Most of us live too hectic lives – working, cleaning, preparing meals, answering emails and a hundred other things. I have often mused, “Oh to be bored just one day!”  Life is hectic!  When I might finally sit down in the evening I often doze off while reading or watching TV.  I might wake up when those commercials come on only to find I have missed half the program I was watching!

In our Gospel today, Peter, James and John must have really been tired climbing that mountain! For they fell asleep! Then they awakened they saw Jesus transfigured. How startling that must have been!

Luke’s account of the Transfiguration includes the necessity of the passion on the journey to glory. The point of our Gospel – glory presupposes embracing self-offering. Glory comes only through embracing the passion – dying to self for the good of others.

We have to come down from the mountain and walk our journey through death to glory. And let us remember God walks with us to glory.

Often the topic of immigration brings up strong emotion in people.  Some think that anyone entering the country illegally needs to be immediately sent back to their homeland, in a swift and harsh manner.  Some only think that these immigrants are stealing their jobs and therefore have no place in our country.  I admit, those emotional responses can be challenging to look past, but they are not the loving, Christian response that God calls his people too.

Because of our life of faith, through our baptismal call and our confirmation of beliefs (and acceptance of Catholicism) we must move past the basic emotional response and see the human dignity in the broader world of our international brothers and sisters.

The question of Comprehensive Immigration Reform is about more than politics – it is about people.  People who have lived in deplorable conditions with no means to make changes, people who left the ones they love to make an (often lethal) journey into the unknown to possibly make a little money that they may send back to support their families.  For the most part, these people didn’t want to make that decision.  They wanted to stay in their home country, to work, to live, to raise their family.  Breaking up their family and risking their life was not their ideal future.

We, living here in the “Land of Opportunity” easily forgot (most likely have never known) what it means to be oppressed, to be starved, to be hopeless with no government agencies or parish support available.  Sure, we have tough times – especially in the past 2 years, but we have our families, our government, our parish and community support.  We have places to turn to.  We will be treated with dignity.  Others in the world deserve that same dignity!  That is what Christ told us, what the Bishops tell us and what our own heart tells us.

Take the step to move past the emotional and media response.  Take a look inside your faith, you can get plenty of information at the USCCB established website JusticeforImmigrants.org .

If your spirit speaks to you, please join in the postcard campaign to our elected officials.  You can sign the postcards after mass on March 7^th in Vincention Hall, obtain one from the church office, or print one off from the website here.

Direct Resource Links:

Immigration Q&A

Catholic Bishops Call for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Immigration and Catholic Social Teaching

Immigration and the Ecomony

Last evening, our second night of our Parish Mission,  Jim’s reflection centered on To Die Well, One Needs to Live Well.

One of the scriptures he shared was that of raising Lazarus from the dead. I sometimes wonder if Lazarus really wanted to come back! Was he as willing as we imagine?  He already died, if he had a taste of life eternal, why come back to this life once again? And coming back was he any different? This led me to the following reflection:

Ohio is plagued by snowy winters, requiring that salt be put on road surfaces to make them safer to travel. The problem is that salt eats away at a car’s metal body. So, going to a car wash is a frequent winter ritual.

Recently I was sitting in a car-wash facility near the end of the washing process when the machines began to spray a special liquid all over the car. The sign said it was a “drying agent,” but that struck me as odd. Wetting something down to dry it seems contrary to what you’d expect. Yet that is precisely what those chemicals are designed to do. It is counter-intuitive thinking—a paradox.

Jesus also dealt in counter-intuitive thinking when presenting His kingdom message to His followers. In Matthew 16:25, He said, “Whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” That doesn’t sound right. To save your life, you have to lose it? That seems like saying, “To dry something, you wet it down!” Yet, it is absolutely true. Only as we die to self, entrusting ownership of our lives to Christ, can we learn what it means to really live.

Jim’s reflection leads us to ponder how are we daily living the dying and rising of Jesus? Dying well means dying each day to the things that stop us from embracing the way of Jesus and dedicating ourselves to living the Christian life well.

“Dying to live” may seem counter-intuitive, but it is the heart of the Christian experience. [Bill Crowder, Our Daily Bread]

To live for Christ, we must learn to die to self. And in doing so, we can embrace life in Christ, a life that will never end.

Last evening, Jim Merhaut began our Parish Mission talking about holiness. To be holy is simply to be like God.  And God is Love. So holiness for a family is mainly about loving. That means it is about ordinary, earthy things like giving birth, laughing together,shedding tears, giving hugs, wiping snotty noses…They are holy things when they are living things. That does not exclude prayer, but it does include the messiness of daily life in a family. It is not the mess that is holy, but rather who we become through the challenges we face as a family.

The self giving of time, attention, love, forgiveness, affirmation and support are clear signs of God’s presence in your family. Indeed we need to celebrate.

