Set A Fire

What’s your playlist and what’s your highlight reel?

The other day I was swimming and it looked as though a Duke Basketball highlight reel was playing against the wall. Now this Duke fan was thrilled. It got me wondering what’s my highlight reel. What do envision for yourself?  What thoughts and images are on loop in your mind? Do you see success and prosperity? Do you see trial and difficulty, health and love, or sickness and fear? Do you take time to mind your mind? The thoughts we have influence the words we say, the decisions we make, the prayers we dare to utter, and the disposition of our heart. What verses of scripture do you cling to and proclaim over your heart and life? What promises do you cling to?

There is not enough room for fear and faith. So starve your doubt and feed your faith. I think of Pier Giorgio’s “highlight reel” and his play list. He yearned to constantly know the Lord more intimately and He sought Him in community, nature, his studies, and most importantly through relationship with Our Blessed Mother and The Eucharistic Lord, Himself. The song Set a Fire Comes to mind. Like the coals of a fire burn brightest when lumped together, Pier Giorgio knew the vital necessity of being connected to Christ through community and adoration. He knew Christ was His daily, Providential, provider and that He was the source of his strength and faith.

As Catholics we proclaim the Eucharist as the Source and Summit of our faith and Bl. Pier Giorgio knew the necessity of fostering the gifts he had been given by receiving the strength of the Lord. Do we run to the fire of His love so as to live more ardent charity? Let us pray for greater faith, bolder hope, charismatic love and radiant joy so that others might know the joy of the Gospel and the freedom that is found in Christ. 

Verso l’alto,

Kathryn 

No place I’d rather be then here in your love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A8almp_nCU

What it takes to come alive, got to let it go

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g9poWKKpbU 

We’ve got the Fire  and we’re gonna let it burn

(let us live with the power of the Holy Spirit)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGyEd0aKWZE

A Soldier's Hero

“He was always interested in soldiers, especially those who when the war was over, were approaching demobilization. He attended their clubs to speak about getting back into civilian life after the tragic parenthesis of war. He as deeply aware of their problems (A Man of the Beatitudes, 47).”

Modern war is extremely different from our grandparents’ age. They rallied as a society where everyone had a part to play and a role to fill. Today, we often send our troops off with the support of close friends and family. Yet, how often do many of us settle into thinking that it’s not our struggle if we are not personally affected? Bl. Pier Giorgio was aware of the struggles of veterans and he played an active role in helping them reacclimatize to civilian life.

Do we pray for our troops? Do we support them physically and emotionally as they battle the difficulties of war? Do we rejoice over their victories as they establish allies and bring peace? Do we thank them and embrace them when they come home? “Modern society is wracked with the sorrows of human passions and is moving away from any ideal of love and peace…[Therefore,] for [Pier Giorgio] living in society meant struggling for the Spirit to return, reactivating it where it was feeble and kindling it where it did not exists. (Ibid, 48).”

May we all pray with gratitude for our military personnel’s sacrifices, with zeal for their protection, and for wisdom and counsel in how to support them and their loved ones while they are abroad as well as they come home. . Let us be more grateful for the infinite blessings we have as Americans. May the Holy Spirit attune us to the responsibility that comes with such blessings. Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, pray for us. 

Verso l’alto,

Coop

To those families in the military, THANK You !!!!

Don't close your eyes don't be afraid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLuFL6ZMUJM

I won’t lose hope

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSJoZiB-UGY

Cause what day isn’t good with Bruce in the background?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZD4ezDbbu4

Pure Gift

“One evening when [Frassati and his friends] had been to a play by Gioacchino Forzano, Il Conte di Brechard, Pier Giorgio and his friends gathered informally as the Sinister Ones Society. “They specialized in cracking jokes against their “co-citizens.” Their ‘exploits’ often ended with a sack in someone’s bed, a little donkey sent to an unstudious member, ranting letters and hoaxes, but all of it carried out with pure Christian feelings that helped to create brotherhood. The members, however, followed no rules and attended no set meetings. Everything was improvised. The important thing was to be together as much as possible under the great ensign of faith.” (Man of the Beatitudes) 

The important thing was to be together as much as possible under the great ensign of faith. Last week I was speaking to a Sister who was telling a great story about a group of women in their 60s. The group had been friends for years and in fact one of their dear friends just happened to be a current Archbishop. Sister told the story as she recounted spending time with this group of women and their friend, the Archbishop, casually and jovially chatting in the comforts of one of their living rooms. The Archbishop, who was just a neophyte priest at the time, was present for their children’s births and blessed the babies when they were born. Now many years later they have fostered a friendship that has been cultivated through the years and sustained through the seasons of life. I loved this image of friendship, in the living room, which was sustained over the years. It made me ponder where might we be in forty years.

