RETREAT

      Six of our sisters had a wonderful experience of a directed retreat last month.  A retreat director from New Jersey came and directed them for a week of prayer and reflection.  The retreatants kept silent during the day and ate their meals in another room across from the main dining room.  Each one has shared that it was a good experience for them.

     In a couple of weeks many of our sisters will participate in a conference retreat.  The director will give talks in the morning about being Vessels of Hope and about Pope Francis.  Silence will also be observed during this retreat.  A penance celebration will also be included during the week.  The sisters will have the opportunity to conference with the retreat director if they so choose.

      I will be leaving for New Jersey next Monday for my annual directed retreat.  I look forward to this time to spend in quiet, prayer, and reflection.  It is a time to deepen my relationship with Christ and renew my prayer life to strengthen me for the rest of the year. 
     Please pray for all the sisters and for me during this time of retreat.

MARTHA AND MARY

     How important to you is the Word of God?  Do you let other things get in the way of spending time with the Word?  Both the first reading (Gen. 18:20-32) and the Gospel, (Lk 10:38-40) from Sunday focus on hospitality.  How we treat guests who come to our home is an important quality of service.  For now, however, I would like to focus on the Gospel about Jesus' visit to Martha's and Mary's home in Bethany.

     During his visit, Mary sat at the feet of Jesus listening to his every word.  I imagine Martha sticking her head out of the kithchen trying to get Mary's attention to come help her with preparing the meal, or perhaps she is beckoning Mary to come.  Finally, in frustration, Martha says to Jesus, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?"  Then, I love what she does next.  Martha tells Jesus what to do! "Tell her to help me."

     Jesus tells Martha that she is worried and anxious and that Mary has chosen the better part.  Martha has chosen service over listening to the Word.  In our lives today we can get so caught up in many things that keep us from, or that intice us to choose doing rather than spending time with Christ.  There is nothing wrong in what we "do," it is how much time we spend doing it.  Finding a balance between work, play, service, rest, and prayer is not always easy.  A spiritual director I once had said, "Pray first and everything else will get done."  I find that if I have more time to do something, it will take me longer to do that task and I can get distracted from doing it.  If I pray first, then later I am more focused on the getting the task done in less time.  When my tasks or work is done, then I have time to do other things or rest.

     I think we all have our Martha days and our Mary days.  However, it is crucial that we find that balance.  By doing so, we may prevent ourselves, while we are working, from feeling anxious about not spending enough time with the Word; or feeling anxious when we are with the Word and unfocused because we are worried about what we need to do. 

     Put praying and spending time with the Word first on your calendar or list of thinkgs to do.  Make it non-negotiable.  Our prayer and spending time wth Christ will deepen in us and lead us to service.  We will be at peace and bring joy to others.  We will receive the grace we need to serve the people of God.

      How important to you is the Word of God?

    

BEING GIFT

In today's gospel from Jesus' discourse at the last meal that he ate with his disciples, Jesus said that the disciples were the Father's gift to him.  We too are a gift to Jesus from the Father.  Imagine that!  I offer you a reflection for yourself.

Close your eyes and relax.  Breathe slowly and evenly.  Ask the Holy Spirit to be with you and open your heart to receive all that God desires to give you in this time of reflection.  When you are ready, imagine God the Father bringing you to Jesus and offering you to him as a gift.  What is Jesus' response? Listen to Jesus tell you how you are a gift to him. What is your response?
Then, reflect on how Jesus is a gift to you and tell him.  What is his response?

GETTING CALLS

How are you called?   Do you get calls on your I-Phone or on your land line?  Do you know who is calling you before you answer because you have caller ID, or do you immediately recognize the one who is calling when he/she greets you on the phone? When the phone rings, my mother looks at her TV screen, which displays the name and number of the caller, to see who is calling her before she answers the phone.  How do you know when God is calling you and how do you recognize his voice?
There are many call stories in scripture:  the call of Abraham; the call of the prophets; the call of the disciples; and the call of St. Paul, just to name a few.  Today's Gospel from John 10:27-30 is just a small portion of the Good Shepherd passages.  Jesus says, "My sheep hear my voice...and they follow me."  We can hear his voice through prayer and reflection, through scripture or in song, through other people or in spiritual readings, or by being still and silent.  Something in these may strike our hearts that gives us joy or peace, enlightenment or comfort.  It can fill us with deep love.
Jesus, our Shepherd, has a love deeper than ours.  I was caught by the line, "My Father who has given them to me...and no one can take them out of the Father's hand."  We are a gift given to Jesus by the Father.  His love, mercy, and compassion will always keep us close to his heart because we are precious gifts to him.  No one and nothing will take us out of His hands.  We are Christ's forever.
Today is World Day of Prayer for Vocations.  Please continue to pray that more men and women will listen to the voice of the Shepherd to follow him in the vocations to the priesthood and religious life.  If you feel that you may have a religious vocation and want to talk about it, get in touch with me at s.lfusco@ssjerie.org. 

