoughts over and over again.  John 5:6 says, “When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”.  What really struck me about this verse is that Jesus approaches a man who has been paralyzed for over 30 years and doesn't just heal him, he asks if the man wants to be healed.  God doesn't go where he is not welcome. 

      I don’t know about you, but that kind of scares me.  I mean, I know that God is there for everyone and he want to heal us all, but we have to be the one to open the door.  That is a lot of responsibility.  I think that as Catholics we get so comfortable in routine that we forget we are called to be in relationship.  We can’t just expect God to take part in our life, we have to invite him, and in order to invite him we need become his friend. 

      How?  1^st things first talk to him, this is how we get to know everyone, God included.  You can’t become best friends with someone you never talk to.  Read the Bible, this is similar to Facebook stalking your crush; you can get to know his (Jesus’) likes, dislikes, friends, and relatives.  Finally, hang out as his place for a meal, go to church and share in the Eucharist!  There is not better way to become friends with someone than to hang out together.

      What do you think about John 5:6?  Do you invite God to heal you?  How do you strengthen your friendship with Jesus?  Comments? Questions? Suggestions?  Drop me a line in the comments below!

You Are My Song

my parents and I at my brother's wedding

       Today is my parent’s 30^th wedding anniversary! Congratulations Mom and Dad I wish you many more years together!  I feel strongly called to the Vocation of married life and I am so blessed to have been given such a beautiful example.   So while I am single right now, I still feel like I have learned a lot of valuable lessons about relationships from my parents (some of which have contributed to my prolonged singlehood).

       Lesson #1: There are still good men out there.  My dad has set and incredibly high bar for any man in my life (a good reason to be single).  The good news is that he has shown me that there are men out there who are willing to show love and respect to one woman forever.  I appreciate this lesson and know that I deserve a man like him because he taught me what I am worth as a daughter of God. (Thank you Dad for being great, thank you Mom for being super great and letting him marry you)

      Lesson #2: Love is not a feeling it is a choice.  Love wants the best for the other person.  My parents once told me that if you constantly try to outdo one another with generosity you will be happy.  They didn't mean that a couple should turn love into a competition they just meant that love is selfless.  I have seen this over and again in their relationship and I hope to one day be blessed with a man I can try to outdo in generosity.

       Lesson #3: The key to a lasting relationship is Christ.  This is the lesson I am most grateful for.  My parents have taught me that marriage is a commitment not only to your spouse but to God.  When you take vows you are promising God to love your spouse as he loves the Church.  A vow to God is not something that should be taken lightly.  In order to make a relationship last you have to put Christ at the center, you need to know that another human can never fulfill you, only God can give you all you need. 

       Thank you, mom and dad for showing me a beautiful reflection of love between the Father and the Son, and Christ and his Church.  Love is a many splendored thing, but it requires hard work and commitment.  Thank you LORD for my parents! 

       What life lessons has marriage taught you?  Do you think these lessons are true?  Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Drop me a line in the comments below! 

School Of Hard Knocks

       Recently I watched a video of 50 scientists talking about God.  All of these people of science were discussing why they don’t believe in God or religion.  I was honestly heartbroken.  It is hard to see people living lives that they see ultimately as pointless.  One of the reasons that some of these individuals cited as disproof of God is the suffering that takes place in the world.  This is not an uncommon argument and I will admit it is hard to accept, but suffering is not proof that there is not an all-powerful and loving God.

picture via Take On Torah

       I have certainly noticed that pain and suffering is a go-to argument against God.  In the past I have always responded with the cheesy line from AWalk To Remember, “without suffering there can be no compassion.”  Yes, I do think that this is a valid reason for suffering to exist but I have recently come to the conclusion that it is not the only reason.

       As I was praying the rosary yesterday morning (sorry I keep talking about the rosary this week but I have been learning so much from it!) I was meditating on the sorrowful mysteries.  As I meditated on Jesus’ agony in the garden, it hit me.  God is our father, that is the ultimate love, and as our father he is responsible for teaching us.  So, here are a few important lessons I think God teaches us through suffering.

       1) God shows us that there are consequences for bad behavior.  When we are children our parents give us rules to follow and if we don’t follow those rules they give us consequences.  Why is it that parents spend the time and energy to give children consequences?  It is because they want us to learn our actions affect us and others, we have to be more thoughtful in what we do.  God wants us to make good choices because when we choose to sin it affects not only ourselves but others.  Without the pain and suffering that results from a bad decision how would we learn to make better choices?

       2) A wise man once told me that anything uncomfortable builds character.  That wise man may or may not have been my brother, and he may or may not have said it whilst giving me a noogie (I don’t remember).  Regardless, that statement has stayed with me because I truly believe it.  The way that we react to hardship molds our character.  If we dodge responsibility and think only of ourselves through our suffering than we are building ourselves to be weak, lazy, and selfish.  If we take responsibility for our action and try to make amends to those we have wronged (or pray for those who are doing wrong to us) than we are building ourselves to be honest, strong, and compassionate.

       3) We can’t do anything by ourselves.  Do you remember teachers and parents telling you it is ok to ask for help when you are struggling?  God says the same thing; he wants us to ask for his help.  We so often try to rely on ourselves and what does that lead to?  Pain and suffering.  When we place our burdens on God he carries us. God wants us to know that we have nothing and are nothing without him.

