Discernment

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Posted by on in Pilgrim's Passages
Ephesians 4:1-6
Unity in the Body.
"I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."
 
We as a nation, as a world has experienced a dullness in our faith.  It has become lackluster, obligated, a necessary task that we need to do every week when we go to church.  But what is truly church and why is church good for us?
 
For me, I go to church to be in community with my brothers and sisters, to learn about the word, and to receive Christ in the Eucharist.
 
But also to remember during that the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus did for us.  We need to get back into remembering.  Remembering that God is a non-negotiable aspect of my life. that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and that I need to open myself to be vulnerable, as broken as I may be, to receive the grace through the Holy Spirit.
 
What does this take?  It takes practice.  Practice. Practice.  I read many years ago that in order to master a skill, you need to work on it for 10,000 hours.
 
So let’s set the record straight, it’s not exactly how much we practice, but rather how we practice.
 
According to Anders Ericcson, there are two essential parts to practice:
 
Purposeful Practice
Purposeful practice is when you actually pick a target — something that you want to improve — and you find a training activity that would allow you to actually improve that particular aspect.
 
Deliberate Practice
We think of deliberate practice requiring a teacher that actually has had the experience of how to help individuals reach very high levels of performance.
 
For me, it’s a constant, daily practice of conversion.  Why conversion, so we can return home to our Father.  Not make choices in our lives that make us go different directions than where our Shepherd is but to be reminded and remember where home is.  This conversion in my life is a radical reorientation of how I’m wired so that I can truly accept God’s path.
 
That’s hard.  That’s difficult.  Many times I don’t want to do that.  To be humble enough to recognize that the path I am taking is at times very skewed, but I’m ready to reorient myself and focus, laser focus on the path Home.
 
One faith, One God, One baptism, One Hope.
 
Jesus.  Hope for the world.

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are all doing well and staying healthy.  I thought it would be a good idea while we “wait out the storm” to provide you some helpful resources for your Lenten journey as we’re still on that journey!  Here are some links that might be helpful.

God bless you all.  Stay safe and may the mantle of Jesus’ grace continue to protect and guide us all.

Tony

Formed – https://formed.org  – Daily Devotions, Bible Studies

Fr. Mike Schmitz Videos- powerful inspirational and challenging messages of faith and hope and joy in our Catholic journey: https://bulldogcatholic.org/video/

Fr. Larry Richards Daily Homilies – another great theologian - https://thereasonforourhope.org/category/2020/

Dynamic Catholic – https://dynamiccatholic.com  – Lenten devotions Best Lent Ever - https://dynamiccatholic.com/best-lent-ever

Archdiocese list of links of online streaming Masses - https://www.archindy.org/worship/coronavirus2020-streaming.html

Live Streaming Adoration Chapels: https://virtualadoration.home.blog/

Pray More Novenas: https://www.praymorenovenas.com/how-to-pray-a-novena

Catechism of the Catholic Church: https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM

Catholic.com – apologetics, videos, audio j- https://www.catholic.com/

Catholic TV including celebration of the Holy Mass by Pope Francis - http://catholic.tv/

Hillsong Worship- 1 hour of incredible worship music – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBQ2INptpik

More Worship Songs – 2 hours - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_CrVIS6QcA

Posted by on in Pilgrim's Passages

b2ap3_thumbnail_st.meinrad-church.jpgQuiet. Serene. Peace.  Those were the thoughts I experienced after attending Mass this morning with the monks from St. Meinrad in the deep hearth of southern Indiana.  I'm here for a couple of days on a retreat for pastoral musicians.  The church itself is an amazing structure of brick, plaster, marble and tile.  But what makes it truly "church" for me was worshiping with the monks and other guests at daily Mass. Chanting the psalm response and acclamations, centering myself to receive Christ.  The gospel talked about a mustard seed, about how something so small and so insignificant could grow into something greater than most plants.  

That is God's plan for all of us.  To be extraordinary in our ordinary life.  To engage in our own sacred space and experience Christ.  To be the living church in the world.  But in doing so, we need to cultivate our own mustard seed, giving it its own sacred space to grow, to be nurtured... to thrive...to live.

How is your sacred space?  How is your mustard seed growing?

Posted by on in Pilgrim's Passages

“Three things are necessary for the salvation of man: to know what he ought to believe; to know what he ought to desire; and to know what he ought to do.”  Happy Feast Day St. Thomas Aquinas!

Posted by on in Pilgrim's Passages

Often I think of how fast I see the Christmas decorations come up during Thanksgiving or right after “the big game” and I think to myself, “Wow, that was quick!”.  But this year, I was quite bothered in the fact that right after Halloween, I saw Christmas decorations up! Yes, right after the Gorilla mask or the Sponge Bob costume went back into storage, out came the wreaths, the holly, the ivy, the Rudolph, the Frosty, the lights and tinsel and many other “Christmas” things.  I was quite dismayed because, you see, I’m a big proponent of Advent and of having those weeks to prepare myself to celebrate the birth of Christ.  In scripture, we are often reminded to “be ready” (Matthew 3:1-12) for we know not when the master will call us home.  And yet, we are so filled with anxiety and anticipation of “the ultimate gift” that we steamroll past Advent right into Christmas and forget any of the preparation that is so important to our spiritual lives.

So this year, I’m asking all of you to take the time and use this Advent Season of only 25 days to truly reflect on your journey with Christ.  Are you making time for Him?  Are you calling out to Him?  Are you being silent and allowing Him to speak to you?  Or are you telling Him, “Well, the Bears play in 15 minutes, after that I’ll say a prayer or two…”  If all we want for Christmas are two front seats to see the Lion King on Broadway… then we’ve missed the boat.

Use this time of Maranatha to prepare your hearts for the Christ Child- to bask in the season of Advent and to watch and pray (Matthew 3:12).  To silently reflect if you are on the same page as our Savior, and if you’re not, using the time to reconcile with Him and get back on track.  And don’t feel guilty, it’s not about “doin’ Advent time”, it’s about offering, about giving a bit of yourself and getting much back in return.

And remember… Christ will come into this world regardless or not if we are ready.  Christmas will be here before we know it.  But before we open that present we’ve been shaking for two weeks, before we sing “Over the river the through the woods…”, before we even make that return trip to Walmart to return the bright pink and purple tie we received from Aunt Edna, let’s take the time to render our hearts unto the Lord.

Think about it, pray about it, and then just do it. 

Prepare ye the way of the Lord (Isaiah 40:3-5)

Christmas comes but once a year, but Advent also does as well.

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