I couldn't resist another random song reference as a title! Those of you on facebook know that I currently re-discovered an early 90's classic when a band that played at Catholic Underground opened with this blog title's namesake! It was so random, but I knew the band was gonna be good if they could pull it off. And they were. Anyways, that was equally random...
I'm not sure what I'm going to write about (ugh- I know. I used to HATE when people would preface whatever came next out of their mouths with something like that: 'I don't really know anything about this topic, but...I'm going to give my opinion on it...' Hated that in undergrad and in formation classes. Shout out to Media Studies majors and the postulants! :) But I felt the need to write because I had a good spiritual direction session yesterday and I always seem to blog after spiritual direction :)
I had told one of my friends ahead of time that I was going to go into Father this week as a 'hot mess'. She dared me to use that exact phrase when he asked me how I was doing. So I did. He laughed. I'm glad he got the reference, though I'm pretty sure he doesn't watch Project Runway, where the phrase was re-coined for all of America to embrace. Anyways, he then went on to point out to me that I wasn't such a mess after all, which was even greater than him laughing at my cultural reference!
We talked a little about hope, which is no surprise since many of these blogs have had that very virtue as their theme. He made a good point- not many people pray for the virtue of hope. We often pray to increase the virtues of love/charity, or faith.
But he pointed out that if we have hope (and perhaps the Holy Father also made this point in Spe Salvi. Probably. It's been a little while since I read it though) faith and love spring from that. So it is so essential that we pray for the virtue of hope. And hope is also one of the hardest virtues to acquire- especially in our culture, since hope and trust go hand in hand- and no one seems to really trust others anymore.
I was also praying last night the Glorious Mysteries (as we often do on Sundays! Especially during Easter!) and I was praying about the virtue of hope with the Ascension. It seemed odd to me that this is the virtue we are to pray for while saying that mystery, because of how confused and sad the apostles must've been when they saw their Lord leave them. Were their first thoughts those of hope?
The Ascension has come up a lot for me lately, and appropriately so since we are approaching that feast in these days. It is true, though, that in the most difficult times we have to hope. Because there's nothing else we can do, really. When the disciples watched the Risen Christ return to Heaven, they probably were sad and overcome, but they had to hope that He would keep His Word as He had before, and that the salvation and promise of Heaven would be greater than any distraught feelings they felt now.
I know I've made similar statements recently-that we have to trust and believe that something unimaginable may be in store for us. My spiritual director confirmed for me yesterday that this is the path I'm on right now. To pray for perseverance and patience, but also for hope. For we, as the Holy Father declared to us a year or so ago (and St. Paul before him! :), we really are Saved in Hope.
Hope's all we gots, people! Otherwise it's Just Another Day (you were wondering when I would tie that all in, weren't you??) And isn't easy, but it's the stuff. I'm hoping I'll still feel this way by the time I post my next blog :) Until then...
Peace,
Julia
Showing posts with label hope. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hope. Show all posts
Monday, April 27, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Feast of the Presentation
Today is the Feast of the Presentation and in recent years, I've really come to love this feast.
There is sooo much depth to this Joyful mystery that I probably won't even be able to skim the surface of it. I hope to reflect on it more later this day, this week.
This account of our Lord's Presentation sums up so much of what I've been praying about since this summer, it seems. It all goes back to TRUST and CONFIDENCE in the Lord. And also that the Lord is loving and humble, and loves us just as we are.
The Presentation reminds us of what we remembered at Christmas, that God became human because He loves us! It makes me think of Phil. 2: 6 which I know I've mentioned more than once already on this blog, but I can never get enough:
"Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. "
As humans I think that we think the opposite, or that we can somehow grasp God. We try to contort our brains to wrap our heads around God in kind of a "How does He do it?!?" magician-kind of way. And while it's true, God could put on a good show if He wanted, He will never reveal all of His tricks ;) (not that He's trying to trick us! Maybe magician analogy isn't the best...all I end up is thinking of is G.O.B from Arrested Development anyways: "Illusions, Michael...." ha! I'll stop there!)
