The Cost of Discipleship is the Folly of the Cross

Suffering, as St Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 4.12-19, is part and parcel to our decision to follow Christ.  He says, ‘...those who suffer in accord with God’s will hand their souls over to a faithful Creator as they do good.’ - 1 Peter 4.19  Earlier in the text, he reminds us not to ‘...be surprised that a trial of fire is occurring among you, as if something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that when His Glory is revealed you may also rejoice exultantly.  If you are insulted for the Name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.  But let no one among you be made to suffer as a Christian should not be ashamed but glorify God because of the Name.  For it is time for the judgment to begin with the household of God; if it begins with us, how will it end for those who fail to obey the Gospel of God?

“And if the righteous one is barely saved, where will the godless and the sinner appear?”  As a result, those who suffer in accord with God’s will hand their souls over to a faithful Creator as they do good.’  - 1 Peter 4.12-19

Separation: We're not the only ones who experience the pain of that chasm!

Separation.  This word came to me loud and clear Saturday evening during Holy Communion.  Last week was rough.  My dog was attacked by another dog and I’ve been a wreck trying to process it all.  My dog is okay, thankfully, he’s got a puncture wound in the back of his neck just above his shoulders, but my friend and I took him to the vet Saturday morning who cleaned out that wound and put him on some strong antibiotics and pain meds.  He’s currently dozing next to me on his bed as I write this.  My reaction to this whole situation wasn’t the kindest, and I’ve felt absolutely terrible about it, so I knew that I needed to go to Confession before I was able to be comfortable with receiving Holy Communion.  So, when our Lord was being administered to those of us in attendance, I quietly shook my head as one of the Eucharistic Ministers walked by where I was sitting, letting this person know I’m not receiving our Beloved Lord.  I needed to talk to Him first to apologize to Him for my actions.  As I was sitting there in my seat, I was crying and apologizing to my Jesus for how disgusting my response was to my dog’s attack and how I’d allowed my rage to take over rather than hand it to Him.

Ah, the frustrations faced when wanting to write something beautiful and the words just haven't come yet!

Sometimes, when we ask God something, He'll answer with, 'Wait, My child. Be patient.' Heaven knows, your girl ain't the patient sort. I know, I know, try to contain your surprise. ;) But, it's true. I'm so not. I've been wanting, since Thursday after Mass, to sit and write a meditation about the night Jesus was arrested, but about Mama's side. One of my favourite things to do to feel as close as possible to our Beloved Lord when I read about Him is to put myself in that situation. Imaginative Prayer, it's called. I try to put myself in each scenario I read about, to really try to get as much as I can out of it. Being a writer, this works to my benefit, because of my really vivid imagination! ^_^

Writing isn't unlike the anticipation of a birth, because you're so excited for what's to come, but you have to be patient, let things grow and develop before doing anything with it. It's frustrating, but it's so worth it when you sit back and be patient. I've written about this before in this post.

After Mass Thursday, I got thinking about when our Beloved Lord entered into His Passion willingly. Without argument. Without a second thought. I got thinking, too, about what our Mama must've been feeling, seeing her Precious Son go through all He had for us, and how strong and steadfast she was, letting Him go. She knew what she was getting into when she consented to be our Lord's Mother.

Lent: It's NOT About Us!

How is your Lent going, Reader? I hope things are going well, and you’re drawing ever-nearer to our Beloved Lord!

Something that I wanted to address is how we approach Lent. I know that two posts ago, I mentioned some ideas of what to do as penances this year to do, some suggestions. Here’s the thing, I wanted to reach out and discuss a little something about Lent a bit further than I did last week: HOW are you approaching Lent? I don’t just mean, ‘are you praying more?’ or ‘are you fasting more?’ I certainly hope these things are happening, of course, but… No. I want to take some time to share a little something with you that I just learnt about: 2 Samuel 7.1-7:

After the king had taken up residence in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from his enemies on every side, the king said to Nathan the prophet, ‘Here I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent!’ Nathan answered the king, ‘What ever is in your heart, go and do, for the Lord is with you.’ But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: ‘Go and tell David My servant, Thus says the Lord: Is it you who would build Me a house to dwell in? I have never dwelt in a house from the day I brought Israel up from Egypt to this day, but I have been going about in a tent or a tabernacle. As long as I have wandered about among the Israelites, did I ever say a word to any of the judges whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel: Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’

Let's talk about Lent!

