The Greatest Age

The very moment your child is born the phrase, “This is the greatest age” becomes common place in your inner thoughts and frequent in your conversations with other parents. That first week when your little newborn cocoons herself from breast to shoulder… to the first giggle (who cares if it’s gas)… to the moment she sleeps through the night… to the first time you hear the words, “MaMa” out of her precious little mouth, all of these moments are monumental in the eyes of a parent.

View fullsize

And, just when you thought it couldn’t get better, that little helpless baby becomes a little helpful being who talks and walks and offers to dress herself, not caring that the hand-me-down hunting boots don’t really go with the pink tutu that adorns the purple princess dress. And, you think… “this is the greatest age!”

Then, that little princess looses her front teeth, heads off to kindergarten with tears in her eyes, makes the 3rd grade volleyball team, sings the solo at the Christmas pageant and is chosen to be the 8th-grader to crown the Blessed Mother for May Crowning, and the whole time, you revel in the comfort that “this is the greatest age.”

And then, much to your surprise, it happens again. That cute little girl begins to grow into the beautiful young lady God intended her to be, and soon you begin to realize that the time spent in high school making new friends, getting involved in activities, giggling with girlfriends to the wee hours of the night, and growing as a child of God as she delights in her activities at church all certainly must be proof that this is “the greatest age!”

View fullsize

The truth is, she will probably go on to college, become a young adult who will make a positive impact on her coworkers, maybe she will become engaged, get married, and have children… and the whole time, you will think, “This is the greatest age!”

Why? Why with each new stage do we think “this is the greatest?” The answer is simple.

This life, from the very beginning, has been a gift from God. There can be nothing greater. Life is the greatest gift. Christ, Himself, gives us that gift of life in the Eucharist. “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life” (Jn 6:53-54).

So as a parent and as a child of God, I thank Him daily for the gift of life, and I take comfort in knowing that this time with my children is “the greatest age!”

The pictures are by Laura Monahan—an incredibly gifted photographer who teaches moms the art of photographing their families at a "Mom's Night Out Workshop"... complete with food, beverages and no crying kids!

Check out Laura Monahan Photography for a "Mom's Night Out" near you! More of Laura's work can be seen at Heaven's Gift

Simple and Powerful Message from the Holy Father

TRUST IN THE LORD: THE KEY TO SUCCESS IN LIFE

“Jesus is called the Lamb: He is the Lamb Who takes upon Himself the sin of the world. One might think, how can a little lamb, so weak, take on so many sins, so much malice? With love. With his meekness. Jesus never ceased to be a lamb: meek, good, full of love, close to the little ones, close to the poor. … But he had the strength to bear the weight of all our sins, all of them. 'But, Father, you don't know my life: I have one that... I wouldn't be able to carry that weight, even with a truck'. So often, when we look into our conscience, we find some sins that are very great! But He takes them on. He came to us for this reason – to forgive, to make peace in the world, but first of all in our hearts. Perhaps some of us have sorrow in our hearts, perhaps we have darkness in our hearts, perhaps we feel a little sad for the guilt we bear... He came to relieve us of all this - He gives us peace, and He forgives all”.

“We often place our trust in a doctor, and this is good, because doctors are there to cure us. We trust in people: brothers and sisters who are able to help us. It is good to have this human trust between us. But we forget our trust in the Lord: and this is the key to success in life. Trust in the Lord – let us entrust ourselves to the Lord!”. He concluded, “this is a gamble we must take: to entrust ourselves to Him. And He never disappoints. Never, never! Listen carefully, boys and girls, those of you who are starting out in life now: Jesus never disappoints”. (Taken from the Holy Father's homily on Sunday, January 19 at the parish of “Sacro Cuore di Gesù a Castro Pretorio”.)

Reflection

Jesus came to take away the sins of the world and He didn't do it merely as something he would check off his "to do" list, he did it out of pure unending love and mercy.

I think sometimes we feel we can be a burden to the Lord, almost like we're in the mind set that since he took our sins on himself and gave his life for us, by our continued sinning we re-open his "to do" list and he has the burden to now forgive us again. That disappointment in ourselves (that we keep sinning) can cause us to shy away from the Lord—to hide in the "Garden" when he comes looking for us. Perhaps our hiding is that we let our prayer time, our time with him slip away more easily. Maybe we don't frequent the sacraments like we use to. Perhaps we fill ourselves with distractions so we don't have to feel guilty for the time being.

