Perseverance to Mars and Heaven During Lent
On February 18, 2021, the rover Perseverance is to land on Mars and collect samples. This achievement is the result of NASA’s perseverance. Perseverance, or persistence, is a virtue. Its partner patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Perseverance takes courage, a gift of the Holy Spirit.
How is your New Year’s resolution going? You have a chance to renew it or make a new one this Lent. May you patiently persevere in keeping your resolution(s) as you journey, not through space but through the time allotted you on Earth. Remember: “A diamond is a lump of coal that stuck with it.”
There are numerous wonderful, inspiring stories about people who have accomplished great things because they have persevered.
• Supposedly Thomas Edison said of his search for the light bulb, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
• Four times Diana Nyad tried to swim the 103 miles between Cuba and Florida and failed. In 2013 at the age of 64, she again attempted the feat and was successful. Similarly, in 1952 Florence Chadwick strove to swim between Catalina Island and California through fog and in shark infested water. After sixteen hours, she quit, not seeing that the shore was only 1/2 mile away! (It’s important to keep your eyes on the goal!) Two months later Florence tried again and succeeded.
• Many people who suffer a stroke or have had an accident must persevere through weeks of rehab in order to get well. Surely at times they are tempted to say, “I quit.”
• I might spend hours trying to add headers and page numbers to a manuscript. (Changing one tends to ruin others.) But the satisfaction when everything is correctly in place is worth the struggle. You might experience this same feeling after you master a new feature on your computer or cell phone.
Our faith offers examples of people who persevered. First and foremost, there is Jesus. Today’s Gospel tells how vexed he was when the apostles did not understand him. Frustrated, he aims a barrage of questions at them, no less than seven. (See Mark 8:14–21) Of course, then there is Jesus’s agony in the garden. On the brink of a grueling sacrifice, Jesus could have backed out. But no, he persevered…for our sake.
Too there is the Blessed Virgin Mary. After her yes to God, she was subjected to unbelievable trials. Yet she bravely walked through them all the way to Calvary. She never gave up.
Imprisonments, beatings, whippings, shipwrecks—nothing stopped St. Paul from spreading the Good News. We who live two thousand years later benefit from his perseverance. May we someday say with him, “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:8).
We Sisters pray for “the grace of perseverance” in our vocation. This prayer would profit people in any vocation: marriage, ordained, single by helping them stay faithful to their call. The prayer would also apply to persevering in becoming holy‚ resisting temptations and striving for virtues.
Here is a song that motivates us to keep on keeping on:
Being human, you might backslide in keeping your resolutions. But you can always begin again. Like the little girl when she was asked how she learned to ride a bike. She said, “Whenever I fell off, I got back on again.”
So aim to become a diamond—the person God intended you to be. The Holy Spirit can empower you to plow through any adversity, even our ongoing pandemic.
• Who could you add as a model of perseverance? • When have you been glad that you persevered.
The Greatest Love of All
Today I saw this posted on Facebook: “The sweetest time of the day is when you pray because you’re talking to the one who loves you the most.” Valentine’s Day is a good time to reflect on God’s love for us. We all crave to be loved. Sometimes we need to know we are loved more than at other times—like when we’re lonely, sad, afraid, or guilty. We can never say, “No one loves me,” because God loves us… and with a strong, everlasting love. We might say a crazy, passionate love.
It takes faith to believe that God loves us. After all, how could the omniscient, omnipotent One care for us weak, finite mortals, especially when we disappoint him so many times? Yet, God proves his love over and over. He doesn’t need to give us a box of chocolates and flowers. How does God love you? Let us count a few ways…
- God chose to create you. He really didn’t have to. You could have forever been an unrealized possibility. But God lovingly did call you into being. You have the privilege of being God’s beloved child. Think of this whenever you pray “Our Father.” What do you especially enjoy about being alive: dancing, running, swimming, reading book, talking with friends, having children or grandchildren?
2. God blessed you with certain gifts, physical attributes, talents, circumstances. What personal gifts are you grateful for: a lovely singing voice, a nice nose, a loving family?
3. God designed a beautiful Earth for you to call home—this blue jewel in the heavens filled with a variety of flowers, trees, and creatures that walk, slither, swim or fly. Your world is so awesome that we are still uncovering its wonders. What is your favorite place: a seashore, a forest, your backyard?
