TAKE HEART

TAKE HEART 

During the Cold War, I was absolutely terrified.  When your government sends you a brochure on how to build a bomb shelter, it tends to strike terror in your heart. During those years, I kept waiting for the bombs to drop.  Saber rattling between the U.S. and Russia went on all the time.  I never told anyone how frightened I was because no one else seemed to be.  I was helpless until the day I read these words, which have been attributed to St. Francis DeSales. 

Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow; the same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day. Either he will shield you from suffering, or he will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace, then, put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations, and say continually: “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart has trusted in him and I am helped. He is not only with me, but in me, and I in him.”

When I first read these words everything changed.  I hung on to them for dear life.  Still do, in fact.  I believed that words of such confidence and comfort had to come from someone who knew what I was feeling. St. Francis DeSales was just such a person, who was well known for his gentle compassion and certainly these words reveal it. 

Many years ago Franklin Roosevelt told the people of America that the only thing we really needed to fear was fear itself.  Those words are still true.  When we are afraid, much of our common sense is overwhelmed.  We make snap decisions about what might happen, often making things worse.  

Jesus knew this was true.  So often his first words when meeting people were “Don’t be afraid.”  “Why”, you can ask, “would anyone be afraid of Jesus?”   Put yourself in the place of someone of that century of that culture, that religion and you meet a person whose has been known to do actual miraculous things. Perhaps you even witnessed one for yourself.  If he could raise someone from the dead, like the young man at Nain, then could he not strike someone dead?  But then, you would look in his eyes and know that couldn’t happen.  While we can’t do that, we have the testimony of those who did.  

The woman at the well said there was just something about the man that was compelling. Zaccheus leapt out of the tree and confessed everything just looking at Jesus.  Millions of people have formed unbreakable bonds with Jesus.  They are all around us. Their testimony is valid.  The only way to truly know Jesus is to read the New Testament thoroughly. Read until you understand how Francis could have written those words. 

Blessings,

Carol Lemelin OPA

MISTAKES

MISTAKES

Two adages that I heard when I was about 7 or 8 advised, “Never make the same mistake twice, and “Always learn from your mistakes.”  Oh, how I wish I had been able to do that all the time!  Unfortunately, I have to say I probably scored 50 percent on those tests. But, I did learn one thing; I learned to forgive myself. So often when people continue to fail at things, they often become depressed and begin to feel worthless. Most of the time it’s because they feel they are a disappointment; a disappointment to parents, teachers, peers or God.

Everyone needs to learn is that you can’t disappoint God. You are God’s very own special creation. God knows you inside and out. He knows what your weaknesses and your strengths are. God’s love is made to order just for you. Our failure to know and embrace this keeps us from forgiving ourselves for our mistakes. If God could be sad, which he can’t, this would do it. Love, which is God’s other name, wants only our happiness. He conveyed that through the prophet Jeremiah; “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Remember that song which goes,

 “Pick yourself up. Dust yourself off. Start all over again”?  That is pretty much what we are expected to do.  You always have God’s attention, but wait, that’s what you’re afraid of isn’t it? Then think of God as your very best friend who will not criticize or mock, but just be in your corner all the time. Remember the promise of Jesus; “Come to me all who are burdened and weary and I will give you rest”. His promises are real and can be trusted. So go ahead and live your life, mistakes and all. The One who loves you best, will be with you to help you pick yourself up.

Be good to yourself. 

Carol Lemelin OPA

"Stay calm, be courageous, and watch for signs."

WHAT HE SAID

WHAT HE SAID 

The very structure of the Catholic faith rests on the words of Jesus Christ. 

Some of those words require thought to understand what he meant. Others are quite simple and require no special interpretation.  Still, we ignore them.  

Here are some: 

Judge not, lest you be judged  - judging has become the national pastime!

Call no man father, there is but one Father–How this one came to be ignored is a mystery.

If you have seen me you have seen the Father- Prayers to one are prayers to both.

No one knows the day or the hour, except the Father– Rumors of the end of the world should be ignored.

He who is without sin cast the first stone.  What about that arsenal of stones we keep?

It is not what goes into one’s mouth that defiles, but what comes out of it.Hate speech, racist speech, divisive speeches are actually violence.

Who by worrying about it can grow and inch?Jesus had something to say about everything, even how much we want to be something we aren’t.

Do not cast your pearls before swine.   If you fail to convince anyone of the love of God, you have Jesus’ permission to move on. 

When you pray do not babble – the Father knows what you need before you ask.

How much happier would we be if we really believed those words?

