Everything is grace. No matter what the situation, there is always a chance to glorify God. There is always an opportunity to grow in holiness.
This outlook on life has been thrown in my face this week. And I love it. It puts a whole new spin on everything. I can't resent anything that's happened to me in the past, because it's been God's will for me and it is my path to Heaven, my sanctification.
It started with reading a book on St. Therese of Lisieux in my theology of healing class called The Context Holiness. It detailed her early childhood life with her family, and how these experiences had an impact on her emotionally and spiritually. Although she had many trials and sufferings growing up, they became the context of her sainthood. God took a bad situation and made it a chance for her to grow in holiness. He didn't take away the suffering, but instead dove down into it with her and molded her there. Therese was only healed when she experienced God at the bottom of her pit of suffering and pain. Then out of the ashes rose one of the greatest saints of our time. God doesn't take us out of the battle, but gives us the strength to remain in it.
With this all in mind, I had some amazing conversations this week with future household sisters and a professor that brought this concept into my own life. They helped me see that certain people or situations in my past that I have spent a lot of time resenting were actually gifts to me. How, you ask? Because they helped me grow in holiness. They strengthened my relationship with God. And through this I was purified. It is so amazing to look at your past this way. It frees your heart of so much anger, resentment, and frustration. Instead, it is replaced with a sense of peace, forgiveness, and acceptance.
"Joy is not the absence of suffering, but the presence of God." This is how some saints with the worst suffering have the deepest relationship with God and the most joy. Because for them, suffering is not an obstacle to praising God. We are all guaranteed suffering on this earth. But we can find our joy in Jesus Christ. When that happens, nothing can put out the fire of joy in our hearts.
"In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thess 5:18
Monday, November 22, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Jesus was a guy..
Jesus wasn't a chick. That's how Fr. Dominic started out one of the best homilies I've ever heard. Women are beautiful and God created them for wonderful things, things that men can't do, but the bottom line is that Jesus was a man. He talked like a man, acted like a man, and looked like a man.
The Gospel passage for yesterday that Fr. Dominic was reflecting on was when Jesus is in the Temple driving out all of the vendors. He throws a fit, turning over tables and yelling at everybody to get out in order to purify the Temple. Many times people in our culture tend to reduce Jesus to a feminized male- they portray Him only as sweet, loving, and gentle and leave out the strong and protective side of Him. This is carried over into our thoughts about men.. men who are religious tend to be thought of as less masculine than those who do more "macho" things than pray and go to church.
In this Gospel passage, Jesus is anything but feminine. And it shows an important point- that it is ok for men to be aggressive in standing up for what is true and good. It is ok for men to have power and be protectors, because that is their vocation as men. Fr. Dominic really called the men on to finding their vocation as males and not being afraid to live it out. This clashes with another trend in our society, the feminist movement. Men shouldn't be fearful of living up to their masculinity in the face of women who will accuse them of being too powerful.
Now, should men abuse this power? No. Should they be 100% aggressive all the time and never have a sensitive or emotional side to them? Of course not. Men should look to Jesus as their model of the perfect man- He was aggressive when He needed to be, and sensitive in other situations. The times He was powerful was when He was defending what was good. And this is the unique gift that God has given to men. To be the protector, to be the leader.
Does this offend me in my femininity at all? Absolutely not. But a few years ago it might have. Since then I have found what it truly means to be a woman, and it is so freeing because I am finally living out who I was meant to be, in the role I was meant to have. To be equal does not mean to be the same. God created man and woman to be compliments to each other, to work with each other to do His work. This means that we each have our own unique roles.
One of my favorite things about mass at Franciscan is when we sing the mass parts. Usually, the musicians play songs that have both a male part and then a female echo. It is so beautiful to see the men taking control of their part and singing strongly, and then hearing the beautiful sound of the women's voices united together. Each gender has their own part, which comes together beautifully to create the whole song. Without one, the song wouldn't be complete.
So guys, remember... Jesus wasn't a chick.
The Gospel passage for yesterday that Fr. Dominic was reflecting on was when Jesus is in the Temple driving out all of the vendors. He throws a fit, turning over tables and yelling at everybody to get out in order to purify the Temple. Many times people in our culture tend to reduce Jesus to a feminized male- they portray Him only as sweet, loving, and gentle and leave out the strong and protective side of Him. This is carried over into our thoughts about men.. men who are religious tend to be thought of as less masculine than those who do more "macho" things than pray and go to church.
In this Gospel passage, Jesus is anything but feminine. And it shows an important point- that it is ok for men to be aggressive in standing up for what is true and good. It is ok for men to have power and be protectors, because that is their vocation as men. Fr. Dominic really called the men on to finding their vocation as males and not being afraid to live it out. This clashes with another trend in our society, the feminist movement. Men shouldn't be fearful of living up to their masculinity in the face of women who will accuse them of being too powerful.
