If you would like to receive these daily reflections (written by various parishioners) in your email box each day, contact darcy.wharton@rocklincatholic.org
They also appear each day on Facebook. Find us at www.facebook.com/ssppcommunity
Reflections for Aug. 26-Sept. 1, 2019
Monday, Aug. 26, 2019-DISCIPLESHIP
Since Pentecost, the Church has told us about discipleship. When Jesus invited the Twelve to become His disciples, everyone understood that He meant them to learn how to do that in a different way than we know today. It wasn’t by attending a school or going to lectures or reading about it. It was literally giving up everything to walk with Him, to absorb His words and His way of being in the world. It was a years-long apprenticeship.
This is such a great challenge to all of us in modern times. To be a Christian disciple today doesn’t necessarily require me to leave my life behind, but it does require me to change my thoughts and actions to be a model of Jesus’s teachings that others can recognize. It’s not just a “head thing,” but a deep transformation of my spirit. If only we had the physical Jesus with us! Hearing and reading about Him is a weak substitute for actually being with Him; and yet just look at how lives have been inspired by such reading and listening. What a charismatic person He must have been! To heal people by just touching them! To inspire crowds to follow Him daily just to hear his words! I can only imagine….
I hope that by taking time each day to imagine Him in my heart, I can be a tiny sign of Him for those around me.
Barbara Stricklin
Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2019-LAUGHTER
I don’t think there has ever been a time in history when the world was without danger, fear, hunger, and threats of violence someplace. Likewise, I don’t think there was ever a time in which the world was without laughter. We humans manage to find humor in the most fraught situations; humor is a gift God has given us to relieve our own minds momentarily and to give cheer to others. Have you ever heard “Laughter is like mind-sneezing”? It can just bubble up when you least expect it, and it’s also contagious. That’s why there are laugh tracks on TV shows, and why watching a comedy with friends or with strangers in a theater is so much more enjoyable than viewing alone.
Now, my question is, why do we never hear of Jesus laughing? We hear “He prayed” or He wept,” but never “He laughed.”
My own guess is that the Gospel writers were intent upon conveying the seriousness and awe of Jesus’s life within the unbelievable story of the wonders He did and the horrible death He suffered. Just as, in previous centuries, it was unseemly and undignified to smile for a portrait or a photograph, in Jesus’s time it was probably thought too frivolous to portray Jesus laughing. But I’ll bet He did! He was just too wonderful with people to have missed sharing this precious gift with them.
Barbara Stricklin
Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019-“I VANT TO BE ALONE”
Greta Garbo’s iconic line from the film Grand Hotel (1932) is one I never say, but I often feel. Only weirdos like to be alone, right? They’re antisocial nerds, right? Well I hope not! I’ve always loved my time alone to read, to think, and to pray. Unfortunately, my “alone time” can become the habit of isolating myself if I’m not careful.
Strangely, I broke out of my shell when I began speech and debate in high school, and then later as a member of civic organizations. I came to the fullness of my self-confidence when I began teaching, but I still treasure my time alone. I think that most of us need time alone to think, regroup, and gather our thoughts.
As public a person as Jesus was, He often went off by Himself or with just a few of His disciples on the Sea of Galilee to get away from the crowds of people who wanted to be near Him and to touch Him. Of course He withdrew several times that we know of to talk to His Father in prayer.
I hope you give yourself the gift of solitude occasionally to balance the hours you spend in the community and with your family and friends. You deserve this gift to refresh yourself.
Barbara Stricklin
Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019-FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
I really enjoy using a daily reader as both a life aid and a prayer aid. Whereas I might find that reading an entire chapter of a spiritual book is too much to digest at one sitting, a daily reader gives me a great start on an idea I can return to throughout the day. There are so many readers from which we can choose! One of my favorites is Fr. Thomas Keating’s Daily Reader For Contemplative Living. You might have it on your bookshelf, too.