Nor can we be like God, though our culture likes to tell us that we can. It's like the serpant and the forbidden fruit- we are tempted to try and play God in certain realms. But I love the Church because faith and reason go together for us. We can use our intelligence to come to certain conclusions, but leave the rest up to God because He wants it that way!
(side note- I recently started re-reading JP2's 'Fides et Ratio' on 'Faith and Reason'. The man was totally guided by the Spirit but also just really intelligent. I wish more people could see this part of the Church and read all that's out there! Unfortunately, JP2 is also kind of hard to read, but there are becoming more resources that break down his encyclicals. For JP2's list of encyclicals click here: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/index.htm)
Yesterday's Gospel- (yikes! I'm realizing how convuluded this blog is becoming! My brain wants to spit out all it's thinking this week! Bear with me)- was from Mark and is one of the Gospel's "Messianic Secret" accounts. I loved learning about the Gospel of Mark in postulancy because Mark is so full of sassiness and symbols! He shows a sassy Jesus that I can relate to! :) So the Messianic Secret, essentially, is that throughout Mark's Gospel, Jesus is shown not wanting people to know that he is the Messiah right away. He yells at the apostles and, yesterday the unclean spirit, to 'Shut up!' and not reveal- yet- that he is the Messiah.
That is a whole 'nother blog in and of itself. But the priest yesterday talked about Jesus' authoritativeness and the amazement of the crowd at his miracle of casting out the unclean spirit. The priest challenged us to look at our issues of authority and also ask ourselves, 'when was the last time we were AMAZED by God?"
Good questions! Because this is a problem in our culture- we don't like authority, but we know we need it (ooo...I'm sensing a whole new blog idea on authority....for another time :). And, secondly, the priest pointed out, we don't recognize nearly enough how AMAZING God is!! When was the last time we were amazed by God, indeed! In the Mass?? In our daily routine?
End of tangent. Back to today's feast (though that all kind of fits, as usual :)
God humbles Himself to be like us, and we are reminded of this as we see Jesus being presented in the Temple through Jewish ritual. God sets the example for us....if He needed ritual, certainly we do as well! Which is a case for Sacraments and the Mass, no doubt, lest we ever 'question' authority on that! Sure ritual is monitored by authority, but it is meant for AMAZEMENT! (okay, so maybe my tangent wasn't finished after all. I think it is safe to say it is over now :)
Moving on- I also love the second half of this Gospel- that Simeon and Anna get to be present. Random, holy people, with no real relation to the Holy Family. But God chose them to be there to fulfill His promises to them. Ordinary people getting to witness God made man, God keeping His promises.
So ALL this to say, this feast made me reflect- as I continue to reflect on trust and confidence in God- hasn't He ALWAYS kept His promises to me in one way or another, like He kept them for Simeon and Anna? Even though they were growing old and had to wait longer than maybe they would've liked, God kept His promise to reveal Himself to them- and what a way to do it! Amazing! (though we can certainly always hope He works a little bit quicker for us ;) The beauty is God knows each of us and knows what we need).
This also gives me the HOPE that I've blogged about! That God is a faithful God, who understands us and keeps His promises.
So Trust, Confidence, HOPE continue to be themes for me to share with you :)
I hope they are helpful :) May we continue to be challenged and amazed by God's love for us.
Peace,
Julia
There is sooo much depth to this Joyful mystery that I probably won't even be able to skim the surface of it. I hope to reflect on it more later this day, this week.
This account of our Lord's Presentation sums up so much of what I've been praying about since this summer, it seems. It all goes back to TRUST and CONFIDENCE in the Lord. And also that the Lord is loving and humble, and loves us just as we are.