Did you know that prayer is the most important part of being a missionary? Well, it is! That’s why HCA sponsors a National Prayer Week every year. During this prayer week, kids in the United States remember their sisters and brothers in the Missions by saying a special HCA prayer as often as possible for five consecutive days. Mark your calendars – National Prayer Week 2010 takes place March 14-21.

Here is the prayer:

Dear God, through our Baptism, we are called to share Your love and Your peace everywhere. We are Your ambassadors, sent to bring the “Good News” of Jesus to all, beginning in our own community and reaching to the ends of the earth.

Fill our hearts with the love and peace of Jesus, especially as we meet him in the Sacraments. Help us to be examples of Your compassion and a source of Your hope to all, especially those who are poor , lonely, suffering and sick.

Give us strength to show others what it means to follow Jesus. Help us to answer the call to be His witnesses, His missionaries.

We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who is Lord forever and ever. Amen.

It is said that certain items are “rust-proof.”  Other things are billed as either “dust-proof” or “spill-proof” or “bullet-proof” or “child-proof” or “scratch-proof.” But here’s something which no human being ever has been or ever will be: “temptation-proof.”

Temptations are luring. They present us with a seeming good we do not presently have but want. Without a lure, temptations do not exist. Temptations always lure us to a false good.

In our Gospel today, Jesus is faced with three perceived goods. And each temptation put to Jesus involved some misguided personal gain – power, prestige and possessions. By resisting the temptations, Jesus shows us that our true gain is not in satisfying ourselves but in something better – utter fidelity to God.

Temptations are not an indication of sin, rather, they are occasions for us to show that our lives are turned to God. In resisting temptations, we are choosing who we want to be – those who faithfully serve God by doing good for others.

Lent is a focused time to grow in holiness and transformation; it is a time to take the test of who we want to be.  We don’t have to go out to the desert to find temptation. But we do need God’s nearness to resist it. And that God has promised us.

Click here for this week’s bulletin:

Jul-25-2010

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Jul-18-2010

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Jun-27-2010

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Jun-06-2010

Today is Ash Wednesday, but many people (including many Catholics) are not sure why it is that we march into church and stand in line to have someone else rub dirt on our foreheads.  Why do you do it? I mean that question seriously.  Why do you participate in this ancient rite of ashes on the forehead?

I firmly believe and understand (for myself) that each of us needs to look at these church rites and come to a personal meaning of them for us, in our day and time.  So, one more time, why is it that you come to mass on this Wednesday, 40 days before Good Friday, and submit to having ashes rubbed onto your forehead?

As you pray about why you do this, let me give you some reference to consider.  In a land and time of false gods (materialism, vanity, TV, sports idols) do you consider it important to have some symbols of what you truly believe in?  I assume that you have symbols of other aspects of your life around you, like your cell phone, movie posters, jewelry, sports team hats or jerseys.  What do keep around that helps you reflect on your faith.  Ashes?

One symbol of faith in Christ that many Christians have with them is a cross.  The cross is used to remind you of the saving act of God for humanity and displaying it shows others you are a believer.  In a similar way, making the “sign of the cross” on yourself is a remembrance of the same saving act of Christ.

What do ashes remind you of?  In the time of the bible ashes were a symbol of mourning and penance.  In the strict sense of the word, repent (penance) means to “turn-around” and go in a different way.  Ashes therefore represented to people the grief of doing wrong and the desire to turn-around in life.  Ashes also symbolize that we are mortal, and as such, we will ultimately return to the Earth (dust) from which God created us and our spirit will (hopefully) be joined with God in Heaven.

I hope this helps you to reflect, consider and pray about the direction of your life, and also to make this wonderful tradition of accepting ashes on your forehead as an outward sign of your repentance from sin and belief in a saving Christ.

Estranged from the Church?

Are you

• A cradle Catholic who has drift away from church practice as part of “growing up?”
• A divorced Catholic who “feels excluded from the table of Christ?”
• A disenchanted Catholic raised in the church, but who felt left out when some change occurred or felt ignored when you had issues to raise?
• A person who joined another church seeking to grow spiritually or renew your faith?
• An alienated Catholic who was offended in some way, whether intended or not, by a representative of the church?

Whatever the reason, you have been away too long; but no matter how long, it is never too late to return to the transforming power of God. We invite you to consider renewing your relationship with the Catholic Church. Call St Edward Parish at 330.743.2308 and ask for Sister Therese Ann Rich.

As parents of young children know, Lent can seem so “heavy” in comparison to the anticipation and excitement of preparing for Christmas. What can this season of conversion and preparation “to celebrate the paschal mystery with mind and heart renewed” mean for little children?

For many of us growing up, Lent meant “giving up candy.” That wasn’t a bad way to introduce us to the notion of self-discipline, but simply giving up something for Lent, without a whole spirituality that children can enter into, can leave kids dreading Lent more than looking forward to it.

Here is an article that may be of help.  Helping Little Children With Lent