The Waves and Wind Still Know His Name

I don't normally write about how songs impact my life, but I felt I needed to share this one with you. It Is Well by Bethel Music. The readings for this Sunday all speak about the power of God / Jesus, and the common theme that I took away from the readings was Trust. This song fit the readings for this Sunday so perfectly that I felt called to share it.

The first reading is from Job 38:1, 8-11.In this reading we see God having a real conversation with Job, a conversation that reminds Job of who God is. God is hitting Job over the head at this point, which sometimes needs to happen in our own lives and faith journeys.  He tells Job “When I set limits for it and fastened the bar of its door, and said: Thus far shall you come but no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stilled” God tells Job I can tell the waves to be still and they will listen, this is the amount of power I have.  

The Responsorial Psalm is Psalm 107:23-24, 25-26, 28-29, 30-31.“They cried to the LORD in their distress; from their straits he rescued them, He hushed the storm to a gentle breeze, and the billows of the sea were stilled”. Psalm (107: 28-29). This Psalm beautifully foreshadows the Gospel of Mark 4:35 -41, the well-known Gospel story where disciples were on the boat, and a huge storm hits and Jesus is, well, asleep.  

Now, I laugh every time I read this or hear this at Mass. Just imagine you are there with the disciples, the huge storm is raging over you and water is filling up the boat. I imagine it is Peter who is the one chosen to wake up Jesus. Out of their lack of faith, they make Peter wake Jesus up. Well the rest of the story is; Jesus calms the storm and the sea leaving the disciples amazed. They are amazed because they know the Old Testament. They know about the story of Job and the imagery presented in the Psalms. They know this is the Son of the One who spoke to Job about the waves being still and the One who hushed the storm to a gentle breeze in the Psalms. Now they know it’s the Messiah as they acclaim, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”

Back to the song. I was introduced to the song a couple weeks ago at the Catholic Youth Ministers Conference. At first, it didn’t really speak to me. Not until I was leading our young adult Bible study. Then it really was the power of the Holy Spirit, as I was in mid-sentence explaining the Gospel, a spark of light came on and I thought of the lyrics, “Grand earth has quaked before moved by the sound of His voice Seas that are shaken and stirred Can be calmed and broken for my regard ... So let go my soul and trust in Him The waves and wind still know His name."

In the gospel story Jesus asks His disciples two questions; "Why are you afraid?" "Do you still not have faith?" If the disciples doubted Jesus, do you think we are free from this doubt too? No, we struggle with doubt; we have enormous questions about our lives and faith, do we not? The whole readings tie in together the need to trust in God our Father and in Jesus. Because if we allow ourselves to do that, when the storms of our lives are raging out of control, we can run to Him, wake Him up, and know the storm will become a gentle breeze. We can then let go, trusting in Him and knowing that the waves and wind still know His name.

 

God's Style Waiting in Joy, Week Three of Advent

          Happy third Sunday in Advent! The present theme in life (mine and in others), is a lack of patience, especially around this time of finals, and as Christmas break approaches. While some are struggling with the “what is next stage”, or “I want it now, when is it my turn / my time, stage”, Advent teaches us to rejoice and be happy! These past couple of months I have been reflecting on where my own joy has gone. If I am to be honest with you and myself, I think it has gotten lost in the “I want it now stage”. To be fair I am still a human, and yes I still have some life lessons to learn. 

          However, Advent teaches us to be patient, to be patient with others and ourselves. God has amazing plans for us! His plans are so amazing that He was willing to send down His only Begotten Son as a human being, in the most humble of forms, as a baby to be born in a tiny manger in a tiny town. God also has amazing style: in Matthew 2:2 it is written, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” God makes the brightest star shine for the birth of Jesus. This star is so bright that it is seen for miles away and leads the Magi to Him.

 

The same God that has amazing style has amazing plans for us and when we least expect it will show us. This brings us back to the start .We must be patient and wait in joy for His plans. We must not be fooled by the cheep imitations that seem to be great, but in reality they are not the same, awesome, or authentic plans that God has.  In our anxiousness we must not lose hope, but we must stay strong and trust that “greater things are yet to come and greater things are still being done.” 

I leave you with the second reading from today’s Mass, 1 Thessalonians 5:16 -24: “Brothers and sisters: Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit.” When we are allow Christ to take our lack of patience and anxieties in prayer then we become free. In this freedom this is where our peace and our joy rests, this is where our hope comes from.  My prayer for you this Advent is for peace and joy to overflow in your heart. Let us not get caught up in the cheap imitations, but let us be patient in the real presence and presents of Jesus. As we light the pink candle let us wait in joy.

Wait in Hope, Week Two of Advent

Happy second week of Advent! The first reading from Isaiah 40:1-5, 9 -11, gives us an understanding of hope from the perspective of the Hebrew people. Isaiah was writing about the first coming of the Messiah, and an ending to their suffering which was caused by the sins of the previous Hebrews. We can see Isaiah proclaiming hope to the Hebrews, saying, “In the desert prepare the way of the LORD! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!” …“Fear not to cry out and say to the cities of Judah: Here is your God! Here comes with power the Lord GOD, who rules by his strong arm; here is his reward with him, his recompense before him.”  We can see the encouragement in hope as Isaiah tells them to wait. We also see Isaiah challenging them to prepare their hearts for the Messiah. 

The Gospel, Mark 1:1- 8, speaks to us in hope as we read about John the Baptist fulfilling Isaiah’s prophesy.  John is telling the people to repent and be Baptized in preparation of Jesus. By this he is telling them to wait in hope and not in shame of their sins. In the same way we now ask to wait in hope for Christmas, the first coming of Christ, as well as for the return of Christ.  Mark tells us from our Baptism we are made clean of our previous sins before we were Baptized. In addition, we need to repent for our current sins, and prepare our hearts for Jesus by getting to the Sacrament of Confession: this is how we can wait in hope instead of despairing in our sins.

