Here Comes Advent!

 Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you are all blessed with a spirit of gratitude for all we have to be thankful for!  God is so good and ever Present, even in the difficult moments.

Advent is just around the corner!  We have so many reflective resources at our fingertips whether it be through our parish, online, or in books, for the new liturgical season.  I encourage you to choose one or two, but not be overwhelmed that you have to do all of them.  I say this with my own thoughts of overwhelm and praise to God for these many sources to put us in the spirit.  

But I would also encourage you to just be still with Our Lord and the Blessed Mother.  How did they prepare, on that journey to Bethlehem?  Even to be still with the daily Readings can help us draw closer to God.  There is so much preparation this time of year, be it in the shopping, in the putting up of decorations, and our getting together as a community.  

But what about our hearts?  I feel like putting in bold letters: it's not Christmas yet.  It's Advent!  Let us not "miss the boat."

An Additional Note to Vocations Awareness Week

 I recently posted a video on Vocations Awareness, and I hope that it has been informative for you and your understanding of the diversity of vocations within the Catholic Church!  

I wanted to reiterate the importance that everyone is called to holiness.... so no excuses that you don't "qualify" as a lay person!  In fact, there are many rising saints who come from the laity.  I am learning this as I continue to seek God's will for my life in the different seasons as a wife and a mother.  I've got to admit, sometimes I feel like an inspired ministry I pray about depends totally on me.... then I wonder if God is calling me to do it while taking care of my children?  I'm realizing I need to build up the domestic church, that is my family, first.  But I needn't be discouraged if I need to back out of such inspirations.  I have a beautiful vocation that God wants to work with me through, and lead me to holiness!  Motherhood is amazing!

We recently celebrated the Solemnity of All Saints Day, and I hope you are feel inspired to go forward a saint yourself!  Pursue God, He is already- and always- pursuing you.

Suffering?

So I wanted to do a video or blog post on suffering- though it can be a difficult topic to bring up.  It is a very real thing, and I'm not going to try and make dealing with it to be a lofty breeze.  For it is the undesired things that make life difficult, aren't they?  It can take many forms, whether it be physical, emotional, or spiritual.  In fact, it is hard to fathom the struggle of a loved on, unless we ourselves are undergoing it as well, right?

We just had celebrated the Miracle of the Sun, a sign given by Our Lady of Fatima to the three children.  She asked them if they would be willing to suffer, for the conversion of sinners- and suffer, they did.  I watched a video on the apparitions on October 13, to commemorate the miracle and the lives of these seers.  It reminded me of how to suffer, especially when I might be misunderstood by others.

What can I do with my suffering?  How can I better endure it with patience and love?  We all have suffered in some way, whether now or in the past.  It is part of the fall of Adam and Eve, a consequence for sinning.  

Whatever you may be going through, always believe- from the depths of your heart- that you are not alone.  Jesus walks alongside you, and His Immaculate Mother is cheering you on.  They have been there, while on earth.   And we don't have to suffer while feeling isolated and rejected.  In whatever form the suffering comes, they are right there with us, in it.

Onward, fellow Christian.  Let us endure the good fight together, knowing that we are not alone!

A Time of Revival

 So we very recently had a Eucharistic Congress in the United States... Praise God!  I was not able to be physically there, but my heart was.  I don't always have a chance to go to my local adoration chapel, but I try to take my little one to church a couple times a week (including Sundays) for Mass.  I can't always focus in, with one eye on my toddler and the other on what's going on at the sanctuary; but I commit to still being present there because of the way Christ is ever Present to me.  I keep praying, whether I am at church, at home, or anywhere else.

Having this awareness of Jesus in the Eucharist is also about having a relationship with the One Who died and rose again for you.  For you!  I am still in the process of watching the different talks and moments of adoration from the Congress (via YouTube).  I am taking on a renewed appreciation that I keep needing, as I thirst for the Bread of Life.  

I also have renewed a personal devotion to the Divine Mercy, and find great meaning in praying the chaplet.  In this sacred space that I clear the way for, I offer God the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, of Jesus Christ...  The Eucharist!  He stands in our place both now and at the hour of death, if we but let Him.  He wants us with Him!  Let us never distance ourselves or doubt His GREAT, UNCONDITIONAL LOVE for us!  

Maybe you were able to go to the Eucharistic Congress, or maybe you were only able to watch online.  But let us not lose this invitation to revival and repentance, to draw near to Our Lord in the Eucharist.  He is calling us to a renewed union with Him, my brothers and sisters!  We are called to love and live Jesus!  

Pentecost... Now What?

 So we celebrated Easter for an entire liturgical season, then Jesus' Ascension, then Pentecost....  Now what?  We enter back into Ordinary Time with Sunday Solemnities, but what do we do now?

Well, from Pentecost, the disciples went forth to proclaim the gospel.  Even to this day, all Christians are called to proclaim the truth of Jesus' redeeming love, with others.  Each of us has our own gifts and talents, word and example, to bring the Love of God to others.  The question for you personally is: 

How will you be a witness of His Love?  

Ask Jesus how you can better serve Him.  With every vocation, and in every day to day decision, is an opportunity to bring Him to others, and to sanctify the moment. 