Pope Francis assures us that Jesus does not want this at all! The Lord does not want us to turn away from him in our sin, but rather to turn toward him, to find comfort in his Divine Mercy—to trust him even more than we trust our doctor, our close friends, our family. Think how easy it is to trust your best friend. We should trust God even more! Pope Francis refers to this as a gamble. I don't think he means that we gamble on whether or not the Lord will forgive us. (In fact, I am certain he does not mean that!) He is talking about us taking the risk in our own lives to turn toward him, to not hide in the "garden" but to walk up to the Lord in full trust of his forgiveness.

Jesus hasn't checked forgiving us off on his "to-do" list, and he is never the gamble. He is infinite mercy and he is never disappointed in us when we take the gamble in our own lives and turn to him in our sin! And best of all—he never disappoints. Never, never!

The Way of Beauty

The Distribution of the Holy Sacrament (La Disputa)

THEME: The nature of God

FOCUS OF THE MEDITATION: God is the beginning and the end and holds all things in his providential and loving embrace. We desire to acknowledge, honor, and rest in God's life and authority.

The Distribution of the Holy Sacrament

Raphael Sanzio

Room of the Signature, Raphael Rooms

Circa 1508

"Regard how God holds the sphere of the world in this pairing, how it rests secure."

Notice how Rapael depicts the "Triune God as an eternal relationship of love, a divine family where the Father is over all and in all. The Son is sent from the Father into the world through the Virgin Mary who adores him among the hosts in this fresco…. The Holy Spirit is represented here as the dove, the peacemaker and Sanctifier who leads us into all truth."

SCRIPTURE MEDITATION

Genesis 1:1-2

In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth—

and the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss and 

a mighty wind sweeping over the waters —

John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things came to be through him,

and without him nothing came to be.

What came to be

through him was life,

and this life was the light of the human race;

the light shines in darkness,

and the darkness has not overcome it.

PRAYER AND REFLECTION

"How do you relate to the Blessed Trinity? COnsider the role of each person—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—in your daily life and thank God for their eternal love.

The comments above are taken from Meditations on Vatican Art by Fr. Mark Haydu. To truly enter into this Visio Divina, I suggest purchasing the book as each masterpiece comes with a complete description, prayer and reflection, and spiritual exercise.

Let the SUNSHINE in!

God never ceases to amaze! Just when I thought the only person who read my blog was my mother, I was honored (and wee bit shocked) that my blog was nominated for the Sunshine Award.

Lest you think this award is second only to a Warwick Prize for Writing, the Sunshine Blog Award is passed on by bloggers to other bloggers who “positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere” and I am honored to have been nominated by fellow blogger Gloria Laudes (cool name, huh?) over at A Life Dedicated to Prayer.

Here are the "rules" for acceptance of this award:

1.  Use the award logo in the post.

2.  Link to whoever nominated you.

3.  Write 10 pieces of information about yourself.

4.  Nominate fellow bloggers who Nominate ten fellow bloggers "who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere."

5.  Leave a comment on the nominees’ blogs to tell them of the award.

OK, so on to ten things about me. Grab your coffee, so you don't fall asleep at this part… or your wine, so you at least enjoy your time reading!

1.  When I was six years old I wanted to change my name to Jeanie because I figured with the name change would come the super powers and the cool pink sofas enclosed in a bottle.

2. I took German in high school and to this day I can still recite the Our Father and the Hail Mary in the tongue of the people of Deutschland. I can also sing all the words to 99 Luftballons.

3. Since we are talking about singing, last month I stood in Independence Hall and sang "The Preamble to the Constitution" for my friend Patti Jannuzzi, one re-creationist dressed as Ben Franklin and a slew of passerby's wondering if I had engaged in one too many Sam Adams at the City Tavern. (Truth be told, I had not… I had just been raised on School House Rocks.)

4. I played volleyball and basketball in college, and once googled my name and saw that I still hold a record for blocking in volleyball at the school. Wild!

5. My grandma and her sister married my grandpa and his brother, so I grew up with my third cousins being like my first cousins. One big funny Irish-German family. (To clear up any confusion, there was no inbreeding, just two sisters marrying two brothers.)

6. My plan since I was a little girl was to work in the medical field, which I did for 20 years until the Lord decided He had a plan for my life, and my heart was lit on fire for Christ and my life changed through a bible study my friend Nicole signed me up for…. much to my chagrin!

7.  I love to cook and have been part of various gourmet clubs, yet even with my pompous tastebuds I find a bag of Bugles and a can of squirt cheese makes for a tasty snack. (There ya go. Now you know what goes in the open cornucopia shaped corn concoction…. cheese with the shelf life of 100 years!)

8. Speaking of corn, I studied —and I mean intently studied corn— in college. My major focused on genetics and my thesis was: The Endoreduplication Cell Cycle in the Endosperm Tissue of Maze. 

