Pulling Over

Pulling Over

• Gospel LK 1:5-25
• In the days of Herod, King of Judea,there was a priest named Zechariahof the priestly division of Abijah;his wife was from the daughters of Aaron,and her name was Elizabeth. Both were righteous in the eyes of God,observing all the commandmentsand ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barrenand both were advanced in years.
  
  Once when he was serving as priestin his division’s turn before God,according to the practice of the priestly service,he was chosen by lotto enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense. Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outsideat the hour of the incense offering,the angel of the Lord appeared to him,standing at the right of the altar of incense. Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him.
  But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah,because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,and you shall name him John. And you will have joy and gladness,and many will rejoice at his birth,for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb,and he will turn many of the children of Israelto the Lord their God. He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijahto turn the hearts of fathers toward childrenand the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous,to prepare a people fit for the Lord.”
  Then Zechariah said to the angel,“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel said to him in reply,“I am Gabriel, who stand before God.I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. But now you will be speechless and unable to talkuntil the day these things take place,because you did not believe my words,which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariahand were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them,and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He was gesturing to them but remained mute.
  Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home.
  After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived,and she went into seclusion for five months, saying,“So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fitto take away my disgrace before others.”

In a results driven society, how much do we value the process? It took me five hours to get home from physical therapy the other night. I was in enough pain to be worried about passing out that I had to pull over a few times. She was twenty years older than me and yet she called me Mam. I met her at the last service stop on the way home. The same one I’ve been passing once a week for the past three months. I recognized her as I got out of the car and started a conversation. To say she’s in a tough spot would be an understatement. To say we were both looking for Christmas miracles is true. I don’t know if her prayers were answered but I know that us meeting was the reminder I needed about God’s timing.

Last week I was going to write a reflection on this Gospel. Though the truth is as much as I was going to write it, I barely even read it never mind meditated on it.  A friend mentioned that there might be more than a few things God would show me through Zechariah’s situation. At quick glance, I garnered there was some part about Zechariah getting good news and then having to wait to talk never mind  see the fulfillment of said good news that struck me as a “I’m sure there is a wonderful lesson in here that I don’t want to be asked to live right now” kind of way. Thus, I avoided it. The thing though is that in my attempt at avoidance, it’s all I kept thinking about.

The first thing that came to mind was a New Years Resolution I was offered in confession over three years ago. Fr. Dom, a soft spoken, gentle, Dominican priest from Australia who I met in New Zealand, encouraged me to “love your mess and rip up your time table.”

As we celebrate Christmas, can you recognize Jesus’ presence in our mess -the unresolved questions, the answered prayers, our own weakness? As we contemplate love incarnate laying in the stable, can you place your own heart in the manger and love all that is unsettling for you?

Even more so, can you rip up your time table and surrender to God’s good timing? Now I don’t know why God made Zechariah mute (sorry to disappoint), but as I think about that time for him and Elizabeth I can’t help but wonder the ways they grew in communication and love like they never knew before.

We don’t plan the road blocks, detours, or the times we have to pull over. Yet, if we let them, God’s presence, lessons, life and love, can be found in these presents. In fact one of the lines that jumped out to me was “people were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary.” Zechariah had an encounter with the angel and he remained in the sanctuary. Do we create the space and take the time to reverence the moments  God speaks to   us?

Do you love your mess and have you ripped up your time t able?
I dare you to allow 2014 to be the year you do both for you will have joy and gladness. "In God's marvelous plan, Divine Providence often uses the tiniest twigs to do good works... What would life be without acts of charity?" St. John pray that like Pier Giorgio we may soar verso l’alto,

Merry Christmas,
Coop

Love is too much to give us lesser Things
http://veopod.com/video/1CSVqHcdhXQ

• God bless the broken road
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYodFrBf0BE
• Giver of Immortal Gladness, Fill us with the  Light of Day

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=09BBC1NU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ_MGWio-vc

Advent: A Call to Adventure

The other day I picked up the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It’s a favorite and the fact I can actually say it was a college “text” book makes it even better. (Yes, kids. Providence College is the best!) The opening chapter sets the stage of fairy tale. As a result of a rainy day, the children are forced to stay inside; however, their adventurous spirits guide them to explore the house. They see infinite possibilities behind each door, literally.

