Good Friday Reflection on Their Last Words

A Good Friday tradition for me is to read "Seven Words of Jesus and Mary" by Archbishop Fulton Sheen. It's a small book that has a big impact on me every year.

Since I couldn't share the whole book with you, mostly because mine is high-lighted and marked up more than any other book I own (oh, and because there are copyright laws), I posted a great reflection below on the final words of Mary and Jesus. 

Take a moment, read it, and ponder it in your heart today... and always.

Good Friday Reflection:

When Our Blessed Mother saw him bow his head and deliver his spirit, she remembered that last word that she ever is recorded to have spoken in Scripture. It was to the wine steward at the marriage feast of Cana: "Do whatever he tells you."

The sweet relationship of three decades in Nazareth now draws to a close and Mary is about to give Emmanuel to us all, and she does it by pointing out to us the one and only way of salvation: complete consecration to her Divine Son. Nowhere in the scriptures is it ever said that Mary loves her son. Words do not prove love. But that love is hidden under the submission of her mind to his and her final injunction to us: "Do whatever he tells you."

Both the last recorded word of Jesus and the last recorded word of Mary were words of surrender: Jesus surrendered himself to the Father; Mary asked us to surrender ourselves to the Son. This is the law of the universe. "For all are yours: And you are Christ's. And Christ is God's" (1 Cor 3:22-23).

What's in a Name?

Pope Francis tells diplomats he choose to be named after St. Francis of Assisi, a familiar figure far beyond the borders of Italy and Europe, because:

* St. Francis' love of the poor and his heart of compassion in caring for and looking after those who suffer is a beautiful example of how we must all help the sick, orphans, the homeless and all the marginalized, thus striving to make society more humane and more just.

* We, as St. Francis, need to work to build a bridge of peace. We must tear down the barricades that allow the spiritual poverty of our time, the 'tyranny of relativism', which makes everyone his own criterion and endangers the coexistence of peoples, and build a bridge on the foundation of truth.

Fighting poverty, both material and spiritual, building peace and constructing bridges: these are the reference points for a journey that Pope Francis invites us to take up... and guess what, in choosing his papal name, he gave us just the model to follow!

The Importance of Family Evident to Our Holy Father

Pope Francis' Coat of Arms is MOTTO OF MERCY - “miserando atque eligendo”- surrounded by the HOLY FAMILY. The shield has a blue background, and three symbols representing Jesus, Mary and Joseph.)

At a time when the family is under the greatest attack, our new Holy Father’s first major actions as shepherd subtly emphasize the HOLY FAMILY.

In his humble accepting of the call to be Pope, Pope Francis, like Christ, submitted himself with complete obedience to God’s will.

He began his first day as the Vicar of Christ in prayer to the Blessed Mother to protect his “children” under her mantle.

And, he set his Inauguration Mass to take place on the Feast of St. Joseph —a feast recognizing the obedience and trust of a righteous man, a man chosen by God to protect, nurture, and provide for both His son, Our Lord, and His greatest masterpiece, Our Blessed Mother.

The Newest Addition to Our Family!

​Early this morning over my much needed coffee, I adopted a Cardinal, and WOWZA… I got the Vicar General of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome, Archpriest of the papal Lateran Basilica and Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Lateran University, Cardinal Agostino Vallini. This is where the body of Christ astonishes me—to think this great holy man will prosper from my simple meager prayers. God is so good allowing us all to play our part in building up His kingdom.

If Cardinal Vallini thought his mother hovered over him back in his childhood days in Barra, he ain’t seen noth’n yet! I’m bombarding Our Blessed Mother with prayer asking her to be at his side constantly and to bring her Spouse, the Holy Spirit, to be with the Cardinal always to guide his every decision.

Come Holy Spirit living in Mary, watch over my newly adopted son… um, I mean Cardinal.

​Check out the website Visit AdoptACardinal.org It's awesome! It encourages the faithful to be a prayerful part of the upcoming conclave by praying fervently for all of the Cardinals, but in a special way for their “adopted” shepherd. 

Finding Peace in Pondering Prayer

Have you ever wondered, "Why me Lord?" Have you ever thought, "Why is this happening to me?" 

Sometimes it is so hard to stand in our suffering and confusion and see any rhyme or reason. In those moments, look to the one woman who suffered the most and yet responded with the purest faith and the most ultimate courage, and follow her lead—hold those moments in your heart (Luke 2:51).

When life confronts you with what appears to be obscure events, take them to your heart and ponder, "What does this mean in light of God's will for me?" That's what Our Lady did, even in her greatest suffering, and from it arose the greatest joy —being with Him forever in heaven!

Do I Have To Go?

I'm exhausted! Why do I have to get up to go to Mass? Can somebody PLEASE tell me why?

Yep, and that somebody was Moses in the first reading today. (Deut. 26:4-10) He pretty much said, "Let's remember how God saves. Let's remember God's mercy—and let's be thankful."

Moses shows us that when we DEPEND on God we give Him thanks, we go to Him for forgiveness, we bring our petitions before Him, and we praise Him. Sound familiar? It's the Mass. When we don't DEPEND on God, we turn to power, glory, fame and riches to fill that void. Sound familiar? It's the excuses that cause us to remain "asleep" in our faith.