9.  I think if something is funny once, it's always funny. There are days I can think of something funny a friend said years ago and literally lay in bed and laugh myself to sleep.

10. I am aware that this blog title dates me a wee bit. (Actually, the song was hit on the top ten the year I was born.)

And my nominees are… and I REALLY read them all….

Rocco Palmo

Mark Cardaronella

Pat Gohn

Thomas Smith

Maria Morera Johnson

Sarah Reinhard

Elizabeth Scalia

Lisa Hendey

Deacon Mike Bickerstaff

Sarah Damm

Homework From the Holy Father

No fair, the Pope gave us homework! Have YOU done yours yet? 

"And do not forget your homework today: find out, ask for the date of your Baptism. As I know my birthday, I should know my Baptism day, because it is a feast day." ~ Pope Francis

Do you know the date of your Baptism? Do you celebrate it?

We began celebrating our baptismal days at the Wahlquist house a few years back when one of the kids had a K4J Challenge. We don't go overboard with the celebration. We keep it simple and centered on the Light of Christ.

We celebrate with the child's favorite dinner by candle-light... the candle-light of our baptismal candle.

"To know the date of our Baptism is to know a blessed day." ~Pope Francis

PS. Mine is July 9. (Feel free to mark it on your calendar, but no need to send me gifts as nothing could top the gift of salvation that allows me to live in communion with God!)

Daily Gospel Reflection on CatholicMom.com

Today’s Gospel: Mark 1:21-28

When I was a little girl, well before the invention of laptops, iPhones, FaceBook, Angry Birds, or Candy Crush Saga, we played games where kids actually interacted. (Insert horrified teen-age gasp.) One game that filled our afternoons was “Captain May I?” (Or some may have called it “Mother May I?”)—a game where one person has all the authority and controls the movements of the others, movements that will ultimately result in the winner reaching the finish line.

As I meditated on today’s Gospel, for some reason memories of that childhood game filled my head. Trust me, the memory of something so childish while reading a Gospel so profound was a surprise to me! (The Holy Spirit loves to keep me on my toes!)

As I initially read the Gospel with the intent of writing this reflection, my heart leapt with joy. I love the deep theological writings on Christ teaching with authority and my mind raced as how to incorporate them. Then, the Holy Spirit took a turn and brought me to the simplicity of a child’s faith.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus enters the synagogue in Capernaum and astonishes the people with his teachings, because “he taught them as one who had authority.” Often times we think of those who have authority as those who have power over others and dictate their every movement. Nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to Christ, the True Authority. 

There is no greater authority than Jesus Christ and there is no humbler servant. “Not my will, but your will be done.” (Luke 22:42) Jesus’ incarnation is the ultimate act of humility—God became man to save humanity, and in this act of utter humility, Jesus uses his true authority to lead us back to the Father. 

It’s like the ultimate game of “Captain May I.” Jesus is a true servant who gently guides us to the goal by showing us what steps to take through Scripture, through prayer, through the Sacraments, through the works of the Holy Spirit.

True authority doesn’t reside in one who dictates, it is the hallmark of one who serves.

PONDER:

Do you lead others to the Father by imitating Christ? When you share Christ with another is your heart truly thinking “how can I best serve this person’s needs” or are you caught up in getting your message across?

PRAY:

Lord, give me the humility to surrender my heart to you that I might hear the needs of others before I speak your truth.

Taken from CatholicMom.com Daily Gospel Reflections

God Loves Each of Us as if There Were Only One of Us

We all have days where we feel our plans are thwarted, where we feel all that we have worked up to has been shattered, or the prize which we were just about to grasp has been taken out of our reach. It's that gut wrenching feeling of not being picked for the team, being uninvited to the party, or seeing a road block placed right before us as we reach the destination we so strived for. It is the sense of not being understood, not being included, not being missed. 

It is the hollow feeling of being alone. Yet even in the darkness of the soul, there is hope. For in the soul there is an inner realization that we are made for more. As C.S. Lewis noted, human beings long for something that nothing in the world can satisfy, and that is because we are created for another world.  We are made for union with God, and as such, God has a plan for our lives, a plan that will lead us to Him.

Sometimes it is hard for us to recognize that plan through shattered dreams, but it is then that we must trust God, and believe that He did not leave us to navigate this journey alone. Christ has promised us the He will be with us always, until the close of the age. And if at times we don't feel that security, we can find comfort in the cross; for on the cross, Christ had "my" name on his lips. He died for "me," so that I might be saved, so that I might one day stand before the Beatific vision.

