THE REAL ENEMY

THE REAL ENEMY

During my childhood I lived in terror of the devil.  I believed that the devil was constantly watching me and waiting for an opportunity to make me sin.  This was common among children of my generation and was reinforced regularly in school. It wasn’t until I went to Marygrove College that I began to understand that the struggle between good and evil is not an even match.  God is on the side of good and nothing, not even the devil, can overcome him because God is love and love is invincible. 

The love of God or, rather, our belief in the the love of God, and the conviction that trust in God protects us absolutely, gives us the courage and strength to face life, with all it’s issues.    Fear is the real enemy.  To be frightened is one thing, to be afraid of being frightened is quite another. That fear paralyzes and denies the power of God.  Trust in God and fear-of-life are mutually exclusive.  Jesus’ greeting always began with ‘Peace be with you’ and was usually followed up with ‘Fear not’.  God knows full well how fear constricts the heart and enslaves the spirit. 

 Believing in superstitions, jinxes and omens gives power to fear.  One time I suggested that someone who was facing surgery with great trepidation come to the Anointing of the Sick ceremony.  Their reaction was incredible.  They stared at me with horror and said that they didn’t want to jinx the surgery.  I’m not speechless very often, but that did it. 

How does this happen?  How can God be so misunderstood?  It seems people want God to be Santa Claus and believe that God is watching and tallying up the times they are naughty or nice and that will decide whether they go to heaven or not.  The emptiness of that kind of faith is awful. Jesus is the human face of God.  The purpose of his life on earth was to forge a bond between the human race and the Creator, which is why Jesus said, “Whoever has seen me, has seen the Father because the Father and I are one”.  (Jn 14)  Get to know Jesus and you know God.  Compassion ruled his life along with justice, mercy, reason and patience.  Those virtues are not just from God; they are God. 

Carry these words of St. Francis DeSales with you to give to those whose faith is weak. 

Do not look forward in fear to the changes in life;

rather, look to them with full hope that as they arise, God,

whose very own you are, will lead you safely through all things;

and when you cannot stand it, God will carry you in His arms.

Do not fear what may happen tomorrow;

the same understanding Father who cares for

you today will take care of you then and every day.

He will either shield you from suffering

or will give you unfailing strength to bear it.

Be at peace, then and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.

In this age of Evangelization efforts, if all we do is convince people to put aside all fear and trust the loving God, we are fulfilling Jesus command: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel”.

Blessings,

Carol Lemelin OPA

THE SPLINTERS

THE SPLINTERS

In this Year of Mercy there are no end of articles, books, essays and the like, on the subject of forgiveness.  All of them have a familiar theme i.e., refusal to forgive is a cancer on the soul and the psyche.  Usually the focus is on the big things that injure us but as my mother-in-law used to say; “It’s not the crosses, it’s the splinters.”

The splinters are the little hurts that from an objective view are very minor, but to the person who has been hurt they are major indeed and our refusal to forgive and forget them is the cause of the pain.   Each of us has some splinter that pokes our memory bank and brings the whole thing back. The problem is we welcome it and re-live it.  We can’t seem to let those splinters go.  Holding on to them impedes our ability to show mercy.

There are no splinters in God’s forgiveness.  There is a wonderful word that best describes the mercy of God – magnanimous.  God is magnanimous in his forgiveness.

There are no conditions, no qualifications in God’s mercy.  Thousands of years ago he spoke through the prophet, “I will remember their sins no more.” (Jer:31-34) How is it that we don’t believe Him?  Perhaps it is because we don’t want to forgive wholly ourselves, thus we have created the myth that God’s mercy has strings attached, thereby justifying ourselves.

When I think of the magnanimous nature of God, I think of The Spirit of Christmas Present as portrayed in The Muppet’s Christmas Carol.  When Scrooge awakens at the stroke of one, the Spirit is in his study and the light shining from the room is blinding.  Scrooge peeks his head around the door carefully and beholds a creature so huge that the room can hardly hold him. The room has been transformed into a wonderland of Christmas with trees and candles and tinsel.  He is dressed in red and gold with a full red beard and a jolly red face.  When he sees Ebenezer, he smiles and puts out his arms crying,  “Come in and know me better, man!” 

Imagine God this way; calling us to know him better and to understand that depth of  his love for us is beyond our grasp and is given without reservation.  There are no splinters left over when God forgives. His mercy is full and complete and given freely.  God simply wants us to love him and one another with the same magnanimous spirit.

Jesus said, “Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.”  (Matthew 5:48) That may seem like too much to ask, but in this one area we could at least try.  We think we can’t get over that slight, insult, or betrayal but we can and we must.  A beloved friend of mine says that when these things crop up she simply throws them over her shoulder and moves on.  It’s worth a try.  Mercy is a two way street, in that when you show it, you receive it.

Blessings,

Carol Lemelin OPA

THE BROKENHEARTED

PSALM 34:19

The Lord Is Close To The Brokenhearted.

Those Whose Spirits Are Crushed, He Saves.

            Nearly a thousand years before Christ’s birth the psalmist, possibly David, wrote those words and a thousand years after that, Jesus came as the personification of those words.  The people saw the proof that the Lord is close to the brokenhearted in his deeds.

            As he was passing though Naim, he saw a funeral procession.  The deceased was a young man, the only son of his mother who was a widow.  The culture was very cruel to such a woman and Jesus immediately went to her and raised her son.

Jesus knew full well that such a thing would be trumpeted far and wide and bring trouble, but his compassion for the broken hearted was too powerful to be stopped.

