There is a Longing

  The words of Psalm 30 today could easily have been prayed by the woman with the hemorrhages after she’d been healed.  Through her bold faith, all she needed was to touch the hem of His garment.  “I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.”   -  She praises God for rescuing her from the hemorrhages and ridicule which have plagued her for many years.  “...drew me clear and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.”   &  “You changed my mourning into dancing.”  -  She was alone, mourning the loss of companionship with family and friends.  Where once she was considered unclean by society’s standards, she has now been healed of her affliction and has no fear of being near others. At the Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, OH, there is an altar in the lower level called the Purgatory Altar.  It is a piece of art depicting the Consecration and the joining of Heaven and Purgatory through the Mass on Earth.  As t...

  Like many children, I was afraid of thunderstorms, especially lightning.  In various cartoons, characters were usually struck in the behind.  Therefore, to avoid a backside striking during a storm, I would walk around the house with my back against a wall, sleep on my back, & sit so my back wasn't facing the window.  Nowadays, I love a good storm.  Several years ago, my son was at Children's Hospital after major brain surgery.  He’d recently been diagnosed with a brain tumor.  One night during a thunderstorm, I stood at the window in the 12th floor hallway & marveled at the spectacular light show over Columbus.  I felt that storm within me as the events of the past month had turned our lives upside down.  But I also felt a great sense of peace.  I knew that people all over the world were praying for him and he was under God's protection.  I’ve often wondered how some people can go through the storms in life without turning...

Many of us have family members who have left the Church, whether it be our children, grandchildren, siblings, etc. We may feel helpless in our attempts to encourage their return. We wonder why they’ve turned away from God and worry about their eternal salvation, wondering where we went wrong. In most cases, it's not something we’ve done that pushed them away.  Getting angry and talking until we're blue in the face will do nothing to win them back to the Church.  We can only lead by example in loving them and praying for their return.  We plant seeds that we hope and pray will take root in their hearts, drawing them back to God's loving embrace.  How?  Share stories of how God has worked in our lives.  Perform small acts of kindness for them.  Be cautious of our speech and actions.  Let them see us take part in spiritual activities and invite them to join us (prayer, Bible study, going to Mass).  These are just a few of the seeds we can plan...

To be “salty” in modern slang means that someone is behaving or speaking in a manner of bitterness, irritation, or resentfulness. If someone is complaining, another may be tempted to ask them, “Why are you so salty?”   “Salty” in slang carries quite a negative connotation when compared to what Jesus is telling His disciples & us in the Gospel for June 11, 2024 - Matthew 5:13.  Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.” If we do nothing with His teachings & follow our own path, we will lose our taste for our faith & many opportunities to share with others. We will fail to live for His Kingdom & will “no longer be good for anything” . We must flavor the world with all He has taught us & continues to teach us. That means we cannot...

Mark 3:20-35 The scribes in the Gospel are astonished by Jesus’ teachings & exorcisms.  They think He is out of His mind or a demon driving out other demons.  Attempting to make them understand, He explains that Satan cannot drive out Satan, divided kingdoms cannot stand, & a house divided against itself will fall.  I have two structures to ponder in this reflection…the family and the Church. First, a house not built on a firm foundation will not stand (as we read in Matthew 7, the parable of one house built on sand and another on stone).  This can apply to the family structure.  Parents have a duty to educate their children in the Faith.  Sadly, there are many parents who don’t want to inflict or force their religious beliefs on their children and opt to let them choose their own path when they’re grown.  This is a false and dangerous logic.  When trials and struggles arise in their lives, they won’t have a firm foundation in the Faith to...

  (If you missed part one, you can read it HERE. ) Once the Monday after Easter arrived, I vowed to be more aware of my time spent on Facebook & gaming on my phone. I even set timers so the apps would shut off when I reached the day’s limit. At first I did well. I was intentionally careful about mindless scrolling through Facebook, especially checking out comment sections to “watch the drama” unfolding. Boy, are there some doozies out there!  As the days went by, though, I would find myself in the middle of reading something on Facebook or a level in a game & it would time out. A notice would pop up, asking if I wanted to add minutes to my timer. Sure, let's add 10 more minutes. The next day, when the timer question popped up, I'd forgotten that I had extended the time, so, I’d add a few more minutes when it timed out.  Have you ever watched a snowball rolling down a hill, fattening itself with the snow it picks up? Yep, that was me, only packing on extra minutes ...

Oh, how easy it is to slip back into nonproductive, mindless habits! I gave up the following for Lent this year: Facebook (peeking in only a couple times on Sundays)  watching movies/shows that were not faith-based (except for Studio Ghibli movies for special family time evenings) listening to any music except for religious or classical  playing games on my phone  Because I had more time, especially in my evenings, I fully immersed myself in a series our Bible Study group was working through, Dr. Edward Sri’s program, No Greater Love: a Biblical Walk Through Christ’s Passion from Ascension Press . We gathered weekly to watch a video, which was filmed in the Holy Land & led by Dr. Sri as he presented Christ’s journey from the Garden of Gethsemane to Mt. Calvary. Afterwards, we shared any insights we gained from what we’d watched & from our personal reading of the text. I was learning so much through this study that my whole Lenten journey was taken to another leve...

On this Feast of the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), we celebrate the most precious Gift Our Lord Jesus gave to us…Himself.  We hear in the Gospel the preparations for Christ & His disciples to celebrate their Passover meal, The Last Supper.  On this evening, He instituted the source & summit of our Faith…Holy Communion.  The word “communion” comes from the Latin word, “communio” , which stands for mutual participation, sharing, or fellowship.  Each Mass we partake in is a remembrance of Christ’s Passion, Death, & Resurrection, His Holy Sacrifice for us.  In place of an offering of animals at the altar, as in Biblical times, He is the Sacrificial Lamb & we bring our full (or fool , as is often the case) selves to be fed & healed by His Body & Blood.  We are currently in the midst of a National Eucharistic Revival.  There is so much division, anger, fear, & distrust in the world today.  Sadly, man...