4. When you need help, God is there for you. Jesus promised, “Ask and it will be given you” (Luke 11:9). Of course, this doesn’t apply to requests that God knows will be harmful or not fit in his all-wise plan. When has God answered one of your prayers, perhaps in an amazing, unexpected way? When has God given you strength to accomplish something you never thought you’d do?
5. God communicates with you in Scripture. Once when theologian Karl Barth was asked to summarize his life’s work, he replied, “Jesus loves me. This I know, for the Bible tells me so.” Repeatedly in Scripture God declares and demonstrates his love for you. He says things like, “You are precious in my eyes and honored, and I love you” (Isaiah 43:4). Which of God’s “love notes” to you do you cherish?
6. God sprinkles your life with little love-gifts. You connect with a lost relative, a book falls open to the information you were searching for, you barely miss a car accident. Some people see these are mere coincidences, but others with the eyes of faith view them as occasions when God winks at us. When has God surprised you with this kind of gift?
7. God’s love is constant. Nothing you ever do will destroy his love for you. You can lie, cheat, give in to addictions, be jealous. You name it. God will not jilt you no matter how unfaithful and unloving you are to him. “Forgiveness” is his middle name. When have you experienced God’s tender mercy?
8. God did the most incredible thing because he loves you: Almighty God became a frail human being, suffered torture, and died a humiliating and painful death. Why? Because God longs to be with you forever. Giving up one’s life for someone is the greatest proof of love. God died for you! How are you living for God?
On Valentine’s Day hearts abound because they are a symbol of love. For good reason, Jesus promoted devotion to his Sacred Heart. While we are caught in the turmoil of a pandemic, assaults on our democracy, and a threatened planet, we can still say, “Jesus, I trust in you.” His love for us prevails. He is definitely a sweetheart like none other.
Hope you enjoy this unusual peaceful rendition of a hymn about God’s infinite love:
Poems for Poetry Lovers and Others (Repeat)
(This post was unavailable for some time last week due to technological problems, so I’m repeating it.)
Even if you are not a fan of poetry, I think you would enjoy Sister Mary Doreen’s poems. When she died this year, she left behind a legacy of more than 300 of them. They are simple and down-to-earth, just as she was. Perhaps because she grew up on a large farm, many of her poems have nature themes, making them relevant in these days when we are focused on climate change.
Awhile ago it occurred to me that I could self-publish Sister’s poems. But the thought vanished. Then Sister Mary James, who was sorting Sister Doreen’s things, saw me in the hall and suggested publishing the poems. God has a funny way of directing our lives through “coincidences.”
Sister Elizabeth Wood, our archivist, loaned me the box of Sister’s poems so I could make them available to the world. They are now in the form of three books. Reading through Sister’s collection was sheer joy. In the process I discovered that Sister had once won a $1000 award for a poem. She also had poems published in three periodicals: Liguorian, Emmanuel, and Review for Religious.
The three books are available from Amazon. Most of Sister Doreen’s poems are in the 141-page book A Buffet of Poems to Savor, Enjoy, and Pray. ($9.95) These range from profound to humorous. Sister Barbara Daugherty’s nature photo graces the cover. Haiku are published separately in 100 Haiku: Light Pierces Darkness. (38 pages, $6.95) Stunning photographs accompany these three-line poems, most of them, including the cover photo, provided by Sister Mary Seton Schlather.
Sister Doreen was born on October 7, the feast of the Most Holy Rosary and became a Sister of Notre Dame. It’s no surprise then that she wrote several versions of the Rosary’s Mysteries in different forms of poetry. One version in which each mystery is reflected on in two-stanza poems appears in the book Mysteries of the Rosary in Verse (32 pages, $4.95). Sister Maresa Lilley, a prolific artist, is the source of the painting of Mary on the cover, one of Sister’s many Marian portraits.
I could identify with the message in the following poem Sister Doreen wrote. I bet you can too.
Shapings
“You’ve read that poem
quite beautifully,”
My English instructor
commended me.
I basked in the light
and warmth of her praise
And read even better
the following days.
My new music teacher
would fuss and would fret:
“Will you watch your timing?
No, it’s not right yet.”
The lessons which had been
delightful before
Had suddenly become
a pain and a bore.
