Month: February 2020

Walking Toward Heaven with Christ

The Responsorial Psalm for today is, “Who shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord?” Isn’t that a question we ask ourselves pretty regularly? Maybe it’s weird, but I often think about the people who are in Heaven (or who are not). Is Abraham Lincoln in Heaven? What about Martin Luther King Jr. or Rosa Parks? Marie Curie or Albert Einstein?

There are so many people who did a lot of good in the world that I often think, “There’s no way they aren’t in Heaven.” There are a lot of people who affected the world negatively, and I think, “I wonder if somehow they renounced their evil deeds before they died and fully converted on their deathbed.” After reading Psalm 15, I realized I don’t have to ask those questions. I know exactly who is in Heaven: “He who walks blamelessly and does justice, who thinks the truth in his heart and slanders not with his tongue…who harms not his fellow man, nor takes up reproach against his neighbor…”. We are told who is in Heaven and, in turn, we are told how we should act, how we should live our lives in order to join those who are already with our Father in His Heavenly Kingdom.

In yesterday’s Gospel, we heard Christ reprimand the disciples because of their blindness. In today’s Gospel, we hear of Christ, healing a blind man. Again we are reminded that only by seeing Jesus for who He truly is–the Son of the Living God who became incarnate to save us from our sins–that we are able to enter Heaven. Many times, like the man whom Christ heals, it takes more than one touch, more than one sign from God to convince us His presence in our lives. We need Jesus to work in our lives, and we need to recognize that work, in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. We cannot do it alone. We need our faith to guide us to become people who walk blamelessly and do justice, who think the truth in our hearts and do not slander with our tongues.
It is only through Christ that we are saved, and it only through faith that we come to know Christ.

As we prepare for the season of Lent may our prayer be, “May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we may know what is the hope that belongs to his call” so that we may enter ever more deeply into the light of His love.

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Dakota currently lives in Denver, CO and teaches English Language Development and Spanish to high schoolers. She is married to the love of her life, Ralph. In her spare time, she reads, goes to breweries, and watches baseball. Dakota’s favorite saints are St. John Paul II (how could it not be?) and St. José Luis Sánchez del Río. She is passionate about her faith and considers herself blessed at any opportunity to share that faith with others. Check out more of her writing at https://dakotaleonard16.blogspot.com.

Wednesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Jas 1:19-27

Know this, my dear brothers and sisters:
everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger
for anger does not accomplish
the righteousness of God.
Therefore, put away all filth and evil excess
and humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you
and is able to save your souls.

Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer,
he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror.
He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets
what he looked like.
But the one who peers into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres,
and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts;
such a one shall be blessed in what he does.

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue
but deceives his heart, his religion is vain.
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this:
to care for orphans and widows in their affliction
and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Responsorial Psalm 15:2-3a, 3bc-4ab, 5

R.    (1b)  Who shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord?
He who walks blamelessly and does justice;
who thinks the truth in his heart
and slanders not with his tongue.
R.    Who shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord?
Who harms not his fellow man,
nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;
By whom the reprobate is despised,
while he honors those who fear the LORD.
R.    Who shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord?
Who lends not his money at usury
and accepts no bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
shall never be disturbed.
R.    Who shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord?

Alleluia Eph 1:17-18

R.    Alleluia, alleluia.
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our hearts,
that we may know what is the hope
that belongs to his call.
R.    Alleluia, alleluia

Gospel Mk 8:22-26

When Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethsaida,
people brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.
Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on the man and asked,
“Do you see anything?”
Looking up the man replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking.”
Then he laid hands on the man’s eyes a second time and he saw clearly;
his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.
Then he sent him home and said, “Do not even go into the village.”

– – –
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Joy in Christ’s Presence

In today’s Gospel, Jesus asks His disciples, “Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?” Christ is pointing out the blindness of His own disciples and, in turn, when we hear this Gospel, we hear of our own blindness. The disciples take Christ’s word literally and fear that He is upset with them for not bringing enough food for the journey. This reaction in and of itself is proof of their blindness. Jesus has to remind them of the times in which He fed the multitudes with little food, yet food remained left over. Despite being witness to these miracles, the disciples are still unable to recognize who Jesus is and what He is doing in their lives. Ultimately, it is an obstacle right in front of their faces that blinds the disciples. They forgot the food. That obstacle prevented them from being fully present with Christ, thereby preventing them from recognizing who He is.

How many times do we allow ourselves to become blinded by the obstacles before us?

Personally, I had a rough week. Nothing seemed to go right; plans were canceled, we had car troubles, there were snow days that messed up schedules, and it was just messy in general. It was really easy for me to get caught up in that “where’s-the-good-in-the-world” attitude. I couldn’t recognize Jesus working intimately in my life. The plans that were canceled allowed my husband and me to have two lovely three-day-weekends in a row together; despite car troubles and snow, I got to work all week safely; my students were joyful.

What is it that hardens our hearts?

In the first reading, we hear, “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters: all good giving and every perfect gift is from above…” God gives us so many wonderful gifts every single day. The gift of life, of friendship, of warmth, of intellect, of faith, of humor, of joy, of strength. It is so easy to overlook those gifts and focus on the negative, on the difficulties. But it is in focusing on those negativities that we are prevented from understanding the Good News of Christ. That Good News is that He loves us and that He will care for us if we only put our trust in Him.

