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.