Category: Catholic

Mercy – Gotten and Given

In my file, labelled My Writing, I found a piece with this title – Mercy – Gotten and Given. I had no recollection of writing the piece, but I looked forward to refreshing my memory of it. Turns out there was not another word written…just the title – a disappointing discovery, but, I took it as a sign that it was time to follow the title up with some thoughts. And, as we near the end of this Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, I thought it an appropriate time to give it a go.

This Sunday, and last, the Gospels speak of tax collectors – the lowest of the low, in the eyes of the general public, in Jesus’ time. And yet, the tax collector in last Sunday’s Gospel prayed to God in a way that won him favour over that of the Pharisee. This week, another tax collector, Zacchaeus, is at the center of a story being told for our benefit. The first gospel teaching us to pray in a way that is pleasing to God; the second teaching us how to seek out Jesus, pushing past our own limitations and, not only meeting him, but bringing him into our homes.

God’s mercy is such that we don’t even have to meet him half way. We don’t have to do much of anything really, to experience God’s tender mercy, but when we acknowledge our sinfulness; when we make that extra effort to seek God, I believe we increase those spiritual benefits bestowed upon us. And, once received, we must pass them on to others, because, as St. Francis says, it is in giving that we truly receive. So, my take on – Be merciful as the Father is merciful – Luke 6.36 – is simply Mercy – once it’s gotten it must then be given. Pass it on!

Catholic coping Spiritual Renewal Trust

Renew the Face of the Earth

Post author By admin
Post date August 2, 2016
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Summer is here! The earth is fully renewed! So why aren’t I? “Come, Holy Spirit,” we sing, “renew the face of the earth.” Doesn’t that include me – all of us? I run, I bike ride with my husband, we sail on weekends…and maybe that’s the problem right there – too busy; no time to sit and think; no time to smell the roses; no time to rest. Summer comes and we try to squeeze as many activities into it as we possibly can. That’s understandable, of course, with six to seven months of winter behind us, we want to be outside, we want to celebrate warmth and greenery, water and light.

Is it my age then? Is that why I’m so tired? Is it my worries; are they what are exhausting me? Bingo! So, instead of renewing the face of the earth, renew my faith and trust. I don’t know about you, but I need to trust that God will handle those things I cannot change…I need to trust that those things I want changed are in his hands and he will ‘handle’ them according to his will. Clearly, I’m not always in sync with God. In my prayers I plead, bargain, cajole. Clearly I’m not paying attention when, in praying the Our Father I say, ‘thy kingdom come, thy will be done.’ There are times when I deliberately ignore that phrase, with a ‘yes but’ attitude. You know – ‘yes Lord, but I don’t think you quite understand where I’m coming from…let me just explain.’ Give it up. He understands our thoughts better than we can attempt to articulate them.

The other morning when I was out running, the sun was just coming up over the trees, birds were singing, insects were buzzing and I felt like I could run for miles and miles. I truly felt renewed. Everywhere I looked I was treated to his beautiful creation – nothing man-made, but for the hay bails in the fields, the barns and fences.

So, when we find ourselves drained of energy, bereft of spirit, we need to sit in the quiet of a church and talk to God. I picture him rolling his eyes and thinking to himself – you again! But I know that really he wraps his arms around us because we soon feel his love envelop us, calming our concerns. If the church is not easily accessible, find a place to sit and meditate on God’s caring nature, preferably in a place that’s filled with his beauty. Sit in a garden, a park, smell the flowers, listen to the birds…just let go and let God do the rest. Trust me, renewal will come.

Catholic coping God Humor Patience

Patience!

Post author By admin
Post date June 30, 2016
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It never hurts to go over some aspects of our lives that periodically need review. Patience, is one of those areas in which, along the twists and turns of life’s journey, I am forever being tested. We’ve been a household without a dog for about three years now. My oldest sister once explained to me, ‘Freedom is when the kids have left home and the dog dies.’ Our boys were in their teens when she revealed this to me, and the dog was quite young…I had no concept of what she was talking about. Now, 17 years later, kid-free for over a decade and dog-free for three years – ah yes, freedom! Then – wait a minute, what? My husband is talking about getting a dog?!?

‘Let’s just go look at these puppies I saw advertised,’ says he. ‘Dirty pool,’ says I. The person who can say no to a tiny, innocent, adorable puppy has no heart! So we are now owners of a 10 week old English Springer Spaniel and that’s where the patience comes in – with the puppy…and with my husband.