As a Catholic convert, I find there are so many areas of the faith that I don’t really know. One I read about in the month of July is “The Fruits of the Spirit.” In these troubled times of world-wide tension, I find particular comfort in the “Second Fruit of the Spirit: Joy.” Keating explains it as a sense of well-being based on the experience of a conscious relationship with God. This consciousness causes us to let go of our worries about the present moment without trying to change it. Our false self thinks that somehow, we can change it, while our true self knows that we just need to leave it to God.
Whew! Freedom! Can you let yourself be free of worrying about what you can’t change? I hope so ~ and I hope that I can, too.
Barbara Stricklin
Friday, Aug. 30, 2019-SITTING AT THE FEET OF RABBI JESUS
The most fascinating books I’ve read lately are those that explain how Jesus’s New Testament words had deeply profound meaning for the people of His own time; meanings that we most likely do not fully pick up on. First Century Jews knew their Hebrew Scriptures intimately. Even the early Christian Church fathers missed the importance of some of the references, such as “Son of Man,” a name Jesus called himself.
According to scholar Lois Tverberg, we have assumed the title to refer only to the fact that Jesus humbled himself to live in a human body, but people of His own day would have immediately thought of a reference from Daniel 7:13-14. The passage speaks of ‘“one like a son of man,’ who seems human but enters God’s throne room, is crowned, and then sits down on the throne to reign.”
When Jesus refers to Himself as the Son of Man in Mark 13 and 14 and in Luke 21 His people know exactly what He means: that He is the Messiah, the King they have all been waiting for. For some, Jesus was the fulfillment they welcomed; for others, Jesus was committing blasphemy by identifying Himself with God.
This clarifies for me the intense hostility that led to the crucifixion. There is always more to learn and understand, isn’t there?
Barbara Stricklin
Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019-HALF EMPTY OR HALF FULL?
We’ve all tried little gimmicks to encourage our children to complete their “tasks.” Months ago, I wrote about the star chart we displayed for each child: when a task was completed, we put a star on it. They could see their stars accumulate and be proud of themselves. This method of keeping a visible record is something we all do with our to-do lists both to remind us of what we need to do, and to “check off” what we’ve accomplished.
There are also many suggestions for keeping our spirits up and our minds focused in a positive direction. One I ran across today was to have a small notebook in which to keep a daily list of things that have “gone right” for me as they occur. If I wait until evening to list them, I’ll probably forget some. In addition, the list reinforces “positivity” during the day.
It seems to me that this list could be augmented by a parallel list of blessings I’ve received from God each day as I recognize them: His presence, sunshine, nature, a smile, a friend, good health, the nourishment I need, and so on. If you already keep a “gratitude list,” then you know how much it can boost your mood. If you haven’t tried this practice, do it for a week to see its effect on you.
Barbara Stricklin
Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019-LOST AND FOUND
I had been ill and mostly asleep for a week, and my mood was very low. In addition, my computer had also been “ill” and had been in for repairs. When I finally plugged it in, my printer began churning out a document I hadn’t been able to print the previous week. The first lines said:
“If you want to find God, then honor God within you, and you will always see God beyond you. For it is only God in you who knows where and how to look for God.”
My eyes filled with tears. My heart filled with love. People talk about “God Moments,” and this was surely one of them. I felt myself nestled in God’s hands once again and infused with the strength that only His love can give. I am so grateful.
When has God picked you up when you were down? When have you had a physical, bodily certainty of His presence?
Barbara Stricklin
Reflections for Aug. 19-25, 2019
Monday, Aug. 19, 2019-Teaching
Ten years after leaving teaching, I return to the classroom today to teach middle school religion. My Ticonderoga pencils are sharpened, my plans are written and (I think) I am ready to step back into the classroom on a part-time basis. I am happy in the career that I have chosen since leaving teaching as a profession, but there has always been a call to the classroom. Over the last decade I have fulfilled that ache for teaching through the ministries of baptism and RCIA. Today I feel blessed that I will again be able to fill this calling with our youth.
When I take the time to listen to what I am being called to, I most often feel that it is teaching. But what I have learned in the last decade is that our vocation need not always match our profession. I feel blessed that I have been able to find a way to work in a career that I love while having the opportunity to serve God through teaching. May our prayer be that we can all find a way to use the gifts that God has given us to serve him and others.
