Tag Archives: Lenten Journey

SUNSHINE OF RESURRECTION

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Repent ye therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. (Acts 3:19, KJV)

 

The earth is coming out of its long winter sleep and although it has appeared to be dormant, it has spent these many months renewing and refreshing preparing for a rebirth.

Seedlings hiding deep underground are lying in wait for the first signs of sunshine and warming rains to be released from their cold incubators. Animals active during other times of the year sleep in rejuvenate in their winter homes. Even trees exposed to the winter elements withdraw into themselves and throughout the onslaught nurture and grow while we wait the warmer days of spring.

The days are shorter and darker, even when the sun shines it is harder to capture its warmth. Human inclination is to hunker down, stoke up the fires and hibernate like some animals. We feel our energy is depleted and desire to move in slow motion or even no motion. In essence we desire to take on the appearance of the plant and animal kingdoms surrounding us.

Our spiritual lives can be a lot like the seemingly endless season of winter. Sin moves in and darkens our souls. God seems distant and unattainable like the warmth of the sun.

When we look at the desolate landscape outside our windows and deep inside our souls we lose hope. Will there ever be sunshine again? Will the blanket covering our souls be lifted? Will we feel the warmth of God’s love ever again?

Like plants and animals we can use this dark season for regrowth and renewal. Use the time to soul- search and find our most vulnerable and exposed areas in our lives, where Satan can gain a foothold. We must find the time to pray, to nurture and regain our hope and faith. Become still and silent like the plants and animals. Listen for God’s gentle answers for your life. Let that first ray of light reach the cold, dark recesses of your heart and soul and set you on fire with His passion. Prepare yourself for rebirth into the wondrous light of God. Christ’s resurrection hails the spring of our spirituality. Through prayer, Bible study and like minded community His light and warmth will burst through like a seed bursting through the soil, all anew after a winter’s rest.

The Resurrection supplies the light, water and warmth needed to banish Satan and the darkest of seasons. Jesus rebuilds our hope and takes away our sin, like spring sweeps away the detritus of winter, when we give Him the opening.

Jesus is there for all seasons and if we search in the right places He can be easily found. With Him we can banish the darkness, the hopelessness, the winter of our lives and we can have it always.

May you be blessed in this Easter Season with love and forgiveness of the sacrifice that Christ made for us.

All for the Glory of God

Christina Weigand

When Lent Becomes Personal

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When Lent Becomes Personal

 

Part of the Lenten Journey series

 

Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. – John 13:5

 

It’s been a pretty pathetic Lent, or so I thought until about 10 AM on Tuesday morning.

 

It was then that I got The Call.

 

As I write this, I don’t know what the outcome of The Call will be. What will that test we worried about show? Will there be a new health challenge with a family member who’s had a fair share of them lately?

 

I’ve been reflecting about how this one call has changed my entire Lent.

 

Those reflections have led me back to how Gethsemane probably changed a few people’s perceptions of the Passover, too.

 

From the time I received that call on Tuesday morning, Lent changed for me. Holy Week, which I hadn’t even fully considered yet, became, suddenly, a time that would draw me closer to Jesus in his suffering and Passion.

 

What was it like to know what was coming, to want it not to happen, but to accept it anyway?

 

Lent becomes personal for me, most years, around Holy Thursday, when I find myself humbled and looking Jesus in the face.

 

This year is different already, and I’m trying to hold on and keep Jesus’ face in sight. He’s bowing his head, praying.

 

Sounds like a good approach to the unknown ahead.

 

Lord, hold us close as we face the insurmountable hurdle of Calvary. Let us feel the joy of Easter morning even though we’re struggling with the grief of Good Friday. Lead us into your arms, Lord, and help us to do your will. Amen.

 

Image source: MorgueFile

 

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Sarah Reinhard is online at SnoringScholar.com and is the author of the recently-released Catholic Family Fun: A Guide for the Adventurous, Overwhelmed, Creative, or Clueless.

 

All for the Glory of God,

Christina Weigand

Mary – An Example for the Ages

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For this last week of Lent I am going to stray a little from the chapter on Elizabeth and look at Mary, the mother of Jesus.

God tells a simple ordinary woman that she is to be the mother of the Son of God.  Thirty-three years later that same ordinary woman lets that son go to his grisly death.  Throughout Jesus’ life, Mary had many opportunities to deny her faith, to deny her God by refusing to do the things He asked of her.  Instead, each time she responded in faith, sacrificing her fears and dreams to do the will of God.