I could explode with ‘I told you so,’ or, ‘This was not my idea,’ at least a dozen times a day. With patience, however, I manage to hold my tongue and only burst out with either of those lines a mere few times a week.

And I’m discovering that I don’t need to nag about watching the puppy every single minute she’s in my husband’s care, because she taught him that lesson all by herself, the time she was taking a nap, so he thought he could take a nap…and woke up to discover that he really must watch her every second she’s in his care – or kennel her.

My husband is not a morning person. I am. Does that mean it is my job to look after this pup in the morning, in lieu of my run – which keeps me sane? A discussion about this (preferably the night before as opposed to 6:45 am, when I’m wanting to bound out the door) is necessary – with calm explanation of expectations, not angry accusing words spoken to a foggy headed and groggy spouse who is not-a-morning-person. (And I thought life would get dull when the children left home!)

So yes, this area in my life needs more than the occasional review, clearly, constant daily attention to it is required. Perhaps we all have areas in our lives where fine-tuning is needed? Just remember, God has a sense of humour, so don’t lose yours, because everything is tolerable, if you can make your spouse laugh.

Bargaining Catholic God Humor Prayer Trust

Pushing the Limit

Driving along the highway in my little yellow bug, I find I’m always pushing the limit – the speed limit, that is. If it’s 50 km/h, I bump it up to 60. If it’s 60 km/h, I take it to 70. 80, to me, means keep it under 100. Driving along recently, in my meditative state, I thought about how we push the limit in so many ways. The quick check-out at the grocery store – ‘no more than 12 items’ – we sneak through with 15…or more. ‘No trespassing!’ ‘Do not walk on the grass!’ If we’re not actually breaking, we’re at least bending the rules more often than not. Even in the ways we pray and talk to God – we push.

In prayer, it seems, we are always bargaining, but God must be used to that. Look at the way God and Abraham haggled over Sodom. Being fed up with the sinfulness of the place, God planned to destroy it. Abraham dared to argue with the Lord – “But what if there are 50 just people to be found there? Would you wipe them away too, along with the wicked?”

“Well, no,” says God, “for the sake of the fifty, I would not destroy the city.” Abraham wears God down with his haggling and God, walking away (and throwing up his hands, no doubt) agrees to spare Sodom if he finds 10 just people living there. I have always loved this bible reading. Now I know that Abraham was quite new to monotheistic worship – you know, one Deity as opposed to the many gods he had previously worshipped. And we, on the other hand, are not. Still, this reading tells us that God was (and still is) approachable. And isn’t that good news?

Catholic Listening Trust

Listen Up!

Post author By admin
Post date June 2, 2016
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The Lord works in mysterious ways, doesn’t he? Recently, at a lovely, mini-retreat I attended, one of the facilitators, David Dayler, from the Hamilton Chancery office, gave the afternoon reflection and reminded us that God often spoke to the people of the Old Testament. “Why doesn’t God speak to us now?” is a question he’s asked all the time. His ready reply is that God does speak to us just as often…but we’re not listening.

Recently, on my way to work, I was pondering and praying as I so often do. Something in particular was niggling at me – something I want to tackle, but fear stops me in my tracks. I’ve wrestled with this very thing for years in fact, but this time I put up a little prayer for some guidance and encouragement. In the course of that very day, two things came across my desk (or over my computer screen). The first was in reference to St. Teresa of Avila and the writer finished with, “When faced with the unexpected, may you, like Saint Teresa, trust in God and be open to the possibilities.” The second was a quote from Saint John XXIII – “Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what is still possible for you to do.”

Wow! It’s as if the heavens opened up and God bellowed, “Are you listening, Margery? It’s me, God!” Yes, I heard him loud and clear. I smiled the rest of the day and then I said to myself, ok, now get to work, you just can’t sit there and expect things to happen, you have to put in a little effort yourself, you know.

That’s the way it is with all of our encounters with God. We do have to do our part, but it sure feels good, when we sense that he is truly on our side. So, listen carefully, with an open mind and heart…and be prepared to get to work!

Catholic love Social Action Stength

We Are But A Speck

It snowed overnight on our ascent. This was in 2012, but the memories are still vivid. (Fortunately, all physical pain is gone and forgotten!? — It snowed overnight on our ascent. This was in 2012, but the memories are still vivid. (Fortunately, all physical pain is gone and forgotten!)

Hiking down into (and, more importantly, back out of) the Grand Canyon is, for many of us, a monumental feat. It’s certainly not one I’d ever take lightly – again. For the five of us who made this trek in February – two experienced hikers…three not – it was a bonding experience; a test of character and will. It was a delight to the eyes, the ears, the soul. Majestic, transcending all other visual experiences in my life!

