I spent part of Easter afternoon rereading the accounts of Easter and Jesus’ resurrection.One of my favorite stories is the encounter of Mary Magdalene with the risen Christ. “‘Woman,’ he said, ‘why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?’ Thinking he was the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away,tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.’Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’”   (John 20:15-16a)I think one of greatest fears is being unknown and just think God, who created the entire universe and Jesus, who came to earth to be close to us, to die for us – knows our name.  What intimacy! The sound of our names spoken from the lips of our Savior is the nearness that opens our eyes, dries our tears, and mends our devastated hearts. Jesus knows us so well, our names are carved in the palms of His hands. He draws us so close that we can hear the heartbeat of His love. Ron Rolheiser has a powerful reflection of these Bible verses on You Tube, titled “What are you looking … [Read more...]

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Ponder today what God has done for us:Good Friday is the mirror held up by Jesus so that we can see ourselves in all our stark reality, and then it turns us to that cross and to his eyes and we hear these words, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." That's us! And so we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. We see in that cross a love so amazing so divine that it loves us even when we turn away from it, or spurn it, or crucify it. There is no faith in Jesus without understanding that on the cross we see into the heart of God and find it filled with mercy for the sinner whoever he or she may be. Robert G. Trache "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son."- John 3:16   … [Read more...]

“Keep your eyes on the big picture,” was the advice I heard a pastor say this week. I needed that reminder.This has NOT been a pleasant week for me. When the life gets complicated, schedules and plans shred apart, and too many commitments spill out from my too little time, my survivor mode kicks in. I withdraw into self-pity, self-centeredness, and lots of whiny “why me” self-talk.Not the way I really want to live and to be honest I don’t think the way God wants us to live either.  I cling to my self-centeredness instead of dwelling in Christ-centeredness.My episode of feeling sorry for myself pales in comparison to what Jesus suffered the week before His crucifixion. His threshold point in the Garden, giving up His will into God’s hands, reminds me that Jesus too kept His eyes on the big picture.Jesus didn’t hang onto self-pity; He clung to Love.Jesus said not my will, but God’s.Jesus knew to keep His eyes on the big picture  - God.God is the big picture. With God’s perspective, we … [Read more...]

Lent color of choice - purple! I love spring. My eyes feast on the fresh new burst of colors. One color that particularly stands out to me this year is purple. Lent - the color is purple. Purple crocuses. Purple hyacinths. Purple cloths on the church altars. Purple is a color with much symbolism. I graduated with my nursing degree from Capital University in Columbus. The school colors were purple and white. Yes - our uniforms were a solid purple with white collars. We looked like a bunch of grapes when we rode in an elevator all squished together. But our dean would tell us – “Purple is the color of royalty.” Yes she was right. Historically, purple dye has been the most expensive and most labor-intensive color to obtain. But we aren’t the royalty – Jesus is. That is the reason why purple is the color of Lent. Purple can symbolize both the pain and suffering leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus as well as the suffering of humanity and the world under … [Read more...]

March 17 is of course St Patrick’s Day when we celebrate the fifth century Christian bishop and missionary who is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. I have always enjoyed this holiday though not for all the spiritual reasons. I do like those Shamrock shakes, look good in green, have Scot-Irish background, and love knowing that spring is around the corner.In researching background about St. Patrick, I learned more about a prayer attributed to him. I have read it in the past, a shorter version, but its history and longer version are worth the time to read.This prayer is called "St. Patrick's Breastplate" because of those parts of it that seek God's protection, especially protecting the heart.  According to tradition, St. Patrick wrote it in 433 A.D. for divine protection before successfully converting the Irish
King Leoghaire and his subjects from paganism to Christianity. Recent researchers think its author was anonymous. In any case, this prayer certainly reflects the … [Read more...]