LOVE AND FOLLOW CHRIST

In today's Gospel from John 14:23-29, we find the disciples fishing after the death and resurrection of Jesus. When Jesus first called the disciples, they were fishermen, and he told them to follow him and they will be catching men and women.  Jesus has died, and resurrected and still they go back to what they know, fishing for fish.
Jesus calls out to them from the shore.  The Beloved Disciple recognizes and believes that it is Jesus before any of the others.  I have read that whenever Peter and the Beloved Disciple are together, he is the one who believes first.  One example was when they ran to the empty tomb.  Scripture says that the Beloved Disciple out ran Peter and saw the empty tomb first and believed.  The love of the Beloved Disciple enables him to believe.  Like him, our faith must be rooted in love.  When the disciples got to shore, Jesus had bread and fish for them.  He gave them the bread and fish just as he had given bread and fish to the crowd then gave the Bread of Life discourse.  Once again Jesus is showing the disciples and us that he is the Bread of Life.

Next, Jesus asks Peter three times, "Peter, do you love me."  Peter answers, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."  Each time Jesus directs Peter to tend to his flock and to follow him.  Who are the ones Jesus is asking us to tend?  Jesus continues to be present to us and feed us in the Eucharist.  With love we are also called to follow him.  Where do we, who believe and love Christ, bring his love to others?  How are we Eucharist for others?

DO NOT BE AFRAID

What are your fears?  Many people have different fears in their lives.  Some fears always remain with us and some fears we outgrow.  Fear can cause stress, sleepless nights, and other health problems.  While therapists, doctors, counselors, and others can help us manage our fears, we can always look in scripture.
In the reading from the Revelations and in the Gospel reading in today's liturgy we heard the words, "Do not be afraid."  John in a vision on the island of Patmos saw the resurrected Christ.  After falling over from shock at seeing Christ, John heard him say, "Do not be afraid.  Write down what you have seen."  Then in the Gospel reading, the apostles were in the upper room and Jesus appeared to them saying, "Do not be afraid. Receive the Holy Spirit..."   
Without counting for myself, I have heard that there are 365 places in scripture where the words, "Fear not," or "Do not be afraid" appear.  For me, trusting in God who loves me can help me through my fears. I can sit still and talk to Jesus or Mary.  I can pray and journal through something.  There are songs based on scripture that tell me not to be afraid, and when needed, I can talk to someone who I know cares and listens.
At Baptism we were given an "indelible mark" which says we belong to Christ.  Therefore, we can get our courage, strength, and hope from him.  He is the one we can always turn to.  We don't need an appointment.  We just have to show up. 

NEW LIFE

This evening I had the privilege to proclaim the reading from Romans at the Easter Vigil at my parish.  Romans 6:3-11 is my favorite reading. Why? It is the culmination of Jesus' passion, death, and resurrection.  It is why He came to earth, to destroy death. 
In this passage we hear that, "...death no longer has power over him." Because of this, death no longer has power over us also.  It does not hold us bound.  We will live with Christ.
This is also a comforting passage as I think of those who have gone before me in my family and in community.  I know that they are living the newness of life that God promises. 
Rejoice this Easter Season!  Christ is Risen! Alleluia.

Happy Easter.

THE LOVE AND MERCY OF GOD

A reflection I gave last week.

When we are born, we are so innocent.  We do not know how to judge others or to condemn them. Yet these behaviors are learned as we grow.

In the gospel Jesus teaches the Scribes and Pharisees to stop being so judgemental and to start examining their own inability to love their neighbor.  We have heard so many times in scripture how the Pharisees and Scribes in their self righteousness always points out the failings of everyone else and never look at their own sins and weaknesses.

