WHAT IS YOUR PASSION?

When you hear the word passion, what is the first thought that enters your mind? Is it that intense love you feel for someone very special? Maybe you get fired up when you think about your favourite sports team winning the next game? While passion is a very intense feeling, that brings an unusual excitement and yearning from the heart, its meaning goes deeper. The word Passion comes from the Latin verb patere meaning to suffer. Based upon this definition, how intense is your passion? What moves you? Are you willing to work hard for what it may cost you? How much are you willing to suffer?

Easter Sunday is fast approaching. It is the culmination of the Passion of Christ. The word Passion is incomprehensible in relation to Jesus who was willing to suffer in pain and agony on his way to the cross. How fiery was his love to endure the steps leading up to and included in His crucifixion?  I know that I can’t help but see the greatest sign of love when I sit and gaze upon the crucifix.

The past month I have been dealing with personal hardships that have been very emotional and hard for me. I guess you could say, I have been handed my cross. In our human frailty, it is difficult to carry it with as much zeal as Jesus did- with passion! It is at these times of suffering that we remind ourselves that we have the opportunity to be the closest to our Saviour. We only need to invite Him to journey with us? He is certainly familiar with our burdens and fears. He recognizes our feeling of abandonment and hopelessness.

His witness of love and sacrifice can strengthen us. It is up to us, that we chose to passionately love Him back. It’s when we die to self that He lives in us. What an incredible gift! We trust that He will take care of our needs and the needs of others. I find the more we invest our hearts in Him and surrender to His will, the easier our sorrows and struggles are to deal with. As Bono, so brilliantly said from the band U2 “I pray to know the will of God… the prayers have more of a chance of coming true”.  I think it’s that simple!

This Good Friday we celebrate the Lord’s Passion and venerate the Cross of Christ. I am always brought to tears when I think of how He laid down His life to give us life. My cross is tiny compared to His. In fact it feels a lot lighter as I reflect. I realize that when I am too tired to carry it, as a loving God, He will lift it from me.  It is then that I can lay it all down at the foot of the cross.  I am basking in His goodness and rejoicing in what He has done for you and me! He died to set us free. Thank you Jesus! Happy Easter everyone!

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

The family just got bigger!

I have always believed that God turns bad into good. 

The bad is we are witnessing religious genocide happening in the cradle of where Christianity was born. Lives have been lost in the most barbaric ways. Households and villages are torn apart because of their religious beliefs. Christians would not renounce their faith, no matter how much evil pressed into them emotionally...mentally... physically. These brave men, women and children of Mosul and other war torn places need our continual prayers. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are suffering persecution and death that is too hard to comprehend.

These days when I am in conversation with God, my eyes regularly well up with tears, especially during Mass and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. What we have, they no longer have. The realization that they are unable to go to Church and worship and receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist is heart-wrenching. Knowing that they are willing to die for this and suffer on behalf of their beliefs, I am overwhelmed by their evident love for God. May we honour them by realizing how blessed we are to receive Jesus, attend Mass and practice our faith. 

We can find peace in our hearts during this time of madness. In the past months, I believe, the Church has gained many Saints in the heavenly realm. A sense of hope is in reach, if you believe in the Communion of Saints. They are able to take our prayer requests to the throne of God and intercede on our behalf. These faithful people that appear to be walking the same path as  many martyrs before them are in spiritual union with the Christian Church. Our family is getting bigger! They have also been a powerful witness to the world and may be instrumental in the  conversion of souls for Christ. History has shown us the positive influence of those who came before us that were willing to die for what they believed and give us reason to believe- and we call them Saints. The persecuted Christians of today have not died, nor suffered in vain as they have accomplished much good and are rewarded with a seat at the heavenly banquet. 