The Presentation reminds us of what we remembered at Christmas, that God became human because He loves us! It makes me think of Phil. 2: 6 which I know I've mentioned more than once already on this blog, but I can never get enough:
"Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. "
As humans I think that we think the opposite, or that we can somehow grasp God. We try to contort our brains to wrap our heads around God in kind of a "How does He do it?!?" magician-kind of way. And while it's true, God could put on a good show if He wanted, He will never reveal all of His tricks ;) (not that He's trying to trick us! Maybe magician analogy isn't the best...all I end up is thinking of is G.O.B from Arrested Development anyways: "Illusions, Michael...." ha! I'll stop there!)
Nor can we be like God, though our culture likes to tell us that we can. It's like the serpant and the forbidden fruit- we are tempted to try and play God in certain realms. But I love the Church because faith and reason go together for us. We can use our intelligence to come to certain conclusions, but leave the rest up to God because He wants it that way!
(side note- I recently started re-reading JP2's 'Fides et Ratio' on 'Faith and Reason'. The man was totally guided by the Spirit but also just really intelligent. I wish more people could see this part of the Church and read all that's out there! Unfortunately, JP2 is also kind of hard to read, but there are becoming more resources that break down his encyclicals. For JP2's list of encyclicals click here: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/index.htm)
Yesterday's Gospel- (yikes! I'm realizing how convuluded this blog is becoming! My brain wants to spit out all it's thinking this week! Bear with me)- was from Mark and is one of the Gospel's "Messianic Secret" accounts. I loved learning about the Gospel of Mark in postulancy because Mark is so full of sassiness and symbols! He shows a sassy Jesus that I can relate to! :) So the Messianic Secret, essentially, is that throughout Mark's Gospel, Jesus is shown not wanting people to know that he is the Messiah right away. He yells at the apostles and, yesterday the unclean spirit, to 'Shut up!' and not reveal- yet- that he is the Messiah.
That is a whole 'nother blog in and of itself. But the priest yesterday talked about Jesus' authoritativeness and the amazement of the crowd at his miracle of casting out the unclean spirit. The priest challenged us to look at our issues of authority and also ask ourselves, 'when was the last time we were AMAZED by God?"
Good questions! Because this is a problem in our culture- we don't like authority, but we know we need it (ooo...I'm sensing a whole new blog idea on authority....for another time :). And, secondly, the priest pointed out, we don't recognize nearly enough how AMAZING God is!! When was the last time we were amazed by God, indeed! In the Mass?? In our daily routine?
End of tangent. Back to today's feast (though that all kind of fits, as usual :)
God humbles Himself to be like us, and we are reminded of this as we see Jesus being presented in the Temple through Jewish ritual. God sets the example for us....if He needed ritual, certainly we do as well! Which is a case for Sacraments and the Mass, no doubt, lest we ever 'question' authority on that! Sure ritual is monitored by authority, but it is meant for AMAZEMENT! (okay, so maybe my tangent wasn't finished after all. I think it is safe to say it is over now :)
Moving on- I also love the second half of this Gospel- that Simeon and Anna get to be present. Random, holy people, with no real relation to the Holy Family. But God chose them to be there to fulfill His promises to them. Ordinary people getting to witness God made man, God keeping His promises.
So ALL this to say, this feast made me reflect- as I continue to reflect on trust and confidence in God- hasn't He ALWAYS kept His promises to me in one way or another, like He kept them for Simeon and Anna? Even though they were growing old and had to wait longer than maybe they would've liked, God kept His promise to reveal Himself to them- and what a way to do it! Amazing! (though we can certainly always hope He works a little bit quicker for us ;) The beauty is God knows each of us and knows what we need).
This also gives me the HOPE that I've blogged about! That God is a faithful God, who understands us and keeps His promises.
So Trust, Confidence, HOPE continue to be themes for me to share with you :)
I hope they are helpful :) May we continue to be challenged and amazed by God's love for us.
Peace,
Julia
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
I Know Him Whom I Believed
I know this blog has turned into a love-fest for St. Paul, but can you blame me?? It's the Pauline year! And this past Sunday was the Feast of St. Paul's Conversion. A big feast for me the past couple years, as you know.
