Blog Archives - CR Cards

The Sold Joseph

2/26/2016

It is so dehumanizing to me, when I think of Joseph's brothers selling him because of the deep jealously they harbored against him. It makes me think of the ways life has become so cheap in our society. Everything, every person seems to have a price and this little regard for the lives of the most vulnerable or "different". Values are negotiated as if they were money. Promises are made to be broken.

Why do we "sell out"? Is it because we envy another or like Joseph's brothers have jealousy in our hearts towards someone? It exploring this question in my own life, I ask myself these questions:

Am I a jealous person?
What motivates me in life?
Am I self-centered or other centered?
Do I seek to know the truth about myself?
Have I ever "sold anyone out"?

Why is our culture prone to compromising the time-tried, Scripture-based values we have embraced in the past? Perhaps because:

Have I gradually assimilated anti-Christian values from TV, from our education system, from blockbuster movies that influenced me without my knowing it?
Is Political Correctness has become my only value?
Have I chosen convenience to shortchange my call to sacrifice and courtesy; have I chosen to look out for #1 in everything I say and do?

The story of Joseph and his Technicolor Dream Coat seems to have brought some great questions to light for me today. My prayer is "Lord, help me to know myself and help me to live by Your values. With Your grace, I want to be faithful to you. Amen."

I, the LORD, Alone Probe The Mind

2/25/2016

. . . and test the heart . . . (Jer 17:5-10)

Who am I fooling when I think that my manipulations will go unnoticed?   Are my true motivations for saying or acting in certain ways only known to myself? This is clearly not the case. The one Being that knows all of my intentions is God.

Now, this may tend to send me on a guilt trip, but I would rather take the high road and consider the GOOD I intend, the MERCY I try to convey, the FORGIVENESS I am working on extending . . . and more.   Yes, nothing is hidden from the loving gaze of God; the God Who wants to fill my heart and entire being with LOVE.

Knowing this, I try to ask God each day to be in my thoughts, in my words and in my heart.   I ask God to help me be sensitive when my motivation is not loving or Christian. I ask God to help me be honest with myself and with God too.

There is always room for improvement in my life and I want to remain open to realizing that. Instead of beating myself up for being human, at the end of the day I will try to simply review my day and begin again when I forget to live as I desire to live.

The bottom line for me:   Rise again, when I fall. I am grateful that God is always with me, understands me even in my sinfulness and weakness, and is there when I begin again. What could I ever want or ask for?

Must Good Be Repaid With Evil?

2/24/2016

Today's first reading at Mass brought the words of Jeremiah front and center into our minds as we heard of his struggle with the evil plans others' were making to hurt or even kill him. The Church places this before us for prayer as we continue to walk the Lenten Journey in response to the evil thrust upon Christ for love of us. The Evil Spirit is alive and well, often influencing us and others to live contrary to the Gospel.

I could not help but share the headline above which emphasizes just part of the extent evil has been unleashed in our world. One can almost feel powerless when contemplating the ways those with evil intent are trying to hurt us and others. Must good be repaid with evil?

Immersed in the season of Lent where we remember how Jesus allowed himself to be powerless in the presence of evil, it seems to me that there is a lesson here. The end of the story for Jesus was "Evil does not prevail". God alone holds us and our world in the best of hands.

I wonder if in our powerlessness, we should entrust the ISIS into God's hands? I wonder if faced with our inability to control this virus of evil, we should call upon God to dispel the darkness?

What would Jeremiah do? What would Jesus do?   What is God asking me to do in light of the fact that today, there are people who seek to repay goodness with evil?

I have no answers to the above, except to try to be a person of faith, pondering these things in my heart, as Mary did and living the best I can, even when surrounded with evil news and the fears that come from the real evil present in our world.   I will remember that the Good Spirit, the Holy Spirit is with me to strengthen me when it seems my strength is spent. I will remember that God is always with me.   I think Jeremiah knew that too, even though he did not always feel God's comfy presence.

Though Your Sins Be Like Scarlet . . .