It's at times when we feel most alone that we should drench ourselves in the love of the cross and take comfort in the words of St. Augustine, "God loves each of us as if there were only one of us." 

Pray Always

"There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightul that that of a continual conversation with God."

- Brother Lawrence

The Way of Beauty

Vision of St. Helena

Scripture Meditation

Matthew 6:19-21

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. 

But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, there also will be your heart.

Vision of St. Helena

Paolo Veronese

Vatican Museums’ Pinacoteca

Circa 1580

“This richly decorated portrait of St. Helena immediately draws us into a very personal and intimate experience of prayer.”

“Tradition holds that, while clearing the hill of the Holy Sepulchre, St. Helena found the relics of the cross on which our Lord was crucified. And Veronese captures St. Helena by portraying her like a Roman goddess in the majestic moment that she received her vision of the cross.”

Prayer and Reflection

“Regard Vision of St. Helena. How does her contemplation help you see the face of God? In what way does her interior glimpse of God’s beauty invite you into prayer.”

The comments above are taken from Meditations on Vatican Art by Fr. Mark Haydu. To truly enter into this Visio Divina, I suggest purchasing the book as each masterpiece comes with a complete description, prayer and reflection, and spiritual exercise.

God Thirsts

"And forgive us our trespasses AS we forgive those who trespass against us." How often do those words roll off my lips with no regard for what I'm really asking God to do? I'm asking Him to forgive me in the same way that I forgive those who hurt me. Wow! That makes me stop and think, "How do I forgive those who hurt me?" But, hold on... that's different then, right? People really hurt me, I don't really hurt God. Do I?

St. Augustine tells us that "God thirsts that we might thirst for Him." That is a strong statement. He could have said "God longs that we might long for Him," but he didn't, he said, "God thirsts." Thirst indicates a life sustaining desire, a deep internal yearning that leads us to what is needed to survive. And God thirsts that I might thirst for Him, because I am created by God, and for God. It's a hard concept for my finite mind to grasp, that God created me for Himself and He never ceases to draw me toward Him. Yet, when I sin, I am turning away from God. I am quenching that thirst with the sin, or the pleasure of the sin, and in essence no longer longing for Him, but for the things of this world that will allot me only temporary happiness.

If I would thirst that someone might thirst for me, how devastated would I be if that person turned away from me? How hard would it be to forgive that person for the pain they caused me by their denial? I thought about that in today's Gospel about the Prodigal Son, and the one thing that hit me in that reading was, "While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him..." And, it struck me that the reason the father caught sight of him while he was still a long way off, was because the father thirsted that his son might thirst for him. And when the son did indeed "thirst" for the father, the father rejoiced. 

Next time I have to forgive someone who has hurt me deeply, I am going to remember to rejoice in that forgiveness, not to merely utter the words, "I forgive you" without meaning... and I am going to feel much more confident as I say, "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."

The Way of Beauty

Day 1: Vision of St. Helena

On January 11, I am beginning my New Year's resolution. Ok, yes, I realize I will already be eleven days into the New Year, but my resolution was to incorporate Visio Divina into my prayer life on SATURDAYS. Ok, yes, I realize I already missed the first Saturday of the New Year, but in my defense my book Meditations on Vatican Art buy Fr. Mark Haydu had not yet arrived. So, alas, I shall begin this Saturday, January 11th! (Taking into account my "cup 1/2 full" perspective, this is like beginning a diet on Tuesday —and we ALL know starting a diet on Tuesday is always more successful than beginning on a Monday!)

If you want to join me as I travel down this prayerful path that the ancients called The Way of Beauty (Via Pulchritduinis) and work to deepen my prayer life by being more aware of God's beauty that surrounds me, I encourage you to by Fr. Haydu's book.

Each Saturday I will post an art piece from one of the 12 museums that make up the Vatican Museums. I will follow the order of Fr. Haydu's book and I will post the theme and Scripture verse that accompanies the painting to meditate on as well. But truth be told, to get the fullness of the prayerful meditations, you'll want to buy Father's book. The book offers insightful summaries on each painting, prayer and guided reflections for each meditation and each chapter culminates in a magnificent spiritual exercise. (Please note: I am not making any commission on selling this book…. though I imagine my reward will be great in heaven if praying with the beauty of Vatican art deepens my relationship with Christ... and yours too!)

I'm doing this because, let's face it, I could use a little depth in my prayer life. I'm also intrigued with Visio Divina. While I was in Rome with my daughter in 2010, I spent many hours in awe of the beauty that surrounded me. How great to be able to now pray with it! To give thanks to God! To rejoice in the beauty of His creation! As always, I invite you to join me on my adventure. It would be wonderful to create some discussion around our Visio Divina experience, so please don't be shy to leave a comment on my Saturday blog posts.