“The most beautiful act of faith is the one made in darkness, in sacrifice, and with extreme effort.”
St. Pio

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Dakota currently lives in Denver, CO and teaches English Language Development and Spanish to high schoolers. She is married to the love of her life, Ralph. In her spare time, she reads, goes to breweries, and watches baseball. Dakota’s favorite saints are St. John Paul II (how could it not be?) and St. José Luis Sánchez del Río. She is passionate about her faith and considers herself blessed at any opportunity to share that faith with others. Check out more of her writing at https://dakotaleonard16.blogspot.com.

Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Jas 1:12-18

Blessed is he who perseveres in temptation,
for when he has been proven he will receive the crown of life
that he promised to those who love him.
No one experiencing temptation should say,
“I am being tempted by God”;
for God is not subject to temptation to evil,
and he himself tempts no one.
Rather, each person is tempted when lured and enticed by his desire.
Then desire conceives and brings forth sin,
and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death.

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters:
all good giving and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change.
He willed to give us birth by the word of truth
that we may be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

Responsorial Psalm 94:12-13a, 14-15, 18-19

R.    (12a) Blessed the man you instruct, O Lord.
Blessed the man whom you instruct, O LORD,
whom by your law you teach,
Giving him rest from evil days.
R.    Blessed the man you instruct, O Lord.
For the LORD will not cast off his people,
nor abandon his inheritance;
But judgment shall again be with justice,
and all the upright of heart shall follow it.
R.    Blessed the man you instruct, O Lord.
When I say, “My foot is slipping,”
your mercy, O LORD, sustains me;
When cares abound within me,
your comfort gladdens my soul.
R.    Blessed the man you instruct, O Lord.

Alleluia Jn 14:23

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord;
and my Father will love him
and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mk 8:14-21

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread,
and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
Jesus enjoined them, “Watch out,
guard against the leaven of the Pharisees
and the leaven of Herod.”
They concluded among themselves that
it was because they had no bread.
When he became aware of this he said to them,
“Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread?
Do you not yet understand or comprehend?
Are your hearts hardened?
Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?
And do you not remember,
when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand,
how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?”
They answered him, “Twelve.”
“When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand,
how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?”
They answered him, “Seven.”
He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

– – –
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Seeing Signs

“He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, ‘Why does this generation seek a sign?:’” -Mark 8:12

There are four thousand hungry people who had come to a deserted place to hear Jesus. They came hungry to hear what Jesus had to say. But their bodies caught up to their souls and they soon were just plain hungry for food. The disciples start to worry. You can imagine the quickly escalating conversation. “There are so many of them.” “We can’t even send them back to where they came from because they won’t make it because they are so hungry.” “They’ll collapse.” “They’ll die of starvation on the way.” “What are we going to do?” 

Jesus simply asks them what they have, he blesses it and it is enough. More than enough. The disciples get in the boat to go with Jesus. They have seen and they follow. 

The Pharisees have a distorted world view. They look but they don’t see. Jesus has fulfilled the signs by doing what Moses did in feeding the hungry in the desert. This act itself signifies that he is the New Moses. And still the Pharisees ask for a sign. Jesus’s reply, “Amen, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.” (Mark 8:12) 

The lens through which the Pharisees viewed the world held a certain world order. If keeping the law was good, then their scrupulous adherence to the law had to be better. They saw themselves as the chosen ones of the chosen people. It was them and the rest of the world. As happens every time we humans start to see ourselves as separate from the rest of humanity, what divides us becomes more important that what unites us. Their own adherence to seeing themselves as better, more faithful, set apart prevented them from seeing the miracles happening all around them.  

I have to think that when Jesus sees us start to think in terms of “us” and “them”, he still sighs from the depth of his spirit. At times it feels like everything in our culture is geared towards creating a sense of us and them. The false dichotomies abound on social media. Are you A, meaning you are with my group and we are happy to have you 100% along, or are you B and against my group, meaning it is okay to completely discount you. As soon as we begin to think in terms of divisions, we are adopting the lens of the Pharisees. 

Keeping this reading in context, we can’t totally let the disciples off the hook either. One chapter later in Mark, John sees someone driving out demons in Jesus’s name and forbids them because they are not one of us. “Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me.” (Mark 9:39) Jesus is teaching us to see that what unites us is more than what divides us. 

The signs are there. They are all around us. We have blessings upon blessings. Do we have eyes to see? Jesus took what the disciples had, blessed it and it was enough, more than enough. In this crazy time in which we live, don’t let the constant clammer to divide us from one another keep you from seeing the signs all around us. When we offer to Jesus all that we have, he will bless it and it will be enough, not just to care for our own needs but all those around us.

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Sheryl delights in being the number 1 cheerleader and supporter for her husband, Tom who is a candidate for the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Kalamazoo. They are so grateful for the opportunity to grow together in this process whether it is studying for classes, deepening their prayer life or discovering new ways to serve together. Sheryl’s day job is serving her community as the principal for St. Therese Catholic School in Wayland, Michigan. Since every time she thinks she gets life all figured out, she realizes just how far she has to go, St. Rita of Cascia is her go-to Saint for intercession and help. Home includes Brea, a Bernese Mountain dog and Carlyn, a very, very goofy Golden Retriever.