theROCK

Fear

We know that when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning and saw the stone removed from the tomb, that Jesus had risen from the dead. But at the time, the disciples were not quite sure what had occurred. In fact, they locked themselves in a room, afraid of what would happen if they appeared in public. For those many days, they lived in fear.

So, what does Jesus do to address these fears? He says four simple words: “Peace be with you.”

He wanted them to truly believe in the resurrection, to know that they had no need for fear, that he would be with them every moment of every day (especially when he gives them the power of the Holy Spirit).

Today, many of us have our own daily struggles. We worry about money, about health, about relationships. We lock ourselves in our own rooms, and we try to solve all of our problems alone.

We live in fear.

But just like the disciples, we soon discover that we can’t do it alone. That we need God every moment of every day to guide us and show us the way. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to fill our minds and hearts. That’s why the same words are just as effective today as they were 2000 years ago.

“Peace be with you.”

If we listen to these words, we will truly begin to understand the power of the resurrection.

Focus on The Cross

During the last days of Lent, it’s a common practice to veil all crosses and sacred images. You may have seen this done before with violet cloths in our church.

Why do we do this? If you think about it, the use of crosses and sacred images is central to our Catholic faith. Jesus, by taking on a physical nature in the Incarnation, and by redeeming that physical nature through His saving Death and Resurrection, has made all physical matter a possible means of encounter with Him. This is why we take wood, stone, metal, and other physical “stuff” and make beautiful crosses and images out of them.

But why cover them these last days of Lent if they’re so central to our faith? Because doing so helps us focus on what has made these crosses and sacred images possible in the first place: Jesus’ saving Death and Resurrection. We focus on The Cross, and less on individual crosses; we focus on The Risen Christ, and less on sacred images of Him. We fast with our physical eyes so we can train our spiritual eyes.

While veiling crosses and images is most often done in churches, you can also do it at home. You may find it a fruitful spiritual practice in these last days of Lent. It’s also an opportunity to get rid of those old purple bed sheets you have lying around!

Stewards of Words

In a recent homily, Bishop Haines said something quite thought provoking. He said that we are stewards of words.

When I was a classroom teacher, I would often remind my students to mean what they say and say what they mean. I would give them many examples from Scripture where Jesus very clearly says what he means and means what he says. Jesus is rather pointed. He needed to be. He doesn't tell people what they want to hear but what they need to hear.

I learned very quickly as a teacher and as a parent that words matter. I have gotten into my fair share of tangles because I didn't use the right word at the right time.

Now that I am the instructional leader of a school, I am even more aware of how words matter. My words have never mattered so much before. To be a steward of words reminds me to follow my father's rule of "measure twice-cut once" all the more intentionally.

Wisdom is in silence and listening, more than it is in talking. Isn't that why God gave us two ears and one mouth? We need to take care of our words; how we talk and the tone we take. We need to mark ourselves as disciples with how we communicate and interact.

Are our words reflecting who we are as followers of Christ?
Words matter.
Pray for me. I will pray for you.