The Gospel of Great Price

“Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
searching for fine pearls.
When he finds a pearl of great price,
he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.” The Gospel of the Lord. (Mt. 13: 46)

It hit me like a ton of bricks. Okay, that’s an exaggeration. In fact it was much lighter and more appealing than bricks falling adversely against me. It was more like a soft glow illuminating a hidden corner. This is the Gospel of the Lord. That He who goes searching for fine pearls, when he finds a pearl of great price he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. Could anything be truer than this as a synopsis of the Gospel, the good news?

Do you know your invaluable worth? Do you know not only your dignity but the source of your dignity? You are worthy; you are precious; you are enough. “We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures. We are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his Son,” St. John Paul the Great reminds us.  The Gospel and this great Saint call us to recognize the price, the sacrifice, Christ paid so that we might know the truth and depth of His love. “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. (Is 53:6)” He the suffering and blameless servant paid the greatest price, His very life, so that you might know the love of the Father and that you might have eternal life. “Conversion is the re-experience of God’s mercy.”

From hoyte-toyte Bronxville to the graffiti lined streets of the Bronx, He who was nailed amongst the cross, who bleeds His saving love, resounds His hymn of sacrificial love. For the Good Shepard goes in search of the one. Maybe you’re wandering; He’s looking. Maybe you’re floundering, He’s anchoring. Maybe you’re striving, He’s waiting. Let it go. Whatever you think you are or are not, the question that really matters most is do you know the price He paid and the love He has for you – not your neighbor or sister – but for you. He loves with a personal love and He beckons and He calls. By the blood He shed may we more firmly know and trust His plans are good (Jer. 29:11) and that He allows all things to work for those who love Him (Rom. 8:28). It’s easy to get caught up in what’s not going right. Yet, that is a choice. You can choose your faith or your fears. You can focus on problems or solutions, the darkness or the light that shines in the darkness. Let us look to the saints, the shining lights who reflect the light of Christ. Let us do the same bearing His imprint and image. Shine on!

Verso l’alto,
K Coop

Get your shine On

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjqMB6ILaIc

Your great love will lead me through

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPtIv2lnkTY

Dive In

I’m a sucker for the beach and will go through bottles of sunscreen in order to stay and play because life is good and yet, life is better at the beach.  A few weeks ago I was headed out to Jones with some friends. Preparing for the trip I was excited; however, every time I’m actually on the beach it’s as though it is a novel adventure. For amidst the certain and familiar, the ocean always bears some slight unpredictability.

Driving out someone mentioned the rip tide being strong on this particular day. As we played in the waves, this became apparent. We kept looking up to make sure we were in line with the lifeguard chair. We always were; however, it’s a slight problem when you haven’t realized that the guards have been moving down the beach. Translation: the undercurrent was dragging us more than we realized.   Besides it resulting in a long walk back to the umbrella, it made me think about the synonymous times in life where we are aware of difficult situations and are “doing” the right things to make sure we are still swimming within the realm of the lifeguard’s careful watch. And yet we can still get swept away. What are the undercurrents in your life that drag and pull you off course? What brings you out to sea or drags you away from where you intended to be?  

As the tide was rising, the waves took on a different character. Waves that were innocent enough to “duck under” earlier in the day took on new momentum, resulting in me tumbling along the ocean floor. As we figured out the change in the tide, we recognized the need to swim against the current more aggressively, while  also recognizing that some waves are easier to dive instead of ducking under. Isn’t it true in life as well? When there are situations and circumstances we can’t circumvent, we can try and duck and hide or we can plunge forward, diving through.

We don’t always get to choose the turn of the tide; however, when we learn how to read and see the waves as they are we can learn to play instead of hide. It can be a great game instead of spiraling mess. Let us see with eyes of faith the adventure of uncertainty and dive in, fully trusting God is always with us and that His angels and saints sit on watch so that no matter where we go we may know He is always near. Let us plunge into the mysteries of our faith and the most Sacred Heart. Let us dive in.  

Mother Mary, show us how.