Overcoming Fear, (My Call to Share How I am Growing Out of my Weakness)

 I have been experiencing a lot of fear lately (yes, even the one "preaching" to you is imperfect and has a weakness, because I am human).  While being vague for the sake of my own privacy, let me share a few generalities regarding these things: The fear of the unknown, the fear of losing control, and the fear of falling short and failing.  Maybe you can relate.  I invite you to take a look at your fears and see how you and I are choosing to respond to them.

Pope St. John Paul II boldly proclaimed throughout his papacy: Be Not Afraid! because Jesus is with us.  And you and I have got to remember that fear is a human emotion, and (wake-up call) we are human.  We have options to fight/flight/ or freeze every time we have a sense of fear come over us.  (Unfortunately, I tend to freeze and get stuck.  Though lately I have been working on breaking that pattern and choosing to "fight," in order to reclaim who I want to be when those fears tempt to dissuade me.)

Jesus wants us to trust Him.  Where we might feel frightened about the future, He wants us to know that nothing will ever happen without His plan for our lives.  Where we might fear losing control, He is the calm in the storm.  Where we fear failing in what we expect from ourselves, Christ calls us to be gentle with ourselves, and to just let ourselves feel Loved by Him.

I don't know, maybe you are going through something similar.  I felt called to share this with you, and sometimes I speak more boldly by written word rather than putting together a video.  So if you feel isolated and troubled in yours fears, know that I am praying for you, and that Jesus is inviting you to break the isolation and face it with Him.  I pray that He also sends people into your lives to be a support to you.

The Peace of Christ invites us to a renewed hope, so walk on in the freedom and the knowing that you are Loved by Him!  In recently recalling His Ascension, we remember that He promises to never leave us.  Give Jesus a big hug, and called Him "Father!"

Happy Feast of the Ascension

 We have reached the Feast of the Ascension, and now it is time for the Novena to the Holy Spirit, which leads to Pentecost!  Jesus promised His disciples that He would never leave them, and He makes that same promise to us.  I try to look for different signs of His Presence throughout the day, and wonder how I can bring His Love to others.  

The Holy Spirit works through us, and we need to be open by having a relationship with Him.  This includes through personal prayer, by receiving the sacraments, and bringing the joy of being a Christian to others.  

I am learning to rejoice in Jesus and to love Him in both the ups and downs of life, because I know I can trust in Him.  Yes, we are called to trust in Him even when things do not go according to our plans, in good times and in bad, and to carry our cross with Him.  Because we are not alone; Jesus walks with us, and He loves us.  

So let us rejoice in Him Who redeems us!  He has ascended into Heaven!

Jesus, the Bread of Life-giving Love

 This past week, Jesus has kept leading me back to the Bread of Life Discourse in the Bible.  It has shown up in the daily Readings, at youth group, and in a bible study.  Praise God!  He is Present in the Eucharist!  Jesus is calling us to have faith in what He says, and to receive Him as sustenance to what it means to follow Him with our very lives.

We must never take His Presence among us for granted, and know that He makes Himself small, so that we are not afraid to approach Him.  We have an approachable God, and He is showing us the way of the gospel!  

Jesus wants to give of Himself, though it takes our willingness to be attentive to this great Mystery of merciful love.  He does not force us; He only bids us.  I was blessed with an opportunity to go to adoration this week, and what a blessing it always is!  Can we fathom His great love for us?  He is among us in the Eucharist, and makes us "walking tabernacles" when we receive Him at Mass.  So we must go forth, bringing that same love and mercy to others!  

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Second Reading Reflection

 In this Sunday's Second Reading (for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time), St. Paul writes to the Corinthians about his proclamation of the gospel: and woe to me if I do not preach it!  He feels drawn to his obligation to tell the world that Jesus is Lord, the promised Messiah who walked the earth, suffered, died, and rose again, for our sakes.  And now, it is the apostle's duty, and our duty, to bring Jesus to others.  

Like Paul, we are called to use our gifts with his same call from the Spirit.... "and woe to me if I do not preach it!" with our actions, with our words, and with our lives!

I encourage you- I plea for you- to read the rest of the 2nd Reading (1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23) and see how you too, are called to bring the light and hope of Christ to others.  This is Good News!  God places us at this time and place on earth, for a reason.  "All this I do for the sake of the gospel, so that I too may have a share in it."

God be Praised!

Moving Forward in the Joy of Christmas

 God be Praised, I found the time to do a video on the YouTube channel (I encourage you to visit "A Catholic Presence" for my latest one)!  Though still in the Season of Christmas, we are past all the officially marked holidays, including this one and New Years.  I do not plan on removing my decorations for at least another week, but it's already back to the grind of working and less preparing.  

Christmas is not yet over.  How can we live out this sacred time within the "ordinariness" of our lives?  To practice gratitude for Christ's coming down from heaven to live among us, and even to die for us? To let the "peace of Christ control your hearts" (excerpt from Collosians 3:15).  We have prepared the way for Him this advent; now it is time to keep Him at the center of our lives.

What will your resolution be in this new year, and how committed are you to keeping it?  I pray for your perseverance in it, your peace in it, and that you do it with love, as St. Faustina learned to do (and I shared in my latest video).  May God continue to bless you, and may you magnify Him in it, as Our Lady demonstrated so well in her Magnificat.