Whoever believes has eternal life. Notice Jesus does not list any other regulations. 

The leaders of the Gentiles lord it over their people and their authority is felt, but that will not be so with you. People with power forget this one the fastest. 

Don’t put new wine into old wine skins– Don’t be afraid to grow and change and know God better. Jesus calls us to it. 

Blessings,

Carol Lemelin OPA

THE CHALLENGE

THE CHALLENGE

I have always liked Science Fiction.  I especially like the stories where humans are struggling to live on other planets.  My favorite among those has been the Legacy of Heorot by Niven, Pournelle and Barnes. 

The story is about a group of International space travelers who are determined, even committed, to living out their lives on a planet they call Avalon. They are menaced by a monster.  They set up elaborate security measures hoping to capture and kill it. Their leader, however, urges them not to engage in the traditional human way, that is, to kill whatever it is.  He believes they have to get to know the beast before they take its life. He has his hands full trying to convince them, so he sets out to find and learn about the beast himself.  

I see similarities in the life of Jesus.  He constantly reminded his followers to see things through a new lens. The old ways, he says, using the metaphor of new wine in old skins, are not bad, but must make way for the new. When that passage is used, the last thing Jesus says is rarely heard.  He said, “Those who drink old wine do not want new wine or wine skins because they say, ‘old is good.’  Old is good, but for the world to grow and flourish, people had to adjust to the presence of new ideas. 

Jesus whole life was dedicated to change.  Change in the way people viewed the Father.  Change in the way people viewed one another.  Change in the way people reacted to life’s happenings. He told them and us to come to him and he would help us change. He promised that with him by our side, it would not be an unbearable burden.   

It is true that being good and loving others is not easy. It is serious challenge.  Jesus was a human being.  He knew what he was asking.  He had his detractors and downright enemies and was totally aware of the danger he was in. That did not stop him. We can never outdo Jesus when it comes to challenges.  

Back to Avalon for a minute: the leader, without encouragement from the others, set out to find and learn about the menace.  He risked his life, and nearly lost it, but in the end, he was successful. The colony learned to live in peace with the other being. 

Jesus did everything he could to show us the way.  We have the burden of justifying his sacrifices by embracing his example.  He has promised to be with us no matter what and it is that which makes following him possible.  His yoke is easy and his burden light, certainly lighter than the burden’s of living without him. 

Blessings,

Carol Lemelin OPA

A CONSTANT STATE OF WONDER

A CONSTANT STATE OF WONDER

There are many things in this world that produce the state of wonder.  For example, infants leave me speechless as they show their personalities almost from the moment of birth.  A three-month-old baby is laughing.  You wonder, how does he know what’s funny?  Then there are wonders of modern medicine.  Doctors can reverse HIV in infants while they are still in the womb!  Then there is technology, the best example being that NASA sent a rover they named Oppy (Short for Opportunity) to Mars in 2004 for what they thought would be 90 days of sending back data. The wonder is that Oppy died in February 2019. Because it was so much a part of their lives, the research team wept at its demise. These are just samples of the wonders on earth. 

There is also a spiritual state of wonder, but this is one  that should not be. 

People go through life wondering, “Why did God do this?”or “Why didn’t God do this? What is God’s will for me?”Life is random at best, and trying to figure out what God wants while at the same time trying to deal with life, is very difficult. That probably isn’t God’s will. 

I don’t think God ever intended for us to be in a constant state of wondering what He is up to.  From the time God first spoke to humans, he was quite clear about what he wants from us.  He scolded them for sacrificing animals, telling them he wanted only that they love one another.  He said we would not find him in violent weather, but in a whisper.  He scolded them for making reverence for the Sabbath a chore. He said that man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made for man.

Then he came himself in the person of Jesus.  He repeated all those things and more, and by example showed us how God wants us to live. It may be that the simplicity of it is too much for people.  If God ever did speak to the world out loud, I think he might ask, “What part of love one another don’t you get?”

Instead of worrying about what God is thinking, we would all be better off if we simply trusted his presence.  The knowledge of the presence of God makes it possible to bear the burdens.  They are not going to be any less painful, but you will have the strength you need to cope, simply because you are fully aware that God cares.  God gave us free will. We can’t want to be free to live our lives as we see fit, and at the same time expect God to solve our problems for us. 

King David, whose relationship with God was rock solid despite his failures, wrote in Psalm 139: “You have probed me, you know me.  You encircle me and rest your hand upon me. Your right hand guides me and holds me fast.”

God is not deaf to us, and as Jesus said, “God knows what you need, before you ask.”  

