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The Story of the Church

Having had the privilege to travel to the Holy Land and actually stand inside THE upper room, I have come to better appreciate the events of the Resurrection up through the Descent of the Holy Spirit known as Pentecost. Keeping in mind that we have the perspective of the whole story, the apostles did not. When Jesus was crucified, his apostles were devastated and lost. They were afraid, as their lives were in danger because they knew Him. In a pit of sorrow, huddled together in the upper room, Jesus gloriously appeared and was most certainly not a ghost. Simultaneously, He is appearing to his followers, namely, the two men on the road to Emmaeus, as well as others as is later shared through the Acts of the Apostles. The apostles and disciples continue to learn more and gain further direction. Then, He leaves. Just like that. I am sure they asked themselves, “Now what?”. Peter, as the leader, works to inspire them to go out and share everything they have learned. They hesitate. They doubt their abilities. They question if they have it right. In that fear and doubt, the Holy Spirit arrives, fills them with a fire that can’t be contained – a fire for spreading the Good News. Thus begins our story, the story of the Church.

Are you on fire?

I came to appreciate the Holy Spirit later in my faith journey. I just didn’t understand the power that resides within the third person of the Trinity. What eventually got me there was a conversion while teaching eighth graders. The Holy Spirit is our Advocate. An advocate is one who works on our behalf, always making sure that we are safe and protected. We are gifted with the Holy Spirit at Baptism and then again at Confirmation. The Spirit resides with us. With the Spirit we have wisdom, knowledge, courage, understanding, counsel, piety, and fear of the Lord. Having fear of the Lord means that one is mindful of His power and majesty and act accordingly. It is an awareness of our need for humility and surrender to His will. When we exercise these gifts, we experience charity (love), joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity. These virtues are the fruits of the Holy Spirit. These are all things that help us to be the best versions of ourselves for God’s greater glory. The Holy Spirit makes us the image of Jesus in the world when we pay attention and work with It.

Holy Spirit, command me to do your will. Please work in me, with me, and through me for God’s greater glory.

Our Blessed Mother

Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, Hail, Our Life, Our Sweetness and Our Hope!

My parents had a routine during their retirement to pray the Rosary daily. Sometimes they’d pray together and sometimes not, but they did almost every day. My mother had a very strong devotion to the Blessed Mother, probably because she lost her own mother at a very young age. As the mother of 6 boys, she probably figured she needed all the help she could get! We see Mary as the model disciple. Though we find it difficult at times to follow her example of “fiat” unconditionally, she is the ultimate goal of discipleship. Mary had difficulties in her life, but she carried her daily crosses without bitterness or anger, and she carried them, as did her Son, with great faith in the Father. Let our focus be to become just a little bit more like Mary, to say yes to the will of the Father in our lives, and model her discipleship, even if it is in the smallest of ways. 

O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria, pray for us!

A Supernatural Way of Living

Are you ready to die? This was the question the professor silently wrote on the chalkboard the first evening of my formation class in servant leadership. My thoughts ran immediately to answer, “Well, I’m certainly not ready yet!” As it turns out, he wasn’t referring to a physical death, but rather an orientation of the heart to be willing to do the Lord’s will. He was really asking us if we were willing to die into Christ, His Church, and His Mission.

Jesus models for each of us how He, as the good shepherd, lays down his own life for each of us, His sheep. Offering our owns lives for the love of others is Jesus’ vocational request for each one of us. This is not a skill to be perfected with practice, or a natural human attribute that only some of us are given, but rather a supernatural way of living through the power of grace that each of us is destined for.