Risen

Last Saturday we saw the new epic bible story “Risen”, which takes place during holy week and ends with Jesus’s Ascension. The movie starts out with Roman soldiers in a brutal battle with the Judeans. The movie depicts life in the holy land similar to the Bible series A.D, with the extreme violence of the Romans and the persecution of Jesus's followers by the Pharisees. Jesus and his disciple were constantly on the move and had no safe haven. The movie focused on a Roman solider, Clavius, who experienced a conversion when he was put to the task to find the missing Jesus. I thought the whole theme of the movie, and the conversion story was just perfect for today. Clavius worshiped the Roman gods, but he was intelligent, or perhaps it was the Holy Spirit working in him, and he began to think outside the box and believe in the possibility of the resurrected Christ. The evidence was unfolding for Clavius and then he meets the resurrected Jesus.
I won’t tell the whole story, but I did enjoy the movie and the ending and how they depicted the ascension of Jesus. Jesus, his disciples, and Clavius were on a mountain together when they noticed that Jesus was walking away from them. Jesus turns around and waves to them and then continues to walk away. Light begins to circle around Him and it gets brighter and covers the horizon. You can still see Jesus at the center of the light for awhile, and then a blast of light fills the sky and the He is gone. 

http://www.risen-movie.com/ 

The next morning was Palm Sunday, and the mass readings came to life in a new way for me. As a teacher, I know that emotional learning is resilient and lasting. This new and dramatic story of Jesus’s life, meshed with the teachings of the church, reinforces God’s mercy and for all people.

The Media

I have recently discovered a new Catholic television station that broadcasts out of Boston, MA, CatholicTV. Now I am toggling between my all-time favorite EWTN and CatholicTV. This week I watched a couple of awesome Lenten specials, the last seven words and the Stations of the Cross. I am so thankful for Catholic media and happy that they are branching out to TV, radio, apps, Twitter, Facebook, and email. Basically Catholic media are now competing for our attention in the same places as the world. Who doesn’t want to sit back and relax at the end of the day or anytime, and tune in to something inspiring. One of my biggest regrets in life is that EWTN was broadcasting for about 10 years before I discovered them.

About three years ago I read a book “I See Far” ,which had a profound and lasting effect on my view of the media. The book is heavy with prophecy and claims messages from the Blessed Mother. I do encourage you to read this book that you can download for free: “I See Far” at http://www.medjugorje.com/download/books/141-I+See+Far.html . It is well worth getting over the prophetic claims that may a challenge to believe and focus on the evidence that the author presents. The bottom line is the author has a vast amount of information about how the media/TV affects the way we live, think, feel and act.

Did you know that in 1986 Pope John Paul ll called for a fast from TV. From his balcony, he announced. “In families the television seems to substitute rather than facilitated dialogue among people.” After reading “I See Far” in the fall of 2013, I discussed with my husband Paul, the possibility of us fasting from TV. Miraculously, he agreed with me. He hadn’t read the book and he’s not a Catholic. That had to be divine intervention. So for the entire winter we didn’t watch TV. I think Paul put the news/weather on a few times because he is a snowmobile rider, and the sport is dependent on the weather.
It was so quiet at night. We read a lot, I took up knitting and we went to bed a lot earlier. By early spring I was really missing ETWN and we discussed just watching EWTN and he could watch his car shows. Being away from TV brought us back to a normal moral position and now if we think about the shows that we once thought were OK, we now know they are not OK. They are full of immorality. Mainstream TV desensitizes you to all that is good and moral and from God. You have to get away from it for a significant period of time to see it for what it really is. Occasionally, Paul will be watching a car show and a commercial will come on advertising a series program. I am continually shocked at the depravity that seems to be building at an exponential rate, in the short number of years since we stopped watching mainstream TV. My only exposure is through commercials and the ads that get thrown at me from my internet and email provider and other places on the internet where web hosts stoop to earning money by selling ad space on the web. It’s very difficult to avoid 100%.

Please turn away from the evil that is on TV, that is trying to convince you that what is from satan is the new normal. Either turn it off completely or strictly censor what you and your family expose themselves to.