Today I'm giving you a sneak peak at this Saturday's reflection, Vision of St. Helena. The theme is "Treasures that last" and I couldn't think of a better way to begin my new year than to allow God to divert my attention from the treasures of this world to treasures that never parish.

I'd love for you join me for the next 28 Saturdays as I journey along The Way of Beauty!

A Clean Start

A clean desktop on my iMac, makes life seem less stressful and offers a good metaphor for life: Clean your heart, simplify your life!

There's always been something about a clean space that has made me think, work, create better. Perhaps that's one way I am made in the Image and Likeness of God; for, He too began with a clean slate... actually, He began with a "formless wasteland and darkness covered the abyss." Now, I'll admit my iMac may at times seem like a formless wasteland as I get in a rut of saving things too quickly to my desktop, but what a wonderful feeling to see it all wiped clean and actually witness the beauty of the picture that lies underneath. 

This too is how I feel in life sometimes. I get in a rut with sin... same old sins, just increasing in quality and quantity and piling up on the desktop of my soul. How blessed I am to have the forgiveness of my Heavenly Father. To know, without doubt, that the Sacrament of Reconciliation brings forgiveness of sins and a restoring to God's grace is one of my favorite things about being Catholic. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that those receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation with a contrite heart experience a true spiritual resurrection, which is followed by a peace and serenity of conscience. That's it! That is the beauty I experience as I am joined in an intimate friendship with my Creator. That is the wiping clean of my spiritual desktop and a revealing of the beauty God has place in me... the beauty of His image... the ultimate screensaver! 

Sometimes a clean desktop is all I need to ensure a good night's sleep, but always a clean soul is what I need to ensure serenity of heart... and safeguard me from having to undergo a total reboot.

Wrap up the Christmas Season & Begin the New Year Striving to be A Star

On January 1, I watched (on TV) crazy, nutty people take the Polar Bear Plunge and throw their half-naked bodies out of the 16 below zero air temperature into icy cold waters through a hole that had been chiseled into frozen Lake Minnetonka.

Now, as a nurse, there is no way you could convince me that throwing my body, or my heart for that matter, into a fight-or-flight response would be fun: as a person whose baseline body temperature indicates she should be living in Southern California, nothing could be further from my bucket list!

So it’s no wonder that as I was making the New Year’s dinner that night, I had a the sense something was bothering me, I just I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. The second my hands hit the ice cold water I was rinsing the green beans under, I remembered! It was those crazy people risking life and limb for an adrenaline rush and a little bragging rights.

It always amazes me how I can read, hear or see something and hours later still feel it tugging at my attention. This happened on Christmas Eve. Something Catholic author and Bible teacher Sarah Christmyer wrote in our Advent Reflections on Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation “The Joy of the Gospel” (Evangelii Gaudium) stayed with me all morning.

As I sat waiting for Mass to begin at 5:00 p.m. her words filled my thoughts again. Sarah summarized the final paragraphs of Evangelii Gaudium, the paragraphs that focused on Mary as the Star of the New Evangelization, like this: 

Mary is her son’s gift to his people, Pope Francis says; then he picks up the title used by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI before him: she is the “Star of the New Evangelization.”

When I first read that, the ex-Protestant in me cringed. Don’t make her the star, I wanted to say – Jesus is the star! But her “star power” is not that of, say, Jenifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie. Mary is like the North Star, Polaris, the Guiding Star. Brightest among the stars in Ursa Minor and easy to find, it is the still point in the wheeling Northern sky. But you don’t find Polaris for its own sake, you find it so you know where North is.

“But you don’t find Polaris for its own sake, you find it so you know where North is.” Those were the words that set my heart “a pondering”.  The brightest star isn’t created for us to bask in its beauty; it is created to point us in a direction.

Then it hit me! A star, though majestic and beautiful in its own radiant light, should always point to something greater. That was exactly the role of the Star of Bethlehem. That is exactly the role of Mary, the Star of the New Evangelization. Both lead to the Perfect Light, the Light of the World, Jesus Christ, and that’s exactly what we should do. We should be stars that guide others to Christ.

One of my all-time favorite quotes is by the author of A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle:

“We draw people to Christ by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it.”

The question then follows, how do we do this? How can we be such a light to others?

There are two Christmas songs that I have known since I was a child, but it wasn’t until a new mixed version of the songs came out in September of 2010 that they climbed to the top of “My Favorite Christmas Songs” list. The song combines God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and We Three Kings and the chorus is something to be pondered, not only in light of “three wise guys,” but in light of the Blessed Mother and in light of our call to be the light of Christ to the world, to share the Gospel with joy!