It made me think of JPII and Mother Teresa's affinity and affection for one another. I love that these pillars of Catholicism recognized the goodness in having each other's support and how they recognized the gift of friendship. They, similar, to Frassati knew the beautiful gifts God gives through friendship. There is something about old friends and there is something about dear friends. Whether you feel blessed by poignant friendships as of yet, is something to consider. Do your friends raise you up or you lower through the roof so that you might be placed front and center for healing? Do they call you to be the best version of yourself? Do you enJOY their company and make time to be together? Are you investing in wholesome friendships with those who help you know Christ better? Are you invested in mutual relationships? CS Lewis marks the Four Types of Loves in his classic masterpiece where he recognizes that foundational to love is to be vulnerable. Let us take courage to vulnerably love one another - not facebook, airbrushed, love but rather real, authentic, strong and weak, unconditional love. 

"In friendship...we think we have chosen our peers. In reality a few years' difference in the dates of our births, a few more miles between certain houses, the choice of one university instead of another...the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting--any of these chances might have kept us apart. But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking no chances. A secret master of ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you," can truly say to every group of Christian friends, "Ye have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another." The friendship is not a reward for our discriminating and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each of us the beauties of others.” (CS Lewis, The Four Loves). 

Verso l’alto,

Kathryn Grace

I’d tell you these simple truths

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t9u-LOa3OI

I get by with a little help from my friends

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MZRh3PFmBY

Just because it's one of my favorites 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co6WMzDOh1o

A Gentleman's Strength

A Gentleman's Strength

By Kathryn Cooper on Wednesday, January 8, 2014 at 12:41pm

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”  Matthew 5:5

The more I get to know Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati the more I come to love him. I was reading today about how he received a $5000 allowance once and how he immediately knew he would give the money for equipment for aSt. Vincent Conference. “With regard to money, he considered himself to be the administrator of a treasure which did not belong to him, of which he would have to give an account one day” (Man of the Beatitudes, 129).  What’s your relationship with money? How do you understand need vs. want? Are you a good steward of the gifts, (physical,intellectual, financial, emotional, or spiritual gifts) God has given you?

I used to think of meekness as being synonymous with weakness or if I’m being honest with being a doormat. I was wrong! “ [Frassati] had a willpower for himself and others. He only had to exchange a few words to win a friend, whom he then looked after and advised. His whole life was characterized by numerous intense human relationships and they consumed much of his energy that he said: ‘I feel like someone who is drowning and has to find the strength for one more stroke (Man of the Beatitudes, 129).” So frequently he asked for prayers. “I beg you to pray for me a little, so that God may give me an iron will that does not bend and does not fail in his projects”(Ibid, 130). I don’t really understand meekness. However, I’m starting to see through the example of Bl. Pier Giorgio that it is a gentle strength. “He continued to live spartanly in his freezing room, which was never heated, with barely enough blankets. His manly approach to live made his engagement in the struggle for himself and others easier. (Ibid,130).  What mortifications do you practice? We’re Catholic, these things don’t go outta style!
Let us celebrate the call to live meekness

Verso l’alto,
Kathryn Grace

Let us physically and spiritually sacrifice for others. Letus be thankful for those who stand in harms way so that we may live in safety.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJesfljJ1vk

This is just a journey, drop your worries!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmrOB_q3tjo

So that others might live : “And nothing again would be casual or small”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T281lL_6e44

The Freedom of Mary's Children

“Freedom, informed by reason, is ordered to the truth and finds its fulfillment in the goodness- the beatitude- of human flourishing, not in winning a few more skirmishes in the battle between God’s allegedly arbitrary will and mine. The truth about the drama of the moral life and about freedom is revealed, John Paul concludes, by the example of those prepared to die rather than do what they know is wrong. The witness of martyrs is a powerful counter to the claim that the dignity of freedom lies in doing things my way. The martyr teaches us that freedom is truly personal and truly liberating when it seeks the good and rejects evil, even to the point of death. Not everyone is called to be a martyr. Everyone is called to be a witness to moral truth, and “witness” is the original meaning of the term “martyr.” The threshold of hope, the threshold of human dignity, is not crossed by lowering the bar of the moral life but by reaching higher – and then, if one has failed, by reaching higher again” (Witness to Hope, 690-691). 