Recently I was meditating on the Blessed Virgin Mary, carrying the Christ Child during her pregnancy. I saw Joseph leading the donkey through the desert. Mary sat peaceful and still. In the background, I heard the back seat driving New Yorker in me pipe up: “Where the hell are we going?”  As I echoed this question recently to my unresponsive apartment walls, it was paired with some hand slamming onto the kitchen table to the point of bruising. To say it was a far cry from the joyful hope of the children who explored Narnia might be the understatement of 2013. As adults we call it “the unknown” where as when we are children we call it adventure. Let us reclaim the call to come with child like faith, trusting the unknown to the joyful adventure God has in store for us. Let us hear the call of advent, to come, to God’s glorious adventure.

Juan Diego didn’t know when he arrived at the Bishop’s that Our Lady of Guadalupe would leave an imprint of her image on his tilma. He didn’t know that she would bring out-of-seasons roses to him on the hill. He didn’t know Mary would intercede and that his uncle would be healed. But we do. We know that Mary advocates for us. We know that God wants to shower us with miracles. Is your heart open to the infinite possibilities of love and hope that God wants to bestow on you today? Do you believe in miracles? Are you open to all He wants to give you this day? How do you prepare your heart to receive the miracle of His life giving love? Let us wait with joyful Hope and proclaim His presence in the womb.

"Hear and let it penetrate into your heart, my dear little son [or daughter!]: let nothing discourage you, nothing depress you. Let nothing alter your heart or your countenance. Also, do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety or pain. Am I not here who am your mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not your fountain of life? Are you not in the folds of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms? Is there anything else that you need?" Our Lady of Guadalupe. 

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of life, pray for us. Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, intercede so that we may abandon ourselves to Our Lady's care as you did. 

Verso l'alto, 

Kathryn

Amazing Grace how sweet the sound, I hear you singing over me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckheyK6NXgA 

It's where I learned the path to heaven is full of sinners and believers 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBTpoKvre84

Counting Your Blessings

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qmMaPTuTEE

Advent: To Come

Advent : To come

Broken and poor

Stripped and barren

We come

Broken by disappointment

Impoverished for pride

Stripped with humility

Barren of hope

We come

--

I haven’t read the book of Job in over a year but if I’m honest, it feels like life’s been a lot like Job’s these days. Now, there are many role models  we might yearn to emulate from the Bible; I cant’ say Job has ever made my top 10 list. I say that with all due respect as it actually has little to do with Job. The lot of his existence is plagued with suffering, stripping, and difficult trials that if he had endured just one round of trial, people would understand how it might cause a strong man to doubt and crumble. Yet, he is struck with the perfect storm and is barraged with trial.

Tuesday’s With Morrie has been on my book shelf for years and in it  a dying professor gives one last seminar to a young student on the Meaning of Life, taught from experience. During one of their weekly classes, the student poses the question about Job. “Job is a good man, but God makes him suffer. To test his faith. Takes away everything he has, his house, his money, his family, his health. “ Mitch, the student, asks Morrie, “What do you think about that?” “I think”, [Morrie] says smiling, “God overdid it.” 

It’s important to remember, when we are in between the throws of accepting difficulty, that it is okay to find humor. Not as a defense mechanism but as a means to lighten the load and to express truth that sometimes it’s too much to bear. Whether we can rejoice in suffering and see the good joy God gives in the midst of the crucifixion or whether we question the meaning of the trials in our lives,  God doesn’t ask us to wait to come to Him. He doesn’t ask us to come pretty, wrapped with a bow, and perfect. He doesn’t ask us to wait until we have it all together, all figured out, or even for when we have faith.He calls us to come so that we might know He comes. 

He is the light in the darkness and Advent is a call to sit to prepare our hearts so that we might know He is near. Whether you are signing along and decking the halls or if you are just not feeling “Christmasy”, we are all called to remember the call of Advent - to sit and witness again the Truth that the Light has come into the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. Let us proclaim Christ’s birth and see His presence anew each time we meet Him in the Eucharist and in one another. Let us sing as the Angles sing all glory and praise for His presence through all seasons. Let us ring out the Truth that blessed is she who believed the Word would be fulfilled. 

Lord, we thank you for the gift of Bl. Pier Giorgio and Bl. John Paul II’s lives as they were pillars of light. Let us emulate them and ask that they intercede so that we might more joyfully proclaim the true meaning of Christmas.

Verso l’alto,

Kathryn 

I find meaning so I'm holding on

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5bnnagxt38

 O to grace how great a debtor, Daily I'm constrained to be!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG5ZhFN1DXk

Let’s remember to pray for those whom Christmas is difficult, who “don’t feel Christmas at all”. Let us be lights.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1rYmzQ8C9Q

Be One of the Ones

GospelLK 17:11-19

As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten persons with leprosy met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying,
“Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!”
And when he saw them, he said,
“Go show yourselves to the priests.”
As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply,
“Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?”
Then he said to him, “Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you.”

