Shared Sacredness of Tradition: Truth

Debwewin (Truth)

Truth is represented by the turtle as the turtle was here during the creation of Earth and carries the teachings of life on its back. It is said that in the beginning, when the Creator made man and gave him the seven sacred laws, the Grandmother Turtle was present to ensure that the laws would never be lost or forgotten. On the back of a Turtle are the 13 moons, each representing the truth of one cycle of the Earth's rotations around the sun. The shell of the Turtle is a reminder to live in a way that upholds these values each day. To know truth is to know and understand all of the original laws as given by the Creator and to remain faithful to them. The Anishnaabe word for this Law of Truth is Debwewin which translated means to speak only to the extent we have lived or experienced. We should not speak about what we don’t know, what we haven’t learned or haven’t lived or experienced. We should not speak falsehoods, nor twist the truth to fit our own ideas and feelings.

Saint Paul urged Timothy to challenge believers to be diligent in learning and telling God’s truth. Do not quarrel about words; it is of no value… Do your best to present yourself to God as an approved worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth…those who indulge in godless chatter will become more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene…and they destroy the faith of some. Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his...”  (2 Timothy 2:14-19)

We are taught to seek truth, learn truth and live in the truth. Jesus reveals to us in the Scriptures that He is the Truth, we are called to live in Truth, modelling Christ’s example for us. The closer our relationship with Christ, the more fully we will live in Truth. —----------------------------------------------------------

A prayer for growing and living in Truth throughout each day,

God our Creator, We come before You with grateful hearts for the truth that You have revealed to us through Your Word and by Your Spirit. We thank You for the gift of salvation and for the sacrifice of Your Son, who died for us and rose again to give us new life. We are humbled by the knowledge that Your truth sets us free from the bondage of sin and death.We are grateful for the Holy Spirit, who guides us into all truth, and for the wisdom and discernment that come from walking in Your ways. Thank You for the blessings that You have bestowed upon us and for the trials that strengthen our faith and deepen our understanding of Your love and grace. May our  hearts always be filled with gratitude for the truth that You have revealed, and may we never take for granted the blessings that You have given. Help us to live a life that is pleasing to You, and to share Your truth with others so that they too may experience the joy and peace that comes from knowing You.

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, pray for us! Servant of God Nicholas Black Elk, pray for us!

Lenten Reflection for March 30th, Easter Saturday

Hello friends,

We are very nearly at the other edge of the wilderness we entered into 46 days ago. Today I look back at our walk through the desert and reflect on some of the ways I’ve grown and learned over this time.

Over the weeks I can see the importance of praying for and being attentive to how the Holy Spirit would like to bless us with the Gifts of Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Right Judgment, Courage, Piety and Wonder and Awe. If we don’t ‘open’ and use these Gifts, we might experience ‘stunted growth’ when hoping to be filled with the grace that comes with the Fruits of the Spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.

Though I wasn’t able to speak to each Fruit and how it might ‘branch out’ from the Gifts, I certainly could see how each Fruit can blossom from the Gifts if we ask the Lord to fill our heart and transform our life and spirit to be more like Christ.

This seems to be the main point, we can know we are on a right path of discernment and of transformation, whatever that might be for each of us, if we are following the examples Christ set for us though his life and witness. Saint Paul says in Philippians, “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:4-8)

To have a spirit of Joy and Peace, to show Patience and Kindness, to share in Generosity and Goodness, to be Gentle, Modest and Chaste, to practise Self-Control and Chastity and to live lives of Love for others, this is to be transformed and live in a Christ like way.

Friends, I feel blessed to have journeyed with you throughout this Lenten Season, I hope it has been a fruitful time for you as well! Let’s continue to pray for all these Gifts and Fruits to fill our heart and our lives to make us more like Christ.

After the Holy Saturday Vigil this evening we enter fully into the Joy of Easter celebrations, all praise and thanks be to God for His abundant mercies and blessings!

He is Risen, Alleluia!!

Lenten Reflection for March 29th, Good Friday

On this day we bring to the forefront of our mind and reflect on the ultimate sacrifice that was made for us, as we wait in darkness with anticipation of the Good News to come.

Out of all of the Psalms, Psalm 22 most serves as a link between Jesus and his ancestor David. In the Gospel we read the anguished cry from Jesus on the cross, echoing David's own cries to the Lord, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (v.1).

Both men were being put through horrible pain physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. When they call upon God for help, it feels like He isn't listening, doesn't care, and has abandoned them. David writes, “Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest.” (v.1-2)

Everyone has turned against them, mocking and taunting both men, saying “Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver— let him rescue the one in whom he delights!” (v.8), much like the soldiers, the chief priests and the criminal crucified beside Jesus mocked Him, saying "He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, ‘I am God’s Son."

I can imagine the sense of hopelessness there must have been. The world must have seemed just as dismal to those who followed Jesus, those people who had no idea what was going on or what to expect. The man they had thought was their prophesied Messiah was dead, they were being threatened and ridiculed, where could they possibly go from here? Doubtless they felt very abandoned by God in that moment as well.

Do you ever feel abandoned by God? Do you ever feel that you have times of despair when you are crying out and wondering if the Lord even hears you? Have you experienced people around you trying to challenge your faith, saying "if there were a God, why are bad things happening to you?"

Thanks be to God there is always hope for the hopeless. We can read that despite David's cries, he also knows where true strength, hope and deliverance comes from. Toward the end of the Psalm he ends in praise and with hope in the Lord, “For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him. From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him. The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord. May your hearts live forever!” (v.23-26)

We can have the blessed assurance that God will provide for us, even to the point of giving us His own son, a Messiah who dies for our sins, so we don't have to face that death and separation, true hopelessness, from God ourselves.

Brothers and Sisters... now we wait.

For our younger brothers and sisters in Christ:

As we reflected on Palm Sunday, this Holy Week is one filled with highs and lows of emotions. Today, Good Friday, is a very solemn day for us as followers of Christ.

Today we remember how Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice for us all by his death on the cross. We are saddened because it is our sins as human beings that hurt Jesus on the cross and is why he had to die for us.

In the Bible we read,  “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son. God gave his Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16-17 ICB)

This shows us that the ‘Good’ part of Good Friday is that we can know that by Christ’s love for us and through his death and resurrection, we now have the promise of eternal life in Heaven with God and Jesus.

Today we should try to remember to think on and reflect about God’s great love for us and give thanks for Jesus’ love for us on the cross as we wait for the joy of Easter in three days.

God bless you!