 From the readings today we are asked to trust in the Lord and wait in hope. For it is in  hope we are able to see that our God is a god who keeps His promise, a God who keeps His word and does so by fulfilling the readings. Jesus is that fulfillment; Jesus does for us what we could not have done for ourselves. He allows us to enter into Heaven as co-heirs from our Baptism. He prepared the way for us to get into Heaven after John the Baptist prepared the way for the Lord.  Let us then wait in hope as we light the second purple candle, for it is in hope that we find encouragement, and in hope that we are saved. 

St. Joseph the Just Man and Protector

St. Joseph is the perfect model at the heart of all men for purity. He being sinless and faithful to Mary loved Christ with his whole heart. The strongest muscle being his heart, St. Joseph’s passion is the knowledge that he would not be alive during Christ’s death to console Mary and protect Christ from His crucifixion. In Pope Francis’ homily today he speaks about Joseph being a protector.

“In the Gospel we heard that ‘Joseph did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took Mary as his wife’ (Mt 1:24). These words already point to the mission which God entrusts to Joseph: he is to be the custos, the protector. The protector of whom? Of Mary and Jesus; but this protection is then extended to the Church, as Blessed John Paul II pointed out: ‘Just as Saint Joseph took loving care of Mary and gladly dedicated himself to Jesus Christ’s upbringing, he likewise watches over and protects Christ’s Mystical Body, the Church, of which the Virgin Mary is the exemplar and model" (Redemptoris Custos, 1). (March 19, 2013)

Tradition teaches us that a lily tips the staff of St. Joseph bears in his hand. This symbol derives from an ancient legend that when Mary was to be given over for marriage, many suitors came forward. One of these men was St. Joseph. Miraculously, the staff of St. Joseph blossomed like a lily as a sign to Mary that he was to be her husband. Likewise, the biblical passage, “The just man shall blossom like the lily” Is. 35:1, 2 is applied to St. Joseph.

St. Joseph my Patron , and model Knight intercede on for me to be a great man, proctor , loving father and just man like you . Amen.  

Ashes To Ashes , Dust To Jesus

Today is Ash Wednesday, the day we as a Catholic community mark ourselves with ashes. We do this remind us our brokenness, sins, and how much more we need Jesus.  "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel", this is the prayer we are told as the ashes are put on our head. We are reminded to run from sin and run to Jesus.  Jesus is calling us to run to Him, so we follow him into the desert as we too fast and make our way into the desert for 40 days.  In these 40 days we journey together, we do this so we can finish together. 

Lent is a time for sacrifice, because we are called by our Baptism to die with Christ and rise with Him too.  During these 40 days it’s a time cleansing and purification of hearts. This purification should not end after the 40 days are up. Rather, we should strive to live it out the rest of our life. There is so much junk in our hearts, so much that we can’t fill it with Christ because we have no more room. Lent is a way to empty our hearts and let the Trinity fill it to the rim. Much like the wedding feats at Cana; Jesus tells the servants to fill the water to the rim. It is then transformed into wine. Same with us, He tells us to fill our heats to the rim, so that he can transform our hearts to do His will.  

Duc In Altum

Today’s Gospel Luke 5:1-11, is a great reading that leads us in to the start of Lent. To sum it up: Simon and his partners had been fishing all night long; they are tired, and have not caught a thing. Just as they are preparing to pack up for the day, Jesus comes to them and says, “Put out into deep water”. Simon says “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets”. As the cast their nets into deep water, their nets begin to fill so much that both boats are about to sink. Simon falls to Jesus’ knees and says, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man”. Jesus picks him up and says “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men, come follow me”.

This story is not one to just skim over, rather it’s a story that we need to take to heart. Duc in altum Latin meaning “put out into the deep”.  Duc in altum! This is the great challenge for us, especially as Lent is 3 days away.  Duc in altum is telling us that Jesus knows what is best for our life. He knows we are destined for greatness, wishes to reveal His will for us, and if we follow Duc in altum we can achieve the greatness that waits for us. Duc in altum is also a call for a greater trust in Jesus’ love, and in God’s plans for us. We need to be like Simon and say “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets”.   Duc in altum needs to be our theme for Lent. We need to find a way to allow Jesus to take us deeper, to allow us to fall deeper in love with Him, which in return it allows to love others deeper.  Jesus, help us to say yes to your love and will for us. Help us to Duc in altum this Lent.  Give us the Grace love like you love.  Amen.

Voice Infusing Life

When I look back at the years and numbers of how many R.E Congresses I have attended; I am in utter amazement of God’s voice through the crazy journey of it all. I feel so Bless to have been able to experience the many years of attending Congress; moreover, I am Bless to come into contact with the many voices of the influence and it brings joy to my heart. It’s hard to say how one feels during this weekend, for the shear fact that there is so many emotions / effects of God’s love raining down.

During the drive down on Thursday I was so anxious and excited because I just wanted to be there already. Friday, I have to be honest I was so exhausted that I miss read the Mass names. I thought I was going to the Contemporary Mass, but the correct writing in the booklet was Contemplative Mass. I laugh at the humor of my foolishness, which as I am sure many do too. Mass was the perfect prescription to what God wanted for me, the perfect gift of love from the Father .

The rest of the time at Congress for me felt like a glimpse into what the Heavenly banquet must be like. Having people you know, love, and have just meet in the same place for the same desire to love God. Jesus knew just what I needed and Bless me with a great helping of Grace.