I want to be one of the ones. I want to be the one who comes back to give thanks! I’ve been thinking of this a lot lately. God gives us miracles daily and yet how often do we proclaim His goodness and remember Him as the giver of all good blessings? How often do we stop to pray prayers of thanksgiving when our prayers are answered before we start petitioning the next set of needs and questions? How often do we give thanks for things we take for granted – freedom, safety, housing, food, faith, friends, family, hope, eternal life, love and education to name a few.

One of the characteristic’s I’ve noticed in the lives of the saints is their radical gratitude, in all seasons. They proclaim God’s goodness not because of what they get but because of who God is.

Are you standing in a place of abundance? Maybe it’s easy for you to give thanks this Thanksgiving as you stand in fields of plenty. Maybe you are walking through the desert where the sun is scorching, the land is cracked, and the air is arid. Either way, we are called to live a life of abundance. I’m not talking about commercialism, consumerism, Black Friday is starting at 10 pm abundance. (And believe me, you’ll be thankful I’m avoiding that tirade). No, the abundance we are called to live rests on Truth, an eternal Truth, who came to life; a Truth whose name is Love; a Truth who came in the stillness of a manger to a humble Jewish girl; a Truth who selflessly gave His very Body and Blood on the cross and who in the midst of agony proclaimed thy will be done. For even when we walk through the shadow of death we shall fear no evil for Truth has set us free. The victory’s been won, kids!

How often do we proclaim it in the midst of difficulty? Are you living as if you’ll believe more when (insert whatever or whoever you are waiting for arrives)? Are you waiting for things to change and then when they do you’ll be more grateful, thankful or more joyful?

We are called to see before we see. We are called to live the abundant miracles God has for us today. I’m more convinced than ever that miracles happen – they are happening, have happened, and will happen. Are you seeing them? Or are you the ostrich who has their head in the sand focused on what’s not going right that you are missing the beauty of the present moment?

Don’t let the miracles God wants to give you go unopened. The greatest gift we can ever delve into is our faith. By it, we come to know Love unending and enables even those of us standing in abundant fields, to live life in color.

Verso l’alto,

Kathryn

I am overwhelmed
With a joy divine

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/i-am/id740245282?i=740245353&ign-mpt=uo%3D2

Don't you go and, let the world weigh you down

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNK96nZk0Hk

Foundations

Are you a comfortable, anonymous Catholic? Well good morning to you as well, Father. Without asking, the priest asked. He preached on the growing irreligious sense of our culture, he intoned the need to preach with word and example in the marketplaces of our contemporary society – at work, amongst family and friends. Father recognized the ease with which many of us attend Mass and pray and yet shut the door of our faith when we walk out of Church.

To be a Christian is to be a light bearer. If Christ is the light of the world and if, as He commanded, “I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the utmost parts of the earth,” we are called to bear His light (Acts 13:47). In a world often cluttered with noise, stuff, and distractions it is easy for our hearts to dismiss the importance of the big questions: who am I, why am I here, how am I called to receive from and give to God and others love; how do my thoughts, words, and deeds pertain to Christ’s call of self denial so that I may “go by the same way as Christ went, in the humble form of a servant, in want, scorn, and mockery, not loving the world and not beloved by it?” (Gospel  of Suffering, 19). How often do I remember that the only judgment that matters is Christ’s in the light of eternity? These are serious questions which bear significance and therefore require adequate reflection. Some of these answers will be and are foundational. Others of these are seasonal and mere accouterments to the structural foundation we decide upon. Recently I’ve been thinking of the sand castles I spent building during my early twenties. Now I don’t believe any labor when in light of Christ is done in vain; however, when sand castles are seemingly washed away it does prompt one before rebuilding to question: Are you building sand castles or fortresses? Is the Lord the cornerstone?

“John Paul said that he … believed that young people were capable of greatness. His hope was strengthened whenever he met the young because ‘the longing present in every heart for a full and free life that is worthy of the human person is particularly strong in youth… Being young is a time designed by God for searching” (Witness to Hope, 684-685). Let us be thankful for this time of searching. Let us be thankful for this time when Christ offers us Himself as our foundation. Let us be thankful for the grace to renounce all that leads us astray. Let us be thankful for the courage to sit in the school of silence and to daily decide our foundation.

