Small, Meaningful Acts a la Pope Francis
By now the whole world knows what kind of man fills St. Peter’s sandals. Just the fact that Pope Francis wears his old black shoes instead of the papal red ones (or even the new black ones his friends bought for him) speaks volumes. The media overflows with other little acts of our new pope that reveal his heart. This makes me wonder What if reporters and cameras were focused on me? What if they recorded and analyzed my every word and action? How would I be perceived? How would I match up to our leader on earth? Already Pope Francis is inspiring me to be a better person, to ask What would Pope Francis do? (more…)
The Holy Spirit, St. Patrick, and the Conclave
A Jesuit priest once asked me if I ever prayed to the Holy Spirit. “No,” I said. “I’m surprised,” he replied, “because you’re a writer.” Ever since then I’ve turned to the Holy Spirit for help, especially when I need an idea. He or she does not disappoint. Suddenly an idea will float into my mind, or I’ll open a book and find just what I need. This week as we celebrate St. Patrick, besides the green cookies and parades, we might focus on the teaching he’s famous for: the Trinity—all three Persons.
Theologically speaking, the Father reflects on his perfect self and that gives rise to the Son. The love between these two persons results in the Holy Spirit. Remember when the Spirit was called the Holy Ghost? The name Spirit is less frightening and more suitable for love personified. The Spirit is the gift Jesus promised at the last supper. He called the Spirit our paraclete, which loosely translated means someone who walks with you, someone who has your back. At baptism the Spirit came to dwell in us, ready to be there for us in case of emergency and just during everyday life. The main task of the Spirit is to make all of us holy, more loving. Where the Father is the Creator and the Son is the Redeemer, the Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier.
What does the job description of this Third Person of the Trinity include? The Spirit helps us pray, brings about the change of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus, enlightens us about Scripture, gives us strength to withstand temptation, inspires us to do good, and, as every Catholic students knows, helps us to pass tests!
Right now, the Spirit is at work fulfilling a main responsibility: guiding the Church. As the cardinals meet to elect the next Holy Father, let us ask the Spirit of wisdom, knowledge, counsel, and understanding to blow through our Church, ridding it of cobwebs and dirt. Let us pray to the Spirit to set our hearts afire, purging them and forging them to face the future with courage, hope, and above all, Love.
St. Patrick supposedly drove snakes out of Ireland. We might also solicit this saint’s aid in driving out dangerous attitudes during the conclave. With his help our Church might experience a new spring when everything is green again!
When have you benefited from the Holy Spirit’s nudgings?
What are your hopes for the next pope?
Angels and Close Calls
This week on the way to church in the dark and rain I almost hit a pedestrian, but I was able to break just in time. The next day I was preparing to give a workshop far away on the west side when I just happened to glanced at the schedule and saw that it was the day for the one nearby on the east side. My guardian angel has been working overtime to protect me from myself! I didn’t think much about angels until a few years ago. (more…)
Something about Psalms
I heard that one of our Sisters prayed psalms for decades but never liked them. Ouch! I love the psalms, and obviously God does too, since he gave them to us to pray. The Psalms is a book of the Bible. When Christians took over the Old Testament, the psalms came too. (more…)
Pierogi and Beatitudes
Today I made pierogi for the first time, the meat and vegetable kind. The dough was not right. I won’t be serving the results to anyone. Instead I’ll have to eat forty perogi myself! The process of cooking them, though, prompted some reflections on life. We are all in the business of producing a life. We have a recipe, thanks to Jesus Christ. His Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3–11) are a list of ingredients for happiness. Leaving out one or more of them will yield an imperfect life. In case you’ve misplaced your “recipe,” here is a copy, along with an example of each from today’s news. (It helps to have someone demonstrate the steps in a recipe.)
• Be poor in spirit. In other words, don’t be greedy for material things, don’t be a hoarder. Look to God to provide all you need. Pope Benedict is content to leave all the trappings of the papacy—the gold, the travel, the presents—and live simply.
• Mourn. Be sad at the sin in the world, your own sins and other people’s. Bear others’ sorrows with them. Witness the shared grief and outpouring of help and support for Newtown, CT after the tragic school shootings.
• Be meek. It takes strength to live gently and to refrain from bossiness, ostentation, and anger. When the actress Melissa McCarthy was cruelly and childishly criticized for being overweight, she didn’t respond but kept a dignified silence.
• Hunger and thirst for righteousness. Desire that all people be treated fairly. President Obama stands for helping the needy.
• Be merciful. Forgive those who hurt you. Have a heart for people who are in trouble. Andy and Kate Grosmaire forgave the young man who shot and killed their daughter. They visit him in prison each month.
• Be clean of heart. Live according to God’s laws even those that are unpopular and counter cultural. A few celebrities refuse to pose nude for magazines.
• Be a peacemaker. Put an end to conflict. Promote peace. Every day thousands of police officers risk their lives in order to keep neighborhoods safe and peaceful.
• Be persecuted for the sake of righteousness. Don’t be afraid to take a stand for justice. Malala Housafzai, a young Pakastani girl, spoke out for equal education for girls was attacked by the Taliban for it.
• Be persecuted for believing in Jesus. In today’s secular world, faith is sometimes mocked. Every day Christians in Arab countries are killed by fanatics for practicing their faith.
Perogi dough must be kneaded for ten minutes. Then it must rest for from ten minutes to a half hour. Jesus invites, “Come to me all you who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest.” We need down time to live at our optimum. We also need time just to “be” with God.
Circles of dough folded over the filling must be sealed completely, or the perogi will come apart in the water. Each day ought to be sealed with prayer at the start and the end. This will keep us from coming apart.
The perogi is boiled in water and then fried. It’s fire that turns the doughy lump into something delicious. Likewise, difficulties and, yes, persecution can bring us to perfection!
Then the kitchen has to be cleaned up, the flour and bits of vegetables swept off the floor and the many dishes and pots washed. We too need to clean up the messes in our lives: reestablish broken relationships, finish projects, repent of sins and be reconciled through the sacrament of Penance. Lent is just the time to do this.
May you have more success with your life than I had with my pierogi!
Which Beatitude is most challenging for you? Who do you know who is a prime example of one of the Beatitudes?
