theROCK

Fear and Trust

In 2014, my son went backpacking in Alaska. He had a satellite device that periodically sent me text messages saying, “Everything is fine in Alaska, wish you were here,” and gave his location so I could follow his progress on a map.

The first evening of his hike I attended Cor Jesu at St. Robert where I turned off my phone. After Mass we went for a bite to eat. I got home about 11:00 PM and turned on my phone. To my horror, it said, “Something’s gone wrong in Alaska, call for help.” The message was an hour old and I felt  like I had let him down by turning my phone off. My heart started to race.

I called and found a rescue party was on the way but It would be hours before we would know anything. I was terrified. My heart was pounding as I sat in front of my computer looking at the map of their hike. They had tried to cross the Teklanika River several times, but each time they returned to shore. What had gone wrong? Had someone been swept downstream? I tried to pray but I couldn’t. My fears overcame my prayer and I returned to the computer screen.

Eventually, I realized there was nothing I could do, and I again tried to pray. My prayer was different this time. It wasn’t just for the welfare of my son, it was also for strength and courage to deal with whatever I would have to deal with. Peace came over me, and I was actually able to sleep for a few hours. 

When I awoke, I found out that a rescue party had found them and they were on their way out, but their condition was still unknown. A few more hours of waiting were in store for me, but now I had the strength and faith that God would be there for us no matter what the outcome.

That night, God taught me that faith can and will win out over fear. This is the lesson Job learns in the first reading today and the lesson the disciples learn, or are at least taught, in the Gospel. Jesus is always with us, just like he was in that boat, and so we need not fear. What he asks is for us to have faith and trust in him. That doesn’t mean the result will always be what we are hoping for, but it does ensure that God will go with us each step of the way, providing all the strength, courage, and hope we will need to carry on. For me, the story ended happily, but I know had it not, God would have carried me through whatever had happened.

Divine Mercy Chaplet

I was teaching fourth grade in 2009, when I became familiar with the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. I had heard the Chaplet being said on Relevant Radio. Upon hearing how the Chaplet was discussed and shared, I did my own research to learn more. By this time, Pope John Paul II had already entrusted the world to the Divine Mercy on the day of St. Faustina's canonization in 2002,and declared the second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday. St. Faustina was the nun associated with the message and image of the Divine Mercy. You most likely have seen it. It is a rendering of the image of Christ with his hand over his heart revealing a stream of red and blue light with the words "Jesus, I trust in you" emblazoned below it. The significance of the image is relayed in this manner from the Diary of St. Faustina:

Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You. I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over [its] enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My own glory (Diary, 47, 48). I am offering people a vessel with which they are to keep coming for graces to the fountain of mercy. That vessel is this image with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You (327). I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and [then] throughout the world (47). 

At the request of her spiritual director, St. Faustina asked the Lord about the meaning of the rays in the image.  

The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross. Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him (299). By means of this image I shall grant many graces to souls. It is to be a reminder of the demands of My mercy, because even the strongest faith is of no avail without works (742). 

These words indicate that the Image represents the graces of Divine Mercy poured out upon the world, especially through Baptism and the Eucharist. 

​The message of the Divine Mercy is simple: God loves us - all of us. His mercy is greater than our sins, so that we call upon Him with trust, receive His mercy, and let it flow through us to others. When praying with the Divine Mercy, we are to follow the ABCs. 

       A - ask for His mercy
       B - be merciful
       C - completely trust in Jesus

The first time I put this into practice back in 2009, I was struggling in communicating concerns to a parent of one of my students. Despite my best efforts, our conversations would typically end up contentious and the situation unresolved. I was left feeling frustrated, misunderstood, and angry.  At times, hurtful and unkind things were said by the parent which didn't contribute anything positive to the situation. Without knowing what else to do, I called upon the Divine Mercy. I held this parent in my mind asking for mercy on our situation. I asked for forgiveness upon the hurts I felt as well as those I may have imparted. I asked the Lord for clarity in the situation. I then began to pray, very intentionally, keeping the image of that parent's face in my mind with each "For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world." By the time I completed the chaplet, I was at peace. As testimony to its power, the parent contacted me within hours, deeply remorseful for how our conversation transpired.  

