Maegan- Happy Feast Day!

Today, in a way, is everyone's Feast day! Why? Because today is the Feast of St. Augustine,

and if Augustine can become a Saint, then anyone can!

For most of my life, I have been fascinated by the Saints and their stories, but I knew of them almost like fairy tales. It was difficult for me to understand that they were real people. I think one of the gifts of the modern age (like I've mentioned before) is that through technology we have access to the stories of Saints right at our fingertips. And, more recently, we have been blessed to witness the canonization of a man who actually LIVED during our lifetime: St. John Paul II. Suddenly, with the canonization of JPII, Sainthood has become so real to me - more than just nursery tales - because I knew and loved that man as a living priest and shepard in our Church, and now he is a Saint! Now, the skeptics of JPII are few because most people can agree that he lived an extraordinary life of holiness throughout most of his life. Augustine, however; is a Saint from the other side of camp. :)

Do you know the story of Augustine? In brief, his modern day motto could have been: "YOLO!" (You Only Live Once... a mantra for those not wanting to miss out on more worldly experiences like sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll for those of you who have been wondering what the heck "YOLO" is). Augustine loved himself some boos, broads, and... de-bauchery! His poor, fierce, devoted mother, St. Monica, prayed for her son's conversion for 40 years! (Tangent: I get tired of praying the same intention for like a week! 40 years? No wonder she's a Saint!) After all those years of throwing himself into every other possible thing he could find, seeking happiness and fulfillment practically in every other corner or the world, Augustine realized his thirst was still not satiated. "Our hearts our restless until they rest in you, Oh God." Augustine put to words what each of us knows in our hearts: that God is our ultimate fulfillment, whether we want to acknowledge it, or not.

Today, we celebrate this wonderful Saint because, frankly, if that sinner can allow God to conquer his lust, addictions, pride, etc. and transform him into one of the most profound Saints in the history of the world- then I've got a fighting chance too!

I love Augustine for his honesty with himself, and the Lord. I think THAT is where his sanctity was accomplished: in his honest wrestling with his own humanity.

"Lord, make me a Saint, but not yet."

St. Augustine, pray for us!
Let us pray...

"O Beauty ancient, O beauty new. Late have I loved Thee and feebly, yet do. Though you were with me I was not with You, then You shone Your face and I was blind no more. 

My heart searches restlessly, and finds no rest 'til it rests in Thee. O Seeker, You sought for me. Your love has found me, I am taken by Thee. 

I searched this world and chased its finer things, yet were these not in You they could not have been. My ceaseless longing hid the deeper truth: in all my desirings I was desiring you. 

Lord, in my deafness You cried out to me. I drew my breath and now Your fragrance I breathe. O, Font of Life You are forever the same. O, Fire of Love, come set me aflame!

("Prayer of Augustine" Ed Conlin) 

Maegan- On the Rich Young Man

Do you know the story of the rich young man? It's from the gospel reading over a week ago (on Monday August 18th), and I have been sitting with it ever since. If you can't recall off the top of your head, here is the text:

Gospel MT 19:16-22

A young man approached Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”
He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good?
There is only One who is good.
If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
He asked him, “Which ones?”
And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
honor your father and your mother;
and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The young man said to him,
“All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?”
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go,
sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad,
for he had many possessions.

In the Pray-As-You-Go podcast of this Gospel reading, the translation they use says the rich young man went away GRIEVING, for he had many possessions. Now that word (again, I'm a word person), just about jumped out and smacked me! I haven't heard the passage translated that way before... but its appropriate isn't it? We grieve the loss of our own will.

Grief is something that is deeply rooted in the heart of a person, it's mourning a loss, it's more than just a fleeting emotion like sadness. Grief can stay with you for days, weeks, years. Grief can be oppressive.

This young man wants to enter into eternal life! He asks the Lord what he must do because he thinks he has already accomplished it. He wants the approval of the Lord as if to say: "Look how good and holy I am!" He views faith, and salvation, as a series of tasks towards an accomplishment. But the Lord looks at the heart. The rich young man, though he appears to be following all the commandments, still is not converted in his heart of hearts because he prizes his possessions above the will of the Lord. He doesn't want to let go and surrender all. He wants holiness on his own terms.

