Come Holy Ghost!

The word Paraclete signifies comforter or advocate; now both these offices imply especially the exercise of goodness, and goodness is a peculiar attribute of God the Holy Ghost, so He is said to be our Comforter in trouble and our Advocate in blessings.
- St. Thomas Aquinas

When I was younger we used to say Holy Ghost. One day Sister told us that we were now suppose to say Holy Spirit.  I never understood why we needed to change God's name.  I think they thought the word ghost might scare us or lead us to think of Casper the friendly ghost.  I still slip up sometimes and say Holy Ghost instead of Holy Spirit.

On this feast of Pentecost we are reminded of the fear of the unknown that must have caused sleepless nights for those gathered in the room.  Were they afraid that the Jews would attempt to have them put to death?  Yet, the Paraclete came!  The Paraclete was like armor that they could put on and go out without fear and proclaim the Word of God!

I sometimes forget that the Paraclete is there right beside me ready to give me voice and courage to do what is right in the eyes of God.  Today Fr. Charlie reminded us of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.  I couldn't remember them.  Father must have been looking at a lot of troubled faces because he said that he couldn't remember them either and had to look them up.

They are: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Knowledge, Fortitude, Piety and Fear of the Lord (Wonder and Awe).

I know that I not only couldn't remember them.  I don't use them often enough.  Seven wonderful gifts to help make my life easier.

 So my prayer is from an ancient hymn written by Rabanus Maurus (776-856)

Come Holy Ghost, Creator blest 
and in our hearts take up Thy rest;
come with Thy grace and heavenly aid,
To fill the hearts which Thou hast made.

O Comforter,  to Thee we cry,
Thou heavenly gift of God most high,
Thou Font of life and Fire of love,
and sweet anointing from above.

Thy light to every sense impart,
and shed Thy love in every heart;
Thine own unfailing might supply
to strengthen our infirmity.

Drive far away our ghostly foe,
and Thine abiding peace bestow;
if Thou be our preventing Guide,
no evil can our steps betide.

Praise we the Father and the Son
and the Holy Spirit with them One;
and may the Son on us bestow 
the gifts that from the Spirit flow.

~Cindy

GPS

Assumption of Mary, Immaculate Conception Basilica
Denver, CO

"I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life..."
John 14:6

I have been traveling with my parents.  During our driving adventure I have been learning my new GPS.  In Albuquerque, New Mexico I found a Costco Store that had the cheapest fuel.  So using the app on my phone I clicked on the routing function.  I wasn't happy with the route so I plugged in the location on my new GPS.  Unfortunately I forgot to turn off my phone's navigation.  So my poor Dad is holding my phone while the GPS and the phone are giving us differing voice directions!  "Just keep me on the Blue Line, Dad" and we should be fine."

It is extremely difficult to not follow voice direction.  I struggled to not listen, but was distracted and Dad aptly kept me on the blue line to our destination.  I had always wanted to see Albuquerque, but not that way.

I started to think that perhaps GPS really should stand for God Positioning System.  It seems to me that most of us have our battling directions, our God Positioning System and the WPS ( World Positioning System).  They like my two GPS' battle daily for our attention.  I like to think that the Blessed Mother is sitting next to me trying her best to keep me on the Blue Line so that I can make it to the correct destination.

We were reminded in Sunday's Gospel reading that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  He is the ultimate GPS.


Lord,
please continue to be with me
as I travel this road of life.
Help me to listen to Your Direction.
Keep me from distraction and the
World's Positioning System.

~Cindy

Divine Mercy

Pardon one another so that later on you will not remember the injury.  The recollection of an injury is in itself wrong.  It adds to our anger, nurtures our sin and hates what is good.  It is a rusty arrow and poison for the soul.  it puts all virtue to flight.  - St. Francis of Paola

I have been thinking and praying about Mercy a lot lately.  I began the Novena of Divine Mercy on Good Friday and attended the Divine Mercy celebration at Church yesterday.

