Gospel reflections: Ordinary time/I have not rebelled

Part of my job is to write a section of the Church bulletin. So in between the "Don't forget to turn in permission slips," "Volunteers needed for..." and the typos, I try to share with others what the Holy Spirit has been up to in my thoughts and prayers that week.

And so, I give you, the September 9th and 16th bulletin reflections. 

September 9th: 

In our liturgical calendar, we are in the middle of ordinary time. But the readings continue to remind us of the extraordinary God that loves us and they also call us to respond with extraordinary love to others. The first reading from Isaiah  says “Be strong, Fear not! Here is your God, … He comes to save you.”  Sometimes we forget how wonderfully extraordinary our Lord is. That He comes down from heaven with his divine love to save us. That in ordinary moments of our lives, he comes with extraordinary love to take us up in his hands with his saving grace. In response to the love of God, we are called to act in extra-ordinary ways. The second reading tells us how important it is to act in these out of the ordinary ways. We are reminded to not judge based on material appearance, but to be extra-ordinary and look beyond physical riches to see the richness of faith. During this liturgical season of “ordinary time” let ‘s take the challenge to continue to live extraordinary lives of generosity, love, and forgiveness, so that our lives reflect the extraordinary love of God’s saving grace in today’s world. 

September 16th:

“The Lord GOD opens my ear that I may hear; and I have not rebelled.”  - Isaiah 50:5. This first line from the reading is a hard one to hear, because for me, it is often untrue. “I have not rebelled.” How many times do we rebel when we hear the Lord God? But now, looking at the Gospel, we find some comfort in the person of Peter. In the Gospel Peter, the rock on which Christ build his church, first answers Christ’s question with flying colors; “Who do you say that I am?” “You are the Christ.” Peter’s ears were open, he heard what God was telling him and proclaimed it. But soon after, he went back to his human ways of thinking, and rebuked the Lord. He stopped allowing his ears to be opened.  We are all a lot like Peter. It is a constant effort to keep our ears open, and to not rebel against what God is revealing to us and calling us to do. Christ recognizes the struggle, and walks with us. He would not call us to deny yourselves, take up your cross, and follow him, unless he was willing to do the same thing for us. He followed through - Lord, help us to do the same. 

I'm still marinating a longer blog post on another line from the Eucharistic Prayer. It will come eventually.

has the hibernation ended?

*swipe swipe* 
what do we have here
*continues to dust off*
no it can't be ... it is! my blog!  I thought for sure I lost this thing.

Nope Alexa, You haven't. The inter-webs save everything.

Since this is a blog of general reflections and humble thoughts - and since in my current employment I write these things almost daily - Why not blog them? Posting a few sentences here or there can't hurt right? And besides, I already have a FaceBook, Twitter, and Pintrerest  - what is one more social media outlet? As a communications major - I accept (or re-accept) the challenge of blogging.

In the past, ehh... we'll say 3 months. So in the past 3 months, my life has been busy - even busier than usual, and there is no hope for it slowing down. I have more responsibility at work than I did my first year, and as always, life keeps going and more things get added on no matter how busy you are in the first place. And in all this business - it's left me little time to think.

But how important is thinking! It is so important to make conscious decisions. To chose to act, rather than to react. To deliberately say something, do something, not do something, or to move forward on something in my mind holds more value than to react to what life puts your way. Now take that a step further into personal life and development. How important is it that we choose what and how we are going to continue to improve our lives and grow spiritually and intellectually. Rather than reacting in our spiritual life (when tragedy strikes - draw near to God in response) what if we took our spiritual life by the horns (so to speak) and became conscious initiators.

Starting each day with the conscious intention to draw near to God could radically change how you live.
That's been my challenge for the past few days. To live with the conscious intention that today, right now, I am choosing to draw near to God.

If we truly believe what it is we proclaim - then that conscious decision is the most important decision we can make each day. And to follow through means that we are consciously deciding to accept the grace that the Lord is constantly pouring upon us.

Think this week.

Peace.

