Do the Unusual

We are told that often times living as a Christian or Catholic in society today we will have to go against the grain. To say no to the pressures, ideals, and gods that society tries to force on us. This is not some new reality, it has been true since the days of Jesus! Check out this example:

Matthew 5:43-48
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."

So, let's get this straight....we are called to
1) Love our enemies
2) Pray for those who persecute us
3) Greet everyone as if they are our brothers

What?! These tasks are not only difficult, they are down right unusual! In all likelihood, we will never hear society to tell us to love and pray for those who have hurt us, but we are called to do just that all the same!!

Maurice Davis once said, "As salt and light, we are also called to be different, for one must be different before one can make a difference."

Go, and live an unsual life!

(Maybe if enough of us live the unsual life, it won't be so unusual after all! <--That would be epic)

May We more Closely Imitate Christ

Until God ordains otherwise, a man ought to bear patiently
whatever he cannot correct in himself and others.
Consider it better thus-perhaps to try your patience and to test you,
for without such patience and trial your merits are of little account.
Nevertheless, under such difficulties you should pray
that God will consent to help you bear them calmly.
If all were perfect, what should we have to suffer from others for God's sake?
But God has so ordained that we may learn to bear with one another's burdens,
for there is no man without fault,
no man without burden,
no man sufficient to himself nor wise enough.
Hence we must SUPPORT one another,
console one another, mutually help, counsel, and advise,
for the measure of every man's virtue is best revealed in time of adversity;
adversity does not weaken a man but rather shows what he is.
~The Imitation of Christ

Silent Times

The night Christ was brought into this world by Mary was a silent one. There are no recorded words of Mary while Jesus was hanging upon the cross. What is it, besides silence that ties these two events together? Could it be that while at the foot of the Cross, Mary was thinking about how the son she once delivered is now delivering her? ~Fr. Ramatowski

"It was a labor of pain...It was a labor of Love" ~Andrew Peterson

Craftiness!!

In between hanging with the fam, seeing friends, and shopping I did manage to find time to do what I love….CRAFT!

Thursday mid-day before company came over I was checking my email and noticed that Walgreens had their calendars 50% off, so I decide to make one! Originally I was just going to use pics of friends and family and add quotes about life for each month, but then I was really digging some of my picnicked photos. So, I elected to go the picnicked photos and Bible verse route….which meant I got to spend way too much time picnicking more photos!! (Soooo addicting) I have to admit that I really love how it turned out, and am quite excited for the new year because of it!

Inspired by the Rock n’ Rollin Craft Fair Saturday morning I set to work in the afternoon and managed to whip out a hairband and clip in about 1 ½ hours or so. The headband was simply newspaper wrapped around an old headband I no longer used, and then I added the newspaper bow!

Than the bow was a little more complex, but once I covered the clip I just added another bow like the one above!

Gotta love crafting! Such a great way to spend some time relaxing while still being productive!

Be a STAR!

This past weekend, I was blessed with the opportunity to go on a short, 24-hour, silent retreat at Conception Abbey with a handful of other Rockhurst students. First off, if you haven’t been on a silent retreat, get yourself on one at some point in your life. And secondly, it you haven’t been to Conception Abbey, get there at some point….simply beautiful grounds…Moving right along to the point of the post.

Saturday afternoon I found myself lying on the floor of the Basilica behind the altar, with a dear friend April, staring at the ceiling. Yes. Laying on the floor of a church staring at the ceiling….why would perfectly sane people be doing this? (well…our sanity is under question, but that is beside the point) This is why :

BEAUTY. Simple beauty is what kept my gaze transfixed upon the ceiling for more than an hour that afternoon. It was during this time, that a thought entered my mind: We are all called to be stars. And not just any stars, but her stars.

What does that even mean, to be a star of Mary? It means that you live in a manner so as to shine, not for yourself, but for Mary to enhance her beauty. It is your job to adorn Mary, to be a beautiful witness to her through your life. You shine, so that Mary, Queen of the Universe, can be seen more clearly and loved more dearly. That all who may come into contact with you will come to know Mary, who will in turn take them to her son, Jesus. Being a star cannot be a self-seeking lifestyle, but a selfless one; where you desire nothing for yourself and everything for the greater glory of God through Mary.

May you shine, today and always for the greater glory of God.

The Full Story

Sometimes, you only know part of a story and you love it. It satisfies you, you are pleased with it. But there is more that is left unknown to you. And one day, it is presented to you. And it makes you love it all the more.

That was a recent experience I had, in regards to the Serenity Prayer. I had heard, what I thought to be the whole thing until this past week at CLC (Christian Life Community), when I was introduced to the entire prayer and now I share it with you.

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

enjoying one moment at a time;

accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;

trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life

and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.

Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

Everyone's Way

"I told you at the start,

my life was not complete

until I crowned it by my death.

Your 'way' is not complete

unless you crown it by your life.

Accept each moment as it comes to you,

with faith and trust

that all that happens has my mark on it.

A simple fiat, this is all it takes;

a breathing in your heart,

'I will it, Lord.'

So seek me not in far-off places.

I am close at hand,

Your workbench, office, kitchen,

these are altars

where you offer love.

And I am with you there.

Go now! Take up your cross

and with your life

complete your way."

~Everyone's Way of the Cross

Christ crowned His passion with His death. Now, we are called to imitate His way of the Cross, not in our deaths per say, but with our LIVES. We are each called in a unique way to crown our 'way' with our lives. We were not made for death but for life! Go, and crown your way with your life.