Bl. Pier Giorgio knew the value in this search. He would ascend to the heights physically amongst the mountains while also spiritually ascending the way of perfection. He, in his youth, answered these questions. Sometimes we think of the saints as people who just are walking along and as though their way was their way. Rather, it is important to recognize they all faced the same choices that we face today. How am I called to lay down my life for the sake of the Gospel? As a response to God’s love, the only proper response is self-giving love. The saints availed themselves to God’s grace, opened themselves to God’s plans, and decided to journey on the narrow way because Christ called and because they testify that the yoke of the Lord is light. He who bears His cross will find much joy.

“There are moments in which the human soul, free of all fetters, laid bare, reveals more to others than itself. On that sad winter afternoon at the railway station, I read in my brother’s farewell the signs of his dismay. He trembled all over and his tears fell almost dry from eyes burning with pain. He could not form whole words; they came out with a stammer that almost turned into a scream. (Man of the Beatitudes, 115).”  The saints were faced with the question of renouncing societal average as their path as well as how to bear real sorrow with joy. Let us have the courage to share and show our wounds to Christ. The Divine Physician wishes to heal our hurts and glorify our wounds. As God courageously bears the wounds from the wood of the cross for us to see, let us too vulnerably approach the cross with both the surety and joy of the resurrection and the humility of the manger.

Verso l’alto,

Kathryn Grace

Love's the only house big enough for all the pain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzM_lxnzi64

Don’t let your praying knees get lazy and love like CRAZY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0f5g18EbG4

You're not alone...We've all got bruises 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mil8F3qfLqk

Eyes of Faith

“Yes, ‘tremendous are the deeds of the Lord! Shout joyfully to God all you on earth’ (Ps. 66:1-3). The verses of the Psalm resound…as a living echo of young Frassati’s soul. Indeed, we all know how much he loved the world God created! “Come and see the works of God’ (Ps 65/66:5): this is also an invitation which we receive from his young soul and which is particularly addressed to young people. Come and see God’s ‘tremendous deeds among men’ (ibid). Tremendous deeds among men and women! Human eyes- young, sensitive eyes- must be able to admire God’s work in the external, visible world. The eyes of the spirit must be able to turn from this external, visible world to the inner, invisible one: thus they can reveal to others the realm of the spirit in which the light of the Word that enlightens every person is reflected (cf. Jn 1:9). In this light the Spirit of Truth acts.” (Man of the Beatitudes, 160)

Bl. JP II acknowledges Frassati’s ability to not only see God’s splendor and magnificence in the glory of the mountains and the created earth but also within the heart of each person he met. It is the eyes of faith which allowed Bl. Pier Giorgio to reveal to others their God given dignity. His supernatural eyesight saw the reality that we are each created in the image and likeness of God and held into being by His steadfast love for us. We are called to reveal this to others and we are called to live this Truth, the light of the word enlightens every person,  for ourselves as well.

Additionally, our eyes of faith call us to look upon the bread and wine and to see the body and blood, soul and divinity of Christ. Do we really believe each time we attend Mass that the Lord of Hosts who created Heaven and Earth comes to reside not only in the tabernacle but in our hearts. Not just in the spiritual reality that He lives within us by His grace but that Christ’s very presence from the manager to the cross becomes Incarnate for and in us. Do we believe that wholeheartedly?

I was recently listening to Gone, Gone, Gone by Philip Phillips and there was so much about the song that captured my attention this particular time. More to come on that but for now not only does it remind me of God’s song to us as Prodigals as he sings “I love you long after you are gone, gone, gone,” but Phillips also sings “like a drum my heart never stops beating for you.” It reminds me of the Eucharistic miracle in Lanciano, Italy.

“One day at mass, a Basilian monk started doubting the real and substantial presence of the Flesh and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the consecrated Holy Species. After having pronounced the words of Consecration (“This is My Body... This is My Blood”), as Jesus had taught it to His Apostles, the monk saw the host change into a living piece of Flesh, and the wine change into real blood, which thereupon coagulated and split into five globules, irregular and differing in shape and size. We quote excerpts from a document kept at Lanciano:

 ‘Frightened and confused by so great and so stupendous a miracle, he stood quite a while as if transported in a divine ecstasy; but finally, as fear yielded to the spiritual joy which filled his soul with a happy face, even though bathed with tears, having turned to the bystanders, he thus spoke to them: `O fortunate witnesses to whom the Blessed God, to counfound my unbelief, has wished to reveal Himself in this Most Blessed Sacrament and to render Himself visible to our eyes. Come Brethren, and marvel at our God so close to us. Behold the Flesh and the Blood of our Most Beloved Christ.’

in 1981, there took place a scientific investigation by the most illustrious scientist Prof. Odoardo Linoli, eminent Professor in Anatomy and Pathological Histology and in Chemistry and Clinical Microscopy. He was assisted by Prof. Ruggero Bertelli of the University of Siena. [They did not know the source was a host] Their analyses sustained the following conclusions:

The Flesh is real flesh. The Blood is real Blood.

