Our Lady's Lamp

In class today, the teacher, Mrs. D, made a comparison that I'd never thought of before. God communicates to us like the old pen pals did. Back in the time of the World Wars, many people wrote long letters to each other, and they fell in love even across the sea. Through these letters, they poured their hearts out and decided that, yes, they were willing to spend their lives together based solely on this interaction. They never met each other, they didn't have several friends in common who could vouch for them, they accepted the words on the pages, and they married.  In many ways, that is how God communicates with us. He gives us glimpses of himself, most especially in the Scriptures and creation. He writes His love for us through the pages and trees. These letters tell us who He is, give us little anecdotes to see His personality, and tell us how serious He is about our relationship. He pours His Heart out upon these pages, begging us to recognize this love and sincerity....

"My Lord and My God!" It's an entreaty, words of adoration, a cry of the heart. But first, it is a title - a name. The first time it is used in the New Testament is when Thomas - Doubting Thomas - drops to his knees before Jesus and recognizes the pierced man before him not just as his Teacher, nt just as the Christ, not just as the Son of God but as "My Lord and My God!" Thomas is usually best known for his refusal to accept Christ's resurrection based on the testimony of all his friends and fellow disciples. He says he has to see proof - the wounds that killed Him. He has a week to ponder their testimony, and then Jesus comes, and instead of saying just "I believe it's you!" He instead becomes a vessel through which the Spirit reveals more about Jesus and becomes a source of revelation, of clarification, of insight: He cries out "My Lord and My God." No longer is Jesus just this Teacher, just their Rabbi, just the Messiah and So...

As many of you know, I know several couples getting married, have been to multiple weddings, and by the end of the summer will have had the honor of being bridesmaids in two of them. That's lots of time thinking about weddings. (I swear, if one more person asks if I have my wedding planned, I may want to strangle something though....). With all the hoopla in the news about the SCOTUS ruling on Marriage, well, it's been in my thoughts a lot more than usual. A little over a month ago, I got to be a bridesmaid in the wedding of two of my friends. Instead of doing the traditional songs for their wedding music, they did music that reflected their styles a bit more, and I have to say, it worked out really well. I really really liked the song she chose to walk down the aisle to: ( Listen, don't watch the video ). It's magical, and it was doubly so on the day of the wedding. But at the rehearsal, as her father was walking her down the aisle, I was struck with a thought. ...

Yesterday, it seems, was the day for weddings. A couple at my church were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary (pray for them and for all married couples!) and I got to witness two of my dear friends, Ashley and Israel, marry each other. It was beautiful. And yes, I cried - like a baby! One of the things I loved about their wedding was that Ashley and Israel decided not to change the gospel from what the gospel of the day was. Instead of finding something like the Wedding at Cana or a "Love one another as I have loved you" or something like that, they kept the reading for the feast of the day: The Annunciation. (Since the 25th of March fell in Holy Week, the feast was moved to the Saturday after Easter). For their wedding, they chose to have the wedding of God the Spirit and a mortal woman read. This, I think, was absolutely beautiful. Think about it. An Angel comes as an emissary and tells a young girl that the God of the Universe wishes her to bear His Child and b...

For the third year in a row, I have watched The Passion of the Christ on Good Friday. For the third year in a row, I have cried like a baby. But I think I cried harder this time than any other time I watched it. Looking back, I can see little signs of how God has begun to prepare me for last night, but little could prepare me for the stark understanding of the truth that flooded my heart as all the little things culminated in the viewing of that movie. Jesus has been using Mary to teach me about the Annunciation (post in progress!) and about the beautiful mystery it was, and I have been drawn more and more to songs by Kelly Pease and Danielle Rose  from Mary's point of view, to a deeper understanding of how His whole life led to calvary and how painful that road would been, especially for those dearest and closest to Him. LAst year, I expected to walk the sorrowful road with Mary, but instead walked with John and Magdalene . This year, I walked both with and beside Mary and l...

"Why is this night different from every other night?" the youngest child at a Passover celebration asks. He or she is then answered by being told that this night is the night that God delivered His people from slavery through miraculous deeds. Jews celebrating the Passover did not simply recall what happened all those years ago. Rather, they re-membered themselves to their forefathers, placing themselves back in time. While they were not in Egypt physically, they were in Egypt spiritually. They were partaking of the mystery of their redemption in the format put forth by God through his faithful (and sometimes not so faithful) servant Moses. Is it any wonder then that Jesus chose this week, so rich with meaning, to be the last week He shared with His Apostles before His passion? Is it any wonder that He chose to take the Passover meal and show them how it too was being perfected in the New Covenant? Christ came as the passover lamb , His blood was shed for our sins and co...

“Unless you become like little children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven .” That verse in Matthew gave me so much grief for so long. I mean, the rest of scripture talks about us putting on armor and fighting evil spirits, about setting examples, and about not clinging to milk in our faith but instead becoming adults and eating “real food.” Especially being someone who has always taken pride in being told I am more mature than most people my age and knowing that I’ve been gifted with many different gifts and talents that tend toward leadership, I never was able to reconcile the idea of being a child with myself. So, in many ways, I ignored the verse and focused on the other verses that I did relate better to. But one day, when I felt like I had absolutely nothing left to give to God, when I felt like everything I wanted to do was being blockaded, like I was unable to do anything at all that would ever be of merit to the Kingdom, I looked up at the cross and just said, “I ca...

This is an article I wrote for my Church's "newsletter" called the Messenger. It had to be really short, so I apologize for how abbreviated it is. I may, at some point, elaborate on one of more of the sections later. ~~~~~ We are all fighting a battle. We are the church militant. We fight against the forces of evil daily. We are in a constant battle, and, on our own, it would be impossible. But we are no more alone than were the Israelites in Exodus 17. Moses realized that while his arms were raised, the favor of the Lord shone upon the Israelites, and they could not be defeated. Likewise, we have the priests who offer – on our behalf and that of the whole world – the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. But, like Moses, our priests tire, as does the army. But like the Israelites, we should not despair, for we are not left alone. We have people to help hold up our priests’ arms so that we can better fight our fight, fueled by the Eucharist – those who consecrate themselve...