Verso l’alto,

Kathryn

And keep my eyes above the waves https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy9nwe9_xzw

It’s time to take the leap of faith so here I go I’m diving in I’m diving deep

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GZkwIGWQAY

I'll keep you safe on my watch tonight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJesfljJ1vk

Painfully Aware

In some ways, I wish I could go back. As frustrating and confusing the unknown of whether or not I was actually sick was, there was a slight bliss inherent to it. Now, I know and feel when my dura is twisted, there is tightness through the bones of my skull and when the motility of my internal organs is limited. Yes, in many ways being unaware was less taxing When I didn’t feel well, I took an Advil not realizing the damage being done to my gut flora and liver. I was trusting “it worked” as the pain subsided. Yet, the work it did was mask my symptoms.

Pain is a good thing. No, I’m not a masochist. It is a good thing in that pain alerts us to a problem, something being wrong. It shows us dysfunction. Now, I believe in miracles and that Jesus who is the Divine Physician heals today as He did many years ago – body and soul. I believe in miracles where He bestows the gift of healing and the miracles where He bestows the gift of faith. But we must ask in order to receive and in order for us to ask we must know our own need. “The well have no need for a physician.” In order to know we need a physician, we must recognize our pain and our illness.

As I was leaving the office the assistant said “it was such a pleasant visit; it was a shame you got bad news at the end.” Instinctively I responded, “I’ve come to learn a difficult diagnosis is better than no diagnosis and sometimes it is the greatest gift. For when we become painfully aware we can begin to act according to the goal of health in light of reality.” Though it might not feel like it initially, it is a gift to see what was once in darkness come to light.

What happens when we are spiritually ill? Do you know the symptoms to look for? Do you know what it feels like?

Who amongst you is sick and tired of being sick and tired? Let us boldly and courageously see our painful awareness of the areas we have for growth, as the gifts they are. God beckons, “Come all you are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” Let us rest, knowing the painful awareness of the Cross leads to the triumphant joy of the resurrection. 

Verso l’alto,

KGRC

Get your gaze off tomorrow

And let come what may

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGIpieuW62s

As deep cries out to deep

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K71EYID22l4

Is it just the sun breaking through the clouds? No I know it’s more. Heaven’s breaking through

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN30iznc-Ww

Give God a chance to surprise you

“Some people put more stock in a Tylenol than in the Eucharist. When they take a Tylenol, they expect something to change. But when they come to the Eucharist it is as though they move through the motions.” Fr. Landry  

Free Time

“ Time meant nothing to him,” a penitent explained about St. John Paul II who as a parish priest would spend up to an hour hearing a single person’s confession. Do you ever feel like life is a race against the clock? As though your to do list weighs down the scale compared with the time you have to accomplish said tasks on a daily basis, even good and noble tasks? What is time?

In the Catholic world we identify two aspects of time – chronos and kairos. Chronos is the present reality, seconds ticking, factual historical moment pinpointed. Good Friday happened in a chronological reality – at a given day, in a given place, at a given time. The event of salvation, which took place on the cross, also exists in Kairos, the other measure of time. Kairos refers to the  eternal reality as each specific event exists outside of time. Therefore on the cross, the merited graces extend before and after the event itself. 

It’s easy to get caught up living in a linear fashion. And in some ways it is necessary, the parking meter needs to be paid. Rent is an important thing as is the paycheck that comes in to allow us to pay it. All this is true and necessary. Therefore this statement is an invitation to expand our vision solely from the monomaniacal focus of calendars and to dos to a myopic vision that includes seeing the present in light of eternity.

St. JPII lived his belief of the personalistic norm, which he articulated in Love and Responsibility. He stated, “the person is the kind of good which does not admit of use and cannot be treated as an object of use and as such the means to an end (Love and Responsibilty, 41).  He articulated his understanding of the value of each person not only in his writing but as he encountered individuals by bestowing on them the gift of his time. Do you know the gift of your presence, which you can freely bestow on others? Do you just show up or are you present to the present?

Let us be mindful and aware of the presence of God at all times and through all seasons for the giver of all good things yearns to captivate your heart and to animate your schedule. Let us give thanks for divine appointments, free time, and summer time.

“[The Rosary is ] our daily meeting which neither I nor Blessed Virgin Mary neglect.” – JP II

Verso l’alto,

KGRC

“No human sin can erase the mercy of God, or prevent him from unleashing all his triumphant power, if we only call upon him.” (JPII, Veritatis Splendor).

