Lenten Reflection for March 19th

My husband has done many presentations, workshops and talks to several thousands of people over the years. There was one time he was asked to speak to a group of other ministry leaders on the topic of finding time to rest.

He and I took some time to talk with each other and discern what direction to take when presenting on the topics. I think what the group was expecting was to hear about taking time for oneself, take a walk, have a cup of tea, read a good book and things along those lines. These are all good things to be sure, but we felt there was a prompting to go deeper. Rather surprisingly, the person who came to mind when thinking about finding rest was, appropriately for this Feast Day, Saint Joseph. We tried to figure out why St. Joseph came to mind, other than him receiving messages in dreams, the Bible doesn’t talk about him ‘resting’. 

What came to stand out about St Joseph was that through his devotion to the Lord, his obedience to what God told him, he could be at Peace with whatever was happening to him and his family. He could have Joy in his heart that he was following the Lord’s will and plan for his life.

This is resting in a way that we can find through faith and devotion to God and the trust we have in Him. We too can feel joy when we know that God is with us and has plans to bless us. Saint Mother Teresa once said, “The best way to show my gratitude to God is to accept everything, even my problems, with joy.” and the Psalmist writes, “When I say, ‘My foot is slipping,’ your mercy, LORD, holds me up. When cares increase within me, your comfort gives me joy.” (Psalm 94:18-19)

When we feel heavily burdened, tired and weary and like we might be slipping, let’s start by praying for the Lord to help us in our trust and obedience to Him, He will give us Peace.

For our younger brothers and sisters in Christ:

Sometimes when we are faced with tasks and decisions that are difficult for us, or times when we feel we are struggling we might feel we are getting tired, weary and discouraged. We may feel confused and not sure where to look for help. It’s fortunate that we have help from role models of the Faith!

Today is the Feast Day of Saint Joseph, the husband of Mother Mary, and St. Joseph is who we call the Patron Saint of Canada. St. Joseph had a lot of decisions he needed to make in order to keep his family safe around the time that Jesus was born.  God spoke to him and gave him instructions to follow, some that may have seemed very confusing in the moment. 

If Joseph had decided he wanted to make his own choices rather than listen to God, things would have turned out much differently, and quite likely worse! Joseph chose to listen to and trust God, and in doing so he could live with peace and joy in his heart. 

When we feel heavily burdened, tired and weary we can remember and be encouraged by what the Bible says in the book of Psalms, “I am about to be overwhelmed.” But, Lord, your love kept me safe. I was very worried. But you comforted me and made me happy.” (Psalms 94:18-19)

Saint Joseph, pray for us!

God bless you!

Lenten Reflection for March 18th

Years ago I felt a calling and desire to learn more about the tradition of women wearing a mantilla, or head covering, when they went to Mass. I had seen a few women practise the act of covering their heads and knew it had something to do with respect but I wasn’t sure of much else.

After reading and hearing stories of women who wore a mantilla to Mass and why it was important to them, I felt called to start doing the same. I took time to pray about it, wanting to be sure I understood why I wore one and to be able to give an answer to anyone who might ask why I chose to wear it.

After I prayed about it, I decided instead of purchasing one, I wanted to make my own as a prayerful exercise. I went to the fabric store and found some lace that just so happened to have a beautiful rose pattern, perfect for reminding me of Our Lady’s love for us! I stitched it together and the next time my husband and I went to Mass, I brought it with me. No one in our parish really practised wearing mantillas at the time so I was very self-conscious about wearing it. I was afraid of what people might think of me. I remember my hands trembling when I put it on my head and pinned it in place! As I knelt to pray, I felt better as I remembered this wasn’t about anyone else around me, it was a special sign of devotion, respect and reverence for the Lord just from myself.

I still often wear a mantilla to Mass, though there are times I choose not to wear one as I don’t want it to turn into a practice that I merely do out of habit or the sake of appearance rather than Love. I remind myself of what Christ says in Matthew’s Gospel, “Beware of practising your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven…And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:1, 5-6) 

Although we can certainly witness what we understand to be pious behaviour, Piety is how we in our own heart grow closer to God. The Gift of Piety helps us see God as a loving Father who we are devoted to with ‘childlike’ love. Let’s pray to continue to be open to God’s love transforming our heart, drawing us ever closer to Him.