The title of this blog post is taken from 2 Timothy 1:12 (we celebrated St. Timothy and Titus' yesterday-Paul's penpals ;)
The title also happens to be lyrics from a song that the Daughters sang (and I took to singing to myself constantly that year :) The song goes like this (Sisters, correct me if I'm wrong! :) :
I know Him Whom I Believed. I know Him Whom I Believed
And confident- I am confident
That He has been able to guard what has been entrusted to me
Until that day- entrusted to me 'til that day!
This song just popped into my head on Sunday when I was remembering and honoring Paul's conversion.
This confidence is what I - what we all- need!
After Paul's conversion, he just gave himself totally to Jesus. He just trusted in the mission Jesus had gave him and went for it! And when things got tough, he always trusted in Jesus' love.
Two books have helped me so much on my spiritual journey- He and I and I Believe in Love. I've taken to reading both again lately.
Yesterday I was reading an excerpt from "He and I" that talked about Jesus' tenderness for us and how he takes comfort from US in OUR tenderness towards Him! I just am in awe that this is even true or possible. Our God benefits from us and our tenderness?? Really?
St. Paul knew this though. I know that St. Paul had such a tender heart towards Jesus and that is why he was able to do all he did and be CONFIDENT in our Lord despite his failings and hardship.
St. Paul, while he was Saul, murdered and persecuted Christians. He was a sinner too! Sometimes we think we could never be like the saints. But if God can use and call St. Paul, certainly he can use us all! There is nothing we could be or have done that is not looked upon with mercy by Jesus.
I don't think I've ever written anything about my personal testimony or conversion on this blog. The one I used to tell on NET I am now realizing addresses this issue of knowledge of confidence in Christ.
There are many testimonies I could tell about God touching my life, but I used to tell one on the road about a retreat Junior year in college. The Gospel reading for the day was the raising of Lazarus. I remember the priest really emphasizing the verse (the shortest verse in the Gospels, I think!) "And Jesus wept" (John 11:36- I guess this does show that Jesus is moved by us!).
The priest emphasized that as Jesus wept for Lazarus, he would weep for each one of us.
It suddenly hit me in that moment, that Jesus loves me as much as Lazarus. A man he hung out with daily, and knew his sisters Mary and Martha, and ate and walked with. He loves me just as much!
The knowledge of this love is what brings about confidence in Christ.
St. Paul knew and believed this, like I said, and that is why he was able to do great things.
So do we believe that we are loved by Jesus? And do we KNOW it? Have confidence in it? Because it is true! And this knowledge can convert and change us like it did St. Paul. We may not be called to do great things, but we can have this same confidence and know we are loved!
So I offer that testimony that we too may know of God's love for each of us and have confidence in His Love.
"But I am still full of confidence because I know whom I have trusted, and I am sure that he is able to keep safe until that Day what He has entrusted to me" (2 Timothy 1:12)
That confidence! That assuredness! It's like music to my ears :)
St. Paul, pray for us!
Peace,
Julia
The title of this blog post is taken from 2 Timothy 1:12 (we celebrated St. Timothy and Titus' yesterday-Paul's penpals ;)
The title also happens to be lyrics from a song that the Daughters sang (and I took to singing to myself constantly that year :) The song goes like this (Sisters, correct me if I'm wrong! :) :
I know Him Whom I Believed. I know Him Whom I Believed
And confident- I am confident
That He has been able to guard what has been entrusted to me
Until that day- entrusted to me 'til that day!
This song just popped into my head on Sunday when I was remembering and honoring Paul's conversion.
This confidence is what I - what we all- need!
After Paul's conversion, he just gave himself totally to Jesus. He just trusted in the mission Jesus had gave him and went for it! And when things got tough, he always trusted in Jesus' love.
Two books have helped me so much on my spiritual journey- He and I and I Believe in Love. I've taken to reading both again lately.