Many long miles
I have traveled since then,
With a poem in my heart
and a poem on my pen,
But it’s a shame and a waste
and I dare say a sin,
That I never more play
my old violin.
My eighth-grade teacher, Sister Mary John Francis, encouraged my writing. After I graduated from her class, she asked me to write her a composition every week and send it to her at Xavier University where she was studying. Now I have 80-plus books and five textbook series under my belt.
• How has someone shaped your life?
Leaving Home for Sake of the Mission
My friend Andy Woconish, who ministered with me at St. Dominic Church, wrote an imaginative piece on a Gospel story that I think will make you chuckle. He agreed to be my guest blogger this week. . . .
This coming Sunday we hear a familiar gospel story about the call of the first Apostles of Jesus. The story goes that Jesus saw two brothers, Simon and Andrew, casting their nets into the sea. Jesus calls to them and they follow him. The story continues that a little farther down the shore Jesus sees two more brothers, James and John, fishing with their father, Zebedee. Jesus calls to them and they follow him as well. Just like that! But what about Zebedee? The poor fellow is left to tend to the fishing with just the hired help. What might he have thought as he watched his two sons walk off with a stranger that promised only to make them “fishers of men.” How would his sons make money to survive? What about the work to be done on the boat? What about the family business? What about those abandoned, broken nets? Let’s have a little fun. Perhaps if there were cell phones back then we can get a little creative and imagine Zebedee’s and his son’s text messages: |
| “James and John. Fine then, just leave your mother and me all alone. We can fend for ourselves! Never mind the hired workers do a quarter of the work that you two can. We’re gonna’ starve! How’s the ‘fishing of men’ coming along? I don’t even know what that means. I wonder about you two sometimes. Don’t say I didn’t warn you about THAT Nazarene! Anyhow, I’ll be sending you some shekels. Love you—Pop. P.S. Text your mother, no fighting, and don’t take any wooden denarii.” |
| “Hey Pop! Don’t be so apocalyptic! You and mom are not going to starve. THAT Nazarene as you call him is actually a really cool guy. Still don’t know what ‘fishers of men’ is all about, but we do travel with some pretty neat ladies. Gotta’ admit, when we left you looked pretty silly standing there scratching your head. We’re getting along quite well—haven’t had a fight in over a week! Pretty good for your ‘Sons of Thunder’ as you like to call us. Jesus has taught us how to live more peacefully. He calls us friends! Say ‘hi’ to mom for us. We’ll text her soon. Next time we’re in town we’ll do some fishing together. Simon and Andrew say ‘hello.’ Love— James and John. P.S. Thanks for the shekels. Please send more.” |
| It’s funny how life often calls us to pull away from family in order to fulfill dreams and to become all that God has intended for us to be. This growing and shaping is sometimes joyful, and sometimes painful. We must remember that it isn’t always about us—that there are loved ones that can be left in the wake of our choices. The Father loved his Son, Jesus. Jesus had to leave his Father to become human like us. Zebedee loved his sons, James and John. James and John had to leave their father to become more like Jesus. In life, as in death, we grieve these losses. Let’s not miss the joy to be experienced along the way. We don’t know if James and John ever returned to fish with their father, to drink some wine together, or to fix those broken nets. We do know, however, that they became wonderful “fishers of men.” Let us pray: Lord, as I walk into whatever lies ahead, shape and use me for your glory. Amen. |
• What have you given up to follow Jesus and live his Way?
Some Uplifting Thoughts for Trying Times
Last week Amy Cattapan interviewed me about my newest book A Love Affair with God: Twelve Traits. It was the first time I was interviewed live with my face (and my apartment) showing. The interview is now on youtube. A friend who watched it commented that it was “a grand slam.” When I thanked Amy for the free marketing, I mentioned that comment. Then Amy made another video in which she shared that comment and announced that my interview had more views than any other she had done. This I can attribute to the Sisters in my community “tuning in.” (An advantage of being a Sister!)
Below is a link to the 10-minute interview video. In one part there is an echo, but it doesn’t last. In the course of my talk, I explained that one motive for writing the book was to give peace and hope to those who may be suffering or grieving during this pandemic. You might find comfort in watching the video or pass it on to someone else who might.
I hope your New Year is off to a good start. Be well!
• What truths about God give you comfort?