 PUT ON THE ARMOR OF GOD and Fast from secular TV.

Ephesians 6:10-18

The Armor of God

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

God Bless

Paula

Examen App

Father Michael J. Denk, a Jesuit priest has developed an app to help you pray more effectively by walking you through the 5 main steps of the The Examination of Consciousness prayer which is based on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola. I learned of this app while watching EWTN on Friday this week. Father Michael was on a show talking about this app. I had it downloaded onto my iPhone and then iPad before the talk was over. I just love it. It is very easy to use and you can set a reminder for a convenient  morning and evening time to remind you to pray. Remember, prayer is just talking to God. The app walks you through the 5 parts of the examen prayer with prompts and beautiful backgrounds and scripture. There is a build in journal for you to record your reflections within each of the 5 sections of the prayer. I have only been doing this for a couple of days and already I can see how this reflective prayer is helping me to seek the Lords presence throughout the day. The prayer contains these five sections.

1. Gratitude- remember all of the blessings of the day.
2. Petition- ask God for the grace to see whatever He wants you to see.
3. Discernment- ask the Father to help you realize when you were with Him and when you were moving away- and other things.
4. Forgiveness- admit anything you are sorry for and experience His mercy.
5. Resolution-make some practical, concrete, and doable resolutions for the day. I like this one day at-a-time focus. 

The idea is brilliant and perfect for people like me who are very much connect to our devices. Bravo Father Michael for developing this simple, yet powerful way to draw me close to God, using a tool that I work and live with. 

You can find the app at the iTunes store- https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/examen-prayer/id899720088?mt=8
It's FREE :-)
You can go to http://www.theprodigalfatherproductions.org/app/ and watch a video overview of the app.

God Bless, Paula

International Nativity Display at Our Lady of LaSalette Shrine

Our Lady of LaSalette

Saturday night Paul and I went to the Shrine of Our Lady of LaSalette, in Enfield, NH to enjoy the spirit of Christmas. Last year I came to the shrine with a church group during week when it was snow covered and very cold. This year it was a balmy warm evening with no snow and a lot of people.

One of my favorite things about the shrine is the display of over 450 nativity sets from all over the world. I took pictures, some of which are attached. The nativity sets were encased in Plexiglas and there was much glare and reflection to deal with in trying to get some good pictures.

Who is Our Lady of LaSalette?

APPARITION of the BLESSED VIRGIN on the Mountain of LA SALETTE, Lecce France, the 19th of September, 1846. read more at: http://www.catholicapologetics.info/catholicteaching/privaterevelation/lasalet.html

Paula

Canada

Brazil

Colorado, USA

Knit

Ecuador

Eskimo

Germany

Inuit

Kenya

Laos

Mexico

?

Peru

Taiwan

?

USA

Compassion

What thoughts and feelings does the word compassion bring to mind? Maybe a heartfelt sorrow for the people of the world who are being persecuted. You feel compassion for the homeless person begging on the street corner. Maybe it's for the child with a learning disability who is working so hard trying to learn to read. You feel compassion for your friend who just lost their job and may lose their home.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines compassion as: a feeling of wanting to help someone who is sick, hungry, in trouble, etc. Jesus expands this definition to a much deeper level and asks us to bring his "compassion" to the world.

In Gabrielle Bossis' book, HE and I, she records the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, "If you only knew what compassion really is-the compassion you must strive to imitate. Overlooking everything to stoop to a heart's needs, paying no attention to any disappointments or ingratitude, being even kinder to those who have hurt you. Just be your Christ for them. If you make this your intention I'll be seen in you. (HE and I, pg. 193).

Can you feel compassion for someone who has disappointed or hurt you in the past? In spite of outward behaviors or past experiences, try to look to the needs of their hearts. In order to bring the love of Christ to our neighbor (friend, family member, co-worker, stranger...) we sometimes have to press though uncomfortable feelings and forget past hurts. Know that each and everyone of us carries hurts that only Jesus fully understands. By showing compassion to our more "difficult" neighbors, we can bring the light and love of Christ to them.