Though the devils army looks threatening and aggressive, God and his angels and saints are most powerful. Good trumps evil. They will topple the enemy that propagates evil and hate in a world that so desperately needs  the love of God. Just when you think jihad, war, relativism and all the the secular world  can throw at you is swallowing up God's kingdom, you find that Jesus is alive and well.  We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Christ. You teach us what profound faith looks like in our modern world- thank you for your testimony! We pray with you for the conversion of souls, especially the Islamic terrorists. Holy martyrs of Iraq, pray for us! 

Saints go marching into our lives and out...

"Death cannot separate Christians from Christ or from one another"~ Rom 8:35-39

In times of trouble or ill health we ask our family or friends "would you pray for me?" Believers pray to Jesus also, and some believers wonder, why do Catholics pray to dead people...and why to anyone else but Jesus...I mean, He is God! We only need one mediator? Well if that is what you believe, why are you asking others here on earth to pray for you? Besides, St. Paul clearly urges Christians in 1 Tim 2:1, to intercede and pray for "all" men. All prayers, whether in heaven or on earth are encouraged. I would suspect  prayers from those in heaven are most powerful, as the saints are with God. 

We, as believers, that are alive and dead are called saints. Our bond of supernatural unity is called the communion of saints. We are a part of the mystical body of Christ. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches (John 15:5). We can call on the help of our family in heaven and our family on earth. 

But Catholics, can be accused of speaking to the dead (necromancy) when they pray to saints -which is condemned in Deut 18. Well, we don't! The saints are alive and with God. Just as Jesus spoke to the thief on the cross beside him that he would "today" be in paradise and when He spoke to Elijah and Moses after they had already died.....so do we realize they are more alive than we are...in heaven! We have friends in high places  flooded with God's love, taking our prayers to God. How wonderful to have many people  pray for us and as far as saints go there are over 10,000 recognized in the Church that we can call on. I don't know about you, but I don't have that many friends on Facebook or in my email account. I feel so popular :)

I gave my sister a St. Sebastian medal, as she is doing a half marathon tomorrow. Now, if she prays tomorrow for his prayer assistance and someone in Peru is praying to him, and  1,000's of people at the same time are praying to St. Sebastian- how can he hear so many voices? Well, if this computer's inanimate microchip can process millions of instructions simultaneously, can God not have His living saints process millions of requests at the same time? I mean, He is God! I wouldn't put Him in a box.

Tomorrow, marks a day of joy in the Church as 7 people become saints, like Kateri Tekakwitha, North America's first aboriginal saint. But today, marked a day of sadness as a saint among us has passed away, my cousin Sarah Sorrell. She asked me to pray for her recently and I did. But, now I ask Sarah, that I believe is in heaven, to intercede for me as she did while she was here on earth. Be with God Sarah and rest in our Savior's loving embrace. I have no doubt you will intercede to our Father, that your children be covered with his banner of light and protection. I pray to see my "entire" family some day...so there are no tears. I have happiness and peace knowing we are bound in mutual love (Rom 12:10) and so glad we have so many souls that rally for us each day we live.

And then the Lions ate him!

I met with and facilitated a prayer meeting with some great Catholic Youth this week. We reflected on the Holy Spirit and then on an Early Church Father/Apostolic Father. "Huh!?" they said. Maybe you are saying the same?! So, here it goes in a nut shell.

First an Apostolic Father is an early Chrisitian and a church father of the first or second century A.D. who was believed to have received personal instruction from the 12 Apostles or from their disciples. Ignatius was one of the earliest of the lot. He passed down the truths of Jesus and very early Christian theology (study of God). The baton was passed so to speak, from Jesus to apostle John to Ignatius. It is amazing to me, that Ignatius knew and was taught by the apostle John. Ignatius lived in Antioch (now Antakya, Turkey), the 3th largest city of the Roman empire in the 1st century. He became Bishop of Antioch which in the bible, the book of Acts, speaks of Antioch (one of the first pagan (non-believing) communities to receive evangelism/teachings about Christ.) Thank you Ignatius.