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary of Magdala. (John 19:25)

Read and Ponder: John 19: 25-27

At Jesus crucifixion, Mary’s noble bearing of her loneliness and heartache can give us comfort in our times of anguish and pain.  She silently endured what she knew she could not change and realized she needed to be strong to help the remaining apostles in their continuing mission.

 

Mary stayed with Jesus when most of the others had abandoned Him. For her faith and love, Jesus rewarded her by entrusting her care to his beloved disciple, John.  Her acceptance of God’s will at the foot of the cross in the greatest lesson Mary will give us.

 

Questions to Ponder:

  1. Would I so willingly accept God’s will in the face of such anguish and pain?
  2. Would I be willing to learn God’s lesson and share it with the world?
  3. Would I turn to God or away from God in my greatest need?”

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, make me more like your blessed Mother, Mary. Give me the courage to say, Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word. Luke 1:38 (NAB)

 

All for the Glory of God,

Christina Weigand

Excerpted from Women of the Bible: A Study by Christina Weigand

 

Holy Week 2012, how are you going to die to self?

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The first blog post in this Holy Week is by Elizabeth Weidner. May you all find a little wisdom in her Lenten Journey. Please feel free to share your Lenten journey in the comment section below.

Thank you and God Bless.

Mary with Jesus

This is Holy Week; the last lap of the Lenten marathon in our effort to go deeper in our faith,  grow stronger in our spirituality, and to get closer to God; now Christ’s passion is upon us.  We have been talking about death, an aspect of our lives that we tend to avoid at all costs for the most part.  If you have been attending the Stations of the Cross on Fridays during these weeks, you relive the passion of Christ and if you have gone more than once, you relive it over and over.  Does it get any better, easier to hear?  Do you picture this event as a bystander in the crowd? Have you ever tried to put yourself in the place of Mary, watching her son in the midst of His passion?  Could you bare it any better than she?  How about Veronica, have you ever thought about her role?  I totally admire her!  Here on the road to Christ’s crucifixion, she fights through the angry crowd, probably shoves a guard or two getting to Jesus to wipe His face.  Her love and devotion, mourning and terror overwhelm her to the point of action!  How many of us have had a surge of emotion overwhelm us to the point of action?

In the middle of Wal-Mart 17 years ago, my knight, son and I were shopping; I left them with our infant daughter to go across the store for diapers.  From a good distance as I was returning to them, I saw our infant in her carrier in the middle of the aisle with no one guarding her, instantly I began running towards her.  I know I bumped several people and moved a few carts (shoved??) aside to get to my helpless, unguarded infant. When I got there, both my knight and son were down the other end of the aisle immersed in a toy or something and totally not watching (guarding) the baby!!  I was not to be argued with at that moment and they knew it.  I took control of the situation immediately and from that point on, believe me!

Not so for our beloved Mary, she had no control over this situation; she had to let it happen…”Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me (or for this instance Jesus) according to thy word.”  She was given the heads up long ago about this day by Simone in the temple, but could this day be given to someone else?  Could she have another day with him?  God’s plan must be carried out and Jesus knew that and would have fought her about it anyhow.  The Incarnate knew His purpose, knew His role, and knew that this day was coming and was preparing for it.  Mary was totally helpless at that moment of time as she basically was her entire life; her faith was strong enough to carry out the plans of God for her.  As a human, though, it could not have been any easier, however.  Oh no!  Jesus was her life; He was her child for 33 years, which is a very long time to be so bonded to have it taken away.  Yes, he was in ministry for three years and she probably didn’t see Him much, but she knew He was still her son near or far away.  I am the mother of a son who lives over two hours away, I don’t get to see him but a few times a year now, but I know he is there and still my son.
During this week, we will be talking more and more about the Passion of Christ, how he died so cruelly at the hands of an angry, zealous crowd. There will be no happy talk, just death which is way too hard to talk about much less contemplate it for an entire week, don’t you think?  But let’s put another spin on it for a moment.  When we talk about fasting, almsgiving, and prayer; basically we are talking about dying to ourselves.  Giving up things that we take for granted and enjoy like giving up chocolate, TV, or the computer.  Fasting from meat on Fridays, abstaining from eating an hour before and after Mass each day we attend Mass, donating to the poor, giving to the rice bowl, or just making an extra offering to the basket each week during Lent, praying more, finding a devotional to follow during Lent; which is a popular activity here at the Pillar household.  All these activities are about dying to self.  Dying to our own selfish desires may take some thought, but we can do it.  Just think about some of the favorite things that you enjoy; a hot shower, that beloved morning cup of coffee, dessert after a good meal, going to the mall, spending an hour or more on Facebook, playing games on your smartphone or online; how about letting others in line first, not taking the last cookie in the jar, saving the last swig of milk in the frig for the next person , purchasing something new for someone else instead of yourself are all small things, but enough to make a difference for this week.
Take the challenge to die to selfish things this week, think before you do something and see if possibly this could be done for someone else instead.  Possibly attend Mass for someone else, offering the needs and concerns of another for that hour before our Lord?  There is a beauty in giving, giving it up, and offering an activity for others.  Mary gave her entire life to God and His plan. In studying the lives of the saints, they too gave so much of their lives to the service of others and especially to God.  They returned their sufferings and trials to God knowing that in this dying to themselves they were blessing God and others around them.  In our dying to ourselves, we are not working solely or in a solitary moment, but with and for those around us.  Nothing we do is a solitary act, we are never alone, we affect others in one way or another…always.
Some say it’s too late to get it right since they failed to accomplish what they planned to do during these 40 days; but they are wrong!   Many families will make this week as quiet and solemn as possible to allow contemplation and prayer.  We can all make a difference one day at a time, one act at a time, one moment at a time.
This is my prayer for my family and for you as well.
Elizabeth is a Catholic wife, mom, and Master Catechist, writing, sewing, being a mom, and trying to keep it together….most of the time!
To see more of her work check out her blog at http://acatholicmumclimbingthepillars.blogspot.com
All for the Glory of God
Christina Weigand