        “Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11

       Do I think God wants us to suffer?  No, absolutely not.  Do I think he allows suffering for our ultimate good? Yes, I do.  God, like any parent watches the pain of his children with grief but knows that allowing us to learn from it is for the best.  God wants us to succeed.

      Why do you think that God allows suffering?  Do you have any examples of what God has taught you through your own pain?  Comments? Questions? Suggestions?  Drop me a line in the comments below! 

Before I Cheat

       Yesterday I celebrated what I called the “grand finale” of my summer.  Holly (my BFF) and I met up with Anna, one of our closest friends from high school (and later Biz and the MacLeods).  This get-together was extra special because it was our last chance to see each other before Anna leaves for 6 months of mission work in Taiwan.  What I love about my high school friends is that even though our faith wasn't what initially drew us together it is now something that most of us have a deep passion for and can share. 

All of these are of me, Holly, and Anna from high school. Clockwise:
Trying on the latest fashions in Walgreen's,
walking in the homecoming parade with the Patrons in Pink,
field trip to the big city a.k.a DC 

       As we browsed around local shops and stopped in Dunkin’ Donuts so Holly and Anna could get Pumpkin ice lattes (or whatever it is they got), we chatted, made jokes, and goofed off in general.  Once we were done with the approximately three things there are to do in our town we decided to go see a movie.  We rolled up to the theater around 3:30 only to discover it was closed… we live in a really small town.  We weren't ready to part ways yet, so we did what every group of self-respecting young women would do in our situation, we watched One Direction videos on our phones and talked about God.

       Something that Anna said during our conversation struck me so much that I wrote it down to share with you!  As we were talking about our imperfection in relationship with God Anna said, “Yeah, it’s like, imagine you got married and your husband told you he still wanted to see other people.  That is what we do to God when we put other things before him.”  WHOA!  If you know me or if you have been a regular reader you know that my dream in life is to be a wife and mother, so this hit me really hard. 

       All God wants is all of us.  The Church is the bride of Christ and we are the Church, therefore we are the bride of Christ.  As the bride of Christ we are supposed to be completely faithful to him.  Every time we sin, we are putting something ahead of Christ, we are cheating on God.  Think about that! 

       Think about it this way, if someone cheated on our favorite celebrity we would probably say, “What was that person thinking?  Don’t they know that they have the perfect man?! What is their problem?”  We would be outraged and think that they didn't know how lucky they were, yet we have literally the perfect husband and we are unfaithful to him daily.  I know that I was embarrassed when I thought of it that way.  I mean, I would never dream of cheating on a boyfriend or a husband so why do I allow myself to turn from Christ so easily?

       I don’t know if you will connect as much as I did with what Anna had to say, but I had to share.  I think that it has added a new level to my understanding of the destructive nature of sin.  Maybe next time I’ll think before I cheat.

       What do you think about Anna’s comment?  Have you ever been on a missions trip overseas?  Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Drop me a line in the comments below! PS happy 65th post! 

New Perspectives

       As you know I began praying my first novena this week!  Today’s rosary focused on the Sorrowful Mysteries.  I thought I was going to hate focusing on all the sad parts of the Gospel but I actually liked the reminder of Jesus’ great sacrifice. My concentration on Jesus' sufferings reminded me how much I take for granted. What I particularly found interesting in my meditation is that I had never really considered how God the Father felt during Jesus’ Passion.

picture via UTNE

       Usually while reflecting on the Passion I think about how Jesus loved us and was willing to sacrifice himself anyway.  In recent years (mostly after Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ) I have thought a lot more about the actual pain and anguish Jesus experienced and the sorrow Mary went through.  It has really added to my gratitude when I consider just how awful the Passion really was.  Jesus was not hanging on the cross with a loincloth and one little mark where they pierced his side.  No, Jesus was hanging up there naked covered with cuts, bruises, whip marks, dirt, and blood. 

       The rosary allowed me to meditate in a focused manner on the Passion.  While I was praying I thought about how each mystery looked and felt from many different perspectives (Jesus, Mary, God, those persecuting Jesus, myself).  One that I had never really thought of before was how God was feeling during his Son’s Passion.  During Lent I think about God telling Jesus, “this is what is going to happen”, and then he kind of disappears from the story until Jesus asks him to “forgive them, they know not what they do.”  Upon reflection, I realized that God (as always) didn't go anywhere.  He had to watch his Son go through all of the suffering that the entire rest of the world deserved.

       So, how did God feel?  Did he look down stoically, knowing that this was what had to be done?  Did he cringe with every crack of the whip and every pound of the hammer?  Did he cry?  Can God even cry?  Did he want to reach down and stop it all?  Was he proud of Jesus?  Was he angry for what our sins had led him to do?  Was he happy that through Jesus’ suffering we would all be restored to him?  Was it maybe a combination of these?

       I am not sure what God was feeling during this time.  We can never really know.  I imagine he felt something similar to how I feel on Good Friday, sad for what happened but overjoyed for what it means to sinners.  No matter how He felt, I am impossibly and eternally grateful to Him for the sacrifice. 

       

       What do you think of the Sorrowful Mysteries?  Have you ever thought about how the Father was feeling?  What do you think God was doing during the Passion?  Comments? Questions?  Suggestions?  Drop me a line in the comments below!