2/23/2016

The Scarlet Letter --- Remember that classic? I suppose many of us carry around letters of one sort or another from past sins or addictions. Some of us carry the letters for a lifetime.   Sometimes the person we have hurt dies and we still drag the guilt of the hurt, the disagreement or the sin along with us, long after the person has entered into eternity. Sometimes we carry along a personal sin against ourselves, i.e., some pattern of behavior that we refuse to try to change, or some sin which we allowed to haunt us over and over again.

God tells us today through the Prophet Isaiah, that "Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool." (Is 1:10, 16-20)

Our sins have been bleached through the blood of Christ Crucified. Mercy has been unleashed for all time.   There is no sin or addiction I can ever claim that is greater than the love of Christ poured out for me on the cross.   It is unbelievable that I could be so loved by God, yet it is true.

I pray every day "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."   Enough said.   I need to take this to heart and begin to forgive as I have been forgiven.

Rather than weigh myself down today with the fact that I do not always forgive others as I have been forgiven, I am going to try another approach. I am going to concentrate on all the goodness and love God has poured upon me through the years. I am going to spend this day in gratitude to God for the mercy that has overflowed into my life over and over again . . . a mercy that is unending.

Tomorrow , I will begin to try to uncover small ways to be more forgiving towards others in my thoughts, words and deeds. This won't happen automatically. It will take effort, but a very good spiritual and personal challenge for Lent.

Is It My Way That Is Unfair, Or Rather . . .

2/19/2016

. . . Are Not Your Ways Unfair? (Ez 18:21-28)

As I read this passage from the Book of Ezekiel, I cannot help but ask myself what kind or image I have of God? Do I consider God a "Maintenance Person" who I call upon to fix things that are broken in my life? Is God a "Magician" that makes my problems disappear whenever I call upon God in prayer?   Do I picture God as a distant, uncaring Being who has lost control of creation?   What is my image of God?

I may try, but I cannot manipulate God with novenas or rosaries or promises to be faithful. What God wants from me is a relationship of love.   God is not a convenience when needed, or a solution to my problems. God is Love and God wants to love me in an ongoing relationship.

My reciprocal love for God does not depend upon how many of my prayers have been answered, or if life is easy or difficult. I trust God. I know God loves me. I hold on to God's unseen hand.

There is a saying that "God's ways are not our ways".   What God wants or allows for my life is not always what I would choose.

If I expect God to any less than love, then I may need to take a look at the image I have painted of God for my life.   Reading Sacred Scripture would be a good start to spruce up my image. Sometimes love challenges. Sometimes love consoles. Sometimes love forgives.   Sometimes love endures.   God is LOVE.   God does all of this for me because God loves me.   Do I demand more from God than what God wants for me right now? Am I unfair to the One Who loves me more than any other being can?

No One But You

2/18/2016

Queen Esther in today's first reading for Mass, cries out "Help me, who am alone and have no help but you . . ." to God.   Have you ever felt like that?   I know I have.

We humans are funny sometimes. We will say a Hail Mary or Our Father in an effort to pray to God Who loves us more than we can manage to express, but we often withhold the real life things from God; the things that we need to cry out to God about.

We may think that God will not understand our anguish or anger.   We may think that God doesn't care. We may be in spiritual desolation and not know it.   There are many reasons why, unlike Queen Esther, we refrain from sharing our life with God.

No matter how long it has been, there is always the opportunity of a new beginning with God. Yesterday is gone. Today is full of hope and forgiveness. The consolation of Lent helps us to know beyond a doubt that God understands and loves us through and through.   Jesus cried out to his Father. Jesus felt excruciating physical and emotional pain.   Jesus was tempted to struggle with spiritual desolation. Knowing this, what would ever prevent me from relying on him?

February 17th, 2016

2/17/2016

When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes." Jon. 3:1-10

Sackcloth and ashes were outward signs that the Hebrew people used as an outward sign of one’s inward condition. Such a symbol made one’s change of heart visible and demonstrated the sincerity of one’s grief and/or repentance. It was not the act of putting on sackcloth and ashes itself that moved God to relent and forgive the people of Nineveh in today's reading from the book of Jonah, but the humility that such an action demonstrated.

God sees the heart. God knows the truth. Perhaps this is the very reason Pope Francis, when asked if certain people were sinners, responded "Who am I to judge?"
I wore ashes on Ash Wednesday all day long to witness externally that I would take Lent seriously and make sincere efforts to return to the Lord. The rest of Lent, no one sees my efforts, except the Lord. What does God see in my heart today?

