theROCK

Balance Brings Peace

The Church is the Body of Christ. It is the collection of all of us working together.

The early Christians, the beginning of the Church, lived this quite completely as it truly was a matter of survival for them. They provided for one another's needs, supported one another in every way and learned from one another. That doesn't mean that they always agreed, but they remained kind anyway because their success in maintaining Jesus’s mission depended upon it.

They understood the greater mission - to be there for one another for God's sake. This is the fundamental understanding of stewardship - to give of your gifts to support your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Catholic schools, hospitals, orphanages, and all manner of missionary work is rooted in the concept that we are the Body of Christ.

The secular culture grabbed on to this with the phrase, "It takes a village." Indeed, everyone working together results in something greater than the individual parts. This can apply to any situation where people must work together as a team.

I am keenly aware of this as the instructional leader of the school. Teachers and parents, parents and students, students and teachers, etc. - all important interconnected parts that serve to bring about success in school. Interconnected parts that serve to assist each one in being the best version of itself. Interconnected parts that require balance. Balance brings peace.

Each of us has been gifted with our own set of strengths and limitations. Together, we balance each other out. We need each other to bring peace by respecting how the other parts of the body contribute to the whole.

Let us never forget that we are all working to inspire minds, develop character, and seek Christ so that we may know Christ, and become Christ, each one for the sake of all.

The Power of Water

It is odorless, tasteless, colorless, and transparent. It provides no calories or organic nutrient. Yet it’s vital for all known forms of life.

Water. There is nothing more important in this world.

The human body is made up of nearly 60% water—there is 75% water in the brain. Water covers 71% of the Earth’s surface. It’s used for cleaning, agriculture, heating, cooling, transportation, recreation, and healing.

We don’t often ponder the importance of water. We don’t consider how significant it is in our lives and our world. In fact, we often times don’t even think about water.

The same can be said about the role of water in our faith.

Think about water in the Bible: Noah and the Ark, Moses and the Red Sea, Jesus and the wedding at Cana, Jesus walking on water…the list goes on.

And now think about water in the Mass. It’s the first thing we encounter when we enter the church. Yet, our gestures often become robotic: we dip our fingers into holy water and we make the sign of the cross. Then we take our place in our seats without second thought.

If we stop and pay attention to our actions, and we listen to words each Sunday, we realize that this water has incredible power.

Each time we dip our fingers into Holy Water, we should be reminded of our baptism and our place in the church.

“Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.”-John 3:5

The next time you enter the church, take some time to reflect when you dip your fingers in the holy water. Think about what it means. Think about your baptism and your role in the church.

Think about the power of water.

Holy Moments

Pursuing the holy moment, has become my daily resolution for this new year. Quite simply, a holy moment occurs when one is cognizant of an opportunity to be a person of beauty, hope, truth, and kindness, and act upon it rather than let it pass. This is mindfulness in action. This is being the hands of Jesus in the world. A holy moment is every virtue in play. It is little in practice. But little things can have a big effect, especially in a world as angry as ours. If we don't allow for the "holy moment" to work through us in the world, who will? So as we grapple with violence, safety, bullying, meanness, entitlement, privilege, etc...let us turn the tide and focus on "holy moments" so that truly we may bring heaven to earth as disciples of Jesus Christ.