"Let the one among you who is without sin cast the first stone."  As we heard in the reading, all the woman's accusers walked away.  Jesus, the one with out sin who could condemn, is the one left with the woman.  However, he neither condemns nor accuses her.  Instead he shows mercy and love.  Jesus offers forgiveness, not punishment.

The Scribes and Pharisees were willing to hold the adulterous woman bound in her sin and shame and stone her to death.  When we pass judgement or condemn others, or choose not to forgive, we hold them bound in their sin or whatever we see as a failing.  We also hold ourselves bound in our inability to love enough in order to forgive.  Yet when we show forgiveness, we release the other and ourselves to a freedom that shows the love of God in our lives.  Jesus instructs the woman to go and sin no more.  Imagine the relief she felt: relief from the burden of her sin; relief from her fear of being caught; relief from being stoned to death.  Each time we go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation we also have the opportunity to go and sin no more.  Oh, if only we could do that!  In our human weakness we will continue to sin again and again.  Just as Jesus shows how much he loves the adulterous woman, so also does he show us extravagant love when we take on the role of a Pharisee or a sinner.

In this last full week of Lent and the days leading up to the Triduum, may we fast from judging others and condemning.  May we show the mercy and love of God that is so needed wherever we are.

Spiritual Dying

Here is a reflection I gave to our sisters a couple of weeks ago.

What kind of death have you ever experienced or may be experiencing right now?  Spiritual Death is defined as separation from God.  However, I would like to look at this a little differently.
Lazarus was physically dead, but have you ever thought about the spiritual death that Mary and Martha were experience4ing?  "Why didn't you come sooner?  If only you had been here our brother would not have died."  Mary of Bethany never did lose hope when she proclaimed that she believed that Jesus was the Son of God, the one who came into the world.

Like Lazarus, who was all bound up by the wrappings on his body, so too can we be bound up by our spiritual dyings.  Physical diminishment, death of a family member can make us fee sad or angry.  We may cry or grieve.  All are natural responses.  But happens when these responses are so great that we cry out to God, "Where are you?  Why did this happen?"  We can despair, lose hope in God or even become depressed.  We can be so wrapped tightly bound that we experience spiritual death.

When my brother-in-law died in December, my sister said, "What good were all our prayers?"

Jesus came not to free us not only from physical death, but also from spiritual death.  He cannot change our physical diminishments, nor stop our physical dying.  Jesus came so we can have life; spiritual life with him now and in heaven.

Jesus said that he is the resurrection and the life. He promised that he would always be with us.  We know that we can turn to him to give new life to our spiritual dyings.  It can happen quickly or it may happen gradually.  But if we hold on to the hope, love, and strength that comes to us through Jesus, we will experience new life here and now. 

CONSEQUENCES

I often remind my students that they are responsible for the consequences of their actions, whether good or bad.  Jesus reminds the people that if they do not repent, the consequence will be that they will perish.  In the parable of the fig tree we hear that the owner of the orchard was impatient because after three years the tree did not produce any fruit.  He told the gardener to cut it down.  The gardener, however, tells the owner to be patient, and after one more year if it does not produce fruit, it will regrettably be cut down.

We are like the fig tree. We are called to be fruitful in our lives.  We can be fruitful by how we are with others in our families, our ministries, our places of work, and in our own spiritual lives.  Yet, in our human weaknesses we sometimes fail.  Just as the gardener asks for patience in giving the tree one more year, so also does Jesus have patience with us.  He calls us to repentance and healing. Jesus waits for us to turn our bad choices around and produce good fruit by making good choices for ourselves.  Just as the gardener was willing to cultivate and fertilize the soil, we also must be willing to cultivate our lives with prayer, reconciliation and good works.  Lent is a season in which we can do this.  Jesus' message to repent is urgent.  Each one of us responsible for the consequences of our actions.

IT IS GOOD TO BE HERE

Have you ever been somewhere and could not wait to get out of that place?  It might have been a physical place such as a store, a hospital, a family gathering, your workplace, or a city or town.  Perhaps it was a spiritual or emotional place.  For example, a time of grieving, a dry prayer day on retreat, a desert time in your relationship with God, or depression.