As Christians we can often be questioned as to why we follow certain “rules” or perform certain habits. Can’t you just do whatever you want? At the heart of this question lies a misunderstanding of freedom. The contemporary cultural proclaims freedom is having the ability to choose from a myriad of options. On the contrary, freedom is found in the ability to choose the good. It is a combined movement of both the will and the intellect, enlightened by Truth.  The martyrs show us that freedom is not a contradiction between our will and God’s as He longs for us to be authentically happy.

As I meditated on last week’s Gospel from the Holy Family these words echoed: “Out of Egypt, I called my son.” They’ve stuck with me this past week as I’ve heard Christ’s call towards freedom. The angel appeared to St. Joseph and told him to flee to Egypt until given further instructions. Then the angel told Joseph to go to Israel. St. Joseph was then warned to go to Galilee instead of Judea. Joseph played an active role in following the angel’s advice. Mary played an active role by trusting and following Joseph’s lead. Christ models dependency and empowerment by trusting His safety and life to their cooperation to God’s grace (no pressure). As awestruck as I was by the obedience, trust, and courage of Mary and Joseph, I paused to question what were Mary’s emotions? After giving birth to the Savior of the world in a stable, she found out people wanted to kill her Son and in order to avoid trouble, they were lead from one place to another to avoid danger. She was sinless, not emotionless. Yet, she protected and mothered the Christ child as she rode on the donkey while St. Joseph led them to safety.

As the Lord called the Holy Family towards safety, He beckons us to move towards interior freedom as well. It’s something we all long for, yet how often do we consciously move towards it? First, how aware are we of the ways, habits, thoughts, and fears, which hold us in captivity?

Mary, the model of grace, is the exemplar of freedom. Mary surrenders everything of herself - her life, her plans, her dreams, her emotions- to see the fulfillment of God’s promise as all she could ever want. She trusts though she might not understand and ponders the Annunciation. She runs to Elizabeth to celebrate both of their good news at the Visitation. She willingly and independently follows Joseph’s lead. She nurturers Christ in the moments of “typical” family life in Nazareth. She journeys to Calvary and witnesses the crucifixion and death of her innocent son. She also sees Jesus heal the blind, raise the dead, feed the poor, and proclaim the kingdom. Her Immaculate Heart contains all the sorrows and joys of motherhood; while also knowing Her Son’s divinity. Mary had the joy of living Emmanuel, God with us, and she offers us the same. For as she was a Mother to Christ she longs to be a Mother to each of us. 

"To those who are devoted to her, especially young people -- like Pier Giorgio Frassati, who used to come up here [Marian Shrine of Oropa] to give himself to prayer -- the Blessed Virgin proposed to be a shelter and a refuge, the heavenly Mother who opens her house to give everyone the invigorating experience of a more profound contact with God.Dear young people who are listening to me! Like Pier Giorgio, may you also discover the way of the Shrine, in order to undertake a spiritual journey which, under Mary's guidance, brings you closer to Christ. You can then become His witnesses with the conviction and keenness which characterized Pier Giorgio's apostolic activity. You will bear witness to Christ, as he did, especially in the university world, in which there are boys and girls who perhaps have not yet resolved the question of the meaning of their life. By word and example you can show that Christ has the really satisfactory solution for the crucial problems of life. Dear friends, do not hesitate to come up here in search of light and strength for your journey of faith, and a more firm hope for a courageous and consistent Christian commitment in the world of today." ( Pope John Paul II, Angelus at Marian Shrine of Oropa July 16, 1989).

Our Lady of Grace, pray for us. Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, teach us to love and trust Our Mother as you did. Help us to surrender our wills and ways to her Maternal care and concern. May we know she intercedes for us and that us loving her is the most perfect imitation of Christ. Teach us to behold our Mother. St. John, pray for us.

Verso l’alto,

Kathryn Grace

My best days are right in front of me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lA3ibjFuBA

Stand by me (and she always does)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vbg7YoXiKn0