It reminds me of times in my life that I have grieved what the Lord has asked of me. My plans for college and grad school falling through, ending relationships that were not of His will, personal suffering in my life and the lives of friends and family members. Sometimes it is easier to look at the cost than the reward. In an effort to maintain "control" we hold on to the things that we think will bring us security: homes, jobs, money, time, relationships....

What attachments in your life are keeping you from the Lord?
What things (material or immaterial) do you hold onto for security instead of clinging entirely to the Lord with reckless abandon?

You see, the trap is to compare ourselves to those around us: I'm giving more, doing more, holier, etc. than my other friends/family members/ coworkers/etc. But the Lord doesn't ask the rich young man to be as good as everyone else. He calls each of us to something more: he calls us to perfection. And He is the only measure of perfection.


Lord, reveal to us our attachments, and heal us from our grief over those things. Help us to place our entire selves: our lives, our will, our dreams, our possessions, into your hands to do with as You will.

Let us pray...

Maegan - Catching Up

5 days of silence... did you think I had forgotten you, poor readers?

I have not!

And, more importantly (no offense), I am still praying! 

Are you?

I have felt this week as if I no longer am just participating in a challenge, but have started to make the turn to actually encorporating this new wonderful habit into my daily life. 

We had a staff day yesterday, and on the way back, one of our staff members suggested we pray a Divine Mercy Chaplet since it was the hour of mercy (3pm)... I quickly flipped to my Laudate app, and searched for the chaplets section, and found the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and was able to scroll through digital "beads" with reminders of which prayers came next. And it was such a sweet gift to my day! And I've been thinking ever since... We have so many tools! So much help at our fingertips to enhance and support and develop our relationship with God. What a gift!

We also listened to a Lighthouse Media CD, and I'm still "chewing" on it. Listening to talks and reading spiritual readings is also a great way to strengthen our spiritual muscles and gives us some "meat" to chew on and think about and meditate on throughout our day. I believe you can subscribe to Lighthouse Media and receive a CD in the mail monthly, if you're interested! 

How has technology made prayer more meaningful or accessible for you?

Michael- Martyrdom, Perseverance, Faith

You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.  By your perseverance you will secure your lives."  (Luke 21: 17-19)

Today we celebrate one of my favorite saints, Maximilian Kolbe.  Saint Maximilian was a priest from Poland who during World War II offered himself to save another.  While imprisoned in Auschwitz, he asked to die in place of another prisoner who had a family.  Martyrdom was this act of love that Father Kolbe performed.



The Gospel of Luke speaks of persecution and death for the followers of Jesus.  However, Jesus affirms that his followers would not be harmed.  The promise of this protection speaks of the eternal reward of Heaven.  The reality of martyrdom for the early Christians was ever present in their minds, but the love for God and the mission of the Church was stronger than fear of persecution, even death.  Pope Francis recently said that the Apostles “even saw their persecution as a badge of honor that made them capable of following in the footsteps of Jesus and to be like Him, bearing witness to Him with their lives.”

 

Today, martyrdom is very much a reality for many Christians around the world.  Religious Persecution is occurring globally.   We see this happening more evidently in Iraq.  In May 2013, Archbishop Tomasi from Vatican Radio reported that an estimated 100,000 Christians are killed every year for their faith, which is roughly 250-300 Christian martyrs dying for the faith every day.  Some theologians have said martyrdom is not always obtained by bloodshed.   The term white martyrdom has been coined for those who have accepted and offered up to God other forms of tremendous suffering without undergoing a violent death.  St. Thérèse of Lisieux and St. John Paul II would be examples of such martyrs.

 

Martyrs do not negotiate the faith.  They persevere and stand firm.  When we are called to witness, what is our faith like?  Is it strong or is it watered down?  As I have previously said in past letters, discipleship is not easy.  It comes with crosses to bear, but Christ’s graces are ever present for us to accept.  Pope Francis suggests this daily prayer:

 

"Lord, thank you so much for my faith. Preserve my faith, increase it. May my faith be strong and courageous.”