With some distance now between me and the physical pain of this adventure, I can truly say it was an opportunity that I would not pass up if given the chance to do it again.

Our bodies groaned the day after our six hour hike down into the Canyon. The constant jarring on knees and feet, pounding down an unrelentingly steep grade, had major consequences. Our heavy packs adding insult to injury. While in the canyon, we hiked day after day after day, just to keep those joints moving and soon they were repaired enough to tackle the hike up and out.

I loved the day hikes most of all. The weather was mild, with cloudless skies, once the sun had climbed high enough to show itself over the canyon walls. No heavy packs on the day hikes, just a bit of lunch, lots of water and much camaraderie. On one of these hikes, as we headed back to our campsite, I got way ahead of everyone else. I’m not sure how or why it happened, but I continued on, alone with my thoughts. I would stop every now and then to photograph some awesome sight. Over and over, this one thought kept coming to my mind – we are but a speck…and a moment in time. Surrounded by this massive expanse of rock, billions of years in formation, I could think of little else. And yet, there I was, this speck, wandering around a mile below where normal people stood, and I was filled with God’s love – for me…this tiny, inconsequential speck that God loves. That will put strength in your stride and add height to your stature. I smiled at the thought process that took me from feeling so small…to so important. Not filled with self-importance, but a sense of being important enough to be so loved.

Still, in a geographical and geological sense, there’s no denying… we are but a speck and a moment in time. I concluded, on this independent hike, therefore, that there’s no time to waste. I must get busy! But busy how? Doing what? Sometimes it’s all so confusing – and then it’s not. The answer came, bouncing off the rock walls that encompassed me – love. Just love. If I feel such love, I must give such love. That’s where you begin – a simple way to live one’s life – with love. I’ve always tried to live this way, but not always with success. When I gossip, I’m not loving; when I judge, I do not love…So, I’ll pick myself up, dust myself off and try harder.

After a time, the others caught up with me and the chattering and laughter filled the air once again – but I felt changed. Nature, God’s creation, has a powerfully spiritual effect on me.

Catholic community love

Lead Us to One Another

One recent Sunday, at Mass, we sang –Bread of Life, Hope of the world, Jesus Christ our Brother, Teach us now, Give us hope, Lead us to one another.

Do you ever have something just jump out at you, like you’ve never heard it before? I took a pen out of my purse, found something to write on and I scribbled, ‘lead us to one another.’ My husband looked at me and asked, ‘What are you doing?’ I shook my head, “I’ll explain later,” I whispered.

But I couldn’t explain, really. It just grabbed me. And, knowing myself, I had to write it down so I wouldn’t forget that I was grabbed by that line. I think this is what’s called, hearing with your heart.

Sometimes I feel this journey; this spiritual road I travel (with many detours and dead ends) is a solitary one. That’s when I get hung up, when I think it’s all about me – my relationship with God, my calling, my journey. We’re traveling the wrong road when we think that way.

Lead us to one another. What a lovely prayer; a beautiful reminder that we are not alone and we are called to help one another. Lead each other out of difficulties; lead each other back onto the right path. How do we accomplish this? Through Jesus, our brother – the Bread of Life; the Hope of the world. Sometimes I need to be reminded of this and I just love it when it grabs me on a beautiful Sunday morning at Mass!

Catholic coping Stength Trust

The Nature of Things

The heavens are telling the glory of God
And all creation is shouting for joy.
Come dance in the forest, come play in the fields
And sing, sing to the glory of the Lord.

My heart was bursting with this hymn the other morning on my run. The sky was azure blue, birds’ song filled the air, the temperature was such that my fingers were not freezing and it felt to me as if the world could not be more perfect.

If only every day was like that. Then there are those ‘why me, Lord?’ kind of days that go downhill from breakfast, or the morning commute. Life can get pretty hectic, chaotic even. We get tired and grouchy and we just want the world to stop. That’s a natural reaction to a day gone wrong. But that’s exactly the time to turn to others; concentrate on the needs of others. If we would just open our eyes and look around us, we’d see family members, friends, acquaintances struggling with far greater concerns. Some are plagued with money troubles, others marital difficulties and then there are those with life-threatening illnesses – some are facing many of these things all at once. We have all been witness to those who have endured one trial after another and we wonder how they do it. How do they go on, stay sane, maintain their dignity, hold their heads high?

There’s an age-old expression that tells us God never gives us more than he feels we can handle. This is actually believed to be a twisted paraphrasing of 1 Corinthians 10:13. “No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.”