Then there are those mountain top experiences such as achieving a goal, promotions at work, a happy time with family and friends, heartfelt knowledge of God's presence and love on retreat, being finally free from and emotional or physical illness. We are on top of the world!

In the Transfiguration event of Jesus on the mountain, Peter was in his glory.  "Wow!  It is good for us to be here." That is easy to say when we are on top of the mountain, but what about in the ordinary days of our lives.  Isn't it good to be here?

With all the issues facing us in our world, our country, our city, our church, and our own personal problems, we can still count on God's love for us through his son, Jesus Christ.  He will transform us if we listen to him.  We do not have to climb a mountain for God to descend to reach us.  We only need to find that quiet physical place and space within ourselves and with an open and willing spirit.  Sometimes it is within those times or places that we cannot wait to be out of that we can have mountaintop experiences.  It is good to be here because Christ is always with us in the ordinariness of our lives.  No matter what physical, spiritual, or emotional place we find ourselves, Christ will always find us and transform us to a place of prayer, wisdom, freedom, strength or hope.  He will be whatever we need him to be and whenever we need him to be there for us.  

As we continue our journey through Lent, let us remember that we do not journey alone.  We have each other and we have Jesus Christ with us.  It is good to be here!

JOURNEY INTO THE DESERT

Yesterday, on the first Sunday of Lent, we heard the gospel reading about Jesus in the desert for forty days and being tempted by the devil.  Satan begins his temptations with, "If you are the Son of God..."  He seems to be challenging Jesus about his identity.  Jesus had just heard God tell him he is his beloved Son at the Jordan River where he was baptized.  He needed time away to take in all that he had heard.  After three temptations that were not accepted by Jesus, the devil left him.  
Two thoughts came to me as I reflected on this passage.  First, how many times have you been challenged about your identity.  I don't mean your name and social security number. How have others tried to tell you that you are other than what you know to be true about yourself?  There may also be times when you did not choose to be more because of self doubt or lack of self confidence.  On the other hand you may have tried to be something you are not.  Either way, we have to be strong enough to live with integrity, knowing who we are and what our values stand for.  The one identity each of us can claim boldly is that we are daughters and sons of God.
My second thought is about the desert.  Lent is a desert time.  While we cannot physically go into a desert, we can spend alone time in quiet and reflection.  It is a place where we can work through things, wrestle with a problem, or find peace.  We can change in the desert.  It is a lonely place and sometimes frightening.  However, when we choose to be there and empty ourselves before God, we can also be filled with light, strength, grace, and peace.  How will you choose to be before God this Lent?  Do you know who you are before God?

LENT

This past Wednesday Catholics around the world began the liturgical season of Lent.  It is a time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. It is a time for being reflective, repenting and changing our lives and how God is doing something new in us.
Fasting from treats, dessert, or television may be a start.  Perhaps we can find other ways to fast that will draw us  closer to God and become the persons we want to be.  For example, we could fast from being unkind, quick to make judgements, or being impatient.  Fasting from self-centeredness, from always wanting to control situations or others, from prejudices, and from being unforgiving will help us be more loving, more considerate, and more merciful. 
Spending more time in prayer and reflection is always a good practice.  On Sunday evenings the sisters at our community living center gather in the chapel to pray the Office together.  One sister gives a short reflection. It is a grace-filled time that we can share.  On Friday evenings the sisters pray the stations of the cross.  Check you local parishes to see what programs may be offered there during Lent.  Choose one.  May this time of preparation for Easter draw you closer to Christ.

CALLED BY GOD

How are you called to follow God?   All three readings from today's liturgy are about call stories.  In the first reading we hear about Isaiah's call.  He is shaken by the presence of God and feels unworthy to be in God's presence.  A seraphim touches Isaiah's lips with an ember as a gesture of God's mercy and forgiveness.  Then he hears the call from God, "Whom shall I send?"  Isaiah's responds, "Here I am, send me."

St. Paul tells us in the second reading that he was not fit to be called an apostle because he persecuted those who followed Christ.  However, by the grace of God, he was called to spread the Good News.

In Luke's Gospel we listen to the call of the disciples.  Although they caught nothing after fishing all night, Simon Peter and the other fishermen go back out on their boats to lower their nets at Jesus' command.  They caught much more fish than they ever expected so that their nets were almost tearing.  Simon Peter fell to his knees and told Jesus to depart from him because he was sinful man.  James and John were also astonished by the event.  Jesus told them not to be afraid, from now on they will be catching men and women.