After reading Sarah Christmyer’s post, I decided to reflect on the words of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings in light of three things: the star of Bethlehem, the Star of the New Evangelization, and the star we are commissioned to be. When looking at the chorus, the meaning pertaining to the star of Bethlehem is the most obvious, and one can easily see how the lyrics fit the Blessed Mother as well, but it got me thinking, “What do these lyrics mean in light of me leading others to Christ?”

Star of wonder

Star of night

Star with royal beauty bright

Westward leading

Still proceeding

Guide us to thy perfect Light

Star of wonder:

As evangelists, we should be joyful! We should radiate a light so lovely that people wonder with all their hearts, “What has she got?”

Star of night:

In times of darkness and suffering, we should shine that peaceful light of Christ. When others are suffering, our faith and compassion can bring them comfort. When we are suffering, praising and thanking God can lead us out of our darkness.

Star with royal beauty bright:

I am the daughter of a King and my mom is the Queen of Heaven. Just knowing that should make me shine with beauty bright. And get this, through our baptism we all share, according to our own vocation, in Christ’s royal mission. How can we not shine? (CCC 1546)

Westward leading:

Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden into exile, and which way do you think they headed? They headed east of Eden, away from God’s presence. As evangelists, our every action, our every word should be leading people “back to the Garden.” We should be leading people into the presence of God in all we do.

Still proceeding:

Perseverance! We must never give up sharing the Good News with the world. No matter how dark our surroundings may be—for one thing is certain, when the sun sets, darkness follows—we must always proceed forward, shining the light of Christ.

Guide us to thy perfect Light:

By having the joy of Christ in us and living that joy daily, we can be the light that guides people to “thy Perfect Light.” This is what the star of Bethlehem did. This is what Mary the Star of the New Evangelization does, and this is what we are have been commissioned to do. (Mt 28:19-20)

Hopefully this post will linger in your minds and tonight you’ll find yourself peeling potatoes and contemplating how Mary is a “star with royal beauty bright,” or maybe you’ll ponder how you have led others to “thy perfect Light” by radiating the joy of the Gospel.

Or maybe flip that scenario and ask yourself: In the past year, how has someone been a guiding light for me? How has a person led me to a deeper relationship with Jesus?

Who knows, maybe after reading this you’ll hear a song, or a Gospel reading, and see the message in a different light, like I did with the remix of two classic Christmas carols.

All that said, I want to share that song with you. As you listen to it, close your eyes and reflect on how you can be that star.

Now, please realize I can’t control the name the band gave themselves way back when, but it is with the greatest of ironies that this column, which began talking about half-naked people jumping into the frozen January waters of a Minnesota lake, found its inspiration in a remix of Christmas songs by a band whose name would indicate one would definitely feel a little chill in 16 below weather.

Here’s the remix: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings featuring Sarah McLachlan.

"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings" Feat. Sarah McLachlan From the album "Barenaked For The Holidays" available now on iTunes and Amazon

Third Millennium Wise Men: Orienting the periphery toward the “Centre”

This is one of the most beautiful, insightful and thought provoking reflections on the three wise men I have ever read, and I count it a great blessing to share it with you.

Many writings and reflections focus on the three wise men from 2,000 years ago. In this reflection, Patricia Jannuzzi focuses on the here and now —God-with-us TODAY, as she asks us to consider the three wise men God has gifted us, in our time, to lead us to His Son. 

Over two thousand years ago Our Savior was born. Angels sang. Shepherds watched. Oriented Wise men visited. The three wise men followed a Star in the Heavens to find Our God, Our Centre humbly lying in a manger. Christ arrived and lay where the animals ate. The wise kings knelt. They offered Him gifts.

Not much is known about the three wise men, such as who gave what gift, but I like to think Caspar, the youngest, offered Gold, signifying humble Kingship. Melchior, the mindful stargazer, offered the smoke of Frankincense, signifying prayer and His Divinity. Balthazar offered Myrrh, a fragrant ointment used to anoint the dead, signifying His humanity and our humanity.

The three wise men departed by a different route to protect the new born King from the jealousy and tyranny of Herod the Great. They entered Bethlehem with temporal treasure. They left with eternal treasure. They continued into the periphery. The eternal centre of Christ was stamped in their hearts, minds, bodies and souls.

Approximately two thousand years later on the cusp of the Third Millennium in the small “peripheries” of Poland, Germany and Argentina, three male infants were born to be baptized as Carol Wojtyla, Joseph Ratzinger and Jorge Bergoglio. They were lovingly raised in the tender lap of Mother Church. At a young age they encountered Christ in the “Centres” of their families and Church. As they grew up, they learned to follow the Heavenly Star, Our Blessed Mother, who led them to Christ. 