Erin Gallawa
Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019-Back to School
There are so many ways to measure time, but back to school is one of those yearly milestones that really marks the passage of the years for parents. When our girls started Kindergarten, we were not yet living in our new home, but on the first day we rushed to stop by the house so we could take first day photos on the steps of the new house. Last week our girls lined up for their fourth back to school photo on those steps before marching confidently into school. I glance back at the previous years to see how they have changed and I admire how they have grown. I wonder how they will look next year and all the years that follow.
How does God see us grow? Does he look back to compare how we have changed each year? Or does he only look forward, seeing in us only what we will be?
Erin Gallawa
Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019-Half Dome
Today I am hiking Half Dome in Yosemite National Park with four of my dearest friends. It’s something I’ve been preparing for since early this year and I’m thrilled that today is the day. But all my reading and all my physical preparation are still nothing for the moment that awaits me—the moment when I must grab on to the cables and pull myself to the top of this mountain of a rock. I am reminded of other mountain top stories: Moses and Abraham and Jesus with Peter who all summitted a mountain and had an encounter with God. What will my moment be? Will I encounter God on the mountaintop? I pray that if nothing else, in that moment I stand in awe and wonder in God’s presence and can give thanks to Him.
Erin Gallawa
Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019-How Does God’s garden grow?
My first successful garden has continued to flourish throughout the summer. I watched patiently as I saw my first zucchini and tomato blossom. Having never really observed how these plants grow, I have been in awe of their ongoing process of growth. I am in awe of my three tomato plants which always have fruit in varying stages of growth. I guess I expected that they would all blossom and ripen at once and that is certainly not how it happens! And so it must be with God watching all of us. Each of us blossom, ripen and are ready to be picked at different times. God is the vine that keeps growing, keeps nourishing us, keeps connecting us to one another. But each of us comes ready in our time. And like me watching each tomato daily, measuring its progress and delighting in its growth, so too does God find joy in watching us develop in our own time.
Erin Gallawa
Friday, Aug. 23, 2019-Begin Again
It is said that upon leaving the Sacrament of Reconciliation, St. Teresa of Avila would exclaim to all the sisters, “Begin again!” What a beautiful message to receive from the Sacrament, that we are free to start anew after we are liberated from our sins!
In recent days, “Begin again” has been stuck in my mind. I keep wondering: what is it that God is asking me to start again? It is an immense gift that we have the freedom to start anew; it is also a challenge to know where to begin!
May we recognize the blessing that comes with the abundant opportunities to start again and hear the voice of St. Teresa in our hearts: Begin again!
Erin Gallawa
Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019-Compass
If you handed me a compass, I would get lost. I know that the needle points north, but I would need to understand what to do with that information to get me home! Yet somehow, the image of a compass still brings me comfort. The idea of a moral compass is so easy for me to embrace. I know that True North points me to Christ. When I follow Christ, there is clear direction on how to act and where to go. Where a physical compass would only result in confusion, following the compass of Christ always leads me home.
When you are searching for your path in life, are you using the Compass of Christ?
Erin Gallawa
Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019-To Bear and Wear
At Mass recently I noticed that the Book of the Gospels is beginning to wear where the hands of the lectors, Father and the deacon firmly grasp the sides to hold it high as it processes down the aisle and then moves from the altar to the ambo. The brilliant red is beginning to expose a soft gray.
My initial reaction was that we need a new Book of the Gospels! But then I reflected on the beauty that this wear represents. We hold on tight to the Word of God—we clasp it first in our hands, then in our heads, and finally in our hearts. The Word must be first in our hands before it can become part of our lives.
Secondly, I love that it has been worn by the hands of our own parishioners, acting as the body of Christ. Our lectors have been called to be the hands of Christ carrying the word and the mouth of Christ, speaking the Word. What a beautiful, visual reminder of this in the worn cover of the Book of the Gospels!
The next time you see the Book of the Gospels carried high, pray that you may hold on tight to the Word of God until it is worn from bearing its message into our hearts.
Erin Gallawa