Everyone is called to follow Jesus.  It does not matter whether you are a sinner, poor, broken, man, or woman.  Jesus invites everyone to follow him.  He never coerces anyone and many times the call is gentle.  Christ calls men and women to follow in different ways.  We call these ways "vocations." Some are called to the married life to vow love to another person and raise a family.  Some people are called to the single life and serve God in different capacities.  Others are called to serve God as a priest or deacon in order to serve God's people in the church.  Still others are called to religious life as a consecrated sister or brother. 
Married couples may share with others how they met and fell in love.  They can be involved in their parish or to other works of service.  Women and men religious each have their own call story of how Christ invited them to the Consecrated Life.  For me the call was gentle, luring, and happened over several years until I recognized that I was being called not only to religious life, but also as a Sister of St. Joseph.  I enjoy sharing my call story with others and gladly do so whenever I am asked.  It always energizes me and renews my enthusiasm for this life to which Christ invited me.
No matter which vocation you are currently living or will be called to in the future, it is always for the service of God and others.  If you have ever felt a nudge or and inner voice inviting you to a religious vocation, contact me at s.lfusco@ssjerie.org.  How are you called to follow God?

TIME TO REST

Last week we heard from Mark's Gospel that Jesus sent the disciples out in pairs and gave them directions about what to take, what to preach, and to heal.  This Sunday's gospel continues with the disciples returning to Jesus.  They were excited and reported to Jesus on all they had done and taught.  It also states that they were so busy that they did not have enough time to eat.

Our culture has us running from one thing to another.  I have heard parents and students talk about all the activities they have after school and weekends.  You may have heard or know people who constantly work long hours, get very little rest, and eat unhealthily by grabbing food on the go.  I watch people around me who live by their calendar with every hour filled with meetings, appointments, and other commitments.

In the gospel Jesus invites the disciples with him to go to a place where they can rest. No one can be on the go twenty-four hours a day.  Of course, it is important to be responsible, and if we want to keep our jobs, we have to get our work done. In order to do this, however, we need to recognize our need for Jesus.  

Jesus, himself,  often went off alone to pray.  I believe that is where he gathered his strength.  How do you gather your strength to be renewed?  Do you take a day off to rest, play, or pray?  And what about relationship with others and with God?  We cannot live in isolation.  We need family and friends. More importantly, we need Jesus.  For peace and rest we need to take time to sit and talk to him and to be still and listen.

I make time to pray and reflect on Sunday mornings.  I am fortunate that I go once a year for quiet and rest with God on my annual retreat. These times deepen my relationship with Christ.  How do you deepen your relationship with God?

GOD DOES LOVE YOU

This week's Gospel was about Jesus proclaiming to those in the synagogue that the passage he had just read from Isaiah was fulfilled in him.  He was the Messiah.  The people gathered there would not believe, so they drove him out of town.

The pastor at the parish, where I attend mass, talked about the "Nazarene Syndrome."  I won't remember word for word of what was said in his homily, so I hope I can capture the gist of it.  He said that the people in Nazareth could not accept that God could be present through Jesus because they knew him as an ordinary person of their town.  Many people today cannot accept that God is present in their ordinary lives.  The reason is that these people do not believe that God can love them  or that they are lovable. 

The pastor offered four ways to inoculate against the "Nazarene Syndrome."  Unfortunately, I only remember two.  One way is to tell yourself each day that you are loved by God and that you are a lovable person.  The second way is that each night give thanks to God for all the blessings of the day.  It will help you recognize how much God loves you.

In a book that I am reading, The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything, the author says that we do not have to wait until things are settled in our lives, or until we thing we become better people for God to love us.  God loves us right now, just as we are, and in whatever circumstances we are in. 

Recognizing God's love will help you to be a person of love.  His love with strengthen you through any situation and will draw you closer in relationship to God.  

Take time to recognize God's love for you. 

DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU

In John's Gospel yesterday we heard about Jesus' first miracle at a wedding in Cana.  Jesus' mother said, "They have no wine."  He replied that this was no concern of theirs, nor that his hour had not yet come.  But Mary said to the servers, "Do whatever he tells you."  Jesus then gives the servers directions to fill the jars with water, draw some out, and take it to the headwaiter.  The headwaiter tasted the water that had now become wine and found it to be better wine than what was served earlier.
In other passages of Jesus' miracles there are usually words spoken by Jesus, or an action, or a recognition of faith.  However, in this miracle Jesus says no words over the water, nor does he do anything to the water to cause it to change into wine.  All Jesus does is give directions and the actions of the obedient servers is the means of the water transforming into wine.
Webster's Dictionary defines transformation as, "a change in form or appearance" or "change in condition, character, or function of.  Like the servers in the gospel who listened and were obedient to the directions Jesus gave them, so also we must listen and follow what he tells us to do.  How do we do that?  We can spend time in prayer and reflection.  By praying with scripture, and listening to what Christ is telling us we will be transformed into all that he knows we can be and all that he desires for us.  Sitting still in quiet in the presence of Christ we are transformed as we grow in relationship with him.  As we grow in relationship with Christ we will be attuned to what he wants us to do.  Also, by working and serving those in need, we can help transform lives and we can transform systems that oppress others.
Perhaps there are situations in your life or something in yourself that needs to be transformed.  It could be your lifestyle, your workplace, or your relationship with family or friends.  Whatever way you may be called to transformation, be still, listen, and do whatever he tells you.

NEW BEGINNINGS

Today we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord.  The account of Jesus' baptism appears in all four gospels.  Baptizing with water was a common practice at that time.  However, the difference is that while John baptizes with water, Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.  Jesus' baptism was like everyone else's until the Holy Spirit came upon him.  His baptism would mark the beginning of a new period in his life.  No longer would he work in the carpenter shop.  Declared by the Holy Spirit as God's beloved Son, Jesus sets out on a new mission. 
I like the fact that this gospel comes near the beginning of a new year.  It helps us to reflect, not only on the past year, but to look forward to new beginnings.  We have all had new beginnings in our lives.  For some it may just be resolutions to begin breaking a bad habit, eating healthier, exercising more, or getting more sleep.  We may have experienced beginnings of being a high school or college student; the beginning of a new career; the beginning of a marriage or religious life.  Perhaps a new beginning has occurred on a retreat, or from a time of true discernment and you were set on fire with a new insight or inspiration.

New beginnings can also happen in times of pain; a person who becomes paralyzed begins to learn how he/she can still live a full life; a widow who now begins to live life without a partner; a child who begins to find how to live after losing a parent; and for those in Newtown, Connecticut, how to begin life without their children.

At our baptism we too were declared sons and daughters of God.  Our new life in Christ began.  As we matured we may have had many ways to begin again at various times in our lives.  Whatever our new beginnings will be in the future as beloved sons and daughters of God, we will always have the grace we need to more forward.

PRAYER FOR VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING

January 11, 2013 is Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Please pray the following prayer.

Liberator God,
You came to set us free from all forms of slavery

And to heal us into freedom.

Let us remember those who have suffered from slavery

And the millions who still suffer as slaves.

We pray especially for all your children who have

Suffered the injustice of slavery.

God, you have created human beings with dignity and

We know that slavery is a horrible injustice.

Empower us, who are not enslaved,

To fight for the rights of those who are.

Help us to pray and empower us in action

To free your enslaved children.

Liberator God, hear us, help us,

And set your children free through us.

Amen

                                                                                              (Adapted from Education for Justice)

FOLLOWING THE STAR

Have you followed any stars lately?  One of the delightful parts of the Nativity narratives is the visit of the Magis or Kings.  As the gospel tells us, these three men followed a star to the find the place where the newborn babe was lying in a manger.

As I listened and reflected on following stars it became clear to me that the star we are to follow is in our hearts.  The star is our deepest desires.  For some the deepest desire is fame and fortune.  For others it may be to sing or act on stage.  For others there is a desire to serve and to love God and know God more fully.  

Stars light up the sky so beautifully.  How appropriate it is that the Magi followed the light of a star to find the Light of the World.  The star in our heart is Christ who lights our way.  When we are in tune with the star in our heart, we can then bring the light of Christ to others.  Isn't that what we are called to do anyway?  

May we who bear the star in our hearts continue to light the way and bring others into the light of Christ.