Forgiveness

2/16/2016

This day God asks me to look at how I forgive those who hurt me in any way. The readings from today's Mass remind me of God's tender care for the poor, the just and the broken hearted. I am also reminded that it is God's Will that I forgive, as I have been forgiven, over and over again by God.

God wants to forgive me. God is so approachable and eager to welcome me home each time I stray through sin. Yet, when I don't respond to God's forgiving love, I need to recall the words of today's Gospel: "But if you do not forgive men (others), neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."

Sometimes the hurts or our lives run deep and instant forgiveness seems impossible. God loves me and understands this more than I know. Still, even then, I can still pray for those who have wronged me. I can ask God to forgive them and I can ask God to lead me to the point that one day, I may be able to forgive as I truly want to, but feel presently unable to do. God sees my struggles to forgive. I am sure God understands. Did not Jesus say from the Cross "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do"? He prayed for those who ruthlessly tortured and executed him.

If there is someone in your life right now who you find unable to forgive, bring his or her name to God right now and ask God to care for and to forgive them. Ask for the grace to be able to let go of the anger, pain or grudge that you may feel inside. Even if this may need to be your prayer for days, months or years, keep handing it over to the Lord. Ask God to help you forgive as you have been forgiven. God will work miracles in your life and help you to do so, if you let go and let God do this for you.

You Did It For Me

2/15/2016

Do I see the suffering Christ in my world today? Do I acknowledge him?   Do I extend a helping hand in some way? Do I offer a prayer when I am unable to physically reach out to him? Do I do what I can to show love in some concrete way?

As I ask myself these questions, I am uneasy. I think I can do more to see Christ is all people.   The Hebrew Scriptures of the Suffering Servant in the Book of Isaiah, tells me that Jesus would suffer so much that he would no longer look human and people would shield their eyes from looking upon him.   I know I shield my eyes from disturbing pictures that come across my television screen, asking help for wounded warriors, physically challenged children or those literally starving as I prepare to sit down for dinner. I can say that there is nothing I can do, but that is not true.

I need to work at finding ways to console the suffering Christ is my world today. This can be by learning the system as far as utilizing ways in our government to honestly help these people.   I can lift one person up at a time, as Mother Teresa of Calcutta did, by offering time at a local Soup Kitchen and bringing dignity to the people served there.   I can carve out time in my busy day to pray for those I cannot touch or comfort by my presence.   Prayer is not a waste of time. It is relying on the power of our God, to help our brothers and sisters throughout the world. But, if I can concretely do something to help others or to change unjust systems, then prayer is not enough. I must do what I know in my heart I can do.   No excuses.

Lent is a good time to face my excuses.   It is a good time to be more alert to the ways the suffering Christ walks by me daily.   If Veronica can wipe the face of Jesus as he was beaten and treated so terribly, so can I. We need more Veronicas today. May God give me the grace to see how I am called to comfort Christ in others and may I have the courage, like Veronica, to do it.

This is the fasting that I wish . . .

2/12/2016

God is so very clear about the concept of fasting. This is the kind of fasting God wants:

Releasing those bound unjustly,
Untying the thongs of the yoke,
Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
Sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
And not turning your back on your own.

Other types of fasting are signs of our desire to do as God wants. They are attempts to realize that we need to do something to represent our interior desire to change our attitudes, behaviors and, or selfish choices. How will I fast today when, at work, my time is accounted for? Here are some suggestions:

Making that telephone call to someone I have meant to check in on, be it a neighbor, relative or someone I have hurt and need to apologize to,
Forgiving the person that hurt me, not just in thought, but in my words and deeds.
Volunteering at a Soup Kitchen or dropping off a donation of food or money off on the way home from work.,
Seeing what I may do to help shelter the homeless by calling a shelter in the area to see what there needs are,
Donating gently used clothing to a local clothing / food pantry for the poor,
Showing compassion, forgiveness and love to those with whom I live by doing something concrete for them when I go home.

It is good to refrain from eating desserts, candy, or other edible passions that I may have, but this is only the beginning of what I need to do. As adults we are called to fast as adults --- more than just fasting from eating meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and every Friday in Lent.