 For the novena we were asked to come to the church at 3pm to pray the novena prayers and pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy in Community.  Some days it felt like such a hardship to have to get in my car and drive to church.  Yet, I was always happy that I had made the trip when I got there.  Driving to church a hardship?  I am sure that Our Lord thought it was a hardship when His Father asked Him to die on a Cross for US!

But what is Mercy?  The dictionary tells us that Mercy is:

1. compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.

   
   

   So I began to wonder just how merciful am I... not so much.  Here I was being judgmental about others.  I was being obstinate about little things.  I was arrogant which led to more judging, yet there I was asking God to be Merciful to me.  Forgive me!   Forget that my every Confession contains these sins.  Have Mercy on Me!  Forget that I think that my way is the best way.  Forget that I have difficulty with humility and forgiveness.  Forgive Me!!!
   The amazing thing about Divine Mercy is that He does forgive me.  He looks down at my struggle and lifts me up. He sees me afraid and He stands by me.  He watches as I judge others and He grants me Mercy.

The above video is one that I saw on Facebook.  It reminded me that Jesus is there all day, every day. He is there ready to help me when I am afraid, when I am lonely, when I am celebrating.  He is there when I need His Mercy.

Pope Francis has declared that we will celebrate a Year of Divine Mercy starting in December 2015.  Please pray that we are as merciful to others as He is to us.

Lord,
Me again.
Standing here sinful and sorrowful,
asking for you to be merciful to me.

Help me to be humble.
Help me to not judge others.
Help me to see them with Your Merciful Heart.

~Cindy

1. 
   

Happy Easter

He is Risen!

It is in the risen Lord that I place my trust.  How can my heart be troubled?  

Father reminded us today that each Mass is a little Easter, all leading up to this the great Easter!  Let us not get lost in the Easter Bunny, the eggs, and candy.  Let us turn our attention to the Risen Lord.

Lord,

I stand before you in hope.

Hope that one day I will join

All who have gone before me

And all who will come after me,

Praising You in Heaven

~Cindy

Hosanna and Happy Palm Sunday

"Who am I to judge?"
- Pope Francis

Palm Sunday and I was allowed the honor of reading as the Speaker during the Gospel.  It is always moving to read the Passion of Our Lord and to celebrate His triumphant entry into Jerusalem.  Though we all know that treachery was being plotted by the chief priests and the scribes.

We are also reminded that Jesus was surrounded by the undesirables of His time.  Lepers, prostitutes and tax collectors to name a few.   Even His Apostles had their faults.  Peter denies Him, Thomas doubts, Judas betrays Him and the others have their own issues.

Jesus was not an excluder.  He was including.  He accepted each of them and each of us for who and what we are, warts and all.  He knows the secret recesses of our hearts and still loves us!  How amazing.

So I am troubled that we are still the rabble that asks for Barabbas, a murderer.  We want to use religious freedom to exclude and deny other humans.  We stand beside the chief priests and scribes and use the letter of the law to hurt our fellow humans.

Have we forgotten that Jesus is about forgiveness?  He, as far as I can remember, turns to the accused and forgives them and asks that they sin no more.  He did not stone the prostitute or the adulteress.  He did not walk away from the leper.  No, He embraced the sinner.  He came for the sinner.  I fear that if He came and walked among us today He would find that not much has changed.

Lord,
I am ashamed that I continue to sin.
I constantly seek your forgiveness, 
even when I am not willing to forgive my neighbor.

Help me to truly pray the words of the Our Father,
keeping in mind that I ask you to forgive me as I forgive others.
Let me not hide behind the letter of the law.  Let my heart be open.

~Cindy

A backpack, St. Augustine, Lily and Gracie

"You have so made us, Lord, that we long for you, and our heart is restless until it rests in you."
-St. Augustine of Hippo

Lent is still confusing this year for me.  I am not sure what I am suppose to do.  So I am attempting to TRUST!

