It was a quiet morning today. I took advantage of the opportunity and spent a little extra time with God in prayer. I prayed for all those I could think of, and for those who feel they have no one to pray for them. I became aware of all that I have to be grateful for and how God has moved in my life. It left me peaceful and joyful to begin the day.
I Found God today in a little extra prayer time.
“Jesus Christ Superstar” has always been one of my favorite musical scores and shows. I didn’t catch the new Live version on Easter Sunday, but I did record it. My mom and I watched it tonight. After a few minutes, she remembered how modern it was and not sure if she wanted to continue. But, she also knew the music and the story, and perhaps her curiosity got the best of her. I won’t spoil it, but the ending was phenomenal. As the music and scene faded away, my mom said, “Wow! That was powerful!” I thought so too, but have to admit that I was surprised to hear it from her.
I Found God today in the modern take of Jesus Christ Superstar.
The scripture I read today was about Mary of Magdala’s encounter with the risen Jesus Christ. Then I read the beautiful meditation written by Bishop Robert Barron. He talked about how we can live our life with the thought that this world is all there is. We “live our lives with the reasonable assumption that the natural world as we’ve come to know it is the final framework of our lives and activities. And one of the most powerful and frightening features of the natural world is death.” He goes on to challenge the thought of death being the end all based on the person and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. “The Resurrection of Jesus from the dead shows as definitively as possible that God is up to something greater than we had imagined or thought possible. And therefore we don’t have to live as though death were our master. In light of the Resurrection, we can begin to see this world as a place of gestation, a place of growth and maturation toward something higher, more permanent, and more splendid.” These words did challenge the way I think and live each day. I hope to keep them more in my mind.
I Found God today in a reminder that the natural world we love in is not all there is.
My son has a good friend that he has known since high school. They ended up going to the same college as well and have stayed in touch as they went their separate ways. The friend joined the military and has been doing some training about 45 miles away. The two connected a couple of weeks ago and he was very concerned that he wasn’t doing well in his course. He has had a dream path for his life, but when doors closed on him, he found ways to get in through the open windows. He completed and passed his training today. Then, he drove the 45 miles just to have dinner with us. It was great to see him. He was beaming from his success and excited to be able to move onward and upward. It warmed my heart to see him so happy,
I Found God today in the joy and perseverance in my son’s friend. Continue Reading »
Lent is over and Easter has arrived. My parents, sister, and I went to the early Mass. We were grateful that we arrived in plenty of time to get seats. Evidently after the church filled up, they seated the overflow crowd in the lower level where there was a live feed set up. I really enjoyed all the Easter music and the Alleluias. After church, my other sister and her husband came over. We had a delicious meal and lots of homemade candy. And we had a lot of laughter and conversation. At one of the caregiver’s events that I attended, I received a deck of cards that have questions on them. The purpose is to get to know more about your loved ones. We went through a couple of them and it was really interesting. One question was, “What was your favorite subject in school and why?” My dad said that his favorite was physics, which was not surprising to anyone. He told us that he really enjoyed his teacher – that he was always demonstrating things and doing experiments. He made the class exciting. That is why my dad wanted to be a physics teacher. During the high school class, my dad did some research on his own, wrote a paper and showed it to his teacher. The teacher was so impressed, he hung it on his bulletin board. Years later, my dad went to college and was learning how to teach. He had to practice teach, so he contacted his physics teacher. When he went into the old classroom, he saw that his paper was still hanging on the bulletin board. That teacher made such a huge impression on my dad, it really directed his life. I don’t think we give enough credit or thought as to how much we can influence people. The priest at church today challenged us not to be afraid to share our faith with others. He talked about how it can make a difference in someone’s life perhaps without us even knowing it.
I Found God today hearing a great example of how one person can influence another’s life.
Today is Holy Saturday. I think the Easter Vigil Mass is the most beautiful of the year. Although it is also the longest. My parents and I contemplated briefly about going, but figured it would be too much. At this Mass, new people are brought into the church. A young woman I know from years ago shared that her fiancee was going through the classes to enter the faith. I thought about both of them especially today as I prayed for all those being Baptized and Confirmed. It will be such a blessed night for them.
I Found God today thinking and praying for those coming into the church.
Good Friday at church tonight was beautiful and moving. I love the symbolism in every detail. The silence broken by chanting, darkness changed by two lit candles, carrying and venerating a cross, an empty altar draped plainly for the Eucharist that was consecrated the day before and then escorted out, and finally exiting the church again in silence. The choir was beautiful as they sang mostly traditional songs. Their voices ebbed and flowed with sorrow and passion. At one point when they finished a piece, they froze and you could have heard a pin drop. As I left the church, I looked to the sky and saw the nearly full moon veiled with a thin layer of clouds. All of it led me to deeper contemplation remembering the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made crucified on the cross.
I Found God today being led deeper into the love of Jesus.
I was happy to go to Holy Thursday Mass tonight. The choir started the evening off right with a beautiful song. The music was exceptional all night. The scripture reading was the story of the Last Supper, when Jesus was celebrating the Passover meal with His apostles. I have heard these words before. As I remembered past years, I thought about how the other Catholic churches in the city were also listening to the same words. On an even bigger scale, all the Catholic churches in the world were. Other Christian faiths will also be recounting this time in Jesus’ life during the next few days. And during this similar time frame, the Jewish faith celebrates the Passover. They are carrying on the tradition that God gave them thousands of years ago- although it’s meaning has changed for the Christian faith. In any case, millions of people come together during this specific point in time each year to worship God in celebration of His deliverance of His people, His passion, His unending love. As I sat in my small church among my small community, it felt like a pretty big deal.
I Found God today in common unity and worship.
Over the past couple of days, I have been making and taste testing lots of goodies. It was bound to catch up with me as I don’t do well with too much sugar. Today the upset stomach and migraine set in. This morning’s meteorologist said it would be a good napping day as the thick clouds rolled in. She was right. After breakfast, I laid down and slept until it was time to prepare lunch. After lunch, my parents laid down for a nap so I decided to try to read a bit. Needless to say, I was back asleep in minutes and woke up in time to prepare dinner. After all that sleep, I was feeling much better. I was grateful that the day lent itself to the napping that I clearly needed.
I Found God today as I was able to rest.
Last week I found out that a friend’s brother has been having serious health problems. He has just been moved out of ICU. My friend reached out on social media asking for prayers. His condition seemed to improve rapidly after that. He should be home by the end of the week.
I Found God today in answered prayers and a recovery.
Still Finding God 