theROCK

God Desired You

God Desired You

In speaking with a group of students about the two Great Commandments, love God and love your neighbor as yourself, one wise student stated, how can we love our neighbor as ourselves when we don’t love ourselves to begin with, it would be easier to treat a neighbor better then we treat ourselves. The reality of how much we struggle to love ourselves and in turn love others really struck me, for this is very true, especially in our world today. The question I have been pondering since that conversation is, why is it so hard for us to love, cherish, and be confident in who God created us to be? The greatest response I have found to that question is from one of my favorite saints. 

On October 22 the Church celebrated the feast day of St. Pope John Paul II, who loved young people and desired so deeply that people would understand that they are created, loved, and valued by God. Each and every person is created simply because God desired them. He desired you! Take a moment and let that sink into your heart. You are here because God desired it. He wanted you! St. Pope John Paul II’s formal teaching on humanity is called the Theology of the Body. In this teaching St. Pope John Paul II begins by calling us to reflect on the beginning of Creation, when God created man and women and saw that they were very good. God created humanity to be a gift to each other, to give and receive, to live in harmony, to love each other and to bring new life into the world. In the very beginning of creation the two greatest commandments were lived out, man and woman loved God above all and they beheld and loved themselves and each other the way God intended. As we all know the story, sin entered the world and humanity became broken. We are no longer living in the original state that God created, we are living in the consequences of original sin. However, we also live in the glory, joy, and hope of Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection—as  people saved. We are called to live with the goal of heaven inscribed in our hearts, we are called to help other people to journey toward heaven, so that one day we can rejoice together with God forever. 

So why is it so hard for us to love, cherish, and be confident in who God has created us to be? Because sin entered the world and we have been wounded. Yet, St. Pope John Paul II’s teaching gives us hope because he reminds us that in the beginning it was not so and Christ has conquered sin and death, and so sin and death are not the final end. God is calling you to love Him and love your neighbor, but first take a moment to simply relish with joy that God desired you, for only when we live in this confidence of God’s love for ourselves will we be able to look at another person and see God in them and be able to love them as ourselves.

Wake Up

This weekend begins one of my favorite weeks of the Church year—Holy Week. The week that is set apart from every other week, for that is what the word “Holy” means, set apart. We take a week to recall the suffering and death of Christ so that on Easter Sunday, we can celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus and the hope of a new life in heaven for each of us. This weekend’s Gospel walks us through the whole account of Jesus’ suffering and death. As I wrote this reflection, I wasn’t sure what I could say that Jesus didn’t already say through His action of suffering and dying. He literally is showing us just how much He loves us. But as I pondered this account of God’s love for humanity, I was struck by a small detail in the Agony in the Garden that I had never noticed. Before Jesus begins His journey, He seeks the solitude of prayer in the garden. He takes Peter, James, and John with Him and then retreats to pray. He then returns three times only to find the apostles asleep. This threefold sleep that we see the apostles taking struck me for the first time because only a short while later, we see Peter deny Jesus three times.

While numbers do play a huge role in biblical history, the reason that the threefold sleep of the apostles struck me is because every time that I reflect upon the passion of Christ, I am caught by Peter’s threefold denial. Peter, who claims that his faith will never be shaken, denies Jesus three times. The seemingly insignificant mention of the threefold sleep of the Apostles is important because the early Church Fathers enlighten us to the fact that this sleep, that Jesus is calling Peter to awaken from, is not bodily sleep by spiritual sleep. His faithfulness to Christ will be tested and Jesus is calling Peter to wake up and be strong against the temptations. We know that Peter does end up falling into temptation and denying Jesus, however, this denial does not lead to death, but to life, as later, after the Resurrection, we see that Peter has the chance to affirm His love for Jesus three times.

As we begin the most sacred week of the year, Jesus is calling us to wake up spiritually, to not succumb to temptations, to not be unfaithful. Jesus walked this path of suffering so that we might know His love, His mercy, and His faithfulness to us. Let us take this week, especially Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, to walk this journey with Jesus. Come sit with Him in the silent garden after Mass on Holy Thursday, let Him strengthen your hearts against temptation. Then come kneel with Mary and John at the foot of the Cross on Good Friday as Jesus died for you, and lastly, come rejoice on Easter as we proclaim with joyous hope that JESUS CHRIST has risen! 

Love Your Neighbor

“We will find ourselves and come alive when we make a sincere gift of ourselves to our neighbor”

This statement is part of the mission of a local work camp called Love Begins Here, run for middle and high school students. I participated in this camp for the first time a few summers ago as a leader and it changed my life. So many times in Scripture, Christ teaches about laying down your life for another and in the Gospel this weekend we see that even more in depth as Christ speaks about the two greatest Commandments. The first speaks of loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind and second, to love your neighbor as yourself. The two Commandments are really connected together by one word, “gift.” We all have been gifted life, created in the image of God, He formed us in love to give love back to Him, especially through serving others. When we understand the true gift that we have received in simply being created, we can’t help but love the creator, God. And when we see that we ourselves are loved, created in the image of God and gifted life, we would think that it would be easy to look at our neighbors and see that same gift of life. Yet we often find it so hard to love our neighbors as Christ has asked of us. During Love Begins Here, I had the complete joy to work alongside students who made a sincere gift of themselves to love their neighbors in the multiple small tasks they did to help people they had never meet before. We all came alive with such joy in serving our neighbors because God created humanity to love Him and to serve others. As hard as it is to love every person, especially those who have hurt you or who drive you crazy, ask the Lord to help you see Him in each person and you will be amazed at how easy it becomes to love. As you go forth this week I offer you three questions that were given to me to reflect on in regards to living a more other-centered life.

1. Do I see other people in their struggles?
2. Am I moved with compassion?
3. Do I approach them to offer help?

Seeing, letting our hearts be moved, and approaching to help is a three step approach to how we can begin to give a sincere gift of ourselves to our neighbors and in turn love the Lord God even more.