Cynthia left today for two months in Europe.  Helping her pack her backpack was frustrating, painful, and a reminder that I will be alone in this small but empty house.  I have not been alone in over 40 years!!!  I find the thought both exhilarating and terrifying.  I do not have to compromise with anyone but me.  Though compromise is the salt of life. Cynthia certainly kept me on my toes.  She kept me honest and humble.

St. Augustine struggled so hard to know God.  I think that is why he speaks to me.  What a great sinner, but what an incredible Saint.  The other aspect of St. Augustine is his longing for silence.  He is attracted to the beauty of the world and yet he longs to close his eyes from it so that he can see God.

My Mom shares with me stories of her Bible Study Group.  Really she asks me to pray for them, especially when one is in trouble or hurting.  Lily, I hope that Mom shares this with you.  I understand that your sister, Gracie has recently passed away and there is a hole in your heart.  I get that.  I still find myself examining the hole in my heart since Michael's passing.  Will it fill?  I do not know.  I am not sure that the hole is suppose to fill.  Instead, perhaps,  we are to learn from the emptiness that it brings us.  How can we be so sad when a loved one leaves us?  Are they not on their way to Heaven? Are they not closer to God than we?  Should we not be celebrating their reaching eternal life?

I am sure of this, when Our Blessed Mother stood at the foot of the cross and looked on the body of her son, I know there was a hole in her heart!  When she understood that He was resurrected the human side of her I am sure still had a hole.  He was her son, her baby.  She looked forward to being with Him in Heaven.  I look forward to being with Michael.

My prayer for the rest of Lent is borrowed from St. Augustine.

He bids you return to Him,
to that place within,
where peace abides,
peace that is never disturbed;
to that place from which 
Love never departs,
unless you depart from it.
Make your home in that place.


~Cindy

Metamorphosis

Let us become saints so that after having been together on earth, we may be together in Heaven.
~ St. Padre Pio

This Lenten Season has not been what I planned. I am sure though that it has been and will be what God has planned for me.

First, I fractured my foot and being on crutches and a cane and now possibly a boot is a humbling experience.  I had Plans!  Now I am dependent on others to help me out and it is slow going.

Second, because of my foot I was unable to attend the Lenten Mission at Church and I was really looking forward to hearing Fr. Foley.

Thirdly, I gave up Facebook with the expectation that it would be hard and somehow change me.  Then I started to read several Catholic Bloggers that stated extremely compelling reasons why one should NOT give up social media, but embrace it as an agent for change.  Too late, I am committed.  I must admit that has not been hard and I feel no change, however, God does tend to have His own mystifying time table for such things.

I know my prayer partner was concerned that my posts were only slightly behind the number of another friend on her wall.   She was concerned.  Perhaps she should have been.  I fear that she believed that I was frittering away my day with hitting the "like" button and sharing a little too much.  It was not getting in the way of my prayer life or my conversation with God.  It was a filler when I was waiting to go to Mass or waiting for an appointment.  But none the less I gave it up because I felt drawn to it.

But what does all this have to do with metamorphosis?  Well, the Transfiguration has always stumped me somehow.  I didn't get it.   Then Fr. Charlie used the word metamorphosis instead of transfiguration.  The clouds parted and understanding hit me over the head.

I have often spoken about how Michael was transformed.  The truth is that all of us who knew him were transformed.  His transfiguration allowed each and everyone of us to learn a lesson.   A lesson on how to die with Grace and Dignity.  A lesson on how not to complain about the hand we are dealt in life.  A lesson on how to embrace and forgive and love.  How to be the person that God intends for us to be.

Christ allowed them to see His Divinity shine through His Humanity.  He gave them a glimpse of who He was and is.  They, like me, didn't get it.  God in His Mercy shields us from His Big Plan.  He knows how it would terrify us.  Instead He gives  glimpses and riddles that we have difficulty with understanding.  Though in hind sight it is clear.  He is God.  He loves us.

Lord,
I stand before you
in a bit of a muddle.

Help me to remember that You are the Planner
and I am only an empty vessel that You fill.

Help me in my metamorphosis...

~Cindy