Maegan - Practicing the Presence of God

Yesterday came and went without a blog post from me, though it did not pass without prayer! I did not listen to my daily podcast yesterday, nor did I take a specific time away to sit in the presence of the Lord. I didn't take a "personal prayer time" yesterday, per se, but I did pray.

I spent the day contemplating God in the details and busyness of my work. In my struggles for organization and planning, I sought refuge in Him. In the quiet moments of office work in the late afternoon, I felt His presence with me. I reflected on my prayer journey thus far, and anticipated what was to come in prayer. I soaked in His goodness and mercy around the dinner table with friends when two of our high school seniors cooked a "Thank You" dinner for the Life Teen CORE team last night. I tasted his sweetness in the laughter echoing across the dinner table. Oh, and I got to hold a sweet little 6 week old baby... taste and see the GOODNESS of the Lord!

This IS prayer. It IS possible to "practice the presence of God' throughout your day as a means of being connected to God. However, I feel like God is calling me to something more.

"We must remember God more often than we draw breath." But we cannot pray "at all times" if we do not pray at specific times, consciously willing it. 

(Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2697)

I woke up today with a longing. My heart was aching for a connection, for time, for breath to be breathed into my soul. I awoke, perhaps, gasping for the oxygen of prayer. I don't mean that to be as dramatic as it sounds, because obviously it wasn't a true desperation... just a subtle seeking that I was aware of in the depths of my heart. Yesterday's prayer was not "enough."

Why?

Because we are made for intimacy.
We are made for intimacy with God.
And intimacy is not built in shallow contact.

Think about the marital or romantic relationship.
I love my husband, and he and I have the sort of relationship where we just don't tire of each other. He is my best friend, and we talk all day long - through brief phone calls, text messages, and sometimes emails. When we are not speaking, I am thinking of him - what he is doing at that moment, what he may be thinking or feeling, perhaps reflecting on things he shared with me earlier. But what would our relationship look like if we never actually took the time to look each other square in the face, in physical proximity to one another, and had actual interaction and conversation in person? What if we relied only on text messages, emails, phone calls, and thinking about one another throughout the day? What would happen?

Our relationship would be lacking a depth of intimacy which we were created to experience.

True love, desires communion with the Beloved.
God, desiring to be reunited to His people, sent Jesus to bring us back into communion with Him.
God desires communion (intimacy) with us at all times.
So much so, that He exists for us in the Eucharist (which we also call COMMUNION) in every Catholic Church, everywhere in the world, until the end of time.

Today, I think God is calling me deeper. Is He calling you?
Perhaps its time to spend some time alone with God, to square up to Him, look Him in the eyes, and let Him love us.

"I look at Him, and He looks at me." That is true intimacy. And that is enough.

Let us take time to meet the gaze of the Lord.
Let us pray...

Week one- Complete!

Can you believe it has been an entire week of the Cross Fit Training Challenge already?
You did it! As much or as little as you participated, you still made an effort! And if you're just arriving to the party: 1. Way to go on the "fashionably late" / dramatic entrance! 2. Welcome! We're glad you're here!

So I have been doing a lot of blogging and sharing about my prayer this week (perhaps more than in my entire life! Haha) and I want to hear from all of you! One of the highlights of my prayer time this week was a conversation with my uncle about his renewal in prayer and what God is speaking to Him- conversations I never knew we would have (because sometimes sharing about prayer with friends and family can feel awkward and uncomfortable). It's worth it to be uncomfortable and share about our experiences in prayer because 1. It confirms for us that we aren't just making it all up in our heads. 2. It glorifies The Lord when we share about His good works. 3. It edifies the Body of Christ and strengthens our faith. 4. It encourages and inspires.

I could go on, but I think you get the point. :)
So today, use the comments section of this blog to share about your journey this week!

What did you decide to do?
What were the joys?
Did you encounter any struggles?
What is God speaking to you or stirring in your heart?
How do you feel about your time in prayer this week?
 Or anything you would like to share!

Don't be shy.  :)

Ready, set, go!