Yesterday I was reading an excerpt from "He and I" that talked about Jesus' tenderness for us and how he takes comfort from US in OUR tenderness towards Him! I just am in awe that this is even true or possible. Our God benefits from us and our tenderness?? Really?
St. Paul knew this though. I know that St. Paul had such a tender heart towards Jesus and that is why he was able to do all he did and be CONFIDENT in our Lord despite his failings and hardship.
St. Paul, while he was Saul, murdered and persecuted Christians. He was a sinner too! Sometimes we think we could never be like the saints. But if God can use and call St. Paul, certainly he can use us all! There is nothing we could be or have done that is not looked upon with mercy by Jesus.
I don't think I've ever written anything about my personal testimony or conversion on this blog. The one I used to tell on NET I am now realizing addresses this issue of knowledge of confidence in Christ.
There are many testimonies I could tell about God touching my life, but I used to tell one on the road about a retreat Junior year in college. The Gospel reading for the day was the raising of Lazarus. I remember the priest really emphasizing the verse (the shortest verse in the Gospels, I think!) "And Jesus wept" (John 11:36- I guess this does show that Jesus is moved by us!).
The priest emphasized that as Jesus wept for Lazarus, he would weep for each one of us.
It suddenly hit me in that moment, that Jesus loves me as much as Lazarus. A man he hung out with daily, and knew his sisters Mary and Martha, and ate and walked with. He loves me just as much!
The knowledge of this love is what brings about confidence in Christ.
St. Paul knew and believed this, like I said, and that is why he was able to do great things.
So do we believe that we are loved by Jesus? And do we KNOW it? Have confidence in it? Because it is true! And this knowledge can convert and change us like it did St. Paul. We may not be called to do great things, but we can have this same confidence and know we are loved!
So I offer that testimony that we too may know of God's love for each of us and have confidence in His Love.
"But I am still full of confidence because I know whom I have trusted, and I am sure that he is able to keep safe until that Day what He has entrusted to me" (2 Timothy 1:12)
That confidence! That assuredness! It's like music to my ears :)
St. Paul, pray for us!
Peace,
Julia
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Trust in Hope
I got up this morning and quickly texted some friends who I knew were going down to the Mall today to witness the Inauguration of Barack Obama. Friends and family also texted me to see if I was braving it out there with the masses. I wasn't, but was excited for my friends who were there and excited to be even within a few miles from the events (but kind of glad I had chosen to watch it from the warmth of my own home!)
After watching the events this morning on CNN, I felt a sense of unity among Americans for the first time in a while. But then as soon as I looked at my facebook account, I saw people saying this or that about Bush, Obama; hope, change; the past, the future....and got discouraged that we were less united than I thought. Many people still have doubt and fear, rather than hope. But we can't expect one event to unite us in hope, I suppose, so I'll get to that in a minute.
I had decided I had vegged out on our sofa long enough for one morning and needed some kind of activity to get me out of the house. There are so many good movies out right now in time for the Oscars, so I took advantage of the time I had off (did I mention I had the day off today? Our office was closed since we knew the traffic would be crazy!) and decided to see the movie (ironically) "Doubt".
First, my overall thoughts on the movie- I really enjoyed it. I thought the script (it's based on a play) was incredible and the characters were really well developed. It's exceptionally acted and I all around liked it. It does not put the Church in any kind of 'light'-good or bad- but really is just about, well, the concept of our doubt as humans. And having had my experience of living in a convent, I can say firsthand that religious are not exempt from such feelings!
The movie begins with Phillip Seymour Hoffman's character's reflecting on the concept of doubt in front of a congregation at Mass. He reflects that when we are uncertain of something, we react in some way. And sometimes that leads us to do things that are sinful. The movie continues to pose questions on certainity versus fear and on our humanity.
After the film I went to take my time in prayer (since I'd spent the morning on the couch!). I reflected on all my events of the day: the witness of an Inauguration that sparked many emotions for many people, and this movie.