Carol joined a “living Rosary”, Joseph frequented the Marian Shrine of Otting and Jorge devoted himself deeply to Our Lady of Knots and Our Lady of Aparcedia. Like the three wise men, Mary’s prayer, the heavenly star, guided these young men to Christ. They heard The Lord ask, “What gifts do you bring to me “Carol, Joseph, Jorge?"  They answered, “Our complete lives Lord. We want to be your Priests.”  He accepted their gifts with joy! They were anointed. They became His priests!  

Each developed their God given Gifts in extraordinary ways and under extraordinary circumstances. Carol used them in the periphery of Philosophy under the dictates of Nazism and Communism. Joseph used them in the periphery of Theology under the dictates of theological Revolutionaries. Jorge used them in the periphery of the poor under the dictates of corruption.

Each had threatening adversaries such as Nazism, Communism, Corruption, Fundamentalism, Atheism, Secularism, and the worst enemy of all, betrayal from within. Each answered their adversaries with humility, love, dialogue and prayer.

Time passes but again the Star appeared and Mary prayerfully guided them to profoundly encounter Christ. Again, The Lord asked, “What gifts do you have for me Carol, Joseph and Jorge?” They responded, “Lord we have given you our lives!” The Lord continued to prod “What unique gifts do each of you have to shepherd my people, my people Universal? My people are scattered in a confused “periphery”.  They do not recognize me as their “centre” and source. They erroneously think that their hearts, minds, bodies and souls are disconnected from, and not integrated with me, their Creator and Source of life. They worship idols. They are unanchored and afloat in a dark and cold periphery. They do not look or listen to my love in my written word. They do not recognize me or hear my heart in the Eucharist. They do not see me in their brothers and sisters who suffer and are weak. What gifts do you have to offer me for my people?”   

Carol is the first to answer. He humbly states, “Like Balthazar, who offered you Myrrh for the anointing of the Body, LORD, I will offer you my body. I will teach the souls of your people ‘Theology of the Body’ which is your truth explaining why we are created male and female. I will teach them that our bodies matter. I will go even further and witness by using any bodily suffering you allow to point to you so that they might see the value of redemptive suffering and conclude that all life matters. Our embodiment matters. Divinely matters. I could offer more if it is your will, but that would be my starting point.” The Lord Says, “Go and Be Not Afraid, Pope John Paul II, I am with you.”

Joseph is the second to answer, “Like Melchior, who used his mind to study the heavens and offered you incense to point to your transcendence, LORD, I will offer you my mind and its knowledge of your  tradition, scriptures and liturgy. I will instruct your people on the transcendent nature of your Liturgy and reintroduce them to the ancient prayer of Lectio Divina and Eucharistic Adoration so that they may personally encounter your mind and heart as their Centre. I will teach them the hermeneutic on continuity and reinforce the truth that all Church teaching flows from the same source, your Centre, and does not break from the past. I could offer more, but that would be my starting point.” The Lord says, “Go and be my humble servant in the vineyard, Pope Benedict XVI, I am with you.”

Jorge is the third to answer, “Like Caspar, who offered you gold for your humble Kingship, LORD, I will offer you my heart as a heart of gold centered on the poor. Through my life witness I will lead your newly ‘centered’ people into the periphery and away from their comfort zone. I will teach them to be missionaries so that they may reach the souls of the poor, lost, confused, rejected, suffering and abandoned. I will teach them to reach out with Your Heart, Mind and Body. I will teach them to give joyfully and humbly your Mercy in the Periphery. The Lord says, “Go and walk in the periphery with my people, Pope Francis, I am with you.”

And so now it is our turn. The Lord asks, “What gifts do you bring for my people? What unique gifts do you have to build my kingdom?”

Do you generously offer the eternal centre of Christ? Do you recognize Christ who is sacramentally stamped within your heart, mind, body and soul for His mission?

The Lord has set the stage for the New Millennium! He has given us three great wise men with extraordinary gifts to lead us. Let us embrace them! Let us follow their lead and give back to God the gifts He has given us to build His kingdom. And let us go to the periphery proclaiming Christ is the Centre of our lives in all we do!

Blessed Epiphany,

Patricia Jannuzzi

NOVENA TO THE MAGI IN ANTICIPATION OF THE EPIPHANY

5 January:

O holy Magi, who were first among the Gentiles called to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and who persevered in the faith till your deaths, obtain for us of the Lord the grace of living always in conformity to our baptismal vows, ever leading to a life of faith; that like you we may attain to the beatific vision of that God Who now is the object of our faith. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.

