Bernadette's Beautiful Aquero

     I'm writing this blog post at the spur of a moment, but I felt pressed to acknowledge the approaching feast of Our Lady of Lourdes on February 11.  This marks the first apparition of eighteen in 1858. 
I have had a great admiration for St. Bernadette, but especially during my growing up years.  I collected many books on her life, the apparitions, and the beautiful lady's messages.  These texts ranged from children's chapter books to the thick, specifc accounts that great writers have quoted from the archives of accounts. 
     After my Confirmation (taking Bernadette's name of course!), I completed my accurate, elaborate notes and put together a radio theatre production of "Bernadette's Aquero" with my youth group and parish volunteers.  (By the way, the name Aquero is taken from the French dialect Bernadette identified the mysterious lady as "that.").
     What I have found to be most intriguing to me about St. Bernadette is her simplicity.  During every questioning by disbelieving authorities and every obedient response to the Lady, this fourteen year-end visionary did not press people to believe.  She was as faithful to her promise to come to the grotto of Massabielle every time, and took Our Lady's messages to heart.
     Even if be only Aquero's (February 11) and St. Bernadette's feast days (April 16), I hope we can take the time to see what these visions mean even in our own day and age- they don't have to stop at 1858. 
     "Penance, Penance, Penance!"P
     "Pray for the conversion of sinners."

Happy (Belated) Feast Day Blessed Mother!

Feliz Dia de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe

            I realize it can be difficult to celebrate feast days in the middle of the week as we scramble to finish the school semester or finish that one project before “winter break.”  But I encourage you to pause even for a moment to remember the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas and Protector of the Unborn.  Let us look to her as a Mother and ask her intercession for our times.

            “Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.

            Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.  Amen.”

(The Memorare Prayer)

Holy Anticipation

                Welcome to the anticipatory Season of Advent!  I feel like my own preparations started a couple months earlier than usual, in emotionally- and gift-wise- for the birth of my first niece.  True, she was not announced to my sister by the angel Gabriel or said to be our Savior, but she is the beginning of something new in both my sister and brother-in-law’s lives as well as in my own, meaning as a first-time aunt. 

                Boy or girl? 

                What would it be like the first time I hold her in my arms?  (I have found out by now.) 

                Amidst all this anxiety and excitement, I started to parallel it with Our Lady and St. Joseph’s own anticipation as they awaited that special time when the Savior of the world- their own baby- would be born.  What a responsibility!  And yet, during my first visit to see my own precious niece, I saw the new parents’ swiftness to heed to her little cries, and also the natural interaction between parents and child.  How beautiful! 

                As we enter into this blessed season in preparation for Christmas, may we see the sanctity of all human life.  Because, with them, the world will never be the same.

The Call to Be Saints

                This week has been filled with a variety of popular saints' feast days: from the promising protection of the Guardian Angels, the bold, confident St. Therese of Lisieux, and the simplicity of St. Francis of Assisi, to name a few.  No two saints (or angels) seem to be exactly alike, yet they all portray themselves as followers of Jesus in their own day and age.  How can we aspire to the call to holiness?  Need we be exactly like them?  So long as we follow the Teachings of the Church, we don’t have to make the same steps of what it takes to be called Catholic.  Each and every saint was drawn to varying devotions, careers, and not every follower assumed the same vocation. 

                What is your calling, in this striving to holiness?  How will you say “yes” to Jesus?

Enduring Hardship

                During these past few days, we have celebrated two feasts and one Sunday that refer to the Suffering and Death of Our Lord (The Exaltation of the Cross, Our Lady of Sorrows, and the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time).  It has been during this time that I have been challenged to embrace my own suffering and inconveniences.  But why would I do something like that?  I know in my own life, I am not the most patient in this.  You see, the sorrows of this life are uncomfortable, and often a contradiction of what we would personally like to see in life. 

                But God is full of surprises!  And that will bring more value, more purpose to what we can offer to God.  Of course, it is alright to seek help from others and medicine to relieve a sickness, but what we do during the “waiting game” for relief can be part of our lesson in taking on what we must endure.

                I will mention again, I am far from perfect in the face of suffering, but there is always time to learn and grow.  (For example, St. Therese’s little way and “empty hands” have been a tremendous help for me.) 

Let us stand at the foot of cross with Our Lady, give what we have, and await the resurrection of Our Lord.

God be Praised!  Always!

Speaking Through the Darkness

Speaking Through the Darkness

                Pain is not an easy emotion to live with.  But it comes in various forms and different situations.  These include the physical and psychological.  Both burn, but take separate means of treatment. When they take place, it is as if time stood still.  The one I have experienced the most these past three years is the psychological.  It cannot be touched, but it can be experienced heavily.  And in difficult moments, I have had to remember that God is greater than the terror of what I might go through. In the end of each battle, we see our peers of the same earthly sorrows with empathy. 

                This unwanted emotional “experience” is not in vain. Many would definitely prefer to go without. But with each ounce of strain comes a learned lesson.  Not that we have done wrong, but what will make us stronger people. This is my own personal mission as I notice the silent cries of others, that I can speak to them through their darkness.  How will you learn from yours?

The Need for Courage

                I may have blogged about this before, but I have felt a need for courage that is stronger than usual.  I had called it upon the fictional characters of my stories growing up, and now it was being challenged in my own life. 

                But there is also this preference for remaining in the “shadows” of fear and paralyzing timidity. 

                “Do I dare?”  “What are the consequences?”

                Yes, sometimes it is best to pace ourselves in these “unnatural leaps and bounds,” but the need to push ourselves is still there. 

                Find a place of refuge, a childlike trust in Our Father, Who calls for us to do these things not only as practicing Catholics, but as a call to personal growth. 

                Let us go out into the deep.  Jesus is calling us!