Scrutiny and the Despicable

 

As I see and pray for Candidates and Catechumens preparing for the sacraments of initiation and full communion in the church through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, I feel quite excited for them. I joyously support them in spirit and prayer.

 I must confess, though,  watching them each Sunday as they are dismissed to prepare, I become excited for me. I am humbly reminded that they are seeking the inheritance, treasure, and grace that that is already mine

 

It is so cool to be Catholic!

Through faith and Baptism we have  a God who loves  so much that he sent his only son into the world dressed in human flesh to teach us how to walk the walk and talk the talk; and when that wasn’t enough , he  paid the ransom for our sins with his own earthly life.  We have a Holy Spirit for counsel, guidance, comfort, healing and strength.  We have our One Holy Catholic Church that is rich in liturgy, sacrament and tradition and descends from the apostles. We have Holy Mary, mother of God.

We sing and pray in communion with Angels and Saints, and we are invited and welcomed to the Holy Banquet where we revere the very presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  We live in anticipation of the resurrection of the dead and life at throne of grace in the Heavenly Jerusalem for all of eternity.

My cup runneth over.

During Lent, the candidates, and catechumens, who are now referred to as the elect, enter the period of purification and enlightenment.  In addition to the practices of prayer, fasting and alms giving, Lent is also a time of purification and enlightenment for us. 

It is so hard to be good. 

 We fall off track, we turn back, we acknowledge our sins we ask forgiveness, and we start over.   The deeper we grow in holiness, sadly the deeper our awareness of sin becomes.

When my youngest was in the second grade, he made an ornament in his faith formation class. It was a Styrofoam ball decorated with sequins and glitter, and a little band of paper that said-

 “I shall not kill”. 

 I read it aloud not really knowing what to think -when he suddenly blurted out,

“Mom, I am sure that I can do that one.” 

On the other end of the spectrum, I remember reading that a former Papal secretary Monsignor Tran Ngoc Thu had reported that Pope John Paul II celebrated reconciliation every week confessing his sins of omission.

Three ancient rites known as “the Scrutinies” are celebrated on the 3^rd 4^th and 5^th Sundays of Lent.  The readings for the scrutinies are from cycle A of the lectionary. The gospel readings, from the book of John are the Woman at the Well, The Man Born Blind, and The Raising of Lazarus.  The elect reflect on the readings and scrutinize, or take a good hard look at their lives and their relationship to God.

The actual Rite entails a calling forth of the elect before the assembly, a call to silence, a prayer of exorcism, petitions, laying on of hands and dismissal.

The readings for the scrutinies also offer us an opportunity to take a good hard look at our relationship with God and to-    scrutinize.

In preparation for the sacrament of reconciliation I reflect on all my failings and think to myself- 


"Oh, you despicable self."

But when all is confessed-
and I promise to do better-
God's grace resonates in my soul.
My despicable self knows the grace  and peace  that surpasses all understanding in Christ  Jesus ,
and

I Rejoice!

Out of Silence

Three years.
Perhaps it was a  retreat of sorts.
An exercise.
A Discipline.
Stillness,waiting, hoping
to hear the
Voice of God
over my own.

This is it.

FAITHFUL.
This was the first white Christmas in the Triangle area of North Carolina since 1947.
Snow blankets and simplifies.
It changes what we see.
It changes what we do and how we do it.
In this area, a moderate amount has impact.
On Christmas day, it fosters peace.
Most likely there was no snow on that first Christmas,
but from the scriptures it seems that those whole dwelt under the blanket of night
possessed awareness that the world was about to change.
For Christmas this year I received a blanket. I am home.

Blessing of the Easter Baskets.

Over the years, I've always been amazed at what I manage to put together on Easter Saturday.
I have been attending the blessing of the Easter baskets for many years.
Some years I managed a few eggs , bread, and my "butter lamb" in a plastic basket.
Of late, with my mantra, "use what you have and what you know" , I am truly amazed at what I can put together.
My grandmother of Polish dissent was faithful to the traditions.
I have made some modern adaptations.
I emptied the basket that was sitting in my kitchen, I found the flowers left over from my anniversary party.
I didn't have any bread ready, but I added Pillsbury crescent rolls.
There was a ham, horseradish, wine, vinegar, the Lamb of butter, the eggs, the candle,oh, and a bag of pizza dough!
I had the names of all of my family on one egg.
I used the horseradish and eggs to make deviled eggs for the meal and we passed the plate wishing health and happiness.
The vinegar was used in the coleslaw.
I was a lovely meal with my husband and two of my sons.
The preparation set me in a spirit to contemplate what it must have been like for the women
who left Jesus in the tomb to go prepare for the passover.
This unthinkable horror had just befallen them,
and yet they return to faith and tradition,
to recall the Faithfulness of Yaweh,
to his chosen ones.
in this Holiest of Seasons,
Shalom.

From Thy Bounty,

Through Christ, our Lord and Savior,
the alpha and the omega,
Amen.
Alleluia! Alleluia.

See,Lord, Here I Am.

So many who need help.
They just can't,
I reach out my hand,
By God's grace alone,
it is enough.

And a Child Shall Lead......

With humble gratitude,
I reflect
on what a bumpy year this has been.
It began with the wounds of mourning the loss Andy with the first set of holidays.
The wounds were further assaulted with job losses, relationship changes, a traffic ticket, a war etc.

Through all of the worries, anxieties and sometimes even despair,
I forced on myself remembrance of those suffering far worse than I.
The people of Darfur, those in war torn countries, the hungry, those in intractable pain.
Most recently I heard a story of HIV positive Orphans in Vietnam who were denied
a much anticipated privilege of entering public school.
"I wanted to make friends," one child sadly stated.
A child wishing to make a friend in school- that can't happen?

A dear friend and her teenage daughter have met with some difficult changes this week.
I have held them constantly close in prayer. I asked for grace that in some way I be used as a vessel of comfort and light to them. I asked Andy in Heaven to pray and watch over this mother and daughter who were faithful to him in prayer while he lived with his illness.

Yesterday, I greeted the teenager with a hug- I asked God to relay all communication of heart that no words exist for.
I said,

"I've asked Andy to watch over you. It'll be OK. No one here has cancer."
And the beautiful girl replied in consolation to her mom,

"that's right mom, cancer would be a problem, this isn't a problem, it's a challenge,
we're going to be OK."

In seeking to be a vehicle of grace, grace was given to me through the mouth of a babe.
If she were my child, the pride of that moment would beat in my heart until the last breath.

Our Father in Heaven sent a smile of light upon us.
for she is His child and proud he must be.
No one on earth has suffered more than the One who leads us to the Father,
our savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.
What have we to fear?
He's Always been Faithful to me.

Tomorrow is my birthday, I am blessed.
Once again, my cup runneth over.

Peace and All Good