Continue the Journey through The Joy of the Gospel

How apropos that on the Feast of the Epiphany, the day in which our novena to the Magi comes to a close, we are encouraged to continue the journey to the heart of Christ by living The Joy of the Gospel!

Twenty-four days of reading and mediating on the Advent Reflections of The Joy of the Gospel, inspired Janae Bower to share a personal exhortation of what the walk through the Holy Father's first apostolic exhortation meant to her.

Janae didn't see reading The Joy of the Gospel as a simple task that she could just check off her To Do list at the end of Advent, but rather as an opportunity to reflect on her life in light of the words of Pope Francis and ponder what his letter means to her as a wife, a mother, a woman with missionary zeal.  Yes, The Joy of the Gospel helped us prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ Child this year. Yes, the 12 Days of Christmas and the novena to the Magi helped us to begin to unwrap the wonder of the Holy Father's words. And NOW, with all this beautiful preparation in place and as we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, we are encouraged to ask ourselves, "What is the gift that we can present to Jesus in our lives this coming year?"

In this short video, Janae gives us a beautiful insight into how her heart was transformed this Advent and Christmas Season and also shares what she currently does, and is going to do, to live The Joy of the Gospel in 2014 and beyond.

I invite you to grab a cup of coffee, sit back and watch this heartfelt presentation, and I also challenge you to do the same, to make your own Personal Exhortation for the coming year! 

Click on the image below, and enJOY!

NOVENA TO THE MAGI IN ANTICIPATION OF THE EPIPHANY

4 January:

O holy Magi, who, when warned by an angel not to return to Herod, traveled back to your country be another road; obtain for us from the Lord, the grace that, after having found Him in true repentance, we may avoid all danger of losing Him again. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.

Odd Gifts for a New Born!

The Feast of the Epiphany celebrates the Magi, or wise men from the East, visiting the Christ child and bringing Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Upon first hearing this, one has to shake his head and think, “Odd gifts for a newborn.” In fact, I once saw a plaque that said if the three wise men would have been three wise women, they would have “asked directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole and brought practical gifts.” Although the plaque was comical, and probably true on many points, particularly the casserole comment -and I imagine it would have been Shepherd’s Pie- the gifts of the Magi were absolutely perfect for the newborn before them; for, they showed the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament. (Nm 24:14; Ps 72:10-11; Is 60:6) 

Frankincense, a plant resin, was used to make incense and myrrh, an ointment made from a plant resin, was used to prepare the bodies of the dead for burial. Gold was the sign of the wealth of a king. So how are these three gifts appropriate gifts for a newborn wrapped in swaddling clothes? Well, if that newborn is God Incarnate, then what better gifts than frankincense to represent the prayers made to Him, myrrh to remind us of the salvation He won for us on the cross, and gold to always keep before us that this most humble of creatures, a helpless newborn, is the King of kings? 

During the Epiphany, or “the manifestation”, Christ appeared as God-with-us to the Magi. Today, He also appears to us and we, just like the Magi, can give Him our gifts as well; we can give Him our gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Perhaps our gold is the relationships we hold dear to us, the joys of our lives, the loves. Our frankincense may be our prayers, our supplications, our thanksgivings that we lay before Him, and our myrrh, representative of our sufferings, our pains, our troubles and hurts… our deaths unto self that we face on this journey. We can bring all these gifts to the alter as we go forward and receive the greatest gift of all, the source and summit of our faith, the Eucharist. 

As we celebrate Christmas and the Feast of the Epiphany, may we be ever mindful of our need to recognize Christ’s presence with us and how we can give back, and may we adore our Lord through prayer, worship and self-sacrificing good works. These are three really good and practical gifts… for wise men and wise women alike. 

Cool Fact #1: Magi is plural for Magus, meaning a member of the priestly caste of Persia 

Cool Fact #2: Since the seventh century in the Western Church, the Magi have been identified as Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar 

Cool Fact #3: Balthasar was on the list of top ten baby names for boys in 2010… no, not really true… not at all, but who knows, maybe we could bring it back.

- See more at: The Integrated Catholic Life

NOVENA TO THE MAGI IN ANTICIPATION OF THE EPIPHANY

3 January:

O holy Magi, who offered to Jesus Christ gold, incense, and myrrh, thereby recognizing Him to be at once King, God, and Man; obtain from the Lord for us the grace never to present ourselves before Him with empty hands; but that we may continually offer to Him the gold of charity, the incense of prayer, and the myrrh of penance and mortification. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.