A WAY THROUGH THE WORLD

A WAY THROUGH THE WORLD

One day this week a man went into a hospital and began shooting people, killing three of them. On another day this week a man got lost in the north woods of Michigan. Sixteen people, 2 dogs and 2 helicopters went out to find him.  They walked through tortuous terrain, which they said was often chest deep waters, until they found him. They built a fire to warm him because of hypothermia and dehydration, but he was too weak to carry out so a helicopter crew rescued him in a basket.  The sixteen people and the dogs then walked back out through that terrain and by that time some of them needed medical help, too.  Oh, and by the way, this was in the middle of the night. 

How are we expected to make our way through this crazy world?  Stories like these are repeated every day all over the world.  Good and bad side by side.  It ‘s tempting to lose hope, to feel that evil is insurmountable. That is an easy mistake to make because evil is so noisy and good is so quiet. Case in point; the gunman made the headlines and the top stories in the news while the heroic rescue team goes unnoticed.  

Our sole comfort is knowing that Jesus has been here and made his way through the world, which was as crazy then as it now.   Jesus, who is our brother, our leader and our God, bore all that the world can dish out and came out triumphant, is our strength and our comfort.  The meaning of his life was not to show us how to get to heaven, but to show us how to live on this earth.  He just kept on moving.  He never lost faith in his cause, he never looked back, and his trust in God never wavered.  He has set the example we are to follow. 

We must stand for what is right.  We must defend the defenseless.  We must speak out against injustice.  In short, we must live our lives as he lived his.  We have to ignore what we can’t control, keep the faith and never lose hope. 

On this Thanksgiving, let us thank God for Jesus, our beacon through this world. 

May God bless you all, 

Carol Lemelin OPA

PS: I am especially thankful for you and your kind responses to my words. 

Joy to The World

JOY TO THE WORLD

My husband’s brother, Fred, was a happy person.  He loved Christmas.  He particularly loved the music of Christmas.  I have a lovely little clock that plays Christmas Carols on the hour during the day and every time it chimes I think of Fred.  I can hear him singing those beloved songs.  Sure, he was a bachelor and really didn’t have anything required of him at Christmas except to show up for dinner.  But his presence added an extra measure of joy.  

It is hard to feel the joy when the holidays begin with Black Friday.  Immediately the focus is on material things.  The pressure on women is especially heavy.  The cooking, the planning, the buying, the worry, the self-imposed expectations drive all thoughts of the meaning of the day away. 

C. S. Lewis wrote a piece called The Grand Miracle.  I admit I had to read it three times before what he was saying became clear.  His point was, that with all the attention to the preparation and to the Baby, we don’t give any attention to what actually happened.  God, the Almighty, the Creator, became a fetus.  He likened it to someone diving deeply in the ocean depths, into the pitch-black water, down into the mud and slime and then up again, his lungs bursting, into the warm sunlight. Bringing with him the thing he went down to get – human nature.  

The point is that Christmas is so much bigger than the frivolous trappings we are so used to. We still have to go ahead with the celebration because it is a legitimate cause for celebration.  But, we need to dig deeper into the meaning of this miracle. 

God became one of us by participating in the greatest miracle of all, human gestation and ultimate birth.  When you do that, somehow all the material stuff falls away and is replaced by awe. 

What Fred brought to the holidays was uncomplicated joy.  Our days of preparation would be easier if we kept the image of God’s magnificent miracle in the forefront of our thinking and felt that joy throughout. 

And what about the gift giving?  Remember God started it by gifting us with Jesus.

Blessings and joy, 

Carol Lemelin OPA

NOTHING LEFT

NOTHING LEFT

Elijah saw a woman near the city gate and asked her to bring him some water and some bread.  She said she could not comply because all she had left was a bit of flour and oil to feed herself and her child and when that was eaten, they would die of starvation.  (1Kgs 17:10-16)

It is difficult for us who live in plenty to imagine a point where there is literally nothing left, but then came the wildfires in California, fires, in which an entire town was burned to the ground in a matter of minutes.  We all stare at the photos uncomprehending.  Imagine what it is like for the citizens of that town!  There is nothing left. 

A while ago there was a commercial depicting what it feels like to have your car stolen.  A man steps out of his office to the place where he parked his car and there is nothing left but a gaping black hole.  I thought that ad was perfect because that was how it was for me. Hardly anyone escapes this life without at least one moment like that and usually there are more.   A dream is crushed.  Someone you love and need has died.  A lifelong friendship is ruined.  You undergo discrimination, or any of a dozen things that leave you facing that black hole. 