Sadly, some can’t endure it. They are struck down and never seem to recover. Then there are those who bounce back, get up on their feet again and again, ever moving forward. They are truly blessed because they know that God will not test them beyond their strength; they trust that their burdens are not unlike others and God will help them through, he will provide them with a way out. They know love. Surely, I could not deal with all they’re going through, we say to ourselves. But we could. We have. We are those people – when we trust in the love that is God…and sing – sing to the glory of the Lord.

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Let go and let God

a woman’s perspective

Let go and let God…we’ve all heard that sage piece of advise. We’ve probably used it – to help ourselves, or someone else, working through difficult times. But what does it really mean to us? Often, when I’m fretting about something, I tell myself to ‘let go and let God.’ But do I really do that? Do you?

It occurred to me recently, that I’m very selective about what I turn over to God. ‘It’s ok,’ I might as well be saying, ‘I’ve got it now, I can take it from here.’ Really? When I’ve got my head on straight, I realize that God does not do things in half measures, but you know what? He’s not going to argue about it. ‘You’ve got it? Fine, go for it,’ is how I imagine him replying (probably with the tiniest smirk). We’re like children, aren’t we, thinking we can do everything ourselves. Picture a child carrying something far too heavy for their size and stature. They’re stubborn though, insisting they’re big enough to carry their load…until the overwhelming weight of the thing stops them dead in their tracks, forcing them to admit defeat. That’s us! And it’s laughable, the way we think we can do everything for ourselves. But, just as we are, or were, with our own children, God is patient with us; waiting for us to turn our minds and hearts back to him. He’s there, always, to pick up the pieces and set us straight, once again.

So why fret? Why struggle? Why can’t we just let go…and let God direct the course of events with which we’ve been wrestling? It goes along the same lines as the way we pray. We pray for this and we pray for that, very specifically, instead of praying for the strength and courage to accept and follow God’s will.

“Act as if everything depended on you; trust as if everything depended on God,” said Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Wouldn’t it just be so easy, uncomplicated and freeing to let God pilot our course? I say this as if it’s the way I live my life. Oh if that were true. I will reiterate…I’m selective about what I let God pilot, and even then, I want to be co-pilot! This is why prayer is essential to our wellbeing. It centers us, puts us back on the right track with our Lord and helps us to see the bigger picture. So, let’s think twice when we go to sit in that driver’s seat (so to speak) and defer to the one who truly is in control at all times. We just might enjoy the ride.

Catholic Death love

Good Grief

Patti & me — I wrote this piece a year ago. It’s two years now since my sister died . I think of her every day and thoughts of her still make me smile. Patricia McDonald Luca – 2 April 1956 – 13 March 2014.

A year has passed, since my sister Patricia died. Slowly, imperceptibly, it seems, healing is taking place. I think of her daily and, though the hole in my heart is still felt, the pain is not as great.

I read something recently about grief, and how, when help is sought, treatment given might be as for one suffering from depression. According to the psychologist and writer of the article – they are not the same thing, and should not be treated in the same way.

However, when we let our pain and grief take us to a dark place, then professional help should be sought. Grieving is a necessary process to cope with loss, but when it consumes us, when it prevents us from living our lives, it can spiral down into a dark depression that is far more serious than grief. I chose to look at this subject because many of my friends and acquaintances have lost loved ones recently. In this past year, so many of your family members and so many of our parish family have died. We are surrounded by those who have lost spouses, siblings, parents and children. Death is never an easy thing to face, but hopefully we can find comfort in knowing that we are not alone in our sorrow and loss, this is a part of life that we all encounter.

In our travels recently, my husband and I attended mass at St. Mary of the Assumption, in Huntsville, and, as I love to do, I took one of their bulletins, just to see how others do things. Right in the middle of the first page was a quote that touched my heart: “Those who die…are no further from us than God, and God is very near.”

I believe this to be true and I think this is why the pain is lessening. I often feel Patti’s presence. Sometimes it’s a nudging; pushing me to do and try things I have not done before. Other times it’s her voice, “Really, you’re going to wear that?” My sister had a delightful sense of humour and that is what I miss most, that and our long phone conversations that left us aching from laugther; our ears hurting from holding the phone against them for hours at a time.

Yes, loss is painful, but life continues on in spite of our loss and grief. The world moves forward and we must move with it; move beyond ourselves. Easter approaches and our faith calls us to rejoice – in the Good News, in the Risen Christ, and in our departed loved ones sharing in God’s promise!

Tags death, love