And it's two bare feet on the dashboard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q53U_YmdP7E

Summer Loving had me a BlasT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXlnMveRt-Y

The drum beats out of time -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PqhOrgk11A

What time is it? SUMMER Time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x42aPmtnVDg&feature=kp

(Oh if only real life included breaking out into choreographed song and dance!) 

Fighting Irish

The tour guide told the story of the school’s nickname. In the middle of a football game, they were playing scrappy so the other team taunted: “they look like the fighting Irish”. It was a reference to the bar brawl prone Irish immigrants, known for their frequent indiscretions. Rather than being ashamed, the name stuck and the team took pride in the Fight. They embodied the determination, tenacity and scrappiness it implied.  The nickname may have resulted from the football field; however, it was the spirit of the University long before the newspapers caught on.

Arriving back on campus, the first place I went was the Grotto and along the way there are two emblematic plaques that caught my attention. The first was a letter by Fr. Sorin, the University’s founder, to Fr. Moreau, the founder of the Congregation of the Holy Cross. Fr. Sorin remarked not only the goodness of Providence and how they were granted the land when they least expected it but he also proclaimed: “As there is no other school within more than a hundred miles, this college cannot fail to succeed.”  I’m assuming that’s what they call no pressure, eh? He continued to cast his vision by stating, “Before long, it will develop on a large scale.... It will be one of the most powerful means for good in this country.” Though the sun setting on the plaque added to the ambiance it was the heart of the author, which shone through. Here was a man, convicted in faith of the goodness of God and His plans, no matter the opposition and difficulties in bringing the dream to fruition.

The other letter was from “Dr. Tom Dooley who was a Notre Dame student in the 1940s and honorary degree recipient in 1960. He became a Navy doctor in Vietnam, founded the Medical International Cooperation Organization, and spent much time providing medical care to people in Southeast Asia. He wrote a letter to then University President Father Theodore Hesburgh, CSC, in 1960 from Hong Kong, where Dooley was hospitalized for a recurrence of cancer that had attacked his spine.” Dr. Tom Dooley penned the following:  “But when the time comes, like now, then the storm around me does not matter. The winds within do not matter. Nothing human or earthly can touch me. A wilder storm of peace gathers in my heart.” Talk about faith!

It surely is joyous to celebrate the victory of one’s won battles; however, do you hear the battle cry of joy in the midst of the struggle? We are all fighting something. Maybe it’s a fight to be healthy, happy, disciplined, prayerful, virtuous, self-giving, understanding, patient (whose not trying to fight that one) or compassionate. Maybe it’s a fight against addictions or vices. Maybe you are trying to break the cycle of watching porn or being in unhealthy relationships or maybe it’s negative thinking that’s got you down. Maybe you’re fighting the motivation to start making changes. No matter what is your own personal battle; there is something universal in the fact that we’re all fighting something. Are you fighting the good fight? Do you live peace and joy in the midst of the fight? Bl. Pier Giorgio responds, “in prayer the soul rises above life’s sadness” (A Man of the Beatitudes, 132). Let us pray we may imitate PG’s as well as Fr. Sorin and Dr. Dooley’s great trust in Providence and in God, who provides our daily bread. Let us know which fights we are called to walk away from and which fights we are called to fight and persevere in. For it is by persevering that we learn perseverance.

In Notre Dame, Our Mother,

Coop

“If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'…

You’ll be a Man, my son!”

 - “If-” Rudyard Kipling

So, must be someone up above saying,
"Come on, girl! Yeah, you got to get back up!
You got to hold on...
Yeah, you got to hold on..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le-3MIBxQTw

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
What doesn't kill you makes a fighter
Footsteps even lighter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn676-fLq7I

Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.

I might have been given a bad break, but I’ve got an awful lot to live for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SKyfGK9brs&feature=kp

Dr. Dooley letter

http://archives.nd.edu/research/texts/dooley.htm

Fr. Sorin’s Letter (scroll half way down to find it under this title) 

From a letter of

THE REVEREND EDWARD SORIN, C.S.C.

Founder of the University of Notre Dame

to the

VERY REVEREND BASIL MOREAU, C.S.C.

Founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross

https://www3.nd.edu/~wcawley/corson/centennial2.htm