To know, not just believe, but to know that God is at your side is often the one thing that keeps you from jumping into that black hole.   When my second child was born I was alone and due to circumstances beyond my control he was born at home.  At the time I said to God, “I assume you’re going to help me with this, because this is not my idea!”  I repeated that exact phrase when my husband died.  When my son died, however, I said, “I know you are going to help me with this.”  My assurance of that came from my experience of the all-encompassing love of God.  I’ve asked people how they know that God is with them.  The answer is usually the same, “I just know.”

They make it sound easy and actually it is.  It is a simple matter of opening yourself to God. Don’t be afraid.  You have no secrets from God. He knows where you’re coming from and he understands. Acknowledge your dependence on his mercy and give your fears and anxieties to him.  Jesus said, “Come to me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy and my burden light.” (Matt 11:26)

Like your favorite pillow or comforter, let yourself be embraced by Jesus. Rest your head upon his heart and find peace. The black holes fill up and the way ahead is smoothed out. 

Blessings and peace, 

Carol Lemelin OPA

ALL IS POSSIBLE

ALL IS POSSIBLE

Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus.

Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and, found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.  Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name and at the name of Jesus every knee should bend and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord   (Phil 2:5-11)

How did this happen? How did it come to pass that Paul of Tarsus, a relentless persecutor of the followers of Christ, became His greatest advocate?  We know about his being knocked off his horse and blinded.  We know he went at Christ’s command to the city.  We know that Ananias was directed by God to go to Paul. He went even though Paul was practically a murderer in the eyes of the New People.  From there it makes a great story.  Can you imagine the reaction when the disciples in Jerusalem heard that the notorious Saul of Tarsus wanted to be a Christian?  

After the initial shock wore off, the efforts of Paul to enlighten his people to the coming of the Messiah had a powerful effect on the Apostles.  It undoubtedly took quite awhile but eventually they came to see that his grasp of the true meaning of the life of Jesus was nothing short of extraordinary.  There is only one answer to how this was even possible and that is the Holy Spirit was at work. 

From that time on it has been the Holy Spirit who speaks to us.  The trick is to learn to understand and listen carefully.   That is not impossible.  Despite the enormity of God, God is as close as your next heartbeat. The prophets all learned to hear and understand that the voice of God comes from within.  There is a knowingthat comes with the voice of God.  It is not limited to prophets or evangelists.  It is for you and me as well.  This is not spooky or weird, but as real as you are.  Again, however, you and I must get in touch with that Spirit before we can hope to understand what God wants from us.  

Thomas Moore, Catherine of Sienna, Dominic, Isaac Jogues and Oscar Romero, are just a few of the millions who have heard and acted on the voice of the Spirit because they learned to listen and to follow.  Pope Francis says we have to leave room for the Spirit and allow the Holy Spirit to be the soul and guide of our lives in our every decision. To live with the Spirit we must follow the SpiritGod.

You probably will never be required to do deeds of magnitude, but it is not for us determine what is or is not important to God.  Just remember to say each day, “Father, I live to do your will.”

We have not only to be called Christians; we must be Christians – St. Ignatius

Carol Lemelin OPA

TRY HARDER

TRY HARDER

As I have grown older some things that were easy are now much harder, such as opening packages. Little kids can rip open a box in nothing flat but I can’t.  I keep tools handy such as scissors and box cutters.  But sometimes I am annoyed with myself for taking the easy road and so when, like today, I was trying to open a bag with that sort of tongue in groovesealer, I didn’t go for a tool.  Instead, I told my self “Try harder!” I am a little embarrassed to admit that I felt quite wonderful when it opened.  

That got me thinking about trying to live our lives in Christ’s image.  I don’t think I would have been a very good disciple, because I question everything.  When Jesus said, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”    I would have said, “Good luck with that!”   See what I mean?

When Jesus said that we should be perfect, what did he really mean?  Perfection in humans is not possible.  Face it.  You see a model that you say is perfectly beautiful and you would be surprised to hear her say, ”My nose is too long, or my right eyebrow is not shaped as well as my left.” 

Jesus meant be perfect in love.  The love of God is perfect.  That means it is universal, never weakening and over abundant. It might surprise us to know humans can actually achieve that.  We can love perfectly.  We can fight the urge to look down on people, to hate them, to carry grudges, to gossip, or hunt down and kill them.  We just have to try harder. 

There are people who do good and still claim they don’t believe in God.  That’s fine for them, but the fact is they reach down inside themselves for the motivation and love to help others without realizing that that love is God. There is no love without God no matter what you may think. 

In this world of incredible technology, it is often a shock to people of my generation who try to do something the old way and find out it’s already been done in a millisecond by their car or computer or their phone or embarrassingly, by their grandchild. But, isn’t it wonderful?  That’s how the love of God works, quickly, quietly, and powerfully.   The only way people will feel the love of God or learn to recognize his presence will be through us. What we must do is be constantly aware of the Spirit within us and try harder. 

Blessings,

Carol Lemelin OPA