For our younger brothers and sisters in Christ:

When we hear the word Piety, or pious, we may have in mind an image of someone who is constantly praying, reading their Bible, or always going to church. These are wonderful examples of how we can see the gift of Piety, but it goes deeper than that.

The Gift of Piety helps us to desire a loving relationship with God as our Heavenly Father, the way a child has a loving relationship with their father. The way we can grow in this relationship with God is by talking to Him through prayer each day, by reading His words to us in the Bible and by going to church to be with and worship among our brothers and sisters in faith.

A great verse from the Bible to help us keep in prayer as we grow in our faith with the Holy Spirit’s Gift of Piety comes from Deuteronomy, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5 ICB)

God bless you!

Lenten Reflection for March 17th

There is a Nigerian fable that goes,

Once upon a time, there lived a Tortoise who lived in his shell. He lived amongst Dog, Cat and Rabbit on a farmland. Tortoise was very curious and decided to begin following Dog whenever he snuck away at night. One night Tortoise heard Dog whispering, “Rope. Rope, let me up for I am hungry.”

Then a rope appeared to Tortoise’s surprise. He watched in amazement as Dog began to climb and later emerged with plentiful amounts of food. In the morning Tortoise told Dog what he had seen and wanted to know how he could do the same. Dog happily obliged and told Tortoise to go with him that night so he could show him how to get more food.

Later that night Dog and Tortoise met at the same spot as the magic had occurred the night before. Dog said; “I will go first and then I will extend the rope to you.” Tortoise happily obliged and waited patiently as Dog chanted once again , “Rope. Rope, let me up for I am hungry.”

The rope descended and Dog climbed all the way to the top and then urged Tortoise to follow. As the Tortoise began to climb, Dog cut the rope and Tortoise fell on its back and broke his shell into little chunks, that is why even today, tortoises have cracks on their shells.

Throughout our lives we are taught, often through experience, that we need to be very careful in what and whom we place our trust. It is the negative experiences which teach us this lesson most profoundly.

To place our trust in another takes courage, to place all our trust in someone seems foolish in the eyes of the world.  Through His love, God wants us to know that we can trust Him, fully and completely. It is when we know we can trust in the Lord fully and surrender to Him that we will find Peace in our heart.

Christ gives us this promise in John’s Gospel, “I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!” (John 16:33)Let’s pray to have the Courage to fully trust God, then we can find the Fruit of Peace growing within us.

For our younger brothers and sisters in Christ:

Once upon a time, there lived a Tortoise who lived in his shell. He lived amongst Dog, Cat and Rabbit on a farmland. Tortoise was very curious and decided to begin following Dog whenever he snuck away at night. One night Tortoise heard Dog whispering, “Rope. Rope, let me up for I am hungry.”

Then a rope appeared to Tortoise’s surprise. He watched in amazement as Dog began to climb and later emerged with plentiful amounts of food. In the morning Tortoise told Dog what he had seen and wanted to know how he could do the same. Dog happily obliged and told Tortoise to go with him that night so he could show him how to get more food.

Later that night Dog and Tortoise met at the same spot as the magic had occurred the night before. Dog said; “I will go first and then I will extend the rope to you.” Tortoise happily obliged and waited patiently as Dog chanted once again , “Rope. Rope, let me up for I am hungry.”

The rope descended and Dog climbed all the way to the top and then urged Tortoise to follow. As the Tortoise began to climb, Dog cut the rope and Tortoise fell on its back and broke his shell into little chunks, that is why even today, tortoises have cracks on their shells.

We learn in life that we need to be very careful in what and whom we place our trust. It is usually the bad experiences we have, like feeling hurt or betrayed by a friend,which we remember the most.

Trusting others takes courage, placing all our trust in someone may seem very foolish.

God loves us and wants us to know that we can trust Him, fully and completely.

Jesus gives us this promise in John’s Gospel, “I told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world you will have trouble. But be brave! I have defeated the world!”(John 16:33 ICB)

Let’s pray to have the Courage to fully love and trust God, then we can find the Fruit of Peace growing within us.

God bless you!