He was the first man to pen the word "Catholic" to describe our Church in one of his 7 letters/epistles. He also wrote about the order in the Church (ecclesiolgy), mainly Bishop, priests and then Deacons. He spoke about the "real presence" of Jesus in the Eucharist and other Sacraments (a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance). He uses the word Eucharist. Yes, this word is not in the bible. But, as quoted from John 20:25, “But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” This is such a book/letter. (I could get into Sola Scriptura, a whole other topic...another post)

Some of his letters are addressed to the Romans, the Ephesians. Sound familiar, those of you who read the bible? His letters, and a letter on his Martyrdom can be viewed online for free. Just do a search. They are fascinating and eye opening. He was a brave, brave and devoted man that tried his best to walk the life of Christ. He was fed to the Lion's for not renouncing his faith in God, thus he is always pictured with Lions biting him. His feast day (Holy day of commemoration) is October 17th. This is why I spoke to the youth about him, as that day is almost here. They really enjoyed the video I presented from Steve Ray on the Apostolic Fathers, and learned a lot. I hope you learned something too.

Pray for us St. Ignatius of Antioch...we need your prayers! Amen.

Canadian Martyrs....huh!?

My family and I traveled to Midland, Ontario this summer. We had surprising revelations that brought further meaning to our faith during our stay. I, as a Catholic revert, have been getting my head wrapped around the lives of Saints and Martyrs these past years. As of last week, it was really drilled home as to why they are held in such high esteem as you will see below.

After kayaking in the Wye Marsh (right beside St. Maire), we made our way through Ontario's first European community (1639) "St. Marie among the Hurons". The headquarters for the French Jesuit Mission to the Huron (Wendat) people. It struck me that Canada did not even exist yet...this was 400 years ago that the Jesuit Order (Catholic religious order) first spread Christianity to many people in our land.They traveled 3-4 weeks in dangerous conditions (from Quebec to the foreign Midland area) in cramped bark canoes with strangers. Talk about back aches and adventure?! What sacrifice, courage, dedication and great Missionaries for God as follows next...
 

During one of many Huron Village captures, the Iroquois, on March 16, 1649, seized St. Jean de Brebeuf and his fellow Jesuit St. Gabriel Lallemant and brought them back to St. Ignace (6 miles from St. Marie).There they were fastened to stakes at the church and tortured to death by scalping, mock baptism using boiling water, fire, necklaces of red hot hatchets and mutilation. Brebeuf did not make a single outcry while he was being tortured but instead tried consoling the Wendats. The Iroquois bashed his chin off to silence him during the 17 hours of torture. He astounded the Iroquois and so after he died, they cut out and ate his heart, in hopes of acquiring his courage.

As recorded about his fellow priest Lallemant tied to a stake beside him: "At the height of these torments, Father Gabriel Lallemant lifted his eyes to Heaven, clasping his hands from time to time and uttering sighs to God, whom he invoked to his aid. He had received a hatchet blow on the left ear, which they had driven into his brain, which appeared exposed: we saw no part of his body, from the feet even to the head, which had not been broiled, and in which he had not been burned alive -even his eyes, into which those impious ones had thrust burning coals." This is hard to read but relevant to understand our history of sacrifice and love for God and His people.

We lastly, on our trip, made our way across the street to the Martyr's Shrine. The Shrine now makes sense to me. It is a Roman Catholic Church consecrated to the memory of the Canadian Martyrs that I now understand more intimately. A place of worship to God and a place to remember what real faith can and should be. Where am I in my faith, where are you? Well, I am sure these men are in heaven due to their reverence for God and great miracles that have occurred from these prayer warriors, in the heavenly realm. They carry prayer requests to the throne of God. Many crutches in the church and  testimony letters  witness to the healing miracles occurring at this holy place.

We ask our friends and family to pray for us. So I conclude by saying, St. Jean de Brebeuf and St. Gabriel Lallemant and all the Canadian Martyrs, pray for us. Please take our prayer petitions to God as you are surely with Him. May we learn by your example, to carry our small crosses in life, compared to what you endured.