Trust in Him. That is where peace lies.  That’s the true wonder. 

Blessings

Carol Lemelin OPA

THE GREAT HEART OF GOD

THE GREAT HEART OF GOD

When people feel lonely and unsure of themselves, it is often because they do not believe deeply enough that God fully understands them. Paul writes that if we love fully, we will understand as we are fully understood. John’s words are very important, too: God loved us before we were ever able to love him. This is what must enter our small hearts, and what we must hold on to: the love of the Great Heart, which understands us fully.  J. Heinrich Arnold

I love the image of God as the Great Heart.  Jesus actually revealed the heart of God in the story of the Prodigal son.  The father in that story stands in for God as he paces back and forth day after day, watching the road for the sight of his son returning home.  When that day finally comes, he abandons all dignity and runs to hold his lost child in his arms. He embraces him, forgiving everything. 

The elder son, however, was blinded by jealously and could not see the greatness of his father’s love encompassing them both without favoritism. Sadly, many people side with the elder brother.  They, like him, fail to understand that the compassion and love of God encompasses everyone. There is complete understanding of each of us and as St. Paul tells, nothing can separate us from the love of God, not even ourselves.

In 1942 I was six years old. I woke one morning and it as very dark and the house was very quiet. My parent’s room was empty. I crept down the stairs, but the living room was dark, too.  Even though I thought I heard a noise from the kitchen, I was afraid, so I sat on the top step and waited.  All of a sudden a light went on and my uncle John came into the room with a towel over his trousers for an apron and a spatula in his hand. “Good Mornin’, Carol Ann.” He said.  “Mommy and Daddy went to the hospital to get the baby, and I’m making a stupendous breakfast just for you!”   The relief I felt was huge and the sense of absolute safety this uncle of mine provided has lived in my memory all these years. He was a person with a big heart. There are many of them in the world, and they, unbeknownst to themselves, reveal the Great Heart of God, because all good comes from there.  

This is how we should image God.  Even with all the testimony of Jesus, for many people, God still remains an angry, judgmental figure, waiting to pounce when we fail.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  God has spoken words of comfort and assurance from the beginning, but has been drowned out by the insistence of the human race to fashion a God who reflects them. It is time for us to put an end to this and to reflect the Great Heart of God for all to see. 

Blessings,

Carol Lemelin, OPA

SAFE?

SAFE?

Every once in a while, I hear or read something that startles me because I never thought of it before or it never occurred to me to see in a different light.  That happened this week when I read Pope Francis’ remark about gossip. 

He says, “Gossip is the terrorism of the Christian community.”  Those are strong words, which indicate how deeply he feels about that subject.  

In the current atmosphere of immigrant discrimination, churches are being called 

Sanctuary sites. Where people are safe.  What the Pope suggests is that our churches should also be sanctuaries from gossip, back-biting, criticism, tale-telling, unkindness, and grudges. It is supposed to be a place where the presence of Christ is not just in the tabernacle, but also in the people.  A place where people are safe. 

The more I think about this, the more my conscience stings. This behavior is practically the national pastime.  The idea that the church is a place of safety in this regard is very likely unheard of anywhere.  Is it a sign that our complacency with our Christianity is unfounded? 

Do we reflect Jesus? Jesus confounded all the religious authorities by talking to, touching, loving, and healing everyone without discrimination.  When he was rejected, he simply moved on.  He did not waste time in regrets or stewing over slights, but looked forward and continued his mission.  He was commissioned to bring to the world the truth about God.  God is ever loving, ever patient, ever forgiving.  That was his all-consuming passion. Shouldn’t it be ours as well? 

The earliest Christian communities, beset on all sides by enemies, they came together in pure joy of sharing their love of Jesus. So what happened?  Why isn’t there one Christian Community instead of thousands?  Perhaps we need to start over.  Perhaps we need to model our church community on that of the earliest believers. They thought he was coming back, but we know He has not left us, which means He is present!  How would we behave if Jesus were visible?  There would be no question about our church being a safe place. As it is God’s will that all the good that is done, must be done by us, we have little choice but to try to make that dream come true. 

“The eyes of love will perhaps be able to see how Christ himself departs, quietly and invisibly, from the sanctuary... The singing will continue to resound, the clouds of incense will arise, and the faithful will be overcome by the ecstatic beauty of the services. But Christ will go out onto the church steps and mingle with the crowd: the poor, the lepers, the desperate, the embittered, the holy fools. Christ will go out into the streets, the prisons, the low haunts and dives. Again and again.”  Mother Maria Skobtsova

Blessings, 

Carol Lemelin, OPA