One Great Act of Obedience

When we come together we are to share in the Eucharist.  Some had left this practice, even in the early church and Paul addresses it in 1 Corinthians 11.  We are to listen to the words of Christ and be obedient to His command that we "do this in memory of me" and eat the flesh and blood of the Lord at every assembly.  Paul understood that the ministry and traditions were to be handed down, unaltered.  To reenact the Last Supper in the mass is a great act of obedience to the Lord.  He did not ask us to do this, he commanded it.  It should be our delight like the psalmist in Psalm 40 who says, 9"To do your will is my delight; my God, your law is in my heart!" Paul is not unlike the psalmist in that he too 10"announced your deed to a great assembly; I did not restrain my lips; you, Lord, are my witness."  He admonished the early Christians by telling them that skipping this important command was doing more harm than good and was causing division amongst the church.  

Common prayer and practices unite us in Christ all across his world.  Private prayer is important too but when we come together, the mass joins us together in a great banquet with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ all across this great globe.  I'm not sure why the Eucharistic meal would be downplayed as unnecessary or as just a symbolic ritual.  The healing and grace that comes from that union with our Lord is something I hope to never miss.  There was a couple in church yesterday, later in their years, and the man was escorting his wife to receive communion.  As I watched this with great respect and admiration, he nudged her forward as if he were presenting her to the Lord.  It was so beautiful to see and you could clearly see that they understood what they were doing and the importance.  They were about to receive the great gift of our Lord.  With great humility we approach HIM, with all our brokenness, he becomes one with us.  I saw this and prayed that one day that might be Mike and I.  I prayed that he might never let me miss the Eucharistic meal, even as I near the end.  As we say those words from Luke's gospel, "For I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof", "But say the word and let my servant be healed." Luke 7:6,7, I bask in Christ's love and healing power.  For I am not worthy but He loves me all the same.  Amen

Workers in the Vineyard

This morning I was brought to tears while reading about the life of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.  At an early age of nine, I was inspired by her  profound faith and willingness to live out God's will for her.  In doing so, she was taken on quite of journey of servitude.  She lived to teach others the faith and love of Christ.  She brought people to the faith through Catholic education and eventually started a religious community of teaching sisters.  She managed to accomplish all this while being a widowed mother of five!  This moment of quiet reading provided great affirmation of my vocation of wife, mother, and lay ministry.      

I think about the call to marriage and motherhood.  As I journey through my fourth pregnancy I often get caught up in the idea that I won't be able to do anything that makes a difference for a while, especially in the area of career success.  Often I overlook the meaningful and important duties of being a wife and mother.  Our duties as a homemaker are more important than we know.  Every time we tie a shoe, wash dishes, fold clothes, wipe a face, feed our family, we are caring for one of God's children.  What a high honor.  We are doing the Lord's work even when we feel like our brains are dead and boring.  At this point in my life I am learning to see this more and more.  It's sometimes hard to grasp the beauty of motherhood when there's barely time to comb my hair, at least not until everyone is in bed and by that point it seems more appealing to collapse and forget it until morning.  Who's going to see me anyway?  

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton was a woman who was on fire for her faith.  She wanted people to receive the sanctifying grace of the Lord and to learn the way to eternal salvation.  I am an eternal learner and hope only to share the truth that I attain through my search for answers in a way that encourages thought on God and his plan for us.  I pray that others will seek truth in all things and desire truth in their faith, uncomfortable or not.  Faith isn't meant to be easy.  

This holy woman struggled through great loss of her husband at the early age of 30 and was widowed with five children to care for.  I am willing to bet that this was not the vision she had for her life but she let God take the reigns and she went along to see the greatness that would come out of this less than desirable place she now resided.  She was not an ordained religious but she had great hope for the lay faithful.  As Christians we have such an important role in the nurturing of souls for Christ's Kingdom.  What we do in our daily life for others is God's work in us.  

We need not be teachers in the professional sense but we can be teachers by our lives.  I am a firm believer of leading by example.  Our lives, lived well can be the greatest inspiration for another and we need not do more than simply live the laws of love.  We can all be saints.  The Gospel of love is meant to be shared and lived.  We are His disciples in the holy priesthood.  Be it the mother working in the rearing of her children, listening to a friend in need, feeding the poor, or attending Sunday service.  No role is insignificant if done with great love.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton http://www.ucatholic.com/saints/saint-elizabeth-ann-seton/

copyright Angela Harvotich

I love people!  Those who know me would agree without hesitation.  I don't mean in the happy flappy superficial way.  I'm talking about the way of love between brother or sister.  The love that's anything but blissful and dreamy.  This is a love that wants to guide and advise in matters of truth and life.  Call a spade a spade and a strike a strike.  Let's be real.  The focus is on real love.  The kind that hurts at times.  I do believe it's out there.  I truly believe there is lasting love that grows and matures, like the loves of generations past.  

I want to encourage a new fortitude in love.  A new fortitude in life even when it's tough beyond your wildest dreams.  Life matters.  Love matters most.  Love is multi-faceted, and involves reaching into the depths of one's soul not just at an emotional and sexual level.  Love is sacrifice, pain, joy, endurance, hope, a journey, contagious, character building.  I believe in love!  We can have love in this life.  Not some cookie cut out of someone else's but our own unique genuine love.  

Transformation in relationship often calls for confronting difficult issues and fixing things that aren't working.  This is not to say that we should find joy in pointing out our loved ones short-comings.  We are to be very forgiving, almost to a fault, but not condoning.  We are to nurture growth and reveal to each other what we may not see for ourselves.  All done out of love and a spirit of service.  In marriage, we should actively strive toward sainthood for ourselves and our spouse.  We want to see one another on the other side.  The only way we can do that is to work for each others best interests on this side of eternity.  

Let not fear hold back development of the soul. Let your spirit bloom and become filled with the Lord for he provides food for the journey.  All the things of the world are passing.  We need to set our sights higher.  We are made for transcendence.  When we stop seeking the higher life, the life of love in the spirit, we dwindle down into a pit of selfishness and stagnancy.  Further learning and risk-taking, it's crucial.  Take the opportunities that enable you to sacrifice your needs for another's.  These things bring us hope and light.  They bring us joy of the eternal kind.  Seek not self-gratification but gratitude.  An attitude of gratitude, that's the way of the saints, the stars of the spiritual life.  This life we have been given is short but not meaningless.  We are to use this time to create community and leadership for the next generation.  Leading people to love.  The lasting kind.