Crucify Him, Crucify Him

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I wrote this article last year and although the date has changed the sentiments remain the same. As I sat and listened to the Passion of Christ on this Palm Sunday and I felt the joy of His arrival in Jerusalem, I was also reminded of what would happen at the end of this week as those same Jews who welcomed Jesus so joyfully to their holy city would call for his resurrection. I am not much different from those Jews and thought  a reminder for all of us was in order as we enter this Holy Week.

When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” (John 19:6)

Recently at  a FCCW (Fellowship of Catholic Christian Women) I was asked to be one of the readers for the meditation at the beginning of our meeting. The meditation was the passion of Christ found in John. I was the reader that had to say these words: Crucify him, crucify him.  Even as a child whenever I participated in a Way of the Cross or heard or had to speak these words myself, I always felt a little twinge of guilt. I never understood why though. Here it was over a thousand years later, I was just reading from a book, or playing a part, or a simple listener.

In the discussion following the meditation, we were discussing a chapter from the book: Food from Heaven The Eucharist in Scripture by Jeanne Kun. The chapter The Crucifixion: The Power of the Cross. We talked a lot about the things that were said and done during the passion and death of Christ and what those things meant to us as God’s children. At one point one of the young women responded to a question and I don’t remember which one, but the answer jumped out and bit me. She said, “Every time someone sins, every time someone turns away from God we are saying those words that stick in my throat, ‘Crucify him, crucify him.’” How could I do that, how could I continue to condemn Christ to that bloody, horrible death? And how could He in His infinite love and understanding ever forgive me?

Something else that was brought out in our discussion, was as human we can never fully grasp the depth of God’s love and forgiveness. It is up to us to accept in faith what we do not understand, accept that we are forgiven and continue on the path He has set before us.

My 11 year-old daughter, likes to apologize when she has done something that has set her and I at odds. In the last several months I have found a response (through the grace of God, no doubt) to her apologies. First I accept her apology in the spirit in which it was given, but then I remind her that while it is good to apologize, the lesson is really learned if she strives to change the offending behavior and not repeat it. I think the time has come for me to listen to my own words. Time for me to stop saying “Crucify him, crucify him.”

I am going to borrow a question from Jean Kun’s book and expand on it. Please ponder the Passion of Christ as we go into this final week of Lent and share your journey to the cross and beyond in the comments below.

Question: Jesus died to atone for humankind’s sin and reconcile us to God. Through our sins are we the people throwing the stones and yelling “Crucify him, crucify him?” Have we experienced Jesus reconciliation in a concrete way? What effect did it have on our personal relationship with God?

Prayer: Jesus, most loving and forgiving brother, I am sorry that I have committed sins that put you on that cross, that echoed the words “Crucify him, crucify him.” Please forgive my failings, show me how to drop the stones and silence the screams as I follow your path. Let me learn from my mistakes and be your ever loving child. This I pray through your most blessed mother Mary and your awesome, and powerful son, Jesus, who died so that I may live in You. Amen.

All for the Glory of God,

Christina Weigand

For more info on FCCW please click on www.fellowshipofcatholicchristianwomen.org

To see Jean Kun’s book Food from Heaven The Eucharist in Scripture as well as other books by her and other writers click on the www.WORDamongus.org It can also be seen at Amazon and other booksellers.