Hope and Doubt seemed to be my buzz words for the day. Some people doubt, for instance, the hope that our new president has seemed to represent. Regardless of your political beliefs, we need to hope! But not to put our hope in a person, but rather, the Lord. Hope is so much easier (in the long run!) than doubt! To doubt takes so much energy, as the movie seems to state.
But of course, we are human, and we do doubt. But God does not ask us to trust in our humanity. We are asked in our divinity which comes to us through Him and His Son.
I went to St. Paul (of course!) to find what my main man has to say about hope. Here is what I found:
"...we even boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." (Romans 5:3)
I love this definition of hope- that hope is the love of God has been poured out into our hearts. This is what we should trust in.
And not only that, but that we should boast in our afflictions! Boast?! In our sufferings?! Our faults?! This statement can give us a personal hope as well - that the Lord does not want us to dwell on failings, but to use sufferings to persevere which produces strength, and ultimately hope.
I hope this all made sense :) I was just really struck today by what fear and doubt can do to people versus hope and trusting in the Lord's love. I'll end by quoting a different St. Paul passage that drives home this last point:
"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" Romans 8:39
And that, my friends, is real hope!
We are united today in HOPE in the Lord!
Peace,
Julia
After watching the events this morning on CNN, I felt a sense of unity among Americans for the first time in a while. But then as soon as I looked at my facebook account, I saw people saying this or that about Bush, Obama; hope, change; the past, the future....and got discouraged that we were less united than I thought. Many people still have doubt and fear, rather than hope. But we can't expect one event to unite us in hope, I suppose, so I'll get to that in a minute.
I had decided I had vegged out on our sofa long enough for one morning and needed some kind of activity to get me out of the house. There are so many good movies out right now in time for the Oscars, so I took advantage of the time I had off (did I mention I had the day off today? Our office was closed since we knew the traffic would be crazy!) and decided to see the movie (ironically) "Doubt".
First, my overall thoughts on the movie- I really enjoyed it. I thought the script (it's based on a play) was incredible and the characters were really well developed. It's exceptionally acted and I all around liked it. It does not put the Church in any kind of 'light'-good or bad- but really is just about, well, the concept of our doubt as humans. And having had my experience of living in a convent, I can say firsthand that religious are not exempt from such feelings!
The movie begins with Phillip Seymour Hoffman's character's reflecting on the concept of doubt in front of a congregation at Mass. He reflects that when we are uncertain of something, we react in some way. And sometimes that leads us to do things that are sinful. The movie continues to pose questions on certainity versus fear and on our humanity.
After the film I went to take my time in prayer (since I'd spent the morning on the couch!). I reflected on all my events of the day: the witness of an Inauguration that sparked many emotions for many people, and this movie.
Hope and Doubt seemed to be my buzz words for the day. Some people doubt, for instance, the hope that our new president has seemed to represent. Regardless of your political beliefs, we need to hope! But not to put our hope in a person, but rather, the Lord. Hope is so much easier (in the long run!) than doubt! To doubt takes so much energy, as the movie seems to state.
But of course, we are human, and we do doubt. But God does not ask us to trust in our humanity. We are asked in our divinity which comes to us through Him and His Son.
I went to St. Paul (of course!) to find what my main man has to say about hope. Here is what I found:
"...we even boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." (Romans 5:3)
I love this definition of hope- that hope is the love of God has been poured out into our hearts. This is what we should trust in.
And not only that, but that we should boast in our afflictions! Boast?! In our sufferings?! Our faults?! This statement can give us a personal hope as well - that the Lord does not want us to dwell on failings, but to use sufferings to persevere which produces strength, and ultimately hope.
I hope this all made sense :) I was just really struck today by what fear and doubt can do to people versus hope and trusting in the Lord's love. I'll end by quoting a different St. Paul passage that drives home this last point:
"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" Romans 8:39
And that, my friends, is real hope!
We are united today in HOPE in the Lord!
Peace,
Julia
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