After experiencing the power of the chaplet, I decided to teach my students how to pray it with the same practical approach that I had used. As a class, we did this every Friday. The chaplet is one of many prayers in my arsenal, but serves me well when I can't get past my own inadequacies and difficulties in relationships. It's healing grace soothes the worst hurts. Admittedly, I have to pray it more than once in certain situations over a longer period of time, but it brings the forgiveness and mercy it promises. 

I submit my witness. If the Chaplet of Divine Mercy is not part of your prayer routine, I would encourage you to give it a try. It can be said with a rosary or your fingers. It takes less than 15 minutes. It is tremendously powerful . Jesus, I trust in you!

Praying Through Music

I was sitting in a hotel ballroom, staring up at a myriad of fancy stage lighting and three projector screens, the center displaying a fake cathedral type image, and I thought to myself, “what did I get myself into?” This worry and dread grew when the band started up and people all around me started to sing along and raise their hands in the air. I thought, “shoot, what sort of non-denominational Praise and Worship (P&W) music fest did I get myself into?” Then I turned to the person who had invited me on this retreat/training conference, the Life Teen Catholic Youth Ministry Convention, looking puzzled, and realizing how perturbed I was, he mouthed, “Just have an open mind.”

I had a bias against P&W music, because when I was a teen, a friend invited me to her youth group, where there was a projector screen, neon up-lights, and a not very talented band playing songs about a God I wasn’t yet sure I believed in. When I became Catholic, I loved the reverence for God, the focus on the cross, the prayerfulness with which we approach the Eucharist and communion. I thought P&W music couldn’t possibly fit into that. I was wrong. Through the 4-day conference, God opened my heart to this type of prayer in a variety of ways I never thought possible. Even if you are a skeptic, here are some reasons this type of prayer is so powerful for me, and some ways to make it powerful in your own life.

One of the reasons P&W music has been powerful for me is that when we take the words to heart they can transform us. With lyrics like, “You are a good, good father, it’s who you are, and I am loved by you,” the song “Good, Good Father” pushed me to ponder the perfect fatherhood of God. Through singing out loud and wrestling with the words, it pushed me to internalize and believe a truth which my head knew, but my heart struggled to believe. Songs, just like prayer books and written devotions, are vehicles for our relationship with God when we internally experience the words. Lyrics are there to help guide you, challenge you, help you remember God’s goodness, seek out His mercy, or sing His praises.

Another way P&W music transformed my prayer was by adding an emotional energy.  It may be hard to think of prayer as having energy, but I think St. Therese of Lisieux illuminates this need when she says, “Prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.” I don’t know about you, but music has always made my heart soar and my voice cry out. P&W music is a vehicle for our hearts to surge towards God. Finding songs that hit you, in the genre you like (Praise music comes in all genres!) can be a way to link the surge of emotions that we all experience through music to God.

If this is still foreign to you, because you like the traditional music sung at Mass, or you don’t like to sing along at all, I still suggest giving it a try with an open mind. Listen to P&W music on your own through the radio station KLove, or find a worship playlist on YouTube or Spotify to avoid the pressure of being with others. Focus on it like you would prayer, start with the sign of the cross, and be focused on a crucifix as this will help you direct the words and your praise to God. Maybe attend a Teen Mass, Surrender, XLT, or Arise Saturday night to experience P&W music in person in a Catholic setting. 

Say you give all that a try and it still doesn’t “hit you.” That’s ok. Different people like different prayer. However, I would still challenge you to continue to encounter P&W with an open mind. Try a different prayer posture, hold your hands out in praise, or leave them open at your sides to receive and embrace the discomfort. Some of the most worthwhile experiences in our lives are uncomfortable, and usually it’s because the Holy Spirit is transforming us for His Glory.