Moses taught the Israelites and he teaches us today that our need for God flows from our brokenness and our thankfulness .

This Lent, take 5 minutes before Mass to review why you are thankful, to think of what you need forgiveness for and assistance with, and to offer your praise to God.

Without It, I Am Nothing

Love is a paradox. It is a meeting place between our weakness and our strength. We must be humble enough to receive it in our weakness and courageous enough to give it to others in their suffering.

Once we receive God's love, it is a love we are compelled to share. Once we share God's love, the world is filled with His glory.

More Blessed Than One Who Held Him

"Simeon gave back Jesus to His Mother, he was only suffered to keep Him for one moment. But we are far happier than Simeon. We may keep Him always if we will. In Communion He comes not only into our arms but into our hearts." ~St. John Vianney

Simeon was blessed to have Jesus in His presence for but a moment, how much more are we blessed to be in the presence of Jesus in adoration and to have Him present in us as we receive Him in the Eucharist!

This week as you receive Communion, ponder the profoundness of how blessed you are to have Christ come into your heart. 

"Until God Opens the Next Door, Praise Him in the Hallway"

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I remember watching The Sound of Music as a little girl on television right around Easter. Yep, that was back in the pre-historic days, the days before DVDs or even VHS. The one line that always stuck with me was when Maria says, "Where the Lord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window." This message of hope that captured me in the sincerity of Julie Andrews' voice is a message I often referred back to whenever I encountered what I thought was an opportunity lost—a door closing. It was a message that always proved to be true, where the Lord closed a door, somewhere He opened a window.

Then one day, another door closed and I headed back to my "Fraulein Maria words of comfort," and I waited, and I waited, and I waited and it seemed as though either God didn't know someone had shut the door, or He had forgotten how to open the window. So I waited, and as time passed, the lack of spotting an opening brought with it some discomfort, then some questioning, and then some down-right honest anxiety. Why wasn't Julie Andrews coming through for me this time?  Was I destine to live in sadness and heartache?

Turns out, it wasn't the words of Julie Andrews I needed to rely on, it was the word of God, so I went there, and I found, "Have no anxiety about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." (Philippians 4:6)  And I found, "For I know the plans I have or you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11) ... and I took comfort, but I still didn't see the window opening.

So what do you do when you don't see that streak of light breaking through the window to conquer the darkness? Easy, you praise God! What? Yep, you praise God. Salvation and Church history are riddled with stories of praise and thanksgiving during times of suffering and great trial. Job experienced life at its worst; David faced years of terror running from Saul; and St. Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into prison, yet all responded by singing praise to God.

So, how do we give praise in times of suffering? Here are three simple ways:

1. Just simply pray. Every time we pray we are communicating with our Father, we are talking to Him. What father doesn't want to hear from his children in their time of need? Communication draws us into a deeper relationship. Communication in times of heartache, draws our hearts closer. Isn't that what it's all about? Our hearts being one with God?  In the words of St. Augustine, "My heart is restless, O God, until it rests in Thee." And, what father's eyes don't smile when he hears words of gratitude from the mouth of his child. So just talk to Him, talk to your Father, thank Him. If you can't come up with the words, reflect on Psalm 113 and "Praise the Lord." How wonderful to turn our thoughts from our suffering to boundless hope and trust in the Lord. 
2. Sing a song. Yes, I know for those of you who know my singing skills, you are thinking this is anything BUT pleasing to God; but get this, my praising Him isn't so much about Him as it is about me. I don't mean that selfishly, I mean that with great humility. God doesn't need my praise, but I need to praise Him to grow closer to Him. Through song, I can be taken away to another world to reflect on His great love and mercy. Since He didn't gift me with a singing voice, but He did gift me with an iPod, I find closing my eyes and listening to Laura Story's song Blessings always gives me hope and helps me know how great He is, or How Great He Art.
3. Offer it up. I know, what does the mean? It took me a long time to "get" this one. For years I heard people say that, and as I prayed I'd "offer it up," but I never felt anything. It's almost like I was thinking once I said those words, suddenly, "poof" my pain would be gone. Then one day at Mass while praying after Communion and "offering up my pain," it hit my heart. I felt it. The pain wasn't gone, but something was added—a contentment came in knowing my pain could make a difference. Ahhh, redemptive suffering. I finally got it, and even when I didn't understand, but "offered it up," it still had meaning. 

So, Fraulein Maria was right, "Where the Lord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window." The catch is, sometimes that window takes longer to open than we had hoped. It's up to us what we do while we wait. I say, do what you naturally do when you're waiting for something. Grab a good book, actually, grab the best book, grab the Bible, and listen to the words of your Father. Then, simply talk to Him. Put on some good music or sing a song of praise, because Our God is an Awesome God. And, above all, know that your suffering has meaning, and offer it up for another. (If you can't think of someone to offer it up for, you might want to do so for the person next to me when I'm waiting for my window to open and singing my songs of praise at the top of my lungs!)

CHOOSE JOY!

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Christ's entire mission is summed up in this: to baptize us in the Holy Spirit, to free us from the slavery of death and 'to open heaven to us', that is, access to the true and full life that will be 'a plunging ever anew into the vastness of being, in which we are simply overwhelmed with joy'." Benedict XVI, Angelus, January 13, 2008