            He came to Jacob’s well and saw a Samaritan woman at the well.  It was near noon and the women of the town had come and gone by then but the woman was there alone.  Jesus sensed that she was an outcast and broke all the rules and spoke to her.  His concern for her, his acceptance of her as someone worth his time, was a shock to her and his disciples, but for different reasons; she, because being treated as an intelligent human was unheard of, and they, because of fear that condemnation would come from breaking with tradition.  But Jesus’ compassion again overrode all other considerations.

            On the street one day a woman was thrown at his feet.  The crowd said she was caught in adultery and should, according to Moses, be stoned.  They did this as a test of him.  If he agreed, then he was a hypocrite when he preached mercy.  If he disagreed, he would be disobeying the laws of Moses.  In this case Jesus did not react immediately but instead stood quietly and listened to the mob and saw their lustful hope that they would be able to carry out the sentence.  Finally with gentleness he gave his answer, “Ye who are without sin, cast the first stone.”  Then as they drifted away, he spoke to her and with all the love and mercy he possessed dismissed her to start a new life.

            These three, and they are just a few examples, became the earliest followers from among the ordinary people.  The list goes on and on. The most extraordinary thing is that in the years following these events, the vast numbers of followers of Christ never saw him, never heard him speak but believed in the truth of these events.  Believed so deeply that they would (and do) die for that belief rather than deny it. If we want to count ourselves among them we must regard the problems of this world with the same compassion because Jesus did not show compassion in a vacuum but showed us the way to live by it.

            Can you imagine what wonders we could perform if we approached everything with compassion?  Instead of the cost of everything, we would first consider the value of the human person.  Instead of letting prejudice rule, we would seek understanding.    The psalm is more than a promise, it is also a challenge to us to be close to the brokenhearted and to strengthen those whose spirits are crushed with the promise that God loves them because we know it is true.

Blessings,

Carol Lemelin OPA

THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT THAT NAME

THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT THAT NAME

 “He is the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.” ( Acts 4:12)

The title above is the name of a lovely Gospel song:

“ Jesus, Jesus, there is something about that name.

Master, Savior, Jesus,

Like a fragrance after the rain.

Jesus, Jesus, let all heaven and earth proclaim.

Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, but

There’s something about that name.

We name Him variously Redeemer, Savior, The Lord, The Christ, all of which are correct but there is something about that name, Jesus, which lifts the spirit, heals the pain and strengthens the will.  The glorious thing about Jesus is that he did not demand to be called anything but Jesus.  Those who would make him King were disappointed but those who had had enough of kings were thrilled that this gentle, caring and powerful person encouraged them to call him simply Jesus.  His every act proved he was happy to be one of them and called them to himself with warmth and genuine concern.

All the cathedrals in the world do not do justice to him and his message as much as a simple act of mercy to someone in need.  Those who feed the hungry, fight for the homeless, the dispossessed, the weak and the helpless and do so in His name build a monument to Jesus, which nothing can tarnish or destroy.

When the disciples healed the sick it was always in the name of Jesus.  They refused to be honored for these healings, instead reminding everyone that they were acting only as the instruments, that Jesus is the healer.  The name of Jesus can still heal.  Say it to yourself when your heart is broken or when the world is too heavy for you.  Say it when you arise from sleep and when the day is over, let it be the last word of the dau.  Say it to someone who is confused, at his or her wit’s end or in pain.  The very sound of that name brings the gentle compassion of our precious Lord closer and helps you marshal the strength to go on to fulfill God’s will for you.  There really is something about that name.

Blessings,

Carol Lemelin OPA

PS: please click on the attachment to hear the song.

THE TRANSFORMATION OF PETER

THE TRANSFORMATION OF PETER

            The day after Christmas is the Feast of St. Stephen, the first person to die for Christ.  If Easter were on a permanent date, the next day would be the Feast of St. Peter because it is Peter, so thoroughly human, who represents us all, no super powers, rough, outspoken, hardworking and deeply spiritual, who made one mistake after another as he struggled to understand Christ and be the disciple he wanted to be. He must have felt that he was always wrong.  His final failure, his denial of Jesus could have sent him out to join Judas but it didn’t.  Peter was made of stronger stuff.  Even though he was undoubtedly suffering, he acted as leader, keeping the disciples, men and women, together in prayer and hope in the upper room. When Mary brought the news that Jesus was no longer in the tomb, Peter was the first one out the door, never mind the danger.  Jesus had chosen him to be leader and leader he would be. 

            The transformation of Peter is evident in the first pages of the Acts of the Apostles, which follow the Gospels.  The fearful Peter becomes a powerhouse of faith immediately after the descent of the Holy Spirit.  He would preach to anyone, at any time, in the streets or in the Temple precincts, the Good News. He did not shrink from placing the blame for Jesus’ death squarely on the shoulders of the officials and citizens of Jerusalem.  Those officials called him and John before them and ordered them to cease speaking the name of Jesus and Peter replied:

             “Whether it is right in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God, you   be the judges.  It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and        heard.”

           

The power of the Holy Spirit was evident the day Peter was going into the Temple and was asked for alms by a crippled beggar.  Peter replied:

            “I have no gold or silver to give you but I will give you what I do have.”

With that, he touched the man and healed him.  It wasn’t that the Holy Spirit changed the disciples’ natures, but rather the Spirit enlivened the gifts that God had already bestowed on them from birth. Gifts that Jesus recognized when he chose them, as we see in Peter’s compassionate reaction to the beggar and his leadership of the faithful.  The Spirit acts the same in everyone. We all have those gifts, and most of us have received the Spirit, therefore it follows that we too, should find it impossible not to speak about the Lord.

Blessings,

Carol Lemelin OPA