References:
HE and I, Gabrielle Bossis, translated and condensed by Evelyn M. Brown, Imprimatur: Msgr.Jean-Marie Fortier, Archbishop Sherbrooke, Nov. 14, 1969, Editions MEDIASPAUL,QC
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compassion
Picture:Depictions of Jesus have often shown him in terms of animal-related imagery such as that of the 'good shepherd', an example being this 16th century work by Philippe de Champagne. From Wikipedia.

He and I

"He and I" is the title of a book I am now reading for the third time. Years ago a friend gave me this book and reading it opened the door to a deeper and more personal understanding of who Jesus Christ is and how much He loves us.

Amazon.com has this lovely product description of the book, “In this timeless spiritual testament, readers enter into the intimate, interior conversations between Jesus and Gabrielle Bossis, a French nurse and playwright. Recorded in her diary from 1936 to 1950, their tender exchanges capture Jesus' enduring presence in our daily lives, his insistence on kindly serving others, and his encompassing love for humanity--and show that ordinary individuals can experience an intimacy with Christ.” 

During my first reading I thought, how fortunate Gabriele was to have this long and intimate relationship with Jesus. This time, when reading the book I noticed the message from Jesus,” Each soul is My favorite… I choose some only to reach the others.” This time I am read the book and realized that the book was written for me and for you. The message is universal and this is how Jesus feels about each and every one of us. The tender words of Jesus bring comfort to the soul and will fill your heart with joy. This book has been an incredible blessing to me and probably the most powerful spirit filled reading I have ever experienced. I just read a couple of pages a day because the reading is so deep, you have to take it slow to soak up the awesome feeling of Jesus to talking to you!

Excerpts

“Treat Me as the most intimate One who not only excuses the sins confided to Him but who takes them upon Himself in order to obtain the Father’s pardon” (pg. 78)

G.” Lord, can we always make amends, even for the faults that we are not aware of, but that Your sensitivity sees?”

Jesus. “Don’t you know that because of My compassion a single act of perfect love atones for a whole lifetime? that one humble and tender look from you pierces My heart with love? that I am sensitive to every cry of your hearts?” (pg. 95)

“Don’t get the idea that it is the greatest number of prayers that touches your God. It’s the way you speak to Him. Be irresistible in love, abandonment and humility. “ (pg.103)

December 15, 1949 - Holy hour. Coming back from Mass in the dark at 7am in the freezing rain. "This too, Lord, may I offer for Your sinners in this Marian year?

"I take all sufferings little and big, and place them in the treasury of the Church - the treasury used for the making of saints. You forget your past sufferings, but they continue to bear fruit in My sight. You have already forgotten your travel weariness, weather annoyances, desert thirst, the fears, exile in distant countries, the slow journeys back, the long tests of endurance, times of illness. But remember that you offered Me everything and that I've kept everything.” (pg. 363)

The book has an imprimatur, an official license by the Roman Catholic Church to print an ecclesiastical or religious book.

HE and I, Gabrielle Bossis, translated and condensed by Evelyn M. Brown, Imprimatur: Msgr.Jean-Marie Fortier, Archbishop Sherbrooke, Nov. 14, 1969, Editions MEDIASPAUL,QC

Sins of the Spirit

I am a big fan of the late Father Leo Clifford and always enjoy his “reflections” on EWTN. His reflections are 5-10 minutes stories that teach biblical lessons. I was thrilled to see videos of his reflections pop up in my YouTube menu. My first selection was this reflection on sins of the spirit or respectable sins. It is a very humbling reflection and a good examination of the conscience.

Father Leo begins by telling the story of the prodigal son to point out the sins of the “good” brother. He makes comparisons of what we normally consider bad sins, the crimes in the daily news, and those other “respectable” sins that are far greater in number and worse in the eyes of God. These are the sins of the spirit: pride, selfishness, coldness, indifference, haughtiness, and condescending attitude.

Fr. Leo quotes Dickens, “There is so much bad in the best of us, and so much good in the worst of us, that it ill becomes any of us to speak about the rest of us.”