I would like to talk about Lent just a little bit… Ash Wednesday is coming up, and I got to thinking I’d like to write a little bit about it… And without really any effort to look, I found my answer.

Recently, I read something that made me quite sad. Someone I know in a peripheral sense mentioned about becoming increasingly stressed out about ‘what to give up’ for Lent. Honestly… I reached out to this person and explained, ‘Hey, no, you’re going about this the wrong way!’

Now, understand, Reader, I am in no way perfect. I know, it’s a shock, isn’t it? But I tell you the truth, and this is going to be hard to understand for some: None of us are. Lent, though, shouldn’t be at all a stressful time! Preparing for it, during, or even Easter. It should be, honestly, a time of joy. We are preparing to meet our Beloved Lord in the desert. It’s a time to weed out those stumbling blocks that are causing us harm in our spiritual walks with Him.

When God Steps Back - What does this mean?

I subscribe to a rather neat newsletter, Friends of the Little Portion Hermitage. I like reading these so much, I save each one. Today’s title caught my eye and it gave me pause when I read it. ‘The Discipline of Darkness.’...

Happy New Year!

So, here we are, a new year! Already! I was trying to figure out how to write this post, and this is my… I think the fourth or fifth attempt at writing this out. Here’s hoping this time it doesn’t need re-written, because...

Christmas 2019: All of the Because.

Firstly, I want to say Happy Christmas, everyone. :) I hope that things have been well for you all, that time with loved ones was joyful and fun! You know… It’s been years since I’ve celebrated Christmas on purpose. ...

Fourth Sunday of Advent: PEACE...

Fourth week of Advent. Already. Wow, Reader, where’s the time going, you know? So… I wanted to try to tackle this week’s readings without a repeat of last Wednesday’s statement about the Gospel. It’s the same Gospel this week, which...

Third Wednesday of Advent: JOY

Recently, someone I care very much about like my own flesh and blood was put through some unnecessary things by family. Now, ‘family’ … I want to explore that word a little. Family, as we are typically...

The Divine Spark

Have you ever just went for a walk out in nature, just to explore your surroundings? Unencumbered by phone or other technological devices, except for maybe a camera? And as you’re out on this walk, have you ever just taken in your surroundings, not so much just being aware of, ‘I’m on a sidewalk. Oh, here comes someone, I need to step aside so we don’t crash into each other!’ But really just paused your thoughts and really appreciated the beauty around you? Have you ever stopped and pondered where that beauty comes from, really appreciated just being alive? Back in 2009, I went on a retreat with some friends down near Ash Cave (that’s where I took this photo, during the time my then-roommate and I were out on a nature hike). As a writer and someone who loves to play around with cameras, I tend to see things a bit ... differently, you could say, than someone who is, say, an architect or someone who likes to refurbish old vehicles to their former glory. But it all boils down to one thing: Creativity. We all, each of us, has something to offer the world in terms of art.

Art isn’t limited to just painting, or just writing, or just building. It’s so many things, and the question came up during a conversation: do we stop to wonder where that creativity came from?

Given we’re all created in the image and likeness of God, it stands to reason that He’d extend that desire to create things into us, too, when He created us. In Jeremiah, it says, ‘Before I created you in the womb, I knew you.’ That’s heavy, isn’t it? Stop and look at a tree sometime, or even just appreciate a simple dandelion (before you pluck it from your garden). Each little thing we take for granted that’s around us, we should stop and take it in. Appreciate the intricacy of the details of the colours, the designs. There’s no happenstance reason for it being there. It had to come from Somewhere, right? God gave us something He didn’t give the animals or even the other plants: the ability to notice the beauty of our surroundings. There’s something oddly beautiful about seeing old buildings or even a cluster of weeds in the dirt straining toward the sun. Our Lord is a Creative, Himself. He loves to make things so much, He shared that part of Himself with us. I once read a quote, ‘Our talent is a gift from God. What we do with that talent is our gift back to Him.’ (Anonymous)

God didn’t just look at a list of specifications for each of us that He wanted to include in terms of what we’d look like or enjoy in our free time. He thought more about the intricate details of our personalities, too. He thought of the music we’d enjoy if we’d play an instrument, our favourite colours, all of it. God wanted to include as much of Himself in creating us as He knew our finite little minds could handle. So, one of those things was that creativity that He, Himself, possesses. One of the coolest things about our relatability with the Almighty is the ability to take a few bits of seemingly odds and ends and making something elaborate with it. For example a hank of yarn and a couple of knitting needles. Or some fabric, thread, and a machine with a needle. Within minutes (or depending on the project, hours, days), you’ve taken something in your mind and brought it into fruition.