Militia Imaculata

So, new years 2010 was spent in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in Mary Town retreat center outside of Chicago. And it was amazing.
Like many retreats, we wrote letters to our future selves, this is the letter I received.

Mary, my mother and protector,
thank you for guiding me onto this retreat and through it.
As I continue to unfold the great mysteries of your son,
I ask that you may stay at my side and continue to guide my heart.

Wrap me tightly within your mantle,
nestled near the purest of hearts.
Carry me with you as you meed your Son and Lord.
I ask for your loving protection, especially during this time,
when so many things trip and consume the goodness of my soul.

Handmaid of the Lord,
give me your light to shine through the darkness,
and the weary recesses of my heart.

Oh great mother,
you love me as only a mother can,
through my failings and my mistakes.
You know the intentions of me heart.
Lead me on the path of fulfillment and
I beg of you to catch me when I stray.
My mind is stubborn, but help me
to always think of your example.

I am loving you with all my heart
and pleading for help and mercy
to rain on your unworthy daughter.

Take these prayers, my entire heart,
and place it at the foot of your Son.
All in His name.
Amen.

As I was running today this thought came to me. But first, let me set you up with the scene.

It is a beautiful day. Probably about 70 degrees, absolutely gorgeous. I am running, no music and hating every step. I'm frustrated with school, overwhelmed with work, and stressed out with my personal life. I keep having to move to the other end of the edge of the sidewalk too, because so many people have been spring cleaning their yards and there are tons of branches on their curbs to be picked up. this got me thinking..
The branches are dead, and are being cut away to make new growth. It truly is a positive thing. That is what spring is all about. I realized that the spiritual turmoil that I'm in is because I'm not allowing God to prune me, to cut away at my branches. And it is hard to allow him to take control, even Adam didn't want to follow God's lead.
So for the next few days that's my new prayer:
Lord, help me allow you to cut the noise, the hurt, and what is keeping me dead out of my life. It will hurt Lord, and I know that. That is why I'm scared. Do your worst Lord, so I can be your best. Amen.

BR: Wis 1.6

"For Wisdom is a kindly spirit,
but will not free blasphemers from the guilt of their words;
because God is witness of their inmost feelings,
and a true observer of their hearts and a hearer of their tongues."

~Wisdom 1:6

Wisdom is a kindly spirit. In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit is often referred to as Wisdom. So this beginning part is about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is kind, but why? What do we know about the Holy Spirit? It is the third member of the Trinity, contains fullness of divinity, and even descends down on us during the Sacrament of Confirmation. But one of the most popular stories of the Holy Spirit is when the apostles were in the upper room and the Holy Spirit descended upon them. The story of Pentecost can sometimes be a bit intense. Imagine you are just sitting there and then you are overcome and speaking in tongues. But even in the intensity of the scene, we have to remember that Wisdom, the Holy Spirit, is kind. He is a comforter and gives courage. He is God as companion, following us through our hardest and most confusing times, giving us Wisdom and grace.

What to do

NEW VIDEO CAMERA FOR CHRISTMAS!
which means that my next project will be to bring this blog to life!
get excited to see my face! :)

Inspired by the questions that I always get during Christmas, here is a humble thought.




I think that I may go back and edit some old posts, so you can hear how they are supposed to sound. Especially the poetry ones and the ones with a little more feeling/poetic tone to them.

Let's face it, what I love most about this blog is reading it to people (the people who I know who read this know that, because I usually read posts to them about 1 minute after they are up.)

That is all then, Merry Christmas!

The sweater

A poem.

Yesterday I wore

the sweater that I semi-stole

from you the last time you were here.

You let me wear it

Since I was cold that morning,

With a smile and wink saying

“now I better get that back.”

With the full knowledge

That you wouldn’t.

Yesterday I wore

That sweater,

Because I needed your arms around me

But the closest thing I had was sleeves and

Sometimes three hundred miles

Can be remedied by a sweater

And a cell phone.

Then there are times when it cannot be.

And all I have are sleeves, and not arms.

And the sweater that once held you around me

Doesn’t keep me warm.

-Alexa Schuele