The Flesh and the Blood belong to the human species.

The Flesh consists of the muscular tissue of the heart.

In the Flesh we see present in section: the myocardium, the endocardium, the vagus nerve and also the left ventricle of the heart for the large thickness of the myocardium.

The Flesh and the Blood have the same blood-type: AB (The blood-type identical to that which Prof. Baima Bollone uncovered in the Holy Shroud of Turin). In the Blood there were found proteins in the same normal proportions (percentage-wise) as are found in the sero-proteic make-up of fresh normal blood. In the Blood there were also found these minerals: chlorides, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium and calcium. The preservation of the Flesh and of the Blood, which were left in their natural state for twelve centuries and exposed to the action of atmospheric and biological agents, remains an extraordinary phenomenon. “

The Eucharist contains the heart of Christ. Not a hallmark, roses are red, pretty hearts kind of heart. The physical flesh of God and not in a it used to be that kind of way. Just as our hearts continue to beat, so too does the Lord’s heart never stop beating for us. As He was crucified on Calvary and as He laid in the stillness of the manger, He is a living God who longs to be with us. Let us see with eyes of faith His presence in our lives and His insatiable love that continues to beat for us. Let us trust that even though we shall die and our hearts will one day physically stop, His steadfast love never tires of loving us. Let us receive His love with great joy. Let us receive His body and blood with gratitude and belief.

“Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.” Bl. Pier Giorgio, pray for us.

“The exuberance of the life of the party and monastic concentration were expressions of the very same spiritual disposition: be it on the mountain peaks or at the feet of the Tabernacle, [Pier Giorgio’s] transparent soul encountered God with similar ease.” (An Ordinary Christian, 80).

Verso l’alto,

Kathryn Grace

Like  a drum, my heart will never stop beating for you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72gqtG0U__A

As close as a heartbeat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_wb38KMXLs

One thing remains : It is what is unchanging in your life that makes sense of change.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_KXsMCJgBQ

Every Rose Has It's Thorns

“‘Faith enables us to bear the thorns with which our life is woven.’ These words of Pier Giorgio’s are from a note dated “Turin: 3.5.1925 to Clementina Luotto, whose mother was ill."”  (A Man of the Beatitudes, 133).

The Christian path is scattered with roses and the sweet fragrance they emit envelopes us as we journey towards the resurrection and eternal life (especially if you are friends with St. Therese). That being said, the Lord of Hosts, who came as a babe in the manger, was crowned with a crown of thorns – a piercing reality which punctured skin and drew blood.

We all face difficult moments in life. We all bear crosses which feel (operative word) at times as though they carry with them a crushing weight. I’m not making light of this reality as it can both feel overwhelming and literally bring us, like Jesus, to our knees when we fall under the weight of the cross which we carry. Blessed John Paul II recognized that for Pier Giorgio “The secret of his apostolic zeal and holiness is to be sought in the ascetical spiritual journey which he traveled…[and] in [his] peaceful acceptance of life’s difficulties.” (A Man of the Beatitudes, 157). 

As I was walking to Mass this morning I was inquiring what is the etymology of the word acceptance? I took Latin for six years. Sometimes I have these thoughts. Anyway, acceptance is derived from acceptare, which means to receive. Acceptance is authentically proclaiming thy will be done and receiving the answer with unshakeable faith and gratitude. It is a vision that it is the cross which leads to the resurrection. Acceptance is recognizing the beautiful union of joy and suffering. These are not divorced realities. Just as a rose intrinsically has both a flower and thorns in order to be a rose, so as Christians we see the unity of death and eternal life, suffering and joy, for to accept the crown of thorns is to accept the crown of life.

Each cross is fashioned individually for each of us to more intimately know God’s sacrificial and enduring love. Let us joyfully accept the crosses God gives us for they are fashioned individually to ourselves so that we may know everlasting joy, eternal hope, and redeeming love.