Now, should men abuse this power? No. Should they be 100% aggressive all the time and never have a sensitive or emotional side to them? Of course not. Men should look to Jesus as their model of the perfect man- He was aggressive when He needed to be, and sensitive in other situations. The times He was powerful was when He was defending what was good. And this is the unique gift that God has given to men. To be the protector, to be the leader.
Does this offend me in my femininity at all? Absolutely not. But a few years ago it might have. Since then I have found what it truly means to be a woman, and it is so freeing because I am finally living out who I was meant to be, in the role I was meant to have. To be equal does not mean to be the same. God created man and woman to be compliments to each other, to work with each other to do His work. This means that we each have our own unique roles.
One of my favorite things about mass at Franciscan is when we sing the mass parts. Usually, the musicians play songs that have both a male part and then a female echo. It is so beautiful to see the men taking control of their part and singing strongly, and then hearing the beautiful sound of the women's voices united together. Each gender has their own part, which comes together beautifully to create the whole song. Without one, the song wouldn't be complete.
So guys, remember... Jesus wasn't a chick.
Friday, November 5, 2010
The earth is crying out to us
The Earth is crying out to us, in the form of natural disasters, for us to change our ways. Just in Haiti alone, this past year has seen a horrific earthquake followed by months and months of aftershocks, a cholera epidemic, and now a hurricane headed straight for it. Around the globe, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, and diseases have made their way into the nightly news almost weekly, it seems.
Why is this all happening? I am not God, or the Pope, or some living saint with divine revelation from God. So my opinion should be taken as that- simply an opinion. Personally, I think God is using these events to show us His power and show us the state of the human race. It is not the end of the world, but a little wake up call for us.
Before the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden, there was harmony in everything. There was harmony within the human person, between man and woman, between man and God, and between man and nature. Everything was in order and flowed smoothly. Man had dominion over all the created order, man and woman acted as partners in doing God's work, and most importantly man and woman were humbled before God, acknowledged Him as their Creator, and obeyed Him. Life was beautiful. The Earth and everything in it were living out life the way it was created to be by God.
Then the Fall happened. Adam and Eve disobeyed God, wanting to be like Him but without Him. It was the first sin of pride. As a result, the human race lost the grace of living in union with God. This disharmony set off all of the other disharmonies- God told our first parents that men would now have dominion over their wives, that men and women would desire each other over God, and that the earth would now be hard and painful for men to cultivate. The Earth was now pitted against man in disharmony. This is when things like earthquakes, floods, storms, famines, and diseases entered the picture of human history.
So why now is there an increase in all of these things? I think it's so God can remind us of our condition due to Original Sin. To remind us of our sinfulness, of our need for a Savior, of our complete dependence on God for everything, even our very lives. People in our world today have forgotten this; they have made themselves gods and cast off the need for "that religious crap." To be religious in some parts of the country and the world is a synonym for weakness, foolishness, and ignorance. So maybe God is letting the earth cry out to us, hoping we will hear its plea to repent and restore the harmony we once had. Maybe God is letting this happen so that we will realize our littleness and His greatness.
Let's answer that call. Through repenting with a genuine heart, we can regain sanctifying grace and restore that harmony that all of us were created to live in.
Why is this all happening? I am not God, or the Pope, or some living saint with divine revelation from God. So my opinion should be taken as that- simply an opinion. Personally, I think God is using these events to show us His power and show us the state of the human race. It is not the end of the world, but a little wake up call for us.
Before the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden, there was harmony in everything. There was harmony within the human person, between man and woman, between man and God, and between man and nature. Everything was in order and flowed smoothly. Man had dominion over all the created order, man and woman acted as partners in doing God's work, and most importantly man and woman were humbled before God, acknowledged Him as their Creator, and obeyed Him. Life was beautiful. The Earth and everything in it were living out life the way it was created to be by God.
Then the Fall happened. Adam and Eve disobeyed God, wanting to be like Him but without Him. It was the first sin of pride. As a result, the human race lost the grace of living in union with God. This disharmony set off all of the other disharmonies- God told our first parents that men would now have dominion over their wives, that men and women would desire each other over God, and that the earth would now be hard and painful for men to cultivate. The Earth was now pitted against man in disharmony. This is when things like earthquakes, floods, storms, famines, and diseases entered the picture of human history.
So why now is there an increase in all of these things? I think it's so God can remind us of our condition due to Original Sin. To remind us of our sinfulness, of our need for a Savior, of our complete dependence on God for everything, even our very lives. People in our world today have forgotten this; they have made themselves gods and cast off the need for "that religious crap." To be religious in some parts of the country and the world is a synonym for weakness, foolishness, and ignorance. So maybe God is letting the earth cry out to us, hoping we will hear its plea to repent and restore the harmony we once had. Maybe God is letting this happen so that we will realize our littleness and His greatness.
Let's answer that call. Through repenting with a genuine heart, we can regain sanctifying grace and restore that harmony that all of us were created to live in.
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