Spring Forward – Reflect & Restore

Spring is a beginning Fall we let go of things Winter we hibernate and rejuvenate, seems cold and lonely Spring we can bloom again Easter is renewal and rebirth! Spring, for me, is a time to clean house, remove clutter and just get moving. I had a winter to hibernate and rejuvenate. In January, I start waiting (very impatiently) for Spring. In the Midwest, we haven’t even hit the worst of Winter yet, and I’m done with cold and cloudy days. I get the “Winter Blues” times ten. I take extra Vitamin D to help with pain and mood! It helps, but I just NEED the sun. I feel trapped inside instead of cozy. I need to get out. But I don’t like the freezing temperatures, rain or snow. In Spring, I really do come ALIVE! During each season, I reflect. I make plans or goals. What can I do? As a Catholic Christian, I get prepared for Spring with Lent. It’s a reflective time where we practice self-control and making good habits. It’s prayerful. It’s penitential. So I double down with preparing or making plans for my NEW life. Everything deciduous (loses it’s leaves and ‘dies’ in the winter like bulbs and perennials), then finds it’s way up and out of the ground in Spring. Love it! The Scripture story of Lazarus is a good example of rebirth and restoration. Jesus tells him to “come out!” of the tomb. […]

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is Jesus lost?

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad. Psalm 118:24 Where is Jesus? “They have taken the Lord from the tomb,and we don’t know where they put him.”So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb… When Simon Peter arrived after him [other disciple],he went into the tomb and saw […]

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I’d Love to See!

R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Psalm 23:1 The Man Born Blind Brothers and sisters: You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth. Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord…Christ will give […]

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Are you thirsty?

R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Psalm 95:8 The Woman At The Well         Pope Benedict XVI wrote that “she thirsts for life itself and that all the assuaging that she seeks and finds cannot slake this living, elemental thirst….  There comes to light the real dilemma, the deep-seated waywardness, of their existence: she is […]

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Blessed are you…joy!

Response: Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade. Psalm 1 The BEATITUDES And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said, “Blessed are you…” Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. Luke 6 We cherish these words of Jesus even today. The ‘Beatitudes,’ or blessings, that Christ gives us takes everything to the next level. We even see that the prophets have said this before! Their message might have been said with a “woe to you if you are satisfied” instead of blessed are you. The paradox of our faith shows itself in these blessings. How can we laugh when we feel like crying? This distinction can be hard to understand for us today.  You may have heard ‘happy are those’ in a different translation. We know that we can’t be happy all the time. Words for our blessings are satisfied, comforted and can experience the Kingdom of Heaven. It’s a different way of looking at the challenges we have in life. Interesting that the following verses in Luke Chapter 6 are love your enemies and the Golden rule. Check out the next posts! The Beatitudes are the way to live that goes beyond the 10 Commandments. Taking it up a notch! Why? What do we think? Then how do […]

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Transformation – Part 3

TRANSFORMATION Part 3 – You, only better! …Although in Holy Communion we are at once united with Christ, his power within us develops gradually. …Nor will the eucharistic God alone transform us. He requires our free, generous cooperation. Only by stimulating our higher faculties can we imitate Christ’s life. …Although Christ dwells in us with His Body, Blood, Soul and […]

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