Verso l'alto, 

Kathryn 

“Don’t be afraid of the thorns.”

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

Let Him be the Author of Salvation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR8rlTIU8_Y

“Everyday’s another chance to start to look around and see where we are is where we were trying to get to.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsoGbyoq0wE

Wait

5/9/2013 

A Meditation for the Ascension

Acts 1: 1 - 11 

In the first book, Theophilus,
I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught
until the day he was taken up,
after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit
to the apostles whom he had chosen.
He presented himself alive to them
by many proofs after he had suffered,
appearing to them during forty days
and speaking about the kingdom of God.
While meeting with them,
he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem,
but to wait for “the promise of the Father
about which you have heard me speak;
for John baptized with water,
but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

When they had gathered together they asked him,
“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons
that the Father has established by his own authority.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
throughout Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth.”
When he had said this, as they were looking on,
he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.
While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going,
suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.
They said, “Men of Galilee,
why are you standing there looking at the sky?
This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven
will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”

  

He charged, ordered, them to wait. “Thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel. By waiting and by calm you shall be saved. In quiet and in trust your strength lies. Yet the Lord is waiting to show you favor, and he rises to pity you; for the lord is a God of justices: blessed are all who wait for him!” (Isaiah 30: 15, 18). I don’t know about you but if you’ve ever seen anybody tell a bunch of New Yorkers to wait they rarely respond in kind with a “thank you for this opportunity.” In fact, four letter expletives are rather the norm. Why do we fear waiting? Why are we annoyed with a yes but not now? He charged them to wait for the promise of the Father, for the baptism by the Holy Spirit. It’s not like God said, “hey, stick around! It’s gonna be average.” No, He makes promises of goodness and blessing. Today we recall that not only did Christ rise from the grave but He also ascended to the Father and remains there for all ages. He sits at His right hand and all resides under His dominion. His plans are good. His timing is great.

Most often what we are immediately seeking pales compared to what we ultimately long for. Most often we want to run straight out of the transition of longing for what we want into obtaining what we desire. But what if we are running ourselves straight out of the grace and formation that is necessary for us to more fully embrace what God wants to give us. What if this time of waiting is in fact a gift we are denying ourselves? Heck, Jesus had thirty-three years before going public with His ministry. It’s hard to say that time was fore naught. What are you waiting on? What are you missing in the here and now, in the light of eternity?

Have you ever found yourself begging the Lord and then when He grants your hearts desires you all of a sudden have a litany of reasons why now isn’t the best time to be bold and leap in faith? If we are not careful we can wind up on a see saw of waiting, volleying from one extreme to another. Momentarily begging for God to give clarity only to then plead for the clouds of confusion to cover the way we know we are called to walk.

The peace is found in the present. It is in fact a gift. St. Francis de Sales advises: “do not look forward to what might happen tomorrow; the same Everlasting Father who cares for you today, will take care of you tomorrow and everyday. Either He will shield you from suffering or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at Peace then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.” Peace be with you.

Let us make haste to let Him make us Holy. Just as the flower doesn’t grow overnight nor does the child at the embryonic stage talk and walk so too must we wait. In fact there’s a lot of waiting in life – in line for coffee, traffic, the restroom (especially if you are a woman), the subway, medical test results, future plans. Let us recognize these little moments as opportunities to grow in virtue so that we may become more attentive and ready to accept the longer periods of waiting, the opportunities for grace. Most of all let us see this waiting as a gift of preparation as well as a gift unto itself. “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.”

Like the apostles, let us gather in the Upper Room to wait on His Spirit and like our Blessed Mother let us ponder all these things in our heart. Let us trust when we are called to act His Spirit is with us, always.

To wait a finite time for an infinite love makes all else pale. Let us surrender our longing with thanksgiving as it draws us forth to the Font of Life. Mary, model of patience, be our guide. Help us to “do whatever He tells us to.”   Let us remember to listen to His call, as Pier Giorgio did, through the good and holy desires He has given us. “I left my heart on the mountain peaks and I hope to retrieve it this summer when I climb Mt. Blanc. If my studies permitted, I would spend whole days on the mountains admiring in that pure atmosphere the magnificence of God.”

Verso l’alto,

Kathryn Grace

  

**** Novena to the Holy SPIRIT to prepare for Pentecost *****

Let us join the apostles in prayer!

http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/pentecost/seven.htm

Let us find His will in the here and now trusting we are where we need to be and if/when He calls us to change or move, He will pour out His courage and grace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpc7jxvThig