theROCK

Just Be

As I was driving to do some volunteer work last Friday afternoon, I had Relevant Radio on. I occasionally listen to this station to unclutter from the noise of typical news/talk radio. It serves as a mini retreat from time to time. My favorite show to catch is with Drew Mariani. While I was listening, a question was posed for consideration: What would it be like at your house if Jesus came to dinner?

This is always a fun one for me to ponder. I have had varying responses based on my state of life. One thing I know for sure, it would be very interesting. Let’s just pretend that the arrival was unannounced/unplanned, He just showed up. This would cause me to have great anxiety. At my core, I am very much like the character of Martha in the gospels. She is the one who, while Jesus is visiting their home, is scurrying about making sure everything is perfect. A surprise visit doesn’t allow for planning, and I would be fretting that not everything is perfect. Knowing myself, I would be instantly aware of every little thing out of place and try to subtly fix it. I would depend on my husband to entertain Jesus until I could get situated; offer a beverage, a bite to eat, what will we do for dinner? Then, it would hit me – I have Jesus in my house!

I would like to think that I’d shift into Mary mode, dutifully listening and hanging on His every word, once I had the chance to dote on our Lord a bit. In being able to focus on the fact that Jesus was in my house, I would not have the faintest idea what we’d talk about since He already knows everything. I would like to think we would simply be our normal selves. I would like to think that would be why He came to visit us – to meet us where we are. This is what we try to do at St. Dominic Catholic School as we welcome every Knight, every day. We all come with so much in our hearts and on our minds that we hope the time spent in these halls are a time to allow children to just be. No pressure. No worry. Just be. We also strive to provide an environment that intentionally provides opportunity to connect with Jesus. No pressure. No worry. Just be.

Thank you for having faith in us. Thank you for having hope and trust in the work we do. Thank you for being partners with us. Thank you for being here.

Sacred Heart of Jesus

June celebrates a lot of fun things like National dairy month, National candy month, National fruits and vegetables month, and even National Turkey Month.  June is also the month for us to pay attention to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

As with nearly all religious art, symbolism is very important, because faith was shared through images rather than words since many could not read until recent history. Pictures truly meant a thousand words. The imagery of the Sacred Heart speaks to Jesus’ redeeming love as characterized by his heart. It demonstrates the love of God for humankind. “The human heart, a person’s deepest self, is where God has written his covenant as demonstrated in the gospels” (The Catholic Sourcebook, 2007, p357).

The image itself resulted from a series of apparitions to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque from 1673-1675 where Jesus spoke of his concern about the indifference and coldness in the world in response to his love. He asked her to promote the devotions to his heart to bring an end to the coldness and indifference. This sounds like something we could certainly benefit from now, too.

Those who have a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus are the recipients of twelve promises as part of the apparitions to St. Margaret Mary. Jesus promises:

1.  I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
2. I will give peace in their families. 
3. I will console them in all their troubles. 
4. I will be their refuge in life and especially in death.
5. I will abundantly bless all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection.
9. I will bless those places wherein the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.
10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
11. Persons who propagate this devotion shall have their names eternally written in my Heart.
12. In the excess of the mercy of my Heart, I promise you that my all powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the First Fridays, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: they will not die in my displeasure, nor without
    receiving the sacraments; and my Heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour.

How can you begin a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to receive these promises? It is very simple. You need only begin to pray. Here are the words to include in your daily prayers.

O most holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing,
I adore you, I love you and will a lively sorrow for my sins.
I offer you this poor heart of mine.
Make me humble, patient, pure, and wholly obedient to your will.
Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in you and for you.
Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflictions;
give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs,
your blessings on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death.
Within your heart I place my every care.
In every need let me come to you with humble trust saying,
Heart of Jesus, help me.
Amen.

Fire in the Belly

If you’re like me, you learned as a child that the Holy Spirit is a dove. This is the traditional symbol for the presence of the Holy Spirit in Scripture and religious art. I held this image for much of my life. The image of a dove isn’t one that I could relate to unlike the images of God the Father and Jesus which are human in nature. As a person who is not a big fan of birds, the Holy Spirit was a distant entity of the Trinity for me. That was until about 2007 when I read the book, "The Shack," by William P. Young. While this is not a theologically accurate book, it is an interesting piece of fiction that made me grapple with the very content that I was teaching my fourth grade students at the time, and my own understanding and appreciation of the Holy Spirit. The concept of the Holy Spirit was prevalent in the religion curriculum as it related to the sacraments of initiation. I needed to spend time with students engaging in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This was the perfect storm for a conversion moment – a compelling novel, new understanding of the Holy Spirit, and moral responsibility to teach the Truth. Working through all that was before me, I developed a deeper, more profound connection and relationship with the Holy Spirit. It is less about the dove and more about the fire. The fire that descended upon the disciples at Pentecost and burned in their bellies to give them the zeal and fortitude to carry out Jesus’s mission for all time. Every morning, I now ask the Holy Spirit to be with me and guide me, to grant me the gifts of wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and courage to do what the Lord needs me to do. I can do all things through God, the Holy Spirit, who strengthens me. I have come to appreciate that the Holy Spirit is the power. The Holy Spirit is the force. The Holy Spirit is the energy brought out through love of God and love of Jesus.