Next time you’re out with your family, or even by yourself, stop and breathe in your surroundings. Take in everything. The birds chirping, the trees, the animals, even the insects (yes, even the irritating ones). Take it all in and whisper a prayer of thanksgiving to our Father for all He’s given us, and for the talents you, yourself possess, because He’s the Author of all that we are and have.

Whoa.

Monday morning, I had a really interesting thought come to my mind. I woke up at one point, and so vividly I could reach out and touch Him, I saw Jesus on the Crucifix. It just dominated my thoughts for several minutes, and left me just laying there contemplating what the Crucifix meant, why it happened, and not just a, 'Oh, look! There's Jesus, He died for me on the Cross because I'm a sinner.' No. There's much, much more to it than that.

We must pray for our priests.

I'm weird.  I love being Catholic.  I love the fact that my Jesus wants so desperately to be with me, He went to all the lengths necessary to do so.  I love that He also gave a way for me to be with Him, too, this side of Heaven.  I'm grateful He gave the sacrament of Confession so that we could connect each Mass.  A friend said that 'Sin isn't dirt on one's soul, and people need to stop seeing it as such.  Sin is a WOUND.'  My friend is one of the wisest people I know and I really look up to this person quite a bit.  It's why I enjoy talking with and spending time with them so much.  I learn a lot each time.  I continue to learn things and I'm given a listening ear when I'm trying to process something I don't understand quite fully or something that I don't like but need to because it's necessary for my salvation.

The Pros and Cons of Technology

Recently, my nephew (he’s in his mid-20s) and I were out adventuring around town (we ended up at Walmart, which seems always the ‘it’ place for my friends and me to end up when we’re bored haha), and on our way back, we were listening to music and we were talking about technology.

Life isn't about having what we want, but appreciating what we already have!

I saw something earlier in my e-mail that prompted me to write this article.

The subject? It was about appreciating what we have. That gave me pause and I thought, 'Hm. I do that. I wonder how many others do, too?'

My friend got ordained as a Transitory Deacon Friday night.

My friend finally got his Call to Holy Orders a few weeks ago after much prayers, hard work, blood, sweat, tears, and copious amounts of loss of sleep trying to get the proverbial raccoons lined up for their pizza crusts.

This person is one of very few that I call 'friend,' and it was an honour to be able to see him be brought forward for our Bishop to lay hands on him and formally hand him the authority that comes with the office of Deacon.

The Rite of Election!

Well, well, what have we here?  Another post!  Things have been absolutely CRAZY busy around here for me.  Lots of exciting things happened and are currently happening, though.

Let's see...

Being a rainbow when everything's black and white.

Recently, I had someone come to me and ask for advice on how to survive. Specifically, how to come ‘out’ to the family about their sexual orientation. This person has expressed concern about having been previously treated as a pariah, sending this person – not compassionately – to counseling as a way to ‘purge’ this information from this person.

This… is a delicate matter. There are a lot of people who don’t agree with this lifestyle, and there are a lot who do. It’s been a constant source of contention for many, many years, probably centuries. But, sticking with the modern era, and with some of the crusty old political types trying to force us back into the 1950s, well, I can see the concern as being quite valid.

Love hurts when it ends. But, why?

Love. There are varying definitions of that word, but I want to talk about romantic love, and specifically, why does it hurt so much when a relationship ends?

My niece asked me to try to answer this question. I told her I would do my best. I won’t go into the specifics behind her reason, but I will say that there’s not been one person I know who HASN’T gone through the blistering heartache of a breakup. We all have, regardless of how amicable (and in some cases, toxic) it was.

Alright, so here we go.

'The Devil beating his wife' - what does that even mean?!

I don’t know about you, but I use a lot of really old (and sometimes cliche’ [don’t judge me!]) phrases and sayings.

For example: last week, my neighbour and I were sitting on her patio talking, and it was raining. At one point, while it was still raining, the clouds opened up, and my neighbour commented, ‘Oh, no. The Devil’s beating his wife now! The sun came out and it’s still raining!’ We sat and watched the weather shift a little and she and I pondered about the origin of that statement. How did it even come about? WHY would someone say such a thing? The devil wasn’t ever married … was he? Is he? I don’t think so. Given what he is (species), as far as I’M aware, there’s no such thing as marriage for him or any other angels.